Datasets:
cfli
/
ssss

Dataset card Data Studio Files Community
2
question
stringlengths
18
1.2k
facts
stringlengths
44
500k
answer
stringlengths
1
147
Which famous crime duo were killed on May 23rd 1934 on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana?
Visit Bonnie & Clyde’s Getaway Ford V8 on the Anniversary of Their Death - autoevolution autoevolution Visit Bonnie & Clyde’s Getaway Ford V8 on the Anniversary of Their Death   / Home / News / U-turn When you love cars and detective stories, you definitely know that today, 23rd of May, was the day the famous criminal couple, Bonnie Park and Clyde Barrow, were killed. But how many of you know that their classic Ford B getaway car, that was pierced by more than 100 bullets when law officers finally managed to catch them, is actually on display 24 hours a day? This V8 classic was the car that the famous outlaws from Dallas drove around central United States while robbing tens of banks. Bonnie & Clyde, a couple that remain the stuff of legend to this day, are known to have killed at least nine police officers and several civilians. Barrow and Parker were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934, on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The criminal couple appeared in daylight in their Ford V8 and were shot by posse of four Texas officers and two Louisiana officers. The lawmen opened fire, killing Bonnie and Clyde while shooting a combined total of about 130 rounds. Researchers have said the two criminals were shot more than fifty times. In fact, the shooting was so big that the officers got temporarily deafened. Anyway, the actual car driven by the infamous crime duo is on display at Whiskey Pete’s Resort and Casino , about 40 miles south of Las Vegas. In addition to the famed V8 Ford, you can also view other fascinating memorabilia. A couple of things about the Ford V8 model, now. B, 18 and 40’s were Ford cars and light trucks produced between 1932 and 1934. The V-8 was marketed as the Model 18 in its initial year and commonly simply called the Ford V-8 . It had the new flathead V8 engine, being the firs low-priced mass-marketed car to have this kind of engine. Considered an important milestone in American automotive history, the Ford V8 was rated at 65 horsepower when introduced, but power increased significantly with improvements to the carburetor and ignition in later years.Streaming video with testimonies from witnesses According to the listed attractions, the display not only includes the battered car, but also contains Clyde’s sredded shirt that he wore the mornig of his death as well as letters of authenticity and small items from the duo’s travels. While you are there being amazed, a streaming video tells the criminals’ tale including testimonies from witnesses who saw the capture of the notable two. In case you are low on cash, be advised there is no entrance fee what so ever. robbers ford classic ford vb ford trucks ford cars Vegas bonnie clyde  
Bonnie and Clyde
With an area of 1,438 square kilometres which is England's oldest National Park? It became established on April 17th, 1951.
Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde shot to death in stolen Ford - May 23, 1934 - HISTORY.com Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde shot to death in stolen Ford Share this: Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde shot to death in stolen Ford Author Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde shot to death in stolen Ford URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1934, wanted outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police officers as they attempt to escape apprehension in a stolen 1934 Ford Deluxe near Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Beginning in early 1932, Parker and Barrow set off on a two-year crime spree, evading local police in rural Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico before drawing the attention of federal authorities at the Bureau of Investigation (as the FBI was then known). Though the couple was believed to have been responsible for 13 murders by the time they were killed, along with several bank robberies and burglaries, the only charge the Bureau could chase them on was a violation of the National Motor Vehicle Act, which gave federal agents the authority to pursue suspects accused of interstate transportation of a stolen automobile. The car in question was a Ford, stolen in Illinois and found abandoned in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Inside, agents discovered a prescription bottle later traced to the Texas home of Clyde Barrow’s aunt. As authorities stepped up the pressure to catch the outlaw couple, the heavily armed Barrow and Parker were joined at various times by the convicted murderer Raymond Hamilton (whom they helped break out of jail in 1934), William Daniel Jones and Clyde’s brother Ivan “Buck” Barrow and his wife, Blanche. In the spring of 1934, federal agents traced the Barrow-Parker gang to a remote county in southwest Louisiana, where the Methvin family was said to have been aiding and abetting the outlaws for over a year. Bonnie and Clyde, along with some of the Methvins, had staged a party at Black Lake, Louisiana, on the night of May 21. Two days later, just before dawn, a posse of police officers from Texas and Louisiana laid an ambush along the highway near Sailes, Louisiana. When Parker and Barrow appeared, going some 85 mph in another stolen Ford–a four-door 1934 Deluxe with a V-8 engine, the officers let loose with a hail of bullets, leaving the couple no chance of survival despite the small arsenal of weapons they had with them. The bullet-ridden Deluxe, originally owned by Ruth Warren of Topeka, Kansas, was later exhibited at carnivals and fairs then sold as a collector’s item; in 1988, the Primm Valley Resort and Casino in Las Vegas purchased it for some $250,000. Barrow’s enthusiasm for cars was evident in a letter he wrote earlier in the spring of 1934, addressed to Henry Ford himself: “While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned and even if my business hasn’t been strictly legal it don’t hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8.” __________________________________________________________________
i don't know
Which soft drink, described as having a unique flavour, was first nationally marketed in the USA in 1904 and has had many advertising slogans including 'what's the worst that can happen' in 2008?
Dr. Pepper Dr. Pepper All About Dr. Pepper Dr Pepper is a  soft drink  marketed as having a unique  flavor . Created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of  Waco, Texas  and first served around 1885, Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the  United States  in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. Variants include a no- sugar  version,  Diet  Dr Pepper, as well as a line of versions with additional flavors, first introduced in the 2000s. W.W. Clements, a former CEO and president of the Dr Pepper/7-Up Company, described the taste of Dr Pepper as one-of-a-kind, saying "I've always maintained you cannot tell anyone what Dr Pepper tastes like because it's so different. It's not an apple, it's not an orange, it's not a strawberry, it's not a  root beer , it's not even a  cola . It's a different kind of drink with a unique taste all its own." [ 1 ] History The  U.S. Patent Office  recognizes  December 1 ,  1885  as the first time Dr Pepper was served. It was introduced nationally in the  United States  at the 1904  Louisiana Purchase Exposition  as a new kind of soda pop, made with 23 flavors. Its introduction in 1885 preceded the introduction of  Coca-Cola  by one year. Nutrition Facts      Iron 0% *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. It was formulated by  Brooklyn -born pharmacist Charles Alderton [3]  in Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in  Waco, Texas . [2]  To test his new drink, he first offered it to store owner Wade Morrison, who also found it to his liking. Patrons at Morrison's soda fountain soon learned of Alderton's new drink and began ordering a "Waco". Alderton gave the formula to Morrison who named it Dr. Pepper. Popular opinion holds that the drink was named after Dr. Charles T. Pepper of  Rural Retreat, Virginia . One story says it was in order for Morrison to obtain permission to marry the doctor's daughter, another story tells of the gratefulness of Morrison to Dr. Charles T. Pepper for giving him his first job. However, research [4]  seems to have revealed that Morrison lived nearly 50 miles from Rural Retreat, VA near a Dr. Pepper of  Christiansburg, Virginia . This is reportedly supported by the U.S. census, showing a young Morrison working as a pharmacy clerk in Christiansburg, VA. One of the following pages of this census supposedly shows a Dr. Pepper and daughter Malinda or Malissa. Since census takers of the period were walking door to door, and their census entries were on following pages, it stands to reason that Morrison and the family of Dr. Pepper not only lived close to each other but most likely knew one another. If the marriage story holds true, it would also be more likely that Morrison would have asked for the hand of a 16 rather than an 8 year old girl, since that was the age of Dr. Charles T. Pepper's daughter at the time Morrisson relocated to Waco.[ improper synthesis? ] Dr Pepper became  insolvent  in the early 1980s, prompting an investment group to take the company private. Several years later, Coca-Cola attempted to acquire Dr Pepper, but was blocked from doing so by the  Federal Trade Commission  (FTC). Around the same time,  Seven Up  was acquired from Phillip Morris by the same investment company that bailed out Dr Pepper. Upon the failure of the Coca-Cola merger, Dr Pepper and Seven Up merged (creating Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., or DPSU), giving up international branding rights in the process. After the DPSU merger, Coca-Cola obtained most non-U.S. rights to the Dr Pepper name (with PepsiCo taking the Seven Up rights). [5] In 2009 an old ledger book filled with formulas and  recipes  was discovered by a man named Bill Waters while shopping at antiques stores in the Texas Panhandle. [6] Several sheets and letterheads hinted that it had come from the W.B. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store (the same store Dr Pepper was first served at in  1885 ) and faded letters on the books cover spelled out "Castles Formulas" (John Castles was a partner of Morrison's for a time and worked at that location as early as  1880 ). One recipe in the book titled "D Peppers Pepsin Bitters" was of particular interest, and some speculated it could be an early recipe for Dr Pepper. However, Dr Pepper Snapple Group insists it is not the formula for Dr Pepper, but is instead a medicinal recipe for a digestive aid. The book was put up for auction in May 2009 but no one purchased it. [7] [ edit ]Legal and trade history Dr Pepper was a frequent player in the 1990s antitrust history of the United States. As part of these activities, economists and the courts have weighed in with the opinion that Dr Pepper is a "Pepper" flavored drink and not a "Cola." In 1995, the  FTC  blocked a merger between  The Coca-Cola Company  and Dr Pepper on grounds that included concerns about a monopoly of the "Pepper" flavor category of soft drinks. [8]  In 1996, Dr Pepper was involved in an antitrust case involving  Jerry Jones , the  Dallas Cowboys ,  NFL Properties ,  Nike , and other commercial interests active at  Texas Stadium  in  Irving, Texas . [9]  Jones had made deals with Dr Pepper and the other companies that, the league said, violated their exclusive marketing contracts with Coca-Cola and other businesses. The NFL agreed to allow Jones and other teams to pursue their own agreements. [9] In 1998, the "Pepper" flavor soda category was a major part of the analysis supporting an antitrust case between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco ,  Texas . The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. [ edit ]Dr Pepper Museum The Dr Pepper Museum is located in the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building in downtown Waco, Texas, and opened to the public in 1991. The Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building was the first building to be built specifically to bottle Dr Pepper. The building was completed in 1906 and Dr Pepper was bottled there until the 1960s. The museum has three floors of exhibits, a working old-fashioned soda fountain, and a gift store of Dr Pepper memorabilia. [ edit ]Distribution In the  United States ,  Dr Pepper Snapple Group  does not have a complete network of bottlers and distributors, so the drink is sometimes bottled under contract by Coca-Cola or Pepsi bottlers. Prior to the initial Cadbury Schweppes investment-turned-buyout, 30% of  Dr Pepper/Seven Up  products were produced and distributed by Pepsi bottlers, and another 30% by  Coca-Cola  bottlers. The remaining 40% was produced and distributed by independent bottlers (mainly consisting of pre-Dr Pepper/Seven Up-merger regional bottlers) and the  Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group . Presently, Dr Pepper Snapple relies on its own bottling group to bottle and distribute its products in 30+ states. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have essentially stopped bottling and distributing CSAB products in favor of in-house alternatives, although regional exceptions can be found. In  Canada  and  Poland , Cadbury-Schweppes has licensed distribution rights to  PepsiCo . In  Mexico ,  Germany ,  France ,  Sweden , the  Netherlands ,  Slovakia ,  Finland ,  Austria ,  Czech Republic ,  Belgium , and  Norway , Cadbury-Schweppes owns the trademark and distributes the product. In  Spain ,  Turkey , and  Greece  it is almost impossible to find as it is usually imported from the  United Kingdom  in particular supermarkets. In almost all of the other countries of the world, The Coca-Cola Company purchased the trademark from Cadbury-Schweppes and distributes the product. This mixed worldwide ownership of the trademark is due to antitrust  regulations which prevented Coca-Cola from purchasing the rights everywhere. Dr Pepper is also available in  Japan  and  South Korea . Although not locally bottled in  Australia  or  New Zealand , Dr Pepper is imported and sold by by USA Foods, and many other small retailers in Australia. Dr Pepper is not available in  Thailand ,  Denmark ,  Italy  and  Russia . [ edit ]Dr Pepper and high-fructose corn syrup Much of the soft drink industry in the  United States  stopped using  sugar  in the 1980s, in response to a series of  price supports  and  import quotas  introduced beginning in 1982 that increased the price of sugar above the global market price. As a result, most U.S. soft drinks, including Dr Pepper, now use  high-fructose corn syrup  instead of sugar. [10] A handful of U.S. bottling plants still use sugar to sweeten Dr Pepper. The Dr Pepper bottling plant in  Dublin, Texas , produces such a beverage, known as  Dublin Dr Pepper . In the 1980s, plant owner W.P. "Bill" Kloster ( June 7 ,  1918  –  September 27 ,  1999 ) refused to convert the plant to high-fructose corn syrup. [11]  Since 2003, Dublin Dr Pepper has expanded its distribution to most of  Texas  and the Internet. Other bottlers still using sugar include Temple Bottling Company, in  Temple, Texas , Ab-Tex in  Abilene , and West Jefferson Dr Pepper (WJDP) of  West Jefferson, NC . On  March 25 ,  2007 , Coca-Cola bottlers in the Dr Pepper Heartland commenced sales of 16 ounce cans of Dr Pepper made with cane sugar and featuring a logo with 'Old Doc' on them. This product is scheduled to be a limited time release. From left to right: Standard Dr Pepper; Dublin Dr Pepper (front); Dublin Dr Pepper (back); 10-2-4 Dr Pepper made with Imperial Sugar (available at the Waco, TX Dr Pepper museum) A bottle of Dr Pepper made with pure cane sugar from Dublin, Texas [ edit ]Name formatting Glass bottle of Dr Pepper featuring the "classic" logo The  period  (fullstop) after "Dr" was discarded for stylistic and legibility reasons in the 1950s. Dr Pepper's logo was redesigned and the text in this new logo was slanted. The period made "Dr." look like "Di:". After some debate, the period was removed for good (it had been used off and on in previous logos), as it would also help remove any medical connotation with the product. [ edit ]Advertising and product placement Lists of miscellaneous information  should be avoided. Please  relocate  any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2008) During World War II, a syndicated radio program, The 10-2-4 Ranch (later titled 10-2-4 Time), aired in the South and other areas where Dr Pepper was distributed. The show featured the  Sons of the Pioneers  and  Dick Foran . [12] In the 1960s Dr Pepper Released the Charge Ad. “ With the Dr Pepper Difference. ” The "Be a Pepper" series referred to fans of Dr Pepper as "Peppers," and often featured crowd dance scenes with elaborate, over-the-top  choreography . One popular ad  jingle  was: “ I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, She's a Pepper, we're a Pepper, Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too? Be a Pepper. Drink Dr Pepper. ” This became grist for a number of  pop culture  references and  parodies . One of the first was a sketch on the program  SCTV , in which an overly-excited injured man ( Eugene Levy ) extols the work of a "Dr. Shekter" ( Rick Moranis ) who's been treating him. Levy and a group of patients wearing casts and crutches engage in their own elaborate dancing and singing (Would not you like to have my doctor, too?), all to the alarm of Shekter (These people should not be dancing!). In the 1982 sex farce  Beach Girls , the slogan became "I'm a popper, he's a popper..." After appearing in a commercial,  David Naughton  had his breakthrough film role as the main character in the  John Landis  film  An American Werewolf in London . Naughton also had a major Top 40 hit in 1979 with the disco flavored "Makin It". Another famous "I'm a Pepper" dancer was  Ray Bolger , the actor who played the Scarecrow in the film  The Wizard of Oz . 12-ounce Dr Pepper can sporting the new logo In 1978, Jake Holmes wrote the lyrics to "Be a Pepper". Later  Randy Newman  wrote another jingle "The Most Original Soft Drink ever". Manilow performed Jake's jingle in concerts and on albums under the inclusion of "VSM - very strange medley". A TV commercial was also created using the jingle and ran from 1977–1985. [13] Dr Pepper has also been featured outside of the "I'm a Pepper"  motif . An example is in the video game  Pikmin 2 , where one of the collectible treasures is a Dr Pepper bottle cap (it is labeled as the "Drought Ender"). Also, an empty Dr Pepper bottle is featured in the book Ragweed by  Newbery Medal -winning author  Avi ; the book’s illustrator,  Brian Floca , is the son of a Dr Pepper bottler. Several of the classic non-"I'm a Pepper" commercials featured prominent movie stars, one being a television advertisement with  Chris Rock  as a child enjoying a Dr Pepper. The 1980s "Out Of The Ordinary" advertising campaign involved a series of  post-apocalyptic  commercials featuring a space cowboy and an alien sidekick seeking "something different" than a simple generic cola. The campaign also produced commercials featuring the movie creature  Godzilla , where citizens of a Japanese town offered Dr Pepper as a libation. The commercials were prominently featured during the 1986 syndication of The  Canned Film Festival , which was sponsored by the Dr Pepper Company. Outside of the United States,  Squeeze 's Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford played for a Dr Pepper advert in the UK with the slogan, "Hold out for the out of the ordinary." Dr Pepper's "Be You" advertising campaign centered around commercials featuring pairs of popular musicians, including  LeAnn Rimes  with  Reba McEntire ,  Paulina Rubio  with  Celia Cruz , Thalía  with  Tito Puente ,  B2K  with  Smokey Robinson ,  Anastacia  with  Cyndi Lauper ,  Patricia Manterola  with  Ana Gabriel , and  LL Cool J  with  Run-D.M.C.  The campaign also featured individual musicians, notably  Garth Brooks . Dr Pepper made several appearances in the  1994   Robert Zemeckis  major motion picture,  Forrest Gump , as it was the beverage of choice for the movie's namesake lead character, played by  Tom Hanks . In perhaps the most notable of the film's Dr Pepper scenes, Forrest's narrative suggests that, "The best part about goin' to the  White House  was, they had all the food and drink that you wanted." "I must have had me 15 Dr Peppers." When subsequently asked by the  President  how he felt, Forrest gave an honest answer of "I gotta pee." Although, arguably the film's largest product placement installation, the depiction of Dr Pepper was perhaps not always accurate, as in another scene, during the  1972   New Year's Eve  celebration which Forrest attends, he drinks a Dr Pepper with a  logo  that was allegedly not released until the mid- 1980's . Dr Pepper was introduced to the  Australian  market in 1997 with a short-lived TV advertising campaign and low priced 280 ml cans sold through supermarkets. Dr Pepper was subsequently sold in 1.25 litre plastic bottles alongside other major brands until 2003. Cadbury Schweppes stated that the product did not gain acceptance by Australians, whose detractors complained that the drink tasted like "cough syrup"[ citation needed ] (a tag also given to  Sarsaparilla ). A report on the soft drink industry by IBIS accused Cadbury Schweppes of failing in their  marketing  of the brand, given its global appeal. After withdrawing from the Australian market, Dr Pepper arrived without fanfare in New Zealand. Cans imported from the U.S. are available in some specialty stores in New Zealand and Australia. On the  December 20 ,  2000  episode of the  Late Show with David Letterman , Letterman jokingly referred to Dr Pepper as "liquid manure". After a representative of Dr Pepper complained,  CBS  agreed not to rerun the Dec. 20 episode. Letterman repeatedly made assurances on the show that he was joking. [14] Diet Dr Pepper grew 2.8% in 2001 while regular Dr Pepper dipped 1.7%, according to AC Nielsen data. The company in 2001 is promoting diet with new ads that promise authentic Dr Pepper taste. The message:Diet Dr Pepper tastes more like the original. The ads spoof examples of new ideas inferior to the originals, including XGA (not  PGA ) Extreme Golf and a TV show CHimPs (rather than  CHiPs ). Several ads for Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper appeared on television in 2005. In one, a young woman on a blind date at a restaurant who sips into the beverage, suddenly makes her date, restaurant patrons, and even a waitress all part of a musical sequence involving  The Muppets  version of the song " Mah Nà Mah Nà ". One campaign features the  Queen  song " I Want It All ". On January 1, 2008, the company unveiled a new TV ad campaign featuring the  Cheers  theme song (" Where Everybody Knows Your Name ") performed by  Gary Portnoy . In a 2008 Super Bowl ad, someone was sitting in a college lecture and took a sip of his Dr Pepper. When he stopped drinking, the Dr Pepper can started singing "Flava Licious" ( Flava Flav ). He covered the can, and when he let go, the can played a Spanish version of the song. He took another sip, and it began playing a  Queen  version of the song. Everybody in the class (even the teacher and the brainiac) started "rocking out." In 2008 Dr Pepper in the UK restarted launching its old adverts and slogan, "What's the worst that can Happen?". They also started an onpack promotion for free ringtones with up to 20 to collect. Also in 2008, Dr Pepper has  Kelsey Grammer  featured in one of their commercials. Besides, on the CW's Show  90210 's first season, Dr Pepper has been announced in several episodes. In 2009, the latest ad for Dr Pepper is by Dr Dre in a nightclub mentioning the "23 flavors" in the product. As of  2009 , the slogan of the product is "drink it slow. doctor's orders". Advertising supporting the slogan has celebrities with famous relations to the word "doctor" ( Dr. Dre ,  Doctor J ,  Gene Simmons  (writer of the KISS  song " Calling Doctor Love "), et al.) endorsing the beverage. The ads culminate with the celebrity stating, "Trust me. I'm a doctor." followed by the new slogan appearing onscreen against an ice-cold glass of Dr. Pepper.  [2] [ edit ]Dietary brands Dietetic Dr Pepper was introduced in 1962 (cans) and 1963 (bottles). Sales were slow partly due to the public misconception that the drink was for diabetics, and in 1966, the company renamed the product Diet Dr Pepper. [16]  In 1991, Diet Dr Pepper was reformulated to use  aspartame , according to Cadbury Schweppes. Diet Dr Pepper, after posting a 6.4% gain in sales volume, became the 10th best selling soda in 2006 according to Beverage Digest magazine. [17]  From 1991 to 2006, the beverage was marketed using the slogan "Diet Dr Pepper tastes more like Regular Dr Pepper." In 2006, a new marketing campaign was launched comparing the taste of Diet Dr Pepper to desserts instead of regular Dr Pepper with the slogan "There's nothing diet about it." [18] Pepper Free (1982 - 1985) was first introduced to test markets in 1982 as a caffeine-free version of Diet Dr Pepper, citing company research that indicated a need for a product to fill a niche for the health-conscious consumer. [19]  Originally introduced in only six states, [20]  the Pepper Free brand lasted for only three years, and was phased out in 1985. [21]  While a caffeine-free dietetic product continues to be produced under various name permutations, the reason for pulling the Pepper Free brand are unknown, but could have been due to confusion with the rival " Pepsi Free " brand (currently " Caffeine-Free Pepsi "). Caffeine Free Dr Pepper (non-diet) was first released in 1983 due to the success of Pepper Free. [22] [ edit ]Flavor variations The Cherry Vanilla variety. Dr Pepper Red Fusion (2002–2004) was available from only in the US. The fruity, red-colored Red Fusion was the first new flavor added to the Dr Pepper family of beverages in the company's 122-year history. Its production was essentially canceled less than a year later, although in certain areas it was available until late 2004. Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper (2004–2009) was released in some areas on  October 15 ,  2004 . The beverage tastes similar to Dr Pepper but has stronger  cherry  and  vanilla  flavors added. Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper was the first drink in the planned "Soda Fountain Classics" line of beverages from Dr Pepper, a range of drinks designed to taste similar to popular soda fountain  drinks from the 1950s. It is now available in all areas of the U.S. It was available in the Canada for a short period of time, but it has ceased production as of mid-2007. It became available again in mid-2008 after Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper ceased production. Dr Pepper Berries & Cream, (2006–2007) and its diet version, were released in most US locations in April 2006. It is the second beverage in Dr Pepper's "Soda Fountain Classics" line of drinks. In Canada, the diet version of the drink was available approximately from May to August 2007 and the non-diet version was available from September to December 2007. Berries and Cream and Diet Berries Cream have recently been discontinued. Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper (2007–2008) was introduced as a limited edition flavor on November 21, 2007. It was discontinued in April 2008. It became available in Canada in early January 2008. A non-diet version was never created.[ citation needed ] The taste is similar to  Canfield's Diet Cherry Chocolate Fudge Soda  but with the distinctive Dr Pepper flavor. It was featured in the song Cherry Chocolate Rain  by  YouTube   celebrity   Tay Zonday . Upon ceasing production, it was replaced by Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper. Dr Pepper Cherry (2009–) was released in some areas around February,  2009 . The beverage tastes similar to Dr Pepper but has stronger  cherry  flavor added. Variety comes in both regular and diet versions. Gene Simmons  of the band  Kiss  was chosen to be the variation's spokesman, with a commercial circulating on television in March/April, 2009 featuring Kiss's song  Calling Dr. Love  ("Trust me, I'm a doctor" claims Simmons in the commercial). United Kingdom's version of Dr Pepper, along with various other countries, is manufactured with sugar instead of  high-fructose corn syrup . Along with  Sprite  and  Fanta  soft drinks, a 'Zero' version was introduced, meaning no added sugar/low calorie, but maintaining a taste more in line with regular Dr Pepper than its diet variant. [ edit ]Free Dr Pepper for Everyone in America In a unique marketing strategy, Dr Pepper entered a dare of sorts between themselves and  Guns N' Roses  front man  Axl Rose . They stated that if Axl Rose managed to release his new album,  Chinese Democracy , in 2008, they would give everyone in America a free Dr Pepper.  Chinese Democracy , which was in the works for fourteen years, was released on November 23, 2008. [23] Dr Pepper put a coupon for a free can on its website, but, the website to download the coupon was inaccessible throughout most of the day. [24]  In response to the difficulties, the option to phone in a request was made. After dialing 1-888-DRPEPPER the caller was greeted with an acknowledgment of the technical problems with the website and the caller was then allowed to enter their name, address, and email address to receive their free Dr Pepper. Due to the website issues, the offer was extended until 6 p.m. on November 24, 2008, yet several people still experienced problems registering. [25] Axl Rose threatened to sue the soft drinks manufacturer for a public apology, and undisclosed damages, alleging that it failed to honor this promise. No suit was filed. [26] [ edit ]Other products Dr Pepper has a line of  jelly beans  made with the  Jelly Belly  company. A Dr Pepper  gum  was marketed for a time in the early/mid 1980s but has since been discontinued. Dr Pepper collaborated with Vita Food Products to produce Dr Pepper Sweet & Kickin' BBQ Sauce and Dr Pepper "More than Mesquite" Marinade. [27] Cosmetics company  Bonne Bell  has a brand of Dr Pepper-flavored  lip gloss . Brach's  has a line of hard candy that features Dr Pepper,  Orange Crush ,  A&W Root Beer , and  7 Up  flavored hard candies in Brach’s Soda Poppers. [ edit ]Dr Pepper Capital of the World The company sells more Dr Pepper in the  Roanoke Valley  area of Virginia than any other metropolitan area east of the Mississippi River. Roanoke is approximately 90 miles east of the hometown of Dr Charles T. Pepper, which is  Rural Retreat , Virginia. In the past, the city has been named the "Dr Pepper Capital of the World" and broke world records for its mass consumption of Dr Pepper in the late 1950s. [28]  Dr Pepper donated a portion of its sales revenue in the Roanoke area to finance restoration of a circa-1950s neon Dr Pepper sign, which has the company's "10, 2, 4" logo from the time, in downtown Roanoke.
Dr Pepper
What was the six letter name given to the clothes shop opened by Mary Quant on London's King's Road in 1955 ?
The FunBoxs Biggest Quiz Ever .. | Page 1 | Orphelia's FunBox 2 Main forum | Guild Forums | Gaia Online Orphelia's FunBox 2 Main forum Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:40 pm The are 10 thousand questions in this, and they continue in the next page. Stop!!! Please read the rules below, before you start. Please read the 2nd post below for the current prize. ✪Welcome to the Quiz of Quizzes, this is like the biggest quiz ever to be introduced in the FunBox. ✪Once you've done the quiz, please pm Orphie to get your prize. LABEL YOUR PM, AS QUIZ FINISHED, INCLUDE WHAT PAGE You've started and what page you finished on.. ✪If the quiz asks you to name people and you don't want to use real names, why don't you make them up, instead of being rude about it. Remember it's FUN. BE CREATIVE. ✪If the questions do not appeal to you just put an N/A in it. ✪Please note that due to the amount of questions, some may be repeated . Feel free to change the question and your own answer. ✪Feel free to use Google to get your answers if you're not sure about anything. However, having the wrong answers isn't going to fail you. This isn't School. ✪To all the sane, enjoy this. To the not so sane, have fun. lol   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:01 pm Current prize is Jet the Kitten star for those that complete this . ✪ Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:04 pm Disney: 1...In The Sword in the Stone, what does Merlin call The Greatest Force on Earth? 2...In Aladdin, what is the name of Jasmine's pet tiger? 3..How did Walt's Brother Roy propose to his wife Edna? 4..In Peter Pan, Captain Hook had a hook on which one of his hands? 5...What is now considered the fastest ride in Walt Disney World? 6...What author wrote the book that the animated feature The Jungle Book is based on? 7..When does Mary Poppins say she will leave the Banks' house? 8..What is the name of the farm where the Barnstormer is located? 9..Who is the man that supplied the synthesized voice for the Main Street Electrical Parade from 1979 to 1991? 10..What are the names of the 2 trouble makers in Cranium Command in EPCOT? 12..In the Lion King, where does Mufasa and his family live? 13..What is the motto for the Rescue Aid Society in The Rescuers? 14..In Dumbo, where is Mrs. Jumbo when the stork delivers her baby? 15..Minnie Mouse had a bird that appeared in 1 cartoon along with Figaro from Pinocchio. What was the bird's name? 16..What town is the setting for the Disney Movie "The Love Bug?" 17..What is the name of the sound system created for Fantasia? 18..What are the names of Walt Disney 3 Brothers? 19..In Beauty and the Beast, how many eggs does Gaston eat for breakfast? 20..During the battle with Aladdin, what type of animal does Jafar transform himself into? 21..Which full length animated feature did Walt Disney originally consider having as a Live Action Film with Mary Martin having the lead role? 22..Before Mickey Mouse, what Disney character was suggested to be the Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia? 23..After being on earth, where did Hercules first meet his father Zeus? 24,,In Toy Story, what game does the slinky play? 25..In Mary Poppins, what animal was on the end of Mary Poppins' umbrella that spoke? 26..When Walt Disney World opened in October of 1971, who gave the opening day speech? 27..What was the first roller coaster attraction at Walt Disney World, Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain?? 28..What is the name of Donald Duck's sister (Also the mother of Huey Dewey & Louie) ? 29..What was the first fairy tale that Walt Disney made a cartoon about? Answer: Little Red Riding Hood 30..In Cranium Comman in EPCOT, what is the name of the young boy whose brain is piloted by Buzzy? 31..In Hercules, Hades promised not to harm Megara provided that Hercules give up his strength. How long did he have to agree to give up his strength for? 32..What actor provided the voice of Lumiere in Beauty & the Beast? 33..Friday's Question:What is the name of the original novel that inspired the full length feature animation: The Hunchback of Notre Dame? 34..Which Disney Full Length Animated Fetaure was the last one to use a storybook as an introduction in the begining of the movie? 35.Including Main Street, how many stops does the Disneyland Railroad make? And name them if you can. 36..What is the only cartoon created by Walt Disney that had an Easter Theme? Hint: It was a Silly Symphony. 37..In what full length animated feature would you find a villain named Sykes? 38..In Aladdin, another actor was suggested to do the voice of the parrot Iago, who was it?? 39..In MGM studios, the Tower of Terror is exactly 199 feet high, why was it made that specific height? 40..What was the name of the dragon (god wanna be) in Mulan and who provided his voice? 41..What Disney Full Length Animated Feature was released in only 14 theaters throughout the world and why? 42..In Lady & the Tramp, by what name did Tony call Tramp? 43..What is the name of the 2,100 foot-long stream that travels through Typhoon Lagoon in WDW that guests can ride in an inner tube through ? 44..In the beginning of the animated feature Dumbo, they zoom in on a map of the US to the state where the circus goes for the winter,what state do they zoom in on?? 45..What was the name of the whale in Pinocchio? 46..In Downtown Disney in WDW there is a restaurant on aboat named Fulton's Crab House, what was it called before that? 47..In Walt Disney World's Carousel of Progress, how many different theaters are there? 48..During the ballroom scene of Beauty & the Beast, what color is Belle's Gown? 49..What was the first Disney Full Length Animated Feature that used the wide screen process of Cinema Scope? 50..How many individual panels make up the exterior shell of Spaceship Earth in EPCOT? 51..In Alice in Wonderland, what is the name of Alice's kitten? 52..Friday's Question: In the Little Mermaid when Ariel sees Prince Eric, what type of celebration was happening on the ship?? 53..What actor was the first to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for providing a voice in a Disney Full Length Feature Animation? 54..In the Aristocats, what kind of truck does O'Malley spot to give Dutchess and the kittens a ride back to Paris in? 55..In Splash Mountain, Brer Fox has a book titled: "How to Catch a Rabbit", who is the author of that book? 56..Where in WDW can you find the Neverland Club for kids? 57..In front of Cinderella's Castle there is a statue of Walt Disney & Mickey Mouse holding hands...What is this statue called? 58..Where in Walt Disney World can you find the Roaring Fork, and what is it? 59..In the Rescuers, where is the Rescue Aid Society headquarters located? 60..Who is the nurse maid to the children in Peter Pan? 61..In Pluto's cartoon "Judgement Day", Pluto is put on trial, what type of animals make up the jury? 62..In what Disney Full Length Animated Feature can you find a character named Diablo, and what type of character is he? 63..In Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tony Jay supplied the voice of Judge Frollo. What was another character he supplied a voice for in a different full length feature animation? 64..In Walt Disney World, what is the name of the lake located near the Yacht & Beach Club and Boardwalk Resorts? 65..What is the name of the Hall in Walt DIsney World where the Hoop-Dee-Doo Dinner Show is held? 66..What was the name of the first color Disney comic strip? 67..According to the bell tower in Cinderella, what time does the royal ball start? 68..What was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon made in color? 69..How many branches are on the swiss family treehouse in Walt Disney World? 70..When Pinocchio is transformed into a real boy, what is different about his hands? 71..The Living Seas in EPCOT is home to the largest salt water tank in the world, how many gallons does it hold? 72..In the Hunchback of Notre Dame, what was the name of the Captain of the Guard, and what actor supplied his voice? 73..What is the name of Pocahontas' father? 74..In Which Disneyland Attraction can you find the phrase "Verdict First, Sentence Afterward" ? 75..What Disney Animated Character is considered the Treasurer for Disney according to the print on each Disney Dollar? 76..Which Resort at Walt Disney World has the largest amount of rooms? 77..What was the name of the 1992 television series which featured Goofy in it? 78..What were the names of Walt Disney's Parents? 79..What was the first year that Disney released 2 full length feature animations in the same year and what were the movies? 80..In which park's Fantasyland will you find the attraction, "Alice's Curious Labyrinth"? 81..In Hercules What is the name of Hercules' trainer and what type of creature is he? 82..What type of animal is the Sultan's throne shaped like in Aladdin? 83..In Beauty and the Beast, what feature was given to Belle only so she would stand out in the village and seem that she really did not fit in? 84..Who kidnapped Hercules when he was a baby? 85..What is the name of the Hummingbird in Pocahontas? 86..How many rows of seats are there in the boats for "It's a Small World"? 87..What was the first Full Length feature animation to use closing credits? 88..In the Spaceship Earth scene where the family is watching television, who is sitting on the couch? 89..What does the rain symbolize in the the second to last scene of The Lion King? 90..What Animal Kingdom show was created using assets from a retired entertainment offering at Disneyland? 91..Voice actress June Foray's debut was in "Cinderella". What was her role? 92..The Living Seas in EPCOT was renovated in 2006 to fit the theme of what movie? 93..What was the first film to be worked on by the legendary "Nine Old Men" of the Disney animation department? 94..In A Bugs Life, what kind of drinks do the two bugs, that bit a dog, order? 95..In Animal Kingdom, much like Harambe in Africa, Asia is represented by a fictitious village known as Anandapur. What does this name mean? 96..What is the oldest attraction in the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World? 97..What is the name of the moving company from Toy Story and what is the significance of the name used? 98..In Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, what are the two monks doing? 99..The Test Track vehicles are usually boarded from the passenger side or drivers side? 100..What was the first Disney animated feature conceived and produced in 3-D? 101..What is the last line spoken in the Carousel of Progress before the family breaks into song? 102..What is the name of the stone formation atop which Simba is presented and from which Mufasa and Simba survey their kingdom? 103..What is the only Disney World theme park that boasts two entrances? 104..What is significant about the track in the Great Movie Ride being 1,928 feet long? 105..In The Lion King, what does Nala's name mean in Swahili? 106..How tall is the Eiffel Tower replica in EPCOT? 107..What is the newest value resort at Walt Disney World that is soon to open and what are the names of its themed areas? 108..What was the song from Aladdin "A Whole New World" originally going to be titled as? 109..How many rooms does Disney's Wilderness Lodge have? 110..How many stars are there in the compass in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland? 111..What was the name of the attraction that was on the site of what is now Test Track in EPCOT? 112..How many colors did artists have to use to design Jiminy Cricket? 113..Who is the singing voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast? 114..What silent film star was used as the model for the sorcerer in Fantasia? 115..Where in Walt Disney World can you find the Gurgling Suitcase bar? 116..By what name does Aladdin give to his flying carpet? 117..What two famous actors did Genie mimic in Aladdin? 118..n the Aristocats what does Thomas O' Malley say Duchess' eyes are like? 119..True or False.... was the Tower of Terror ever really struck by Lightning? 120..In Cars, what are the names of Lightning McQueen's two biggest fans? 121..What are the official Disney names of custodians in the parks? 122..What does Pooh do in his Thoughtful spot? 123..In 1966, what Disneyland attraction did Walt and Roy Disney take to their boyhood hometown from Park? 124..Which royal couple received an animation cel from Walt Disney to celebrate their marriage and from what Full Length Animated Feature was it from? 125..In which animated feature can you hear the fight song from the University of Southern California (USC)? 126..Who suggested the title "Fantasia" to Walt Disney? 127..What was the name the cartoon television series that features Mowgli, Baloo, and Bagheera featuring them as young children? 128..In Ratatouille when Linguini is trying to find a place for Remy to hide, it is revealed his boxers have a logo on them from what Disney / Pixar film? 129..The Incredibles was the first Disney Pixar film to receive a PG rating, what was the second? 130..What was the first Disney film to be released on Blu-Ray before DVD? 131..Which actor voiced the character of Little John in Disney's "Robin Hood"? 132..What company distributed the Mickey Mouse comic strip? 133..When Lilo and Stitch walk past this store selling calendars with images from around the world, the what image is on the Orlando calendar? 134..What Hall of Fame was Walt Disney inducted into in 2000? 135..What is the name of the technique created by Disney for use in Tarzan, which allows 2D hand-drawn characters to exist seamlessly in a fully 3D environment? 136..What is the name of the woman that makes suits for the Incredibles? 137..What famous author's story inspired the "Bongo" sequence of Fun and Fancy Free? 138..In the Aristocats, what kind of truck do O'Malley, Dutchess and the kittens sneak onto for a ride back to Paris? 139..What were the first 2 Disney attractions to utilize the Omni-Mover concept for the ride vehicles? 140..In the Disney film John Carter..... what does the inscription above John Carters tomb read, and what is its translation? 141..What is the official working title of the next Monsters Inc Disney Pixar movie that will actually be a prequel and released in 2013? 142..In Test track, what is the difference in temperature between the hot and cold rooms? 143..What are the ride vehicles in Spaceship Earth named? 144..What are the three original Walt Disney World Adventure Land attractions that opened in 1971 and are still operating? 145..In Typhoon Lagoon, what is the home port as seen on the back of the boat Miss Tilly? 146..The song "A Step in the Right Direction" was dropped from the final version of which film? 147..Who's the leader of the lemons in "Cars 2"? 148..What number is on the sign above the Disneyland Fire Department signifying its Main Street address? 149..What is the angle of the incline for the track to bring you to the top of Space Mountain? 150..What's on the end of Mary Poppins' umbrella handle? 151..What make and year is the sheriff in Cars? 152..According to Greek Mythology, who is the father of King Triton from the Little Mermaid? 153..Who was the second person to voice Mickey Mouse? 154..What kind of animal does princess Jasmine have for a pet in Aladdin? 155..Who provides the voice of Scar in The Lion King? 156..When Jeremy Irons was used for the voice to narrate Spaceship Earth in EPCOT, who did he replace? 157..What year was Song of the South originally released? 158..In Brave what is the name of the castle where the Highland Games were held? 159..What color is the string of beads broken by Cinderella's stepsisters? 160..Who wrote the novel that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was based on? 161..Which full-length feature animation includes the song "Skumps"? 162..What kind of car is Sally in Cars? 163..What is the name of the man who guides you through your course in Test Track? 164..What is the sea witches name from The little mermaid? 165..Who was Ursula's evil sister in The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea? 166..Who destroys the powers of the Black Cauldron? 167..What 2 attractions opened up in 1973 and Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom? 168..What is the name of the soon to be opened Beauty and the Beast themed restaurant in the Magic Kingdom expansion area of Walt Disney World? 169..What animation centered feature did lyricist Howard Ashman contribute to the making of Beauty and the Beast? 170..What highway is depicted in the movie Cars? 171..Which song does the Beast sing at the conclusion of Act I in the theatrical production of "Beauty and the Beast"? 172..When was the first issue of Walt Disney Comics released? 173..Which Disneyland ride opened with the renovation of Tomorrowland in 1998 and closed in September of 2000? 174..Which attraction at Disneyland is only one-third the length of the same at Walt Disney World Resort? 175..Approximately how long would it take if you wanted to stay in all the guest rooms in all of the hotels and resorts currently open on Walt Disney World property at a rate of one room per night? 176..What is the name of the Great White Shark in Finding Nemo? 177..Which Walt Disney World Attraction isn't just for entertainment with more than 30 tons of fruit and vegetables being grown there every year for Disney restaurants? 178..Of all Disney Parks, which features a castle modeled after the original at Disneyland? 179..What fast food restaurant tycoon did Walt Disney train with for World War I in Sound Beach, Connecticut? 180..In 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, where was the Nautilus built? 181..Who played Zorro in the Disney TV series of the same name? 182..In Toy Story, what game does slinky play? 183..What ear did the Genie in Aladdin wear his earring? 184..What name is Walt Disney World called in the Florida statutes? 185..Disney's Carousel of Progress was first seen at what World's Fair? 186..What is the name of the patriotic attraction that brings to life our nation's chief executives? 187..What was the name of the first Circle Vision 360 movie to be shown at Walt Disney World? 188..What Disney World park opened in April 1989? 189..In Cars what color rookie stripe did Lightning McQueen have on his rear bumper? 190..What color was Belle's ball gown in Beauty and the Beast? 191..Who wrote the songs for The Little Mermaid? 192..Phil Harris is the voice of Little John in Disney's Robin Hood, what other famous bear did Phil voice? 193..What Disney animated feature was the first to have a pop version of the film's main song play over the end credits? 194..In The Little Mermaid, what name does Ursula use when disguising herself as a human? 195..What was the first Disney Animation film and first animation film in the world to make one billion dollars at the worldwide box office? 196..In Test Track in EPCOT what numbers does the controller mention when he says?.. 197..What was the name of the first Sherman Brothers song Annette Funicello recorded? 198..In Epcot, what was the name of the dog in HORIZONS? 199..In Mulan, what does Chi Fu's name literally mean in Chinese? 200..Which Emmy Award did Walt Disney win in 1955? 201..What insect is considered good luck in China according to the film Mulan? 202..What 2 Disney animated feature films had their debut in New York 51 years apart? 203..Who provided the whistling for the animatronic robin during the song A Spoonful of Sugar in Mary Poppins? 204..In what year did the Walt Disney Company begin being traded on the New York Stock Exchange? 205..Based on early cartoons, what was the name of Minnie Mouse's pet bird? 206..Which silent film inspired Walt Disney to create the animated short Steamboat Willie? 207..In 1939, Walt Disney bought the rights to what stories from the Harris family for the movie Song of the South? 208..What is the name of Sid's sister in Toy Story? 209..How many months did it take to build Spaceship Earth in EPCOT? 210..What was the first Disney full length feature animation film to openly deal with warfare? 211..In Tarzan, to see how Tarzan's body would move while sliding down a log, the animators based his movement on what pro skateboarder? 212..Who narrated the Johnny Appleseed animated segment from the 1948 feature "Melody Time"? 213..In Alice in Wonderland, what is the name of the woods written on the sign that Alice stumbles upon? 214..In Bugs Life, what is the can that is the restaurant in Bug City? 215..Which witch had a broomstick named Beelzebub in the Disney short Trick or Treat? 216..In the Country Bear Jamboree, who does Teddi Barra invite to come up and see her sometime? 217..How many dropping shafts are in the Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror? 218..What is the correct name of the Disneyland Paris castle? 219..What is the name of the father dalmation in 101 dalmatians? 220..What is the name of Pongos wife from 101 Dalmatians? 221..Who designed Mary Poppins' traveling costume? 222..What Disney Movie has the song Little Patch of Heaven? 223..What Disney character is reported to have 2,320,413 individual strands of hair? 224..What company produced the first Disney phonograph record? 225..After receiving the recognition from the Emperor of China, what does Mulan do? 226..Who competed with Mickey for Minnie's affection in the 1936 cartoon Mickey's Rival ? 227..When you leave Future World in EPCOT and enter World Showcase, if you bear right around the lagoon, which country do you encounter first? 228..In Toy Story 3, what kind of doll is Lotso? 229..What is the name of the restaurant located at the entrance to the Animal Kingdom and accessible from inside and outside the park? 230..In Disney's the Jungle Book what kind of animal is Baloo? 231..In Disney's Robin Hood what was the name of the snake? 232..In Disney's The Fox and the Hound what was the hound's name? 233..In Disney's Robin Hood who does the voice of the Rooster? 234..In Disney's Aladdin what kind of pet does the Princess Jasmine have? 235..In Disney's Bambi, what is the skunks name? 236..In the Disney movie Pocahontas what was the raccoon's name? 237..In the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, who is the voice of the teapot? 238..In the Disney movie The Sword and the Stone what was the owl's name? 239..In the Disney classic The Sword and the Stone, what was the young king called? 240..In the first scene of the Carousel of Progress, how long do they say it takes for a person to make it from New York to California by train? 241..In the second scene of the Carousel of Progress, how long do they say it takes for a person to make it from New York to California by train? 242..What classic movie inspired Walt to create the Jungle Cruise attraction? 243..What Downtown Disney restaurant allows you to eat with the dinosaurs? 244..In the Country Bear Jamboree, what is the name of the song that the Sun Bonnets sing? 245..What is the name of the General Store in the Western Scene of the Great Movie Ride in Disney's Hollywood Studios? 246..How many rows are there in an Expedition Everest train? 247..What year did "Wonders of Life" open in Epcot? 248..How many total turns are there on Test Track? 249..In Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, who is "always watching"? 250..What is on top of Gomer's piano in Country Bear Jamboree? 251..In Spaceship Earth in EPCOT where does the narrator say that ... monks toil endlessly? 252..How many towers are on Cinderella Castle? 253..What city was Walt Disney born in? 254..In the Great Movie Ride, what scene is after Singing in the Rain? 255..What actor is sitting on a horse in the Great Movie Ride? 256..In Dsneys an extremely goofy movie what is the gammas leaders last name? 257..In Brave, what classic Disney / Pixar icon appears as a wooden trinket on a worktable? 258..What does Snow White make the dwarfs do before they can eat dinner ? 259..What kind of camp is Andy at when Woody is stolen in Toy Story 2? Cowboy 260..Tarzan has a scene where a toy Disney dog drops out of the professor's pocket. What dog is it? 261..In which Disney attraction can you hear this recorded phrase ..Kindly watch your step please. Watch your step? 262..What is the largest single attraction that Disney Imagineers have ever built for one of the parks? 263..What year did Expedition Everest open? 264..What stopped Scott Calvin from enjoying Santa's classic Christmas Eve treat of milk and cookies? 265..What was the name the 1978 Disney featurette about a Judean boy who sells his donkey to Bethlehem-bound travelers? 266..In Disney's the Santa Clause what actor was the part of Santa originally written for? 267..How long did it take Judy the elf to perfect her hot cocoa recipe in "The Santa Clause" trilogy? 268..Who played Jacob Marley's ghost in "Mickey's Christmas Carol"? 269..What is the name of the "Head" salesmen in the Jungle Cruise? 270..While singing in Hercules, what prize does Meg say that she has already won? 271..According to the song in Splash Mountain, "everybody's got a..." what? 272..What was Belle's hobby in Beauty and the Beast? 273..What was Thumper originally going to be named in the first draft of the Bambi script? 274..In which Disney animated feature can you hear the fight song from the University of Southern California (USC)? 275..How many musical bears perform in the Magic Kingdom's Country Bear Jamboree? 276..Which actress gave the Blue Fairy her voice in Pinocchio? 277..Who wrote the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me"? 278..What Disney film was the highest-grossing movie of 1995? 279..What is the last name of Al from Als Toy Barn in Toy Story 2? 280..How many total characters are there in Toy Story 3? 281..What is the name of Bambi's true love? 282..In dungeon cell of the Pirates of the Caribbean queue line, what game are the two pirate skeletons playing? 283..In the Little Mermaid when Ariel is singing "Part of Your World" in her grotto, there is a bust shown of what US President? 284..What was the first Disney film to have its songs published and copyrighted by the newly created Walt Disney Music Company? 285..Who was used as the model for both Belle and Ariel? 286..How many colors, did animators have to use for the character Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio? 287..What was the name of the Time Magazine July 29, 1957 article that centered around the success of the Disney Company? 288..In Finding Nemo, in the tank gang in the dentist's office, the germophobic purple and yellow fish is the only one never mentioned by name. What name was he later given after the movie? 289..In Finding Nemo, what is the name of the school on the diploma on the dentist's wall? 290..What are the names of the 2 Space Mountain tracks? 291..Which name was Daisy Duck originally known by, in her first cartoon with Donald Duck? 292..Who gave Walt his first real art supplies? 293..What Disney Full Length Animated Feature did writers term the story pitch as "Bambi in Africa meets Hamlet", or "Bamlet"? 294..How many words does Mary Poppins and Mrs. Banks speak to each other in the film? 295..According to the attraction story how many people were aboard the Tower of Terror elevator that crashed? 296..What was the original name for The Great Movie Ride in Disney Studios? 297..What Pixar film was the first feature that was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Animated Feature? 298..In Finding Nemo, what is the name of the fish that yells "Oh, my gosh! Nemo's swimming out to sea!"? 299..What was the first animated film to make one billion dollars at the worldwide box office? 300..What was the first Disney animated film to earn any Academy Award nomination since The Rescuers? 301..What are the ride vehicles for Expedition Everest referred to as? 302..In Monsters Inc when Sulley and Mike are walking to work, what is the name of the food store that they pass on the street? 303..What type of headgear do Rat and Mole wear in “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad”? 304..In The Carousel of Progress, what are John & Sarah going to the Fourth of July celebration dressed as? 305..Who did script writers for The Lion King originally envision as the voice for Mufasa before James Earl Jones? 306..In Lady and the Tramp what was the name of the song howled by the dogs while in the pound? 307..What is Boo's real name in Monsters Inc? 308..In Alice in Wonderland what is wrong with the White Rabbit's pocket watch? 309..What was the first Disney Full Length Feature animation to have its setting be in America? 310..In The Little Mermaid, how many tentacles does Ursula have? 311..How many marble busts are in Haunted Mansion's library? 312..What was reportedly the first Disney attraction to exit directly into a gift shop? 313..According to the map of the projected landing of Experiment 626 in Lilo and Stitch, on what island does the story takes place? 314..In a Goofy Movie during which song did Mickey Mouse make a cameo appearance while hitchhiking with Donald? 315..What organization presented Walt Disney with a special medal, in 1935, in recognition of the fact that Mickey Mouse was "a symbol of universal good will." ? 316..What was the first Disney animated feature to have a pop version of the film's main song play over the end credits? 317..What scene from Lady and the Tramp did Walt Disney originally want cut from the movie but ended up being one of the most iconic moments in Disney? 318..How long did it take Disney animators to create the wildebeest stampede scene in the Lion King? 319..What character did Walt Disney play in a school function as a young child that he would eventually feature in a popular full length animated feature? 320..According to the animated feature Mulan, what bugs are considered a symbol of good luck in China? 321..Which Disney short features a hungry coyote named Bent-Tail? 322..Which hand did Captain Hook lose and have replaced with a hook in the Original play of Peter Pan?. 323..What actor who provided a voice in another Disney Full Length Feature Animation was originally going to voice Governor Ratcliffe in Pocahontas? 324..How many seats are in each theater of The Carousel of Progress? 240 325..In Wreck it Ralph, what is the significance of the high score of Wreck-It-Ralph's game cabinet 120501? 326..What was one of the the things Bert would sell as one of his jobs in Mary Poppins? 327..What was the last film that longtime Disney studio songwriters Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman wrote songs for until The Tigger Movie? 328..Many Disney movies are given a code word to use for identification purposes during production. What film had the code word... Helium? 329..What is the name of the River Guardian that Hercules defeats while saving Meg? 330..What are the names of the 2 main turtles in Finding Nemo? 331..In Monsters Inc what does Sulley's big armchair in his apartment have in the back of it? 332..Who provided the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King? 333..In what year was Little Mermaid adapted for a Broadway Musical? 334..Originally, in Mulan which guardian did the ancestors want to send to get Mulan back? T 335..Who provided the voice for Splash Mountain's Brer Bear? Hint he also provided the voice of Brer Bear in Song of the South. 336..What Disney character's name in Latin means 'nobody' or 'no one'? 337..In Sleeping Beauty Princess Aurora's mother does not have a name in the movie, but in promotional materials she was given one. What was is? 338..In It's Tough To Be A Bug, what type of insect says, "I'll be back"? 339..Who is the unofficial mascot of DinoLand U.S.A in Animal Kingdom and what breed of Dinosaur is she an exact replica of? 340..Which Pirates of the Caribbean movie had a fire on the sound stage where the film was being shot resulting in $350,000 in damage? 341..What were the only 2 classic Walt Disney films to use watercolored backgrounds? 342..What was the first Disney feature available on DVD? 343..In Lady and the Tramp what was the reasoning for the animators to make it so Darling and Jim Dear's faces are rarely seen? 344..How far does your Kali River Rapids ride vehicle ascend at the beginning of the ride? 345..What music score accompanies the dancing flowers in “Fantasia”? 346..What was the first animated Disney "princess" film to get a PG rating by the MPAA? 347..What year did the first Mickey Mouse doll debut? 348..In The Great Movie Ride's Gangster Alley scene, what is the name of the garage that the car comes out of on your right? 349..What other Disney / Pixar film did Chuckles the Clown appear in before Toy Story 3? 350..What was the first film produced by Pixar to be shown in 3D? 351..In one of the Haunted Mansion stretching room portraits, how many men are in the picture sinking into the quick sand? 352..What famous singer was offered a role as a pirate, in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl but had to decline due to previous engagements? 353..Some scenes of woodland creatures and the forest fire in Bambi are actually unused footage from what other Disney movie? 354..How many train cars are there in one of the Walt Disney World Big Thunder Railroad runaway mine trains? 355..In what Disney film is Earth referred to as Section 17, Area 51? 356..What full length animation feature was the very first to have a parade theme at what was then called Disney s MGM Studios? 357..What year did 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea close in Walt Disney World? 358..What is the name of the virtual video game played in the last scene of Carousel of Progress? 359..Which pavilion is located between Japan and France in Epcot's World Showcase? 360..Who gets his nose stuck in a beehive in Splash Mountain? 361..How many Oscar statues did Walt Disney receive for Snow White? 362..What is Madame Medusa looking for in The Rescuers? 363..In what Walt Disney World Resort can you find a bar called The Gurgling Suitcase? 364..In what Disney attraction have you heard this phrase... "I'd like to point out some of the exotic plants here. There's one...there's another one" ? 365..What was first Disney movie to feature people who have belly buttons? 366..In Toy Story 2 what was one of the things that Mrs Potato head packed for her husband that she seemed he could not leave with out? 367..What Disney Movie Character said ... "Well, don't I feel just sheepish? 368.."Two Worlds" is a song from which Disney film? 369..In which city is the Disney film Ratatouille based? 370..What is the last name of Al from Al's Toy Barn in Toy Story 2? 371..In Monster Inc what is the name of the preschool teacher taking her class on a tour of the Scream Factory and what is significant about her name? 372..What Disney Dad took a ride in something called the EAC? 373..What is the last line that is spoken in The Lion King and who speaks it? 374..What is the name of Hercules' foster father on earth? 375..In Pirates of the Caribbean, what three things are the pirates in jail holding to entice the dog holding the jail cel keys? 376..Which song is sung by Geppetto after he finishes painting Pinocchio? 377..What is the little girl carrying in the elevator in Twilight Zone Tower of Terror? 378..In what attraction would you see a clock tower, a volcano, and mermaids? 379..What does Jeb from Home on the Range like to collect? 380..What Letter-and-Number Sequence appears in every Pixar Film and what is its significance? 381..In the Lion King, what character's name means Comrade or Friend in Swahili? 382..What was the original working title of the film Song of the South? 383..What Golfer won the the first championship at the inaugural 1971 Walt Disney World Open Invitational? 384..In what Disney Attraction can you hear the song "Sooner or Later" being played? 385..Where in Walt Disney World is the Garden Grove Cafe? 386..Where in Walt Disney World is the Side Show Arcade? 387..To begin your adventure at Disney Quest, what is the name of the elevator you ride in? 388..What actor portrayed the stomach in Cranium Command? 389..What Disney movie character is an American White Shepherd? 390..25 songs were originally written for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ... but how many songs were actually used? 391..What was the first film to be worked on by all nine of the legendary "Nine Old Men" of the Disney animation department? 392..In Toy Story what is the name of the rocket that Sid strapped to Buzz? 393..In EPCOT, who was the narrator for Spaceship Earth between 1986 and 1994? 394..In what Walt Disney World Attraction have you heard this phrase? "The best thing about us: you can't live without us!" 395..What are the names of the 3 enemy dogs in Up? 396..Which actor portrayed Bobbys' right brain in the old attraction Cranium Command? 397..What was Dumbos mother's name originally going to be? 398..In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dopey was originally going to be able to speak. Who was set to provide his voice if it did happen? 399..Before UP was nominated in 2010, what was the only Full Length Animated Feature to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture? 400..What is the name of the first drop on Splash Mountain? 401..In Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End .. Captain Barbossa can be seen wearing what type of ring? 402..What is the name of the summer cowboy camp Andy is going to in Toy Story 2? 403..In the Haunted Mansion, who is Madame Leota named after? 404..In Finding Nemo, what character did Co-writer Bob Peterson also provide a voice for? 405..In Mulan, by what nickname does Mushu call the Great Stone Dragon after the statue breaks apart? 406..What does a philatelist do? 407..After which actor was Mickey Mouse named? 408..Which mythological figure flew so close to the sun that the wax on his wings began to melt? 409..What's your current amount of posts, check by looking at the My Gaia tab. 410..Do you think you will make a lot of gold doing this quiz?What's the current amount of gold you have? [only if you wish to share] 411..What is the capitol of the Netherlands? 412..Name the ghost who appears at a banquet in Shakespeare's Macbeth? 413..What are you currently questing on Gaia? 414..Do you think you'd make that quest possible to obtain the item? 415..What is the green pigment in plants called? 416..Where was the strongest Earthquake in 1999? 417..To the nearest mile, what is the length of the marathon? 418..In terms of the amount of alcohol you get, which is the most expensive: whiskey, beer, or wine? 419..What is the capitol of South Africa? 420...What is the capitol of New Zealand? 421..What's something you enjoy doing on Gaia? 422..How often do you drink coffee or tea? 423..What's the time now? 424..How big is your computer 425..How old is your computer? 426..When will you buy a new one? 427..What do you think of Club Verge? 428..Are you a member in the Guild? 429.. What's your favorite shows from the 70's? 430..Any favorites in the 80's 431..What's on TV right now, that's worth watching? 432..What song can you sing right now? 433..Do you sleep with the light on? 434..How often do you buy roses, or flowers? 435..Do you like day light savings? 436..Who is J.Lo currently married to? 437..Do you have many paintings hanging on the wall? 438..How many clocks do you have in your room? 439..Who is Ralph the mouth? 440..When is Easter? 441..Can you invite me to your house for Thanks giving? 442..Do you think that one hour sleep is enough? 443..How often do you get together with friends? 444..What do you think of Glee? 445..Do you complain when you're watching a movie and then the adds come on? 446..Do you own a remote control organizer? 447..Is your yard large? 448..What hair style impresses you the most from both sexes? 449..How often do you go to the hairdresser? 450..Who sings, oh baby one last kiss? 451..Does this white background annoy you? 452..Do you think that someone on Gaia does not like you? 453..If so, why do you think that? 454..What forums do you like and dislike? 455..Do you find that when you're chatting to someone in the forums, they log out during a great conversation? 456..In regards to the above question, are you one of them? 457..Do you ever say goodnight to the people you chat to? 458..How far is the city from where you live? 459..What's your favorite episode from Charmed? 460..Ever watched Dead like Me? 461..How many kids were in the Brady bunch? 462..What was the name of the Brady's house keeper? 463..Who was the eldest kid in the Brady family? 464..Name a movie that your parents grew up with? 465..Have you ever watched that movie? 466..Name a song that your parents grew up with? 467..Do you like Guilds or forums more? 468..How many guilds are you a member of? 469..How often do you post in Guilds? 470..Do you participate in contests much? 471..Do you collect shop a dockets? 472..Do you own many books? 473..Is your book collection neatly in place? 474..What is messy right now? 475..Do you keep your feet elevated when you're sitting next to the compy? 476..Do you think it's time for new Emotes? 477..We don't have many colors to chose from. Don't you think it's about time? 478..Music: how many notes in the scale? 479..Which country has the largest Christian population? 480..Do you like polls? 481..Do you like to post to earn gold, or to chat? 482..Do you buy coffee from the shop often? 483..Do you read the rules before you post in a thread? 484..How often do you eat your favorite meal? 485..How big is your fridge? 486..What one religion are you fascinated with? 487..Have you ever tried Brandy? But only if you're at a drinking age. 488..Do you have real plants in your house, or imitation ones? 489..Do you like seafood? 490..Can you make an apple pie? 491..Can you dance the waltz? 492..What do you consider to be romantic music? 493..How old do you think old is? 494..What is a spring chicken? 495..Are you someone who has good manners? 496..What's something that's really annoying about Gaia? 497..Do you drive yet? 498..If so, what car do you own? 499..What is meant by the saying. 'You old Goat'? 500..Enjoying the questions, so far?   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:06 pm 501..What animal comes in types spotted striped and brown? 502..In UK tennis where is the Stella Artois tournament held? 503..What author wrote about Adrian Mole? 504..Who is the unit of sound named after? 505..What group of people meet at Kingdom Halls? 506..What international rugby team perform The Hakka before match? 507..Kolpeuryntomania is what sexual activity? 508..Punk Drummer Chris Miller what name when he Damned in 70s? 509..Wayne Brazel shot and killed what Western figure in 20th cent? 510..North Andover Massachusetts its illegal to have what weapon? 511..Mickey Mouse's Pluto had what name when he first appeared? 512..Hebrew and what are the official languages in Israel? 513..Rita Kuti Kis represented Hungary in what sport? 514..Jackson Whipps Showalter was a US champion at what? 515..Who wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame? 516..Tsaritsyn in Russia used to be known as what? 517..Violetta Valery is better know as who in the world of opera? 518..Sarah Jane Fulks - Anne Francis Bobbins both married who? 519..What Australian town used to be called Stuart until 1925? 520..Lagnoperissia is a fancy name for what sexual condition? 521..In Little Rock Arkansas men/women can get 30 days jail what? 522..Alfred Bailey started what annual publication in mid 19th century? 523..What pop star served a football apprenticeship with Brentford? 524,,Iron statue of Vulcan looks down Red Mountain what US city? 525..Whose autobiography was entitled The Sport of Queens? 526..Who made his name with Jimmy James and the Blue Flames? 527..In The Arabian Nights what was Ali Babas job? 528..Coco Channel a fashion star had what real first name? 529..An Aficionado originally followed what sport? 530..Sir Henry Cole got John Callcot Horsley design? to save time? 531..Who was murdered in Bohemia in 929? 532..In Long Beach California where is specifically illegal to curse? 533..The Indestructible Iron man fights against the Electronic Gang Hong K? 534..Name the Editor in Chief New York Herald sent Stanley to Africa? 535..If you Manuxorate what are you doing? 536..The brutal treatment of Billy Hayes was the inspiration what film? 537..In Greek mythology Atlas was a member of what group? 538..Fritz Von Werra was the only German pilot WW2 to do what Escape? 539..What word - last arrow in archery contest or the final outcome? 540..Nicky Chinn Mike Chapman wrote Suzi Quatro No 1 UK song? 541..Oscar winner was rejected as Honey Rider Dr No too small tits? 542..What nationality was first person in space not US or Russian? 543..J K Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series what do the JK mean? 544..In Connecticut it is specifically illegal to dispose of what? 545..Mary Cathleen Collins changed her name to what? 546..Wesley Snipes and who starred in the film Money Train 1995? 547..In what Elvis film does he play a hillbilly garage hand? 549..Where did John Lenon marry Yoko Ono (place name)? 550..What US president was born in Corsica? 551..Mastigothymia is sexual arousal from what? 552..What pop group saw their first 5 singles enter UK charts at No 1? 553..In 1949 the Thought Police first appeared in what novel? 554..Photographic inventor suicided 1932 said my work is done why wait? 555..Who was born at Daisy Hill Puppy Farm? 556..In Portacello Idaho concealed weapons are illegal unless what? 557..Operation Market Garden WW2 involved the invasion of where? 558..What 1969 film last line Clint Eastwood "I fall off em everywhere"? 559..What game Johnny Archer Chang Feng-Pang been world champs? 560..Who was the first Englishman to die in an aircrash? 561..Moriaphillia is sexual arousal from what? 562..The Wadomo tribe in Zimbabwe have what physical oddity? 563.Long Legged Hannah and Marty's Express what pastime involved? 564..In WW2 what came between Sword and Gold? 565..Benjamin Briggs captained what mystery ship? 566..John Lowe Oct 1984 got £102000 first to do what on TV? 567..What was invented 1970 US Dr Buddy Lapidus marketed 1975? 568..Marilyn Louis born 1922 changed her name to what star of 40s? 569..In Guernee Illinois women over 200lb are banned from what? 570..A menial working class in Old Japan and Greek letter what word? 571..Phil Collins played what character on the London stage 1960s? 572..On the Omen series Damien was the devil - what second name? 573..What was RJ Mitchell's contribution to WW2? 574..In what sport are bacon hamburgers chips prunes spuds terms? 575,,What characters first appeared in Entertaining Young Gussie? 576..Omolagnia is sexual arousal from what? 577..Fabled creature Head Man Body Lion Tail Scorpion Pork quills? 578..Inspecting Galvaynes Groove tells you what? 579..French German Italian 3 official languages Switzerland what 4th? 580..Graham McPherson changed his name to what? 581..Paris born Philippe Pages changed his name to what? 582..In Brainard Minnesota every man must do what by law? 583..Richard Attenbourough what character in The Great Escape? 584..What was superhero Green Lantern vulnerable to? 586..What was The Liberty Bell manufactured 1900s Charles Fey? 587..Who played Dr McCoy in the original Star Trek series? 589..German film of the 1920s starred Max Schreck as a vampire? 590..A Renifleur gets aroused from doing what? 591..What song gave a 9 year old US a UK No 1 lots weeks 1972/73? 592..Who was the first American to receive the Nobel Literature prize? 593..Hercules had to clean the stables in one night - whose? 594..What US state named in 1664 in honour of Sir George Cateret? 595..Name of the "cow town" Joseph McCoy developed in the 1860s? 596..In Ghandi who played the General caused massacre Amritsar? 597..Sting Vogue Moschino Adidas Police Wires Ice types of what? 598..Film The Dead Heat Merry go Round 60s what stars first 1 line? 599..Edgar Cuthwellis was option but the author chose another what? 600..Operation Chastise during WW2 better known as what? 601..In Columbus Ohio its illegal for shops to sell what on Sundays? 602..A Sitophilliac gets sexually aroused from what? 603..Sacrofricosis is what sort of sexual behaviour? 604..According to law what must all London Taxis always carry? 605..Im Westen Nicht Neues what famous novel 20s later film? 606..Anreas Cornelis van Kujik was who’s manager? 607..What was unique about all the mens foil winners 1952 Olympics? 608..Maryland No1 Montana No 1 Minnesota No 3 types of what? 609..What aria from Madam Butterfly is a Michelle Pfeiffer 1996 film? 610..Ei-Hajj Malik Ei-Shabazz better known as who? 611..What opera premiered in Paignton Devon 30th December 1879? 612..Name the first space probe to land on the moon 13 Sept 1959? 613..In what film did Paul Robeson sing Old Man River? 614..In El Monte California its illegal for who/what to sleep in bathtub? 615..Who compete in the Maccabiah Games? 616..What TV family lived at 1124 Morning Glory Circle Westport Con? 617..Poland has a coastline along which sea? 618..Colonel Paul W Tibbets did it first - what? 619..What fish has its head at right angles to its body? 620..Kate Mulgrew plays who in a Gene Roddenbery based series? 621..What is the oldest bridge over the Seine in Paris? 622..An Ochlophilliac gets sexually aroused from what? 623..In Oxford university what can you not take into the library by rule? 624..An Asian gecko and a sweet European wine what word fits both? 625..What common word comes from the French for purse or wallet? 626..Daimants Sur Canape French translation of what film? 627..Tracy Marrow a former convict born 1958 changed name to what? 628..Marmolada nearly 11000 feet highest peak what mountain range? 629..Dr George Wander invented what drink in Switzerland 1860s? 630..Broadway 59 music Ordinary Couple, Preludium, Processional? 631..Rhus Radicans shrub green flowers white berries common name? 632..Fulton John Short - Later John Fulton first US to do what? 633..In Malibu California its illegal to do what in a theatre? 634..In fiction who's mother Monique Delacroix died when he was 11? 635..Charles Henry Stuard Gmelin was the first UK what 6 Apr 1896? 636..Salvatore A Lombino used Ewan Hunter what famous pen name? 637..What song on the Rubber Soul album became No 1 Overlanders? 638..Palindromic word means raise to the ground or a mine passage? 639..The Mexican bearded and what are the only venomous lizards? 640..In WW2 Germans used a Schlusselmaschine E what do we call it? 641..Away we Go was the original 1942 title what musical show/film? 642..Gemellus is a fancy name for what? 643..Where would you find the Ponte de Sospiri? 644..In Rosemead California its illegal to eat what with a fork in public? 645..Hierosolymitan is of Greek origin and pertains to what city? 646..Not Indians what links Cherokee Apache Arapaho Comanche? 647..Brilliant Bumper Bubbles Bigheart Boofuls Baby Bonny are who? 648..E J Allen led spy team to South Civil war what name better known? 649..Gene Kelly Michael York Joss Ackland all played who? 650..Who wrote The Last Frontier first published in 1959? 651..In what TV series did we see Del Floria tailors shop? 652..Kenneth Weekes nick Ban Ban born Boston only US do what? 653..Glen Morris was the last Olympic gold medallist to do what 1938? 654..In Mexico it is illegal for the police to sell what? 655..Hydrated Magnesium Silicate is better known as what? 656..Seen on Egyptian rivers what is a Shadoof used for? 657..Old Arabic word for palm of the hand is what in modern sport? 658..What General Motors plastic bodied car was built in Tennessee? 659..George W Trendle and Fran Striker created what Western hero? 660..Biblical city was the code for RAF bombings of Hamburg WW2? 661..What musical was produced on London stage 30 years after film? 662..What was Vivian Leigh’s character won Oscar in her 30s? 663..In what Italian town can you find the Piazza del Erbe? 664..What author married Leon Trotsky’s secretary in 1924? 665..In Delaware by law a newlywed must do what if wife asks? 666..Where would you find an Orcadian? 667..The Venice Cup is for women only playing what? 668..What is Supergirls Kryptonian name? 669..Name the hero Len Deightons Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin? 670..Who commanded Bill Jukes Cecco Noodler Skylights Starkey? 671..Anna M Jarvis of Philadelphia instituted what she never qualified? 672..Robert Brown M Caroline Bliss Moneypenny who was Bond? 673..What countries head of state has been dead for years? 674..If you were using Highroller Snooker 7 Lukki what are you doing? 675..Can you see Lenny Bruce E A Poe Karl Marx H G Wells etc? 676..In Key West Florida what are barred from racing in city limits? 677..What began 24 Jan 1848 thanks to John Marshall at Sutters mill? 678..Who played by Luther Adler Roy Goldman Peter Sellers etc? 679..What is the SI unit of power equal to 1.341 horsepower? 680..Anna Maria Louisa Italiano changed her name to what? 681..In Scandinavian mythology what is the day of final doom called? 682..His campaign slogan was vote for AuH20 whats his name? 683..Organisation in the US was co-founded by Ballington Booth? 684..Paul French George E Dale pseudonyms for what SF author? 685..In what country is the worlds largest pyramid? 686..What was/is the giant Musashi built in Japan in 1974? 687..In sporting terms loose on left Tight on the right who is in centre? 688..In Frankfort Kentucky its illegal to shot what off a policeman? 689..Dybowski's Formosa and Japanese are types of what? 690..In what area of Washington does the State Dept hang out? 691..Who made his debut in a 1955 Warner Brothers cartoon? 692..What is the English title of Voyna i Mir? 693..The stuff that dreams are made off - last words in what film? 694..Nessiteras Rhombopteryx Latinised name of what - as a Hoax? 695..In the game of Bridge what are the first six tricks won called? 696..Batrachophobia is a fear of what? 697..What was the name of Alistair Macleans first best selling novel? 698..Name the superspy man from Z.O.W.I.E. played James Coburn? 699..In what sport would you see a Chistera? 670..In Washington its illegal to buy what on Sunday? 671..Who wrote the musical The Desert Song? 672..Eddie Slovak only American to do what 31/01/1945? 673..In Wyoming it is illegal to wear what in a theatre? 674..In New Zealand what is a Punga? 675..In Feng Shui what colour inspires passion? 676..In English superstition what bird should you wish good day? 677..What city was known as Christiana until 1925? 678..William Hartnell was the first to play what TV character? 679..Who wrote the play " What the Butler saw "? 680..In 1998 the space probe Luna Perfecta found what on the moon? 681..What sea is directly north of Poland? 682..What was the original filling of the savaloy sausage? 683..Carlos Menim was elected president of what country in 1989? 684..In Natoma Kansas illegal to throw knives at people wearing what? 685..What is the Tibetan Yab Yum? 686..Crossair originated in what European country? 687..What does a Zamboni do? 688..What is the name of the cranial bone just above your ear? 689..Who led the Soviets when they invaded Hungary in 1956? 690..What tennis player made it to finals US open 8 times in 80s? 691..What musical direction comes from the Italian meaning cheerful? 692..What nationality was Fredrick Chopin? 693..Which Nobel Prize is not awarded annually in Stockholm? 694..What book translates as My Struggle? 695..When a satellite is closest to Earth its position is called what? 696..In 1659 Massachusetts outlawed what? 697..What can keep for up to 4 years if stored in a cool dark place? 698..What French relish sounds like a machine gun firing? 699..Fundador is a potent brandy made in what country? 700..Who directed Serpico? 701..Type of precious stone has a name literally means blue rock? 702..Middle ages it was believed birds picked mates what Saints day? 703..A Russian space programs name meant East what was it? 704..Which Greek hero finally tamed Pegasus? 705..What is the Western ( cowboy ) name for a motherless calf? 706..The PH scale measures acid or alkali what's PH stand for? 707..What character Tamed the Shrew in the Shakespeare play? 708..In St Louis Missouri its illegal for a fireman to rescue who? 709..Casanova ate fifty each morning to increase potency 50 what? 710..In sport what stands four feet by six feet? 711..What name is given to the smallest type of liquor glass? 712..What was Heindrich Himler's job before lead Gestapo in WW2? 713..What author criticised evangelism in his novel Elmer Gantry? 714..What was the first man made object to leave the solar system? 715..What holiday is called Head of the World in the Jewish faith? 716..What gemstone has a name literally meaning not intoxicated? 717..Who starred in Ceiling Zero as a pilot? 718..Italians often eat a whole what to cover garlicky breath? 719..What is the longest river in western Europe? 720..In Oxford Ohio its illegal for a woman to disrobe where? 721..Celibate Egyptian priests were forbidden to eat what aphrodisiac? 722..What countries native name is Land of the long white cloud? 723..Who would you expect to see in the Leftorium? 724..The Italian for tail what comes at the end of a musical score? 725..Caesar Salad originated in which country? 726..In Schulter Okalahoma illegal for towel wearing women do what? 727..Bacardi and Carioca rums come from what country? 728..In RKO movies what does RKO stand for? 729..What golden yellow gem sounds like a fruit related to lemons? 730..What country finally adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752? 731..What was the name of John Glens first orbiting craft? 732..The murder of Gonzago was performed in what Shakespeare play? 733..What's the collective noun for a group of gulls? 734..In astronomy what are rapidly rotating neutron stars called? 735..Nicknamed The Tiger who lead France at the end of WW1? 736..What microscopic animals name comes from Greek little Staff? 737..Goddess sprang full grown from the forehead of her father Zeus? 738..In Morrisville Pennsylvania women need permit to wear what? 739..What are put into an omelette in a Hangtown Fry? 740..What English brand of sherry is considered the King desert wine? 741..Mickey Rooney made a series of films based on what family? 742..What gemstone was reputed to heal eye ailments? 743..What Russian revolutionary founded Pravda? 744..What country is ruled by King Hans Adam II? 745..In 1856 John C Freeman was the first what? 746..What are ratite birds the only ones not to do? 747..In 1959 Able Baker first put out in space by USA what were A/B? 748..According to Christian religion what happened at Epiphany? 749..In South Carolina what's barred Fountain Inn without wear pants? 750..Who wrote The Poseidon Adventure? 751..V.O. and Pedigree whiskeys made by what Canadian company? 752..Noel Coward gave what director his start on In Which we Serve? 753..How many spices are mixed in allspice? 754..What was Richard Wagner's second Opera - idea during sea trip? 755..According to its name what major Italian city is the new city? 756..What is the only flag permitted to be flown over the US flag? 757.Where was Mark Twain born? 758..What is the name of the ruling house of Monaco? 759..The word Atom comes from the Greek meaning what? 760..From Memphis restaurants its illegal to take what away? 761..What gems name means sea water in Latin? 762..Danish variety caraway flavoured liquor driest and most famous? 763..What Soviet leader seized control from Khrushchev in 1964? 764..A primate called a Galago has what more common name? 765..What Shakespeare King was killed at Pontefract Castle? 766..Name the Lieutenant Colonel who was first black US in space? 767..What is a Shofar? 768..Who directed Spartacus and Lolita? 769..An Ounce whisky glass and a small keg what same name? 770..California Valley and a Chinese cabbage what word means both? 771..In the Simpsons who is the godfather of the Springfield mafia? 772..In Mesquite Texas its illegal for children to have what? 773..Who rode a horse called Phantom? 774..Who sang the theme song in the Bond film For Your Eyes Only? 775..What actor died during the filming of Gladiator? 776..Who would perform the Maha Mantra? 777..Mould board Disc and Rotary are types of what? 778..In the US flamingos are only outnumbered by what similar thing? 779..What's unusual about Ernest Vincent Wrights 50000 word novel? 780..What film star role was played by over 48 different animals? 781..Collective nouns a Blessing of what animal group? 782..In New York where is it illegal to talk to a stranger? 783..The average one has 248 muscles in its head - what? 784..In WW2 what linked members of the Caterpillar club? 785..What cartoon character was 5 foot 6 inches tall? 786..What part of the body is most bitten by insects? 787..In sport what is exactly 5 foot 8 inches off he ground? 788..An average person does it six times a day - what? 789..What is the oldest known cultivated vegetable? 790..Name Elvis Presley's twin brother? 791..What causes an Iatrogenic illness? 792..In Florida it is illegal for a single woman to do what on Sunday? 793..What French cheese is ripened in caves? 794..Term literally jointed foot applies to insects spiders and crabs? 795..In what European city was the first book in English published? 796..In what US state is the town of Maggie's Nipples? 797..The Musee de Orsay in Paris was originally what? 798..Meridian is a shade of what colour? 799..In what country was John McEnroe born? 800..Who was offered and rejected the role of Indiana Jones? 801..Juliet Gordon Low founded what in Savannah Georgia 1912? 802..California illegal to shoot game from moving vehicle except what? 803..Where is your Puricle? 804..What European country has no head of state? 805..Almonds - the nuts - are members of what general family? 806..Name the first US president to serve ice cream at a state dinner? 807..What was pirate Captain Kidd's first name? 808..The cob nut is the fruit of what tree? 809..The Rikkesmuseum is in what European city? 810..A shark is the only fish that can do it - do what? 811..In Italy what is Provolone? 812..In Hartford Connecticut its illegal to do what to wife on Sunday? 813..Not obvious colours - what links orange silver purple? 814..The are 336 on a standard one 336 what on what? 815..90% of bird species are what? 816..In Yorkshire in 1872 what took 3 days to pass by? 817..In 1985 William Beckman paid no tax on £100000 profit why? 818..50% of the US annual rainfall falls in what month? 819..In what country would you dance The Sirtaki? 820..What is the common name for a birds Ventriculus? 821..Where on your body would you find your Rasceta? 822..In Oregon it is illegal to wear what on clothing in public? 823..What animal is in the hassen in hassenpfeffer? 824..What city in the USA has the fewest % of native born residents? 825..In some parts of China what is the Long Nosed General? 826..What creature in nature is most sensitive to heat? 827..In London in 1985 a man was convicted of stealing two what? 828..Who wrote The Last Picture Show? 829..Who was nicknamed The Bronx Bull? 830..What male name comes from Greek meaning defender of men? 831..3 chemical elements most % human body O 65% C 18% and?? 832..In Charleston by law carriage horses must have what? 833..A Polyorchid has at least three what? 834..In 1963 what finally ended in Alaska? 835..Who played the role of Miss Hannigan in the film Annie? 836..3 countries on 2 continents Russia Turkey (Asia Europe) and?? 837..What kind of car was Kitt in Knight Rider? 838..In the first voyager program who were the Maquis fighting? 839..Who are Patience and Fortitude at New Yorks Public Library? 840..What happened to Laika first dog in space? 841..Tartuffo in Spain Kartoffel in Germany and Russia what is? 842..In Virginia its illegal for a man to do what to his wife? 843..What are male crabs known as? 844..What female name comes from the Greek for foreign woman? 845..What is the oldest soft drink in the USA? 846..Who or what could win a Golden Clio award? 847..If you were indulging in Sciomanchy what are you doing? 848..What could an Australian win a Stanley for? 849..Name Hopalong Cassidy's horse? 850..What food stuffs name come from the Italian for Pick me Up? 851..A Librocuricularist does what in bed? 852..In Seattle women can get six months for doing what to men? 853..Two villains first appear in Batman Comics 1 - Joker and who? 854..In Astrology what is the ruling planet of communication? 855..What singer sang the song Spank Me? 856..In what state did the 1862 Sioux uprising start? 857..In 1988 there was a shortage of what exotic food fish? 858..What male name comes from Greek meaning lover of horses? 859..If you suffered from a luxating patella what wrong with you? 860..Musashi was the first Japanese to use two what simultaneously? 861..White ribbed red cabbage is named from Italian for Chicory? 862..In Wyoming its illegal for women to stand within 5 feet of what? 863..Someone who dibbles is drinking like what? 864.George Armstrong Custer was court martialed in 1867 for what? 865..Name the Australian film about the pianist Halstadt? 866..What is a Characin? 867..What actor began his career doing Doctor Pepper commercials? 868..In cookery a ganache is made from cream and what? 869..What kind of car was the General Lee in Dukes of Hazard? 870..What male name comes from the German meaning army rule? 871..What spice is essential in a New England Clam Chowder? 872..In West Virginia its illegal to snooze where? 873..In SF California by law what is guaranteed to the masses? 874..In Star Trek what is the name of Spock's father? 875..What company produces Olympia beer? 876..What vegetable is found in the dish chicken divan? 877..In what country is the car model the Treka produced? 878..Whose slogan was plop plop fizz fizz? 879..What actor is the spokesman for the National Rifle Association? 880...What would you find on Pink Sheets? 881...Name the first web browser publicly available? 882..In Kansas the law prohibits shooting rabbits from where? 883..In MASH who planted the vegetable garden? 884..Dragon Stout is brewed in what city / country? 885..What company introduced the first commercial minicomputer 65? 886..What was Mae West sent to the workhouse for in 1926? 887..Aurore Dupin b 1804 changed her name what 19th cent author? 888..What was the name of Juliet's cousin killed by Benvolio in R+J? 889..Jockey / Author d**k Francis what injury on his wedding day? 890..Mary Kelly was the last known who? 891..Name the person who caused Chicago kids to get school milk? 892..In New York by law the death penalty is required for what act? 893..In the Superman comics name the shrunken city in a bottle? 894..What beer is represented by a goat? 895..What fish is known as poor mans lobster? 896..What movie actor was (among other jobs) a bridge painter? 897..What was the most commonly occurring name on the internet? 898..What astrological star sign covers July 24 - August 23? 899..What song is about a sheep stealing suicide? 900..Who wrote The Screwtape Letters? 901..Name the first car model with transverse engine front wheel drive? 902..In Texas its illegal to shoot a buffalo from where? 903..In the Flintstones Dino was Fred's pet who was Barnie's? 904..Ouagodougou is the capitol of what country? 905..Roy Rogers girlfriend Dale Evans rode what named horse? 906..Goyanthlay (one who yawns) famed under what Mexican name? 907..What does the initials NMT on a prescription mean? 908..What is the world tallest horse? 909..In WW2 the Germans launched operation Bernhard - what? 910..What is the ruling planet of the astrological sign Taurus? 911..What bird lays the largest clutch of eggs? 912..In Texas by law criminals must give their victims what? 913..On ER what is the character name of Mark Greens daughter? 914..What Zimbabwe beer is named after a river? 915..In what part of New York did the Great Gatsby live? 916..Name Merlin's owl in Disney's Sword in the Stone? 917..Jerry Yang and David Filo created what? 918..Who was the leader of the notorious Gambino Mafia family? 919..Name William Shakespeare son? 920..What is Barbara Streisand's middle name? 921..What is Caracalla? 922..In Thailand its illegal to step on what? 923..In Lynch Heights Delaware its illegal to do what in an airplane? 924..Victor Buono played what Batman villain in the original series? 925..What Ferrari model was named after the makers son? 926..Actor was known as Singing Sandy (dubbed) early in career? 927..A Stag with 12 point antlers is known as a what? 928..In what state was the largest cavalry battle in the civil war? 929..In the Bible Jesus walked on water who else did this? 930..What was Motowns biggest hit in 1968? 931..The Kung San people live in what area of Africa? 932..What is the most popular Mexican beer in the USA? 933..In Kansas its illegal to eat what on Sunday? 934..In the Beverly Hillbillies what did Jethro get Jed for his birthday? 935..Whose cusine would offer you Leberkas? 936..Where did Hamlet send his girlfriend Ophelia? 937..What was the police chiefs name in the first two Jaws films? 938..What group sang about a Suicide Blonde? 939..What African country gained independence in 1980? 940..Where were the 1964 winter Olympics held? 941..In Sioux language the Paha-sapa is what place? 942..What Wimbledon finalist (loser 1879) murdered his wife? 943..In Topeka Kansas its illegal to install what in your house? 944..Simpson's what was Homers nickname as baseball team mascot? 945..What companies cars are nicknamed mopars? 946..Rhett Butler of Gone With the Wind was born where? 947..The King Cobra is the only snake that does what? 948..What does a hotwalker do? 949..In what county did the Aryan race originate? 950..What 80s band had a hit with Tainted Love? 951..What is a Texas Ruby Red? 952..What is used to flavor Kriek Belgian beer? 953..In Halstead Kansas doing what is illegal at the airport? 954..In Life of Brian what name does Stan want to be known as now? 955..Its all Greek to me comes from what Shakespeare play? 956..What was the name of the high school in the movie Grease? 957..In what city was the first playboy club opened in 1960? 958..In the Bible in what city did Jesus perform his first miracle? 959..What was the Mark Twain in WW2? 960..Charcarodon Carcharias is the Latin name for what creature? 961..If a prescription said b.i.d. what would it mean? 962..What Indian tribe did the army most often use as scouts? 963..In Brockton Mass you must have a licence to enter where? 964..Happy Days was a spin off from what US TV show? 965..What river in Africa carries the most water? 966..HG Wells invisible man had what physical oddity? 967..Who was known as The King of Pop? 968..Measure for Measure deals with what contemporary theme? 969..Where is the base city for Porsche cars? 970..What is Gohan? Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:08 pm 1001..Two most commonly sold items in stores are sodas and what? 1002..Your eyeballs are 3.5% what? 1003..Rafflesia flowers smell like what to attract pollinators? 1004..Where would you find an ideo locator? 1005..Why did Ghengis Khans soldier ride female horses? 1006..G Roddenbery Star Trek 2 radical ideas Spock's Ears and what? 1007..What country had three presidents - in the same day? 1008..In England it is specifically illegal to be drunk where? 1009..What mammal has hair - on the soles of its feet? 1010..Harvard University was originally called what? 1011..There are 300 distinct different types of what food? 1012..The are 16 of these on a dollar bill - 16 what? 1013..What is the coldest capital city in the world? 1014..Janette Rankin in 1917 first to do what? 1015..The average person in a lifetime grows 7 foot of what? 1016..Hotfoot Teddy was the original name of what icon? 1017..Victoria Australia law illegal wear pink what after noon Sunday? 1018..Collective nouns - a tribe or trip of what? 1019..England its illegal for a lady to do what on a public conveyance? 1020..What country has three capital cities Admin Legislate Judicial? 1021..The human bodies got 45 miles of them - what? 1022..The Best or Nothing is the motto of what company? 1023..Johnny Depp is afraid of what? 1024..Samuel Morse the inventor was originally what till he was 46? 1025..What dog has the best eyesight? 1026..Who cut the US flag to pieces and was honoured for it? 1027..England its illegal for a boy under 10 to see a naked what? 1028..What is banned by public schools in San Diego? 1029..Unusual words - What's the only word 4 double letters in a row? 1030..In Tokyo there is a restaurant restricted to who? 1031..The average person does it 17 times a day - what? 1032..What is the most common sexual fantasy act? 1033..The Eggplant is part of what family of plants? 1034..What Canadian province has been virtually rat free since 1905? 1035..What ancient languages writing has no spaces between words? 1036..Collective nouns - a group of swans are called what? 1037..In England placing what upside down is considered treason? 1038..Duffel bags were made in Duffel - what country? 1039..What happened French President Fronsois Faure on dying 1899? 1040..Born Aug 24 to Sept 23 what star sign? 1041..In Star Trek who would go to Sha Ka Ree? 1042..What makes Kirminski church in Finland unique? 1043..January in the USA is National what month? 1044..Name the Monkeys only film made in 1969? 1045..What was French frigate Isere's most famous cargo? 1046..56% of men have had sex where? 1047..In Scotland its illegal to be drunk in possession of what? 1048..Where does the dollar sign come from? 1049..They are only found in Lake Nicaragua - what are? 1050..The Chinese only do it every 10 years – what? 1051..Name Popeye's hungry friend? 1052..Countries name means Place where one struggles with God? 1053..November 18th is who's birthday? 1054..16th century where the most fashionable place to wear a ribbon? 1055..In Singapore you can be fined 10% of income for not doing what? 1056..What country is the world leader in Cobalt Mining? 1057..What is the national religion of Scotland? 1058..The average West German does it every seven days - what? 1059..How did Lavan in Utah get its name? 1060..What should be done with a used worn out flag? 1061..Small country has more 1000 dialects and two official languages? 1062..What was the first daily comic strip in the USA? 1063..Review This show suspends all belief it will never work what?? 1064..What's the most popular name for a male pet cat? 1065..In South Korea traffic police must report what? 1066..In Elkhart Indiana it's illegal for a barber to threaten to do what? 1067..George Bush removed what from the White House menus? 1068..in 1907 who was the first English writer win Nobel prize literature? 1069..Name the science fiction writer who lives in Sri Lanka? 1070..What pop group were dedicated followers of fashion? 1071..Name Elvis Presley's father? 1072..In what novel does Dr Hannibal Lecter first appear? 1073..The Ionian islands are nearest what country? 1074..In Portsmouth Ohio who does the law rank with vagrants thieves? 1075..In WWW terms what does i.e. mean on a domain name? 1076..Seawood's Folly is better known as what today? 1077..What is a Roastchaffer? 1078..What Pope started the Inquisition? 1079..Ecuador was named after who / what? 1080..Liza Minelli played what character in Cabaret? 1081..Who wrote the scripts for Hill street Blues? 1082..What European language is unrelated to any other language? 1083..In the 70s The Bahamas gained independence from who? 1084..In Kentucky people wearing what on streets get police protection? 1085..In what country did bongo drums originate? 1086..Stewart Goddard changed his name to become what pop hit? 1087..What's the main feature of a Chong Sang skirt? 1088..The Davis Strait lies between Canada and where? 1089..Henri Charrier is better known by what nickname? 1090..What fashion designer is credited with the Bob hairstyle? 1091..Melba sauce is made from what fruit? 1092..Who was with Macbeth when he met the witches? 1093..Children take SATs what does SAT stand for? 1094..In Winston-Salem N Carolina its illegal under 7 year olds do what? 1095..A lion and a sword appear on what countries flag? 1096..A carbonade is a dish that must contain what? 1097..What company owns Rolls Royce motors? 1098..What was Oscar Wilde's only novel? 1099..What writer lived at hilltop near Hawkshead now museum to her? 1100..French artist Edward Degas noted for what particular subject? 1101..Who is the Greek God of the sky and the universe? 1102..Collective nouns - a Dule of what? 1103..The pharaoh hound is the only dog that does what? 1104..In Blue Earth Minnesota illegal under 12s do what without parent? 1105..Fallstaff first appears in what Shakespeare play? 1106..What is a roker? 1107..A vestiphobe is afraid of what? 1108..In what film would you find The Orgasmitron? 1109..Racing driver James Hunts nickname was Hunt the what? 1110..In 1906 the John Gable Entertainer was the first what? 1111..In the food industry what is TVP - i.e. what's it stand for? 1112..Who wrote the book Coma? 1113..What country designed and developed the bayonet? 1114..In Massachusetts its illegal to put what in clam chowder? 1115..Collective nouns - A Descent of what creatures? 1116..What's the words most popular brand of malt whisky? 1117..Prospective Italian grave diggers have to take what test? 1118..Who was the lead singer in Herman's Hermits? 1119..According to Elvis Presley who / what was Little Elvis? 1120..In US Emergency rooms what toy is often found in rectums? 1121..What is Calvados? 1122..Who first appeared on TV December 17th 1989? 1123..Turf Stone and Hedge are all types of what? 1124..A Seattle ordinance says goldfish in bowls must do what in buses? 1125..What animals are likely to die first from global warming? 1126..In the film Tommy who played The Acid Queen? 1127..What is a goat sucker? 1128..Where would you find the Spanish steps? 1129..Five named Beatles on Abbey Road cover J P G R and who? 1130..Bennie Hills Ernie fastest milkman in the west - name his horse? 1131..How did Van Gogh dispose of his ear? 1132..According to survey what European country has the vainest men? 1133..Who would spin a Gob on their nose end? 1134..In Albany New York what's it illegal to do in the streets? 1135..Collective nouns - What are a group of greyhounds called? 1136..Who first played Flash Gordon on film? 1137..What basic skill is lacking in most Royal Navy entrants? 1138..What common word comes from Knights after the Crusades? 1139..What was the most valuable thing ever stolen? 1140..The Intelligent whale was the nickname of an early what? 1141..What welsh singer used to work as a condom tester? 1142..What speed record has remained unbroken since 1938? 1143..The annual Hackademy awards are given for what? 1144..Idaho Falls Idaho its illegal for over 88 year olds to do what? 1145..Old times mid eastern women swallowed what as contraceptive? 1146..Who narrated Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds? 1147..What was invented 1963 150 billion made since? 1148..What used to be caught in a fanny trap? 1149..What toy was first launched as The Magic Screen? 1150..Originally a Toss Pot did a lot of what? 1151..Amanda by the Sea was a US version of what UK comedy show? 1152..A is Alpha is the international alphabet but A used to be what? 1153..According to psychologists the happiest people watch what TV? 1154..In Tampa Bay Florida its illegal who who/what to leave ships? 1155..Men women compete 3 Olympic sports Equestrian Shooting?? 1156..If you were c**k Throppling what you be doing? 1157..What animal has the best hearing? 1158..In what film did Mary Poppins - Julie Andrews bare her nipples? 1159..A Scatologist studies what Excrement? 1160..How was Tristram Shandy (fictional character) circumcised? 1161..Men must toss what at least 3 times during Olneys Great Race? 1162..What have men played with for longer than anything else? 1163..Collective nouns - A Down or Husk of what animals? 1164..In Urbana Illinois its illegal for who/what to enter the city limits? 1165..In Russia by law the homeless must be where after 10pm? 1166..Name the racehorse decapitated in the Godfather? 1167..In the opera Tosca what was Tosca's profession? 1168..Where will the 2002 Winter Olympics be held? 1169..What is the US equivalent of the UK Anglican church? 1170..Paper Porter Dresser Mud Dauber types of what? 1171..In the theatre what do the initials FOH stand for? 1172..Name Irelands oldest licensed whiskey distillery? 1173..Name the capitol of Libya? 1174..In New Jersey 1879 stopping a constable doing what $25 fine? 1175..What links Mozart's Don Giovanni and Bizet's Carmen location? 1176..West End Girls was the debut hit for what pop duo in the 80s? 1177..Who sculpted the four lions in Trafalgar Square? 1178..In what modern country is mount Ararat? 1179..Walter Gropius founded what art / design movement? 1180..Elizabeth Bennett is the central character in what novel? 1181..What are Ingrid Marie and Blushing Golden? 1182..Edward Ricardo Braithwait wrote what novel? 1183..Who was the court portrait painter of Henry the Eighth? 1184..In Massachusetts by law bars cannot offer what? 1185..In 1887 who solved his first case? 1186..In the 19th century what was known as inheritance powder? 1187..What did model manufacturers Airfix first make? 1188..In what TV series did we meet Admiral Nelson? 1189..How would you feel if you were forswanked? 1190..What kind of wood is used on Rolls Royce dashboards? 1191..In the rhyme who married The Owl and the Pussycat? 1192..Which US actor woke up when a elephant crapped on his head? 1193..In Cornwall where would you find two legged knockers? 1194..In North Carolina $50 fine for having what furniture on front porch? 1195..What would you do with a blue willie? 1196..USSR saying No ugly women in world just shortage of what? 1197..What two things are used to stuff a welshman? 1198..n Old England what would you do with your titties? 1199..What creature has seven penises assorted shapes sizes? 1200..What English king was killed with a red hot poker up his arse? 1201..Parachutes were invented for what use? 1202..What is the most commonly prosecuted illegal act? 1203..In Florida it's illegal to molest what? 1204..In Old English what kind of person often had a 'shite'? 1205...If the vestal virgins were caught having sex what punishment? 1206..What act do the French call The English Perversion? 1207..What cartoon characters first name is Quincy? 1208..In USA by law only 2 paid services limited to one sex - what? 1209..In the olden days what would you put in a large Bosom? 1210..What activity is featured in the magazine Winkers World? 1211..In the Terminator film who was the boy who would be the leader? 1212..Leather Apron was an alternative name for what famous figure? 1213..In Wisconsin by law you must carry fire insurance on what? 1214..English law males should do it 2 hours week watched by vicar? 1215..1836 Mr Gray a gasfitter 10 years penal servitude stealing what? 1216..What does a Belly Man do for a living? 1217..In parts of Siberia wives threw what at men to show wanted sex? 1218..What animal has the most taste buds over 27000? 1219..What is sometimes nicknamed Adams Profession? 1220..Until 1955 in England you needed a licence to take what on road? 1221..Who is known in Argentina as The Filthy Satanic Whore? 1222..In what European country are the villages Vomitville and Fukking? 1223..A Illinois law prohibit men from doing what in public? 1224..According to a survey what people have the most hated job UK? 1225..In a poll newlyweds spend most time on honeymoon doing what? 1226..What profession makes regular use of vibrators? 1227..What was used at Wimbledon for the first time in 1971? 1228..What part of the body ages the fastest? 1229..Mr Doberman developed the breed protection at work - what job? 1230..Elvis Presley Adolf Hitler Errol Flynn all had what kinky habit? 1231..Apart from drinks what used to be stored in pub cellars? 1232..In Memphis Tennessee beggars must have what before begging? 1233..How do you catch a Phart? 1234..What can be rigid, semi-rigid, or non-rigid? 1235..A Capriphiliac has sex with who or what? 1236..What was The King of Trains and The Train of Kings? 1237..Who used to do naked cartwheels to amuse the English settlers? 1238..In brewing what do the initials OG stand for? 1239..What sport can take place on sand ice or water? 1240..Florence Nightingale took what cos she was around young men? 1241..The sweetener saccharin is made from what? 1242..In Maryland its illegal to frighten who or what? 1243..What is the word Taxi short for? 1244..Sportsman are most likely to get diseased anuses / rectum? 1245..After his death what bit Walter Raleigh did his wife carry around? 1246..What kind of person would have had a t**t on? 1247..The character Marion Crane died in what film? 1248..16th century husband had to stop doing what to wives after 10pm? 1249..What company was the first to mass produce watches in 1893? 1250..48 extras from what Oscar win film died within a year making it? 1251..In Tennessee age of consent is at 16 unless the girl is what? 1252..James Edgar in 1890 was the worlds first store what? 1253..What is the correct name for a male red deer? 1254..In what country were Trabant cars made? 1255..For which Olympic athletic event is there no official world record? 1256..RCA and what other company launched the first vinyl records? 1257..Excluding cars what the most commonly used 4 wheel devices? 1258..Where on a woman is her J spot? 1259..In 17th century if you got Xmas clap what have you been given? 1260..Indiana smoking banned in the legislature building except when? 1261..In Bexley Ohio its illegal to put what in an outhouse? 1262..Well known phrase Mad as a Hatter - but what made them mad? 1263..Pluto Greek god of the underworld - what was Plutus god of? 1264..Victoria was not Queen Victoria's first name - what was? 1265..Indoors 6 players a side outdoors numbers vary what sport? 1266..Scapegoat meaning blame taker comes from what religion? 1267..What is the correct name for a dandelion seed ball? 1268..Dianne Fossy the naturalist is famed working with what animals? 1269..In musical notation there are five lines in a what? 1270..Silverwood Michigan its illegal to kill what using your hands? 1271..What is the correct name for the flower the Michaelmass Daisy? 1272..Round, flat, filbert or sword types / shapes of what tool? 1273..Who wrote the novel The Seventh Scroll? 1274..The song Mack the Knife comes from what stage show? 1275..Johnny Rotten describe sex as five minutes of what? 1276..An Arizona prostitutes organization is called TWATS meaning? 1277..An elephants p***s is shaped like what? 1278..Where was the worlds first air raid in 1849 from hot air balloons? 1279..What is a Rocky mountain canary? 1280..In Haifa Israel its illegal to take what to the beach? 1281..In medicine what is nicknamed a blue pipe? 1282..What did Farters collect? 1283..Psychologists say men who prefer small breasts what mentally? 1284..What country had the first banknotes? 1285..A Blue Tits breast is what color? 1286..What sport was called The Royal Sport? 1287..What British author was offered £250000 to write book of ET? 1288..If you were given a French Gobelin what would you have had? 1289..What cities underground has the most stations? 1290..In Lang Kansas illegal ride a donkey in public unless it has what? 1291..What creature make the loudest noise - 188 decibels? 1292..What gets nine inches longer when its up? 1293..What was Lady Chatterlys first name? 1294..Enid Blyton character name changed to white beard for PC USA? 1295..Mans formal dress coat called tails is named after what bird? 1296..Christine Jorgensen in 1952 was the worlds first what? 1297..Name the first chocolate bar created by Forest Mars in 1923? 1298..In the poem who dug c**k robins grave? 1299..In what athletic event is it illegal to carry weights? 1300..In Arkansas a man can only do what legally once a month? 1301..The fish eating bulldog is what type of creature? 1302..What has been called The most unnatural of all perversions? 1303..What are the most commonly ordered item from sex catalogs? 1304..What creature will only mate if the females mouth is full? 1305..Knickerbockers used to be the residents of where? 1306..What is the name for a chicken less than one year old? 1307..British playwright wrote the screenplay for The French Lt Woman? 1308..What explorer wrote the history of the word in prison in 1600s? 1309..British king was known to family friends as David his last name? 1310..At the Alamo its illegal to drop what nut shells on the ground? 1311..In Brookings South Dakota its illegal for a cat to live where? 1312..What police resource was first used in the Jack the Ripper case? 1313..The Algarve is in what country? 1314..The term red herring comes from what activity? 1315..The Egyptian god Horus had the head of what creature? 1316..In 1964 who was the first non royal to appear on a UK stamp? 1317..Name the Hong Kong stock exchange? 1318..In what city was Mozart born? 1319..Margaret Thatcher day is 10th January in what area? 1320..What is a bandy bandy? 1321..What did Brian Epstein manage before the Beatles? 1322..What was Bogart's full characters name in Casablanca? 1323..What fruit is used to flavour Southern Comfort? 1324..What 70s pop group was originally called The Engaged Couples? 1325..What would you do with a soft c**k? 1326..What is Warren Beatty's first name? 1327..What is the fastest creature raced for sport? 1328..In Jones Chapel Alabama illegal guy take gal where till 4th date? 1329..What is a Cattalo? 1330..US Pres mom said Looking at my children wish I'd stayed virgin? 1331..Name Lancashire town first test tube baby born? 1332..The New Testament originally written in what language? 1333..What would you do with a Romeo's Rouser? 1334..Where did Cajun music originate? 1335..1727 Helen Morris put in asylum for putting what in a newspaper? 1336..Grolsch lager comes from what country? 1337..Who wrote the Savoy Operas? 1338..In Okalahoma City its illegal for a prisoner to wear what? 1339..Steven the 1st founded what country in 1000 ad? 1340..What was originally called Eskimo Pie? 1341..Cab is a shortened version of what word? 1342..If silence is golden what is silver? 1343..What queen banned mirrors as she got older? 1344..Starts with F ends with K if you cant get one you use your hand? 1345..What is the main ingredient of an edible f*****t? 1346..What is the only Christian country in Asia? 1347..In Christian myth man was created from dust what in Islam? 1348..In Bristol Rhode Island its illegal to smoke during what event? 1349..13th century Paris brothels were the first to have what? 1350..In what country did Bridge originate? 1351..A snake has two penises but only one what other organ? 1352..Canaan Banana was the first president of where? 1353..What hairs are the last to lose their colour with age? 1354..Ignoring obvious what links Venus and Mercury? 1355..In golf what is the penalty for playing with your opponents ball? 1356..What insect in Spain is known as La Cucaracha? 1357..In what country was Che Guevara born? 1358..In Kansas City its illegal to what with more than 12 potatoes? 1359..In Texas it's illegal for what profession to be communists? 1360..The Black Death came to England from what port? 1361..Which coin weighs exactly one Troy ounce? 1362..The Perils of Penelope and Dastardly and Mutley spin offs what? 1363..The Mantu and Heath tests check for what infectious disease? 1364..Which US state has a buffalo or bison on its flag? 1365..What would you do with a nan p***k in Thailand? 1366..In 1895 the world's first disposable item made - what was it? 1367..In Odessa Texas Star of David and Peace symbol are what? 1368..Porn star Candida Royale was named after what? 1369..The Brownies ( junior Girl Guides) used to be named what? 1370..Brass is an alloy of copper and what? 1371..R D Blackmore wrote which classic novel? 1372..In what country was Greenpeace founded in 1971? 1373..In squash what color dot indicates the slowest ball used? 1374..A statue of Lady Godiva stands in the centre which English city? 1375..Eddie Irvine is contracted to drive for which car company in 2001? 1376..The Bazuki is a traditional musical instrument of what country? 1377..The word athletics comes from the Greek athlos meaning what? 1378..Jeri Ryan plays what character in the Star Trek series? 1379..In 1925 the worlds first what opened Luis Obispo California? 1380..Norma Talmage in 1927 made the first - the first what? 1381..Where is your zygomatic bone? 1382..What item used in offices was voted the product of the century? 1383..What is named after Dr Ernest Grafenberg? 1384..The horned dinosaur Torosaurus had the biggest what on land? 1385..The US IRS manual gives the plan for collecting taxes after what? 1386..Where was the worlds first supermarket built (country)? 1387..Bubba is Yiddish for what? 1388..In the USA where would you see a crossbuck? 1389..Los Pedernales is a Spanish translation what TV show? 1390..Palas is the correct name for what playing card? 1391..According to Hite report masturbating women like to use what? 1392..Collective nouns - a spring of what? 1392..Cous-cous is Iranian for what? 1394..Brings your ancestors back to life - translated advert for what? 1395..A doromaniac had a compulsion to do what? 1396..Detroit, Skokie Illinois St Paul Minnesota what official instrument? 1397..Church law once mandated death for believing in what? 1398..The Phoenician symbol for mouth is now what letter of alphabet? 1399..What US city buys the most blond hair dye? 1400..Name two self cleaning organs? 1401..What cities Gothic cathedral started 1386 was completed 1805? 1402..Who wrote the series of Palisair novels? 1403..Alcoholics get the DTs what does it stand for? 1404..Flying fish is the national dish of which country? 1405..Dr Susan Lark recommend what cure for menstrual cramps? 1406..Bunc was the first name for what product? 1407..200 years ago all white people knew what were deadly poison? 1408..In East Anglia England what put in house walls to ward off evil? 1409..The Greek word meaning The writings of prostitutes now what? 1410..According to the ancient Chinese what cures headaches? 1411..In 1904 May Sutton Brandy was the first US woman to do what? 1412..All American umpires wear what? 1413..Texans consume 40% of farm grown what in the USA? 1414..Most of these animals are bisexual - what animal? 1415..People answered the first telephones by saying what? 1416..St Boniface is the Saint of what? 1417..Frass is the correct word for what? 1418..What is the fastest growing religion in Ireland? 1419..One person in Texas is killed annually doing what? 1420..Bob Dylan said you should never trust anyone what?? 1421..Rocket USA is going to produce a wind up doll what figure 2002? 1422..What body of water separates Australia and Papua New Guinea? 1423..George Washington Thomas Jefferson Sam Adams all did what? 1424..In California more what are raised than in any other state? 1425..Hebrew comes from a Babylonian word meaning what? 1426..Ejaculation comes from the Latin meaning what? 1427..A cat is feline but what's leporine? 1428..In some religions mistletoe represents God's what? 1429..Patricia McCormick became USA first what January 20th 1957? 1430..1894 Orville Gibson started worlds oldest company make what? 1431..What country has the lowest teen pregnancy rate Western world? 1432..What shop outnumbers McDonald's 3 to 1 in the USA? 1433..Corie Ten Boom was the first licensed female what in Holland? 1434..The first what was installed in Antarctica in 1997? 1435..In 1897 who were the first baseball team introduce a ladies day? 1436..The President of Gabon banned the use of what word in country? 1437..Which domesticated pet animal is never mentioned in the Bible? 1438..50 years ago Texas giving advice on what was prison sentence? 1439..What activity burns up 140 calories per hour? 1440..There are over 32000 known species of what in the world? 1441..May 21st 1881 Clara Barton founded what? 1442..If a dog is canine what is cirvine? 1443..Pliny the philosopher believed dead souls went into what? 1444..An arenaceous plant grown in what type of soil? 1445..Who wrote the book The Complete Angler in 1653? 1446..Back Blanket and Button Hole types of what? 1447..There are over 1000 recognized slang words for what? 1448..What USA state drinks the most beer? 1449..Who or what was "strong to the finish"? 1450..Who's band was The Quarrymen? 1451.. Which was the most successful Grand National horse? 1452.. Who starred as the Six Million Dollar Man? 1453..In the song Waltzing Matilda - What is a Jumbuck? 1454..Who was Dan Dare's greatest enemy in the Eagle? 1455.. What is d**k Grayson better known as? 1456.. What was given on the fourth day of Christmas? 1457..What does a funambulist do? 1458.. What is the name of Dennis the Menace's dog? 1459.. What are bactrians and dromedaries? 1460.. Who played The Fugitive? 1461.. Who was the King of Swing? 1462.. Who was the first man to fly across the channel? 1463.. Who starred as Rocky Balboa? 1464..In which war was the charge of the Light Brigade? 1465..Who invented the television? 1466..Who would use a mashie niblick? 1467..In the song who killed c**k Robin? 1468.. What do deciduous trees do? 1469..In golf what name is given to the No 3 wood? 1470.. If you has caries who would you consult? 1471.. What other name is Mellor’s famously known by? 1472..What did Jack Horner pull from his pie? 1473.. How many feet in a fathom? 1474.. which film had song Springtime for Hitler? 1475.. Name the legless fighter pilot of ww2? 1476.. What was the name of inn in Treasure Island? 1477.. What was Erich Weiss better known as? 1478.. Who sailed in the Nina - Pinta and Santa Maria? 1479.. Which leader died in St Helena? 1480.. Who wrote Gone with the Wind? 1481.. What does ring a ring a roses refer to? 1482.. Whose nose grew when he told a lie? 1483.. Who has won the most Oscars? 1484.. What would a Scotsman do with a spurtle? 1485..Which award has the words for valor on it? 1486.. If you had pogonophobia what would you be afraid of? 1487.. Who would take silk as part of their job? 1488.. Who won an Oscar for the African Queen? 1489..Who sang the theme song in 9 to 5? 1490.. What in business terms is the IMF? 1491.. Ringo Star narrates which children's TV series? 1492.. Which country grows the most fruit? 1493.. Which company is owned by Bill Gates? 1494.. What would you do with a maris piper? 1495.. In Casablanca what is the name of the nightclub? 1496.. What was the first James Bond book? 1497.. What kind of animal is a lurcher? 1498.. What is the currency of Austria? 1499.. What is the Islamic equal to the red cross? 1500.. In fable who sold a cow for five beans?   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:10 pm 1501.. How did Alfred Nobel make his money? 1502.. Who was the first man to run a sub four minute mile? 1503.. What are Munroes? 1504.. Which car company makes the Celica? 1505.. Air Lingus is the national airline of which country? 1506.. Who discovered radium? 1507..What does an alopecia sufferer lack? 1508.. Who painted The Haywain? 1509.. Triskadeccaphobia is the fear of what? 1510.. What is a baby rabbit called? 1511.. Which country had The Dauphin as a ruler? 1512.. Who did Michael Caine play in the Ipcress File (both names)? 1513.. Who won Euro song contest Save All Your Kisses For Me? 1514.. Which country had the guns of Naverone installed? 1515..What is a Winston Churchill? 1516.. Who or what lives in a formicarium? 1517.. What type of acid is used in car batteries? 1518.. It’s a flock of sheep what's a group of owls called? 1519.. What animal would you find in a form? 1520.. Who in books and films was the man of bronze? 1521.. Who was Stan Laurels partner? 1522.. What kind of food is Cullan Skink? 1523.. What is classified by the A B O system? 1524.. What plant does the Colorado beetle attack? 1525.. Where did the Pied Piper play? 1526.. To where in France do the sick make pilgrimages? 1527.. In which city was the famous black hole? 1528.. Christopher Cockerel invented what? 1529.. Ray Bolger played who in The Wizard of Oz? 1530.. Sabotage is French - What did the saboteurs use? 1531.. Which part of the human body contains the most gold? 1532..had rubella what would you have caught? 1533.. Mohs scale hardest substance is diamond - what's the softest? 1534.. La Giaconda is better known as what? 1535.. Who wrote the Opera Madam Butterfly? 1536.. What links - Goa - Kerula - Assam - Bihar? 1537.. Eric Arthur Blaire was the real name of which author? 1538.. Names - Baker Cook obvious what did Cordwainer do? 1539.. Which country do Sinologists study? 1540.. Rudy Stevens became famous under which name? 1541.. Which non alcoholic cordial is made from pomegranates? 1542..What is Orchesis - either professional or amateur? 1543.. Taken literally what should you see in a Hippodrome? 1544.. Who wrote the Man in the Iron Mask? 1545.. Which 1993 Disney film starred Bet Middler as a witch? 1546.. Who piloted the first flight across the English channel? 1547.. What was the first James Bond film? 1548.. What 1991 film won best film, actor, actress, director Oscars? 1549.. What was the capital of Ethiopia? 1550.. Aescapalious emblem staff snake Greek Roman god of what? 1551.. Giacomo Agostini - 122 Grand Prix 15 world titles what sport? 1552.. What is the largest state in the USA? 1553.. Led Deighton trilogy Game Set Match What 3 Capitals? 1554.. Alan Stuart Konigsberg famous as who? 1555.. Which human rights organisation founded 1961 got Nobel 1977? 1556.. Whose autobiography was The long walk to Freedom? 1557. What was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter? 1558.. Clyde Tonbaugh discovered what planet in 1930? 1559.. Who won the women's heptathlon at Seoul in 1988? 1560.. Who wrote Northanger Abbey? 1561.. Who ran through the streets naked crying Eureka? 1562.. Who composed the Brandeberg concertos full names? 1563.. Who won the World Series in 1987? 1564.. What is the correct term of address to the Pope? 1565.. In which city was Alexander Graham Bell born in 1847? 1566.. Who composed the ballets Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker? 1567.. AG Bell opened school in Boston in 1872 for Teachers of what? 1568.. Benjamin Kubelsky 1894 fame as what comedian? 1569.. In the Old Testament what book comes between Obadiah - Micah? 1570.. Robin Williams dressed in drag for which 1993 film? 1571.. Which chess piece could be a member of the church? 1572.. Which German word means lightning war used in WW2? 1573.. Broccoli belongs to what family of plants? 1574.. Who designed the first Iron ship the Great Britain in 1845? 1575.. Whose boat Bluebird was recently raised from Coniston water? 1576.. in 1951 which (of two) car companies introduced power steering? 1577.. Who wrote Catch 22 (both names)? 1578.. Which country set up the world’s first chemistry lab in 1650? 1579.. What links the names Botvinik, Tal, Karpov, Fischer? 1580..What is the national flower of Japan? 1581.. Bombardier Billy Wells was seen on many Rank films - why? 1582.. Where in France do claret wines come from? 1583.. What did mathematician John Napier invent in 1614? 1584.. What was the world’s first high level programming language 1957? 1585.. Consumption was the former name of which disease? 1586.. Which American state is nicknamed The Diamond State? 1587.. What are the Sirocco, Mistral and Chinook? 1588.. Who wrote about Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? 1589.. Who, at USA customs declared, nothing but my genius? 1590.. Issur Danielovitch became famous a who? 1591.. Who sailed in the Golden Hind? 1592.. What was the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind? 1593.. Who won the 1988 Superbowl? 1594..Which group believes in The Great Architect of the Universe? 1595.. Robert Alan Zimmerman real name of who? 1596.. Processed Galena produces which metal? 1597.. Who wrote Gulliver’s Travels (both names)? 1598.. What is a Ha Ha? 1599.. In Japan what is Seppuku? 1600.. Who discovered blood circulation? 1601.. Who wrote Brave New World (full name)? 1602.. What links Calabria, Liguria, Puglia and Veneto? 1603.. Which city in Rajasthan has riding breeches named after it? 1604.. Portugal has had six Kings with what first name? 1605.. What martial arts name means gentle way? 1606.. Jean Claude Killy famous in which sport? 1607.. Kimberlite contains what precious item? 1608.. Who directed Dr Strangelove? 1609.. Rene Lalique - Art Nouveau designer worked what material? 1610.. Who created the children's land of Narnia and Lion Witch Wardrobe? 1611.. What animal lives in a drey? 1612.. Why is Louise Brown - born 1978 famous? 1613.. The title of whose book translates as my struggle? 1614.. Anna Mary Robinson - famous American painter - what name? 1615.. In which country would you find the Negev desert? 1616.. Which character has been played by the most actors? 1617.. In Greek mythology a Hamadryads spirit guarded what? 1618.. Jocasta was the wife of Laius and the mother of who? 1619.. Who wrote The Rights of Man - and The Age of Reason? 1620.. What is the capital of Sicily? 1621..What was invented by Dr Edward Land in 1947? 1622.. Syd Barett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason - Group? 1623.. Carlo Collodi created which famous children's character? 1624.. What is mainly extracted from pitchblende? 1625.. Which connects Delft, Sevres, Wedgwood, Chelsea? 1626.. Which country introduced the worlds first diesel loco in 1912? 1627.. in 1656 Christian Huygens invented what type of timekeeper? 1628.. Duvali, Dushira and Holi are religious days in which religion? 1629.. In what industry did John Davidson Rockefeller get rich? 1630.. The Mau Mau were terrorists in which country late 50s early 60s? 1631..Who wrote the Opera Madam Butterfly? 1632..What links - Goa - Kerula - Assam - Bihar? 1633..Eric Arthur Blaire was the real name of which author? 1634..Names - Baker Cook obvious what did Cordwainer do? 1635..Which country do Sinologists study? 1636..Rudy Stevens became famous under which name? 1637..Which non alcoholic cordial is made from pomegranates? 1638..What is Orchesis - either professional or amateur? 1639..Taken literally what should you see in a Hippodrome? 1640..Who wrote the Man in the Iron Mask? 1641..Which 1993 Disney film starred Bet Middler as a witch? 1642..Who piloted the first flight across the English channel? 1643..What was the first James Bond film? 1644..What 1991 film won best film, actor, actress, director Oscars? 1645..What was the capital of Ethiopia? 1646Aescapalious emblem staff snake Greek Roman god of what? 1647..Giacomo Agostini - 122 Grand Prix 15 world titles what sport? 1648..What is the largest state in the USA? 1649Led Deighton trilogy Game Set Match What 3 Capitals? 1650..Alan Stuart Konigsberg famous as who? 1651..Which human rights organisation founded 1961 got Nobel 1977? 1652..Whose autobiography was The long walk to Freedom? 1653..What was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter? 1654..Clyde Tonbaugh discovered what planet in 1930? 1655..Who won the women's heptathlon at Seoul in 1988? 1656..Who wrote Northanger Abbey? 1657..Who ran through the streets naked crying Eureka? 1658..Who composed the Brandeberg concertos full names? 1659..Who won the World Series in 1987? 1660..What is the correct term of address to the Pope? 1661..In which city was Alexander Graham Bell born in 1847? 1662..Who composed the ballets Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker? 1663..AG Bell opened school in Boston in 1872 for Teachers of what? 1664..Benjamin Kubelsky 1894 fame as what comedian? 1665..In the Old Testament what book comes between Obadiah - Micah? 1666..Robin Williams dressed in drag for which 1993 film? 1667..Which chess piece could be a member of the church? 1668..Which German word means lightning war used in WW2? 1669..Broccoli belongs to what family of plants? 1670..Who designed the first Iron ship the Great Britain in 1845? 1671..Whose boat Bluebird was recently raised from Coniston water? 1672..in 1951 which (of two) car companies introduced power steering? 1673..Who wrote Catch 22 (both names)? 1674..Which country set up the world’s first chemistry lab in 1650? 1675..What links the names Botvinik, Tal, Karpov, Fischer? 1676..What is the national flower of Japan? 1677..Bombardier Billy Wells was seen on many Rank films - why? 1678..Where in France do claret wines come from? 1679..What did mathematician John Napier invent in 1614? 1680..What was the world’s first high level programming language 1957? 1681..Consumption was the former name of which disease? 1682..Which American state is nicknamed The Diamond State? 1683..What are the Sirocco, Mistral and Chinook? 1684..Who wrote about Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? 1685..Who, at USA customs declared, nothing but my genius? 1686..Who sailed in the Golden Hind? 1687..What was the name of the plantation in Gone with the Wind? 1688..Who won the 1988 Superbowl? 1689..Which group believes in The Great Architect of the Universe? 1690..Robert Alan Zimmerman real name of who? 1691..Processed Galena produces which metal? 1692..Who wrote Gulliver’s Travels (both names)? 1693..What is a Ha Ha? 1694..In Japan what is Seppuku? 1695..Who discovered blood circulation? 1696..The dunnock is another name for which common bird? 1697..If someone said they were from Hellas - which country? 1698..Who was the son of Zeus and Maia - Gods Messenger? 1699..Roy Scherer jr became famous as who? 1700..Who wrote Brave New World (full name)? 1701..What links Calabria, Liguria, Puglia and Veneto? 1702..Which city in Rajasthan has riding breeches named after it? 1703..Portugal has had six Kings with what first name? 1704..What martial arts name means gentle way? 1705..Jean Claude Killy famous in which sport? 1706..Kimberlite contains what precious item? 1707..Who directed Dr Strangelove - 2001 - The Shining (full name)? 1708..Rene Lalique - Art Nouveau designer worked what material? 1709..Who created the children's land of Narnia and Lion Witch Wardrobe? 1709..What animal lives in a drey? 1710..Why is Louise Brown - born 1978 famous? 1711..The title of whose book translates as my struggle? 1712..Anna Mary Robinson - famous American painter - what name? 1713..In which country would you find the Negev desert? 1714..Which character has been played by the most actors? 1715..In Greek mythology a Hamadryads spirit guarded what? 1716..Jocasta was the wife of Laius and the mother of who? 1717..Who wrote The Rights of Man - and The Age of Reason? 1718..What is the capital of Sicily? 1719..What was invented by Dr Edward Land in 1947? 1720..Syd Barett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason - Group? 1721..Carlo Collodi created which famous children's character? 1722..What is mainly extracted from pitchblende? 1723..Which connects Delft, Sevres, Wedgwood, Chelsea? 1724..Which country introduced the worlds first diesel loco in 1912? 1725..in 1656 Christian Huygens invented what type of timekeeper? 1726..Duvali, Dushira and Holi are religious days in which religion? 1727..In what industry did John Davidson Rockefeller get rich? 1728..The Mau Mau were terrorists in which country late 50s early 60s? 1729..What movie cast included James Garner, Richard Attenbourough, 1730..Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James? 1731..Coburn, Gordon Jackson, Angus McPhee among many others? 1732..If you suffer from epistaxis what is wrong? 1733..In which book would you find the manservant Pas Partout? 1734..What animals name translates as water horse? 1735..In Greek mythology who killed the Gorgon? 1736..Which two metals are alloyed to make pewter? 1737..In 1899 the Eastman company in the USA produced first what? 1738..What links - Sarte, Neitzsche, Russell and Decartes? 1739..In 1643 Evangalisa Torichelli invented the first what? 1740..Which Spanish painter has first exhibition at 16 - also 4 year blue? 1741..Where did the mutineers of the Bounty settle? 1742..What is the longest river in Italy? 1743..What does a polyandric women have more than one of? 1744..What links Brazil, Uruguay, Mozambique and Angola? 1745..What is the American equivalent of the Irish Poteen? 1746..Who was the last king of Troy killed by Achilles son Pyrrhus? 1747..In 1911 the archaeologist Hiram Bingham discovered what lost city? 1748..Who won the Superbowl in 1989? 1749..Who wrote the book Billy Budd also Moby d**k? 1750..Which highwayman rode the horse Black Bess? 1751..Barry Allen was the alter ego of which DC comic superhero? 1752..In 1901 which brand of car was seen for the first time? 1753..Brisbane is the state capital of which SE Australian state? 1754..In Norse mythology what is the name of the ultimate battle? 1755..In 1890 the first electric what opened in London? 1756..Who wrote the children's novel Swallows and Amazons? 1757..Oil seed rape belongs to which plant family? 1758..Which Norwegian politicians name became a word for traitor? 1759..What is the capitol of Morocco? 1760..What shape were the sailors plates in Nelsons navy? 1761..What religion links Weasak, Dhrammacacka, and Bhodi day? 1762..Linus Torwalds invented and wrote what? 1763..The bander macaque has which commoner name? 1764..Zambia and Zimbabwe used to be called what? 1765..What is the staple food of one third of the worlds population? 1766..Paul Robeson the singer of old man river had what profession? 1767..Rene Laennac invented which aid for doctors in 1810? 1768..Jagger, Richards, Wyman, Jones, Watts, Stewart - which band? 1769..What digit does not exist in Roman Numerals? 1770..Who was nicknames The desert Fox (both Names)? 1771..What aid to archaeologists from 197 bc was found in Egypt 1799? 1772..Which annual sporting event between 2 teams started in 1829? 1773..Who was the jeweller to the Russian Court famous Easter eggs? 1774..What type of food is Taramasalata? 1775..What links Samuel Delaney, Fredrick Pohl, Harlan Ellison? 1776..Randolph Crane became famous as which cowboy actor? 1777..Ageusia is the loss of which sense? 1778..Which Irish political parties name translates as we ourselves? 1779..Henry Ford used assembly line in 1908 but someone before 1901? 1780..Who performed the first heart transplant in South Africa? 1781..What is the common name for the star Sirius? 1782..What calculating aid was invented by William Oughtred in 1662? 1783..Which Athenian philosopher wrote nothing - immortalised by Plato? 1784..Who designed the WW 1 plane Camel and co designed Hurricane? 1785..Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were born in which US state? 1786..In 1666 Jesuit Bark was used as a prevention against what? 1787..In 1971 which USA space probe was first to orbit another planet? 1788..What links Catalonia, Andalusia, Cantabria, Galicia? 1789..Ingemar Stenmark won record 85 world cup races in what sport? 1790..Who wrote the music for the ballets Firebird and Rites of Spring? 1791..What common legal item literally means under penalty? 1792..Who was the only person to win world titles on bikes and cars? 1793..What is the oldest swimming stroke? 1794..Which European country is divided into areas called Cantons? 1795..Which medical tool was developed by Sanctorius in 1612? 1796..What weapon was invented by Ernest Swinton used in 1916? 1797..Which mythological King chained grapes rose water fell? 1798..Who created Tarzan (all names) in 1914? 1799..Camellia Sinesis evergreen shrub better known as what? 1800..In 1901 who first transmitted radio signals across Atlantic? 1801..Who won six consecutive Wimbledon titles in the 1980s? 1802..What Italian building material translates as baked earth? 1803..What links Buddy Holly, Lyndon Johnston, Janice Joplin? 1804..Which eponymous character was Thane of Cawder Glaimes? 1805..Who wrote the 39 steps (both names)? 1806..Who won the Superbowl in 1987? 1807..What is the food tofu made from? 1808..Who was the son of Poseidon and Ampherite? 1809..Annie Mae Bullock became famous under which name (both)? 1810..What linked Armenia, Georgia, Latvia and Moldavia? 1811..What is the state capitol of New Jersey? 1812..Who won an Oscar for best supporting actor in Spartacus 1960? 1813..What was invented by James Dewer in 1872? 1814..Who was the Roman goddess of the hearth? 1815..Viticulture is the growing of what plants? 1816..In 1953 what was first successfully transmitted in the USA? 1817..Who wrote the Thin Man in 1934 (both names)? 1818..Angel falls Venezuela Highest but where second Highest? 1819..Whitcome Judson in 1891 invented what for fastening shoes? 1820..Who sold Louisiana to the USA in 1803? 1821..Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Gerhart Domangk developed what? 1822..The Gloucester E 28/39 first flew in 1941 - what was unusual? 1823..Women compete between USA and UK in Wightman Cup - Sport? 1824..Woolworth's - the 5 /10 cent store started in which us state 1979? 1825..Which actress starred in the original King Kong in 1933 (both)? 1826..Except Australia 1 New Zealand 1 USA all since 1870 want?? 1827..What's missing from ale that’s included in beer? 1828..Until 1971 what was the name of Zaire? 1829..Karl Lienstater discovered which medical breakthrough in 1901? 1830..Who is the only American president elected unopposed? 1831..Which countries men use the most deodorant? 1832..Who played Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun? 1833..What was the first credit card? 1834..What links Humphry Davie, Michael Faraday, Madam Curie? 1835..Hippophagic society members support what? 1837..1836..What did Britain swap Havana for with Spain in 1763? 1838..What is the crime of embracery? 1839..Which country made the worlds first feature film in 1906? 1840..Who wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blonds? 1841..What was Norman Bates hobby in Psycho? 1842..What was Casanovas day job? 1843..Where is the worlds largest gold depository? 1844..Why did the state of Indiana ban Robin Hood in 1953? 1845..Angelo Scicilano better know as who? 1846..How did George II die? 1847..What did Marlon Brando and George C Scott refuse? 1848..Why was convict 2599 unusual in Pen State prison 1924? 1849..What is 6 inches bigger in Summer? 1850..What two ingredients make the dish angels on horseback? 1851..What was Charles Dickens last (unfinished) novel? 1852..Which sea on Earth has no beaches? 1853..Reuben Tice died trying to invent a machine to do what? 1854..De Witt Wallace founded what? 1855..Who is the Patron Saint of thieves? 1856..According to his business card what job did Al Capone do? 1857..Humans are 10,000 times more sexually active that what animal? 1858..Shirley Schrift became famous as which actress? 1859..In Kansas what can a waiter not do in a teacup (legally)? 1860..Which country has the smallest birth rate? 1861..Which 1956 film caused riots in cinemas? 1862..Who did the USA buy the Virgin islands from? 1863..Who played the scarecrow in the Wiz (all black wiz of oz)? 1864..What was or is a Waltzing Mathilda? 1865..Which country was the first to introduce old age pensions? 1866..Which hats became popular with children in 1956? 1867..Malden Serkiovitch famous as which actor? 1868..What is it illegal to pawn in New York? 1869..What hospital did Dr Kildare work at? 1870..Collective nouns - a smuck of what? 1871..Who was Cleopatra's first husband? 1872..Who was John Dawkins better known as? 1873..Which film star has his statue in Leicester Square? 1874..Virginia McMath became famous as which actress? 1875..What is the name of Captain Ahab's ship? 1876..Roosevelt won the 1932 election - who lost it? 1877..Who wrote The History of Mr Polly? 1878..What is the first day of Lent? 1879..Mr Chips said goodbye - from which fictional school? 1880..Who buried the treasure on Treasure Island? 1881..Which TV series was narrated by Walter Winchell? 1882..In which country was Auschwitz? 1883..What was the first British instrumental to top the USA charts? 1884..On which national flag is there an eagle and a snake? 1885..What group of animals would be in a clowder? 1886..What is a Sam Browne? 1887..What is the chemical symbol for tungsten? 1888..Who are the two most translated English writers? 1889..Citius Altius Fortius is the motto of what organisation? 1890..What is the main ingredient of sauce Lyonnaise? 1891..Who played Miss Marple in 6 films (both names)? 1892..From what language does the word alphabet come? 1893..In the nursery rhyme what is Fridays child? 1894..What was the first film made in cinemascope? 1895..Where was the battle of Hastings fought? 1896..A pearmain is what type of fruit? 1897..What colour is the bull on an archery target? 1898..What was the Rolling Stones first no 1 hit? 1899..Name both rival gangs in West Side Story? 1900..In golf what do the Americans call an albatross? 1901..Which classical composer wrote the Hungarian Rhapsody? 1902..When is St Swithens day? 1903..What are ceps morels and chantrelles? 1904..Which part of his body did Charlie Chaplin insure? 1905..In golf what would you put in your shag bag? 1906..A bind is a group of what type of fish? 1907..Which author created Fu Manchu? 1908..Mrs Darell Waters (translated 128 languages) pen name? 1909..Who played the pawnbroker in the film of that name? 1910..What was the first manufactured item to be sold on Hire Purchase? 1911..Which letters denote Jesus Nazareth King of the Jews? 1912..In France if you were served le miel what would you eat? 1913..The Greek for circle of animals gives it name to what? 1914..Who was the Roman god of agriculture? 1915..What is ikebana? 1916..What nationality was Morse inventor of the famous code? 1917..Goa used to be a colony of which nation? 1918..What does a galactophagist drink? 1919..What did God create on the fifth day (both)? 1920..Where was Bob Dylan born? 1921..In the 18th century what would a pencil be? 1922..Agrippa poisoned her husband/uncle who was he? 1923..Who was the mother of Castor and Pollux? 1924..What are the snaffle Pelham and Weymouth? 1925..Walter Koenig played which part in the Star Trek series? 1926..Who had a hit with Devil Woman? 1927..What were the first false teeth made from? 1928..The jealous Athena turned who into a spider? 1929..What was the first Carry On film? 1930..Who was the female lead in The Shootist? 1931..What is a dzo? 1932..Which leader lives in the Potola? 1933..What wood was the cross supposed to be made of? 1934..Joseph Levitch became famous as who? 1935..If you planted a bandarilla what are you doing? 1936..What was the first Pink Floyd album? 1937..in which city was the first public opera house opened? 1938..In what Elvis film did he play a double role? 1939..The Aphrodite of Melos has a more famous name - what? 1940..Which country invented the concentration camp? 1941..John Huston scored a hit with his first film - what?? 1942..Stan laurel, Mickey Rooney, Lana Turner what in common? 1943..What real person has been played most often in films? 1944..Scotopic people can do what? 1945..What is the most critical thing keeping bananas fresh transport? 1946..What is the name of the Paris stock exchange? 1947..Whose music featured in The Clockwork Orange? 1948..What was the Troggs most famous hit? 1949..In Japan what colour car is reserved for the royal family only? 1950..What city has Kogoshima as its airport? 1951..What was gangsters George Nelsons nickname? 1952..Whose first wife was actress Jayne Wyman? 1953..In MASH what is Radars favourite drink? 1954..What do you give on the third wedding anniversary? 1955..What is a baby whale called? 1956..In which film did the Rolls Royce have the number plate AU1? 1957..Vladamere Ashkenazy plays what musical instrument? 1958..With which organ does a snake hear? 1959..On what is the Mona Lisa painted? 1960..What is the second most common international crime? 1961..Count de Grisly was the first to perform what trick in 1799? 1962..Who wrote Les Miserable? 1963..Which bird turns it head upside down to eat? 1964..The colossus of Rhodes was a statue of who? 1965..Who rode a horse called Bucephalus? 1966..To which London club did Mycroft Holmes belong? 1967..What did William Addis invent in prison? 1968..What is the only duty of police Gracthenvissers in Amsterdam? 1969..Kleenex tissues were originally intended as what in 1915? 1970..Who invented popcorn? 1971..What is the colour of mourning in Turkey? 1972..For what is spirits of salt another name? 1973..Which game is played on an oval with 18 player per team? 1974..In the Winnie the Pooh stories what is Kanga’s baby called? 1975..Which actor is common to Magnificent 7 and Dirty Dozen? 1976..Who saved Andromeda from the sea monster? 1977..What flower is the symbol of secrecy? 1978..What item were originally called Hanways? 1979..What is Brussels best known statue? 1980..in which language does God Jul mean happy Xmas? 1981..Which flying pioneer was nicknamed the lone eagle? 1982..Horse statue - mounted man - on two legs - how man die? 1983..Which American state produces the most potatoes? 1984..Who wrote Dr Zhivago? Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:16 pm 2001..What is the only creature that can turn its stomach inside out? 2002..What is Milan's opera house called? 2003..What is the oldest most widely used drug on earth? 2004..What type of animal is a Samoyed? 2005..In which country did draughts (checkers) originate? 2006..Shane Fenton became famous as who? 2007..What is the worlds most popular green vegetable? 2008..What does a racoon do before eating its food? 2009..What other name is used for the snow leopard? 2010..Which drink did Bach enjoy so much he wrote a cantata for it? 2011..Who invented the first safety razor in 1895? 2012..What nationality is Thor Heyerdahl? 2013..What 3 ingredients make a sidecar cocktail? 2014..A spunder or drift is the name for a group of what animals? 2015..What is Erse? 2017..What did table tennis balls used to be made from? 2018..If you had variola what disease have you got? 2019..Which playing card is called the Curse of Scotland? 2020..Which painter did Hans van Meegeren most fake? 2021..Which country had the first women MPs 19 in 1907? 2022..In 1969 what category was added to the Nobel prizes? 2023..In which city was Bob Hope born? 2024..In the human body where is your occiput? 2025..Who wrote the Star Spangled Banner? 2026..Which food did Victorians deride as little bags of mystery? 2027..Which actor was dubbed the muscles from Brussels? 2028..Which film star was the first to appear on a postage stamp? 2029..What would you expect to find in a binnacle? 2030..Which Hollywood star has made the cover of Life most times? 2031..Which Mediterranean countries orchestra is bigger than its army? 2032..What links stags tails, pickled worms, gallstones, tomatoes? 2033..Baked beans were originally served in what sauce? 2034..Where can you buy a copy of Penguin News? 2035..Who was the hero of the old TV cop series Dragnet? 2036..Which African country was founded by Americans? 2037..What was Britain called - before it was Britain? 2038..What part of a frog do you rub to hypnotise it? 2039..How did multi millionaire Russell Sage save money? 2040..How was USA president James Buchanan different from all rest? 2041..What's involved in 20% of car accidents in Sweden? 2042..What's unusual about evangelist Amy Semple McPhersons coffin? 2043..Who would use a swozzle? 2044..What does a tailor do with his plonker? 2045..Churches in Malta have two what? 2046..Marnie Nixon what Deborah Kerr Natilie Wood Audrey Hepburn? 2047..Which Italian tractor maker tried making cars in 1960s? 2048..What first appeared on Page 1 of the Times 3 May 1966? 2049..Caruso put what in Nellie Melbas hand singing tiny hand frozen? 2050..What would you do with an Edzell blue? 2051..In what month did the Russian October revolution take place? 2052..Nobody's perfect is the last line in which classic comedy film? 2053..How did Buffalo Bill stick to one glass whisky a day? 2054..In 1760 what means of personal transport was invented? 2055..What three counties were Eliza Dolittle taught to pronounce? 2056..In Hitchcock's film The Trouble with Harry - what was the trouble? 2057..What was the first gramophone record made from? 2058..What did George Washington soak his wooden teeth in for taste? 2059..George V1 Mozart Al Jolson Casanova - which organization? 2060..Who said "Its so long since sex I forget who gets tied up"? 2061..St Appolonia Patron Saint of what? 2062..What is measured on the Gay-Lussac scale? 2063..A squid found in New Zealand had the biggest what ever seen? 2064..What was the first country to guarantee freedom of worship? 2065..Which famous person invented the cat flap? 2066..By law what can you not do in Minnesota with your washing line? 2067..Why do Tibetans grow long nails on little fingers? 2068..Richard Penniman became famous as who? 2069..What is a snood? 2070..Who said "men are creatures with two legs and 8 hands"? 2071..Which European country eats the most breakfast cereal? 2072..Philosopher Jeremy Bentham has a very unusual pet - what? 2073..What country did Italy invade in 1935? 2074..Who sang the title song in the film Grease? 2075..What is produced in a ginnery? 2076..What was made illegal in England in 1439? 2077..What was invented by Dr Albert Southwick in 1881? 2078..In which country are you most likely to die from a scorpion sting? 2079..Who is the most filmed author? 2080..Excluding religious works what is the worlds top selling book? 2081..Who sold the most albums on a single day? 2082..What was the last item shown on British TV before WW2? 2083..What countries people had the longest life expectation? 2084..Who said "I like Beethoven especially the poems"? 2085..What does the entire economy of the island of Nauru depend on? 2086..John Glen first USA to orbit earth was in which service? 2087..Oedipus was named after what - literal translation? 2088..What fish can hold objects in its tail? 2089..Who is the most filmed comic strip character? 2090..Whose version of A View to a Kill reached 1 in USA 2 in UK? 2091..Which country grows the most potatoes? 2092..What does a drosomoter measure? 2093..Which English Kings armour has the biggest codpiece? 2094..Which country was the first to abolish capitol punishment 1826? 2095..In law what is a co-parcener? 2096..Which pop group had a hit with Silence is Golden? 2097..Greek mathematician cylinder enclosed sphere carved on grave? 2098..What does a psephologist study? 2099..Where would you find line of Mars - Girdle of Venus? 2100..British call this bird species tits - what do Americans call them? 2101..Which country owns the Hen and Chicken islands? 2102..Who created the TV series - The man from UNCLE? 2103..Which film director described actors as cattle? 2104..Shirley Bassey sang three Bond themes - which 3 films? 2105..Barring rain - in which athletics event would you get wet? 2106..What colour is the flesh of the Charentais melon? 2107..Who appeared on the first US postage stamps (both names)? 2108..Who was the first person elected to US swimming hall fame? 2109..The guillotine was invented for chopping off what? 2110..Which country invented the bedsprings? 2111..Whets the difference between fog and mist? 2112..What did Spanish scientists fit to cows to increase milk yield? 2113..What people founded cheese making in England? 2114..What is the first name of Mr Toad - in Toad of Toad Hall? 2115..Atephobia is a fear of what? 2116..What are Grapnel, Bruce, Danforth, Plough types of?? 2117..Why did Handel compose The Messiah? 2118..Red flags flown by French ships - Joli Rouge origin of what name? 2119..in which country could you spend a Kwanza? 2120..John Henry Deutchendorf famous as who (both names)? 2121..Mitre Dovetail Jig and Hack are types of what? 2122..Tracey and Hepburn first film in 1942 was what? 2123..Antimacassars were fitted to chairs - what is macasser? 2124..Jack Ketch 1663 1686 had what job? 2125..Nekal was the first type of what product (Germany 1917)? 2126..Who was the first Grand Prix driver to used a safety belt in 1967? 2127..The SF award the Hugo is named after Hugo who?? 2128..Maurice Micklewhite became famous as who? 2129..What do Ombrophobes fear? 2130..If you had a Brassica Rapa what vegetable would you have? 2131..Boob Day in Spain is what day in Britain (practical jokes played)? 2132..What crime did Theresa Vaughn commit 62 times in 5 years? 2133..Who sailed in a ship called Queen Ann's Revenge? 2134..Saponification is the process that makes what common product? 2135..Blue red green yellow four Olympic rings colour what's missing? 2136..Detective Philip Marlow smokes what brand? 2137..Who landed on Timor Island after being cast adrift? 2138..What is the more common name of the Chaparral c**k? 2139..In what language did St Paul write his epistles? 2140..Ian Fleming's house was called Goldeneye - which country? 2141..Alfred Schneider became famous as who? 2142..A C-Curity was the original name of what common object? 2143..Fidelity Bravery Integrity is which organisations motto? 2144..Who was the first black entertainer to win an Emmy award? 2145..Anthony Daniels played who in a series of films? 2146..Of what material was the hairspring made in early watches? 2147..In 1860 Napoleon III banquet - serving dishes dearer gold - what? 2148..Which author created d**k Tracy? 2149..What is the worlds most widely used vegetable? 2150..What are lentigines? 2151..What type of animal is a vmi-vmi? 2152..What did Mege-Mouries invent in 1870 winning a Napoleon prize? 2153..What was Walt Disney's middle name? 2154..Who would you expect to find in Castle Gondolofo? 2155..What two items make up the dish devils on horseback? 2156..What does ludo mean (literally)? 2157..The Detours changed to The High Numbers then what name? 2158..What animal was believed to be a cross camel - leopard? 2159..An elephant has 400000 what in its trunk? 2160..What color is cerulean? 2161..Who composed the Air for the G string (init and name)? 2162..What were Twinkletoes - Lucky Jim (stuffed cats) first to do? 2163..What are kreplach? 2164..The pica pica is what common bird? 2165..What male human feature was taxed in Elizabethan times? 2166..Which record company rejected the Beatles as being past it? 2167..From which country does spinach originate? 2168..British policemen have truncheons what is USA equivalent? 2169..In DC comics Linda Lee Danvers is whose alter ego? 2170..In what country does the cow tree grow - sap looks tastes milk? 2171..The penny black - worlds first stamp - what was second? 2172..Which country produces Tokay? 2173..Where could you legally flash your dong - then spend it? 2174..The Bald Eagle is Americas bird - What is Britain's? 2175..Australian Clement Wragge instituted what? 2176..What does Zip stand for in the American Zip Code? 2177..What wood is plywood mostly made from? 2178..What is a Hummum? 2179..In which sport are left handed people banned from playing? 2180..What food was invented in a sanatorium in 1890? 2181..What is a Bellwether? 2182..What was Procul Harem's greatest hit? 2183..Percy Shaw invented what in 1934? 2184..What animal produces its own sun tan lotion? 2185..What was a Nuremberg egg? 2186..What was the name of Isaac Newton's dog - caused fire in lab? 2187..Who was eaten by dogs in the Old Testament? 2188..In literature who is the alter ego of Percy Blakney? 2189..Juglans Regia is the real name of what type of nut tree? 2190..What album cover (by the Rolling Stones) had a zip on the side? 2191..What lives in a holt? 2192..Who is the Patron Saint of dancers and actors? 2193..What is the worlds tallest grass? 2194..Who owned the newspaper in Lou Grant - Nancy Marchand? 2195..Who reputedly first said - if in doubt tell the truth? 2196..John Richie became famous under what name? 2197..In Greek mythology who rowed the dead across the river Styx? 2198..Alfred White was a famous author under which name? 2199..Which acid was first prepared from distilled red ants? 2200..Who invented doctor Who? 2201..What took place on London's serpentine first time 16 June 1930? 2202..Which European city was the bride of the sea? 2203..Who (not Peter Sellers) played Inspector Clouseau in 1968? 2204..Where could you find the Lutine Bell? 2205..Yabusame is the Japanese version of what sport? 2206..Which Dickens novel is considered an autobiography? 2207..Dendrologists worship what? 2208..What is the national sport of Finland? 2209..Who was Agrippa's son? 2210..Peter Goldmak invented what in 1948? 2211..Milton lost which sense? 2212..What are camel haired brushes made of? 2213..How did the Greek dramatist Aeschalys die? 2214..Playing card - Raymond Shaw trance - Manchurian Candidate? 2215..Eiffel designed the Eiffel tower - what was his first name? 2216..The Salk vaccine is used against what disease? 2217..If you are born between June 23rd and July 23rd what star sign? 2218..An alloy of Iron - Chromium and Nickel makes what? 2219..Who said "Public service is my motto"? 2220..Drakes Golden Hind was originally called what? 2221..In what film did Elvis play a Red Indian? 2222..What did the Victorians call servant regulators? 2223..Which country first used the fountain pen? 2224..What is the more popular name for the Londonderry Air? 2225..Freyr was the Norse god of what? 2226..TAP is the national airline of which country? 2227..In which country is the port of Frey Bentos? 2228..The Koh-i-Nor is a famous diamond - what does the name mean? 2229..A nilometer measures the rise and fall of what? 2230..What was Britain's first colony (annexed in 1583)? 2231..Joseph Lister - first operation antiseptic - 1867 on who? 2232..What was Black Beauties original name? 2233..Who was the original Peeping Tom looking at? 2234..What element is present in all organic compounds? 2235..What was Professor Moriarties first name? 2236..Who was known as the Little Brown Saint? 2237..Who rode a horse called Morengo? 2238..A skulk is a group of which animals? 2239..Who defended World heavyweight title twice on same night in 1906? 2240..What part of an aircraft is the empennage? 2241..We know who wrote Little Women but who wrote Little Men? 2242..Who was the Goddess of the rainbow? 2243..In European city can you be jailed for not killing furry caterpillars? 2244..Who was Olive Oyls boyfriend - before Popeye? 2245..Sienna law forbids women of what name from prostitution? 2246..What do the letters MG stand for on cars? 2247..Who was the first actor to appear on cover of Time magazine? 2248..Polyphemus was the leader of which group of mythical giants? 2249..What does a pluviomoter measure? 2250..Which game was illegal in Elizabethan England? 2251..What nationality was Oddjob? 2253..What language has the most words? 2254..Which film star used to be a circus acrobat? 2255..The comma bacillus causes what disease? 2256..Which country invented Venetian Blinds? 2257..What is a quadriga? 2259..Pupik means belly button in what language? 2260..What is the main ingredient in Borsch? 2261..What was the name of Dr Dolittle’s Parrot? 2262..What was the name of William Tells son (the apple head boy)? 2263..Laika was the first ever dog to do what? 2264..Where could you spend a Markka? 2265..What links a bick, throat, half swage, punching hole? 2266..The Fagus is the Latin name of what type of tree? 2267..If you have Chlorosis what colour does the skin go? 2268..The French say Bis - what word do the English use? 2269..Of what are Karakul, Texel, Romney Marsh types? 2270..What is biltong? 2271..What type of fish is Scomber Scombrus? 2272..What are brick, fontina, port salut, quargel types of? 2273..In which country did the turnip originate? 2274..Tchaikovsky died of which disease? 2275..Sam Barraclough owned which film star? 2276..Which animals can live longest without water? 2277..Captain Hanson Gregory Crockett created what void in 1847? 2278..Kaka means parrot in which language? 2279..Who wrote A Town Like Alice? 2280..Which fruit contains the most protein? 2281..Ignatius Loyola founded which organisation? 2282..Which 16th century Italian wrote The Prince? 2283..A meander bend in a river, named from river meander - where? 2284..Who tells the story in The Arabian Nights? 2285..Alfred Jingle appears in which Dickens novel? 2286..Vaselina and Brillantino were alternate names which film? 2287..Chaplin ate a boot in the Gold Rush - what was it made of? 2288..Phoebe Anne Mozee better known as who? 2289..What is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet? 2290..If you were misocapnic what do you hate? 2291..In sailing ship days who often acted as the ships doctor? 2292..An isoneph on a map joins places of equal what? 2293..Bumper Harris - wooden leg - what Job on London Underground? 2294..Who is Ivanhoe's wife? 2295..The Lent Lilly has a more common name - what? 2296..What would you be if you were a coryphée? 2297..Whose last words were - "Clito I owe a c**k to Asclepius"? 2298..What does the German word Panzer literally mean? 2299..What is Frances longest river? 2300..In which month is the Munich beer festival held? 2301..What was the name of Norse God Thor's hammer? 2302..Who ordered John the Baptists execution? 2303..What was Walt Disney's first cartoon character? 2304..What medication discovered in 1928 but introduced 1940? 2305..Who wrote Beau Geste? 2306..Prophesied the Chalus the Greek - Die on day - did of what? 2307..Who is Aladdin's father? 2308..What American state is the Badger state? 2309..Why was Fred Lorz disqualified 1904 Olympic marathon? 2310..In China what color does the bride traditionally wear? 2311..A muster is a group of which birds? 2312..Bohea is a type of what? 2313..In which country were antibiotics first used? 2314..Which country grew the first Orange? 2315..Gossima was the original name of what game? 2316..Wild marjoram is also known as what? 2317..What was the name of Roses monkey in Friends? 2318..Horse brasses - on dreyhorses - originally what purpose? 2319..Alfred Hitchcock admitted to being terrified of what? 2320..What was the name of Sancho Panza's donkey? 2321..What is Steganography? 2322..An Albert chain is usually attached to what? 2323..An unkindness is a group of what birds? 2324..A fellmonger deals in what items? 2325..What colour habit do Franciscan monks wear? 2326..Nenen-Kona is sold in Russia - what do we call it? 2327..Hugh Lofting created which famous character? 2328..What was the name of Russian bear mascot 1980 Olympics? 2329..What ingredient must French ice cream contain by law? 2330..A kindle is the name for a group of what young animals? 2331..What is the commonest symbol on flags of the world? 2332..Which country is alphabetically last? 2333..Smiths Bon-Bons changed their name to what after 1840? 2334..Minerva is the Goddess of what? 2335..What type of animal is a jennet? 2336..If you were crapulous what would you be? 2337..Where would you Wedel? 2338..What is the correct name for a baby otter? 2339..What colour is the gemstone peridot? 2340..Sanskrit is an old language - what does the word mean? 2341..In which country do they play houlani - type of hockey? 2342..What does the name Tabitha mean? 2343..With what is spangy played? 2344..Where did Spam get its name? 2345..The Pogues took their name from Pogue Mahone - what mean? 2346..What comes after the year of the snake - Chinese calendar? 2347..Mosi-oa-Tunya - Smoke that Thunders - what natural feature? 2348..One person every 6 seconds dies from what? 2349..Approximately 40 million of what are consumed each year? 2350..What is the worlds largest rodent? 2351..Which winter game is known as the roaring game? 2352..The first known what happened in Wisconsin 1878? 2353..Which 2 countries will host the 2002 Soccer World Cup finals? 2354..In 1935 Charlton C McGee invented what in the USA? 2355..Which French philosopher created analytical geometry? 2356.The length of what is approximately 1/10th circumference of earth? 2357..What was the world's first computer bug in 1946? 2358..What does a polythesistic person believe in? 2359..Who founded the Greek theatre? 2360..Maria Magdelana Von Losch Beyyer know as who? 2361..If you suffered from tantartism what would you be doing? 2362..Which literary prize started in 1968? 2363..What links Fitzroy, Essenden, Collingswood and Carlton? 2364..What countries people spend most private money on recreation? 2365..What links The Reivers, Grapes of Wrath, Humboldt’s Gift? 2366..USA has most airports which country has second most? 2367..In 1829 Walter Hunt invented what common item? 2368..Fredrick Sanger discovered which medical life saver? 2369..Who invented punched cards used in early computing 1880s? 2370..Why did Roselin Franklin (pre discovered dna helix) no Nobel? 2371..What is a Dwarf Goby? 2372..What types can be saddle, plane or pivotal? 2373..1500 paces was what Roman measurement? 2374..Denis Gabor of Hungary 1971 Nobel prize for what invention? 2375..Who gave the UN the land in NY to build their HQ? 2376..In 1779 Abraham Darby built the worlds first what? 2377..What is the worlds oldest monotheistic religion? 2378..An aubade or alborda is a song - but what type? 2379..What sport links Castle Cup, Red Stripe Cup, Ranji Trophy? 2380..What countries leader does not have an official residence? 2381..Which writer coined the word Cyberspace in 1984? 2382.Demeter was the Greek god of what (Ceres Roman)? 2383..What film won the 1943 Oscar as best film? 2384..What do ungulate animals alone have? 2385..Dr Ludwig L Zamenhof invented what 1887 Poland? 2386..Who wrote The Picture of Dorian Grey in 1891? 2387..Who composed The Planets suit (both names)? 2388..What links Doric, Ionic, Tuscan, Corinthian and Composite? 2389..What is phonetic alphabet word for U? 2390..Why were women barred from original Olympic Games? 2391..In which USA state is Churchill Downs racetrack? 2392..In 1867 Lucian B Smith invented what restraint? 2393..In 1961 which Henry Mancini record won Grammy record of year? 2394..What links Willie Brant, Lech Walesa, Yasser Arafat? 2395..Which countries government spends most in social security %? 2396..Archaeopteryx was the first what? 2397..In 1810 in England Peter Durand invented what? 2398..Who was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 (turned down)? 2399..What is the oldest known infectious disease? 2400..A JPEG is a picture file format - what does JPEG stand for? 2401..What is the worlds largest sea (in area)? 2402..Which islands wildlife is 90% unique? 2403..What are truffles - highly prized as food? 2404..Which Game is Played 15 a side and scores 3 or 1 points? 2405..What was invented in 1855 45 years later than it was needed? 2406..What links Sissinnius, Zosimus, Liberius, Sergius V1,Victor II? 2407..What is the world largest seed? 2408..Bristlemouths are the worlds most common what? 2409..What swims at 1/8 inch an hour? 2410..Trypanophobia is fear of what? 2411..Chogori is better know by what boring name? 2412..Colonel Jacob Schick invented what in 1928 in USA? 2413..What links Duke Wellington, Earl Derby, Marquis Salisbury? 2414..In 1996 which Celine Dion album Grammy album of year? 2415..What weight is the lightest in Amateur Boxing? 2416..Which country has the worlds biggest (on land) National Park? 2417..What language speakers were shot Russia and Germany 1930s? 2418..Ronald Ross campaigned for the destruction of what? 2419..Who won two Nobel prizes in different fields? 2420..Name 3rd cent BC Greek mathematician wrote The Elements? 2421..Evidence of what alternative treatment found in 5300 mummy? 2422..North Fork Roe River - worlds shortest - which US state? 2423..In 1879 James Ritty invented what? 2424..Who wrote the novel Tom Jones in 1749? 2425..What links Millionaires, Metropolitans, Black Hawks, Silver seven? 2426..What country - largest earthquake of 20th cent 8.6 Richter 1906? 2427..The okapi belongs to what family of animals? 2428..Dimitri Mendeleyev is credited with the discover of what? 2429..What feature of a triangle makes it scalene? 2430..Taphophobia is fear of what? 2431..In the Chinese New Year what year follows Rat? 2432..Genuphobia is the fear of what? 2433..Percy LeBaron Spencer invented what in 1945 in USA? 2434...St Peter was the first Pope - Who was second? 2435..What 1945 film won best picture, actor, director Oscars? 2436..What is the literal translation of pot-pouri? 2437..Who did James Bond marry - character - (both names)? 2438..What is studied in the science of somatology? 2439..What was Hugh Hefner's jet plane called? 2440..What profession did Handel originally study? 2441..What European nation was the first to drink tea? 2442..Beaufort - the wind scale man - had what job? 2443.What bird is the symbol of Penguin books (children's section)? 2444..Diane Leather was the first woman to do what? 2445..What is Admiral Sir Miles Messervy usually known as? 2446..Which part of the body is most sensitive to radiation? 2447..What film made 58 times - cartoon, porrno, operatic, ballet? 2448..Mr Chips said goodbye from Brookfield school - What subject? 2449..In which American city can you get doctorate in hambugerology? 2450..Which author created The Saint (both names)? 2451..What was Edison’s first practical invention? 2452..Frigophobia fear of what? 2453..Which company invented the transistor radio in 1952? 2454..Who is the only solo performer to win Euro song twice? 2455..Franz Liszt was the farther in law of what composer? 2456..In what town was Leonardo Da Vinci born? 2457..Who directed the Halloween series of films? 2458..What metal impurity makes rubies red and emeralds green? 2459..Helen Mitchell became famous as what soprano? 2460..Robert Whithead invented what weapon in 1866? 2461..Zymase and Glucose combine to form what drug? 2462..Translated literally what does television mean? 2463..Not as soups what have gazpacho - vichyssoise in common? 2464..Who was the Greek goddess of retribution? 2468..47 people worked on a committee to produce what work? 2469..What book was made into the first feature length British cartoon? 2470..Who first said "Publish and be Damned"? 2471..Edwin Drake sank the first of them in 1859 - what were they? 2472..Calico cloth was invented in which country? 2473..What is dittology? 2474..Who played Pink in the movie The Wall? 2475..Rhabdophobia fear of what? 2476..Dr C W Long was the first to use what (anaesthetic) in 1842? 2477..Jamie Farr played what role in MASH? 2478..Whets the correct name for golf club called Texas Wedge? 2479..Whose nickname was slowhand (both names)? 2480..Which country invented the mariners compass? 2481..What countries international car registration letters are DZ? 2482..The name Malissa means what? 2483..What was Acadia? 2484..Dragoon, Antwerp, Poulter, Tumbler, Horseman types of what? 2485..What was the first frozen food available in Britain in 1937? 2486..If you suffer from cynanthropy what do you think you are? 2487..What is the phonetic alphabet word for letter P? 2488..What is a runcible spoon? 2489..The artist Abbott Thayer's developed what for military use? 2490..What did Francis Bacon call The Purest of Pleasures? 2491..What is the largest single known gold object in the world? 2492..Madame Pauline de Vere first female circus performer - do what? 2493..How was Alexander the Greats body preserved? 2494..Californian law no shooting any animal - moving car except what? 2495..Peter Falk plays Lt Colombo but who was first offered role? 2496..What type of birds (Hugin + Munin) sit on the shoulders of Odin? 2497..Where are you most likely to have a serious accident? 2498..Melvin R Bissell invented what in 1876 in the USA? 2499..Peniaphobia fear of what? 2500..About which game has most books been written?   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:18 pm 2501..Albert De Salvo was better known as who? 2502..What was the last European nation to accept the potato? 2503..Students at Cambridge - no dogs - what Lord Byron keep? 2504..King Mongut had aprox 9000 wife's/concubines what country? 2505..Only approx one third worlds population uses what regularly? 2506..William Tayton was the first man to do what? 2507..Clemintina Campbell famous as who? 2508..What should you give after 15 years of marriage? 2509..What is a Charollais? 2510..What place is called Rapa-nui by its native inhabitants? 2511..Where was/is the original Penthouse? 2512..What pop group took their name from a Herman Hess novel? 2513..How often does a Hebdomadal Council meet? 2514..What was unusual about Tyrell's car in the 1976 Spanish G Prix? 2515..In what country is the Eucumbene Dam? 2516..Males outnumber females by 5 to 1 in what addiction? 2517..For what would an Edgar be awarded or won? 2518..What are salopettes? 2519..Which society cared - plague victims when physicians left 1665? 2520..Domenikos Theotocopoulos born Crete - died Spain - who? 2521..What nation on average takes most time to eat meals? 2522..Dr F Lanchester invented what motor safety aid in 1902? 2523..Halophobia fear of what? 2524..Arthur Jefferson better known as who? 2525..Why is the city La Paz in Bolivia safe from fire? 2526..What is the national drink of Yugoslavia? 2527..Agnes the girls name means what? 2528..What were the wicks in the Vestal Virgins lamps made from? 2529..Who is the Patron Saint of France? 2530..What are you supposed to give/get for 40 years of marriage? 2531..What is the Roman Numeral for 1000? 2532..What fashion did General Ambrose Burnside start in Civil War? 2533..In what village do Tom Sawer and Huckleberry Finn live? 2534..What Opera's story is about a female cigar factory worker? 2535..E is the international car registration plate for which country? 2536..USA has most roads what country has second most? 2537..In the Chinese calendar what year follows Monkey? 2538..What river flows through 8 countries and four capitols? 2539..What does the word Desert (from Latin desertus) translate as? 2540..In 1848 The London Daily News carried the worlds fist what? 2541..What is a Kakapoo? 2542..Part of the human body can expand 20 times its normal size? 2543..In the 1920s Dr Ida Rolf developed Rolfing as what alt therapy? 2544..Which dinosaurs name translated as speedy predator? 2545..Price one kilo went from $63 to $260 in 1976 when sale illegal? 2546..The island of Yap has the worlds largest what? 2547..Which tennis player was sued by his fan club? 2548..What animal - faster horse - longer no h20 camel - see behind? 2549..What is a chemically castrated c**k called? 2550..Nessus killed Hercules - What was Nessus? 2551..Eva Shain was the first woman to do what? 2552..Ben Franklin invented it - Britain tried it in 1916 - What? 2553..In which country is Mount Aspiring National Park? 2554..Alfred Wallace coined which phrase - Wrongly given to Darwin? 2555..Who won the first Nobel prize for Physics in 1901 - gave away? 2556..What countries days include Fire day, Water day and wood day? 2557..What city has the longest metro system? 2258..Yoga (the meditation) is a Sanskrit word meaning what? 2559..What was invented 1903 - patented 1906 G C Beilder? 2560..Which SF author invented the idea of the com Satellite? 2561..What country consumes the most coal each year? 2562..What was ********* the goddess of? 2563..What are a Galliard, Sarabande, Morisca and Courente? 2564..Who composed the overture Hebrides (Fingals cave) two names? 2565..Tanjong Panger Container Terminal where worlds largest con port? 2566..What would an anemometer measure? 2567..In Britain pool and snooker players call it side - what USA name? 2568..What form modern sculpture invented Calder named Dechamp? 2569..What book featured Topsy who growed? 2570..Where - accident 1953 - motor sport killed 83 spectators? 2571..James Outram invented what? 2572..If you were eating calemare - what are you snacking on? 2573..Which women injured riding, eloped with a poet, dog called Flash? 2574..The Bermuda Bowl is world championship in which game? 2575..ROK international car registrations which country? 2576..USA has most cars what country has second most? 2577..All Sikhs must possess five things - one is a Kangha - what is it? 2578..What colour graded slope do expert skiers use? 2579..Randy Newman said short people don’t have what? 2580..To which gentleman's club did Phineas Fogg belong? 2581..What’s the only alt therapy fully recognised Western medicine? 2582..Over 90% of the worlds total population of what gone since 1970? 2583.. J M Jacquard invented first programmable device - what? 2584..Sobek was an Egyptian god - in what form is he seen? 2585..The Amati family were famous for making what? 2586..Oliver was fed gruel - its made from water and what? 2587..Arnold Cream was a famous (early) boxer - who? 2588..Bunyon wrote Pilgrims Progress - where? 2589..Who did Mork call to each week on Ork? 2590..What composer boasted "I could set a laundry list to music"? 2591..What dinosaurs name translates as three horned? 2592..Nacre is more commonly known as what? 2593..In the 18th century Siberia used solid blocks of what as money? 2594..In fable who pulled the thorn from the lions paw - not eaten? 2595..Thomas Chippendale mostly worked in what wood? 2596..The USA has the most railtrack - what country second? 2597..What device did Henry Doherty patent in 1972? 2598..Earl D Biggers created which oriental detective (both names)? 2599..Whose backing group was The Coconuts? 2600..What does soviet mean? 2602..Aleksei Leanov was the first to do what? 2603..What is the name of Moses and Aaron's sister? 2604..The American Triple Crown - Belmont st Kentucky Derby and?? 2605..John Gore, Edward Saunders pioneered what org in Australia? 2606..What dog in ancient China was restricted to the aristocracy? 2607..Which actor wrote the book The Outlaw Trail? 2608..What was pirate Captain Flint's ship called? 2609..Bartommelo Christofori invented what? 2611..Daisy Hawkins original name of which Beatles hit song? 2612..Name Captain Nemo's pet seal? 2613..Rouget de Lisle did what to make him famous? 2614..The Caspian Java Bali what became extinct in 19th Century? 2615..Whose magazine is called The Watchtower? 2616..What does a manometer measure? 2617..Why did the USA govt open Lincolns coffin in 1887 and 1901? 2618..You'll Never Walk Alone came from which 1945 musical show? 2619..Which Greek philosopher wrote The Republic and The Laws? 2620..EAU international car registration plate which country? 2621..Iolanda Balas - Romania - won 150 consecutive events - what? 2622..What county has the largest army in the world? 2623..In which city is the worlds oldest museum - Ashmolian 1679? 2624..Which American state has the motto Esto Perpetua - its forever? 2625..What is the correct name for The Laughing Jackass? 2626Marilyn Munroe was the model for which Disney Character? 2627..Which insect has the best eyesight? 2628The Campbell-Stokes recorder measures what with a glass ball? 2629..Which country are the current Olympic Rugby Champions 1924? 2630..What did William Young invent in 1800? 2631..Who was La Purcelle of Voltair's poem? 2632..Name the actor who played Ben Casey (both Names)? 2633..What links Elvis Presley, Bruce Willis, Richard Gere? 2634..What - advertised phrase "Even your best friends wont tell you"? 2635..Who wrote Don't count your chickens before they are hatched? 2636..Last Words I am Dying with the help of too many Physicians? 2637..Man shall not live by bread alone - Which NT book? 2638..RL international car registration plate which country? 2639..Which dinosaurs name translates as double beam? 2640..Which SF author wrote The Day it Rained Forever? 2641..Who said "The die is cast" (on crossing the Rubicon)? 2642..Who composed Peter and the Wolf in 1936 (both names)? 2643..Who painted the Water Lilly Pond in 1899 (both names)? 2644..Magazine wrote "Fighting for peace" is like ******** for chastity? 2645..In what film was line A mans gotta do what a mans gotta do? 2646..Which famous whore said - God is love but get it in writing? 2647..Jenny Von Westphalen was married to who? 2648..What city is closest to Copacabana beach? 2649..Who wrote the music for the film ET (both names)? 2650..In Greek legend what was Pygmalion's kingdom? 2651..What was the first penal colony in New South Wales? 2652..In Hamlet who is Ophelia's father? 2653..Guru Nanak founded which religion? 2654..What was unusual about the Gossamer Albatross aeroplane? 2655..What country is nearest to the North Pole? 2656..If you were in Lou Grants office what city are you in? 2658..For which company did Elvis Costello program computers? 2659..In what Hitchcock film did Shirley MacLaine debut in 1956? 2660..The original Peeping Tom had what job? 2661..What song is sung the most? 2662..What city is known as The worlds chocolate capital? 2663..What is detective Hercules Poirot's brothers name? 2664..To what family does the hippopotamus belong? 2665..Smith most common USA name what's second? 2666..Who secretly married Sara Lowndes in November 1965? 2667..The Mbuti tribe in Africa are the worlds what? 2668..Grace Metalious wrote which famous novel (and TV show)? 2669..Who said Old age isn’t so bad - considering the alternative? 2670..Who composed the opera Billy Budd in 1951 (both names)? 2671..What film was a California cinema showing when it went on fire? 2672..What phantom ship is said to haunt The Cape of Good Hope? 2673..In which city is the worlds oldest tennis court from 1496? 2674..What word appears over 46000 times in the Bible? 2675..What food dishes name translates as pepper water? 2676..In 1891 what city held the first weightlifting world championship? 2677..In what magazine does Alfred E Newman appear? 2678..What amateur Reached Wimbledon Semi final in 1977? 2679..Who said Politics is the art of the possible 11 Aug 1867? 2680..What advertised phrase Born 1820 still going strong? 2681..Hugh O'Brian played the lead in what Old Western series? 2682..What dinosaurs name translates as roof lizard? 2683..In which country did Turkeys originate? 2684..What is Radar from MASH home town? 2685..In Macbeth what witch speaks first? 2686..What fabled monster has a lions head and a serpents tail? 2687..CH car international registration plate which country? 2688..Who said - Give us the tools and we will finish the job Feb 1941? 2689..In The Marriage of Figaro - who did Figaro marry? 2690..What state was founded by Mohammed Ali Jinnah? 2691..What nationality are the most immigrants to the USA? 2692..Who steals the Pink Panther in the original film? 2693..What is Challa? 2694..Cher Ami saved the Lost Battalion in 1918 what was it? 2695..Whose girlfriend was Virginia Hill - he killed her B Hills 1947? 2696..What is the oldest known alcoholic beverage? 2697..In 1986 Graceland was the Grammy album of the year – who’s? 2698..Bob Cummings played which character (both names)? 2699..Complete advertising phrase from 1935 My Goodness? 2700..Who said - "The bigger they come the harder they fall" 1899? 2701..What is Lolita's surname in Vladimere Nabokovs novel? 2702..From what country does the Elkhound originate? 2703..An isohel on a map joins place of equal what? 2704..A Regatta is a boat races - where was the original Regatta? 2705..In England what would you buy or get at a Mop Fair? 2706..Who was the little gentleman in velvet - death William III? 2707..From what country does soave wine originally come? 2708..Antipater of Sidon first listed what 2nd Century AD? 2709..What are Limerick, Round Bend, Aberdeen and Octopus? 2710..What fluid ran through the Greek Gods instead of blood? 2711..Who is Oscar, Zoroaster, Phadrig, Isaac, Norman,Henkle,? 2712..Emmanual, Ambrose Diggs? 2713..The Marie Celeste sailed from which port? 2714..In Milton's Paradise Lost what was the lowest point of Hell? 2715..Pat Reid wrote which book - filmed and TV often? 2716..How was William Huskinson killed in 1830 - first ever? 2717..In which country is Zug? 2718..Who was captured and kept in a cage by Stromboli? 2719..Which USA record producer played maracas Stones 1st album? 2720..Who was nicknamed The Brocton Bomber? 2721..Name the Hotel in Arthur Haley's novel / film of same name? 2722..Frank and Jesse James father had what job? 2723..What was the Grammy album of the year in 1967 (Full name)? 2724..McLean Stevenson played which character in MASH? 2725..Which company slogan was "We're No 2 We try harder"? 2726..Who said the quickest way of ending a war is to lose it? 2727..5 items a Sikh must have Comb Dagger Hair Metal Bracelet and? 2728..Edward Teach became famous as who? 2729..To which dog was a statue erected in Edinburgh? 2730..What does a Puissance event test in showjumping? 2731..Who wrote the music to the film The Odessa File? 2732..Which Dickens novel features Waxford Squears? 2733..What is the national flower of Australia? 2734..A nudist is Spain fined £65 - £60 for being nude and £5 for what? 2735..Adolf Hitler took nude photos of Ava Brown - What part why? 2736..What links Sheffield, Edinburgh, Rome? 2737..What pet did Florence Nightingale carry with her? 2738..What did the S stand for in Harry S Truman? 2739..Women 375 - 1 Men 1400 - 1 chance of doing what? 2740..What colour is Octopus blood? 2741..A Rafter is a collection of what creatures? 2742..In Maryland it is illegal to maltreat which creature? 2743..What are the worlds smallest trees - (not Bonsai)? 2744..Paul Revere was a silversmith, copper engraver and what? 2745..What fruit did Eve give to Adam in the bible? 2746..Gavrilo Princip assassinated who? 2747..What is the only bird that can smell? 2748..Apart from man what is New Zealand's only native mammals? 2749..Wo Fat was the enemy of which TV detective? 2750..Who entered a contest to find his own look-alike and came 3rd? 2751..What colour is worn for funerals in Egypt? 2752..What country excludes women from the graveside rituals? 2753..An Arab horse has less what than other horses? 2754..An exultation is a group of what animals? 2755..Pertussis has what more common name? 2756..Which actress was jailed in 1982 for tax evasion? 2757..In what country did red onions originate? 2758..March 21st to April 20th is what Star sign? 2759..Viscum Album provides an excuse for stealing what? 2760..A haboob creates what? 2761..Felix Salten wrote which Disney cartoon? 2762..Nephologists study what? 2763..Speed skating started in which country? 2764..What job did Ernest Hemmingway do in WW1? 2765..Betty Joan Perske is better known as who? 2766..What was the name of the Roman God of sleep? 2767..Vivaldi the composer had what other profession? 2768..What is the name of the four holy books of the Hindus? 2769..Pat Sullivan created which cartoon character? 2770..What is the national flower of Mexico? 2771..The Pindus is the main mountain range in what country? 2772..What animal always gives birth to same sex twins? 2773..What was the final episode of MASH called? 2774..Joe Yule jr born 1920 became famous as who? 2775..In what sport are Triffus, Miller and Rudolf moves? 2776..Albert Finney turned down which role - Peter O Tool - Oscar? 2777..Douglas Engelbart invented what - we all use it? 2778..Hans Christian Anderson had what job before writing? 2779..What colour is named after a battle fought in Italy in 1859? 2780..In Scotland what was the tawse? 2781..Which authors books are most borrowed from libraries? 2782..What do you add to vegetables to make the dish salmagundi? 2783..What is unusual about the nobody crab? 2784..Collective nouns - what group af animals are a labour? 2785..Durbarry is cream of a vegetable soup - what one? 2786..What is the Australian name for a long narrow ox bow lake? 2787..Les Reed wrote which famous song for a Welsh singer? 2788..What does hours d'oeurve literally mean? 2789..Nossa Senhora da Aparecida is the Patron Saint which country? 2790..What airline used to be called Dobrolet? 2791..The Acropolis - what does the word literally mean? 2792..What is a Dolly Varden? 2793..Whose last words were - "That was the best soda I ever tasted"? 2794..What is the common name for the astyeroidea? 2795..Jonquil is a shade of what colour? 2796..Vincent Furnier is better known as who? 2797..If you were severed a dish 'belle h'elen what fruit would it be? 2798..Terrance Nelhams became better knows as who? 2799..d**k Turpin the highwayman served and apprenticeship as what? 2800..What is the main food of the Oyster catcher bird? 2801..In which cop show did Petrie and Isbecki appear? 2802..In the Bolshoi ballet what does the word Bolshoi mean? 2803..Which acid gives nettles their sting? 2804..In the Hindu religion what is a Mandir? 2805..Which wine grape variety is most planted in California? 2806..A paddling is a group of which animals? 2807..From what country does the dish skordalia come? 2808..What is a geoduck? 2809..What is Sean Connery's real first name? 2810..What nationally was Mata Hari shot as a spy? 2811..Who said - Toe err is human - But it feels divine? 2812..Names - Baker - Cook Smith easy - what did a Chandler do? 2813..Declan McManus became famous as who? 2814..Robert Fitzroy captained which famous ship? 2815..Who said "I have no problems with drugs - only policemen"? 2816..Which American city was named after a British Prime Minister? 2817..Spelling counts - what is the singular of scampi? 2818..What plant was named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow? 2819..Which sailor dreamed of Toasted Cheese in Treasure Island? 2820..Who played the girl on the motorcycle in a film of same name? 2821..What writer was paid $5 for writing thanks? 2822..What sort of animal is a fennec? 2823..Vermicelli pasta literally translates as what? 2824..Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, Ranier Maria Rilke - Common? 2825..What foodwise is a Fieldlane Duck? 2826..When does a Bride walk up the Aisle? 2827..How did Marc Quinquadron die while setting a new world record? 2828..Why two car thieves caught trying to sell stolen car in 1976? 2829..Billie Holiday, James Dean, Eva Peron, Janis Joplin - Common? 2830..What subject Ben Franklins letter to Royal Academy - Brussels? 2831..Reginald Carey became famous as who? 2832..What is a Chorizo? 2833..What do the quarters of a hot cross bun symbolise? 2834..What is the literal translation of terrapin? 2835..What to a French or Spanish man is an OVNI? 2836..What is it against the law to kill in Pacific Grove California? 2837..Ernest Hemmingway said what would protect against allergies? 2838..The Gettysburg Address was written on what? 2839..Collective nouns - a siege of? 2840..Who was banned from writing USA Constitution - secret Jokes? 2841..The 9 banded armadillo and humans have what in common? 2842..How did Attila the Hun die on honeymoon? 2843..What better name is Mary Westmacott better known? 2844..In the Bible what did David give Saul as a dowry for Michal? 2845..What did Dr Samuel Mudd do that your inspired "name is mud"? 2846..How do you Rizzle something? 2847..If you suffered from pruritus - what would be wrong? 2848..Andr'e Gide the writer was expelled from school for what crime? 2849..What is the most popular Saints name? 2850..What type of food is a Munster plum? 2851..Old superstition Wearing socks inside out protection from what? 2852..What food item did Pythagoras advise his followers to avoid? 2853..What happened to the first traffic lights outside HP 1868? 2854..What was unusual - beauty contest judge Percy Moorby 1985? 2855..What ruined Cesar Borgia's honeymoon night? 2856..John Ruskin - Art Critic - Marriage collapsed when wife had what? 2857..Who called himself 8th wonder of world cos of his big d**k? 2858..What given out celebrate birthday of King Bjumbal Thailand 1983? 2859..What would a nidologist be interested in? 2860..In the 18th century what job did a fart-catcher do? 2861..What is a young pigeon called? 2862..Around which French town is the champagne industry located? 2863..What country invented castanets? 2864..Who is the patron saint of music? 2865..Whose first box office film was called Risky Business? 2866..What is the smallest state of Australia? 2867..What is measured by an interferometer? 2868..What airlines identification code is VS? 2869..In which G&S operetta is eating a sausage roll a secret sign? 2870..What emperor ordered St Peter crucified? 2871..What was the name of Ali Babas female slave? 2872..In which novel does the character Quebec Bagnet appear? 2873..Sarah Josepha Hall wrote what? 2874..What is the main ingredient of faggots? 2875..Who were the first people to measure the year? 2876..Who voices the female hyena in the lion king? 2877..Anthony McMillan became famous as who? 2878..Roy Thines played David Vincent in which TV series? 2879..What colour is the cap given to an England cricket player? 2880..What capital city began as the village of Edo? 2881..Whose music was on the soundtrack of When Harry met Sally? 2882..In which sport is there a York round? 2883..In Penny Lane what is the nurse selling from a tray? 2884..Whose last words were "lets do it"? 2885..The Black Swan is native to which country? 2886..Who said "All the world's art ain't worth a good potato pie"? 2887..Collective nouns a Toc of what? 2888..If you had podobromhidrosis what would you have? 2889..What instrument is also called the octave flute? 2890..What type of food is coulibac? 2891..What spice is used to make a whiskey sling? 2892..What sort of creature is a tarantula hawk? 2893..Where does the spice saffron come from? 2894..What tennis player had trials with Bayern Munich soccer club? 2895..Which children's character was created by Mary Tourtel? 2896..What does the name Ghengis Khan mean? 2897..Who was Canada's first prime minister? 2898..In Utmost Good Faith is the motto of which organisation? 2899..The Shadows first record went straight to no 1 - what was it? 2900..What is the most common disease in the world? 2901..Cirrus is a cloud type - what literal translation of its Latin name? 2902..Which country was the first to make seat belts compulsory? 2903..What do Stacey Keach and Oscar Wilde have in common? 2904..Mathew Webb swam the channel - where did he drown? 2905..In what movie did Sinatra sing My Kind of Town? 2906..Whose last unfinished novel was The Last Tycoon? 2907..What do callipygian people have? 2908..Collective nouns a Host of? 2909..Zubin Mehta conducted who in concert? 2910..Who wrote and starred in the 1922 version of Robin Hood? 2911..Where were the 1952 Olympics held? 2912..Franz Halls The Laughing Cavalier - what's the paintings real title? 2913..Cheers exterior shots featured a real bar - what's it name? 2914..What flavouring is used in the Belgian beer Kriek? 2915..A young what is called an Eyas? 2916..Who was given an honorary Oscar in 1985 after 50 years acting? 2917..Handel's Harmonious Blacksmith was written for what instrument? 2918..Which US state is known as the Nutmeg State? 2919..In a Gynocracy - who rules? 2920..In golf the no 10 iron is usually called what? 2921..What was the name of the Jester in As You Like It? 2922..What alternative scale (not Richter) measures earthquakes? 2923..A paratrichosic person has extra what? 2924..What is added to brandy to make a sidecar? 2925..Josip Broz became famous as who? 2926..The Pampero blows over which mountains? 2927..Which Canadian city is know as The Steel City? 2928..If an alloy is an amalgam what metal must it contain? 2929..What stretch of water separates Italy and Sicily? 2930..The Althing rules in which country? 2931..Who won an Oscar for the soundtrack to Chariots of Fire? 2932..Collective nouns - a Barren of what? 2933..Dorethy Parker said "Scratch an actor and you will find" what? 2934..What animal could be Siberian or Caspian? 2935..Collective nouns - an Array of what? 2936..The Plains of Abraham overlook which city? 2937..The Mariners Compass or Pyxis is what? 2938..The Sam Maguire Trophy is played for in which sport? 2939..The Somers Islands has what more familiar name? 2940..The Three Stars is the national ice hockey team which country? 2941..How did camerawoman Lee Lyon die while working? 2942..What type of animal is a markhor? 2943..Who received the first ever Gold Disc? 2944..What is the National Bird of India? 2945..Who directed Sharky's Machine? 2946..The Weir of Hermiston - last unfinished novel of who? 2947..What is the last book of the Bible? 2948..What historical event was referred to as Black 47? 2949..What game was patented under the name Sphairistrike? 2950..What organisation did C T Russell found? 2951..Paris and What other capital had the worlds first telephone link? 2952..Tempera uses water and what to paint with? 2953..What colour is the cross on the Greek Flag? 2954..What was used before the baton was invented to conduct? 2955..Leslie Lynch King became famous as who? 2956..Who was Andromedas mother? 2957..Lack of vitamin B1 causes what condition? 2958..What song was The Pittsburgh Pirates anthem? 2859..Whit countries parliament is called The Storting? 2960..Who directed Four Weddings and a Funeral? 2961..Which company developed the Laser Printer? 2962..Parsley is a member of which family? 2963..What does lager literally mean in German? 2963..Franz Kafka wrote in German what nationality was he? 2964..Which car company produced the first front wheel drive 1934? 2965..Who produced the Tom and Jerry cartoons until 1956? 2966..The name of which countries capital means good air? 2967..The sackbut developed into which modern instrument? 2968..The GRA govern which sport? 2969..Which record label signed the Rolling Stones in 1991? 2970..In heraldry gules are what colour? 2971..Reginald Truscott-Jones became famous as who? 2972..What is the food of the secretary bird? 2973..What bridge links a Palace with a State Prison? 2974..The African and French marigolds are native to what country? 2975..Who is the Patron Saint of Grave diggers? 2976..What is Muckle Flugga? 2977..Mary Read and Anne Boney had what job in common? 2978..Short actors stand on what wooden object - to appear bigger? 2979..What is the commonest name for a pub in Britain? 2980..What does the word economy mean in original Greek? 2981..Pok ta Pok started in Mexico - what modern game/sport is it? 2982..George Simenon created Maigret - what nationality was he? 2983..Country singer Hank Wangford had what profession? 2984..Pit Straight - Lesmo Bend - Roggia Bend - which Grand Prix? 2985..What is a Chuckwalla? 2986..Edward Whymper was the first to do what? 2987..What is Pancetta? Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:20 pm 3001..Which islands capital is Flying Fish Cove? 3002..Where in the world is Radwick racecourse situated? 3003..What has a palimped got? 3004..Treifa foods are forbidden to which religious group? 3005..Which metal is the best conductor of electricity? 3006..What ship was sunk in Auckland harbour in 1987? 3007..A Myologist studies what? 3008..Orpheus went into the underworld to rescue who? 3009..Where on the human body is the skin the thinnest? 3010..Colleen McCullough wrote which best selling book? 3011..What would you put on your escutcheon - if you had one? 3012..The Germans call them Stumphhose - what are they? 3013..Who might wear a wimple? 3014..What is the largest country in Africa? 3015..What tree can be English, American or Eurasian? 3016..Which dictator preferred 50,000 rifles to 50,000 votes? 3017..What was Alka-Seltzer first marketed as? 3018..What would be happening if you suffered from canitis? 3019..According to the proverb which fruit tastes sweetest? 3020..What animals name literally translates as earth pig? 3021..What dance is usually performed to Orpheus in the Underworld? 3022..What country was once named New France? 3023..Name ship sunk by the submarine Conqueror Falklands War? 3024..In which country were modern banknotes first used? 3025..What was invented in the Humpty Dumpty store Oklahoma? 3026..Which country produces wine in the Casablanca valley? 3027..The Air Canada Silver Broom is won in which sport? 3028..Iain Stewart - dropped - looked too normal - what pop group? 3029..What is the main flavor of aioli? 3030..What was the worlds first passenger jet aircraft? 3031..What does the syrinx help a bird to do? 3032..What member of the weasel family is over 1 meter or 3 feet long? 3033..Capability Brown was a famous Landscape Gardener 1st name? 3034..Boccaccios collection of ten stories are known as what? 3035..What do fennel leaves taste of? 3036..What country is the home of the Ashanti people? 3037..12 is the atomic number of which metal? 3038..What was Beethoven's only opera? 3039..In which of Aristophanes plays do the women refuse sex? 3040..Which Australian writer won the Nobel prize in 1973? 3041..What is a hypocaust? 3042..What 18th century German soldier told very tall tales of himself? 3043..Which country imports the most champagne? 3044..Thomas Keneally wrote which book (Oscar winning film)? 3045..What is the name of the metal discs set in a tambourines rim? 3046..Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Handel, Liszt, Ravel what in common? 3047..What were China 14 Raduga 14 Himwari 3? 3048..What is a Flemish Giant? 3049..Somerset Maugham, A J Cronin, Richard Gorden - in common? 3050..What does Stet mean to a printer? 3051..In Paris what are FD Roosevelt Stalingrad Louis Blanc? 3052..English writer - Died Typhoid - Drank Paris water - Prove safe? 3053..What food item in French literally means twice cooked? 3054..What religions sacred writings are divided into the Tripitaka? 3055..Herodotus the Greek is known as the father of what? 3056..The old French Royal family - Boy Scouts share what symbol? 3057..We have used the Latin phrase ad hoc - what literally mean? 3058..Which dancer died in 1927 strangled by scarf on car wheel? 3059..What do astronomers call the red sky before sunrise? 3060..A beast of prey sometimes called a glutton - what is it? 3061..French novelist - nearly 100 books all La Comedie Humaine? 3062..What is the correct name for food permitted under Moslem laws? 3063..What country is known to its inhabitants as Suomen Tasavalta? 3064..What French blue cheese (similar to stilton) is made ewes milk? 3065..A Suffragan has what job? 3066..Segmental, Primitive, Doucine, Elliptical are types of what? 3067..Who got Judas job as the twelfth apostle? 3068..Which famous horse race was won Urban sea, Carnegie, Lammtarra? 3069..Elvis Stojko was an ice skating word champion - what country? 3070..What animals make up the Suidae family? 3071..What is the word (derived from Malay) for unhusked rice? 3072..Joel Chandler Harris wrote which series of stories? 3073..We have heard of the Renaissance - what's it literally mean? 3074..In film making what does a Blimp do? 3075..Where would you find a Walloon? 3076..What do we call what the Japanese call Oshugatsu? 3077..Tete-beche is a familiar term in which hobby? 3078..Good King Wenceslas was the King of which country? 3079..Sir Jack Cohen founded what? 3080..What does rabbi literally mean? 3081..What port lies at the mouth of the Swan river? 3082..Who starred in the film Sixth Sense? 3083..KLM is the national airline of which country? 3084..Name the most famous English artist who painted mostly horses? 3085..Who were Curier Ellis and Acton Bell? 3086..What is the official title of the ambassador of the Pope? 3087..Chaconne, Rigadoon, Passepied are all types of what? 3088..What British birds lay only one egg during the nesting season? 3089..Who would use a Jigger, Buzz, Flagging iron, Round shaver, Adze? 3090..What pop group had a "Message in a Bottle"? 3091..If an Italian was having Pranzo what would they be having? 3092..What currency consists of 100 Groschen? 3093..In Greek mythology who created man? 3094..Hibernia was the Roman name for which country? 3095..Mincing Lane in London is traditionally home of what trade? 3096..What sport is played at Smiths Lawn? 3097..What are fallows, lutinos and opalines? 3098..In Paris there are two islands - Ile de la Cite and what? 3099..Mapother IV is the real surname of what film star? 3100..Jean-Christopher Denner invented what musical instrument? 3101..Mendavoy and Martinez are characters in which TV show? 3102..Fredrick Bulsara was the lead singer of what pop group? 3103.The Titanic has a sister ship - name it? 3104..What was sharkskin once used as? 3105..What does an otologist study? 3106..What is the essential ingredient in a Mornay sauce? 3107..Sardines are the young of which fish? 3108..Who wrote Oedipus Rex? 3109..The Camorra was the forerunner of what organisation in the USA? 3110..What is a Havana Brown? 3111..What did Simon of Cyrene do in The Bible? 3112..In what sport is a stimpmeter used? 3113..Gene Hackman sheriff Big Whiskey - got Oscar - What film? 3114..What countries flag red circle on green background? 3115..Georgius Panayiotou became famous under what name (both)? 3116..Capers are pickled flower seeds of what plant? 3117..In 1925 at Windsor Bookies went on strike - against what? 3118..What is a doucet? 3119..What is the worlds largest sand island northeast of Brisbane? 3120..FT (London) Dow Jones (USA) what is Japans Share Index called? 3121..Who was the leader of the wolf pack in The Jungle Book? 3122..What's the difference between sleeping gorillas and men? 3123..Nobody Does it Better was sung in which Bond film? 3124..Halcyon is the poetic name for which bird? 3125..Who had a hit with Sylvia's Mother? 3126..Who composed the music for the opera The Tales of Hoffman? 3127..In the Bible from whom did David steal his wife Bathsheba? 3128..The Cassegranian, Gregorian and Schmidt are types of what? 3129..Shakespeare - Antony, Romeo, Othello - what in common? 3130..What instrument is sometimes called the clown of the orchestra? 3131..What world capital city is heated by volcanic springs? 3132..What is the main ingredient of a Maron glace? 3133..Only one woman's lifespan is given in the Bible - Who? 3134..What causes the tangy smell at the seaside? 3135..In 1976 in USA 23 people got swine fever and died from what? 3136..Who said "If a lie is told in the Whitehouse Nixon gets a royalty"? 3137..In the 1976 Olympics who were the Yellow Bananas? 3138..Amuhea Princess of Medes was the wife of who? 3139..What Roman Emperor was killed by an overdose of laxative? 3140..How did folk singer Roy Harper catch Toxoplasmosis? 3141..What was Louis 14th born with two of - that amazed everyone? 3142..The Associated Powers - the original proposed name of what? 3143..Which author published 59 new books in 1955? 3144..If you had distrix what condition would you have? 3145..What did the ancient Greeks use instead of soap? 3146..X only letter in alphabet that there is no name for who using? 3147;;What country do Brazil nuts come from? 3148..Why would women dislike using a West Indian d***o? 3149..Which country invented French fried potatoes? 3150..In 1990 there were 99 public executions Suadi Arabia - Drugs How? 3151..Marion Barry - Mayor of Washington arrested for what? 3152..What head of Government was the first to give birth in office? 3153..34% of Californian Male students 10% of Female lied to get what? 3154..The sale of what counterfeit delicacy outranged the French? 3155..In February 1990 160 million bottles of what were withdrawn? 3156..What sport was deemed to violate civil rights banned New York? 3157..What is Damson Cheese? 3158..What was the name of the ship that brought Dracula to England? 3159..In Australian slang what is underground Mutton? 3160..PG Woodhouse books Bertie Wooster used what London Club? 3161..Why would a train spotter want to see number 4468? 3162..Samuel de Champlain founded which city? 3163..Tour de France what colour jersey best Hill Climber wear? 3164..What country had an airline called Rottnest? 3165..Fuggles and Goldings are varieties of what? 3166..Fingal O'Flaherty Wills is better knows as who? 3167..Britain's call it sellotape - What's the brand name in Australia? 3168..John Dunlop developed pneumatic tyres - what profession? 3169..Zoisite is a semi precious stone - National stone which country? 3170..The Thunderbirds boys were named after what theme? 3171..Britain's most dangerous job used to kill one person every 3 days? 3172..In the Bible who did God appear to on Mount Horab? 3173..What animal head appears on the badge of the RCMP? 3174..St John the Divine wrote which book of the Bible? 3175..Collective nouns - A Chair of what (tradesmen)? 3176..Distaff is the female family side - what is the male? 3177..Who is the patron saint of Gypsies? 3178..In cookery how is something julienne prepared? 3179..In Ireland what is a Gombeen Man? 3180..In Australian slang what is a dishlicker? 3181..How - two thieves convicted 1984 executed in Sudan Aug 1990? 3182..What is Samsoe a type of? 3183..A fylfot is a heraldic name for what symbol? 3184..Where would you find a howdah? 3185..In what country is the language Fanti spoken? 3186..What flowers name translates from the Greek as Water Vessel? 3187..Which of Henry the Eights wives was the widow of elder brother? 3188..The Boys from Syracuse is based on what Shakespeare play? 3189..Hathor was the Egyptian goddess of what? 3190..The larva of the click beetle is called what? 3191..In Australian slang what is a ten ounce sandwich? 3192..What is the name of the largest moon of Jupiter? 3193..The Mason-Dixon line separates Pennsylvania and what state? 3194..The kinkajou belongs to what family of animals? 3195..What is the Hindu Kush? 3196..Caligari is the capital of what island? 3197..Grunge music originated in which American city? 3198..The word bungalow comes from which language? 3199..What is the Japanese Shinkasen? 3200..In what country are the Drakesberg mountains? 3201..Name the author who created Hannibal Lecter? 3202..Dodie Smith wrote what book (later filmed by Disney)? 3203..Venice stands on what river? 3204..Gary Boker Bobby Harrison Ray Rodger were in what pop group? 3205..What country launched its first space rocket January 1961? 3206..What have Jan Zajic and Quang Duc got in common? 3207..In 1962 - cost 20,000 - size of a small suitcase - what? 3208..In France what is Framboise? 3209..What held up a Cricket test Match between England Pakistan? 3210..What was banned from New York schools in 1962? 3211..How to Handle a Woman came from which stage musical? 3212..James Drury starred in which TV western series? 3213..Who had a hit with the song Loco-Motion? 3214..Who won the Tour de France 4 times 1961 to 1964? 3215..What new domestic device was launched by Hoover in 1963? 3216..What was the Soviet Vostok 3 space flight the first to do? 3217..What was the first country to leave the United Nations? 3218..What car company made the first glass fibre racing car? 3219..What whisky brand was advertised with two terrier dogs? 3220..Dorothy Cavis-Brown made news at Wimbledon - why? 3221..What did The Musician Union ban on TV in 1966? 3222..What is a travelator? 3223..Who wrote the novel Love Story (Both Names)? 3224..What job did Agatha Christies husband do? 3225..Britain Ireland and what country joined the EEC simultaneously? 3226..In Australian slang what kind if food is a mystery bag? 3227..Who was Cuisine Minceur designed for? 3228..French riot police were ordered to the Rivera to deal with what? 3229..Who recorded the Album In Through the Out Door? 3230..Jan 21 1976 What linked Bahrain and Rio de Janeiro? 3231..In the 60s a Yellow Golliwog worn by a girl symbolised what? 3232..What kind of creature was Sam on the Muppet Show? 3233..Who had a hit with Tiger Feet? 3234..Patty Hearst was kidnapped (later joined) which organisation? 3235..The Murryfield Racers play which sport? 3236..Quakers Natural, Prewetts Honey, California Revival - types what? 3237..What was Paul McCartney's first solo album called? 3238..What company pioneered floppy discs? 3239..What were Tricity Triumph, Kelvinator, Lec De Lux? 3240..What tennis players name meant Tall trees by still water? 3241..Which musical did the song Send in the Clowns come from? 3242..Where in Australia were British satellites launched in early 70s? 3243..What was Clint Eastwood's first film as a director? 3244..Who wrote the Science Fiction novel Slaughterhouse Five? 3245..What was a Royal Navy frigate accused throwing Cod War 1973? 3246..Who wrote the novel The French Lieutenants Woman? 3247..Whose cat was sold for $153000 in an Arizona auction? 3248..Who wrote the play Amadeus? 3249..Jeff Lynne - Roy Wood - Bev Bevan - what pop group? 3250..Where did Jim Morrison die? 3251..What did the Ayatollah Khomeni ban in 1979? 3252..Mstislav Rostropovich was a maestro on what instrument? 3253..What is Kensington Gore? 3254..Margarita Carmen Casino became famous as who? 3255..What job does the Gaffer do in the film industry? 3256..What was the name of Dagwood Bumstead and Blondies dog? 3257..What short sighted cartoon character had a nephew - Waldo? 3258..What Shakespeare play was the basis of The Forbidden Planet? 3259..Frederick Austerlitz became famous as who? 3260..What is a Maine Coon once thought to be extinct? 3261..What dictator was the first to be abducted prosecuted USA drugs? 3262..In which EEC country is abortion still illegal? 3263..What heavyweight boxer was nicknamed The Cinderella Man? 3264..What is the capitol of Chechnya? 3265..What is absinthe traditionally flavoured with? 3266..In 1829 Cyrill Damien invented which musical instrument? 3267..At the battle of Actium who beat Mark Anthony and Cleopatra? 3268..What links Ada - Lisp - Algol? 3269..How did Joy Friedericke Victoria Adamson die in 1985? 3270..What city stands on the river Torens? 3271..In Hindu mythology Agni is the god of what? 3272..To the ancient Greeks what was an agora? 3273..Tomika and Uyeshiba are the two main forms of what? 3274..Where was Napoleon bornAjaccio? 3275..Which Greek astronomer wrote the Almagest? 3276..The Queen has what music with her breakfast? 3277..Baile Atha Cliath - Official name what capitol city? 3278..In the wild what animal pollinates banana plants? 3279..What colour is the Black Box carried in aircraft? 3280..Taidje Khan became famous under which name? 3281..Autolycus - accomplished invisible thief Greek myth whose son? 3282..In the theatre what is behind Barn Doors? 3283..Joe Yule became famous as who? 3284..Norse mythology who was killed with mistletoe by blind Hodur? 3285..Bob Clampett created which character in 1938? 3286..Who wrote the children's classic Ann of Green Gables? 3287..Gaur, Gayal, Banteng and Kouprey are types of what? 3288..What is the literal meaning of Cenotaph? The Yellow Kid by Richard Felton Outcault in 1896 first what? 3289..What did drinkers first see on Jan 24 1935? 3290..Allium Sativum is better known as what? 3291..Rhapsody, Aromel, Tamella Cambridge favourite types of what? 3292..What arts/literary movement founded by Tristan Tzara in 1915? 3293..Which author wrote screenplay Bonds You Only Live Twice? 3294..Dalmatian dogs are born which colour or colours? 3295..What did Emily Davidson do? 3296..Edward de Bono - Maltese Doctor - developed what concept? 3297..The song I Talk to the Trees comes from what musical? 3298..What is the capitol of Ghana? 3299..In Greek mythology who was the Goddess of Chastity? 3300..What was Madam Curie's husbands name? 3301..The USA president lives in the White House - Who Blue House? 3302..What does an aronophobe fear? 3303..What links Edegra, Cavetra and Erix? 3304..In what city is the worlds largest carpet manufacturer? 3305..What element was named after the Greek word for green? 3306..What hotel hosted the first Oscar ceremony? 3307..The name of which Indian city means Village of Boiled Beans? 3308..James Hoban designed what? 3309..Semiology is the study of what? 3310..What county has its map on its flag? 3311..What X rated movie won an Oscar? 3312..Lucknow is a city in India - and what other country? 3313..Mitsibushi - now cars - planes during war - literally means what? 3314..What invention was nicknamed the Noisy Serpent in 1902? 3315..In which sport would you find the Sag Wagon? 3316..What product was introduced as a cure for urinatary problems? 3317..In New Zealand what is morepork? 3318..In what city was Audry Hepburn born? 3319..In what country was the worlds first wildlife sanctuary set up? 3320..What word could Ernie Bilko not say without stuttering? 3321..What country has a regiment of bicycle mounted soldiers? 3322..Who did Valerie Solernis shoot on Jun 3rd 1968 in New York? 3323..Shakespeare character says "Blow winds and crack your cheeks"? 3324..In what Hitchcock film did the heroine find shrunken head in bed? 3325..Amaxophobia is the fear of what? 3326..The Bovespa is the stock exchange in which country? 3327..What is a Dandie Dinmont? 3328..Shoot a Waco was the original name for what drink? 3329.Who wrote the satire Candide published in 1759? 3330..Whose ghost appears in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar? 3331..In which play and film does Jean Valjean appear? 3332..Psychologists says men who do what during sex are insecure? 3333..Whose is supposed to have had sex with his nanny when aged 9? 3334..What animal can sleep 3 years but only mates once - 12 hours? 3335..In Norway 1980 man fined for being drunk in charge of what? 3336..Louis the XVI France only two (recorded) what in his lifetime? 3337..The same Louis did not consummate his marriage 7 years - why? 3338..Only 6 people died in what historic event? 3339..Why could William Tell not have shot the apple with a crossbow? 3340..How did the Emperor Claudius die? 3341..What country do Great Danes come from? 3342..Who said - "One more drink and Ill be under the host"? 3343..The average Britain in their life consumes 1000 lb of what? 3344..What animal provide 50% of all the protein eaten in Peru? 3345..Jimmy Carter was the first US president to have done what? 3346..Who won an Oscar posthumously? 3347..Which actor has been portrayed most on screen by other actors? 3348..Sergai Kalenikov holds the world record in what? 3349..In California you can't legally buy a mousetrap without what? 3350..Who won the best actress Oscar 1959 Room at the Top? 3351..What did ancient Egyptians rub on their dicks to enlarge them? 3352..Which animal has legs but cant walk? 3353..A Paris grocer was jailed for two years in 1978 stabbing wife what? 3354..Howard Hughs used to store what in large metal containers? 3355..Which classical poet said Amor vincet omnia Love Conquers all? 3356..If you were eating fragrant meat in Hong Kong what is it? 3357..What country invented Phonecards? 3358..What was invented in Rome 63 bc by Marcus Tiro? 3359..What is the literal Greek translation of Sarcophagus? 3360..French artist Aquabouse paints cows in what material? 3361..An Arab/Israeli band Abu Hafla - record called Humping meaning? 3362..First ad on Radio Luxemburg 1930s for Bible Beans - which are?? 3363..74 year old Margaret Weldon FL 2 hole in one 2 days - unusual? 3364..In 1987 the Jockey Club disqualified a horse that had eaten what? 3365..A Baseball travels 9% faster in which US city? 3366..What was Joseph Pujol - La Petomanes stage act? 3367..James H Pierce was the last silent film actor to play who? 3368..What said I'm never through with a girl till I've had her three ways? 3369..Iris Somerville - killed London 1982 - Lightning struck what? 3370..What play is set in Venice and Cyprus? 3371..In 1797 3 pence could buy you a good (second hand) what? 3372..Between 1659 and 1681 illegal celebrate what in Massachusetts? 3373..What Saint said - Lord grant me Chastity - but not ye t? 3374..The average Britain in their life consumes 18 lb of what? 3375..Roller coasters originated in what country? 3376..What unusual item can you buy - vending machine Paris Metro? 3377..We've heard phrase I don’t give a toss - but Tos Greek for what? 3378..A Dorset shop sells bookends made from 140 mill year old what? 3379..Every ship in the Royal Navy have customised what? 3380..What meat outsells mutton and lamb combined in Sweden? 3381..An American in Maine got a divorce cos wife fed him only what? 3382..How did Pope Hadrian IV die? 3383..Who said "sex appeal 50% what you got 50% they think you got"? 3384..St Fiacre is the Patron Saint of what? 3385..William Buroughs coined what phrase used by Steppenwolf 1968? 3386..What TV did 44 million USA watch while 27m Eisenhower sworn in? 3387..Between 15 and 20% of what disappear from shops each year? 3388..French racing driver Jean Behra kept a spare what in his pocket? 3389..President Roosevelt was the first president to do what? 3390..What is unusual about the number 8549176320? 3391..Who said in 1951 - "I married beneath me - All women do"? 3392..In Iowa 1978 Judge dismissed drink driving charge - why? 3393..1936 film started with world war and ended with space flight? 3394..In 1984 BA stewardess called police she'd left what in cupboard? 3395..Until 1819 technically you could be hung for what in Britain? 3396..What's still legal in Paraguay if the participants are blood doners? 3397..Tsar Paul I decreed death by flogging to anyone mentioned what? 3398..What actress said "I dress for women - Undress for men"? 3399..The average Britain in their lifetime eats 5400 what? 3400..Here we go round the mulberry bush - what was original bush? 3401..What hath God Wrought was first message sent by Who 1844? 3402..In what city 1985 was the worlds first computer museum opened? 3403..What elements name comes from the Greek for light bearing? 3404..Astronomer Josephe-Jerome de Lalande eat what on bread butter? 3405..Skeleton is derived from Greek - what is its literal translation? 3406..Edward Hunter USA Journalist invented what term Korean war? 3407..A man has first at 18 then every day spent 106 days by 60 what? 3407..What links Da Vinci, Picasso, Charlie Chaplain, Ben Franklin? 3409..Flies and humans can both get which condition? 3410..We call them Turkeys what do the Turks call them? 3411..The Audi car company created by August Horch – means what Latin? 3412..What country has the worlds most vending machines per capita? 3413..Who said - "A woman only a woman - good cigar is a smoke"? 3414..Hans Steininger had the world longest what - that killed him? 3415..In Czarist Russia it was illegal to do what? 3416..What play has line - Shall there be no more cakes and ale? 3417..A fisherman in the Arral sea had his boat destroyed by what? 3418..St Brigit of Ireland could do what amazing trick for visitors? 3419..Thomas Watson in 1943 there is a worlds market for 5 - what? 3420..What product did the first commercial in the USA advertise? 3421..Estimated there are 4 100 million billion molecules cubic inch what? 3422..In Ohio by law pets have to carry what? 3423..The average man or woman spends one year of their life - what? 3424..80% of household dust is actually what material? 3425..What is the best wood for making pencils? 2426..The average Britain in their lifetime eats 4907 what? 2427..Oysters can do what - according to water temperature? 2428..Name USA city it's illegal to have a nude shop dummy on display? 3429..Hey Big Spender comes from what musical? 3430..What is the more common name for the Buddleia? 3431..What does the boys name Paul mean? 3432..International Airline Registrations N is what country? 3433..20s Robert 50s Robert 70s Michael what US top boys name 90s? 3434..What is Top Kanal in Poland? 3435..Rice-Kellogg invented what in 1924? 3436..Breakfast at Tiffanies - famous film - who wrote the book? 3437.Cecil B De Mille the film director had what middle name? 3438..If music was played leggiero how should it be done? 3439..Who sculpted Rima, Genisis and Ecco Homo? 3440..The Fool in French and the Runner in German what in English? 3441..In what game/sport is the McRobinson shield played for? 3442..53 is the international dialling code for what country? 3443..Nut - Neuth - Nuit alterative names Egyptian goddess of what? 3444..In heraldry animals addorsed are in what position? 3445..The locals call it Al-Magrib what do we call this country? 3446..Traditionally what should be given on an 11th anniversary? 3447..Barbara, Carignan, Cinsaut, and Nebbilo are verities of what? 3448..If you landed at Balice airport where would you be? 3449..Galt MacDermot wrote what 1967 musical stage show? 3450..What planet in our system is not named after a god? 3451..By US Congress law 1832 citizens should do what annually? 3452..What book was banned in Ireland in 1932? 3453..In Breton Alabama there is a law against riding what down street? 3454..Who would use a claque? 3455..18% of USA coins 7% of notes have what on them? 3456..Oryza sativa is what staple food item? 3457..Catherine the Great kept who in an iron cage in her bedroom? 3458..The Selenas Valley was the rejected title what Steinbeck book? 3459..Azote was the original name of what element? 3460..What animals cannot swim? 3461..In Riverside Cal its illegal to kiss unless both wipe lips with what? 3462..What USA city is also a slang name for a pineapple? 3463..What was banned in US movie theatres in the 1920s? 3464..If you were performing a fillip what are you doing? 3465..What unusual flavour did the Jell-O company try in 1942? 3466..The interior of what is called the paste? 3467..What was Robin Williams paid for Disney's Aladdin in 1982? 3468..More than 40% of USA women were once what? 3469..What uses 28 calories if done for one minute? 3470..In 1820 what was taxed in Missouri? 3471...What is the official drink of the state of Ohio? 3472..The Russian composer Alexander Borodin had what other job? 3473..18% of animal owners do what with their pets? 3474..The UIT govern what sport? 3475..90% of Americans consider themselves what? 3476..In Minnesota it is illegal to tease what animal? 3477..She is the Chinese name of what year (animal)? 3478..Who wrote The Deceiver 1991 and The Fist of God 1993? 3479..What does the name Stephen mean - from the Greek? 3480..International Airline Registrations SX is what country? 3481..Sport variable ground size 120x150yd min 170x200 max? 3482..50% of Dutch men have never done what? 3483..If you Absterse something what do you do? 3484..Musa acuminata is what favourite food item? 3485..In a year the average person walks four miles doing what? 3486..What was the first film to use stereophonic sound? 3487..The letter B comes from Egyptian hieroglyphics meaning what? 3488..in 1995 13 books every minute sold in US were on what subject? 3489..There are more telephones than people in what city? 3490..In the middle ages you could be fined four pence murdering who? 3491..What food Scots once refuse to eat cos it was not in the Bible? 3492..33% of what are fake in the USA? 3493..What holiday islands have no rivers or lakes - rain water only? 3494..If you suffered from Chirospasm what have you got? 3495..What links Bob Hope John Huston Ryon O'Neil Bo Diddley? 3496..Little Jumping Flea literal trans of what Hawaiian instrument? 3497..In Alaska it is illegal to look at a moose from where? 3498..More that I/3 adults do what average 3 time each morning? 3499..A furfy is Australian slang for what? 3500..Who said China is a big country inhabited by many Chinese?   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:22 pm 3501..In a recent survey women disliked what part of male body most? 3502..The US had 5% world population and 70% of worlds what? 3503..In 1902 What did Mary Anderson invent? 3504..If you landed at Arlanda airport where would you be? 3505..The FEI govern what sport? 3506..Traditionally what should be given on a 20th anniversary? 3507..In Somalia its illegal to carry old chewing gum where? 3508..What food did the Romans call Pointed Stick? 3509..Name the pet alligator in Miami Vice? 3510..In California 22 " is the minimum legal length of saleable what? 3511..On any given day half of Americans are on what? 3512..Gondolas in Venice are traditionally what colour? 3513..Benjamin who was the first Lord Mayor of Dublin? 3514..What country declared itself first atheist state in 1967? 3516..Where was Bacardi originally made? 3517..What is six inches in height and no bigger by the rules? 3518..Until 1862 there was a tax in England for those who used what? 3519..a Paralian always lives near what? 3520..The US uses up 7000 tons of what annually? 3521..Allium cepa - one of the lilicaea - world most used food item? 3522..International Airline Registrations OO is what country? 3523..What vegetable was considered a cure for sex problems in old Egypt? 3524..In Milan citizens can be fined $100 if they don’t always do what? 3525..What does the name Barbara mean - from Greek? 3526..The locals call it Misi what do we call this country? 3527..Sport is played on a variable ground 50x100yd min 100x130 max? 3528..Cavalier in French Springer in German what in English? 3529..Woodwind Instrument size between Clarinet and Bassoon? 3530..Who wrote Of Human Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence? 3531..What is the Roman numerals for 3000? 3532..The lack of calcium in the diet causes what condition? 3533..Where would you find Lunate Triquetral and Hamate? 3534..What are Jean Bernard, Pierre St-Martin and Berger in France? 3535..Dallol Ethiopia has what claim to fame? 3536..Where are Bay of Heats and Bay of Dew Sinus Aestuum - Roris? 3537..The star constellation Lepus has what English name? 3538..Lauris Nobilis is the Latin name of what common herb? 3539..If you suffered from varicella what have you got? 3540..Chi is the Chinese year of what? 3541..A Comte France Landgraf Germany Conde Italy what England? 3542..In heraldry what is a vertical line dividing a shield called? 3543..The Templeton prize is awarded annually for progress in what? 3544..International car registration letters what country is ZA? 3545..In England what is the most popular girls name of the 90s? 3546..Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are dead - name playwright? 3547..Lucy Johnson became famous under what name? 3548..What is a Tam Tam? 3549..FITA are the governing body of what sport? 3550..Denzil Washington's first film as director was what? 3551..What is Canada's oldest city founded in 1608? 3552..In the Jewish religion what's banned during The three weeks? 3553..Who wrote the hymn Hear my Prayer? 3554..38 million Americans one in five don’t like what? 3555..Alan Ginsberg is credited with inventing what 60s phrase? 3556..Where would you find a pintle? 3557..Who created Woody Woodpecker? 3558..Winston Churchill had a dog - what type? 3559..Who was born in Chicago 5th December 1901 died 1966? 3560..What is the name of Paul McCartney's official fan club? 3561..By US government figures people have tried 28000 ways of what? 3562..If you suffer from Tinea Pedis what have you got? 3563..What colour is Llamas milk? 3564..In Alberta its illegal to play craps if you are using what? 3565..Narcotics comes from the Greek - what it literally mean? 3566..What did Pope John XX1 use as effective eyewash? 3567..Rhodopsis original Egyptian Cinderella had what job? 3568..Whose attendance compulsory at priests banquets in Egypt? 3569..Siddhartha Gautama became better known as who? 3570..In ancient Greece young brides had to sacrifice what? 3571..Caer-Lud was the former name of what capitol city? 3572..4% of women never do what according to survey? 3573..In superstition if you marry on Saturday you will have what? 3574..What was the first million dollar seller paperback? 3575..Who founded Methodism in 1738? 3576..What was the ancient Egyptian cure for haemorrhoids? 3577..Middle ages Monks denied meat on fast days ate what? 3578..Where was Ice Cream invented? 3579..Brittany Spears - what is her favourite drink? 3580..What job does Charlie Browns father do? 3581..International direct dialling codes what country has 353? 3582..What is the main food of walruses Clams? 3583..30% of people quit this job in USA each year - what job? 3584..Napoleons life was saved by a dog what breed – and he hated dogs? 3586..In 1821 Jacob Fusel worlds fist commercial factory making what? 3587..The star constellation Grus has what English name? 3588..International aircraft registration letters what country is PP or PT? 3589..What was the first 30 minute animated Disney show? 3590..A renaissance doctor - what treatment excluding bleeding? 3591..You could be executed for drinking what in ancient Turkey? 3592..Where did the ancient Egyptians paint pictures of their enemies? 3593..What is found in one third of American homes? 3594..Bowling for lizards was whose favourite TV program? 3595..The name Jesse means what in Hebrew? 3596..According to strain theory crime is mainly committed by who? 3597..In what country was the longbow invented? 3598..Who makes Pringles? 3599..What airline started 24th September 1946 single DC3 - Betsy? 3600..What are a swallowtail and a burgee? 3601..What is the most common sexually transmitted disease in USA? 3602..Who was the Angel in Milton's Paradise Lost? 3603..300000 American teenagers get what every year? 3604..Francesco Seraglio invented what in Australia in early 1960s? 3605..What was Socrates wife's name? 3606..Who "Loved not to wisely but too well" Shakespeare play? 3607..What did Anna Sage "The lady in Red do"? 3608..Who makes Kleenex tissues? 3609..Poon Lim holds the record of 133 days doing what? 3610..Holden Caulfield - Catcher in the Rye - where JD Sal get name? 3611..Marcus Garvey founded what? 3612..Ancient Roman brides wore a wedding dress - what colour? 3613..64% of American teenagers have what in their bedrooms? 3614..Charles Stratton became famous as what circus act? 3615..What is the most common sexual complaint of females over 50? 3616..Who makes Miller Lite beer? 3617..The name Calvin has what unfortunate Latin meaning? 3618..What author was the first published by Bantam paperbacks? 3619..In ancient India what was cut off adulterers? 3620..In British Columbia is illegal to kill what? 3621..The Spear Leek was the original name of what food item? 3622..What was the name of the first Wings album? 3623..Who started Laugh O Gram productions? 3624..Sigmund Freud used a dog to help his psychoanalysis what breed? 3625..In a 1988 survey 12 million Americans don’t know what? 3626..Lobster Newberg was invented at what famous restaurant? 3627..In 18th century England what would you do with whim wham? 3628..The FIC govern what sport? 3629..In England what is the most popular boys name of the 90s? 3630..International car registration letters what country is IS? 3631..In heraldry what is a horizontal line dividing a shield called? 3632..The star constellation Ara has what English name? 3633..Which Roman Emperors name means little boats? 3634..In England what can you not hang out of your window? 3635..The constellation Norma has what English name? 3636..Chu is the Chinese year of what animal? 3637..Vor was the Norse Goddess of what? 3638..OB is the international aircraft registration letters what country? 3639..Who composed the classical piece Peter and the Wolf? 3640..In what sport do women compete for the Uber cup? 3641..What was the last sequel to win best picture award? 3642..How did Stonewall Jackson die? 3643..What are The Chiuhauhan Nubian and Alaskan? 3644..International dialling codes what country is 86? 3645..Thieves Liars Magicians and who were in Dantes 8th circle Hell? 3646..Alphabetically what is the first element in the periodic table? 3647..What order of insects contains the most species? 3648..What famous battle was fought at Pancenoit? 3649..What colour is natural cheddar cheese? 3650..Where was the first Pony Express set up? 3651..What animal originated Groundhog Day? 3652..Abraham Zapruder made the most scrutinised film all time what? 3653..Aesculus is the Latin name of what type of tree? 3654..Where were bagpipes invented? 3655..What is Rice Paper made from? 3656..Jorn Utzon of Denmark designed what landmark? 3657..What is the most popular pizza topping in South Korea? 3658..Which people used to settle legal disputes by head butting? 3659..Hitihita is a character in what book and film? 3660..How does a male koala attract a mate? 3661..Bohemian Rhapsody was on what Queen album? 3662..What is a Boodie? 3663..What character on TV and film must have sex every 7 years? 3664..What was the name of Hamlets father? 3665..Bugs Bunny was a caricature of what actor? 3666..Sherlock Holmes lived in Baker St - What other Detective did? 3667..Spumador was whose horse? 3668..In what American state do most fail to graduate? 3669..Names from Jobs - what in the middle ages did a walker do? 3670..Alfred Butta invented what in 1941 - marketed 1948? 3671..Phobos and Deimos are moons of Mars - what do names mean? 3672..What colour is a giraffes tongue? 3673..Erica is the Latin name for what shrub? 3674..What is the capitol of Fiji? 3675..Disney's Sleeping Beauty what is the name of the Queen witch? 3676..What is the name of Shakespeare's first play? 3677..Regnat Populus - The people rule - motto of what US state? 3678..A Cow Moos - A c**k Crows - What does an Ape do? 3679..The IHF govern what sport? 3680..Levi Stubbs Renaldo Benson Abdul Fakir Laurence Payton Who? 3681..The constellation Lacerta has what English name? 3682..Collective nouns - An Army of what? 3683..What US state has no motto? 3684..Babs Gorden is better know as what heroine? 3685..Jim Thorpe won Olympic pentathlon 1912 who was fifth? 3686..First Impressions was the original title of what classic novel? 3687..What country spends the most per capita in casinos? 3688..In India in 1994 who were finally allowed to vote? 3689..In what language was the first complete bible in US printed? 3690..John Wayne called what film "The most un-American thing ever"? 3691..What country produces the most tobacco in the world? 3692..Collective nouns - A Business of what? 3693..If you were eating Olea Europea what would it be? 3694..What is Jane Fonda's middle name? 3695..Who is the Roman Goddess of flocks and herds? 3696..Where were the first winter Olympics held in 1924? 3697..Which album is on the Billboard top 200 the longest since 1973? 3698..David John Moore Cornwell became famous as who? 3699..In The Hobbit what colour is Bilbo's door? 3700..In what game might you use a flat stick called a kip? 3701..Where was Holmes pal Dr Watson wounded during the war? 3702..Collective nouns - A Husk of what? 3703..Black and Blue play Red and Yellow at what game? 3704..What rank was George Armstrong Custer when he was killed? 3705..Old superstitions - it is bad luck to do what in the morning? 3706..Who said "Bigamy is one husband too many like Monogamy"? 3707..What colour were ETs eyes? 3708,,What is the smallest species of penguin? 3709..What do Fromologists collect? 3710..In the original Wizard of Oz what colour were the slippers? 3711..The Beverley Hillbillies came from what Ozarks town? 3712..Collective nouns - A leap of what? 3713..International dialling codes what county is 20? 3714..What US states name means long river in Indian? 3715..What country has the most elephants? 3716..In WW2 the Graf Spee was forced into what harbour? 3717..Who were the first Australian group to sell a million records? 3718..What was James Deans middle name? 3719..Collective nouns - A Float of what? 3720..In Romeo and Juliet what day is Juliet's Birthday? 3721..George C Scott - what does the C stand for? 3722..In Italy a man can be arrested if found wearing what? 3723..The Arcocarpus altilis was involved in a mutiny - what is it? 3724..In what European country have most land battles been fought? 3725..Gwizador in Poland is who in English? 3726..In what sport is The Lugano Trophy awarded every 2 years? 3727..Who composed the ballets - The Firebird and The Rite of Spring? 3728..OD international aircraft registration letters of what country? 3729..Bragi was the Norse God of what? 3730..Myrastica fragrens is what common spice? 3731..The constellation Mensa has what English name? 3732..Collective nouns - A family of what? 3733..Who was the first woman to receive The Order of Merit 1907? 3734..In terms of hair what does FSH stand for? 3735..On a prescription the Latin expression Ter in Die means what? 3736..What was Sherpa Tensing surname? 3737..Kolduns popular in Russia as analysts in America what are they? 3738..What month was named after Latin for to open? 3739..What is the more common name for Alkane? 3740..How long can a bedbug live without food? 3741..What is a Caryatid? 3742..In Portugal if you bought sem chumbo what is it? 3743..What Japanese name means fried food often at the table? 3744..What is Nelson Mandela's middle name? 3745..What thin net of silk or Rayon named after French place it made? 3746..What French word literally means little skip? 3747..Bib-label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda better known as what? 3748..In Slovenian if you heard Na Mesta Pozor Zdaj what sport? 3749..What country has the most Post Offices? 3750..Who said about his songs "some are 10 minutes long some are 6"? 3751..Who would use a punty in their job? 3752..Who would use an ankus in their job? 3753..What is the correct name for the honey bear or potto? 3754..The Marino sheep originated in what country? 3755..What was the first battleship powered by steam turbines 1906? 3756..d**k Tracy the comic strip started life as what name? 3757,,Carson City in Nevada - dubious distinction first what 1924? 3758..What magazine started in America March 1923? 3759..Tenzin Gyatso became what in 1937? 3760..In what country was Mother Theresa born? 3761..In 1918 what were Jelly Babies renamed? 3762..Who was Prime Minister of China 1949 to 1976? 3763..The Egg and I was whose first film? 3764..What British Motor vehicle displayed at 1948 Amsterdam show? 3765..Who first appeared in All Star Comics in 1941? 3766..What fashion designer was responsible for "The New Look"? 3767..The British Patent Office since 1949 banned patents for what? 3768..What colour was Ian Flemming's typewriter? 3769..Which Canadian won the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for Suez? 3770..Who was the first commoner to appear Royal Mail pack 1964? 3771..What did Canada's Grand Falls change their name to 1964? 3772..Which comic character was dynamited to death in issue 428? 3773..What happened to Charles Brooks in 1982? 3774..What artist was nicknamed "Jack the Dripper" action painting? 3775..In what George Bizet opera do Zugra and Nbadir appear? 3776..Charles Adrian Wettach became famous as what clown? 3777..Martin Fallon Hugh Marlow James Graham Harry Patterson who? 3778..Who created Popeye? 3779..The film The Madness of King George III Dropped III - why? 3780..Who had the part of Dirty Harry - hurt hand - dropped out? 3781..What are Demy, Medium, Royal, Double Crown? 3782..Collective nouns - A Chatter of what? 3783..What word from the Persian means perfumed? 3784..What is a collection of penguins known as? 3785..A place name including worth e.g. Tamworth what's worth mean? 3786..c** Granlo Salis is Latin for what phrase? 3787..What does a crapulent person suffer from? 3788..We have used a cassette but what does it literally mean? 3789..Reykjavik translates into what? 3790..Chambre means what when referring to wine? 3791..What is a SR N4? 3792..What is Christmas Disease? 3793..Who wrote the 1994 biography "Princess in Love"? 3794..Clemantine Campbell became famous under what name? 3795..An Ortaline is a cross between what two items? 3796..What US state is the magnolia state? 3797..The Glis Glis was fattened and eaten by the Romans what is it? 3798..72% of what country is covered by forest? 3799..What was Woody Allen's first film as writer/actor? 3800..On what are the worlds smallest paintings painted? 3801..What city used to be known as Bytown? 3802..Mare Nostrum was the Roman name for what? 3803..Kong Zi is better known as who? 3804..The Romans called it Cambria - what do we call it? 3805..The Red Rose City has what more common name in Jordan? 3806..The Pirate Khair-ed-Din had what Italian name meaning redbeard? 3807..Chopin played what instrument as a child? 3808..In what Shakespeare play does the character Caliban appear? 3809..Cerumen is the technical name for what body part? 3810..If a dish is served Florentine what will it contain? 3811..Frank Gorshin played what role in a 60s series films? 3812..Which Puccini opera featured Nessun Dorma? 3813..British Standard BS2724 might protect what body part? 3814..If you saw Cave Canem written what would you know? 3815..Who was the minstrel that found Richard I imprisoned? 3816..What is a negus - named after inventor? 3817..Stingray Bay named by Cook is now known as what? 3818..Sextilis was the original name for what? 3819..What does a copoclephist collect? 3820..Who is the Patron Saint of florists and gardeners? 3821..Jobs from names - what did a Wayne do? 3822..What countries highest award is The Order of the Elephant? 3823..What is Thalassophobia a fear of? 3824..Who does a Filicide kill? 3825..From the Greek meaning apple what do we call this fruit? 3826..What creature gets its name for the Spanish for slowly? 3827..Name Def Leopards one armed drummer? 3828..Mr Mybug was only interested in sex with Flora in what book? 3829..Where would you find your Coxa? 3830..Bad before a German town name means what? 3831..What name from the French to quibble means a no trump hand? 3832..Collective nouns - what is a group of swans? 3833..Who had a no 1 Album 60s 70s 80s 90s? 3834..What was Spencer Tracy's last film? 3835..Who was the third and favourite son of David in Old Testament? 3836..Who had a hit with "Son of my Father" in 1972? 3837..What fish was the subject of dispute Spain Canada in 1995? 3838..Ratatosk was what animal in Norse mythology - relayed insults? 3839..What ship was blown up at the end of The African Queen? 3840..Richard Carlisle invented an early vending machine selling what? 3841..Nevada means what when translated from Indian? 3842..Where is the oldest known restaurant in the world? 3843..Who is the Roman Goddess of orchards and gardens? 3844..In a recent survey what % of US wives thought husband cheating? 3845..What was the first country to recognise the US as independent? 3846..What soft drink was developed as a hangover remedy? 3847..Edinburgh Castle stands on Arthur's Seat what was Arthur's seat? 3848..Who should have played Indiana Jones and dropped out? 3849..The San Andreas is what type of geological fault? 3850..Name any of the demonstration sports at the Sydney Olympics? 3851..Where was the first Miss World contest held in 1951? 3852..And what country won it? 3853..Japanese hi tec toilets auto wipe buts using what? 3854..In Greek legend who turned men into swine? 3855..After California what US state produces the most wine? 3856..What series was voted the best fiction of the 20th century? 3857..What US state was the last to ratify abolition slavery 1990s? 3858..Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of what? 3859..Every day in the US people steal $20000 from where? 3860..C17 H21 N04 is the chemical formula for what? 3861..Who fired the first shots in the 1970 film MASH? 3862..What is the worlds most widely eaten fish? 3863..Beveley Hills Cop was Eddie Murphy but who was it intended for? 3864..What is the literal meaning of Kangaroo? 3865..A digitabulist collects what? 3866..Who said "I’ve watched a lot of baseball - on the radio"? 3867..Collective nouns - a group of police officers? 3868..In Norse mythology Tyr is the god of what? 3869..Brave Belt was the original name of what group? 3870..The Hula Hoop was illegal in what country? 3871..Leonato is the main character in what Shakespeare play? 3872..Who wrote the book Forest Gump? 3873..What product uses the most silver? 3874..What was the former name of the Chrysler Corporation? 3875..In the Bible who was the father of Abraham? 3876..What was the name of the shepherd that got Tremponina Pallidium? 3877..What sport was called Harpastum by the ancient Greeks? 3878..Who was the male star when The Mousetrap first played? 3879..Who was the first actress to endorse a product commercially? 3880..What is a Caldera? 3881..Who wrote the opera Zaide? 3882..What was 1993s biggest selling single? 3883..What is a dhoti? 3884..In Heraldry what is a mullet? 3885..FINA is the governing body of what amateur sport? 3886..40% of Americans have never been where? 3887..What is Switzerland's official name? 3888..Which drink was designed as a malaria cure? 3889..What are lop cheong? 3890..Who would use a barny to reduce noise? 3891..In AFTs top 100 movies only 2 sequels - Godfather and what? 3892..King Thibaw - imprisoned by the British - last king of where? 3893..In 1929 the first what happened on an aircraft? 3894..What is the name of the second highest mountain in Africa? 3895..Who would use a Syllabary? 3896..What was David Leans first film? 3897..The oldest written plan of government in effect is in what country? 3898..Who wrote the poem "The Pied Piper of Hamlin"? 3899..In what film did Tommy Lee Jones make his debut? 3900..In ancient Japan what was used to clean teeth? 3901..What can you shag in Georgia but its illegal in Florida? 3902..Julian d**k George Anne and who make the famous five? 3903..Who was The Little Playful One? 3904..Where was Freddie Mercury born? 3905..What was the name of Thomas Jefferson's home? 3906..Crazy Horse and Custer shared what childhood name? 3907..Bridge River Kwai - Bridges Toki Rio - what actor links films? 3908..Who runs the Spirit Foundation - Aged Abused Orphaned? 3909..Thalia is one of the muses - what's her subject? 3910..In the Little Mermaid fairy tale what happens to her? 3911..Why was Clark Kent rejected military service during WW2? 3912..Who wrote the title song for Live and let Die? 3913..John Quincy Adams was the only US president to do what? 3914..Who cut off Samson's Hair (King James Edition)? 3915..Who was the first woman to win an Oscar best actress 1928? 3916..What Sanskrit word means great king? 3917..Novel gave Hemmingway nick speaker of the lost generation? 3918..What is the name on fake credit cards? 3919..What did Benjamin Franklin claim as his trade? 3920..Which US state gets the most overseas visitors? 3921..What is a wood p***y? 3922..Who wrote the epic poem Samson Agonites? 3923..What is the state tree of Idaho? 3924..Who is the adopted son of Vito Corleone? 3925..What was the name of the first presidential aircraft? 3926..Bill Medly was part of what group? 3927..Who is Dumbella? 3928..What flower is the symbol of culture? 3929..What country consumes the most coke per capita? 3930..In Heraldry there are 60 varieties of what? 3931..What does pp on a music score mean? 3932..LOT is the national airline of what country? 3933..In ancient India how were dead parents traditionally disposed of? 3934..Phalacrophobia is the fear of what? 3935..Humans lose 27 what a day? 3936..Who would use a brannock or what for? 3937..What is the smallest book in the Library of Congress? 3938..Lucille Langhanke born 1906 won an Oscar as who in 1941? 3939..Harrison Ford played CIA agent Jack Ryan - who else has? 3940..The song I know him so well comes from what stage musical? 3941..Lewis Ernest Watts became famous under what name? 3942..Who had a hit with First Cut is the Deepest in 1977? 3943..And who wrote the song? 3944..What is the thing that wives do that annoy most husbands? 3945..And what's the top annoyance among wives? 3946..Name the author who created Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox? 3947..Zane Grey the western writer had what initial profession? 3948..Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons - what's his first name? 3949..In which Irish county is Bantry Bay? 3950..Burning potassium has what colour flame? 3951..De'cappo means what in music? 3952..Name first animated film to be nominated for best picture Oscar? 3953..Jazz Trumpeter John Birks was better known as who? 3954..Jacinth or Hyacinth are alternative names of what mineral? 3955..Nanook is a Canadian word for what animal? 3956..In what prison did Nelson Mandela spend 19 of 27 years in jail? 3957..What should you give on a 35th wedding anniversary? 3958..The Punjab is an area of India meaning what? 3959..In Morse code one dash four dots what number? 3960..What country has the worlds largest merchant navy? 3961..Until computers replaced it who would use a Bloggoscope? 3962..Where did Mathias Rust land his Cessna in 1987? 3963..What does AMSTRAD stand for? 3964..St Sithney is the Patron Saint of what? 3965..What was Super Mario's original name? 3966..Pitcairn Airlines were the first to provide what in 1922? 3967..Sotheby's sold a 200 year old bit of Tibetan what $1500 in 1993? 3968..What caused the first Rednecks to be Redneck? 3969..What is Virga? Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:24 pm 4001..Jayne Austin had five brothers and one sister name her? 4002..What happened in Britain Sept 3rd 1752? 4003..Complete the Quote "Alas! Poor Yorick! I knew him,?"? 4004..What colour is caffeine? 4005..Who wrote the first song "Come On" Rolling Stones recorded 63? 4006..What was the name of Felix the Cats girlfriend? 4007..Verdi's opera Aida is set in what country? 4008..Jerome Siberman became famous as who? 4009..What battle does the French Legion Celebrate Annually? 4010..What is Falaka? 4011..Hrvataska is what the natives call what country? 4012..What job Michael Cane Uma Thurman Sidney Poitier common? 4013..Who sang for Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not? 4014..What animal has the worlds shortest sperm? 4015..Magnum PI wore a baseball cap supporting what team? 4016..The Swathling Cup is played for in what sport? 4017..Robert Redford, Steve McQueen Paul Newman reject $4m role? 4018..Saint Lydwina is the Patron Saint of what sport? 4019..Where was the worlds first televised baseball game? 4020..Itamae have what job in Japan? 4021..Chuck Berry Art Garfunkle Robert Redford had what job? 4022..In The Muppet Movie who sang for Miss Piggy? 4023..What country consumes the most tea per capita? 4024..In Australia what is a Willy-Willy? 4025..Table Tennis competitions only two coloured balls allowed what? 4026..Eye for Eye - Tooth For Tooth what comes next? 4027..Demetria Gene Guynes became famous as who? 4028..What colour was Tweety Bird originally? 4029..In what country would you buy Kingfisher lager? 4030..A Quidnunc is a what - from the Latin Quidnunc what now? 4031..What was Sheena Easton's original name? 4032..The French musical instrument The Viola has what other name? 4033..Female bathing caps were invented to prevent what? 4034..Clinton Oklahoma see two having sex in car what's illegal you do? 4035..Name Australia's highest mountain? 4037..Who won the first Oscar for a musical in 1943? 4038..In The film Reservoir Dogs what song was discussed at the start? 4039..Who was the Beatles original Bass Player? 4040..Which native Indian tribe never signed a peace treaty US govern? 4041..Ralph Wonderone became better known under what name? 4042..Shovelhead, Knucklehead, Panhead types of what? 4043..Murphy's Oil soap is most often used to clean what? 4044..In Singapore you can be publicly caned for failing to do what? 4045..Cathy Rigby was the first woman to do what? 4046..What flavour sweet was created for Ronald Regan? 4047..Lemniscate is the correct name for what symbol? 4048..Corduroy literally translated means what? 4049..What is the only USA state without a natural lake? 4050..Lauds Prime Tierce Sext Nones what comes next? 4051..What colour was Mrs Bates dress in Psycho? 4052..What was Napoleons mothers name? 4053..Terry Bollea became famous under what name? 4054..In Wisconsin its illegal to do what during your wife's orgasm? 4055..What is the only breed of dog that gets gout? 4056..What country has the worlds oldest National Anthem? 4057..William Blake Winston Churchill John Lennon what links? 4058..What domesticated pet is never mentioned in the Bible? 4059..Kellogg's Corn Flakes were invented to do what? 4060..In Texas its illegal to swear in front of what? 4061..What was Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film? 4062..What was known as Arabian Wine? 4063..What does the black and white BMW logo represent? 4064..In Arizona you must register with state before becoming what? 4065..Where are the Luxemburg gardens? 4066..What was Maxwell Smarts cover? 4067..What is the state insect of Texas? 4068..PD James wrote thrillers what does PD stand for? 4069..In what Bible book is "The love of money is the root of all evil"? 4070..In the Beverley Hillbillies what was a potpasser? 4071..Jack Haley played the Tin Man what was the Tin Mans name? 4072..Disney question - who are Daisy Ducks three nieces? 4073..Brassiere comes from an old French word meaning what? 4074..Trimontaine was the original name of where? 4075..In 1861 Dows Ginger Ale was the first to be what? 4076..In Louisiana what personal act is illegal in public? 4077..What breed of dog bites the most humans? 4078..Only humans and what primate can have blue eyes? 4079..What creature is the symbol of Bacardi? 4080..In which country are condoms most commonly used? 4081..What was the name of the saloon in Gunsmoke? 4082..A Vigule or Solidus is what character? 4083..Sourj is Armenian for what? 4084..Who wrote Heart of Darkness? 4085..In the movie what is Shafts first name? 4086..In Pennsylvania legally a man needs written permit from wife do wha? 4087..Grilled on a Ploughshare literal meaning what Japanese dish? 4088..Frank Heyes 1923 on Sweet Kiss only jockey ever to do what? 4089..In an authentic Chinese meal what is served last? 4090..Topolino in Italy is who here? 4091..Holland 1634 1000lb cheese 4 ox 8 pigs 12 sheep bed 1 what Vicero? 4092..Where in the body is the labrynth? 4093..In Shakespeare's Hamlet what herb is said to be for remembrance? 4094..What is Papins Digester - Invented Denis Papin 1679? 4095..A web site with sa in the name is in what country? 4096..Julius Caesar Hamlet Macbeth Richard III links not Obvious? 4097..In Denver Colorado it is illegal to lend what to your neighbour? 4098..Where were Chinese Checkers invented? 4099..What was the first film given the title Blockbuster? 4100..What was the third leading cause of death in 1900? 4101..Where would you find your Glabella? 4102..Until 1990 what was still legal tender in East Germany? 4103..On what hobby is most money spent? 4104..What city has the worlds biggest taxi fleet? 4105..4000 people each year are injured by what household item? 4106..What is the current no 1 aphrodisiac (reputedly)? 4107..In Delaware it is illegal to pawn what? 4108..What animal is mentioned most in the Bible? 4109..What links Socrates Aristotle Janis Joplin? 4110..What is the most common fear people have? 4111..After the US what country imports the most scotch? 4112..In Kansas City its illegal for children to buy what? 4113..What is officially the poorest US state? 4114..And what is officially the richest? 4115..Smith Johnson Williams Brown Jones next US common surnames? 4116..The US eat most ice cream per capita what country second? 4117..In Indiana what is illegal in winter? 4118..In what country did the rumba originate? 4119..Kitty the most common cats name in US what's the second? 4120..According to Homer Simpson what is a feline? 4121..Who sang Shattered Dreams in 1987? 4122..In Tucson Arizona it is illegal for a woman to wear what? 4123..Scottish clan were traitors and caused the Glencoe massacre? 4124..Who played Sarah Conner in 1984s Terminator? 4125..What country consumes the most calories per capita? 4126..What species of fish is caught most? 4127..It is illegal to use what to plough cotton fields in North Carolina? 4128..What is the top New Years Resolution? 4129..What US state has the most murders? 4130..What crime causes the second most number arrests in USA? 4131..Where did doughnuts originate? 4132..E W Hornung created which fictional character? 4133...In Baltimore it is illegal to take what to the movies? 4134...The word Matrix in the Bible means what? 4135...What links Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon - not the obvious? 4136...Who is Homer Simpson's brother? 4137...In Dallas Texas it is illegal to possess a realistic what? 4138...What country drinks the most beer? 4139...What is the most common breeding bird in the US? 4140..Public Speaking is the most common fear what's the second? 4141..Over 28 million Americans are what? 4142..In Oklahoma it is illegal to bite some else's what? 4143..In Israel what unexpected item is certified Kosher? 4144..What was shown over parliament on a Canadian 2 dollar bill? 4145..What links the Cassowary Kakapo and the Kagu? 4146..On the TV show Frazier what was the dads dogs name? 4147..Between October and March what is illegal in Indiana? 4148..Sylvester and Tweety Pie - Cat Bird started out as what? 4149..Potatoes were fist sold as what? 4150..What is Dennis the Menace's last name? 4151..Ancient China Treason Robbery Adultery what punishment? 4152..It is illegal to sell what in Lehigh New England? 4153..What does the Australian slang word Hooroo mean? 4154..Seven million of these are thrown away each day - what? 4155..Vampire bats prefer to bite what part of a sleeping person? 4156..In what language was The Communist Manifesto written? 4157..In Natchez Missouri it is illegal to provide beer to what? 4158..A Parthenophobe has a fear of what? 4159..Who received 800000 fan letters in 1933? 4160..Who recorded their first song under the names Tom and Jerry? 4161..Monology is the study of what? 4162..In Utah where is it illegal to fish? 4163..What is the penalty for drunk driving in Sumatra? 4164..Stag Party was the original name of what? 4165..What is the name of Fred Flintstones paperboy? 4166..The word Sahara is Arabic for what? 4167...Montana its illegal to have what in your cab without chaperone? 4168...In cooking six drops equal one what? 4169...What was the name of the skunk in Bambi? 4170..What do toads do before mating? 4170..What country is the worlds oldest functioning democracy? 4171..In Miami it is illegal for men to be seen in public wearing what? 4172..What President appears on the US $100000 bill? 4173..80% of the worlds population wears shoes made in what country? 4174..A study in shades of grey in the name of what picture? 4175..What is the worlds oldest snack food - 610 AD? 4176..In Fargo North Dakota you can be jailed for dancing with what? 4178..In 1839 what innovation was added to bicycles? 4179..Who was Time Magazines first man of the year (1927)? 4180..Who lived at 1431 North Beachwood? 4181..What is the most eaten food in the US? 4182..Until 1998 by law The QE hotel must do what if you rent a room? 4183..By law every fifth song on Canadian Radio must be what? 4184..In The Simpson's what was the name of the Barbie type doll? 4185..What country consumes the most fish per capita? 4186..MacDonald farm Sheep Cows Pigs Chicks Ducks Donkeys and what? 4187..Hamida Djandoubi in 1977 was the last one - what? 4188..In Cheyenne Wyoming what is illegal on Wednesday? 4189..What was the first product sold in aerosol sprays? 4190..What was the first magazine to publish a hologram on its cover? 4191..What food was regarded as an aphrodisiac in the Middle Ages? 4192..In Arizona you can have no more than two what in a house? 4193..Nonpariel Mission Caramel Neplus Peerless types of what? 4194..What is a Bunt a part of? 4195..Who had a hit with November Rain? 4196..What is the provincial bird of Yukon? 4197..In Columbus Ohio it is illegal to sell what on Sunday? 4198..What was the first toy advertised on TV in USA? 4199..John Benyon Harris became famous as what S F writer? 4200..Sukkot is a festival in which religion? 4201..If you suffered from pyrexia what have you got? 4202..In Morrisville Penn a woman must have a permit to do what? 4203..In Germany what are the Neubaustrecke? 4204..Where could you see a likeness of Pharaoh Khafres head? 4205..FDA regard 5 Fruit fly maggots 3oz per can acceptable - what? 4206..What are Puli Sloghi and Kuvaszok? 4207..In Oklahoma it is illegal to wear what in bed? 4208..What are Misty Rain Sunshine Blue Honey Rose? 4209..Gin Triple Sec (quantreau) and pineapple juice what cocktail? 4210..Silent night the Christmas carol was first played on what? 4211..During US recessions which group have the most unemployment? 4212..In Florida what is banned in public places after 6pm Thursdays? 4213..Where would you find the phrase Annuit Coeptis? 4214..Nine inches in nautical measure is called what? 4215..Bibendum is whose real name? 4216..What is a logogram - a $ sign is one? 4217..In Tennessee it is illegal to drive if you are what? 4218..We know what lasagne is - what is a lassagnum its named from? 4219..What colour M&M is most prevalent in each packet? 4220..Who is Woodie Woodpeckers girlfriend? 4221..What product sells best in US supermarkets 98.2% of shoppers? 4222..In Ackworth Georgia all citizens must own what by law? 4223..What are Zap Spirit Crazylegs and Chuckles? 4224..What is the name of Toys R Us Giraffe? 4225..Santa Clause works in USA but who delivers gifts in Syria? 4226..What are a Jalpa Jarama Shamal and Merak? 4227..What famous reference work is illegal in Texas? 4228..Rheoboam is a bottle size but also the last king of where? 4229..What is the state bird of Wisconsin? 4230..The Primes and The Distants merged to form what group? 4231..What country drink the most milk per capita? 4232..In Boise Idaho where by law are you not allowed to fish? 4233..Who is Yogi Bears girlfriend? 4234..What fashion designers symbol is a swan? 4235..68% of Americans do what (Trying to be punctual)? 4236..What animal is the mascot of the US Naval Academy? 4237..Who drives a car licensed 6YZ643? 4238..Where was volleyball invented? 4239..Miso a traditional Japanese cooking ingredient is what? 4240..What is mosquitoes main food? 4241..In the Winnie the Pooh books what name is over Poohs door? 4242..What is the name of Superman's Supercat? 4243..What is the most common name in the Bible? 4244..International dialling codes - where is 672? 4245..Newspeak - Portable Handheld Communications Transcribers? 4246..Who is d**k Tracey's girlfriend? 4247..What was first man made object to exceed sound barrier? 4248..What seven letter word do all Americans pronounce wrongly? 4249..What is the main ingredient of mock turtle soup? 4250..What would a German do with a Gravenstein? 4251..How many pints will the 27 inch Americas cup hold? 4252..Where would you find your purlicue? 4253..Who was Barbara Streisands first husband? 4254..What is the name of Porky Pigs father? 4255..Nathan Burnbaum became famous under what name? 4256..In Japan what is Shogi? 4257..Who killed his grandfather with a quoit at the Larrisan games? 4258..Shaddock is another name for what? 4259..What was built by the inmates of Changi Prison Camp? 4260..In Greek legend what was eaten on the Island of Jerba? 4261..Who was Dr Zhivago’s love? 4262..In the Modern 1896 Olympics what was the first event decided? 4263..What was the name of Australia's first girlie magazine in 1936? 4264..Where did the British Brown Bess musket get its name? 4265..Luke wrote two Bible books Luke and what? 4266..What was the only remake to win the best picture Oscar? 4267..Soylent Green the band took name from film and book by who? 4268..Prescribed as cure Beri Beri it cured scrotal dermatitis - what? 4269..Colonel Tom Parker Elvis's manager had what earlier act? 4270..What large animal has a less than two inch erect p***s? 4271..According to 36% of Americans they have done what? 4272..By Indonesian law what is the penalty for masturbation? 4273..By law in Guam who are not allowed to marry? 4274..Lorne Green has only one what (an alligator ate the other)? 4275..21% Americans don’t do it every day 5% never do it - what? 4276..Name the country that starts with A but does not end with A? 4277..Collective nouns - a group of what is a charm? 4278..Who refused the leading male role in Gone With the Wind? 4279..In Florida its illegal for a housewife to do what more 3 times daily? 4280..In America its noise is B flat in England its G what is? 4281..In what US City is most blond hair dye sold? 4282..How many sheep are used to produce one angora sweater? 4283..What is fumet? 4284..85% of American people will eat what this year? 4285..Manu National Park Peru has 1300 different species of what? 4286..Who is Olive Oyls brother? 4287..Montezuma's nephew Cuitlahac name means what? 4288..What make was the first car with air conditioning? 4289..In Bristol England an old law says dogs can do what? 4290..The name of what product - German water Greek olive Oil? 4291..What killed half the US soldiers in WW1? 4292..In Denmark what is a Svangerskabsforebyggendemiddel? 4293..What was the first TV show in colour? 4294..33% of American women lie about what? 4295..What does the word Grizzly mean - as in Grizzly bear? 4296..Collective nouns - a Trip of what? 4297..Wilhelm Steinitz was the world's first what in 1886? 4298..Telesphobia is a fear of what? 4299..Irish Proverb - If you want to be criticized do what? 4300..Cher Ami a homing pigeon won the DSC and had what item? 4301..Who are the Diascuri? 4302..Nichole Dunsdon was the last what in October 1992? 4303..Emperor Claudius passed a law legalising what at banquets? 4304..President Andrew Jackson's funeral 1845 who removed swearing? 4305..There are more the 38000 types of what? 4306..What country has the most bookshops per head population? 4307..Chase and Sandborn first sold what in tins in the US? 4308..What is the opposite of Plenum? 4309..Strontium 90 was the original name of which band? 4310..In Massachusetts it is illegal to duel with what? 4311..Charles Jung invented what in America? 4312..Whose last published novel was Murder from the Past? 4314..A Queef is the name for what? 4315..If an Australian had a Bingle what would it be? 4316..Who declined a Pulitzer Prize for his book Arrowsmith? 4317..Lotta and Vassar were the first two brands of what? 4318..The Jelbukk is a Swedish Xmas decoration - what is it? 4319..Where is David Livingstone Buried (Two Places / countries)? 4320..Sunglasses were invented in China to do what? 4321..The Italian Date is a common name of what fruit? 4322..Graham Kerr became famous under what nickname? 4323..What was the name of the last silent movie made 1929? 4324..What US President said I Promise instead of I swear inaugurate? 4325..What is banned by law in Japanese restaurants? 4326..What is measured in Scroville Units? 4327..If an Australian had trouble with his donk who would he call on? 4328..In Kentucky a man cannot purchase what without his wife? 4329..What country issued a banana shaped stamp? 4330..Who was the first male to appear on the cover of playboy? 4331..What colour are an American porcupines teeth? 4332..8% of people in the world have an extra what? 4333..Leader of the Iroquois Indians same name as what car? 4334..If you were drinking castle beer in what country would you be? 4335..President Hayes 1878 started which annual White house event? 4336..Issac and Willian Fuld invented and patented what in 1892? 4337..What product only sold 1200 bottles in its first year? 4338..German kids wear what round neck for good luck on New Year? 4339..If an Aussie called you a Bananabender what would he mean? 4340..What is the closest living relative to the T Rex? 4341..Who was the Roman Goddess of the land? 4342..Mao Muka Neko Pisica are what Chinese Gypsy Japan Rumania? 4343,,Bonnie Booth (3smilies/icon_cool.gif used what to remove a corn from her foot? 4344..In Michigan it is illegal to put what on your bosses desk? 4345..1949 Popular Mechanics said that future ones less 1.5 tons?? 4346..Who said "Iv'e never had an accident worth talking about"? 4347..What is Joeys favourite food in Friends? 4348..Where was the worlds first oil well drilled? 4349..In any given 6 month period 40% of Americans are what? 4350..Who said "A Single death is a tragedy a million a statistic"? 4351..A Weaner is a baby what? 4352..Collective nouns a rhumba of what? 4353..What product sold 330 in the US in its first year? 4354..In Biker Slang what is a Belly Shover? 4355..What do humans get from the Cassava? 4356..If you are on the Choke mountains what country are you in? 4357..In the language of flowers what does the cucumber flower mean? 4358..Who is the Patron Saint of desperation? 4359..How often must one perform a quotidian task? 4360..Brave New World - Aldus Huxley - where name from? 4361..Gail Borden invented what food item? 4362..Where do men play each year for the Challenge Cup? 4363..Fried fish lettuce spinach is a traditional Xmas eve meal where? 4364..An average American eats 28 what in their lifetime? 4365..Who live at 742 Evergreen Terrace? 4366..In Baltimore it is illegal to scrub or wash what? 4367..US 1900 census people with 2 or less what were lower mid class? 4368..Who was the pilot in the first fatal air crash? 4369..What is the scent of an artificial hare at greyhound tracks? 4370..Name two sports where the winner moves backwards? 4371..There is one gallon of water in every cubic mile of what? 4372..In Australian slang what are apricots? 4373..What product only sold 8 in its first year in the USA? 4374..Scottish Hebrides island is defined a big enough sustain what? 4375..Who said "The internet is a good way to get on the net"? 4376..What makes a noise middle octave key of F? 4377..Lyssophobia is the fear of what? 4378..What capital city translates as Capital City in the native tongue? 4379..What flavour is framboise liqueur? 4380..Collective nouns a rag of what? 4381..Two out of 3 visits to an American doctor are for what problems? 4382..In Biker Slang what is a Coupon? 4383..If you were drinking Tiger beer in what country would you be? 4384..Who said "People only see what they are prepared to see"? 4385..In Utah you can get a licence to hunt what? 4386..Epistemophobia is the fear of what? 4387..Which magazine declared bankruptcy in the early 1990s? 4388..What food are astronauts prohibited before a mission? 4389..What product sold 25 bottles in its first year for $50 cost $75? 4390..To what Patron Saint would you pray if you had a headache? 4391..JFK was actually baptised JFFK what was the other F for? 4392..What is the punishment for drunk driving in Norway? 4393..96% of all what are purchased by women? 4394...What did Oliver Pollock invent in 1778? 4395..What are Waist Overalls? 4396..In the language of flowers giving a mushroom meant what? 4397..ORD are the identification letters of what airport? 4398..What woman has the most statues of her? 4399..Choo Kiko Wapi - what have I asked in Swahili? 4400..In Helsinki Finland what's the police alternative to parking tickets? 4401..What word did non-English speakers say sounded prettiest? 4402..If you were drinking Cobra beer in what country would you be? 4403..In Aussie slang what are Bum Nuts? 4404..In Palding Ohio police officers can legally do what to dogs? 4405..New Jersey has a museum with 5400 exhibits of what? 4406..What does a myrmecologist study? 4407..Equator's favourite dish is Seco de Chivo - what is it? 4408..What is a Pygmy Blue? 4409..Emelio Marco Palma was the first to do what in 1978? 4410..After homes and jobs where do Americans spend most time? 4411..Which US place name translates Indian as place of drunkenness? 4412..Luchiano Paverotti has what in his pocket for luck when singing? 4413..Ill Never Forget Whatshisname 1968 film first said ******** – who? 4414..Philematology is the science of what? 4415..What is the most popular name for a boat? 4416..Collective nouns - A Labour of what? 4417..If You were drinking Rolling Rock lager what US state are you in? 4418..In Biker Slang what are Giblets? 4419..In Minnesota its illegal for a woman dressed as what on street? 4420..What word comes from the Latin phrase to crowd together? 4421..In 1999 Dallas Texas passed a law banning what from city? 4422..On Scooby Doo what was Shaggys real name? 4423..Who failed his music class at school? 4424..Who or what was Black Betsy? 4425..20% of Japanese publications are what? 4426..What was the first music CD burned in America? 4427..In ancient Japan public contests were held to find what? 4428..What are scutes? 4429..If a Ghanian says Afishapa what have you been told? 4430..St Gerard is the Patron Saint of who? 4431..In the language of flowers giving mint meant what? 4432..If an Australian called you a Gumsucker what would he mean? 4433..In the language of flowers what does oak leaves mean? 4434..What does a Coprophobe fear? 4435..Collective nouns - a leash of what? 4436..In Lebanon it is legal to have sex with who / what? 4437..Kan Pei - Terveydeksi - Op Je gazonheid 3 ways saying what? 4438..25% of women regularly do what? 4439..Who tell of the mythical Bunyips that eat people? 4440..Who wrote One flew over the Cuckoos Nest? 4441..Japanese Soya noodles are made from what? 4442..What word in English has the most synonyms? 4443..What English word comes from Latin for Sheath for a Sword? 4444..At the end of TVs MASH what character stayed in Korea? 4445..April 20 1896 was the first time people paid to do what? 4446..There are 33 words on the back of a bottle of what beer? 4447..Brigham Young University offers what unusual Major? 4448...What product was originally called Baby Gays? 4449..Women do it twice as often as men - what? 4450..What is the only flavour Jell-o containing any real fruit? 4451..Einstein never wore what if he could avoid it? 4452..What is a tucket? 4453..Beethoven's 9th was his interpretation of what work by Schiller? 4454..A standard what contains eight holes? 4455..What city was chosen but refused the 1976 Winter Olympics? 4456..Where in Europe can you find wild monkeys? 4457..70% of Americans have done what? 4458..What is the name of the Flintstones cat? 4459..Muscatel literally means what in Italian? 4460..A average male will have 2000 what during his lifetime? 4461..What is polenta? 4462..Egg Fu is the enemy of what super hero? 4463..Who was the first honorary US citizen? 4464..What links Bill Clinton Fidel Castro Alb Einstein Jimmy Hendrix? 4465..According to a survey what is the US top family food? 4466..Urea is only found in humans and what other animal? 4467..What group were once called The Warlocks? 4468..What colour is a sunburned turnip? 4469..On Average a West German goes 7 days without doing what? 4470..What product put its logo on Dover cliffs - Act Parliament get off? 4471..Approximately 3 million women in the USA have what? 4472..Harold Sakata was badly burned playing what character? 4473..In the Flintstones in what county is Bedrock? 4474..Ariztid Olt was what early name used by a famed actor? 4475..Who said "Once you are dead you are made for life"? 4476..What does Vodka literally mean? 4477..In Kingsville Texas its illegal for who/what to shag on airport land? 4478..Collective nouns - a hedge of what? 4479..What does a Erotophobe fear? 4480..Who is the Patron Saint of Gout? 4481..In the language of flowers what does yellow lily mean? 4482..What is the Roman Numerals for 4000? 4483..Put the worlds most common forename and surname together? 4484..King James the IV practiced what (and charged) on subjects? 4485..At the Festival of the Cleaver Spartans nailed what to the wall? 4486..43% of Americans regularly do what? 4487..Chachi was a character in Happy days whats it mean in Korean? 4488..Frank Sinatra John Wayne Paul Newman rejected what role? 4489..Who was the first man to set foot on all five continents? 4490..What idea began in London in 1764? 4491..Only humans and what have hymens? 4492..In Connecticut by law restaurants must provide separate what? 4493..DELAG was the worlds first what Oct 16 1909? 4494..Do ahashya da is Navaho for what? 4495..Here comes the judge is from what TV show? 4496..What is a Hindi in Turkey? 4497..Each day 3000 Americans do what for the first time? 4498..Apart from Star Trek Kirk Scott Spock Sulu (actors) what prog? 4499..Elizabeth I had anthrophobia what was she afraid of? 4500..What did Beethoven do before composing?   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:25 pm 4501..What gives onions their distinctive smell? 4502..Where was the first police force established in 1667? 4503..Who is the largest toy distributor in the world? 4504..The average chocolate bar has eight what in it? 4505..Zorro the heroes name means what in Spanish? 4506..In Chicago its illegal to fish wearing what? 4507..Vegetarians do what more than carnivore / omnivores? 4508..What county has a national dog (only one country has one)? 4509..What is the leading cause of death in China? 4510..What product is consumed most in California? 4511..What flavour is kirshwasser liqueur? 4512..Farina is Italian for what? 4513..Moons of the faithful is the Chinese translation of what fruit? 4514..What science ficton author wrote about The Cities in Flight series? 4515..What literary character was born on September 22 1290? 4516..Patsy Mclenny became famous as who? 4517..What fruits do Elephants eat to get pissed ( ferment inside )? 4518..30% of women have done it but only 10% do it regularly - what? 4519..Its illegal to do what in the French vineyards? 4520..What word come from the Latin phrase "to be ashamed of"? 4521..The Travelmate was designed to allow women to do what? 4522..What TV program first used the word hell? 4523..Termites eat wood twice as fast if what is happening? 4524..What distinguished the 9th and 10th Cavalry? 4525..Choroti women are expected to do what during sex? 4526..What links horses rabbits and rats? 4527..An average American does it 2.2 times a week – what? 4528..How did Queen Victoria ease her menstrual cramp pain? 4529..George Washington carried a portable what? 4530..What make and model of car was Christine in the book and film? 4531..What liqueur is prepared from cumin and caraway seeds? 4532..In Kansas its illegal to eat cherry pie with what? 4533..Tamarack Idaho can't buy what after dark without sheriff permit? 4534..73% of what is produced and consumed in the USA? 4535..97% of all paper money in the USA has traces of what on it? 4536..Catch 22 had what original name - publisher changed it? 4537..Half the population of China is what? 4538..What animals name comes from the Sanskrit to steal? 4539..Telephone poles are mostly made from what wood? 4540..The Spanish word Esposa means both wife and what? 4541..What book was given to all officers in the Confederate army? 4542..What Canadian city has the most bars per capita? 4543..Ninkasi was the ancient Egyptian goddess of what? 4544..Who was the voice of Scooby Doo? 4546..In Glendale Arizona it is illegal for a car to do what? 4547..Who said "Sometimes too much drink is barely enough"? 4548..Joan Peters became famous as who? 4549..Hawaiian Pia Polish Piwo Hungarian Sor - what is it? 4550..All commercially bred turkeys are what? 4551..Wimpy was the working title of what classic movie? 4552..The longest section American slang dictionary what subject? 4553..Climbing boys were banned what did sweeps drop down chimneys? 4554..What was the Bikini originally called? 4555..In Huston Texas they do it most 4.6 times per week - what? 4556..What magazine has the largest unpaid circulation in the US? 4557..More than 100 women make a living from impersonating who? 4558..In Omaha Nebraska its illegal for a barber to shave what? 4559..Ancient Chinese thought what fruit a symbol long life immortality? 4560..Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcake trad Xmas eve meal where? 4561..Calgary University offers a two day course in what? 4562..Cleopatra sometimes wore a fake what? 4563..in 1980 the Yellow Pages listed a Funeral Home under what? 4564..Most Jell-o contains crushed what? 4565..What colour are the Amazon river dolphins? 4566..What pop group said "Were only in it for the volume"? 4567..Phonetically spelled out what does Esso mean in Japan? 4568..If you had aprosexia what would be impaired or reduced? 4569..90% of New York cabbies are what? 4570..In Massachusetts it is illegal to deliver what on Sundays? 4571..Name the first mailman in Philadelphia? 4572..US school buses are Chrome Yellow but they used to be what? 4573..Harold Edgerton has taken all the worlds photos of what? 4574..15% of American males are what - so are bulls? 4575..Seattle Rome Edinburgh Sheffield what links them? 4576..There are over 800 brands of what for sale in the USA? 4577..In what country do they answer the phone by saying I'm listening? 4578..Who captured the first confederate flag in the US civil war? 4579..Bourbon Miss restaurant by law what must be served with water? 4580..Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton became famous as who? 4581..Who said "More people would be alive if we had a death penalty"? 4582..The Chinese apple is another name for what fruit? 4583..Massachusetts in April the law states that dogs will have what? 4584..What is Daffy Ducks middle name? 4585..In downtown Lima Peru there is a brass statue of who? 4586..43% of women want to try sadomasochism after smelling what? 4587..26% of McDonalds Ontario employees admit doing what? 4588..What is the name of the elephant headed god in India? 4589..The foghorn of the QE2 plays in what note? 4590..McDonalds and Burger King put what on their fries? 4591..Where is a horses poll? 4592..Who rejected the role of Riddler in Batman Forever? 4593..The Victorians began circumcision of male babies to stop what? 4594..What conc. product carried in tankers has a hazardous sign? 4595..In Georgia its illegal for a barber to do what? 4596..25% of sexually active people have tried what? 4597..Who said "Losing my virginity was a career move"? 4598..Hemeroticism is what? 4599..Depeche Mode the 80s groups name translates as what? 4600..Marathon runners have on average 14 a week - what? 4601..41% of American women believe what nationality best husbands? 4602..On Average North American women do what 83 times a year? 4603..46% of women say this is better than sex - what? 4604..Where is the fourth most popular place on a ship to have sex? 4605..And what is the first? 4606..10% of men claim to do this regularly – what? 4607..The word negligee is French and suggests wearer does what? 4608..In Tennessee it is illegal to sell what on a Sunday? 4609..Volney was in hundreds of films where can you see him? 4610..Alces Alces is the Latin name for what animal? 4611..Where do Cuckoo clocks come from? 4612..What used to be measured in Gillettes? 4613..O'Shey Jackson became better known as who? 4614..A talus is what geographical feature? 4615..What is a Godeminche? 4616..In Virginia its against the law for people to bribe except who? 4617..In ancient Greece aristocratic women were deflowered with what? 4618..JRR Tolkein wrote The Lord of the Rings what the JRR stand for? 4619..A Hop Low is the world smallest - what? 4620..What has 121 holes? 4621..What was the first video played on MTV Europe? 4622..Thurl Ravenscroft is the voice of who? 4623..What was Ghengis Khans first job? 4624..In film making what is a martini shot? 4625..What flavours root beer? 4626..30 million people in the USA have diasima - what is it? 4627..In Chaucer's England a mussel was slang for what? 4628..In New Jersey what can't be sold on a Sunday? 4629..What is the name for a male ferret? 4630..Woodpecker Scalps - Porpoise Teeth - Giraffe Tails what links? 4631..What was the city symbol of Pompeii A Winged p***s? 4632..In Old English what is a frieosan? 4633..Who was supposed to play Betelgeuse in the movie? 4634..Psychologist say when a woman wears red she wants what? 4635..67% of dog owners do what at holiday time? 4636..in 1994 314 Americans had what type of surgery? 4637..English ships carried limes protect scurvy what US ships carry? 4638..How many tail feathers has a Kiwi? 4639..What gem was Cleopatra's signet? 4640..Cagney shoves grapefruit Mae Clarke face was going to be what? 4641..In North Carolina its against the law for who / what to fight? 4642..Who said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"? 4643..The word stymie originated in what sport? 4644..What is silviculture? 4645..Rosalind Julia Portia Viola Cymbeline what links not obvious? 4646..What medal shows 3 naked men hands on each others shoulders? 4647..J Worthington Foulfeather was the name of what Disney character? 4648..What was the only film about Vietnam made during the war? 4649..What did archers at the ancient Olympics use as targets? 4650..What national flag has the largest animal emblem - a lion? 4651..If not a bird magician or a spitfire engine What is a Merlin? 4652..What is the Badger state? 4653..In Michigan married couples can be imprisoned unless they what? 4654..Arturo Toscanini played what instrument before conducting? 4655..After the Bible what book did Americans rate as their favourite? 4656..What are the names of the two cats in Disney's Lady + Tramp? 4657..What is the oldest registered trade mark still used in USA? 4658.Whose legs were banned from metro posters too distracting? 4659..Where would a soldier wear a Havelock? 4660..Where are the glasshouse mountains? 4661..What was Napoleon Bonaparte's official emblem? 4662..The USA call her the Maid of Honour what do the British call her? 4663..What airport has the code MME? 4664..In Missouri a man must have a permit to do what? 4665..Clomipramine an anti depressant had what unusual side effect? 4666..What is the name of Madonna's Chiuhauha? 4667..Ilich Ramirez Sanchez became notorious as who? 4668..To a golfer what's a frosty? 4669..What is Xylography? 4670..What is Fonzies full name on Happy Days? 4671..Jacque Cousteau's ship Calypso used to be what before he got it? 4672..What books original title was Murder in the Calais Coach? 4673..What in reality was Dr McCoy's medical scanner in Star Trek? 4674..In Phoenix Arizona you cant walk through a hotel wearing what? 4675..What is tripsophillia? 4676..Name first monochrome film converted electronically to colour? 4677..What does the name Mesopotamia mean? 4678..What was the name of the baby in Three Men and a Baby? 4679..What is a Winter Banana? 4680..In what movie did Richard Drefus make his one line debut? 4681..What is the meaning of the Sioux word Tonka - used for toys? 4682..What are or were Wix Fibs and Fax? 4683..By law In Washington State a concealed weapon must be what? 4684..In Louisiana by law who can't be charged more than 25c haircut? 4685..What is Corvus another name for? 4686..What links fire escapes windshield wipers bullet proof vests? 4687..Growing Up Skipper Mattel doll 1970 what happened arm turned? 4688..Spain Portugal and Algeria are three top produces of what? 4689..What building in New York has 43600 windows? 4690..Where is the worlds largest bullfighting ring? 4691..A Klazomaniac cant stop doing what? 4692..A sheep duck and rooster were worlds the first what? 4693..What American state has the most outhouses? 4694..4What tough guy actor has a real first name of Walter? 4695..What toy is manufactured to a tolerance of 5 thou of a millimetre? 4696..What job is most likely to make the practitioner an alcoholic? 4697..All hospitals in Singapore use what brand name product? 4698..Colgate (the toothpaste) translates to what in Spanish? 4699..In the next 7 days 800 Americans will be injured by what? 4700..British politician John Montigue is credited with inventing what? 4701..How did Bobby Beach - broke all bones over Niagara in barrel die? 4702..Who's Christian names inc Johannes Chrysostomus Theophilus? 4703..In Oklahoma by law baseball teams cannot do what? 4704..What is Ordune? 4705..Why were Mothers called mama or mommy in many languages? 4706..What is Sekkusu in Japan? 4707..Half the worlds population has seen at least one what? 4708..With what song did Status Quo opened the Band Aid concert? 4709..An accolade is something of praise what was original meaning? 4710..Where would you find your shank? 4711..September 22 is National what appreciation day? 4712..The is no known language without a word for this creature - what? 4713..There are butterflies that smell like what? 4714..What does a tsiologist study? 4715..Who was the first American to make $100 million a year? 4716..99% of American households have at least one what? 4717..In Denver Colorado it is illegal to mistreat who / what? 4718..Any sufficiently advanced technology indistinguishable from magic? 4719..70% people would stamp barefoot broken glass that watch what? 4720..56% of Americans believe there is what in heaven? 4721..In Ancient Mesopotamia people worshiped what? 4722..Lachanophobia is the fear of what? In Kansas by law you cannot drive what down the street? 4723..What is ipsism another name for? 4724..In any one month 36% of Americans eat what for breakfast? 4725..What job has the longest lifespan in the USA average age 77? 4726..Nyse in Swedish Tusszents in Hungarian Kychat in Czeck what? 4727..Faith Hope Charity Fortitude Justice Prudence what's missing? 4728..Morris Frank brought Buddy from Swiss in 1928 what was Buddy? 4729..Stephanie Powers was Girl from UNCLE characters name? 4730..In what city was Americas first stock exchange built? 4731..We know what a fez is but what does fez mean in Turkish? 4732..What product can be found in four out of five American homes? 4733..45% of Americans use what each day? 4734..USA favourite computer passwords are love and sex what UK? 4735..William Moulton Marston Lie Detector and what comic character? 4736..On the Munsters what was Lillie's maiden name? 4737..What did D H Laurence do with his horse Aaron when it died? 4738..What in Japan is a Mawashi? 4739..What links George Patton Jayne Mansfield Margaret Mitchell? 4740..A Badger gets its name from badge meaning what? 4741..Collective nouns - a descent of what? 4742..In Florida its against the law to put what on the school bus? 4743..What is Lygeristia (a limiting thing)? 4744..Who appeared on the first cover of TV guide 3 April 1953? 4745..Who said "To many of our imports are from abroad"? 4746..The Rambunctious and Clever Ones what films name in Taiwan? 4747..What ingredient causes the shine in expensive eye shadow? 4748..What do you call the cap on a fire hydrant? 4749..Who is the Roman Goddess of sorcery hounds and crossroads? 4750..Only three Angels are named in Bible Gabriel Michael and who? 4751..What is the name of Data's cat in Star Trek Next Generation? 4752..What word starts and ends with und? 4753..In what sport would you find a Hosel? 4754..What was banned by law 16th 17th century Venice? 4755..The Nullarbor desert is in Western Australia what's it mean? 4756..Collective nouns - a mustering of what? 4757..Caterpillar comes from the old French what's it literally mean? 4758..What links Cary Grant Mohammed Ali Prince Charles? 4759..In 1923 what new optional accessory was offered on cars? 4760..What is Indiana Jones first name? 4761..What first appeared on the USA domestic market in 1960? 4762..In North Carolina it is illegal for what to race down the street? 4763..What job has a pudentacurist? 4764..Two weeks after hatching what is 3000 times its birth weight? 4765..In 1919 in the USA you could be jailed for doing what in Public? 4766..The Merry Go Round is Broken Down - whose melody is that? 4767..Mark Chapman was carrying what book when he killed Lenon? 4768..Paramount Pictures logo has 22 what? 4769..Why did Ancient Egyptians shave their eyebrows? 4770..Other than fruit what is the only natural food made without killing? 4771..Who is known as Tuhkimo in Finland? 4772..The first Apple Mac hard disk was how big? 4773..Who was the first Marvel Comics superhero? 4774..The word rodent comes from the Latin rodere meaning what? 4775..What was the first video played on MTV? 4776..The Chinese pictogram for trouble also means what? 4777..An Intente is a players manager in what sport? 4778..Collective nouns - A gang of what? 4779..Peladophobia is the fear of what? 4780..After water what is the most consumed beverage? 4781..What is pompoir? 4782..In West Virginia its illegal to cook what - because of smell? 4783..In Norse mythology Odin traded an eye for what? 4784..Who wrote the poem It was the night before Christmas? 4785..What is a pismire? 4786..In Arthur C Clarks Childhoods end the aliens look like what? 4787..What animals name translate from Arabic as He who walks fast? 4788..The worlds what museum is at 19 Green belt North York Ontario? 4789..At her beheading Marie Antoinette wore what colour shoes? 4790..What country has the worst roads averaging 10 deaths per mile? 4791..Magnus Huss (a Swede) coined which word? 4792..In Vancouver a city law says all cars must carry what? 4793..Who made his screen debut in Mad Dog Col 1961 as a cop? 4794..Ernest Breaux a chemist created which product in 1921? 4795..What flowers name derives from the Greek word for testicle? 4795..Who told the evil king Schahriah stories? 4796..Spanakopia is a Greek pie filled with what? 4797..What is in a Ballini cocktail? 4798..John Pierpoint wrote what seasonal ditty? 4799..Where is the world's oldest belltower AD 1069? 4800..What is in the Red Data Book? 4801..April is the cruellest month - which poet wrote that line? 4802..Tyrian Purple is a strong dye made from what? 4803..What countries women most likely to have sex on a first date? 4804..In 19th century England what was a Snickerdoddle? 4805..Joan Sandra Molinsky became famous as who? 4805..If you were acomoclitic what would turn you on? 4806..Who wrote the book - Call of the Wild? 4806..What was the name of Frank Zappas first band? 4807..Who was nicknamed "Queen of the Swashbucklers"? 4808..What Italian stew literally translates as Bone with a Hole? 4809..If you had Cynophillia what type of sex turns you on? 4810..Who directed the movie Wall Street 1987? 4811..In what US state is area 51? 4812..What is Belleek? 4813..What 6th century Greek poet is the father of drama? 4814..Who was the main plotter in the Gunpowder Plot 1605? 4815..In Red Dwarf what did the H stand for on Rimmers head? 4816..Illinois State law its illegal to speak what language? 4817..What US president spent between 11 and 15 hours asleep daily? 4818..Janette MacDonald was nicknamed the Iron what? 4819..Where is the Star Fleet Academy located? 4820..What countries women are most likely to have sex daily? 4821..What is the main ingredient of tahini used in the Middle East? 4822..What is the name of the scale measuring depth of coma (GCS)? 4823..Which 19th century battle UK / USA fought after peace signed? 4824..What place is nicknamed "The City of Lilies"? 4825..In San Jose California where is it illegal to sleep without permit? 4826..What is a Tambura? 4827..In what literary work would you find the yahoos? 4828..In Chinese mythology what is Taimut? 4829..A Hodophile gets sexually aroused by what? 4830..Greek mythology what underground river souls drink and forget? 4831..Jane Peters became famous as who - ( Clark Gables wife )? 4832..In the Canterbury Tales why were the pilgrims travelling? 4833..The locals call it Metohkangmi what do we call it? 4834..What translates as The fist foot way? 4835..The furcula is what part of a bird? 4836..What is an Oklahoma / Arizona / Harlem credit card? 4837..Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the last king of where? 4838..What is measured with a Snodgrass grathodynamometer? 4839..In LA by law you can't hunt what at night in streetlight? 4840..In Greek mythology who gave the "eyes" to the peacock? 4841..A couple dogging are having sex with others watching where? 4842..Harry Alan Robert Stewart made redundant Britain 1960s Job? 4843..Orbis non Sufficit - World is not enough - whose family motto? 4844..In Tejo a S American game players throw stones at buried what? 4845..What come in varieties Norway Oriental Sitka White Siberian? 4846..Wilhelm Beer and Johan von Madler first good map where 1830? 4847..A musical instrument and the French word for paper clip what? 4848..What links Yul Bryner Burt Lancaster WC Fields Joe E Brown? 4849..Outfit/costume first seen 1914 film Kid Auto Races at Venice? 4850..Evening Star no 92220 was the last what? 4851..Who was found dead in Hollywood's Landmark Hotel 4 Oct 1970? 4852..June 1611 what English navigator was cast adrift by mutineers? 4853..Rams Horn Wandering Bladder Prickly Herald types of what? 4854,,Who sent Stanley to Africa to look for Livingstone? 4855..Who was "The father of magazine science fiction"? 4856..San Francisco by law unleashed what can't walk down market street? 4857..A phalophilliac has a fetish about what? 4858..Who first appeared in the film A Tale of two Kitties in 1942? 4859..Word for slight of hand comes from the French for nimble finger? 4860..What links Steve McQueen Ian Botham Spike Milligan? 4861..A Primagravida is what? Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:31 pm 5001..Who had a hit no 5 in US 1971 with Bridge over Troubled Water? 5002..Margaret Hookham changed her name famed as who? 5003..Reuben James was the first what 31 Oct 1941? 5004..What minty confection is a boys name - in reverse? 5005..In The Italian Job Noel Coward played what character in prison? 5006..Where is John Frost bridge shown on A Bridge too Far? 5007..Butterfly Falcon Fun Glen Lark Penguin If Topper types of what? 5008..What's the Australian slang name female man trainee sheep farm? 5009..In South Dakota its illegal to show movies that picture what? 5010..What area of London did Jack the Ripper frequent? 5011..Michael Henchard better known as what eponymous literary hero? 5012..What word can go before Work Yard Laying Bat to make others? 5013..What was the name of Roy Rogers dog (now stuffed)? 5014..What authors (unused) final two names are Bower Yin? 5015..Albanian money and a grouse's mating display same word what? 5016..In what 1998 did film David Bowie play Pontius Pilot? 5017..What is the Ikurrina? 5018..German mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller named what? 5019..What word for a cigar type is also Italian for a small loaf? 5020..What is the name of the Australian Film Institute Award? 5021..What countries presidents Yusof Bin Ishak and Wee Kim Wee? 5022..What city in the USA means First People in Indian? 5023..The first cartoon character on the Beano was Eggo what was he? 5024..In Newark its illegal to sell what after 6pm unless Drs note shown? 5025..Klysmophillia is arousal from what? 5026..What independent states name has 10 letters only one vowel? 5027..Florence Nightingale Graham better known as who? 5028..Crown - Ring - Shank - Stock - Fluke parts of what? 5029..Andrew John Woodhouse in fiction was who - Ira Levin novel? 5030..Steve McQueen played Hiltz Great Escape what's first name? 5031..Whose members get "Promoted to Glory" on their death? 5032..What is the common name of Eucalyptus microtheca? 5033..William Sydney Porter is better known as who (literature)? 5034..In Trenton NJ its specifically illegal to throw what in street? 5035..Luke Halpin Sandy Tommy Norden Bud what 1960s TV show? 5037..Who wrote The Caine Mutiny? 5037..Where can you drive your car on the Nippon Clip On? 5038..Lampy is the worlds oldest 1840s insured 1 million oldest what? 5039..Albert Harry Jack and Samuel Eichelbaum known as who? 5040..What is a Merkin - There are two possible correct answers? 5041..What authors only detective work was The Red House Mystery? 5042..Ignoring USA whose motto is E Pluribus Unum? 5043..What Australian slang for a simpleton is also a cockatoo? 5044..What 19th century explorer translated the Kama Sutra? 5045..Real names Susan Alexandria Stage name from Great Gatsby? 5046..What was the Titanic's last port of call? 5047..In Eureka Nevada its illegal for moustached men to do what? 5048..Janine Deckers suicided 1985 had top 10 hit 1962 as who? 5049..Seawise University burned 9 Jan 1972 used to be called what? 5050..What are Berner Florin Parisian frill types of? 5051..A Lady Paramount judges at what sport? 5052..What Shakespeare play is "The Green Eyed Monster" mentioned? 5053..Fatty Arbuckle was the first filmed recipient of what in 1913? 5054..In Scandinavian mythology what bridge linked heaven and Earth? 5055..What was Supergirl's secret identity? 5056..In the UK The Elder Brethren of Trinity House manage what? 5057..Who danced with Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh in 1945? 5058..What do Yoni worshipers worship? 5059..In the streets of Elko Nevada walkers are meant to wear what? 5060..Bob Fitzsimmons world boxing champion had what middle name? 5061..Who was the only unidentified person awarded the Victoria Cross? 5062..In what sport would you perform an Adolf? 5063..The French call it "La Train Sifflera Trois Fois" what film is it? 5064..Town Australia is named after the wife Sir C H Todd postmaster? 5065..In Italy what is a "Zuppa Inglese"? 5066..What is the tail fin of a fish called? 5067..Francis Octavia Smith rode Buttercup in 1950s TV who was she? 5068..In Germany who were known as "d**k und Doof"? 5069..In Omaha Parents can be arrested if child does what in church? 5070..What desert wine is a normal ingredient of zabaglione? 5071..In his profession who's entitled to wear the "traje de luces"? 5072..African French Bur Fig Marsh Pot types of what plant? 5073..What was known as the Ox Box? 5074..James L Herlihy wrote what novel - Oscar winning film? 5075..An area of London got its name from a hunting call what? 5076..Leslie Sebastian Charles is better known as who? 5077..What ship meaning new land carried Scott to the Antarctic 1910? 5078..If you had Naphephillia what turns you on? 5079..In Minnesota woman can get 30 days for impersonating who? 5080..What actor dropped out university to be a dishwasher? 5081..What links a Sylvester Stallone character and Panama? 5082..In Nevada it is illegal to drive what on the highway? 5083..Acmegenesis is a fancy name for what? 5084..Who was the leader of the wolves in Kipling's Jungle Book? 5084..Jill Oppenheimer changed her name to become famous as who? 5086..Manya Sklodowska became famous under what name? 5087..What vegetable gets its name from old French / Latin for milk? 5088..Cr.me de Menthe Cr.me de Cacao an light cream what drink? 5089..Cry Freedom was Richard Attenborough's film about who? 5090..In WW2 what was the German codename for invasion of Russia? 5091..In The African Queen what was the name of the steam launch? 5092..FIDE govern what game? 5093..Girls name can mean big fruit basket or a meeting whaling captains? 5094..Who did Fess Parker play in on TV 1964? 5095..In Mississippi it is still legal to kill who? 5096..Who was dropped by 20th cent Fox for being too ugly? 5097..Acrotomphillia is having sex with who or what? 5098..Everest climb 1953 put flags UK UN Nepal and where on top? 5099..Who won the formula 1 championship after death at Monza? 5100..Where would you find a Terret? 5101..He was R C Robinson in 1948 what name famous as now? 5102..What was invented by Henry D Perky 1893 Denver Colorado? 5103..Margin Guaging Angle Corner Flooring types of what tool? 5104..Who was the last British king born outside the UK? 5105..What US ports name means in Choctaw long haired people? 5106..Caractacus Potts drove what car? 5107..What comes in types Rock Ball Greentree Indian Reticulated? 5108..In Yugoslavia if you asked for Pljeskavice what do you get? 5109..In Minneapolis what is the maximum penalty for double parking? 5110..A Curofact is a sexual fetish about what? 5111..Roman orator Marcus Tillius nicknamed what for wart on nose? 5112..Who failed an audition for Fame because was not pretty enough? 5113..What character in the Jungle Books name means frog? 5114..What is a Umiak? 5115..What's the more common name for prepatellar bursitis? 5116..Who wrote Whip Hand Proof and Flying Finish? 5117..Who served under Nelson commanding the Glatton 1801? 5118..What sport in Belgium people compete in the Fleche Walloons? 5119..What Rock group are named for a split paper match splif holder? 5120..Musical instrument is named from the Greek wooden sound? 5121..What Hollywood star was the inspiration for Bugs Bunny? 5122..Amatripsis is what sexual practice? 5123..Who developed the method school of acting? 5124..In France Pate De Grives a la Provencal is made from what? 5125..Under Michigan State law who are officially classed mechanics? 5126..Brother Benedict translated name of what port and food product? 5127..Iceland Glima Iran Kushti Turkey Yagli Russia Sambo what is it? 5128..Joseph Hobson Jagger broke it in 1886 broke what? 5129..What groups demo rejected by EMI in 1965 cos not own songs? 5130..What sporting trophy is named after the US sec of war 1920s? 5131..The density of what is measured on the Rngelmann scale? 5132..What English word meaning disaster comes from Italian for flask? 5133..What was Auguste Bartholdis most famous work 1886? 5134..In literature who taught at the Marcia Blain school for Girls? 5135..What was the full name of the butler in soap - later spin off? 5136..What girls name is also a pass made by a bullfighters cape? 5137..Amomaxia is having sex where? 5138..In Fort Madison Iowa Firemen must do what before attending fire? 5139..Who would be scored on the Apgar scale? 5140..Joel Chandler Harris born December 1848 better known as who? 5141..What was the name of the regimental tune of the 7th cavalry? 5142..Mintonette was the original name of what sport in 1891? 5143..In traditional pantomime who is the sweetheart of Harlequin? 5144..Shellac dissolved in alcohol makes what type of varnish? 5145..What actress/singer once worked in a doughnut shop? 5146..Arthur Flegenheimer died Oct 1935 was better known as who? 5147..What is the magazine of the Jehovah's Witnesses called? 5148..Richard Roundtree played what detective in three 70s films? 5149..Defecolagnia is sexual arousal from what act? 5150..Writer who created Hannah Massay Maggie Rowan Tillie Trotter? 5151..What African countries capitol is named after a US president Liberia? 5152..In New Jersey it is illegal to frown at who? 5153..Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheri - who? 5154..What is a Tallith? 5155..The French call it La Mort aux Trousses what Hitchcock film is it? 5156..What did alchemists seek to turn base metals into gold? 5157..According to the poem who dug the grave for c**k robin? 5158..Lily Cauchoin became famous as who? 5159..Who dropped out of Harvard in 1975? 5160..According to English Church what's legal only tween 8 am 6 pm? 5161..Ipsisism is what common sexual practice? 5162..The Soldiers Song is the National Anthem of what Country? 5163..Who created The Scarlet Pimpernel? 5164..Who was meant to play Annie Okley but was replaced in 1950? 5165..What WW2 resistance movements name is Italian for thicket? 5166..Programming language named after 17th cent French mathematician? 5167..Inciticus was a horse (and Senator) owned by whom? 5168..Who would wear a Hachimaki - or headband? 5169..In North Dakota it is illegal to sleep with what on? 5170..Edmund Dante is what eponymous hero? 5171..Thumb Lock Mongolian Release Mediterranean Draw what sport? 5172..What was the name of Papa Doc Duvaliers secret police Haiti? 5173..Old Testament two non humans can speak the serpent and who? 5174..The Sea Cook was the original title of what famous novel? 5175..Bearbrass founded by John Batman the original name of where? 5176..What branch of mathematics is named for the Latin for pebble? 5177..The Island of Sheep was the last novel of what Buchan Hero? 5178..Eonism is what sexual practice? 5179..Who's first film (THX1138) flopped in 1971? 5180..Who wrote the novel Ben Hur? 5181..Mario first appeared in which video game? 5182..Gynecomania is what compulsion? 5183..What food item literally translates as little donkey? 5184..Who directed the film The African Queen? 5185..In Yuma Arizona what is the punishment for citrus fruit thieves? 5186..What light operas name literally means Honourable Gate? 5187..The Paramours changed their name to what gaining fame? 5188..Action Comics 720 after 58 years who returned engage ring? 5189..Who born US Edu UK Expelled West Point Died Baltimore 40? 5190..What is a Paradiddle? 5191..What European countries national anthem has no official words? 5192..Name of Shakespeare's simple constable in Measure for Measure? 5193..What line on a map connects places of equal rainfall? 5194..Corson and Stoughton are the inventors of what? 5195..Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar famous under what nickname? 5196..Cyprieunia is sex with who or what? 5197..Vladimir Nabokov wrote Lolita in what language? 5198..In Quitman Georgia its illegal for a chicken to do what? 5199..At what farm does Aunt Ada Doom go on about nasty woodshed? 5200..What palindromic grass grows at the seashore? 5201..What biblical towns name means House of Bread in Hebrew? 5202..Where would you find your pollers? 5203..23 29 31 first 3 impossible numbers in what pub game? 5204..For what sport is the Camanachd cup contested? 5205..Who wrote the novel The African Queen? 5206..In Roman times what were Falerian Setine Alban Sorrentine? 5207..Whose motto is " Nation shall speak peace unto Nation "? 5208..What was KFCs Colonel Sanders first name? 5209..What outlaws last words were supposed to be " such is life "? 5210..Ondinism is arousal from what? 5211..In Zion city Illinois its illegal to do what? 5212..Danes Overst Senap Spanish Marques de Marina what in UK? 5213..What puppet was based on the creators former wife Sylvia? 5214..The word amnesia (forgetfulness) derives from what language? 5215..What is Mexico's largest seaside resort? 5216..What playwright wrote The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard? 5217..Who composed and played the score for the film Genevieve? 5218..What 17th Century pirate ended up a governor of Jamaica? 5219..Avron Hirsch Goldbogen changed his name to what? 5220..October 1939 what UK battleship sunk torpedo loss 800 lives? 5221..In the bible who slew a quarter of the worlds population? 5222..What indoor football game is named after the Latin Hobby Falcon? 5223..In Britain what is The Andrew? 5224..Parascopisim is what sexual behaviour? 5225..Susannah Yolanda Fletcher became famous as who? 5226..Blanco Gaucho Excelsior Nutcracker Cassette types of what? 5227..What Japanese word ironically means " May you live forever "? 5228..In Iowa state laws prohibits charging admission to see what? 5229..Name the triangular cotton headscarf or Russian grandmother? 5230..Who wrote the novel The Piranhas? 5231..What country calls itself Republika Shqiperise? 5232..Name Dennis the Menace dog Hank Ketchum comics 1950s? 5233..What species of mammal can come in fairy or giant size? 5234..Who was the last Indian chief to die in battle at Wounded Knee? 5235..What is the name of the Turkish aniseed liqueur trans lions milk? 5236..What car manufacturers slogan is forward through technology? 5237..What does a Stupprator prefer sexually? 5238..What are Black Bulger Lawyers Wig Penny Bun types of? 5239..What East Indian herb of the family Pedaliaceae linked Ali Baba? 5240..What girls name is a type of Australian throwing stick? 5241..In Lawrence Kansas its illegal to carry what in your hat? 5242..UK what sized by Grains Peas Singles Doubles Trebles Cobbles? 5243..What sport has Crumb Gatherers Followers Rovers and Wings? 5244..Name the word an anti mine device towed from bows of a ship? 5245..What is a Major Mitchell? 5246..What French actors catch phrase Come with me to the Casbah? 5247..What boys name means Rich Guard? 5248..What is the UKs best selling chocolate snack bar? 5249..Who first appeared in The Mysterious Affair at Styles? 5250..What is a Sybian? 5251..What's the term for the geographical dividing line N/S Korea? 5252..What New York edifice is named after an Italian navigator? 5253..Whose epitaph says "If you seek his monument look around you"? 5254..Who wrote a series of novels about the Ballentines of Africa? 5255..Mary Isobel Catherine O'Brian born 1939 better known as who? 5256..In Maryland it is illegal to take what to the movies? 5257..In USA early last century what were Comet Star Sun Moon? 5258..Who was the only horse ever to beat the legendary Man O War? 5259..What South American cities inhabitants are called portenos? 5260..Churchill It’s a Riddle wrapped in a Mystery in an Enigma what? 5261..What event supposedly occurred in the Coenaculum or Cenacle? 5262..Miss Ellen Church was the worlds first what in 1930? 5263..What Roman Emperor was the first to convert to Christianity? 5264..What sort of sexual practice is Lectamia? 5265..Army Greatcoat Horn of Plenty Diamond Kimono types of what? 5266..What were H47 and L12 that collided causing deaths in 1920s? 5267..What US film was based on Thomas Dixons The Clansman? 5268..In Woodstock NY it's illegal to walk what without a leash? 5269..What capitol city means Bay of Smoke in the local language? 5270..What area in NY is named after a barrier built to keep out Indians? 5271..Bahina de los Cochinos is better known as what? 5272..Family lived small farm Walnut Grove Plumb Creek Minnesota? 5273..Laurence Skikne changed his name to what and found fame? 5274..What's the more common name of the Crux Gammata? 5275..Shakespeare character in The Tempest is the son of Sycorax? 5276..Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu born Skopje 1910 other name? 5277..What was banned in Horneytown North Carolina? 5278..If you were suffering from Preblysis what have you got? 5279..Who wrote The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? 5280..In The Caine Mutiny Bogart played Cap Queeg who first choice? 5281...Gynelophilous people get aroused from what? 5282..In Los Angeles its illegal to do what on the witness stand? 5283..Israel Beer Josaphat founded what famous service in 1851? 5284..What is the main ore of aluminium? 5285..What sport is played 11 a side on ice with a ball - variable pitch? 5286..Famous 20th century novel is set mainly on fictional Pianosa? 5287..What US city is named after vice president of the mid 1840s? 5288..Capitol city - Cathedrale Notra-Dame - statue Marron Inconnu? 5289..Who took over as Fuhrer after Hitler's death till his arrest 1945? 5290..Rex Stout created what corpulent orchid loving private eye? 5291..C'est manifique mais ce n'est pas la guerre 1854 about what? 5292..What planet did Gustav Holst omit from the planets suite? 5293..Born January 21st to February 19th what star sign are you? 5294..Stanley Kubricks Full Metal Jacket was filmed in what Location? 5294..In what fictional vessel are characters Starbuck Stubb Fedallah? 5296..What weapon is named from musical instrument inv Bob Burns? 5297..What does a hyperphiliac suffer from? 5298..Ventura county California who/what cant have sex without permit? 5299..What in US are Ambassador Ben Franklin George Washington? 5300..What is an Entr'acte in France? 5301..In what game/sport terms Bobble Boom Drop Giraffe Pique Twist? 5302..Link Danny Fisher Charlie Rogers Vince Everett Chad Gates? 5303..Alice Dormouse Mad Hatter who is missing from the Tea Party? 5304..The Harlem Globetrotters had what signature tune? 5305..What countries dialects has varieties called Twi and Fanti? 5306..Sabastian Melmoth died in Paris 1900 better known as who? 5307..What was designed and built in Iowa 1930s by George Nissan? 5308..Link Achtung Adagio Bravo Butterfly Gong Polo Rondo Zebra? 5309..Kiki Haakenson a policeman's daughter was the worlds first what? 5310..Who wrote Last Tango in Brooklyn his third novel? 5311..Irrumation is what sexual practice? 5312..Alexandria MN if wife asks man must do what before sex by law? 5313..In what HG Wells novel does Dr Griffin sometimes appear? 5314..Who said about criticism " I cry all the way to the bank "? 5315..What kind of animal is Beatrix Potters Mrs Tiggy Winkle? 5316..What Australian Prime Minister drowned near Melbourne? 5317..Odysseus captured by Cyclops Polyphemus what false name? 5318..Old Irish law what boys name give to fine murderer paid compo? 5319..What confection named for a French field marshal chef made it? 5320..Who got best actor award for the character Charlie Allnut? 5321..Who was the Roman god of field boundaries? 5322..What is The Adi Granth? 5323..What was the first American state to enter the union 7 Dec 1787? 5324..Knismolagnia is sexual arousal from what? 5325..Missouri has an unusual inalienable right - what? 5326..What famous religious hymn by Augustus Montague Toplady? 5327..Sport control amateur level Federation International de Quilleurs? 5328..What African country and its currency have the same name? 5329..Funeral March of a Marionette theme tune to what old TV show? 5330..Eunectes Murinus largest of its kind in South America - what? 5331..Whose nicknames included " The Idol of the American Boy "? 5332..Film based PK d**k story We can remember it for you wholesale? 5333..Isobella Mary Mayson born 1836 remembered as who? 5334..Who sang Move em out head em up head em up move em on? 5335..Zymurgy is a branch of chemistry concerning what process? 5336..Famous fictional character first appeared in Meet the Tiger 1928? 5337..What was the name of the old man in The Old Man and the Sea? 5338..In Merryville Missouri woman cannot by law wear what? 5339..What sexual practice is maritate? 5340..What fictional doctor employed a butler named Poole? 5341..Jean Francois Gravelet is better remembered as who? 5342..What popular bird derives its name from Abo for Good to Eat? 5343..What screen cowboy rode Tony the Wonder Horse? 5344..Andy Fletcher Dave Gahan Martin Gore Alan Wilder what group? 5345..Who was the English man of religion founded Society of Friends? 5346..What was the second colour film to win best picture Oscar 1951? 5347..What animal in The Jungle book is also a type of uncut velvet? 5348..Who was the US equivalent of Alf Garnet? 5349..Curtis Sliwa founded what in 1979? 5350..An Aria from a Handel opera is Ombra mai fu - what other name? 5351..In Elko Nevada sex without what is illegal? 5352..Maschalophilous people get sexually aroused by what? 5353..What does a Pangram contain? 5354..Ragdoll Korat Sphinx Tiffany - types of what? 5355..Who would wear a Zucchetto? 5356..France named it Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir what UK? 5357..With whom is Ludwig Ritter Von Kochel best associated? 5358..What was the first UK TV series filmed in colour 1964/5? 5359..What island group is named after a type of crocodile? 5360..In the man from UNCLE who were their enemies? 5361..What does a Geophage do? 5362..Joyce Frankenberg born 1951 changed her name to what? 5363...Nadsat was a made up language in what book and film? 5364..What planet is nearest in size to Earth? 5365..In Schulter Oklahoma nude women cannot do what? 5366..In sexual terms what is a mastix? 5367..Norman Maine is a character in what remade twice film? 5368..Alhambra is a strong lager brewed in what country? 5369..Prokofievs opera War and Peace has what first to its credit 1973? 5370..What eponymous Dickens character born with a caul over head? 5371..Where would you find a Fumerole or Solfatara? 5372..Halcyon is a poetic name used for what bird? 5373..Whose designer leisure wear carry the symbol of a crocodile? 5374..Paddie's Wigwam nickname of the RC cathedral what UK city? 5375..The French call it Pas de Calais what do the English call it? 5376..Who walked the Via Dolorosa - literally Dolorous Way? 5377..What is the common two word name for Yuca Brevifolia? 5378..Collective nouns - A cloud of what? 5379..There is a museum in Philadelphia 211 North 3rd Street to what? 5380..What is the most frequently accessed article World Encyclopaedia? 5381..Where would you find a coiffe or muselet? 5382..Men average 12 a year women 18 a year - what? 5383..What classic novel sold only 50 copies authors lifetime? 5384..The average human has seven what each day? 5385..If an Australian called you a cadbury what would he mean? 5386..In the language of flowers what does straw mean? 5387..A young what is called a Cheeper? 5388..Who is the Patron Saint of authors? 5389..What does a Caligynephobe fear? 5390..Collective nouns - A group of beavers is what? 5391..58% of people like what during sex? 5392..What is a braquette? 5394..The Walibri tribe central Australia greet each other how? 5395..In Tremonton Utah illegal for a woman not man what in ambulance? 5396..In Islamic law after having sex with a lamb mortal sin to do what? 5397..US Fed laws specify what colour underwear for Crash Dummies? 5398..Where is your Popliteal Fossa? 5399..What is the national dish of the Faeroe Islands? 5400..What is Kumiss made from in Asia? 5401..A Mai Tai is a cocktail literally meaning what in Tahitian? 5402..What is chiengora? 5403..Only 30% of women do what? 5404..The chupacabra is a legendary Mexican animal what in English? 5405..In Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa wakes up as?? 5406..Danny Zuko was a main character in what film? 5407..If you ordered Tori Udon in a Japanese restaurant you get what? 5408..Who said "Canada? I don't even know what street Canada is on"? 5409..What links Jerry Garcia Buster Keaton Boris Yeltsin? 5410..What is the literal translation of haute couture? 5411..The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of who? 5412..Market research says what colour makes people spend more? 5413..Hack - Hog Line - House are terms in what sport? 5414..What do Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones have in common? 5415..Collective nouns - A tiding of what? 5416..You can get 5 years in Kentucky for sending a friend what? 5417..Hipopota Agravis or guasano is what in Mexican Tequila? 5418..What is the name for a special vibrator worn with straps? 5419..What is a toque? 5420..What movie had the line "We're on a mission from God"? 5421..What is the fourth most common language in the USA? 5422..60% of women experience what? 5423..What is Linus last name in the Peanuts cartoons? 5424..In what movie did Whoopee Goldberg make her debut? 5425..Who turned down the Bogart role in Casablanca? 5426..What token was added to Monopoly in 1999? 5427..Alcohol comes from the Arabic word Al Kohl meaning what? 5428..In Washington state it is specifically illegal to have sex with who? 5429..Who is the Patron Saint of brewers? 5430..China Sun-Fin-Chin, Russia bayan, Norway trekspill what is it? 5431..What animal's p***s is four feet long when erect? 5432..Bulls Blood wine comes from which country Hungary? 5433..The North and South Islands of New Zealand separated by what? 5434..In what Dickens novel is there a case of spontaneous combustion? 5435..In the game Tomb Raider what's Lara Crofts profession? 5436..In 1979 who sang about Walking on the Moon? 5437..What links tulip balloon and flute? 5438..What is the currency of Egypt? 5439..Martina Navratilova won most doubles with which partner? 5440..Names Cook Baker obvious what did a Chandler do? 5441..Rod Taylor starred in a 1960 version of which HG Wells story? 5442..Liam Devlin often appears in novels by which author? 5443..Name the Duke of Wellingtons horse at Waterloo? 5444..There are 72 scenes on what famous article? 5445..Chinese bean sprouts are usually the sprouts of which bean? 5446..Locomotive 4472 is better known by what name? 5447..At Prince Charles's wedding who was the best man? 5448..Which famous ship had a total crew numbering 430? 5449..What takes place in Happy Valley Hong Kong? 5450..Imperial Airways in 1925 was the first to do what? 5451..And what was that movie? 5452..Where is the grave of Oscar Schindler? 5453..Which magazine uses the winged horse Pegasus as it's logo? 5454..Which English King was crowned on Christmas day? 5455..In traditional wedding anniversaries what is given on the eighth? 5456..Collective nouns - a sneak of what animals? 5457..Which country grows the most sugar? 5458..Who would use a technique called pleaching? 5459..Glycyrrhiza Glabra is better known as what? 5460..A kamikaze shooter contains Vodka Triple sec and what? 5461..If you saw a hummock off your port bow what are you looking at? 5462..Name Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film as director? 5463..Chernoble is in which Russian province? 5464..Who does Adrian Mole lust after? 5465..Where did the philosopher Plato teach? 5466..The Moluccas are better known as where? 5467..What used to be called (in Europe) Arabian wine? 5468..Who was killed in The Little b*****d? 5469..What character did Disney add to Winnie the Pooh not in books? 5470..Heinrich the lion founded what city? 5471..J H Robertson invented what? 5472..Name bar John Wilkes Booth got pissed in before killing Lincoln? 5473..In Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf what instrument is the wolf? 5474..Garlic and Chives belong to which plant family? 5475..There are two general types of skiing Alpine and what? 5476..Adolf Dasler created which company? 5477..Cents in a Dollar Pennies in a Pound what in a French Franc? 5478..What is extracted from the ore cinnabar? 5479..Hugh Lofting created which fictional character? 5480..In what city is the Uffizi art gallery? 5481..Orient Express restarted in 1982 going from London to where? 5482..Collective nouns - a romp of what animals? 5483..Which King was the intended target of the Gunpowder plot? 5484..BB King gave his guitar what nickname? 5485..The town of Banana in Queensland is named after what? 5486..In traditional wedding anniversaries what is given on the seventh? 5487..In what country was the espresso machine invented in 1822? 5488..Who wrote Candide? 5489..What type of wine was Napoleons favorite? 5490..The average person has 1460 what each year? 5491..Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1972? 5492..Name Santa Clauses (St Nicholas) French brother? 5493..Name the largest Mediterranean island? 5494..Bambi was the first Disney film without what? 5495..Highway 9 is the official name of what thoroughfare? 5496..Film character played by 4 people head body voice breathing? 5497..Mizaru Mikazaru and Mazaru are better known as who? 5498..A weavers knot is known by seamen as a common what? 5499..By law every Swiss citizen must have access to what? 5500..Who played the alien in Predator jumping and climbing scenes?   Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:33 pm 5501..Clark Gable used to do it 4 or more times each day - do what? 5502..Who in US was given Hitler's Supreme Order of German Eagle? 5503..It's illegal in the USA for any citizens to have contact with who? 5504..In Madagascar its illegal for pregnant women to do what? 5505..After English what's the most widely used language on the net? 5506..Two thirds of the worlds geysers are found where? 5507..What town and stream in West Australia same name pop group? 5508..Which European airport has the international code LIS? 5509..AMSTRAD companies name comes from what i.e. what mean? 5510..Where were the worlds first paved streets? 5511..What kills 100000 Americans each year? 5512..The word Angel derives from the Greek meaning what? 5513..What profession has four times the average aids in USA? 5514..Venus is the only planet that does what? 5515..On average what weight nine pounds? 5516..Name the first film to have its sequel released in the same year? 5517..There is approximately one what for each person in the world? 5518..What is Europe's largest port? 5519..Craven Walker invented what 60s fashionable icon? 5520..In Missouri it's illegal for anyone to do what on Sunday? 5521..In 1973 Roland Ohisson was buried in a coffin made of what? 5522..Where in the world can you see the sun rise Pacific set Atlantic? 5523..Name the first cartoon character made into a parade balloon? 5524..What's unusual about the moons of Uranus? 5525..What common word comes from two Greek art/craft area study? 5526..In 1925 two men first drove round Australia in what make of car? 5527..T H White wrote the book for which Disney animated feature? 5528..Egypt Masbout - Armenia Sourg - Japan Koohii what is it? 5529..Marie Tussaud was born in what country? 5530..In traditional wedding anniversaries what is given on the 14th? 5531..Collective nouns - a giggle of what animals? 5532..The Windmills of your Mind was a theme song in what film? 5533..Astronauts cannot do what in space? 5534..Admiral Horatio Nelson suffered from what common condition? 5535..On common ailments Charles Osborne had what for 69 years? 5536..February 1865 only month ever not to have what? 5537..What was the shoulder patch US Army 45th in WW2? 5538..What was first used at the 1904 St Louis Olympic games? 5539..Where is The Popliteal Fossa? 5540..Texas prisons have banned death row prisoners last what? 5541..Ward Green wrote the story for which famous film? 5542..Kinpaku-iri sake contains what unusual ingredient? 5543..Down, husk, trace, trip all collective nouns what creature? 5544..5 African Mediterranean countries share what language? 5545..Which of King Arthur's knights survived his last battle? 5546..What can be Safety, Tableaux or Swag? 5547..Name 18th Century playwrite of The Rivals, School for Scandal? 5548..Of what are Raucous, Spadefoot or Bounties Dwarf types? 5549..What links The Friend, The Tablet and The Universe? 5550..Wool sorters disease is actually what? 5551..What Disney animated feature was the first with end credits? 5552..In 1939 which countries invaded Poland? 5553..Name Stanley Kubrick's last film as director before his death? 5554..Taal is an alternative name for what language? 5555..What is the French phrase that means already seen? 5556..Turks head, Granny and Bowline are types of what? 5557..What character first appeared in the film The Wise Little Hen? 5558..And who was his original voice? 5559..Martina Hinges represents what country at tennis? 5560..In food labelling what does GM mean? 5561..Derived from Greek what does alias literally mean? 5562..Russian blue and Turkish brown are types of what? 5563..What impressionist painted different views Rouen cathedral? 5564..In what Indian city is the Taj Mahal located? 5565..Horses are Equine from the Greek Equus what's it mean? 5566..Since 1991 Crufts London dog show has been held where? 5567..1979 at Clifton suspension bridge Britain's first what happened? 5568..Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris appeared in which Disney film? 5569..Tudor England mans apron shows job white cook what checked? 5570..Jane Taylor 1783 1824 wrote what famous verse? 5571..In Astrology Aquarians are ruled by what planet? 5572..Parathesia is a medical condition with what common term? 5573..What would you be watching if you saw a round or waggledance? 5574..J D Sallenger wrote Catcher in the Rye what's the J D stand for? 5575..Collective nouns a group of geldings is called what? 5576..Apart from a compass what is always found in a ships binnacle? 5577..Zipporah was the wife of who in the Bible? 5578..Elizabethan women had three what modest, rascal and secret? 5579..Marcellite Garner was the first voice for what Disney character? 5580..Ancient Aztecs of Mexico used a rabbit scale to measure what? 5581..The highest USA rank killed WW2 Lt General who killed him? 5582..In Indiana it's illegal for liquor stores to sell what? 5583..Camille Pizarro the impressionist was born in which country? 5584..William Kemmlar in 1890 was the worlds first what? 5585..Mandoura Greece Zampogna Italy Corenmuse France what is it? 5586..What country awards the Nobel peace prize? 5587..Who is Harry Potters main enemy? 5588..Product name from the words Durability Reliability Excellence? 5589..What sport appears in the phonetic alphabet? 5590..What colour is the number 10 on 10 Downing street? 5591..Where in your body is the labyrinth? 5592..Traditional French blend "fines herbes" parsley chives chervil?? 5593..The dinosaur apatosaurus used to be called what? 5594..The rover the last is red the rest are white in what sport? 5595..What Disney film was released on December 21st 1960? 5596..Mythological beasts name comes from the Greek chimney man? 5597..Allergic Rhinitis has what more common term? 5598..Who plays Ali McBeal? 5599..What sort of ship was the Marie Celeste? 5600..What philosopher stated "Hell is other people"? 5601..Ecophobia is a fear of what? 5602...What was the first Bond film not to be titled from a Bond book? 5603..Collective nouns a bask of what creatures? 5604..What Olympic event was dropped in 1920? 5605..Where is the TV space alien ALF from? 5606..66% of Americans reading on the toilet read what? 5607..Women do it 4 times more often than men - do what? 5608..Louis Washkansky was the first to do what in 1967? 5609..What is a gharial? 5610..What did Scott find at the North Pole? 5611..The flowers of the curry plant are what colour? 5612..What did Paceard and Balmat conquer in 1786? 5613..In Kiplings Jungle Book Mang was what type of creature? 5614..Collective nouns an erst of what creatures? 5615..What Bond film was entitled The Dead Slave in Japan? 5616..No US president has ever been what? 5617..Al Borak was a flying horse owned by whom? 5618..What links Pacer Burton, Chad Gates, Walter Gulik? 5619..What Disney character was voiced by Pinto Colvig? 5620..What boxer was nicknamed The Ambling Alp? 5621..The Witches Curse alternative name which G&S operetta? 5622..Where was the original Crystal Palace built? 5623..What is a spoodle? 5624..In Kiplings Jungle Book Ikki was what type of creature? 5625..What animal is responsible for most deaths in the USA annually? 5626..What was Hitchcock's last film made in 1976? 5627..In the sport of archery what are the arrows usually made from? 5628..Greeks Romans regarded what herb as symbol immortality? 5629..Who was the first male to appear on the cover of Playboy? 5630..In Welsh Cwrw pronounced koo roo is what? 5631..What sank German submarine U120 in WW2? 5632..In Globe Arizona it's illegal to play cards in the street with who? 5633..What is the most common mammal in the UK? 5634..Name the second most commonly spoken language in Australia? 5635..Which athletic event requires five judges? 5636..Victoria is the only Australian state without what? 5637..What TV show was set in Wentworth Detention Centre? 5638..In the rhyme about magpies what do 5 represent? 5639..Who voiced Mr Spock in the cartoon version of Star Trek? 5640..Europhobia is the fear of what? 5641..In Maryland it's illegal play what Randy Newman song on radio? 5642..In Greek mythology who was the first woman? 5643..Which timepiece has the most moving parts? 5644..What is the official language of Egypt? 5645..Which literary character lives at 4 Privet Road? 5646..Rio's Maracarria stadium has what unusual feature? 5647..What natural phenomenon can never be seen at noon? 5648..In Elizabethan England rich people carried their own folding what? 5649..In ancient China what was hung outside a bad doctors house? 5650..In the Balanta tribe women stayed married until what happened? 5651..In Massachusetts it's illegal to wear what without a licence? 5652..Suzy was a star of a 60s TV show what character did she play? 5653..The average child wears out 730 by age ten 730 what? 5654..In a survey what food did Americans say they hated most? 5655..What vegetable was Emperor Nero's favourite? 5656..What nation invented the toilet seat? 5657..Virginia Woolf always did it standing up - did what? 5658..Mount Teide is the highest mountain in which country? 5659..In what film did the character Regan McNeil appear? 5660..Who rejected the 1964 Nobel prize for literature? 5661..In Alaska it's legal to shoot bears but illegal to do what? 5661..George Jung of Los Angeles in 1916 invented what? 5663..John Paul Getty, world's richest man had what in his house? 5664..What was unusual about the drawings of artist Cesar Ducornet? 5665..Who was the only English King crowned on the battlefield? 5666..In 1901 Dr Dausand demonstrated what that never caught on? 5667..In some areas of Paris what is provided for dogs? 5668..What countries brides get the most diamond engagement rings? 5669..What area in the US translates from the Dutch as Broken Valley? 5670..In ancient Egypt men and women did what opposite to today? 5671..In Youngstown Ohio it's illegal to run out of what? 5672..Who links a western gambler and a private eye? 5673..How did Bunito Mussolini ward off the evil eye? 5674..Both sexes get them but men more often - get what? 5675..Who would use an orange stick? 5676..Jacob German in 1899 got the worlds first what in New York? 5677..Mary Somerville said "It wont last, a flash in the pan" what? 5678..China 300 bc you could not speak to the Emperor without what? 5679..In what US city do they watch the most TV evangelists per cap? 5680,,Egyptian embalmers replaced the bodies eyes with what? 5681..According to a 1997 survey what nation are the best kissers? 5682..In South Dakota it's illegal to fall down and sleep where? 5683..Who was the last living person on a US postal stamp? 5684..What is the main ingredient in a Navarin stew? 5685..What elements name comes from the Greek word for violet? 5686..VH is the international aircraft registration for which country? 5687..Phyllophobia is the fear of what? 5688..What is a cachalot? 5689..What would the ancient Greeks do with an Apodesm? 5690..What is an onychophagist? 5691..In Auburn Washington men can get five years for doing what? 5692..Where in Canada is its d***o? 5693..Topo in Italian Fare in Turkish what in English? 5694..Who did Babe the pig work for? 5695..What sexually arouses a Jactitator? 5696..Nebkheperura was his first name what do we call him today? 5697..What creature gets its name from the Greek word for womb? 5698..In 1885 Canada sold what to US for $150000? 5699..By what more common name do we know Major Boothroyd? 5700..Woman's are faster than men's, they usually have more - what? 5701..In Illinois you can get three years for eavesdropping on who? 5702..What modern word comes from the Latin Dilatare - open wide? 5703..West Indian cricketer Laurence Rowe gave up 1976 mid test why? 5704..What do the EPPY awards honour? 5705..The electric light first available product what's second? 5706..What's the only city today split in two by a wall? 5707..What's the only movie Alfred Hitchcock make twice? 5708..What is the Latin word for poison? 5709..Orienteering began in which country? 5710..What would you expect in a Japanese No Pan Kissa restaurant? 5711..In Massachusetts what's illegal unless bedroom window locked? 5712..The Emperors cup is awarded in what sport? 5713..What famous film maker was first to use the close up? 5714..Chinese cooking what's special about Wolfs hearts Dogs lungs? 5715..The 1961 Mercedes 300sx had two firsts name either? 5716..Who wrote the official biography of Lester Piggott? 5717..What hotel has been the target of the most take over bids? 5718..In Russia the national product is called Soldatsky what is it? 5719..In airline slang what is a 365? 5720..In what case did Perry Mason make his first appearance? 5721..By law who require a cert. of health before entering Kentucky? 5722..Romans used a sharp pointed stick to drive cattle Modern word? 5723..Chokan Moyogi Shakan Han Kengai and Kengai styles of what? 5724..Albert Sauvy coined what term in the 1950s? 5726..What trio were originally called The Rattlesnakes? 5727..The Fields Medal is equal to a Nobel prize in what area? 5728..Novices are called tumblers experienced shiners what job? 5729..What is the Hebrew word for adversary? 5730,,What is the capitol of Venezuela? 5731..What was unusual about Joe Davis the World Snooker Champ? 5732..What's round in London and Paris but Square in New York? 5733..In WW2 what was unique about the US 222 Infantry battalion? 5734..In which 1956 film did Elvis Presley make his debut? 5735..Lepcha people Tibet consider it proper to pay teachers in what? 5736..In medicine what is an Anomaloscope used for? 5737..In the rules of golf what type of bad weather can stop play? 5738..Name the Indian version of Barbie? 5739..Name the Egyptian God of funerals? 5740..Scrutinise Swirl Sniff Sip - what are you doing? 5741..What is the worlds oldest desert - country named after it? 5742..What magazine says We are Number one in a field of One? 5743..The band Steely Dan are named after what? 5744..Famous book divided into three parts Mosques Caves Temples? 5745..What term was coined July 17th 1942 issue of Yank magazine? 5746..In 1947 it began at Callao Peru ended Tuamotu Island what did? 5747..Polyhexamethyleneadipamide is better known as what? 5748..In Greek mythology who built the labyrinth? 5749..Name Disney's first film to win an Academy Award? 5750..In what sport would you find a Tell Tale? 5751..What is the most redesigned appliance in the world? 5752..What started in early 1900s to improve sales sports newspaper? 5753..What come in types Transverse Scimitar and Barchan? 5754..What is the only counties national flag different both sides? 5755..What is located on Boothia's peninsula in Canada? 5756..Morbi in Gujarat is where most of the worlds what are made? 5757..John McLaughlin made sold McLaughlin's Belfast style – what? 5758..Christian Commercial Travellers' Association of America are who? 5759..In what sport would you find a Bagel? 5760..Who turned down the TV role of Doctor Kildare? 5761..Name only sports team to play professionally seven continents? 5762..What is the traditional curse of Adam that affects most of us? 5763..There and back Again is an alternative title of which novel? 5764..IBM is Big Blue Coca Cola Big Red who is Big Black? 5765..According to the ad At Benneton the smallest garment is a what? 5766..In the Bible who came from Gath? 5767..In Tennis where is the Australian Open played? 5768..Hemmingway said there's only 3 sports Bullfighting Car Racing?? 5769..What traditional Maori insult was seen in the film Braveheart? 5770..What links Escalator, Kerosene, YoYo, Zipper and Thermos? 5771..Cosmetic brand gets it's name from Latin for as white as snow? 5772..What was the first sport to be filmed? 5773..In the Tom and Jerry cartoons name the other mouse? 5774..What was the first LP record to sell over 1 million copies? 5775..Facts, Briefs, Destiny and Chance were early names for what? 5776..If you take a before meal aperitif what's an after meal one called? 5777..Methyphobia is the fear of what? 5778..Tribology is the study of what? 5779..Name Leonard Nimoy's autobiography? 5780..The Stoner Case was a Sherlock Holmes play - later what story? 5781..In Iowa pouring what down a pub drain with cop there is illegal? 5782..Christobal Colon is better known as who? 5783..What is measured on the Torro scale? 5784..Where would you find the Forte and the Foible strong - weak? 5785..President Woodrow Wilson May 6th 1919 first to do what? 5786..In Australian slang what is a Coughie? 5787..Satan is Lucifer but what does Lucifer mean? 5788..Chapman Root designed it based on a Hoople skirt - what? 5789..What does a Grabatologist collect? 5790..Blind, Comb, Fine Line and Harrow are types of what? 5791..The Millennial Dawnists changed their name to what? 5792..The name of this animal translates as ghost what is it? 5793..What country has two AK47 assault rifles on it's flag? 5794..In film who is the alter ego of Daniel Hillard? 5795..Who was the female star of Basic Instinct? 5796..In computing there are 8 bits to a byte what are 4 bits called? 5797..The Arabs call it Al-Maghrib what do we call it? 5798..The Vietnamese call it The Brother the Chinese The Friend what? 5799..What is a male camel called? 5800..Douglas Adams said what is the best spacecraft propellant? 5801..William Tell was the best crossbow archer and what else? 5802..In what country did tulips originate? 5803..What is specifically defined as 1/48th of an inch? 5804..Church bells of Maralnello Ring Sundays Public Hols and when? 5805..Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms bans what word in adds? 5806..Name the first British film studio set up in the 1930s? 5807..In Hill Street Blues which character used to bite people? 5808..Where would you find a Dry Bible? 5809..Quidnunc means an eager gossip but in Latin literally means? 5810..In the proverb Heaven protects children sailors and who? 5811..Poenosis is what medical condition? 5812..Who in 1958 was the first British Formula one champion? 5813..Carom is a form of what sport / game? 5814..What Disney film features the song "Give a little Whistle"? 5815..What was on the B side of the Beatles 1968 "Hey Jude"? 5816..What country invented cheesecake? 5817..Gone to Texas by Forest Carter is the basis for what film? 5818..Which mammal has the fewest teeth? 5819..In WW2 Air corps non flying members given what nickname? 5820..Collective nouns - what's a group of photographers called? 5821..What event in the Bible occurred at Bethany? 5822..On a prescription what does QOD stand for? 5823..Thomas and Martha were the parents of which hero? 5824..In Greek mythology Clio was the muse of what? 5825..An IVP is used to detect what medical condition? 5826..Don Quixote was the man of La Mancha what's it in English? 5827..Who was the first woman to win an Academy Award? 5828..Where do they speak Malagasy? 5829..What is a mud puppy? 5830..You can ski on the piste but what other sport uses the term? 5831..Name Clint Eastwoods first film made in 1955? 5832..What is the main flavouring in a Greek Tzataili sauce? 5833..What links Dr Spock Errol Flynn and Emperor Nero? 5834..In what series of books did The Empress of Blandings appear? 5835..What colour is iridium? 5836..Who founded ASH ( Action on Smoking and Health ) in 1971? 5837..What organisation opposes ASH? 5838..Who was the 1958 Cha-Cha champion of Hong Kong? 5839..Who directed the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia? 5840..In mythology Romulus Remus suckled by a shewolf fed by what? 5841..In Gustav Holsts Planets suite what planet is missing? 5842..If you went on the road to Mandalay what country are you in? 5843..Which cathedral has 4440 statues? 5844..Tarom Airlines is the national carrier of which country? 5845..What does an armadillo taste like? 5846..In what French district do most of the best clarets come from? 5847..What was the first complete symphony to be recorded? 5848..Thomas Minton at Stoke on Trent created what in 1789? 5849..What European nation was the first to drink tea? 5850..What's the worlds longest rail journey made no train change? 5851..What was first built in the Place de Greve in 1792? 5852..In what book does Humpty Dumpty first appear? 5853..Who was called The Man of Destiny? 5854..19-19-19 who's vital statistics? 5855..Name both families in Soap? 5855..Where would you find a gemshorn? 5856..The flower convallaria is better known as what? 5857..In what stage show does Frank N Furter appear? 5858..Who invented the rocking chair? 5859..Gerald Thomas directed what series of films? 5860..What did composer Berlioz originally study? 5861..Ocean is NOT recognised International Hydrographic Bureau? 5862..In the Saint series of books what is Inspector Teal's full name? 5863..What is the most common Spanish surname? 5864..The Slave of Duty is alternate title what G&S operetta? 5865..Aconite the poison is obtained from what plant? 5866..What culture introduced hats and crackers at Xmas season? 5867..Chang 1st Wang 2nd what third most common Chinese name? 5868..What word is derived from the Arabic mawsim meaning season? 5869..What's the other name for the statue of Egyptian god Harmachis? 5870..The French call it nature morte the Spanish bodegon what is it? 5871..Oporto in Portugal stands on what river? 5872..What boxer was nicknamed The Boston Strong Boy? 5873..Stage role, written for a man, took 80 years to be played by one? 5874..Sicily is the traditional source of which element? 5875..Name the main horse in Animal Farm? 5876..Strabismus is the correct name for what condition? 5877..What languages appear on the Rosetta stone? 5878..Who used the pseudonym Ellis Bell? 5879..Where were the first glass mirrors made in Europe circa 1300? 5880..Who went to school at Hogwarts Harry Potter? 5881...What was Pierce Brosnan's first James Bond film in 1995? 5882..Who won the best actor award for Marty in 1955? 5883..Name Helen of Troys husband? 5884..Who hired the Mormon Mafia to prevent contamination? 5885..Captain W E Johns invented which hero? 5886..The Passion Play is performed every 10 years where? 5887..What was the theme music to The Exorcist? 5888..Who directed Full Metal Jacket? 5889..In Judo if the referee calls Sono-mama what does it mean? 5890..What mountain overlooks Rio de Janeiro harbour? 5891..What is Romaic? 5892..In what WW1 battle were tanks first used in 1916? 5893..Who are Britain's oldest publisher dating from 1469? 5894..Who was called The Scourge of God? 5895..Victor Barna was world champion five times at what sport? 5896..What sort of wood was Noah's Ark made from? 5897..In Yugoslavian Belgrade is called Beograd what does it mean? 5898..Collective nouns - which creatures are a clamour or building? 5899..First public supply in Britain from river Wey in 1881 what? 5900..In what city was Handel's Messiah first performed? 5901..Who was the first person to wear a wristwatch? 5902..What colour is the wax covering Gouda cheese? 5903..In Norse mythology who was Odin's wife? 5904..Six verified copies of his signature survive - who is he? 5905..What city is at the mouth of the Menam river? 5906..In what sport is the Palma Match contested? 5907..Which musical stage show ( and film ) uses tunes by Borodin? 5908..Ireland and New Zealand are the only countries that lack what? 5909..In cricket how many times does a full toss bounce? 5910..Impressionism comes from painting Impression Sunrise - Artist? 5911..Name the first self contained home computer? 5912..What exploded in 1720? 5913..Who named a city after his horse Bucephalus? 5914..Beethoven's ninth symphony is nicknamed what? 5915..In Spain St John Bosco is the Patron Saint of what? 5916..In 1928 Simon Bolivar was president 3 countries Bolivia and?? 5917..Who lit the flame 1956 Olympics and then broke 8 world records? 5918..Ball point pen ink is made from dye and what? 5919..Hans Lippershey made the worlds first practical what? 5920..In Hindu philosophy what does Yoga literally mean? 5921..Which writer rode Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National? 5922..George Lazenby played James Bond once in which film? 5923..Who was the founder of Judaism? 5924..There must be 15 banked turns on what sporting course? 5925..What is a Lampyris Noctiluca better known as? 5926..Greek Myth Clotho spun Lachesis measured Atropos cut what? 5927..Who built The Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas? 5928..What is the main language of Liechtenstein? 5929..Vivaldi's concertos Opus 8 Numbers 1-4 better known as what? 5930..In Tarka the Otter what was Old Nog? 5931..Which sea is sometimes called the Euxine Sea? 5932..Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4 minute mile who ran 2nd? 5933..What can be types called chordate, needle and cruciform? 5934..Musca Domestica can cause disease in man - what is it? 5935..Name the English chemist who first isolated sodium? 5936..Who wrote Moon River used in Breakfast at Tiffanies? 5937..Name Stephen King's first published novel? 5938..The locals call it Kaapstad what do we call it? 5939..Interpol was founded in 1923 in what city? 5940..Musophobia is a fear of what? 5941..The opera Aida was commissioned in 1869 to mark what event? 5942..In ancient Greece what was a hoplite? 5943..In the Harry Potter books what is Aragog? 5944..Who wrote Goodbye Mr Chips? 5945..Only 15% of French wines have what on the label? 5946..What are blombergs, oak and fire bellied types of? 5947..Sherlock Holmes paid 55 shillings for what? 5948..What is an arras? 5949..Steven Georgi is now Yussef Islam what other name had he? 5950..What literary prize ( worth £30000 ) is for women authors only? 5951..The musical Chu Chin Chow is based on what fable? 5952..Where would you find a parlour, scriptorium, dorter and cellarium? 5953..US tennis open held at Flushing Meadows used to be where? 5954..Where would you find Volans? 5955..The De Beaumont centre in London specialises in what sport? 5956..Sir Francis Drake named it New Albion what is it today? 5957..Which artist painted sixty two self portraits? 5958..What elements name comes from the Greek meaning lazy? 5959..Who directed Star Trek films 3 and 4? 5960..Cretinism is caused by a failure of what? 5961..In Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice name Shylocks wife? 5962..Gold Discs Platinum Discs but who won first Rhodium Disc? 5963..What is a Fata Morgana? 5964..You can do a degree in brewing at Heriot-Watt University where? 5965..Zimbabwe won its first ever Olympic gold in 1980 in what event? 5966..What is or was the capitol of Hong Kong? 5967..In Britain in 1746 what type of clothing was made illegal? 5968..What creature can live up to one year without eating ( you? )? 5969..The worlds first was 69.5 feet long and took a year to make?? 5970..What film began "Most of what follows is true"? 5971..The thickness of silk is measured in what? 5972..Charcoal Sulphur Saltpetre make what? 5973..The word Sofa comes from the Arabic meaning what? 5974..What are Arran Pilot Homeguard and Ulster Chieftain? 5975..In 1961 Anton Geesink was the first non Japanese to do what? 5976..What colour is the most popular eye shadow of all time? 5977..Where is the worlds oldest university? 5978..Who was known in Germany as Der Bingle? 5979..Ancient Carthage is in what modern country? 5980..Who's first play was The Room? 5981..What type of creature was Salar - that Tarka would like to eat? 5982..The capitol of Nigeria was Lagos what is it now? 5983..Who composed The Dream of Gerontius? 5984..Captain Macmorris only ever Irishman in what Shakespeare play? 5985..Tintoretto did most of his painting in what city? 5986..What Olympic event only takes place at 70 and 90 meters? 5987..To whom are the Jews Gentiles? 5988..Which plant gets its name from the Persian for turban? 5989..What does GP mean on a music score when all players silent? 5990..What celestial body gets its name from the Greek long haired? 5991..A petrologist studies what? Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:34 pm 6001..Who's first book was "Down and Out in Paris and London"? 6002..What killed 23 people in Rostov Russia in July 1923? 6003..What does a librettist do? 6004..How did Dr Watson's first wife die? 6005..Beethoven's third symphony is nicknamed what? 6006..To whom was the Eroica dedicated? 6007..In medieval France a persons rank was shown by the length of?? 6008..Women's international gymnastics Beam Box Floor and what? 6009..What song did Rick ask Sam to play in Casablanca? 6010..Pali is the sacred language of who? 6012..In WW1 what were Lucifer's? 6013..In legend who killed the mobster Grendel? 6014..Who stole the English Crown Jewels was pardoned Charles II? 6015..She died at 28 but her book on household management famous? 6016..The Hindu trinity are Shiva Vishnu and who? 6017..Name Hercule Poirot's valet? 6018..Charles S Stratton became famous as who? 6019..In mythology who slew the nine headed hydra? 6020..What country holds the Olympic polo championship? 6021..In Gulliver's Travels name the flying island? 6022..Who wrote Never Love a Stranger? 6023..What city has the most canals? 6024..Where was Oceanus Hopkins born in 1620? 6025..In China big wigs have four but lesser men only two what? 6026..What is the world's warmest sea? 6027..Who played Beau Geste in the 1939 film? 6028..Who composed the Christmas Oratorio? 6029..In Animal Farm what was the name of the farm? 6030..Who owned a chimp called Chee-Chee? 6031..Who's directorial debut was with Reservoir Dogs? 6032..Where was pizza first invented Milan? 6033..Odele and Odette appear in what Tchaikovsky ballet? 6034..In what country is The Duma part of parliament? 6035..Nonage is what reason to stop a marriage? 6036..Kier Auro is good morning in what language? 6037..In what sport does herringboning take place? 6038..What is a marcupium? 6039..At epiquarian.com you would find information about what? 6040..What does a konimeter measure? 6041..A stellate object is shaped like what? 6042..What is MMM minus MD? 6043..Balsa wood gets its name from Spanish what's literal meaning? 6044..Who is the Patron Saint of Accountants? 6045..In what country did the Sabines live? 6046..Who often solved a three pipe problem? 6047..The tumblebug is an alternative name for which insect? 6048..St Stevens Tower is usually misnamed what? 6049..What type of clothing article is a Belcher? 6050..Who was kidnapped in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped? 6051..Jewish boys have a Barmitsva at 13 what do girls get at 12? 6052..What European capitol stands on the river Aare? 6053..In which Dickens novel does Little Nell appear? 6054..Name Harry Potters non magical cousin? 6055..Which real person took name meaning Man of Steel? 6056..What are woolly and spider types of? 6057...Where do boy scout leaders get their names from? 6058..Where would you find a Mott Bailey and Keep? 6059..In what country was fashion designer Yves St Laurent born? 6060..What common British river name come from Celtic for river? 6061..Jayne Austin is famous but who reigned Britain when she wrote? 6062..What composer was the there of the 1947 film Song of Love? 6063..Who is known as The father of Poetry? 6064..Who was the first US president to be sworn in by a woman? 6065..Who sometimes used the pseudonym Al Brown? 6066..What does Monaco get most of its income from? 6067..Professor Kelp transformed into who? 6068..What is the commonest item traded internationally? 6069..Lake Tittikaka is in Peru and what other country? 6070..Who was the first British monarch to visit America? 6071..Collective nouns - A nye of what? 6072..Where was the Hesperus wrecked? 6073..Britain's oldest existing Trade Union was founded in 1747 what trade? 6074..In the creation myth on the fourth day God made what? 6075..All PCs have a BIOS what does bios stand for? 6076..British soldiers mentioned in despatches get which bronze award? 6077..In 1967 an Australian had one 11lb in weight - what? 6078..Sissy Jupe adopted by Thomas Gradgrind which Dickens novel? 6079..Operation Thunderbolt was the nickname given to which raid? 6080..In Japan what is Raku? 6081..Skimbleshanks was a T S Elliot cat what was his area? 6082..What is the largest Island in The Greater Antilles? 6083..What country used the first aircraft equipped bomber in war? 6084..In what sport would you find a coffin? 6085..John Huxham in 1750 invented which word? 6086..TABSO is the national airline of which country? 6087..Who wrote the comic opera Robinson Crusoe? 6088..What was Didus Ineptus better known as? 6089..What sport featured in the 1980 film Breaking Away? 6090..Ambigu was an early form of what card game? 6091..The cast iron plant is another name for which pot plant? 6092..What does the name Tokyo mean? 6093..Sir Walter Raleigh found what odd lake in Trinidad? 6094..Worlds oldest existing treaty of 1373 between England and who? 6095..Bargasse is what type of vegetable matter? 6096..Who was Hiawatha's father? 6097..Kitty, fire, draw and tuck in are terms in what sport? 6098..Ordinary seaman Able Seaman what comes next? 6099..What was Thin Lizzies first hit in 1973? 6100..The sprat belongs to what fish family? 6101..The Horned Planet is better known as what? 6102..Who did the painting on the cover of The Bands first album? 6103..Carrantual is the highest peak in which country? 6104..Who wrote The Symphony of a Thousand? 6105..What is Greece's second city after Athens? 6106..What was Paul the Apostles real name? 6107..When is Superman's birthday? 6108..John Young, Gemini 3, 1968 first to do what in space? 6109..What is the Curia? 6110..The locals call it Firenze what do we call it? 6111..What common sign derived from the Medici family crest? 6112..What is a sound below 20 cycles a second called? 6113..Goldaming in Surrey was the first English town to have what? 6114..Jim Bakus supplied the voice of which cartoon character? 6115..Who speaks Quechua? 6116..Generally cornflowers are what colour? 6117..Starting highest write the Roman Numerals in descending order? 6118..Yoi, Yame, Seremade and Hantai terms in what sport? 6119..Africa's four great rivers Nile, Congo Zambezi and what? 6120..Catriona was a sequel to which famous novel? 6121..Who sang the original version of Blue Suede Shoes? 6122..What kind of material is guipure? 6123..Name a quadruped beginning with the letter N? 6124..Unusual (for him) role Bogart play in The Return of Doctor X 1939? 6125..In Norway what is a brisling? 6126..Who composed the Symphonies Fantastique? 6127..Mediolanum was the Roman name for what Italian city? 6128..Which British city had the first pavements (sidewalks) in 1688? 6129..What is considered to be the worlds fastest team game? 6130..What song did Marilyn Munroe sing in the film Bus Stop? 6131..Which King was the first to use the Royal We? 6132..The locals call it Shqiperia what do we call this country? 6133..What star sign is Harry Potter? 6134..The word Mongol means what in Mongolian? 6135..In the USA it’s the Oscars what is it in France? 6136..What is the correct name for a virgin (uncalfed) cow? 6137..In the USA what is Marine One? 6168..In the Bible who climbed Mount Nebo? 6169..Where could you spend your Gourde? 6170..What sausage gets it's name from the Italian for Onion? 6171..What does a cadastral map show? 6172..In what area of France is champagne made? 6173..The longest recorded one lasted 51.5 minutes - what? 6174..Who was the first British Royal to become a motorist? 6175..Ford Prefect came from a star in which constellation? 6176..What makes Argon, Neon and Helium unique in chemistry? 6177..In the Bible who put Daniel in the lions den? 6178..Cheval-vapeur in France is equal to what in English? 6179..The author of Moll Flanders wrote which more famous work? 6180..On the Beaufort scale what is defined as force 11? 6181..The Spink standard catalogue lists information about what? 6182..If you suffer from diplopia what have you got? 6183..What Shakespeare play Course true love never did run smooth? 6184..All my Yesterdays is which actors autobiography? 6185..Which type of full moon follows a harvest moon? 6186..Which pop singer was Glad to be Gay? 6187..The Wheel Spins Ethel Lina White basis for what Hitchcock film? 6188..On average it takes 1.5 hours to do what? 6189..In Kiplings poem Gunga Din what job had Gunga Din? 6190..What began in 1877 but banned women until 1884? 6191..Who is the boss of UNCLE? 6192..Which cities public transport lost property office is the busiest? 6193..Name only boxer to win a world title who never had a manager? 6194..The opera The Tsar Sultan contains what famous musical piece? 6195..Five tons are mined annually - five tons of what? 6196..In Venezuela lovers use pink what? 6197..What country in distance is furthest from New Zealand? 6198..Whose girlfriend had a pet snake called Enid? 6199..What word is in 1200 different languages without changing? 6200..Whose horse was Black Nell? 6201..Old Honiton Genoese and Mechlin all types of what? 6202..Name the first teddy bear in space? 6203..In France who are nicknamed the Kepis blancs? 6204..Name Ernest Hemmingway's book dealing with bullfighting? 6205..Which animal pronks? 6206..In the Wizard of Oz name the Good Witch of the North? 6207..Britain France and who fought the battle of Trafalgar? 6208..Who's first book was Pebble in the Sky? 6209..Whose original back up group were The Blue Moon Boys? 6210..Britannia female embodiment of Britain who is the French? 6211..Who wrote the line East is East and West is West? 6212..Which American city used to be called Yerba Buena? 6213..What's capital of The Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen? 6214..Who played Louis Armstrong in 1954 film The Glen Miller Story? 6215..The Old Aztecs played ollamalitzi what game does it resemble? 6216..In literature who lived at 7 Savile Row? 6218..What is the only Shakespeare play that mentions America? 6219..Jan Lodvik Hock changed his name to what? 6220..What is the longest golf course to stage the British Open? 6221..Atlanta burned in Gone With the Wind was what old film set? 6222..What are Unaone, Soxisix and Novenine? 6223..If something is caseous what is it like? 6224..William Herschel astronomer was a musician what instrument? 6225..UK snooker players call it doubling what do US pool players say? 6226..In MASH what was the character Radars full name? 6227..Whose only novel was The Cardinals Mistress? 6228..Jimmy Doyle died during a title fight in 1947 who was opponent? 6229..In 1900 Persian soldiers were paid with what? 6230..In Islington in London it’s a £50 fine for sleeping where? 6231..Dr Deidrich Knickerbocker invented which famous character? 6232..What occupation would use a dibber? 6233..Which group of people first used gold fillings? 6234..Miss Lemon is what detectives confidential secretary? 6235..Name Alice's pet cat? 6236..In the siege of Mafeking who led the defenders? 6237..Beethoven's fifth piano concerto is nicknamed what? 6238..What did Aristotle claim as the most delicate of table meats? 6239..Which annual world championship is held at Coxheath Kent? 6240..In which film did Cliff Richard sing Living Doll in 1959? 6241..Which Lombardy town is famed for its cheese? 6242..Which acid dissolves glass? 6243..Who wrote The female of the species more deadly than the male? 6244..Musical terms - what does De Capo mean on a score? 6245..What is a half of a half of a half of a half? 6246..Who recorded as Dib Cochran and the Earwigs? 6247..In what country is Tiahuanaco? 6248..What exactly are chitterlings? 6249..What was Winston Churchill's codename during WW2? 6250..There are 4.5 gallons of ale in what container? 6251..Of what did the poet John Milton die? 6252..The musical instrument piccolo means what in Italian? 6253..In what country could you spend a tugrik? 6254..All the pictures of which king are always shown in profile? 6255..Pernell Roberts played which character in a TV western series? 6256..1937 saw the first BBC TV broadcast of which event? 6257..Which orchestral instrument can play the highest note? 6258..Who was the runner up in the 1979 Le Mans 24 hour race? 6259..Airman T E Shaw in WW2 was better known as who? 6260..Italian painter Jacopo Robusti is better known as who? 6261..What were volitos first demonstrated in Soho London in 1823? 6262..Which Mozart opera is subtitled School for Lovers? 6263..In literature who married Mary Morstan? 6264..Which game begins when the referee shouts draw? 6265..What is litmus derived from? 6266..Hydrosis is the medical term for what? 6267..Misogamy is a dislike or hatred of what? 6268..What car has been voted European car of the Century? 6269..In India what is a khidmutgar? 6270..Who sang about Saturday Night at the Movies? 6271..Who owned the sword Joyeuse? 6272..It was finally abolished in Britain in 1948 - what was? 6273..Beethoven's sixth symphony is known as what? 6274..Which English King had the most legitimate children (1smilies/icon_cool.gif? 6275..The windhover is an alternative name for which bird? 6276..Where is the US masters golf tournament always played? 6277..Santa Cruz airport serves which city? 6278..Silver hallmarks - what object is stamped on Birmingham items? 6279..Graham Hill won 1968 world championship in which make of car? 6280..Opaque 2 is a modern variety of which cereal crop? 6281..Who was the first tennis player to achieve the grand slam? 6282..What are padmasana sirsasana and savasana? 6283..What is strange about the Golden Queen holly? 6284..What is the last book of the Old Testament? 6285..Queen Mary II died at age 32 what killed her? 6286..What metal is used in galvanizing? 6287..A 25 to 31 mph wind on the Beaufort scale is called what? 6288..The false plane tree is better known as what? 6289..Baptista is Katherine's father in which Shakespeare play? 6290..Lepidoptera (from the Greek) literally means what? 6291..In what sport might you see a stem-christie? 6292..Why a camel haired brushes (made from squirrel) called camel? 6293..What common item has 32 points? 6294..In 1823 the British army soldiers were first issued with what? 6295..Who was the first American to win a Nobel prize? 6296..In Shakespeare Hamlet who is Ophelia's brother? 6297..What is the worlds largest airline? 6298..What is the brightest star always in the Northern sky? 6299..24% of British men have no what? 6300..Most people associate the colour green with which flavour? 6301..Mendelssohn's Wedding March comes from which work? 6302..Whose autobiography was "Can you tell what it is yet"? 6304..What did Joseph Gayetty invent in 1857? 6305..The Andaman Islands are in which bay? 6306..What colour are lobsters? 6307..What does per capita literally mean? 6308..J G Galle discovered it in 1846 - discovered what? 6309..Silent movie star Ben Turpin insured his what for $500000? 6310..What does a potometer measure? 6311..What was Winston Churchill's favourite participation sport? 6312..The average person eats 800 in their lifetime 800 what? 6313..What is the central part of a backgammon board called? 6314..King Henry VIII trained as what A Priest? 6315..What sports name translates as Little Game of War? 6316..What are Claymore, Thistle and Piper? 6317..What colour tranquillisers work best? 6318..In what city did 8 year old Mozart compose his first symphony? 6319..In Yiddish what is your Pupik? 6320..Who was Ben Hurs rival in the great chariot race? 6321..Britain's Frankie Wainman was world champion 1979 what sport? 6322..John McEnroe won Wimbledon doubles with what partner? 6323..Pride, Avarice, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust what's missing? 6324..On average it rains 4 days a week in what European capital? 6325..What country used the ringgit as currency? 6326..What's the name of the Bar Restaurant in the TV show Quincy? 6327..In what Dickens novel does Alfred Jingle appear? 6328..Ajax was the trade mark of the worlds first what? 6329..What brass instrument is thought to be the most difficult to play? 6330..SF are the international car registration letters for which country? 6331..Jacques Garnerin made the first in 1797 the first what? 6332..The British army used to wear puttees - what's it literally mean? 6334..The orchestra usually tunes up to what instrument? 6335..What is the most frequent cause of business errors? 6336..Which magical city is located in the Valley of the Blue Moon? 6337..In which European city is the Arch of Titus? 6338..Frank Oz was the voice of who? 6339..On a standard rainbow what colour is on the inside of the curve? 6340..What musical term means playing with each note detached? 6341..What animal stands for the longest period? 6342..In what country did the word plonk meaning wine originate? 6343..Alfred Packer in the USA was convicted of what strange crime? 6344..Captain Flint buried his treasure where ( Ben Gunn dug it up )? 6345..Who composed a symphony nicknamed The Hen? 6346..In the Solar system there are 2 Mount Olympus's Greece and where? 6347..Saint Lidwina is the Patron Saint of who? 6348..Who would use a caret? 6349..Who was the first woman to win 4 consecutive US tennis open? 6350..What is the lowest title handed down from father to son? 6351..What is Britain's largest carnivorous animal? 6352..How many women know the formula of Coca Cola? 6353..Schubert's fourth symphony is nicknamed the what? 6354..What are Portland Vases made from? 6355..Where could you have a kip - then spend it? 6356..What is a corduroy road made from? 6357..In 18th century England what was known as Old Tom? 6358..In Goldfinger name the actress painted gold? 6359..In 1949 what was introduced to cars for the first time? 6360..Who was the father of Alexander the Great? 6361..The Italian Chianina is recognises as being the oldest what? 6362..Which country makes the most films per year? 6363..In what Puccini opera does Scarpia appear? 6364..Who wrote Travels with a Donkey on his honeymoon? 6365..The araucaria has what more common name? 6366..Who was Douglas Elton Ullman better known as? 6367..In what does a steganographer write messages? 6368..Charles Duff wrote the macabre Handbook of what? 6369..In The Dukes of Hazard who was the sheriff? 6370..What would you do with a hecklephone? 6371..In the famous song my true love sent me nine what? 6372..Richard Arkwright invented the Spinning Jenny what job had he? 6373..What is or was a Portuguese moidore? 6374..A husband and wife won gold medals 1952 Olympics who? 6375..Collective nouns - A Desert of what? 6376..Which writer created the detective Lord Peter Wimsey? 6377..On the same subject who eventually married Lord Peter Wimsey? 6378..What is rayon made from? 6379..Yorick in Shakespeare's Hamlet had what job (when alive)? 6380..Sir Eyre Massey Shaw hold what Olympic record from 1900? 6381..What is the worlds third largest island? 6382..Corporals Henshaw and Barbella report to which sergeant? 6383..The word electricity comes from the Greek word for what? 6384..Name the Motown star shot and killed by his father in 1984? 6385..Collective nouns - A Fall of what? 6386..Leslie Hornby became more famous as who? 6387..September should be seventh month by name why is it ninth? 6388..When introduced they were pockets for men only - what were? 6389..What are or were The Adena, Cayuga, Haida and Nootka? 6390..In traditional wedding anniversaries what is given on the twelfth? 6391..What are Grenadier, Idared and Ellison's Orange types of? 6392..Who fought at the battles of Bastia, Calvi and Toulon? 6393..A numismatist collects coins and what else? 6394..Where could you spend a Kyat? 6395..In what series of stories did Inspector Lestrade appear? 6396..Name the home city of the US football team nicknamed Falcons? 6397..What Gilbert & Sullivan operetta subtitled The Peer and the Peri? 6398..Hymen in Greek Genius in Roman Gods of what? 6399..What can come in types Blue, Spear, Couch and Arrow? 6400..Bees live in a hive what do seals live in? 6401..Hercules performed twelve labours what was number seven? 6402..A philomath has a love of what? 6403..A young what can be called a Boyet, Eyas or Nyas? 6404..What trade did Bonito, Calico Jack, and d**k Hatteraick follow? 6405..What takes place at Montlhery France and Zandvoort Holland? 6406..What is the literal meaning of the Spanish word tapas (snacks)? 6407..The martial art tai quon do translates literally as what? 6408..Wings of Desire a foreign film remade as what with Nicolas Cage? 6409..Scooby Do is what breed of dog? 6410..Which book of The Bible is also a title of a Bob Marley album? 6411..The Romans called it Eboracum name this English city? 6412..Who wrote "To err is human to forgive divine"? 6413..In England what can be private, public or approved? 6414..In what traditional entertainment does the dog Toby appear? 6415..Where could you spend a Sol? 6416..What UK football team nick The Glaziers play at Selhurst Park? 6417..Thanatos in Greek Mors in Roman Gods of what? 6418..Robin, Rugby and Simple appear in which Shakespeare play? 6419..Where would you find A Pope Empress Hermit and Juggler? 6420..In traditional anniversaries what is given for the thirtieth? 6421..Apart from a brand name what is a Reebok? 6422..Jason sailed in the Argo but who steered the ship? 6423..What are pink, pram, snow, koff, buss, bark and dory types of? 6424..What was Boucan that gave Buccaneers their name? 6425..Dacca is the capital of which country? 6426..What links a Gig, Spider and Phaeton? 6427..What's parts include barbican, oilette and donjon? 6428..In London what are The Cavalry, Marlborough and Savile? 6429..What does a phillumenist collect? 6430..Electric, Perse and smalt shades of which colour? 6421..What links Sword, Square, Floral and Barn? 6432..What is a Kerry Blue? 6433..In Heraldry what is a canton? 6434..What links the trees Bodhi, Peepul and Ailento? 6435..Which fictional character lived at Montague street before moving? 6436..Chronos in Greek Saturnus in Roman Gods of what? 6437..A Grice is a young what? 6438..International registration letters what country is ZR? 6439..There are only two three letter herbs Rue is one what's the other? 6440..In mythology who rode an eight legged horse called Sleipner? 6441..Parr, Smolt and Grilse different names same thing what? 6442..Name the raven in George Orwell's Animal Farm? 6443..All US Presidents were Federalists Republicans Democrats or what? 6444..Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Eli and Isaiah were all what in The Bible? 6445..What family were the last ruling house of Italy? 6446..Where would you find a Bonnet, Course, Dabbler and Driver? 6447..Who said Tis better to have loved and lost etc? 6448..What Gilbert & Sullivan operetta was subtitled Bunthorns Bride? 6449..Which poet wrote A thing of beauty is a joy forever in Endymion? 6450..Copeland, Mason, Dux and Bow all types of what? 6451..In Greek mythology who was Queen of the underworld? 6452..Which writer created Tabitha Twitchet, Babbity Bumble, Mr Tod? 6453..What links Bass, Messina, Hormuz and Torres? 6454..What does a philologist study? 6455..Which authors first (unsuccessful) book was Inland Voyage? 6456..Details of what can be found in The Blue Book? 6457..Backfall, diapason, pallet, gamba, sticker all parts of what? 6458..Oedipus married his mother - who was she? 6459..In Heraldry if things are accosted what position are they in? 6460..Pintado, Pochard, Scaup, Scoter and Smee types of what? 6461..Name Shakespeare play Ariel, Miranda and Prospero appear? 6462..Xanthic, Fallow and Aureate shades of which colour? 6463..Brickbat, Pecorino, Mycella and Tilsiter all types of what? 6464..What is the capital of Panama? 6465..Name both the Greek and Roman God of Prophecy and Plagues? 6466..What popular party drink gets its name from Sanskrit meaning 5? 6467..London link Prince Edward's, Prince of Wales, Her Majesty's? 6468..Which country borders Russia Sweden and Norway? 6469..What type of creature is an Orb Weaver? 6470..Whose autobiography was called Tall Dark and Gruesome? 6471..In publishing what is the verso? 6472..The British Raj in India lasted 90 years what's it literally mean? 6473..What ancient Roman buildings name means Place for a Giant? 6474..What links Ciampino, Lod and Waalhaven? 6475..John Tenniel drew the illustrations for what famous book? 6476..Only two north American Indian tribes with 3 letters Wea and what? 6477..Collective nouns - A Congregation of what? 6478..Admiral Horatio Nelson lost his arm at which battle? 6479..In WW2 what was the British equivalent of the German E-Boat? 6480..International car registration letters what country is RA? 6481..Of what are Bristol, Rockingham, Chelsea, and Minton types? 6482..Who is known as The father of English poetry - 1340 - 1400? 6483..According to the traditional rhyme what's the fate of Wed. child? 6484..What are or were Tester, Royal, Mark and Noble? 6485..Bistre, Sorrel and Vandyke are shades of which colour? 6486..If you were watching cricket at The Outer in which city are you? 6487..You have a foursome and a shag what have you done? 6488..What peoples name literally translates as ordinary? 6489..What are the Anatolian, Atacama, Nafud and Zirreh? 6490..Sam Weller was whose servant in a Dickens book? 6491..Dandy Dinmont, Bedlington, Sealyham are what types of dog? 6492..What is extracted from the ore caserite? 6493..John Palmer is buried in York what better known name? 6494..The Carmelite monks have what more common name? 6495..In what sport does a player win when they get 15 points? 6496..American Football - where do the Lions play at home? 6497..In England what links Arden, Dean, Kielder and New? 6498..In what country would you be rich in Leu? 6499..Messidor, Thermidor and Fructidor were what in 1789 (JJA)? 6500..What fruit can be Red Black or White?  
i don't know
What four letter word is used to describe the head of a jellyfish?
What do you call a group of ...? | Oxford Dictionaries Home Explore Language questions The English language What do you call a group of ...? What do you call a group of ...? Many of the following terms belong to 15th-century lists of 'proper terms', such as those in the Book of St Albans attributed to Dame Juliana Barnes (1486). Some are fanciful or humorous terms which probably never had any real currency, but have been taken up by antiquarian writers, notably Joseph Strutt in Sports and Pastimes of England (1801). People a malapertness (= impertinence) of pedlars a pity of prisoners a glozing (= fawning) of taverners Animals a herd or pace of asses a troop of baboons a swarm or drift or hive or erst of bees a flock or flight or pod of birds a herd or gang or obstinacy of buffalo a bellowing of bullfinches a clowder or glaring of cats a herd or drove of cattle a brood or clutch or peep of chickens a chattering or clattering of choughs a rag or rake of colts a covert of coots a herd or mob of deer a pack or kennel of dogs a school of dolphins a flight or dole or piteousness of doves a raft or bunch or paddling of ducks on water a safe of ducks on land a fling of dunlins a herd or parade of elephants a gang or herd of elk a busyness of ferrets a charm or chirm of finches a shoal or run of fish a swarm or cloud of flies a skulk of foxes a gaggle of geese on land a skein or team or wedge of geese in flight a herd of giraffes a flock or herd or trip of goats a band of gorillas a pack or covey of grouse a down or mute or husk of hares a cast of hawks a bale or turn of turtles a bunch or knob or raft of waterfowl a school or pod or herd or gam of whales a company or trip of wigeon a sounder of wild boar a destruction of wild cats a team of wild ducks in flight a bunch or trip or plump or knob (fewer than 30) of wildfowl a drift of wild pigs a pack or rout of wolves a fall of woodcock a herd of wrens a zeal of zebras You can read more about collective nouns on the Oxford Dictionaries blog . Here you will find more details about the history of collective nouns and their origins.   See other FAQs about language . Take a look at some vocabulary questions .
Bell
What was the Christian name of the Hungarian inventor of the Rubik Cube?
Words to describe the beer you are tasting | Appellation Beer: Celebrating Beer From a Place Appellation Beer: Celebrating Beer From a Place By Stan Hieronymus on March 11, 2008 in beer & food , beer & wine Until robots take over our tasting world we’re left to consider how to communicate the aromas and flavors we experience with beer. A review of “Perfumes: The Guide” in the current New Yorker magazine makes that point. The words and the references are really useful only to people who have had the same experiences and use the same vocabulary: those references are to a shared basis of sensory experience and a shared language. To people who haven’t had those shared experiences, this way of talking can seem like horse manure, and not in a good way. The book was written by Tania Sanchez and Luca Turin, and since Turin was the protagonist in the delightful book “ Emperor of Scent ” five years ago it gives me an excuse to quote this vaguely relevant passage: “Look at beer, which is a very interesting cultural product. Beer smells like a burp. Gasses from someone’s stomach. Lovely. Again a product of fermentation, which is to say decay. Decay enhances smells and flavors, yet we have a sharp ability to identify decay, because decaying things will kill you. Bacterial and yeast decomposition. “Which can give you ‘I wouldn’t touch that in a million years’ and, at the same time and in the same culture, mind you, ‘I will pay great sums to consumer Rodenbach,’ which is a miracle of a beer from Belgium. A miraculous, powdery apple flavor. Those Rodenbach yeast have an I.Q. of at least two hundred. Fucking genius yeast.” Returning to the point. A shared tasting vocabulary serves a certain purpose. So I pass this along to do with as you please. It comes from the Merchant du Vin newsletter . (Use the link to read more or to sign up for the newsletter.) 1. Words to describe malt flavors: Malty, biscuity, breadlike, grainy, rich, deep, roasty, cereal, cookie-like, coffeeish, caramelly, toffee-like, molasses-like, malt complexity, smoky, sweet, autumnal, burnt cream, scalded milk, oatmeal, rustic, layered. 2. Words to describe hop flavor and bitterness: Piney, citrusy, grapefruity, earthy, musty, spicy, sharp, bright, fresh, herbal, zippy, lemony, newly-mown lawn, aromatic, floral, springlike, brilliant, sprucelike, juniper-like, minty, pungent, elegant, grassy. 3. Words to describe fermentation flavors deriving from yeast: Fresh-baked bread, clovelike, bubblegum, yeasty, Belgiany, aromatic, tropical, subtle, fruity, clean, banana-like (and for some sour or extreme beers) horseblankety, earthy, musty. 4. Words to describe conditioning (carbonation): Soft, effervescent, spritzy, sparkling, zippy, pinpoint, bubbly, gentle, low carbonation, highly carbonated. 5. Words to describe body & mouthfeel: Rich, full, light, slick, creamy, oily, heavy, velvety, sweet, dry, thick, thin. 6. Words to describe warm ethanol (alcohol) flavors from strong beer: Warm finish, heat, vodka, esters, pungent, strength. Share this: 19 Responses to Words to describe the beer you are tasting SteveH March 11, 2008 at 6:38 am # Autumnal. Hmm. Neal Stewart March 11, 2008 at 6:53 am # Stan- This is a beer reviewer/label copy/website content/bloggers dream. Thanks! -Neal Matt March 11, 2008 at 8:27 am # Great timing Stan. In my beer school for servers today we’ll be discussing flavors derived from malt, hops and yeast. You’ve just given me a whol lot more descriptors to use/pass along! Alan March 11, 2008 at 8:40 am # Not to be contrary….oh, what the hell…there are two problems with this. People taste differently for one thing. The combination of chemicals in the mouth form differently for many. For one person, the 27 chemicals in the mouth may gather into 4 lumps adding up to green pea, tobacco, apple juice and bubblegum while the other may add them up into 3 lumps tasting like bark, leather and pear. Connected to this is the result that for the two “malty” may mean either what is malty (a bad descriptor as it is describing a thing by the thing itself) is different for two different people or the two people have two different words for the taste in their mouths as their associative triggers are simply different. The second reason is also related – not all people have the same associate taste repertoire. I can only distinguish between hints of fresh fig and hints of dried fig if I have eaten them and one quickly realizes that just as with apples and pears there are many varieties of fig. Twenty years ago, when I worked in Holland as a wholesale florist trainee, I could tell about 50 varieties of red rose from each other. This compounds the difficulty of standard language as if you describe red rose I presume that you are not saying what I say. Taste is evocative and therefore personal as to what is evoked. Stan Hieronymus March 11, 2008 at 9:10 am # Agreed, Alan, that any list has its limitations, and for both the reasons you cite. I like this one because it has some focus, at least narrowing the taste repertoire. If you look at the New Yorker story the author leads with an example about how a term, in this case grainy, suddenly makes sense when it hadn’t before. SteveH March 11, 2008 at 9:11 am # Alan, while I understand and agree with much you say, isn’t the best way for people to learn tasting and different flavors by learning through experience and by the side of another experienced taster? Sort of as it sounds Matt is doing in his schooling. I can remember describing DMS to someone, but they never really got it until they were sitting beside me having a Victory Prima Pils and I asked if they could smell the vegetable character. It was amazing to see the look on the person’s face when they made the connection. I learned different flavor characters from BJCP judges, reading Jackson, and plain old experience — as you say, and I think many can learn in the same direction to have consistent observations. Swordboarder March 11, 2008 at 9:18 am # Alan, how are these arguments contrary to this post? Sam March 11, 2008 at 9:50 am # Why reinvent the wheel? We already have an official beer flavor wheel. http://hbd.org/brewery/library/FlavW.html While this version isn’t as pretty as ones with the picture it does a good job showing all the descriptors. For Alan’s concern about about people tasting the same thing but interpreting it differently, that’s why there are chemical standards for each of the descriptors in the wheel. Ex. When my friend tastes/smells “Catty” he immediately recognize a cat liter box, to me it comes off as a tropical/pineapple punch. So our words to describe “Catty” are different, but now having been trained to the “Catty” standard, when he tastes a beer, rather that him saying liter box and me saying pineapple, we both say Catty and thus know we are both picking up the same compound in the beer even though we both percieve it differently… we now have a common language to talk about the beer. Does this work for the untrained? As the article states, no, but that’s why perfumers, sommeliers, (and I hope Cicerones) are trained. Stan Hieronymus March 11, 2008 at 10:07 am # Sam – and to give credit to Merchant du Vin again – I think this list is designed with a dual purpose. One is for people selling beer (in stores and particularly on premise) but I like it for consumers who only want to go “so far.” A couple weeks ago in brewpub I was discussing “catty” with a brewer and Daria (my wife) turned out daughter and explained we meant the smell of cat urine. Much laughter followed. Alan March 11, 2008 at 10:27 am # SB: I wasn’t really being contrary – that is more of a running joke with me and Stan. I think that this is a great idea for a beginner. This is not to be snobby but it is a great start out on the path of exploring taste and that takes a while. What is of no interest to me, however, is to give up my personal lexicon which is created as I go along by how taste is evocative to me. [There is an incredible tangential but interesting point to be made here about how differnt languages work as exemplified by the Mi’kmaq language of eastern Canada but I will refrain.] Let it suffice to say that I would not care to give up that personal relationship to my own words and thoughts a standard table of acceptable words. It reminds me, too, of a point Hemingway made in, I think, the preface to “Death in the Afternoon” about being an aficianado of anything. There is a bit in there about the skills of observation and reporting on the observative being quite distinct skills each of which each have to be present for good writing to be created. Refinding and trusting your own perception (his first stage) is a worth goal in itself and if you ever hope to have your reporting being uniquely your own you will have to find your own lexicon based on your own perceptions to report those perceptions. If you are lucky, the lexicon will make sense to another though, as Lew recently exemplified in his good natured (I hope) balking at my reference to “wheat cream” in relation to Girardin Gueuze, that is not necessarily something that can be taken for granted. My usage made perfect sense to me [and I will not be moved from it] but was gobblety-gook to him which I take as a quite honest response. Also interestingly, I think Hemingway also pointed out that the pursuit of this excellence of description also will destroy your ability to experience the pleasure itself. A useful warning. Lew Bryson March 11, 2008 at 4:11 pm # Also interestingly, I think Hemingway also pointed out that the pursuit of this excellence of description also will destroy your ability to experience the pleasure itself. A useful warning. Something I’ve seen in many brewers and homebrew judges. And something I wholeheartedly and earnestly wish to avoid. I’ll stick with adequate descriptions. And yes, “The Wheat Cream Incident” was good-natured! Loren March 12, 2008 at 4:08 am # This assembly of words has NOTHING on the vociferous vocabulary of the infamous Bob Klein. Talk about someone who can suck the fun out of any beer, all the while making the world’s WORST beer sound completely palatable! Glad I pretty much stopped taking notes on beer. Now it’s as easy as “MMM! Good!” or “Um…yuck!”. SteveH March 12, 2008 at 5:02 am # “I think Hemingway also pointed out that the pursuit of this excellence of description also will destroy your ability to experience the pleasure itself.” Funny coincidence, I’m reading “For Whom the Bell Tolls” right now and I think Papa could have learned by his own words. I’ll stick with Chandler as my favorite, his descriptions may be just as involved, but he knows the right spot for a paragraph! 😉 S. Alan March 12, 2008 at 7:42 am # SteveH: exactly!! Though the short story “Big Two Hearted River” (of the ale allusion fame) is an obsession on the relationshiip between memory and the sense. That can of orange bits is the most important can of orange bits in literature. On a “For Whom The Bell Tolls” tangent (as long as I recall correctly and that is the Spanish Civil War book) read the first and last sentences of the book. He expected a certain level of paying attention. SteveH March 12, 2008 at 8:20 am # Alan, I’ve been meaning to read BTHR because of the Bell’s inspiration and because it’s an area of the world in which I’ve spent much time. I’ll give it a go. You’re correct on FWtBT as being the Spanish Civil War story — if I can get past some of the deep rhetoric of every characters’ lives (except the 2 I care most about — at least to this point in the story) to the end, I’ll keep your thought in mind. As is, Ernie seems to be doing all he can to keep the attention levels near comatose range — IIRC, I felt similarly about Farewell to Arms when I read it in HS — guess I should have stuck with my original instincts after that one. Of course, the Absinthe passages have kept me interested, along with pitchers of beer in Valencia! Todd March 12, 2008 at 1:37 pm # Hey Stan, I guess you’re just gonna have to come by and try one of these Chico Ales in a few weeks to try out the tangerine flavor. I didn’t see tangerine on the list for hop flavors and I find tangerine quite different that citrus. Unfortunately, the little yeasties ate a large portion of the chico corn flavor but they did leave behind some of the earthy, barky, gritty, rustic, smokey flavors. I’d like to hear how many descriptors you can find in this NM hops/Chico Ale. Matt Dunn March 18, 2008 at 10:57 am # Little late to the party but…while “fidelity” of description might be worthwhile in a lot of contexts, i.e. judging, assessing for quality control, buying, selling etc., I think there is just too much emphasis on it in today’s beer writing. I say go a bit wild. Write about how it makes you feel when you drink it, when you smell it, what it conjures up in your mind, not necessarily what it tastes like. Scott January 23, 2010 at 5:35 pm # Waaay late to this post, but still a great read (comments too!) I think its important to have at least a base vocabulary that most people can mostly agree upon. From there, things can be made more specific, but this is a great starting point. There’s a lot of times I taste something in a beer and I simply don’t know how to describe it or what it is even. I still have a lot to learn, but things like this are indeed helpful. Thanks!
i don't know
In terms of size, which is the third smallest planet in our Solar System (excluding Pluto)?
The Planets in Our Solar System in Order of Size - Universe Today   Universe Today The Planets in Our Solar System in Order of Size Article Updated: 23 Dec , 2015 by Elizabeth Howell If you’re interested in planets, the good news is there’s plenty of variety to choose from in our own Solar System. From the ringed beauty of Saturn, to the massive hulk of Jupiter, to the lead-melting temperatures on Venus, each planet in our solar system is unique — with its own environment and own story to tell about the history of our Solar System. What also is amazing is the sheer size difference of planets. While humans think of Earth as a large planet, in reality it is dwarfed by the massive gas giants lurking at the outer edges of our Solar System. This article explores the planets in order of size, with a bit of context as to how they got that way. A short history of the Solar System No human was around 4.5 billion years ago when the Solar System was formed, so what we know about its birth comes from several sources: examining rocks on Earth and other places, looking at other solar systems in formation and doing computer models, among other methods. As more information comes in, some of our theories of the Solar System must change to suit the new evidence. Today, scientists believe the Solar System began with a spinning gas and dust cloud. Gravitational attraction at its center eventually collapsed to form the Sun. Some theories say that the young Sun’s energy began pushing the lighter particles of gas away, while larger, more solid particles such as dust remained closer in. Artist’s conception of a solar system in formation. Credit: NASA/FUSE/Lynette Cook Over millions and millions of years, the gas and dust particles became attracted to each other by their mutual gravities and began to combine or crash. As larger balls of matter formed, they swept the smaller particles away and eventually cleared their orbits. That led to the birth of Earth and the other eight planets in our Solar System. Since much of the gas ended up in the outer parts of the system, this may explain why there are gas giants — although this presumption may not be true for other solar systems discovered in the universe. Until the 1990s, scientists only knew of planets in our own Solar System and at that point accepted there were nine planets. As telescope technology improved, however, two things happened. Scientists discovered exoplanets, or planets that are outside of our solar system. This began with finding massive planets many times larger than Jupiter, and then eventually finding planets that are rocky — even a few that are close to Earth’s size itself . The other change was finding worlds similar to Pluto, then considered the Solar System’s furthest planet, far out in our own Solar System. At first astronomers began treating these new worlds like planets, but as more information came in, the International Astronomical Union held a meeting to better figure out the definition. Hubble image of Pluto and some of its moons, Charon, Nix and Hydra. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the HST Pluto Companion Search Team The result was redefining Pluto and worlds like it as a dwarf planet. This is the current IAU planet definition: “A celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” Size of the eight planets According to NASA , this is the estimated radii of the eight planets in our solar system, in order of size. We also have included the radii sizes relative to Earth to help you picture them better. Jupiter (69,911 km / 43,441 miles) – 1,120% the size of Earth Saturn (58,232 km / 36,184 miles) – 945% the size of Earth Uranus (25,362 km / 15,759 miles) – 400% the size of Earth Neptune (24,622 km / 15,299 miles) – 388% the size of Earth Earth (6,371 km / 3,959 miles) Venus (6,052 km / 3,761 miles) – 95% the size of Earth Mars (3,390 km / 2,460 miles) – 53% the size of Earth Mercury (2,440 km / 1,516 miles) – 38% the size of Earth Eight planets and a dwarf planet in our Solar System, approximately to scale. Pluto is a dwarf planet at far right. At far left is the Sun. The planets are, from left, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute Jupiter is the behemoth of the Solar System and is believed to be responsible for influencing the path of smaller objects that drift by its massive bulk. Sometimes it will send comets or asteroids into the inner solar system, and sometimes it will divert those away. Saturn, most famous for its rings, also hosts dozens of moons — including Titan, which has its own atmosphere. Joining it in the outer solar system are Uranus and Neptune, which both have atmospheres of hydrogen, helium and methane. Uranus also rotates opposite to other planets in the solar system. The inner planets include Venus (once considered Earth’s twin, at least until its hot surface was discovered); Mars (a planet where liquid water could have flowed in the past); Mercury (which despite being close to the sun, has ice at its poles) and Earth, the only planet known so far to have life. To learn more about the Solar System, check out these resources:
VENUS
English poet John Keats, who died in 1821, is buried in which European country?
NOVA - Official Website | The Pluto Files NOVA Search... The Pluto Files Take a cross-country journey with Neil deGrasse Tyson to explore the rise and fall of America's favorite planet. Airing December 14, 2011 at 9 pm on PBS Aired December 14, 2011 on PBS Program Description (Program not available for streaming.) When the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium stopped calling Pluto a planet, director Neil deGrasse Tyson found himself at the center of a firestorm led by angry Pluto-loving elementary school students. What is it about Pluto—a cold, distant, icy rock—that captures so many hearts? Four years after the IAU (International Astronomical Union) officially reclassified the ninth planet as a plutoid, NOVA travels cross-country with Tyson to find out. The Pluto Files PBS Airdate: March 2, 2010 NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON (American Museum of Natural History, Hayden Planetarium): In 1930, a farm boy, with a passion for the universe, notices a tiny dot moving across the night sky. He discovers Pluto, four billion miles from the Sun and cloaked in darkness. Pluto is a mystery. Our best images are nothing more than a blur, and many scientists are arguing over whether it's even a planet. MARK SYKES (Planetary Science Institute): When we fly our spaceship to Pluto, we'll arrive at a round world. BRIAN G. MARSDEN (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): I'm able to use the word "world," if you like, but "planet?" NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: The scientific debate over Pluto has even caused a media frenzy. STEPHEN COLBERT ( The Colbert Report /Film Clip from August 17, 2006): I'm sorry, I thought planets might be one of the constants in life. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Pluto-lovers of America have taken to the streets. PROTESTORS (News Clip): Pluto forever! NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: What is Pluto? A new mission to the far reaches of the solar system promises to answer this question and more. ALAN STERN (Southwest Research Institute): It's true first-time exploration. Pluto is going to be revealed in all of its glory. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Join me, Neil deGrasse Tyson, on a journey to explore America's favorite planet... TOMBAUGH FAMILY MEMBERS (A small group speaking simultaneously): Hi. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ...and find out why some people are blaming Pluto's problems on me. SODY (Streator, Illinois Barber): So how do you feel about Pluto, Dr. Tyson? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: These are The Pluto Files , next on NOVA. For more than 75 years, the great stage of our solar system had a familiar cast of characters, nine players in all. We even memorized their names: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars (the rocky planets), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, (those gas giants), and all the way out at the very edge of the solar system, perhaps the most popular player of all, a lonely little misfit planet: Pluto. But recently, Pluto lost its starring role, and some folks are blaming that on me. I, Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, in New York City, have been accused of being a Pluto-hater. Back in 2000, when my colleagues and I were designing this place, instead of exhibiting Pluto here, with planets like Earth and Mars, or up there, with giants like Jupiter and Saturn, we decided to boldly go where no planetarium had gone before and put Pluto far, far away, all the way downstairs, with a group of newly discovered icy objects in the outer solar system. If you look hard enough you can find it, right here. Little did I know how much this decision would change my life. My troubles began with the astute observations of one young visitor... BOY (Visitor to Hayden Planetarium): I can't find Pluto! NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ...who, just my luck, was overheard by an off-duty journalist from the New York Times . He decides this is a great story, so he calls his Times colleague, science writer Kenneth Chang, and he's shocked. KENNETH CHANG ( The New York Times ): Well, I was looking for Pluto, and I couldn't find it. You look everywhere, and you see eight planets, not nine. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: A few days later Chang's story hits the front page, right beneath George W.'s inauguration. The headline reads, "Pluto's Not a Planet? Only in New York." I received angry emails and a ton of letters, especially from pissed off third-graders. EMERSON YORK (Dramatized reading of letter from a third grader): Dear Natural History Museum, Pluto is my favorite planet!!! MADELINE TROST (Dramatized reading): Why can't Pluto be a planet? Please write back, but not in cursive, because I can't read in cursive. MICHAEL NOVACEK (American Museum of Natural History): I thought, "Oh, my gosh. Kids will probably go to this exhibit and cry because Pluto's no longer a planet." SOLEDAD O'BRIEN (NBC News Anchor): Could it be the final indignity for the farthest and smallest planet in our solar system? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Our exhibit had stirred up a media frenzy. JON STEWART ( The Daily Show /Film Clip from January 8, 2009): Pluto was, since 1930, was a planet. He had stature; he had friends. You come along and say "Da, da, da, da, da." DIANE SAWYER (ABC News Anchor): Neil deGrasse Tyson, you have left a void in the universe, as big as Pluto. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON ( The Colbert Report /Film Clip from August 17, 2006): I never wanted to kick Pluto out of the solar system. I just wanted to group it with its icy brethren. STEPHEN COLBERT ( The Colbert Report /Film Clip from August 17, 2006): You're saying Pluto should be with its own kind, separate but equal? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON ( The Colbert Report /Film Clip from August 17, 2006): Yeah, I guess it comes out that way, doesn't it? STEPHEN COLBERT ( The Colbert Report /Film Clip from August 17, 2006): Neil deGrasse Tyson has betrayed us. BRIAN WILLIAMS(NBC News Anchor): He has thrown his weight around a little too much. He's not the boss of the solar system; he's not the boss of me. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: If Neptune or Mercury had been reclassified, I don't think anyone would cared, but the fact that it happened to Pluto seems to make all the difference. Pluto has a remarkable grip on the hearts and minds of the American public and the press. Even my colleagues in astrophysics are still arguing over what to do with Pluto, and I don't really know why. But I'm determined to find out. This is the story of my journey. These are The Pluto Files . My first stop took me to Cambridge, Massachusetts. A visit to the hallowed halls of Harvard just might help me make sense of this Pluto problem. Welcome to the Harvard University football field. I brought a few props along with me, much to the surprise of my colleagues. Astrophysicist, Brian Marsden, doesn't think Pluto is a planet, while planetary scientist Mark Sykes thinks it definitely is. And the esteemed historian of science, Owen Gingerich, is looking for the middle ground. MARK SYKES: Okay, Neil. What are we doing here? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: We're making a scale model of the solar system, right here on this playing field. So grab one of these. Let's do it. To evaluate Pluto's planetary status we need to take a closer look at how it compares with the heavy hitters on the solar system team. The planets are millions, even billions of miles apart, so this scale model can't accurately depict their distance from one another, but it can show their relative size. If this eight-foot balloon represents our Sun, how does Pluto size up against the rest of the team? Let's find out. Mark, first up, Mercury. MARK SYKES: Mercury. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Represented by a bead—in correct size, relative to the Sun—miniscule Mercury may be small, but its diameter is still twice as big as puny Pluto's. Next up, Venus. Will you have the honor? Venus, represented by this tiny rubber ball, has a diameter five times as big as Pluto. MARK SYKES: Earth. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Earth. Earth, the big blue marble, is six times as wide as Pluto. If Earth and Venus were about an inch, Mars would be about a half inch—the sizes of these gumdrops, relative to the Sun. But it still trounces Pluto, three to one. MARK SYKES: Jupiter, king of the planets. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: King of the planets. You have the honor. MARK SYKES: There you go. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: The largest planet, King Jupiter, represented by a schoolyard kickball, is a whopping 62 times as wide as pipsqueak Pluto. Saturn... NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ...the size of a bowling ball, relative to the Sun. Pluto doesn't fare much better against my favorite planet, Saturn, or its next-door neighbor. MARK SYKES: Uranus. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Uranus, represented by a bocce ball. Have you ever played bocce? MARK SYKES: No, I never played bocce. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Neither have I. It would take 22 Plutos in a chain to equal the diameter of one Uranus. Croquet anyone? What do you have now? MARK SYKES: Neptune. Why don't you have the honor? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Big blue Neptune is 21 times as wide as Pluto. Last and least... MARK SYKES: And not least. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ...we have Pluto, represented by a ball bearing, removed from a roller skate. MARK SYKES: Sometimes the most valuable things are in the smallest packages. Excellent. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Pluto. Pluto's diameter is just under 1,500 miles. In fact, if it ever decided to visit America, it would stretch only from California to Kansas. No matter how you look at it, Pluto makes a scrawny little planet. Pluto's really puny, but so is Mercury. BRIAN MARSDEN: Pluto's a lot punier: one-twentieth the mass of Mercury. OWEN GINGERICH (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics): That's less than the mass of the moon. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Touchdown right there. If we were to keep score of Pluto's oddball traits versus its planet-like characteristics, how would it add up? Brian thinks Pluto's puny size disqualifies it from the planet team, so he gives one touchdown, and of course the extra point, to Pluto, the oddball. MARK SYKES: This is ridiculous. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Mark disagrees. For him, size is less important than shape. Pluto, like every player on the planet team, is round, and not potato shaped, like nearly all asteroids. This sequence of images, taken by the Hubble space telescope, shows Pluto as a sphere with a textured surface. MARK SYKES: When we fly our spaceship to Pluto, we will arrive at a round world that has atmospheres, that has bright and dark areas on the surface. It will look much more like objects we call planets than these little, irregular, inert objects we call asteroids. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So roundness, you give a full touchdown? MARK SYKES: Yeah. OWEN GINGERICH: Two touchdowns. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: But, then again, we all know that Pluto's got this really weird orbit. First of all, it's tipped, the most tipped orbit. What's that worth to you? BRIAN MARSDEN: Not too much. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: A field goal, not quite a touchdown. BRIAN MARSDEN: That isn't really the problem. I think the problem was crossing the orbit of Neptune. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Pluto's orbit isn't just tipped; it's highly elliptical, not nearly circular like other planets', which actually forces Pluto to cross the orbit of another planet. That's bad? BRIAN MARSDEN: That's really bad. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Nobody else does that. There you go, touchdown right there, another seven points for the oddball team. One way you might define a planet is that it ought to have a moon. But, of course, Mercury and Venus don't have moons, and guess what? Tiny little Pluto does. In fact, it has three. One of those moons, Charon, is so large compared with Pluto that they both orbit a point in space in between them, which might make you wonder which one is the planet. MARK SYKES: The idea of planets orbiting planets isn't really so foreign. We see many double stars out there, and we see galaxies orbiting galaxies. OWEN GINGERICH: The solar system is such a complicated place, it's very important to understand that there is this richness out there. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So, Brian, if we go there and find Pluto has mountains or craters or an atmosphere, it's got world properties that match other objects we're happy to call planets. BRIAN MARSDEN: I'm able to use the word "world," if you like, but "planet?" NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So then, what is Pluto? Four billion miles from the Sun, our best images of Pluto and its moons are nothing more than a blur. By analyzing the light reflected from Pluto's surface, planetary scientists think that a day on Pluto might look like this: an icy, frosty, winter's night in the Arctic; the Sun, a tiny pinpoint in a pitch black sky; wispy clouds and fog visible on the horizon; the temperature about 300 degrees below zero. No spacecraft has yet visited Pluto. Until one does it will remain a mystery. Both of you are wrong, and no scoreboard today is going to change that. It was time for me to take a closer look at why an oddball like Pluto was considered a planet in the first place. It's a tale that begins back in 1894, when a New England aristocrat by the name of Percival Lowell built a private observatory, near Flagstaff, Arizona, with one goal in mind: to find life on Mars. After years of searching in vein, Lowell turned his attention to an unsolved mystery, the hunt for a distant planet whose gravity seemed to be causing disturbances in Neptune's orbit. He called this hypothetical object "Planet X." Lowell spent the rest of his life trying to find it but never did. After his death, the task was given to the unlikeliest of planet-hunters, a self-educated farm boy who attended a one-room schoolhouse. Clyde Tombaugh's first job in astronomy included cleaning telescopes and sweeping up at the Lowell Observatory. He spent the rest of his time searching for the mysterious Planet X. Every few nights, he placed a photosensitive glass plate on the telescope, securing it so it would not shift. Then he exposed the plate for two hours to the universe. During that time, the motorized telescope slowly moved to compensate for Earth's rotation. Several days later, he'd retrace his steps, taking pictures of the same section of the sky he had photographed earlier. Then, using an ingenious device called a "blink comparator," Clyde Tombaugh aligned the two images to carefully examine their differences. The blink comparator enabled him to shift back and forth, searching for the subtlest of changes. Although the human eye is good at spotting differences, finding a dim celestial object, billions of miles away was a daunting task. After searching for almost a year, a determined Clyde finally found a tiny dot slowly moving across the night's sky. Can you see it? Here it is. A month later, the Lowell Observatory proudly announced that a young assistant had fulfilled Percival Lowell's dream. Clyde Tombaugh had finally found Planet X. The day after the announcement, the news hit the front page of the New York Times . Soon the discovery was heralded worldwide, but the new planet needed a name. Across the Atlantic, an 11-year-old English schoolgirl would come up with one. On March 14, 1930, Venetia Burney's grandfather, a librarian at Oxford, was reading the morning newspaper and came across the story. VENETIA BURNEY'S GRANDFATHER (Dramatization): An American has just discovered a new planet. I wonder what they'll call it? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Venetia had just finished studying the Roman gods and jumped at the opportunity to name it after the god of the underworld. VENETIA BURNEY (Schoolgirl, Dramatization): They could call it Pluto. VENETIA BURNEY'S GRANDFATHER: Pluto, perhaps. Yes. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Her grandfather thought that was a splendid idea. So he wrote a note to the Lowell Observatory. The director at Lowell liked it, especially because Pluto's official symbol would be the overlapping letters P and L, the initials of the observatory's long-gone founder, the man who started the search for Planet X, Percival Lowell. For most Americans, the name Pluto didn't exactly conjure up affection. It was associated with a well-known laxative called "Pluto Wate," a popular product that promised "relief from constipation in 30 minutes to two hours." Its slogan: "When Nature won't, Pluto will." But the name would soon get a makeover, and it would come from a young animator by the name of Walt Disney. Shortly after planet Pluto was discovered, the fledgling Disney Brothers Studio came up with a new character, a playful bloodhound named Pluto the Pup. Walt probably wasn't thinking about constipation when he named Mickey Mouse's new pal, back in 1931. My journey would lead me south, to a magical place, to meet with a celebrity on a tight schedule. Pluto, hey, great to see you. Thanks for making time for this. Can we pose for a picture? Was Walt thinking "planet" when he gave his pup a name? Maybe Roy Patrick Disney, Walt's great nephew, can help answer this question. I wonder whether Walt jumped on the opportunity to name this new character after this new cosmic object. Is there any evidence for that in the archives? ROY P. DISNEY (Walt Disney's Great Nephew): There's no direct evidence. There's a lot of anecdotal evidence. I think its fate; I don't think it's an accident. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: You feel, deep inside, that Walt was thinking planet? ROY DISNEY: Yes. He was fascinated with space and space exploration. And Walt did four TV shows about space. And all of them made space exploration and science accessible to kids, including myself. LEONARD MALTIN (Film Critic and Historian): When he did his Man in Space series in 1956 to '57, America wasn't committed to a space program. I know, for a fact, that many people who wound up working at NASA were inspired to do so by watching those television shows. He made learning fun. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: I am certain Pluto, the dog, added some kind of warm and fuzzy feeling for this cosmic object. Cosmic objects don't normally trigger warm and fuzzy feelings. Pluto, have you ever looked through a telescope before? No? I brought one. Isn't it cool? Now it's daytime, so you can't see much. But let me show you how it works. What do you think of that? You see something? You did? Try again. Whether or not Walt was thinking about the cosmos when he named his dog, doesn't really matter. Good boy! Good dog! The seeds were sown for the tiniest of planets to get the kind of attention no other planet had, all because of this loveable pup. But I shouldn't give credit to the dog alone. Next stop on my journey: Streator Illinois, the hometown of Clyde Tombaugh. They love him so much, main street is named after him. There's a mural in the center of town that compares his discovery of Pluto with the accomplishments of Copernicus and Galileo. His life is chronicled at the local historical society, where one of his homemade telescopes is on display. There's even a plaque dedicated to him in front of City Hall. Clyde is a local hero. Just about everyone around here can tell you his life story. SODY (Streator, Illinois Barber): Next victim, I mean, customer, please. How you doing? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Doing well. Right now, I'm on a pilgrimage, actually, to try and understand Clyde Tombaugh. SODY: Clyde Tombaugh; he's from Streator, and he discovered Pluto. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: That's what I heard. SODY: We're very proud of him, very proud of him, what he did. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: And you learned about him in high school? TERRI (Streator, Illinois Resident): Elementary school...third grade maybe. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So that's when most people first learn about the planets. So his name comes up, and you learn he's a local guy. TERRI: "Streator boy makes good," so to speak. Back in third grade I went, "Wow, that's astounding: from Streator, found Pluto." NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: You feel some pride? TERRI: Oh, you bet. Always had something to point to as far as, "Looka there, that guy discovered Pluto, and he's from our area." ANOTHER STREATOR, ILLINOIS RESIDENT: Walt Disney named the dog after him. SODY: So how do you feel about Pluto, Dr. Tyson? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: In the eyes of the town folk of Streator, Illinois, Tombaugh's discovery is not only a part of their history, it's a piece of American history, as well as world history. It was the ancient Greeks who classified what we call the Moon, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn as "planetes," which means the "wanderers" in English. They imagined Earth as a hub around which these planets revolved. In 1543, the Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus published his revolutionary idea that the Sun did not circle Earth, but, instead, Earth and its lone moon circle the Sun, along with the rest of the planets. By the 17th century, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei discovered Jupiter's four largest moons. Meanwhile, Dutchman Christiaan Huygens identified Saturn's rings and discovered Titan, its largest moon. Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini one-upped him, when he discovered four more. In the 18th century, Englishman William Herschel discovered Uranus, although he originally called it the Georgian star, after his King, George the III. Can you imagine a planet named George? The British and French are still fighting over who deserves the credit for predicting the location of Neptune. Some give the honor to John Couch Adams, while others say Urbain Le Verrier deserves it. But there's no doubt that German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle found it. The discovery of Pluto finally added an American, Clyde Tombaugh, to this short but esteemed list of planet-hunters. So the folks in Streator, Illinois, told me that in New Mexico...there are still some Tombaughs there. That's where Clyde moved after discovering Pluto. Clyde's no longer with us, but his 97-year-old widow and both his son and daughter still live there. So I decided I had to check it out. Wow. That's a lot of Tombaughs. THE TOMBAUGHS (A small group speaking simultaneously): Hi. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: How many of you are there? Hello, everyone. ANNETTE TOMBAUGH (Clyde Tombaugh's Daughter): Annette Tombaugh. I'm Clyde's daughter. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: What an honor, my gosh. ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: This is my brother. ALDEN TOMBAUGH (Clyde Tombaugh's Son): Neil, Al Tombaugh. I'm Clyde's son. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Hello. ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: And this is my mother, Patsy Tombaugh; this is Clyde's wife. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: It is an honor, hello. PATSY TOMBAUGH (Clyde Tombaugh's Widow): Yes, I've been looking forward to this. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: That could be...I don't know what that means. So tell me about Clyde, as a person. PATSY TOMBAUGH: He was the oldest of six children, so he was born to help on the farm. But he did not want to be a farmer. ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: He had not had the opportunity to go to college. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So, what you're saying is that he discovered Pluto without ever having yet gone to college? ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: No, he was straight off the farm. PATSY TOMBAUGH: Lowell Observatory wanted somebody they didn't have to pay very much to do this job. What do you think they pay you for finding a planet? ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: After discovering Pluto, he got a college scholarship which he would not have otherwise had. And, of course, he was supposed to be the big hero, but he didn't feel like the big hero. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Dad was a little embarrassed about the fame; he didn't like the limelight. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: He was humble? ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Absolutely. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So what was he just like as a dad? Was he, like, a weird dad, or did you think all dads were like that? ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: No, I knew he was very different. One of the things...we did have his grinding barrel to make telescopes in the kitchen. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: This is the barrel that grinds glass into the shape of a mirror. ANNETTE TOMBAUGH: Right; in the kitchen. How mother put up with that I don't know. We had grinding material in our food, and Mother's trying to cook around this situation. Well, finally she made Daddy move out of the kitchen, and he got a shop. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: That, that's good. You mean to tell me you have some of Clyde's original telescopes here? Wow, these were his original telescopes. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Original telescopes, built by my Dad. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Very handmade. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Built out of old farm machinery, car parts and whatever he could find. Just push it out. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: I'll help you push. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: You bet. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So, Al, I don't recognize any hardware on this at all. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: The tube itself is probably part of an old grain elevator. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: How about the base? ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Well, the base is an old cream separator. The axle is off an early model Buick. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So there's a Buick out there now without an axle. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Without an axle. This counterweight was probably a flywheel for an early piece of farm equipment, maybe even steam-powered. We're not sure. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: I see a Coke can. I love this. So, we got the open end of the telescope at the top, and light comes down, reflects off the curved mirror, and light reflects back and comes to an eyepiece under that Coke can. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: And if we wiggle this Coke can a little bit, like this, there's the eyepiece, ready to go. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: This isn't the only telescope I see back here. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: No, there's a couple others. Let me pull this one out for you. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Okay. This is got to be the most homemade-looking telescope I have ever seen. Is this a lawn mower? ALDEN TOMBAUGH: That is a lawnmower base. This is what the family has called the "grazer gazer." He looked at this and said, "It's got wheels, it's got a handle; we need to put a telescope on that so I can push it around." NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: How to make a portable telescope. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Absolutely. He built it strictly on a utilitarian base, out of what he had, which was thin plywood and miscellaneous pieces of wood. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: This is insane. This just rotates. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Exactly. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: What impresses me is that he didn't care what this thing looked like as long as the image of the universe came out sharp. ALDEN TOMBAUGH: Right. Aesthetics didn't mean a whole lot. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: On my way out of town, I stopped at a local church where there's a tribute to Clyde Tombaugh, a stained glass window that celebrates his life. How many scientists have stained glass windows of them? It's more than just a celebration of his discovery, it's a celebration of his life, overcoming obstacles that would keep most people down. To me that's the message here. After discovering Pluto, Clyde taught astronomy, and he searched for another planet in the far reaches of the solar system. But as hard as he and other astronomers looked—and they looked hard—nobody found anything. Most abandoned the search, assuming there was nothing left to find. But a few simply couldn't accept the prevailing view that the solar system ended with Pluto. I headed out to California to share a burger with two colleagues who were convinced there was something else out there. MIKE BROWN (California Institute of Technology): Foods a-comin'. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Back in the 1980s, David started a search that would put Pluto in a new perspective. So you start looking in the outer solar system? That's kind of crazy, because everyone knew the solar system ended at Pluto. DAVID JEWITT (University of California, Los Angeles): Uh, it's a little crazy. But, you know, the flipside is, it didn't seem reasonable; it seemed peculiar that the outer solar system would be this really, really empty place, compared to the inner solar system, which we already knew was full of planets and comets and asteroids and all sorts of stuff. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Well it's got to end somewhere, why not Pluto? DAVID JEWITT: Yeah. I mean maybe, but maybe not. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Despite what felt like impossible odds, David teamed up with Jane Luu—then a graduate student—and they started a search that would take a lot longer then either one of them expected. JANE LUU (Researcher): Why did it take so long? Um, it was a matter of technology catching up with the problem. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: While it's easy to see distant stars, because they radiate their own light, other celestial bodies are much harder to see. That's because light has to travel all the way from our Sun to the object, reflect off its surface, and then make the long journey back to Earth. By that time it's barely visible. David and Jane hoped that advances in digital detectors now standard in today's cameras would help them see a whole lot more, that is, if there was anything out there to discover. In 1992, after searching for five years, they finally found something. DAVID JEWITT: Here is the set of discovery images for the first object. Obviously, it's the thing with the circle around it. It didn't have a circle around it when we discovered it, but it does now. So you can see this object is drifting from this picture to this one to this one. It's drifting slowly to the left, whereas most of the other objects are fixed stationary bodies in the background. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: When they found several more of these slowly moving objects, David and Jane could finally declare that Pluto is not alone; it's part of region of the solar system never before seen. David named it the Kuiper Belt, after an astronomer who proposed its existence back in the 1950s. Billions of miles wide, the Kuiper Belt is chock-full of icy objects, in wide orbits around the distant Sun. They're the leftovers from the solar system's formation. We theorize that more than four billion years ago, our solar system consisted of bits and pieces of debris colliding and sticking together into larger and larger chunks. Eventually these chunks got big enough for gravity to pull them into a nice round shape, forming planets. And as the planets got larger and larger their gravity vacuumed up nearly all the objects in their path, but, in the end, there were still a lot of bits and pieces left over. And they got flung out to the far reaches of the solar system, where they plunged into a deep freeze. The discovery of this far-out region of the solar system made many of us stop and think, "Is Pluto really a full-blooded planet or just another Kuiper Belt leftover?" DAVID JEWITT: It didn't make any sense, anymore, to think of it as a planet, because it fits so well with this new population of Kuiper Belt objects. BRIAN MARSDEN: We all considered Pluto was strange, at that time, but we didn't know how to resolve this. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: And frankly, many of my colleagues weren't ready to mess with America's favorite planet. We all knew Pluto was an icy object, just like everything else in the Kuiper Belt, but it was still the largest one in the neighborhood—that is until my other dinner companion, Mike Brown, came into the picture. MIKE BROWN: I had just finished my Ph.D., and I was looking for something new to move into. And this seemed like the most obvious thing anyone could start working on. This was an entirely new area of the solar system to go study, so it was very exciting. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Mike set his sights on doing something really big: finding a Kuiper Belt object larger than Pluto. MIKE BROWN: I was determined there must still be something out there. I had caught the bug of finding it. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: At the Palomar Observatory, in California, Mike had access to the largest digital camera on Earth. The images were uploaded to Mike's computer where he analyzed them every morning. With technology on his side, the discoveries just kept on coming. MIKE BROWN: We found Quaoar, which is an object out in the Kuiper Belt that's about half the size of Pluto. The next year we found something about three-quarters the size of Pluto, and the following year we found this thing. And it was so bright and also moving so slowly—moving so slowly, because it was so far away. I looked at it, and I thought, "This can't be right. If it's that bright and moving that slowly, it's the furthest thing we've ever found, and it's the biggest thing we've ever found. It must be quite big, certainly bigger than Pluto, and that's crazy. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: But it wasn't crazy. MIKE BROWN: On the day that we publicly announced the discovery I had to make a decision. What we were going to call it? Is it a planet? Is it not a planet? Is it the tenth planet? Finally, I had to say, "Okay, it's the tenth planet." And I will tell you, when everybody kept calling me, congratulating me for discovering the tenth planet, I felt fraudulent the entire day. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Why? MIKE BROWN: William Herschel pointed his telescope in the sky and found Uranus. Uranus. Uranus is a major part of the solar system. And he found it. That is a pretty big deal. I discovered a little ice ball out on the fringe, and it just didn't seem like the same magnitude of a discovery. And I had been struggling with this for years. What do you do when you finally find one bigger than Pluto? I did not believe that astronomers had the guts to ever demote Pluto because it's just too publicly painful. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: And if tiny Pluto was a planet shouldn't Mike's discovery be one too? So he forged ahead, ultimately selecting a clever name for his discovery: Eris, the Greek goddess of discord and strife. Eris instilled jealousy and envy among men, driving them to battle. Mike's choice perfectly captured the destabilizing effect Eris was destined to have on Pluto, although he couldn't have guessed what was about to happen next. For the past century, the I.A.U., the International Astronomical Union, has been in charge of naming celestial objects, but it couldn't approve the name of Mike's discovery without knowing if it was a Kuiper Belt object or the tenth planet. This posed a problem, because the word "planet" had not been formally defined since ancient Greece. Clearly, our knowledge of the solar system has expanded since then. So committees were assembled to come up with a new definition, the last of which was headed by my friend from Harvard, Owen Gingerich. OWEN GINGERICH: So what we proposed was that planets should be round and going around the Sun. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So, massive enough for gravity to shape them into a nice round form. Under this definition, Pluto would remain a planet; Mike Brown's discovery would be one too. And as new discoveries are made in the outer solar system, the planet count could go up. OWEN GINGERICH: We realized that doing this would bring scores of planets. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Into the accounting of the planets in the solar system? OWEN GINGERICH: That's right. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: But when the definition was proposed, in Prague, at the 2006 I.A.U. conference, many scientists were dead set against it. A rebellion was brewing, and things were getting ugly. Just to clarify: your original suggestion got overturned within days? OWEN GINGERICH: Our recommendations were rather pushed to the side, and a new kind of definition came about in the final voting at the union meeting. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: A new definition that included the following line: "A planet must clear the neighborhood around its orbit." Pluto travels in a crowded neighborhood, littered with thousands of Kuiper Belt objects. It's simply not massive enough to clear them out of the way. MIKE BROWN: In the definition that the I.A.U. came up with, eight major things which dominate the solar system are planets. They're all big. They go in circular orbits in, in one disk around the sun. And everything else is all in these other crazy orbits, much smaller. Those are not planets. That concept is a rock-solid concept. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: And when this new definition went to a vote of the members present it was a slam dunk. After 76 years, Pluto was no longer a planet. STEPHEN COLBERT ( The Colbert Report /Film Clip from August 17, 2006): I'm sorry, I thought planets might be one of the constants in life, but scientists just love change more than anything else. Well, I'm sorry, but this isn't change I can believe in. JON STEWART ( The Daily Show /Film Clip from January 8, 2009): ...the whole underpinnings of what we understand as science. Is gravity real or do we just have sticky stuff on our shoes? The whole thing...what are we doing at that point? MIKE BROWN: I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that that was the vote that happened, but when that vote happened, I knew exactly what was going to happen next. NEWSCASTER (News Clip): Supporters of Pluto are speaking out trying to help it regain planet status. PROTESTORS (News Clip): Pluto is a planet. Size doesn't matter. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Pluto-lovers of America did not take the I.A.U. decision lightly. At New Mexico State, where Clyde Tombaugh had taught, students took to the streets. PROTESTORS (News Clip): Pluto forever! NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: The New Mexico legislature declared Pluto was still a planet within state borders... MUSICIAN (singing): No matter what they say in the chart, You'll always be a planet in my heart. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: ...and Illinois soon followed, spurred on by efforts led by the concerned citizens of Streator. So I've got in my hand this legislation, passed by the 96th General Assembly, here in the State of Illinois. No one's got a problem with declaring March 13th "Pluto Day," the anniversary of Clyde Tombaugh announcing the discovery. Who could argue that? It's part of the resolution that says when Pluto passes overhead, overhead of Illinois's night skies, that it be re-established with full planetary status. That's audacious. That's saying, "Forget the scientists, this is Illinois." SENATOR GARY G. DAHL (Republican, 28th District, Illinois): This is Streator. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: And don't mess with Streator. SENATOR GARY G. DAHL: There you go. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Back at the barbershop, the guys made it clear where they stand. SODY: I still believe it's a planet. They can't make me think any different. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: But next door, at the Country Cupboard, locals questioned the decision. SIOBHAN (Streator, Illinois Resident): I was very disappointed. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Disappointed in the result or how they got the result? SIOBHAN: Both. You can't change scientific fact or definition with a hand count. You're a scientist, since when do you take a vote on scientific fact? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: But it wasn't just hometown folks who disagreed with the decision. Just a few days after the vote, this petition, signed by hundreds of planetary scientists, hit the Internet. It says, "The undersigned do not accept the I.A.U. definition, and they refuse to use it." Period. The last stop on my journey would be a visit with a planetary scientist who proudly signed that petition; one of the world's leading experts on Pluto, Alan Stern. He's been mad ever since we opened our new exhibit at the planetarium. And he sure isn't pleased with the I.A.U. ALAN STERN: You're late. Ready for this? NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Ready as ever. I can't wait to hear what Alan's got to say about Pluto's demotion. ALAN STERN: I think the I.A.U. has confused people, because their definition produces such illogical results. What I really like is what I call the Star Trek test. When Kirk and Spock show up orbiting an object, just by looking at the picture of it, they know it's a planet. In an I.A.U. world, Spock would have to come back and say, "Captain, let me survey the entire solar system, determine whatever objects are there. I'll integrate the orbits overnight. I'll get back to you." It's not that hard. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So you don't even care about whether a zone is cleared or some of these other parameters. ALAN STERN: No, that's all about location, and location is for realtors not scientists. I don't think it counts at all in terms of what it means to be a planet. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So, then, what is Pluto? According to Alan, it's not just a Kuiper Belt object. It's not a lonely oddball either, and it's definitely not demote-able. It's simply a new kind of planet, a dwarf planet, and it turns out there's lots of them. ALAN STERN: It looked like the solar system consisted of four terrestrial planets, four giant planets and misfit Pluto, but, today, instead, we see a solar system with four terrestrial planets, four freakishly giant planets and a whole cohort of Pluto-like objects, which turn out to be the dominant class of planet in our solar system. These are typically rocky and icy objects. Many have atmospheres; many, possibly most, have moons—all the things we're used to in the planets we're familiar with but in miniature. I think a decent analogue is, if you see a Chihuahua, it's still a dog, because it has the characteristics of the canine species, just in miniature. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Why then, are these pint-sized planets so much smaller than the rest? ALAN STERN: The process of planetary formation is a bottom up process. Planets grow from small things to larger and larger things. Dwarf planets were arrested in the mid-stage of planetary growth. They are actually planetary embryos. Pluto and other dwarf planets would have grown much larger, had there been more material around them. Why was there no more material for them? That's a great question, and we don't know the answer to it. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Many planetary scientists think that dwarf planets were actually born in another region of the solar system, among the gas giants where the food supply was plentiful. But as the gas giants grew larger and larger and migrated to their current positions, the force of their gravity flung the tiny dwarfs outward, to the Kuiper Belt, where they reside today. While there are thousands of objects in the Kuiper Belt, they're spread millions of miles apart, so far away from each other that the dwarfs no longer come in contact with the material they needed to grow. ALAN STERN: To study those objects rather than objects that grew to much larger scales will give us a great window into the process of planetary formation. NASA MISSION CONTROL: Three, two, one. We have ignition and liftoff. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Alan and his team hope to open that window, when the New Horizons spacecraft, launched in 2006, becomes the first ever to arrive at Pluto: racing at a speed of 37,000 miles an hour; traveling time, nine and a half years; scheduled arrival, 2015. ALAN STERN: So this is the place. This is mission control for the New Horizons. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: Cool. ALAN STERN: Yeah, the flight control team is monitoring the data that is coming down, looking at the health of the spacecraft and sending instructions back up, to, basically, choreograph everything that happens on the spacecraft. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So how long do those instructions take to get there? Like, suppose it says, "Quick, turn left." How long does that take? ALAN STERN: Well, right now it would take about two hours and 12 minutes for the instruction to get up there, and then, after it's executed, two hours and 12 minutes more to find out that's what happened. NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: To complete the roundtrip. ALAN STERN: That's correct.
i don't know
Which actor played the title role of architect David Vincent in the 1960's TV series The Invaders?
Invaders Behind the Scenes The Invaders: The Nightmare Has Already Begun by Stephen Bowie   “The Invaders.  Alien beings from a dying planet.  Their destination: the earth.  Their purpose: to make it their world.  “David Vincent has seen them.  For him, it began one lost night on a lonely country road, looking for a shortcut.  It began with a closed, deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey.  It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy.  “Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here, that they have taken human form.  Somehow he must convince a disbelieving world that the nightmare has already begun . . . .” So intones the leaden voice that narrates the opening credits of one of television’s great forays into the realm of science fiction.  Twenty-five years before The X-Files posited that the aliens are already among us and up to no good, David Vincent began his lonely two-year quest to save the world.  Alternately pursuer and pursued, openly unhappy about his role as a modern-day Paul Revere and often pessimistic about his chances of success, Vincent proved a far more complex hero than 1960s television audiences were used to.  He was the centerpiece of a sci-fi series more downbeat and more realistic than any that preceded it. “The major thing that the show had going for it is the fact that we are all a little bit paranoid, and that it’s easy to identify with somebody who is a single man fighting the world,” said Invaders producer Alan A. Armer.  “I mean, that’s what all real heroes are, if you look at the great myths and legends and the great stories that have been told.  Frequently it is one person fighting the society, fighting the government, fighting an invisible force, and this is classic.  And I think we all relate to that, because his job and his goal are so difficult to achieve.  Conceptually, that’s what made the show strong.” Diane Baker and Roy Thinnes in “Beachhead,” the series’ pilot The Invaders’ successful format combined the sensibilities of two creator/producers who couldn’t have been more different.  One was the unpredictable Larry Cohen, a brash wunderkind from the dying days of prestigious New York dramas like The Defenders, on the verge of leaving television to pour his twisted imagination into a string of low-budget cult horror films.  The other was Quinn Martin, the steadfast, humorless king of sixties and seventies action television, overseer of a seemingly endless string of formulaic but exceedingly well-produced police and detective shows.  The Invaders began with Cohen, who freely concedes that his conception of the series was less an original idea than an amalgamation of several beloved pop-culture fixations of his adolescence.  Fans of the show frequently point to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the eery 1956 B-picture in which Kevin McCarthy discovers that his friends and neighbors are gradually being replaced by identical “pod people” from another planet, as the most obvious precedent for The Invaders.  “That was one of my favorite movies when I was a child,” said Cohen, who also cites Invaders From Mars (1953) as an inspiration.  The aliens of The Invaders apparently didn’t possess the technology to replace real people with identical facsimiles, and they employed glowing energy tubes called “regeneration chambers” rather than seed pods to affect their human form, but they were otherwise interchangeable with the Body Snatchers.  Using subterfuge to infiltrate human society, the aliens relied on humans’ natural skepticism toward “crackpots” like David Vincent to protect them from anyone who stumbled onto their existence and tried to blow the whistle on their plans.  Invaders buffs often assume, since much of the same creative talent worked on both shows, that Cohen borrowed the series’ man-on-the-run format from The Fugitive, the 1963 hit starring David Janssen as a wrongly-convicted death row inmate who escapes to search for his wife’s killer.  In fact, Cohen said, he took his cue from the Master of Suspense: “Of course The Invaders was definitely in the same genre as The Fugitive: a man moving across America, in search of something, and in jeopardy.  Really, to me, my idea was taken more from Alfred Hitchcock than it was taken from The Fugitive.  I always liked the Hitchcock movie where the hero is in a situation where he’s the only one that knows the spies are operating, and no one will believe him.  And when he takes the police back to the locale where he saw their operation, everything has been removed, there’s no more evidence, everybody lies and says that he was never there before.”  Hitchcock made several picaresque thrillers in this mold, including The 39 Steps (1935) with Robert Donat, Saboteur (1942) with Robert Cummings, and of course North by Northwest (1959) with Cary Grant.              “That’s basically the Hitchcock formula, which he’s used over and over again, and it always seems to work and creates a tremendous amount of suspense, and you identify with this sympathetic character who’s really an underdog,” said Cohen.  “I thought this was a good form and really hadn’t been used much in television.  So that’s why I presented the show originally to Edgar Scherick at ABC.” ABC was itself an underdog, a third-place network in a position to try an untested format in the hope of coming up with a surprise hit.  Cohen decided to pitch his alien infiltrators idea as a different kind of soap opera, a hard-edged variant on the melodramatic and wildly popular Peyton Place, an early prime-time serial that ABC launched in 1964.  According to Cohen, Scherick and his right-hand man Douglas S. Cramer (who, as head of Paramount Television, went on to oversee Star Trek) warmed immediately to The Invaders, albeit in a very different form. “My original concept was to do The Invaders as a twice-a-week serial, something which the network borrowed from me and ended up doing with Batman.  But that was originally my idea, to take two segments a week and have kind of a cliff-hanger in the middle,” recalled Cohen.  “I was commissioned by them to write the pilot as a half-hour, and then I wrote about fifteen story-lines for future episodes of the series.” Given the green light, Cohen sketched out the basics of what became The Invaders.  He created the protagonist, David Vincent, a Santa Barbara-based architect who suddenly becomes a pariah after he sees a flying saucer and tries to warn a disbelieving public of the alien danger.  His credibility ruined, Vincent gives up his partnership in an architectural firm and goes on the road, dividing his time between earning a living through menial labor and trying to gather tangible proof of the invaders’ existence.  In the process Vincent becomes a quasi-famous object of public ridicule, and gains some hope in the form of contacts in the press and the military who, though skeptical, agree to examine with an open mind any evidence that he can produce. As for the aliens, Cohen left their origins and characteristics a deliberate blank.  “They were very intelligent, and very hard to kill, and very devious about hiding their identities and subverting themselves within the system,” Cohen said.  Never during the course of the series did viewers learn what life on the aliens’ world was like, nor even, for that matter, the name of their planet or their species.  But Cohen did devise some visual signatures that became the most recognizable aspects of the show: the regeneration chambers; the spontaneous combustion that immediately follows the death of any alien and leaves only a trace of ash in place of a body; the glowing disk that, when pressed against the back of the neck, causes a cerebral hemorrhage in a human; the aliens’ inability to feel pain and their lack of blood or a heartbeat.  And of course there was the deformed pinky finger, an imperfection in some aliens’ human bodies that served to tip off Vincent as to their true identities.  Assured that his creation would in fact make it onto the airwaves, Cohen decided to practice a little subversion himself.  He inserted an element of subtle political content into The Invaders, just as he had with his previous series,  the Chuck Connors western Branded, about a Civil War soldier falsely labeled a coward.  “Branded was my way of doing the blacklist story on television, and The Invaders to me was a way of doing a show about the communist paranoia that the industry was just emerging from at the time.  I thought, well, this is an interesting thing if we can take this paranoia and put it on the television screen and sell it to the television networks without them even knowing what they’re buying,” said Cohen.  Of course, The Invaders reversed the polarity of the blacklist era.  In retrospect the American communist party seems like an ineffectual radical minority, feared and persecuted out of proportion; whereas on The Invaders the aliens really were plotting to take over the world.  Rather than indulging their paranoia, the American people refused to see this true menace.  Nevertheless, the structure of many Invaders episodes paralleled that of the I Led Three Lives-style commie-hunting movies and TV series, with David Vincent occupying a role similar to the tireless anti-Red investigator.  For Cohen, even the crooked little finger took on a hidden meaning.  “The extended pinky used to be a symbol of effeminacy,” Cohen recalled.  “You know, the effete [person] holding a glass of champagne with the pinky extended?  When this show was done back in the sixties, the homosexual community was kind of a submerged, invisible community.  People were living secret lives.  I thought, here are these aliens living amongst society, keeping their true identities secret, their true selves secret, and this is funny because the pinky kind of symbolizes homosexuality in some way, and nobody will get the gag, but I’ll put it in there anyway.”  This in-joke, inconsequential as it may seem, also relates back to the series’ witch-hunt metaphor, since at the height of the Red Scare gays were often inaccurately accused of being communists (and vice versa).  But once Cohen turned this material over to ABC, the network requested a change.  Even though Peyton Place was at the height of its popularity, having expanded from two broadcasts a week to three, and the Batman craze had begun, Scherick and company opted not to produce the show as a serial.  “I guess they just decided that it was strong enough to go with a traditional program policy,” Cohen suggests. It’s also likely that ABC placed more faith in the already tried-and-true formula of the QM Production than in the longevity of the serial fad.  “QM” stood for Quinn Martin, the son of a motion picture editor, who learned the film business as he grew up and entered television as a sound editor at Ziv, the production outlet responsible for Science Fiction Theatre, Highway Patrol, and other cheap syndicated fare.  Moving to Desilu – where his wife, Madelyn Pugh, was one of Lucille Ball’s head writers – Martin made a name for himself by producing The Untouchables and turning it into a huge hit.  Capitalizing on his newfound clout, Martin launched his own production company, offering up the police procedural The New Breed under the QM banner in 1961.  The New Breed, which lasted only a year, was a rare failure.  By 1966, Martin had given ABC three big hits in as many years: The Fugitive in 1963, The F.B.I. in 1965, and in between them the already declining Twelve O’Clock High (which would bow out in the same week that The Invaders debuted).  His production company was the hottest in town, and it continued to spawn massive ratings successes (of steadily decreasing creative merit) well into the seventies, among them Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, and Barnaby Jones.  Quinn Martin was a notorious obsessive.  On most sixties TV series, one or two producers oversaw the entire process of production, from the pitching of stories to the final dubbing of the music on each episode.  But Martin compartmentalized his company, dividing the responsibilities for every series among four or five highly departments that rarely interacted with each other.  “Every area on all of Quinn’s shows was carefully delineated,” said The Invaders’ post-production supervisor, John Elizalde.  Added writer George Eckstein, “Unlike anybody else, Quinn had a production setup in which he had a preproduction operation and a post-production operation, and a producer very rarely saw a cut of the picture, [and] did not participate in the dubbing or the scoring.”  At QM, the department heads held the same responsibilities on all of Martin’s series simultaneously, including The Invaders.  Adrian Samish supervised preproduction, approving budgets and art direction and occasionally getting involved with the scripting process.  John Conwell was QM’s casting director, and Martin himself hired the directors.  Arthur Fellows oversaw the editing of the film, while John Elizalde handled the scoring of music and dubbing of sound effects. Only the producer on each show was different, and, relieved of all other considerations, he was able to spend virtually all his time working with the series’ writers.  “All he did was develop scripts,” said Eckstein.  “All the producers were really just writers.” The result of QM’s system was that it left Martin with virtually total control of all his shows.  “Quinn was a benevolent despot, with the accent on the benevolent,” recalled John Elizalde.  “If you knew what you were doing, he gave you very free reign.”  According to George Eckstein, Martin “was always a gentleman, he paid very well, he was very good to his employees, and he was very creative.”             By contrast, said QM producer Anthony Spinner, “If it was a hit, may he rest in peace, it was Quinn Martin’s hit.  If it was a failure, it was everybody else’s.  And you were not to get your name too prominently mentioned in the trades or the newspapers.  [QM] was sort of like a factory.  There was only one person there who had autonomy, and it was Quinn Martin.  He was a great friend and a terrible enemy, and you never knew which one he was going to be on any given day.” Martin’s show’s all shared a highly distinctive visual signature.  Each one was narrated by an almost impossibly deep baritone (most famously, Cannon star William Conrad on The Fugitive) who proclaimed over the opening credits that the series was “a QM Production.”  Every episode was divided uniformly into a prologue, four acts, and an epilogue, and lest the viewer remain unaware of this neat schematization, a superimposed title announced the beginning of each act.  The Invaders featured perhaps the most imaginative variation on this visual tic.  After each commercial break, the picture reformed in the center of a blackout, spreading outward to cover the entire TV screen as if emerging from some alien black hole.  Martin’s greatest strength as a producer was his devotion to production values.  Martin paid higher salaries to guest stars than any other company in Hollywood, often recruiting performers who rarely did television, and he shot on location extensively.  “He demanded quality.  When it was night in a scene, he’d shoot at night; he wouldn’t shoot it day for night,” said Invaders director Sutton Roley.  “He spent some money.  And he paid a little extra to directors, to writers, to everyone else to get that kind of quality.”  As a result, Martin’s shows had a pristine look, with none of the drab sets or phony backlot exteriors that characterized series shot at Universal (The Virginian) or Paramount (Star Trek) during the same period.  On the other hand, Martin’s taste tended toward the pedestrian, and the story content of his series often exhibited a depressing sameness.  His protagonists, with the exceptions of David Vincent and The Fugitive’s Richard Kimble, were always policemen or private detectives, and they were always unalterably heroic.  Shades of gray occupied no space in Quinn Martin’s world.  The Martin shows generally rivaled Dragnet in their unsmiling straightforwardness.  “Quinn was notable for a lot of virtues, but one was not his sense of humor.  You could never put much humor in.  You had to be deadly serious at all times,” said Anthony Spinner. Which leads one to the obvious question: Why would a quirky, paranoid, covertly political fantasy like Larry Cohen’s The Invaders attract Quinn Martin?  The answer is probably a matter of pragmatism.  According to Spinner, “Quinn had an exclusive contract with [ABC], and I think they just told him, ‘[If] you do this show, we’re going to put you on the air.’  Well, once somebody said to Quinn, ‘We’re going to put you on the air,’ I don’t think he cared what it was!” Most of Martin’s associates concede that the TV mogul really didn’t understand The Invaders.  “It was a departure for Quinn,” said Alan Armer.  “He felt a little uncomfortable in that it wasn’t his bag.  We all have certain areas that we feel secure in, that we feel we know how to do well, and I think Quinn didn’t feel that about The Invaders.”              But, in fact, Quinn Martin’s trademark seriousness was the final ingredient needed to make The Invaders a classic.  It grounded the series in reality, providing a kind of credibility that made the show genuinely spooky and distinguished it from all its sci-fi contemporaries.  “[The Invaders] was not very far out, by any means.  It wasn’t like The Outer Limits, where you were on Pluto today and Mars tomorrow,” said John Elizalde, who worked on both shows.  Irwin Allen’s kiddie fare (Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) offered up silly cliches, and even the intelligent Star Trek resorted to Nazis-in-space or gangsters-in-space shows.  But The Invaders, whose impeccably dressed aliens were so clean-cut they could pass for FBI agents, seemed just plausible enough to be possible.  At its absolute best, it could be as scary as The Twilight Zone.     To launch the series, Quinn Martin scrapped Larry Cohen’s serialized pilot script and commissioned a ninety-minute teleplay from Anthony Wilson, recently the author of a well-received Fugitive two-parter (“Landscape With Running Figures”) which paired Kimble off with the one person perhaps more thoroughly tired of Kimble’s pursuer Lieutenant Gerard than he himself was: Gerard’s wife.  Another Fugitive veteran, producer Alan A. Armer, left the David Janssen series to produce The Invaders, and regular Fugitive cameraman Meredith Nicholson took time out to shoot the pilot, which was entitled “Beachhead.” “Beachhead” starts off with the familiar sequence of events that the opening titles of future episodes would recap in a truncated form.  David Vincent, tired and lost amongst rural backroads, pulls over for some shuteye only to be awakened by the glowing lights of a landing spacecraft.  When he brings the skeptical town sheriff (J. D. Cannon) back to the area, there’s no UFO, and Vincent’s insistence that he has encountered aliens from another planet earns him a stay in a sanitarium.  Ultimately Vincent finds evidence of extraterrestrial activity in a small town near the landing site, but the discovery gets his best friend and business partner Alan Landers (James Daly) killed. This initial installment introduced most of the motifs that became central to the series.  The alien trick of making Vincent look like a buffoon in front of the authorities, as well as the ever-popular stiffened little finger, make their first appearance here.  (But the first aliens Vincent meets, disguised as innocent-looking campers, also sport glowing silver eyes, which were never used again, apparently because the contact lenses irritated the actors’ orbs.)  Diane Baker guest stars as the first incarnation of one of the series’ archetypes: the lonely single woman and potential romantic partner for Vincent, who may or may not be an alien temptress.  Wilson’s script also establishes the bleak tone of the show, relentlessly severing Vincent’s ties with his former life through the incineration of his apartment by an alien assassin and, of course, the death of his partner.  “Beachhead” was cut down to fit into a regular hour timeslot when it was first broadcast in January 1967, and Alan Armer has said wistfully that in its original form the pilot constituted The Invaders’ finest and subtlest effort.  The Museum of Modern Art screened the unedited “Beachhead” in 1969, but sadly it hasn’t been seen since.  (Neither of its two VHS releases restored the pilot to its full 75 minutes.)  As it stands, though, it’s a better-than-average episode, well-directed by Joseph Sargent despite the choppy pacing that resulted from the cuts. “Beachhead” also showed off its star to good advantage.  To play David Vincent, Quinn Martin had chosen one of the television heartthrobs of the moment, soap opera veteran Roy Thinnes.  Born in 1938, the Chicago native began acting in high school and crashed New York in 1957, where he appeared on TV, in industrial films, and off-Broadway.  After military service as an M.P., Thinnes moved to Los Angeles and married a then better-known actress, Lynn Loring, who had spent ten years as a juvenile lead on the daytime serial Search For Tomorrow (and who would guest-star in the Invaders segment “Panic”).  In the meantime, the young actor racked up credits in various media – on stage in Genet’s “The Balcony” and Coward’s “Private Lives,” a small role in the film version of Lillian Hellman’s Toys in the Attic (1963), and lots of television guest shots.  Thinnes became a member of Quinn Martin’s unofficial stock company, appearing on The Untouchables, Twelve O’Clock High, The F.B.I., and The Fugitive.  Thinnes’ big break came in the form of a two-year stint on General Hospital, starting in 1963.  (Some of his General Hospital episodes have been subjected to ridicule on Mystery Science Theatre 3000).  It was there that female viewers started to notice Thinnes’ rugged good looks – the thrice-broken nose courtesy of his days as a teenage street brawler – and his voluminous fan mail convinced ABC to use Thinnes to provide the testosterone quotient in its 1965 TV adaptation of William Faulkner’s The Long Hot Summer.  Thinnes starred as Ben Quick, the role played by Paul Newman in the 1958 film of the same title (and his and the network’s press agents were quick to draw the comparison).  Summer flopped fast, but Martin scooped up Thinnes, at $7500 a week, to play David Vincent in The Invaders.  Roy Thinnes proved a bit of a departure from the usual Quinn Martin casting mold.  Martin preferred affable leading men like Paul Burke or Buddy Ebsen, whose easy temperament on the set conveyed an essential warmth to the viewer as well.  “They were a certain kind of actor,” said second-season Invaders producer David W. Rintels.  “They were not the Method actors.  Stanislavsky was not big on our shows.”  Though not formally Method-trained, Thinnes radiated intensity and had an artistic bent.  According to press materials used to promote The Invaders, he was also a painter, pianist, and published author.  Though he was always courteous and professional, some crew members found Thinnes distant and intense – a reaction that may have carried over to the show’s audience, as well.  Many QM personnel were non-plussed by how seriously Thinnes took his role as a modern-day doomsayer.  “Roy, as I recall, began to believe that there were invaders — that he saw them over Wilshire Boulevard with his then-wife once,” said Anthony Spinner.  In fact, Thinnes did tell reporters that he and Loring spotted a UFO shortly before The Invaders debuted.  The convenient timing smells of a publicity stunt but, according to Alan Armer, Thinnes “was a believer, and he believed in the series.  I remember going down to the stage and talking to Paul Wendkos, who is a superb director, because Paul was making jokes about the concept of flying saucers and aliens being on the [earth], and I asked him please not to do that, that the lead in our series took the role very seriously.  It was upsetting to Roy that members of the crew [were] kind of putting down the concept of the show and the idea of aliens being here.” Thinnes himself described The Invaders as only a very narrow extension of reality.  “We are theorizing with reality, theorizing as to who flies UFOs and why they are here,” the actor remarked in 1967.  “I believe in unidentified flying objects and that covers a vast variety of possibilities that are now being investigated by many of the finest scientific minds in this country – with government funds supporting research.” Both Thinnes and Alan Armer took the time to explore the real-life world of UFO phenomena, attending a convention of believers and speaking to individuals with stories similar to David Vincent’s.  “We saw a lot of kooks,” recalled Anthony Spinner.  “We interviewed people who claimed to have seen spaceships, or that we were doing very bad things and the aliens were very unhappy.  They would seek us out and Alan, for some reason, would grant them time that we didn’t have.  Maybe he was curious or amused.” To score “Beachhead” and compose the Invaders theme, Quinn Martin turned to QM’s de facto music director, Dominic Frontiere.  Frontiere began as an arranger for Twentieth Century-Fox and began writing music for television after he became a partner in Leslie Stevens’ independent production company Daystar.  At the same time he was composing themes for Daystar’s Stoney Burke and The Outer Limits, Frontiere wrote the title music for Martin’s The New Breed and by virtue of that became the in-house conductor for virtually all of QM’s shows.  In retrospect, Frontiere is probably best remembered for his complex, diverse work on the first season of the cult classic The Outer Limits, and it was probably this experience in the sci-fi genre that led Martin to assign The Invaders to Frontiere.  Unfortunately, Martin and Frontiere had a falling out over the initial batch of Invaders scores.  “He had written an end credits [theme] that Quinn didn’t like and I didn’t like, and he wanted it to stay, and Quinn said no, so that was it,” said John Elizalde.  As a compromise, Frontiere pulled out pieces of music that he had written for The Unknown, an unsold Daystar suspense-anthology pilot, and used them for both the opening and closing themes on The Invaders.  “It had to be done very quickly, and we all liked [the Unknown score], so he released it,” recalled Elizalde.  Since the public rarely saw unsold pilots, such practices were not uncommon; but The Unknown, in a slightly altered form, was telecast as the now-famous Outer Limits episode “The Forms of Things Unknown,” so television enthusiasts now have ample opportunity to compare the two scores.  Frontiere received credit for the incidental music in four of the earliest Invaders episodes.  But in addition to writing original music, the composer again cannibalized bits and pieces of his earlier Outer Limits work.  The love theme from “Beachhead,” for example, initially appeared in The Outer Limits’ “The Man Who Was Never Born,” and a haunting waltz from “The Forms of Things Unknown” crops up in several early Invaders (and also as the theme for a temporarily blinded Richard Kimble in the Fugitive segment “Second Sight”). Original or not, Frontiere’s early Invaders motifs were moody, undeniably rich, and a major influence on all of the later compositions written for the series.  “Frontiere created a little motto that was just a half-step thing.  That was something that we used whenever we were aware that any of the characters in the story were aliens.  You recall they had a little finger that stood straight out?  Well, whenever you’d see that, or when they immolated, we [used that],” said second-season composer Duane Tatro.  Good as it was, the Invaders pilot did not sell the series.  It didn’t have to.  Midway through the filming of “Beachhead,” ABC surprised Quinn Martin with the news that The Invaders would be a flagship show in its “second season” of mid-year replacements.  Martin’s sci-fi outing was slated to replace a pair of turkeys – the Phyllis Diller vehicle The Pruitts of Southampton and the comic western The Rounders – in its Tuesday 8:30-9:30 PM slot, and QM would have to have the show ready to debut in January 1967.  As The Invaders hurried into production, Martin made a few changes in his staff.  Andrew J. McIntyre took over as the series’ regular photographer, creating a look that effectively blended the garish primary-color palette style popularized by Batman with shadowy, washed-out lighting more suited to The Invaders’ dark tone.  Live TV veteran Anthony Spinner, creator of the Warner Bros. western The Dakotas and a story editor on QM’s Twelve O’Clock High, moved over to serve as The Invaders’ associate producer.   The series also suffered its first casualty.  Larry Cohen had been involved with the production of the pilot but, as a QM outsider, soon found himself getting the big chill.  “It became pretty clear to me from the outset that Quinn Martin really didn’t want Larry Cohen around, that Quinn Martin’s operation was more of a one-man operation and that I was too much of a maverick and too much of an independent person to be working under him,” Cohen said.  “So he was happy to pay me the royalty and run the show . . . . I think I could have made a much better show than they did out of it, but at the time when I saw what was happening and I had a few sessions with Quinn Martin, I realized that there’d be no way the two of us were going to get along, so it might as well terminate as early as possible.” Cohen did leave a legacy for The Invaders, though: most of the first season episodes are based on the story outlines he compiled for his initial pitch to ABC.  Perhaps unjustly, Cohen never received a writing credit on any of these shows.  “I was happy to get the ‘created by’ credit,” said Cohen, who remains philosophical about being maneuvered out of his own series.  “Actually, because [Martin] came in, I got a very good deal from ABC.  They revised my deal so they gave me a gross participation in the profits instead of a net participation, so that the show went into meaningful profits for me very quickly, and I’ve made money off the show all these years . . . . They [QM] did what they wanted to do, and I went off and did what I wanted to do, and made my own horror movies and my own science fiction.” With the pressure of their January deadline looming, the Invaders producers scrambled to get an abbreviated season of 17 episodes into production.  If Quinn Martin and company were inclined to do research into real UFO phenomena, there was no time.  Unlike the later Project UFO and The X-Files, The Invaders never made reference to the wave of real-life flying saucer sightings that began with the famous 1947 Roswell, New Mexico incident.  Alan Armer and Anthony Spinner did attempt to seek out established genre writers to contribute to the series, but their efforts proved largely fruitless.  “We brought in some top science fiction writers who couldn’t do it at all – Ted Sturgeon, I remember, was one we talked to – and they couldn’t come up with a story to save themselves, which was kind of fascinating,” said Spinner.  Sturgeon did receive a partial story credit on the creepy “The Betrayed,” and in the second season sci-fi novelist (and Star Trek writer) Jerry Sohl contributed a pair of scripts.  For the most part, though, the first batch of Invaders episodes were penned by established television writers, many of them veterans of earlier QM shows, who were more comfortable with the show’s earthly elements than its extraterrestrial ones. Perhaps for this reason, The Invaders initially hewed close to Larry Cohen’s idea of keeping the aliens and their gadgetry off-screen or in disguise as much as possible.  Press materials for the show emphasized the guessing-game aspect of the aliens’ stealthy nature: “Who are The Invaders?  A person riding on the bus this morning could be one of them.  And the postman might be one.  Or the dentist,” cautioned radio ads for the series.  “After the pilot, I offered to build a spaceship that we could photograph – a miniature,” said John Elizalde.  “And Quinn said, ‘Oh, no, John, we’ll never see that spaceship again.’”  The early episodes did dwell on the aliens’ background and methods to some extent, however, as they fleshed out the basics of Cohen’s premise to set the ground rules of the Vincent vs. Invaders conflict as plausibly as possible.  In writing the narration that would accompany the opening titles of all the post-pilot episodes, Anthony Spinner discovered that no one had bothered to examine the reasons behind the titular invasion.  “I said, ‘Well, why are they here?,’ and I don’t think anybody had a great answer,” Spinner remembered.  “I said, ‘Well, I guess their planet must be dying, isn’t that the old cliche?  They gotta go someplace?’  ‘Uh, yeah, that’s fine, why don’t you write an opening?’  So, I wrote the opening.”  If the sci-fi trappings of the series were to be short on creativity, they would at least be long on credibility.  Subsequent episodes established details about the aliens that may have struck science fiction enthusiasts as familiar, but never far-fetched.  “The Mutation” emphasizes that the aliens lack any emotion whatsoever, and thus act utterly without compassion in dealing with humans.  The episode’s storyline takes “Beachhead”s is-she-or-isn’t-she dilemma a step further.  Vincent’s love interest, stripper Vikki (Suzanne Pleshette), admits that she’s alien early on but insists that she’s different, can feel compassion, and wants a truce between her people and ours.  The question for the audience, and Vincent: can she be trusted? “Vikor” introduces the regeneration chambers that maintained the aliens’ human form – without periodic visits to the big glowing tubes, the aliens burn up.  “The Ivy Curtain” shows a private school where new alien arrivals receive their indoctrination, a detailed crash course in human behavior right down to (in a hilarious scene) the correct counterculture lingo for those invaders lucky enough to go undercover as hippies.  (This, too, was a bit of Cold War allegory, parallelling the training courses in western esoterica for the communist infiltrators thought to exist in the Soviet Union.)  In “Wall of Crystal” we learn that oxygen is lethal to the aliens in their natural form.  “The Condemned” gives us a glimpse of an alien air traffic control center, where incoming saucers are dispatched to various parts of the world.                 “Vikor” was also the first segment to employ a motif that originated in Larry Cohen’s notes and that The Invaders would turn to again and again: the human collaborator who, for whatever ill-conceived motive, assists the aliens and then must pay for his or her mistake.  In this episode, Jack Lord plays George Vikor, an industrialist who turns traitor because he feels bitter and betrayed by his own kind – though Vikor won medals for his Korean War heroism, no one would give wounded ex-soldier a job or a loan when he mustered out of the army.  Jack Lord and Alfred Ryder in “Vikor” In a surprisingly brutal finale, Vincent calculatingly arranges Vikor’s death, framing the man with evidence that Vikor is a government agent and thus ensuring that the aliens will murder him.  Only rarely did The Invaders take the chance of showing Vincent in such an unsympathetic light, and “Vikor” establishes beyond a doubt that the series’ hero is a more fanatical and uncompromising one than The Fugitive’s always-noble Dr. Kimble.     In “The Ivy Curtain,” the second (and superior) collaborator episode, pilot Barney Cahill’s motive for flying for the aliens is less convoluted and more convincing: Barney (Jack Warden) fears for his life, and his greedy wife (Susan Oliver) wants the cash that the invaders proffer.  Here, the outcome is more in keeping with the Quinn Martin code of ethics.  Betrayed by his wife, Barney comes to his senses and sacrifices his life in a kamikaze raid on an alien stronghold. The best of the first season episodes were those which tried to push the series past its science fiction conventions and into the realm of horror.  The otherwise mediocre “Genesis” opens with a frightening teaser in which a highway patrolman (Phillip Pine) at a routine traffic stop peers into the back of a station wagon and loses his mind when he happens to see the naked form of an alien without its human disguise – a sight which remains, naturally, off-screen.  The unrelentingly grim “The Leeches” describes in surprisingly graphic terms the tortures heaped by the aliens upon captured human scientists, and again the worst is left to the viewer’s imagination.  “The Betrayed” drifts into melodramatic excess (not one but two martyred humans die in David Vincent’s arms), but Vincent’s hushed conferences with the paranoid electronics expert Neal Taft (Norman Fell) build a deliciously nerve-tingling suspense as the episode progresses toward the inevitable arrival of the alien death squads.  Moments like these were infrequent, as if the producers never realized that this was perhaps the most promising direction in which to take The Invaders.  But they were the scariest stuff on television since The Outer Limits, and they anticipated the relentless paranoia of The X-Files and 24.  The strongest of the first seventeen Invaders is probably “Moonshot,” in which the aliens infiltrate the first manned moon landing in order to safeguard an alien lunar installation that NASA has spotted in reconnaissance photos.  For once, the aliens’ actions are clearly defined and plausibly motivated, and despite certain similarities to the Twilight Zone episode “The Parallel,” “Moonshot” is a taut suspense piece with an excellent cast.  Among other things, this episode introduces a device that the aliens use to temporarily simulate a heartbeat, putting to rest the nagging question of how they managed to integrate themselves into so many facets of society without ever having to take a physical. A final first season standout was “The Innocent,” which offers a rare glimpse into David Vincent’s personal life.   Co-written, like “Moonshot,” by John W. Bloch (no relation to Psycho author Robert Bloch), “The Innocent” delighted science fiction buffs by casting Michael Rennie, famous for his role as the noble extraterrestrial Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), as the alien leader Magnus.  In a dream sequence that Magnus engineers to convince David Vincent that the aliens are actually working to help humanity, we meet the architect’s old flame Helen (Katherine Justice) and see a facsimile of his unrealized dream: the conversion, through cutting-edge engineering technology, of a barren valley into a lush paradise.  Sutton Roley, one of the few television directors to impart a truly cinematic look to his work, helmed both “The Innocent” and its immediate predecessor, “Quantity: Unknown.”  In “The Innocent,” he uses wide-angle lenses and bleary soft-focus to create an otherworldly look to the aliens’ faux paradise, which was actually the picturesque Rossmore Leisure World, a home for the retired in Laguna Hills, California.  Roley also staged an homage to The Invaders’ Hitchcockian roots: a scene, almost identical to one in North by Northwest, in which the aliens force liquor down Vincent’s throat and put him behind the wheel of a moving car, to face either death or a drunk driving charge.  “[Roy Thinnes] had just had his teeth capped, and he was a little concerned about doing that,” revealed Roley.  “He was very fearful that the actor was going to jam the bottle into his mouth and break his capped teeth.  Anyhow, we did it, and it worked okay.” In between inventive outings like “The Innocent,” however, The Invaders in its first season churned out a fair number of pedestrian clinkers.  In retrospect, the series’ writers seem in many cases to have shared Quinn Martin’s failure to fully grasp the more far-out aspects of the show.  “They were mostly writers that Alan had used on The Fugitive, and had been sort of house writers for Quinn Martin,” said Anthony Spinner of Invaders authors like Dan Ullman, Don Brinkley, and John Kneubuhl.  “They just couldn’t handle this show.”  Typically, Alan Armer would meet with the writer of any given episode for a lengthy session in which the structure of the script was worked out in detail.  “I remember the story conferences as being endless, and they were driving me crazy, because I wasn’t used to sitting with writers and Alan for three and four hours, talking about script,” said Spinner.  “We all got covered with sweat trying to think these things out,” said writer Jerry Sohl.  Armer’s influence on the content of the stories turned The Invaders toward formulas the producer had used during his Fugitive days.  Many of the early Invaders scripts relied on the pseudo-anthology format that drove The Fugitive.  In a typical episode, Richard Kimble’s ongoing pursuit/flight quest usually took a backseat to the dilemma of a guest character, on whose behalf Kimble favorably interceded, even at the risk of capture.  The Invaders tried to adapt this structure to episodes like “The Leeches,” in which the aliens’ efforts to kidnap a leading scientist shared screen time with a cliched love triangle between the scientist, his wife, and his best friend; “The Betrayed,” which opens with Vincent inexplicably in love with a pretty but rather dull blonde; or “The Condemned,” which focuses more on a father-daughter reconciliation than on the father’s efforts to fight the aliens who have taken over his factory.  Dr. Kimble’s do-gooderism sometimes strained credibility, but the irony of Kimble solving others’ problems but never his own was always rich.  In The Invaders, though, the fate not just of one man but of the entire world was at stake, and any purely human conflicts seemed ludicrously trivial in comparison to David Vincent’s quest to expose the aliens.  Another problem was the lack of genre expertise possessed by Armer’s crew of writers.  In “Genesis,” the storyline about an alien being somehow created in a Seaworld tank is so crammed with mumbo-jumbo as to make no sense at all.  Writer John Kneubuhl penned some of the strongest Fugitive scripts, but his approach to The Invaders was to have the aliens hatch far-fetched plots to take over the world – a plague of super-locusts in “Nightmare,” a weather-controlling machine in “Storm” – that were completely at odds with their well-established method of conquering through infiltration.  Ullman and Brinkley’s “Wall of Crystal,” in which Vincent confronts a brother who believes that the aliens are a figment of David’s imagination, is a direct lift from the Fugitive segment “Home Is the Hunted,” where Richard Kimble discovers that his brother secretly doubts Kimble’s innocence.  Even the best writers often found themselves hamstrung by a handful of acute flaws in the series’ premise.  The Invaders depended heavily enough on fantasy that almost every episode gave rises to minor questions of logic – why, for example, didn’t Vincent simply shoot every alien he ever glimpsed in public, and thus force people to believe their own eyes as they saw the dead invader disintegrate?  As Variety pointed out in its initial review of the series, “This kind of pulp fiction you just have to accept and enjoy for its profound innocence.”  But there was one credibility gap so profound that the show’s production staff grappled with it virtually every week.                          In short: why didn’t the aliens simply kill David Vincent?  They vastly outnumbered and overpowered him, and yet every week they permitted the troublesome architect to foil their immediate plans to overtake the earth and almost expose them for good.  Occasionally, as in “Vikor,” Vincent would prove so obnoxious that the aliens would try to off him, but always by the following week the bounty on his head had apparently been lifted.  “How many times could they not kill him?” asks Anthony Spinner, who struggled to come up with non-lethal ways for the aliens to interact with their nemesis.  “In the one I wrote [“The Experiment”], they brainwashed him, and in another one we had Michael Rennie telling him what great people they were.  I mean, there was a limit to what I thought we could do with it.”  Other first-year episodes had the aliens impugning Vincent’s sanity, holding his brother hostage, or threatening to kill an innocent woman and child unless Vincent discredits himself.  But these were stopgap measures, designed to postpone the question – why not just kill him? The solution the writers ultimately devised and held to, one that always hovered on the outskirts of plausibility, was that Vincent’s notoriety as a crackpot had become so great that his death under mysterious circumstances would actually lend credibility to his claims of an alien conspiracy.  It was a serviceable answer that cleared up an nagging continuity problem – in some episodes (“Vikor,” for example) Vincent is able to go undercover among the aliens or inside some top secret government installation for long periods of time without being recognized, whereas in others (like “Moonshot”) the invaders identify him almost immediately.  The sturdiness of this particular plot point was proved decades later, when The X-Files invoked it as an explanation for why the Cigarette-Smoking Man and his confederates killed off many of Agent Mulder’s confederates and family members, but never Mulder himself.   The Invaders debuted on January 10, 1967, to mixed reviews and reasonably high ratings.  But its initial success was a small-scale repeat of the previous winter’s Batman craze.  Viewer interest peaked quickly and the show’s Nielsen numbers began a steady decline as the year wore on.  As with any of his series that had yet to prove itself a hit, Quinn Martin monitored the situation closely.  “His script notes came down.  They were never from him.  They were always from Adrian Samish, but we always knew that these were Quinn’s notes and this was his hatchet man,” recalled Anthony Spinner.  “And you couldn’t really debate his hatchet man, because he had no authority, so most of the time I wound up making all of Quinn’s changes, for better or for worse.” Though they acknowledged the script problems, Martin and Alan Armer also suspected that there was an even more serious factor that was keeping audiences from sticking with The Invaders – the show’s leading man.  “He tended to play the role as if the world were against him,” said Armer of Roy Thinnes.  “Quinn and I discussed that at some length.  With any series, the producer is looking for a kind of charm or magnetism that makes the audience get involved with [the star].  But rather than playing vulnerability, which is what David Janssen was playing in The Fugitive, he was playing almost a surly attitude that was off-putting, that I don’t think made people care about him.”  Two years before, Quinn Martin had gotten rid of an actor for precisely the same reason, replacing the brooding Robert Lansing with the blandly likable Paul Burke as the star of Twelve O’Clock High.  No doubt Martin considered a similar switch on The Invaders, but ultimately Thinnes kept his job. “We had lunch a couple of times, discussing what a leading man has to have in a series – all of these things that are going to make the audience care about you and root for you and like you,” said Alan Armer.  “You have to find something in [a series’ protagonist] that you can get involved with.  And it was hard with Roy.  I think that was one of the factors that worked against the show, although there were others.” Armer is right – David Vincent usually did come across as surly, brusque, impatient, and even condescending.  In a way, Thinnes’ take on the character doesn’t make sense – one would think that Vincent would want to be as charming as possible when trying to convince disbelievers of his far-fetched story.  On the other hand, the world was against David Vincent, and it is logical that the daily grind of risking one’s life in an ongoing battle with superpowerful extraterrestrials would tend to make a man tense and irritable.  In any case, Thinnes’ portrayal of the character was courageous and often supported by scripts which called for Vincent to commit some pretty unsympathetic acts.  In “The Innocent,” Vincent is reluctant to capitulate to the aliens, even after they threaten the life of an innocent mother and child; indeed, he goes so far as to argue with the boy’s father as the man pleads for the life of his son!  In “Nightmare” and “The Pit,” Vincent is churlish when questioning witnesses to alien activity; in “The Trial” he grows verbally abusive with a private detective in his employ; and when in “Ransom” his alien-fighting activities place the health of a sick old man in jeopardy, Vincent responds with a disinterested, “Sorry.”  Even his allies don’t like him – in “Task Force,” a newspaper publisher who pledges support to Vincent’s cause calls him “rude, hostile, boorish, and arrogant.” David Vincent may have been television’s first really nasty, hard-to-like antihero.  The term antihero had previously been applied to characters like Richard Kimble and Route 66’s Tod and Buz because they in some way defied the establishment, but their rebellious attitudes didn’t get in the way of their basic cuddliness.  To his credit, Roy Thinnes resisted the producers’ pressure and never significantly altered his interpretation of the character; if anything, David Vincent grew more callous and brittle as the series progressed.  “Quinn and I were pulling him hopefully toward a character that would be more sympathetic, and he was unable to go that way,” said Alan Armer. According to Anthony Spinner, Alan Armer himself became a scapegoat for the series’ initial failure to catch on.  “Quinn was dissatisfied with the way the show was going.  I got a surprising phone call to have lunch with Quinn and Adrian Samish.  I had no idea what the lunch was about,” said Spinner, who met with Martin and Samish at the former’s famous noontime hangout, the front booth in the venerable Hollywood Boulevard eatery Musso and Frank’s.  “It was proposed that I take over the show from Alan, because Alan wasn’t doing a good job.  I refused.  We went back to the lot, and Quinn saw me alone in his office, and said that Alan was going to be fired one way or another, so I might as well take his job.  And again I refused.  Alan was a pretty good friend; I just didn’t want to be promoted over the body of a friend.  Quinn wasn’t too happy.”  Alan Armer, who believes that Martin was too loyal to stab an employee in the back, refutes this story.  In any case, it was Armer who stayed on with The Invaders, and Spinner who departed.  “I knew by the end of that first season [that] I’d better get another job, because Quinn was not a man you said ‘no’ to,” recalled Spinner, who went on to produce seasons of The Man From UNCLE and The Mod Squad before returning to the QM fold to oversee several of Martin’s shows in the seventies.             Ratings aside, ABC had enough faith in Quinn Martin to order a full slate of 26 episodes for the 1967-68 season – and almost immediately had cause to doubt their decision.  In interviews Alan Armer had spoken of fleshing out David Vincent’s character and making other improvements, but The Invaders’ second season opened with a quintet of mediocre entries that seemed like particularly bad leftovers of the first year’s semi-anthology formula.  “Condition: Red,” the season premiere, starts with the promising set-up of a key NORAD officer married to an alien temptress, but descends quickly into routine action fare as it artfully dodges the thornier questions suggested by such close interspecies relations.  Variety’s review wondered “just why these superhuman beings have to worry about such trivia as radar,” and correctly predicted that The Invaders would be slaughtered by its CBS competition, The Red Skelton Hour.  The second outing, “The Saucer,” proved even more odious as it pulled off the most obvious Fugitive steal yet, even down to the casting.  Like The Fugitive’s 1967 episode “The One That Got Away,” it featured Anne Francis and Charles Drake as a pair of embezzlers fleeing the law – a shame, since their travails are much less interesting than the suspense plot in which Vincent captures a downed spaceship.  (This was an example of a curious trait of Martin’s, whose taste in casting was so unimaginative that he would typecast actors in near-identical roles in different shows, or duplicate groupings of three or four actors in different episodes of his series.  “I used to say I could [open] TV Guide, look at the cast of a QM show, and tell you the plot,” said frequent QM director Ralph Senensky.) “The Saucer” gave viewers their first glimpse (aside from a brief shot in each week’s opening credits) inside an alien ship, marking the peak of a trend toward the overuse of generic sci-fi trappings.  The segment is filled with alien stormtroopers in drab green coveralls, who retain their human form but blow their cover with silly-looking rayguns.  The spacecraft itself, which Quinn Martin had originally thought would only be seen in the pilot, is featured more prominently in “The Saucer” than in any other episode.  “There were a lot of opticals to be done, and that was a large part of the budget,” said John Elizalde of the increased use of special effects.  Only the pentagonal base of the spaceship, with its triangular legs, was a live prop; the saucer part of the vessel was matted in later under the supervision of visual effects man Darrell A. Anderson.  The best part of “The Saucer” is its original score, the first of six written for the show by The Invaders’ new composer, Duane Tatro.  Since Dominic Frontiere’s stormy departure, only three scores had been commissioned for the series, one each by Richard Markowitz, Sidney Cutner, and Irving Gertz (“Quantity Unknown,” “Condition: Red,” and “The Enemy,” respectively).  Tatro caught the attention of John Elizalde while ghostwriting for Markowitz (a common practice at the time), and “The Saucer” became his first credited composition for television.  “I did just a little touch of jazz in it, and they were not at all used to that,” said the Paris-trained Tatro, a former member of Stan Kenton’s band, of broadening QM’s musical horizons.  “Not a big thing, but they were a little bit dubious about it when they first heard it on the scoring stage.  And of course I was very apprehensive because it was the first time I ever had an assignment of my own.  [But] they couldn’t get me going on the next one fast enough.” Shirley Knight and Roy Thinnes in “The Watchers” The abysmal “The Watchers” rehashed the motivations of yet another human collaborator.  Cobbled together by a committee of three fine writers – Twilight Zone veteran and Waltons creator Earl Hamner, The Outer Limits’ Meyer Dolinsky, and Star Trek’s Jerry Sohl – the episode nonetheless trots out the most shopworn Quinn Martin cliche of all, the noble blind girl (here played by Shirley Knight).  “Valley of the Shadow,” by default the best of these early second-year shows, again had the aliens blackmailing David Vincent into betraying his own cause to spare the lives of innocents.  “The Enemy” redid another Fugitive (“The End Is But the Beginning”), this time with the variation of casting a wounded alien (Richard Anderson) in the Kimble role and Vincent as his obsessed pursuer.  Barbara Barrie played a reclusive single woman who becomes mother-figure, protector, and nurse to Kimble/the alien in both episodes.  “The Enemy” tantalizes the audience by having Anderson’s character gradually revert back to his alien form – an apparent breach of continuity, since early episodes had clearly established that badly wounded aliens disintegrate almost immediately.  (The alien’s desire for individual self-preservation also runs counter to the suicidal fealty to their cause that most captured or exposed invaders displayed throughout the series.)  In any case, the makeup used on Anderson was unimpressive, and viewers were no doubt disappointed by the only glimpse they ever got of the aliens’ natural appearance. If “The Enemy” was a low ebb for the series, Martin and company made up for it the next week by telecasting the series’ most intelligent, and arguably its best, episode.  “The Trial” introduces Charlie Gilman, Vincent’s buddy from Korea (a bit of a stretch, since Thinnes was fifteen when the Korean War ended).  Gilman spots an alien in his home town of Lincoln City, but before Vincent can identify the invader Gilman kills him.  Gilman is placed on trial for murder (with the prosecution contending that he disposed of the body in a nearby furnace), and Vincent rushes to his defense by testifying in open court that the dead man was from another planet, uttering the classic line, “I understand the definition of murder to be the killing of another human being.  Fred Wilk was not a human being!”  When it develops that Gilman’s wife was formerly married to the dead alien, “The Trial” leaps headlong into the territory skirted in “Condition: Red,” discussing with surprising frankness the prospect of sexual relations (or the lack thereof) with an extraterrestrial.  The episode offers a compassionate, non-judgmental portrayal of a woman who bore a child out of wedlock, as well as some thoughtful speculations on the implications series’ premise.  At one point, for example, Vincent wonders if Gilman is taking advantage of his invader rhetoric to fabricate a fraudulent defense for murder.  And in a rare reference to Larry Cohen’s intended parallel between the aliens and the 1950s Communist witch-hunts, a private detective refers to the dead alien as “a card-carrying member from outer space.”  “The Trial” even contains moments of ironic humor at Vincent’s expense.  In one scene, the prosecution produces the dead alien’s parents; after they testify, Vincent confronts them in the deserted courtroom hallway.  “You’d better come with me,” he said.  “I’m afraid we can’t, David,” the false Mrs. Wilk replies, as she and her husband swallow suicide pills and disintegrate.  A second later, the district attorney exits the courtroom, spots the befuddled Vincent, and gloats, “I’d say we’ve kind of got you by the ears!”  Best of all, “The Trial” is one of the few episodes that successfully carries out Larry Cohen’s idea of keeping the viewer guessing as to which of the principal characters is a disguised alien, throwing out several clever red herrings along the way.  Don Gordon and Lynda Day in “The Trial” Amazingly, this sophisticated script was born of desperation and cranked out at the last minute.  “We were crazed.  Somebody had been supposed to submit a script, and it didn’t come and we had to get one into production right away,” said David W. Rintels, Anthony Spinner’s successor as associate producer, who co-wrote “The Trial” with QM contract writer George Eckstein.  “We did that in about a week,” said Eckstein.  “He did two acts and I did two acts, and then we exchanged and did rewrites on each other’s, and it got put together.  It was also supposed to be, since a lot of it’s in the courtroom, on a short schedule [to save money].” “The Trial” kicked off a string of top-notch episodes.  “Dark Outpost,” similar in some respects to The Outer Limits’ extraordinary “Nightmare,” serves up a clever parade of illusions as the aliens use hallucinations to trick Vincent and a group of archaeology students, held captive in a desert installation, into cooperating with them.  Author Jerry Sohl implies that the students ally themselves with Vincent more readily than do most adults, because of their distrust toward the establishment figures that the aliens imitate.  “The Spores” was pure fun, a segment modeled on the vignette-structured episodes of The Fugitive (in which a different set of characters dominated each act), that set Vincent and menacing alien Gene Hackman against each other in pursuit of a metal case full of alien plant-seeds.  “They were looking for a sound for the spores, and Elizalde had the idea in post-production – he got recordings of seagulls and played them backwards,” recalled Duane Tatro.  Diana Hyland in “Summit Meeting” “Summit Meeting” brought Michael Rennie back as another alien and took the action to an international level, with a storyline about a plan to assassinate a group of world leaders at an upcoming peace conference.  The first half of The Invaders’ sole two-parter is a fast-moving romp with a truly epic feel, featuring a chase through a hippie art gallery, a pounding martial score assembled out of stock music, and even a tongue-in-cheek reference to Quinn Martin’s The Untouchables.  Sadly, the second part of “Summit Meeting” falls flat as it turns into an endless cat-and-mouse chase through an underground military installation.  The sets are cheap-looking and the usually reliable Don Medford, who claimed he hated working on The Invaders, directs without inspiration.  The high point of part two is the scene in which an exposed alien operative (Diana Hyland) tries to sell Vincent on the advantages of having no emotions.  Mr. Spock, alas, was far more convincing.   In the midst of such escapist fare, The Invaders’ newest arrival had begun to usher in a subtle but constructive shift in the series’ tone.  David Rintels was a young, progressive writer who went on to win three Emmys for his made-for-television movies, among them Fear on Trial (1975) and Andersonville (1996).  Under his tenure, The Invaders began to tackle some political and social issues of the time, making use of the allegorical potential inherent in its sci-fi premise.  The central character in “The Enemy” was a nurse who had witnessed so much horror in Vietnam that Vincent’s aliens paled in comparison.  “The Captive” takes place in a Russian embassy and invokes the spectre of the Cold War.  “The Prophet” and “The Miracle” criticize religion, obliquely but cannily.  In the former an alien (a memorably hammy Pat Hingle) masquerades as an evangelist, delivering sermons designed to prepare earthlings for the coming invasion; one character, in the parlance of the times, describes religion as “just another trip.”  In “The Miracle” a naive girl (Barbara Hershey, impossibly young) mistakes an alien’s death for a sign from God.  “The Vise” rather bizarrely combines alien intrigue with race relations, incessantly referencing the Detroit riots as well as Vietnam.  Lacking an appropriate sensitivity toward racial awareness, the invaders make some serious errors when disguising one of their own as a black man: his fictitious background fails to reflect the pre-1950 segregation of the U.S. Army, and worse yet his palms are just as dark as the rest of his “skin.”  In the funniest moment of the entire series, a group of indignant ghetto residents assail an alien “cop” who tries to arrest Vincent without first reading him his rights! Rintels’ favorite of his own Invaders scripts is “The Peacemaker,” a Vietnam allegory that shows the aliens in a much more sympathetic light than usual.  David Vincent brokers a peace conference between the aliens and the U.S. military; surprisingly, both the aliens and Vincent himself reluctantly concede that an armistice between the two species could be possible.  The truce falls apart not due to alien treachery, but because of the crazed actions of a war-mongering general (James Daly) who tries to drop a nuke on the alien leaders who emerge for the negotiations.  (“The Peacemaker” marks the third appearance of Alfred Ryder as an ultra-important alien leader, the only individual invader whom Vincent encounters more than once during the course of the series.  In “Vikor” Ryder’s character was referred to as “Mr. Nexus,” but in a gaffe Vincent calls him “Mr. Ryder” here.) Phyllis Thaxter and James Daly in “The Peacemaker” Not all of these topical episodes were successful.  “The Peacemaker” comes across as strident, and “The Enemy” and “The Miracle” are muddled .  “‘The Prophet’ was a show [the producers] didn’t have a lot of faith in,” said Duane Tatro.  “It didn’t quite come off the way the had expected when they shot it, and they presented it to me.  I was very enthusiastic about it because I saw it as a kind of mysterious, tambourine type of mood.  I saw a dimension, perhaps, that had not been considered.”  The increasing issues-consciousness of The Invaders was part of a larger campaign to make the series more adult-oriented.  ABC pushed the show back into the Tuesday 10:00PM slot – perhaps unwisely, since its most devoted following probably consisted of kids and teens who had graduated from the cartoonish Irwin Allen shows.  With the time slot change, The Invaders started to take itself even more seriously.  David Vincent, often eschewing his comfy gold sports jacket in favor of a briefcase and a three-piece suit, began to look more like a character on The F.B.I.  Even the aliens became more deadpan, as the producers quietly discarded their most famous trademark — the crooked little finger, which rarely appeared in the second season.  But the biggest change came in the thirty-first episode, “The Believers,” in which David Vincent finally gave up his solo fight and joined with a consortium of wealthy and influential Americans who had all encountered the aliens first-hand.  Character actor Kent Smith joined the cast as Edgar Scoville, a well-connected electronics manufacturer and government defense contractor who leads the group.  Smith, who had guest starred as a NASA official in the first season’s “Moonshot,” had been a minor leading man during the 1940s, best known for starring in the Val Lewton horror classics Cat People (1942) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and for playing Peter Keating, Ayn Rand’s apotheosis of mediocrity, in the film version of The Fountainhead (1949).   “He was all right, but he was such a weak actor.  He always played weaklings in the movies, and he just didn’t have much force or energy in the part,” said Larry Cohen.  Indeed, Smith failed to make much of an impression in The Invaders, but it was as much the writers’ fault as his own.  Woefully underwritten, Edgar Scoville usually appeared in only two or three scenes in each episode to offer encouragement or information to David Vincent.  The audience never learned of Scoville’s experiences fighting the aliens before he assembled the Believers, or anything else about him, for that matter.  Scoville functioned as a plot convenience, a way of explaining how Vincent raised money to fight the aliens and how, in spite of his reputation as a nutcase, he managed to attract the attention of important goverment officials and military brass. Hawaiian Eye star Anthony Eisley also came aboard, playing Vincent’s Believer friend and sometime sidekick Bob Torin.  Eisley’s Invaders stint did not last long.  The luckless Torin saw his wife murdered by the aliens in “The Believers” and was himself killed off in his second appearance, “The Ransom.”  Lin McCarthy portrayed Believer Archie Harmon, an army colonel, in the episodes “Counterattack” and “The Peacemaker” before he, too, met his maker at the hands of the aliens.  Eisley and McCarthy were both rather colorless actors, QM favorites and recurring special agents on The F.B.I.; their appearances on The Invaders suggested a perhaps subconscious impulse on Quinn Martin’s part to send in the Bureau to do a little alien-fighting.  Aside from these two, the roster of Believers, who were seen infrequently after their introduction, changed with each new episode.   “The Believers” was one of the best episodes of The Invaders.  The basic story was standard stuff, with Vincent captured and taken to an underground interrogation center after a sneak alien attack on the Believers.  He escapes with the aid of Elyse Reynolds, a psychologist whose brother died at the aliens’ hands; but when Elyse asks to join the Believers, Vincent suspects that their getaway was too easy and that the young woman is actually an alien spy.  Carol Lynley and Roy Thinnes in “The Believers” Carol Lynley turns in an excellent performance as Elyse, and a suspenseful finale in a deserted bus station represents director Paul Wendkos’ best work for the series.  But it is Barry Oringer’s teleplay that takes The Invaders’ grim tone and its paranoid outlook to a new level.  The script contains multiple tricks and betrayals, and like Vincent the audience is never certain if Elyse can be trusted.  Vincent’s reluctance to become emotionally involved with her gives viewers a rare look at the toll that his lonely, alien-hunting existence has taken on him.  Most interestingly, the formation of the Believers seems to raise the stakes of the struggle between aliens and humans.  During the course of the episode, the aliens murder five Believers, suggesting that Scoville’s group will strike them as a more serious threat than the lone Vincent, and that a new take-no-prisoners approach will apply.  Vincent acknowledges the stepping up of his war in a speech to Elyse in which he urges her to carry on if he is killed.                  To call “The Believers” a renaissance for The Invaders is a bit of an overstatement.  The series’ revamped format showed a lot of promise in this initial installment, but the story potential of the Believers was never again fully capitalized upon.  Making Vincent a team player was a logical, almost an inevitable, step.  In virtually every episode, the architect convinces one or two ordinary people of the truth of his claims, and they usually pledge to carry on their own fight against the aliens.  To assemble some of these crusaders in one place seems only natural, and indeed, Vincent does so in the episode “Labyrinth,” a virtual dry run for “The Believers” that groups several Vincent converts around a UFO study at a small-town university.  Moreover, the Believers fit in with an effort on the part of the writers to make Vincent’s quest seem less hopeless by granting him the occasional victory.  This trend began with the first season finale, “The Condemned,” in which eleven high-ranking aliens commit suicide after Vincent uncovers their secret identities, and continued into the second year.  With the Believers backing him, Vincent manages to obtain film of two alien deaths (“Counterattack”), to gain possession of a part of a key alien weapon (“The Miracle”), and to add the resources of the world’s largest news-gathering organization to his fight (“Task Force”). But for the producers, the addition of Scoville and company represented not a carefully thought-out way of adding more tension and credibility to The Invaders, but a desperate move to save the flagging series from cancellation. “I think they really screwed it up even worse [when] they formed this committee,” said Anthony Spinner, who recalled discussing the addition of the Believers as early as the first season.  “I remember Quinn was trying to tell me about it before I left, and I said, ‘Why is a committee any more interesting than one person?’  Which didn’t go down too well.  I had my ups and downs with Quinn over fifteen years.”  According to Alan Armer, it was ABC, not Martin, who insisted on the change.  “They found it difficult to believe that nobody wold go along with him, so I think it was [the nework’s] suggestion that there be a small coterie who worked with David Vincent . . . . But it took away from Roy somehow, and I went with it grudgingly because I felt somehow it took away from the kind of classic sense of one guy trying to [defeat a foe alone].  It may have seemed silly, but dammit, that’s what great storytelling is all about.” With no one on the production staff enthusiastic about Vincent’s new allies, it’s no surprise that the twelve remaining episodes rarely recaptured the gritty, martial, almost hysterical feel of “The Believers.”  Edgar Scoville took a backseat in most of these final adventures, sending Vincent back to business as usual as a solo alien-fighter.  “The Organization” relies on some taut action scenes to carry off the uninspired idea of Vincent cooperating with the mafia to outwit some aliens.  “Task Force” retells the familiar story of a weak-willed human (Linden Chiles, who had played Vincent’s brother in “Wall of Silence”) who sells out to the aliens.  The worst of the Believers episodes was probably “The Ransom,” in which Vincent holds an alien leader hostage in a mountain cabin occupied by a reclusive, ailing poet (Laurence Naismith).  “Ransom,” yet another Fugitive rip-off, combines elements of two of that series’ 1967 episodes (“Run the Man Down” and “The Shattered Silence,” which cast Naismith in an identical role) and never seems to notice the irony of a conclusion that has the aliens saving Vincent’s life with their technology.           Roy Thinnes and Ahna Capri in “Counterattack” On the other hand, a few episodes made intelligent enough use of the Believers concept to give Invaders fans a taste of what might have been.  “Counterattack” shows the Believers mounting their first offensive against the aliens.  The invaders respond not only by foiling their plans but by framing Vincent for murder – a seemingly inevitable scenario, in view of all the deaths that occur around him.  Out on bail, a depressed Vincent turns to drink and even considers selling out to the aliens, while dissention rocks the ranks of the other Believers as they consider distancing themselves from the controversial Vincent.  Unfortunately, writer Laurence Heath abandons this intriguing and (and overdue) conflict when he reveals Vincent’s supposed defection as part of an elaborate scheme to trick the invaders.  “The Life Seekers” offers a rare glimpse into the aliens’ background and politics, and profoundly changed the series’ concept of its antagonists.  The episode introduces a pair of aliens (Barry Morse and Diana Muldaur) who oppose the invasion of Earth and, at the end of the episode, return to their home planet with evidence they hope will sway others of their kind.  Muldaur’s character tells Vincent that the aliens already on Earth are the most vicious and brutal of their species, intimating that deceit on the part of this advance guard was partly responsible for convincing their leaders to proceed with the invasion.  (Again, a Vietnam allegory is obvious.)  She also reveals that the aliens have the equivalent of male and female sexes, and hints that some members of their species do feel emotion.  “The Pursued,” another intelligent outing, cast Suzanne Pleshette (in a variation on her “Mutation” role) as the product of an alien experiment in duplicating human emotions gone awry.  Incredible Hulk-like, she goes homicidally berserk whenever something upsets her.  The episode introduces some Believers who for once have a compelling backstory, and features the first child-alien (played by the future Greg Brady, Barry Williams: it would explain a lot if the entire Brady Bunch were in fact aliens in disguise).  In a richly ironic finale, Vincent finally manages to get a living alien to Washington, but his shot at proving his claims is ruined at the last minute not by the aliens but by a man (Will Geer) who kills Pleshette to avenge the murder of his wife.  “If only he hadn’t been so human,” Vincent says to Edgar Scoville.             Neither the arrival of the Believers nor the strong batch of year’s-end episodes came in time to save The Invaders.  The show’s ratings had dropped consistently since its premiere, and by the end of the second season ABC was ready to give up.  “We were doing fairly well, not brilliantly, but certainly by today’s standards it would have been a hit,” said Anthony Spinner.  “But I think they were disappointed, ABC, because they spent so much money promoting it at the beginning.  And that [when] they tested it, it had gone through the roof.  They had huge expectations for it, so when it just did okay, there was a sense of disappointment.” The last episode, “Inquisition,” cast Mark Richman as a McCarthy-like federal prosecutor who starts a witch-hunt to implicate the Believers in the assassination of a U.S. Senator.  At the same time, Vincent and Scoville uncover evidence that the aliens have finally decided to stop fooling around and have built a sonic device that will wipe out all human life on Earth.  During the race to stop them, Scoville is seriously wounded and still more Believers perish.   Written by Barry Oringer, “Inquisition” has a few weak spots (there are, for example, only two aliens posted to guard the ultimate death machine) but on the whole it comes close to recapturing the urgency of “The Believers.”  It was a fine season finale, but a disappointing ending for the series.  Unlike The Fugitive, The Invaders would not go out with the bang of a highly-rated final episode in which all the loose ends of the ongoing storylines were tied up.  “I don’t know that we knew we were being cancelled when we did the last show,” said David Rintels.  Few at QM were sad to see the series depart.  Alan Armer, who eventually left television production for a career in academia, felt that “it kind of became a downhill spiral.  It just got sillier and sillier.”  After the show wrapped, David Rintels turned down Quinn Martin’s offer to move over to the long-running The F.B.I.  (Dubious about that show’s politics, Rintels had concealed his F.B.I. scripts behind the pseudonym Pat Riddle).  All along, Larry Cohen had monitored what he felt was the decline of his original concept.  “As the show progressed and I tried to give them some advice on where I thought the show was going wrong, they weren’t interested,” recalled Cohen.  “My advice was that there were too many invaders in every episode, that they were killing too many invaders and they were too easy to kill.  So basically the invaders were no longer threatening, and they were no longer even interesting, because there were too many of them popping up everywhere and the fun of trying to guess who’s an invader and who isn’t was completely lost from the show.  Everybody was an invader, and [David Vincent] was shooting them right and left and they were burning up right and left, and once you saw it there was nothing new about it and it became tiresome.” Armer and Cohen criticize their creation too harshly.  The Invaders may not have been cutting-edge science fiction, but it was a beautifully produced and vastly entertaining bit of escapism, a mood piece that still holds up thirty years later.  It directly influenced Quinn Martin’s later entries into the genre (the shortlived 1977 anthology Tales of the Unexpected and a 1980 TV-movie called The Aliens Are Coming), as well as the most important sci-fi media event of the 1990s, the Fox network’s wildly popular series The X-Files.  And The Invaders itself lives on, continually reinventing itself into the 21st century. In 1995 Fox, looking to capitalize on the science-fiction/conspiracy fever it had generated with The X-Files, broadcast a four-hour television movie that updated The Invaders for the turn of the century.  Scott Bakula, the likeable star of Quantum Leap, starred in the remake and seemed an acceptable successor to Roy Thinnes, but sadly he was all the new Invaders had to offer.  The film tells the nearly incomprehensible story of Nolan Wood, a recent parolee from a mental institution who finds himself framed for murder by an alien.  As he flees the police and investigates for himself, Wood (helped, naturally, by the fiance of the man he allegedly killed) learns that his ex-wife has married an alien and that his young son is in danger.  In the second half, he becomes involved in a plot to stop the aliens from killing an environmentally conscious politician at the dedication ceremony of the Los Angeles subway system. A few things remained the same.  The aliens still burned up when they died, and they still infiltrated the human race in disguise.  But, inexplicably, they now “implant” themselves in the bodies of living humans by slapping a silly-looking parasite creature over the mouth of the victim.  Taking on a topical issue well beyond its intelligence quotient, the TV movie posits that the aliens have bided their time for thirty years because they are waiting for us to “kill ourselves” by ruining the environment.  During the interminable climax of the first half, the aliens show up in their natural form – humanoid, bald, with wrinkly skin and a hook-like apparatus over their mouths. Toward the beginning of the second segment of the film Roy Thinnes makes a three-minute cameo appearance as Vincent, handing over his diary to Wood and hurriedly spouting a mouthful of exposition that becomes the viewer’s only hope of making some sense out of the plot.  Thinnes is the best thing about the ’95 Invaders, but his scene so lacks context – he appears on the side of the road, hops into Wood’s truck for a chat, and hops back out – that the moment verges on self-parody.  The alien makeup is unutterably silly and the special effects look cheaper than those from the sixties series.  A more fitting tribute to the real Invaders came a year later, when Roy Thinnes played a pivotal role in the cliff-hanger that bridged the third and fourth seasons of The X-Files.  Series creator Chris Carter, paying deliberate homage to The Invaders, cast Thinnes as Jeremiah Smith, a mysterious extraterrestrial who has the power to heal with his touch. If the Invaders mini-series was a disappointment, the Invaders feature film that kept hovering on the verge of being green-lit during the nineties was an even bigger bust.  “Turns out I owned the film rights,” said Larry Cohen.  “After all these years, in the original contract, I own fifty percent of the movie rights and ABC network owned the other fifty percent.  They sold theirs to Carolco, and Carolco had to deal with me because I owned the other half.  Carolco had gone bankrupt by that time, but they were selling their assets, so the bankruptcy lawyers sold their half and I sold my half.  Warner Bros. is supposed to make the picture and Joel Silver is supposed to be the producer.”  That project never happened.  But at the beginning of the 2005 television season, each of the three major networks had an alien invasion series on its prime-time schedule: ABC’s Invasion, CBS’ Threshold, and NBC’s Surface (although the latter’s sea monsters turned out not to be extraterrestrial).  This sudden wave of sci-fi had less to do with the dimly remembered David Vincent and everything to do with the vague science fiction and conspiracy elements of the preceding year’s smash-hit adventure show Lost.  But each of the three carried on the worthy legacy of The Invaders, adapting its notions of paranoia and xenophobia to the post-September 11 world: Threshold with its jackbooted team of security experts trampling civil rights as they round up aliens, Surface with its environmental theme of nature turning on man.  Invasion even rescuscitated one of The Invaders’ wackier ideas (from “Storm”), that of a hurricane as a vehicle for extraterrestrial domination, as its central premise.  Cancelling each other out in the ratings, Surface, Threshold, and Invasion all lasted less than a season, making the airwaves safe again for humans . . . . for now.  But the television business is nothing if not cyclical, and it’s a good bet that the aliens will be back again one day.  Maybe David Vincent will too.  * Note on revisions: This piece was originally written in 1998 as a behind-the-scenes look at the series for the journal Television Chronicles.  After TC folded, it was rewritten slightly for a more general readership and published in Outré magazine in 2000.  Since then I have made minor revisions to bring the text up to date, as well as for style and clarity. Much gratitude to the following for their assistance in researching this article: Alan A. Armer, Jon Burlingame, Larry Cohen, George Eckstein, John Elizalde, Bill Groves, David W. Rintels, Ed Robertson, the late Sutton Roley, the late Jerry Sohl, Anthony Spinner, and Duane Tatro. * Season 1, 1967: (1) “Beachhead” (1/10/67) Architect David Vincent sees a flying saucer, but when he reports it everyone from his business partner to a skeptical town sheriff thinks he’s lost his mind. Written by Anthony Wilson. Directed by Joseph Sargent. Guest Stars: Diane Baker, James Daly, J. D. Cannon, John Milford, James (Skip) Ward, Bonnie Beecher, Vaughn Taylor, Ellen Corby, Mary Jackson, Charles McDaniel, Shirley Falls, E. A. Nicholson, Dennis Cross. (2) “The Experiment” (1/17/67) Vincent tries to prevent the assassination of an astrophysicist, unaware that the aliens’ have brainwashed the scientist’s son to carry out their plot. Written by Anthony Spinner. Directed by Joseph Sargent. Guest Stars: Roddy McDowall, Laurence Naismith, Harold Gould, Dabbs Greer, Lawrence Montaigne, Jackie Kendall, Stuart Lancaster, Willard Sage, John Ward, Roy Sickner, Mel Gallagher, Soon Taik Oh. (3) “The Mutation” (1/24/67) Shadowed by an oily reporter and an Air Force Intelligence operative, Vincent looks for flying saucers in the Mexican desert and makes contact with an alien stripper who claims she has human feelings. Written by David Chandler. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Suzanne Pleshette, Edward Andrews, Lin McCarthy, Rodolfo Hoyos, Roy Jenson, Argentina Brunetti, Val Avery, William Stevens, Roberto Contreras, Pepe Callahan, Ted Gehring, Tina Menard, Tony Davis, Pedro Regas. (4) “The Leeches” (1/31/67) Vincent gets involved with the marital problems of a top electronics expert who believes that he, like other major scientists before him, will be kidnapped and tortured by the aliens.  Written by Dan Ullman.  Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Mark Richman, Arthur Hill, Diana Van Der Vlis, Robert H. Harris, Peter Brocco, Theo Marcuse, Noah Keen, Hank Brandt, William Wintersole, Ray Kellogg, Tom Signorelli. (5) “Genesis” (2/7/67) The aliens take over a Seaworld-like installation where they try to create an alien-human hybrid in one of the underwater tanks. Written by John W. Bloch. Directed by Richard Benedict. Guest Stars: John Larch, Carol Rossen, Frank Overton, William Sargent, Tim McIntyre, Louise Latham,  Phillip E. Pine, Jonathan Lippe, Dallas Mitchell, James Devine, Bill Erwin, Dani Nolan, Bill Hickman. (6) “Vikor” (2/14/67) Vincent goes undercover as chauffeur to the alcoholic wife of a manufacturer who is working alongside the aliens. Written by “Michael Adams” (Meyer Dolinsky). Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Jack Lord, Diana Hyland, Alfred Ryder, Richard O’Brien, Larry Duran, Sam Edwards, Hal Baylor, Joe di Reda, Max Kleven. (7) “Nightmare” (2/21/67) Vincent travels to a small and unaccountably hostile town, where a mentally unstable schoolteacher’s account of a carnivorous locust attack convinces him that the aliens are at work. Written by John Kneubuhl. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Kathleen Widdoes, James Callahan, Robert Emhardt, William Bramley, Jeanette Nolan, Nellie Burt, Irene Tedrow, John Harmon, Logan Field, Wayne Heffley, William Challee, Carey Loftin, Jim Halferty. (8) “Doomsday Minus One” (2/28/67) An army ally summons Vincent to a nuclear test site, where the commanding officer appears to be collaborating with the aliens. Written by Louis Vittes. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: William Windom, Andrew Duggan, Wesley Addy, Robert Osterloh, Tom Palmer, Lee Farr, Dave Armstrong, Lew Brown, K.L. Smith, Don Kennedy, Rick Murray. (9) “Quantity: Unknown” (3/7/67) Infiltrating a lab where an intercepted cylinder is being studied, Vincent makes the acquaintance of a helpful female scientist and a security guard who claims that the aliens killed his family. Teleplay by Don Brinkley.  Story by Clyde Ware.  Directed by Sutton Roley. Guest Stars: James Whitmore, Susan Strasberg, Milton Selzer, William Talman, Barney Phillips, Douglas Henderson, Ernest Sarracino, Byron Keith, Ron Doyle, Michael Harris, Raymond Guth, Melville Ruick. (10) “The Innocent” (3/14/67) Backed by a sympathetic investigator for a congressional committee, Vincent searches for a down-on-his-luck fisherman who intercepted an alien device and is now in fear for his life.  Teleplay by John W. Bloch. Story by Norman Klenman & Bernard Rothman and John W. Bloch. Directed by Sutton Roley. Guest Stars: Michael Rennie, William Smithers, Dabney Coleman, Patricia Smith, Katherine Justice, Robert Doyle, Paul Carr, Frank Marth, Harry Lauter, Johnny Jensen, Erik Holland. (11) “The Ivy Curtain” (3/21/67) Driven by his wife’s greed, a weak-willed pilot agrees to transport newly-arrived aliens to an indoctrination center disguised as an elite private school. Written by Don Brinkley. Directed by Joseph Sargent. Guest Stars: Jack Warden, Susan Oliver, Murray Matheson, David Sheiner, Barry Russo, Clark Gordon, Byron Morrow, Paul Pepper, Laurie Mock, Ted Markland, John Napier, Garth Pillsbury, Bud Perkins, Jacqueline Mayo. (12) “The Betrayed” (3/28/67) Vincent tries to convince a wealthy oilman that aliens are operating out of his refinery, only to fall in love with the tycoon’s beautiful daughter. Written by John W. Bloch. Story by Theodore Sturgeon and John W. Bloch. Directed by John Meredyth Lucas. Guest Stars: Laura Devon, Ed Begley, Norman Fell, Nancy Wickwire, Bill Fletcher, Ivan Bonar, Ron Stokes, Max Kleven, Victor Brandt, Joel Fluellen, Gil Stuart, Garrison True. (13) “Storm” (4/4/67) In a small fishing village, Vincent investigates the death of a meteorologist who believed that a freak hurricane was the creation of aliens. Written by John Kneubuhl. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Joseph Campanella, Barbara Luna, Carlos Romero, Dean Harens, John McLiam, Paul Comi, Simon Scott, Edward Faulkner, Allen Emerson, John Mayo. (14) “Panic” (4/11/67) A sick alien can kill with his touch, and Vincent chases the fleeing extraterrestrial in hopes of securing his cooperation before the other aliens can kill him.  Written by Robert Sherman. Directed by Robert Butler. Guest Stars: Robert Walker, Lynn Loring, R. G. Armstrong, Rayford Barnes, Len Wayland, Ross Hagen, Ford Rainey, Robert Sorrells, Helen Kleeb, Don Eitner, Mercedes Shirley, Don Ross, Joseph Perry, Ralph Thomas. (15) “Moonshot” (4/18/67) The mysterious deaths of two astronauts set to participate in the first manned voyage to the moon convinces Vincent that one of the men on the flight team is an alien. Teleplay by John W. Bloch and Rita Lakin. Story by Rita Lakin. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Peter Graves, Joanne Linville, Kent Smith, John Ericson, Richard X. Slattery, Strother Martin, Anthony Eisley, Paul Lukather, Robert Knapp, Ross Elliott, John Lupton, John Carter, Charles A. McDaniel, Steve Ferry, Morgan Jones, Steve Cory, Ollie O’Toole, Bob Duggan, Lee Millar. (16) “Wall of Crystal” (5/2/67) Vincent finds a deadly, oxygen-destroying crystal and persuades a popular talk-show host to expose it on national television, but the aliens blackmail him by threatening Vincent’s skeptical brother and his pregnant wife. Teleplay by Don Brinkley and Dan Ullman. Story by Dan Ullman. Directed by Joseph Sargent. Guest Stars: Burgess Meredith, Linden Chiles, Julie Sommars, Edward Asner, Lloyd Gough, Russ Conway, Jerry Ayres, Peggy Lipton, Mary Lou Taylor, Fred Waugh, Karen Norris, Ray Kellogg. (17) “The Condemned” (5/9/67) An industrialist hides out with stolen proof of the aliens’ existence, but Vincent’s efforts to help him are foiled when the aliens frame him for murder. Written by Robert Sherman. Directed by Richard Benedict. Guest Stars: Ralph Bellamy, Murray Hamilton, Marlyn Mason, John Ragin, Larry Ward, Garry Walberg, Wright King, Paul Bryar, Kevin Burchett, Harlan Warde, Geoffrey Deuel, Stuart Nisbet, Debi Storm, Seymour Cassel, Gordon Wescourt. Season 2, 1967-68: (18) “Condition: Red” (9/5/67) Vincent investigates a murdered doctor’s report of a woman who lives yet has no pulse –  only to find that she’s an alien, and the recent bride of a NORAD officer. Written by Laurence Heath. Directed by Don Medford. Guest Stars: Antoinette Bower, Jason Evers, Simon Scott, Mort Mills, Forrest Compton, Robert Brubaker, Burt Douglas, Roy Engel, Jim Raymond. (19) “The Saucer” (9/12/67) Vincent siezes control of a spaceship at its desert landing site, but he must guard it from treacherous humans as well as aliens intent on recapturing it. Written by Dan Ullman. Directed by Jesse Hibbs. Guest Stars: Anne Francis, Charles Drake, Dabney Coleman, Kelly Thordsen, Sandy Kenyon, Robert Knapp, John Ward, Glenn Bradley, Christopher Shea, Tina Menard, Robert Dulaine, Glenn Sipes. (20) “The Watchers” (9/19/67) Vincent tracks down an electronics wizard who is helping the aliens in hopes of securing a cure for his blind niece. Teleplay by Jerry Sohl and Earl Hamner, Jr. Story by Earl Hamner, Jr. and “Michael Adams” (Meyer Dolinsky). Directed by Jesse Hibbs. Guest Stars: Shirley Knight, Kevin McCarthy, Leonard Stone, Walter Brooke, Robert Yuro, Harry Hickox, John Zaremba, Paul Sorenson, James Seay, Marlowe Jensen. (21) “Valley of the Shadow” (9/26/67) When most of the residents of a small town observe the incineration of an alien on Main Street, Vincent must bargain with the aliens to keep them from annihilating the entire village. Teleplay by Robert Sabaroff. Story by Howard Merrill and Robert Sabaroff. Directed by Jesse Hibbs. Guest Stars: Ron Hayes, Joe Maross, Nan Martin, Harry Townes, Ted Knight, Jon Lormer, Robert Sorrells, Hank Brandt, James B. Sikking, Mark Roberts, Don Eitner, Claudia Bryar, Wayne Heffley, Phil Chambers, Jimmy Hayes, Richard Gardner. (22) “The Enemy” (10/3/67) A world-weary nurse tries to aid a wounded alien who has begun to mutate after escaping a saucer crash. Written by John W. Bloch. Directed by Robert Butler. Guest Stars: Barbara Barrie, Richard Anderson, Paul Mantee, Gene Lyons, Russell Thorson, George Keymas. (23) “The Trial” (10/10/67) Vincent’s old friend Charlie Gilman goes on trial for the murder of an alien – who had recently married Gilman’s ex-wife. Written by George Eckstein and David W. Rintels. Directed by Robert Butler. Guest Stars: Don Gordon, Lynda Day, Russell Johnson, Harold Gould, Malcolm Atterbury, William Zuckert, James McCallion, John Rayner, Richard Hale, Amy Douglass, Jason Wingreen, Sid McCoy, Selette Cole, Robert Duggan. (24) “The Spores” (10/17/67) A stolen case of alien seedlings passes from a trio of hoodlums to a feuding married couple to a small child, with Vincent, the police, and the aliens in pursuit. Teleplay by Ellis Kadison & Joel Kane. Story by Al Ramrus & John Shaner and Ellis Kadison & Joel Kane. Directed by William Hale. Guest Stars: Gene Hackman, John Randolph, Wayne Rogers, Patricia Smith, Mark Miller, Kevin Coughlin, James Gammon, Judee Morton, Noam Pitlik, Joel Davison, Brian Nash, Stephen Liss, Christine Matchett, Vince Howard, Norma Connolly. (25) “Dark Outpost” (10/24/67) An unwitting passenger on an alien saucer, Vincent ends up at a desert installation where he crosses paths with a group of archaeology students whose professor has been murdered by the invaders. Written by Jerry Sohl. Directed by George McCowan. Guest Stars: Andrew Prine, Dawn Wells, Tim McIntyre, Whit Bissell, Kelly Jean Peters, Tom Lowell, William Sargent, Susan Davis, Walter Reed, William Stevens, William Wintersole, Ron Doyle, Sam Edwards, Bard Stevens, Patrick Riley, Mark Allen. (26) “Summit Meeting” Part One (10/31/67) (27) “Summit Meeting” Part Two (11/7/67) A famous Scandinavian peacemaker proposes a conference of world leaders, but Vincent suspects that the man is an alien puppet, unknowingly arranging a mass assassination. Written by George Eckstein. Directed by Don Medford. Guest Stars: William Windom, Diana Hyland, Michael Rennie, Eduard Franz, Ford Rainey, Richard Eastham, Jay Lanin, Martin West, Ian Wolfe, Ben Wright, Lew Brown, Don Lamond, William Boyett, Lee Farr, Troy Melton, Morgan Jones, Ross Elliott, Peter Hobbs, Vic Perrin, Victoria Hale, Albert Carrier, Hank Simms, Dave Armstrong, Don Ross, John Mayo, Hal Riddle, Gil Stuart. (28) “The Prophet” (11/14/67) Vincent tries to expose an alien evangelist who glows red at the end of each sermon, but he must contend with the loyalty of the alien’s human disciple, a former drug addict. Teleplay by Warren Duff. Story by Jerry De Bono. Directed by Robert Douglas. Guest Stars: Pat Hingle, Zina Bethune, Roger Perry, Richard O’Brien, Byron Keith, Dan Frazer, Ray Kellogg. (29) “Labyrinth” (11/21/67) Vincent takes some alien x-rays to a university UFO project, only to learn that the head researcher’s daughter, back from a lengthy stay in Europe, may be an alien impostor. Written by Art Wallace. Directed by Murray Golden. Guest Stars: Sally Kellerman, James Callahan, Ed Begley, Virginia Christine, John Zaremba, Ed Peck, Martin Blaine, E. J. Andre, William Quinn, William Sumper, Barbara Dodd, Wilhelm von Homburg. (30) “The Captive” (11/28/67) A Russian ambassador summons Vincent after he finds that a burglar caught inside the embassy is an alien. Written by Laurence Heath. Directed by William Hale. Guest Stars: Fritz Weaver, Dana Wynter, Don Dubbins, Lawrence Dane, Dallas Mitchell, Tom Palmer, Douglas Henderson, Peter Coe, Jock Gaynor, Alex Rodine, Robert Patten, K. L. Smith. (31) “The Believers” (12/5/67) Vincent is kidnapped in a sneak attack on his newfound alien-fighting allies, and he must try to escape an alien installation with a human psychologist. Written by Barry Oringer. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Carol Lynley, Donald Davis, Anthony Eisley, Rhys Williams, Than Wyenn, Byron Morrow, Kathleen Larkin, Warren Parker, Maura McGiveney, Richard Karlan, Hal Baylor, Mark Tapscott, Allen Emerson, Ed Long, Tim Burns, Ed Barth, Frank Reinhard. (32) “The Ransom” (12/12/67) Vincent and Bob Torin capture an alien VIP, but they find themselves trapped in a mountain cabin with their hostage, a dying poet, and his granddaughter. Written by Robert Collins. Directed by Lewis Allen. Guest Stars: Laurence Naismith, Alfred Ryder, Karen Black, Anthony Eisley, Lawrence Montaigne, John Ragin, John Graham, Ron Husmann, Christopher Held, Joe Quinn. (33) “Task Force” (12/26/67) Vincent gains the confidence of a powerful newspaper publisher, but the aliens have control of his wayward nephew. Written by Warren Duff. Directed by Gerald Mayer. Guest Stars: Linden Chiles, Nancy Kovack, Frank Marth, John Lasell, Martin Wolfson, Barney Phillips, John Stephenson, Walter Woolf King, Robert Dulaine. (34) “The Possessed” (1/2/68) Vincent discovers that the aliens are performing a mind-control experiment on his friend, and that the man’s brother is a collaborator. Written by John W. Bloch. Directed by William Hale. Guest Stars: Michael Tolan, Michael Constantine, William Smithers, Katherine Justice, Charles Bateman, Booth Colman, Rose Hobart, Matt Pelto, Lyn Hobart. (35) “Counterattack” (1/9/68) The Believers’ plot to block alien radar signals and down all their ships, but the aliens retaliate by framing Vincent for murder. Written by Laurence Heath. Directed by Robert Douglas. Guest Stars: Ahna Capri, Donald Davis, Lin McCarthy, John Milford, Ken Lynch, Warren Vanders, Pamela Curran, Don Chastain, Ross Elliott, Walter Baldwin, Ed Prentiss, Charles J. Stewart. (36) “The Pit” (1/16/68) One of the Believers is committed to an insane asylum, and Vincent learns that the man had uncovered an alien experiment in controlling human dreams. Written by Jack Miller. Directed by Lewis Allen. Guest Stars: Joanne Linville, Donald Harron, Charles Aidman, Simon Scott, Johnny Jensen, Noah Keen, Bartlett Robinson, Dort Clark, Lisabeth Field, Michael Harris, Pat O’Hara. (37) “The Organization” (1/30/68) The aliens incur the wrath of the mafia when they accidentally intercept a shipment of heroin, and Vincent reluctantly considers an alliance with a mob boss.  Written by Franklin Barton. Directed by William Hale. Guest Stars: J. D. Cannon, Chris Robinson, Larry Gates, Roy Poole, Barry Atwater, Ross Hagen, John Kellogg, Nelson Olmstead, Troy Melton, Mark Allen. (38) “The Peacemaker” (2/6/68) The Believers convince a high-ranking army official of the aliens’ existence, but to their surprise the general wants to arrange peace talks instead of war preparations.  Written by David W. Rintels. Directed by Robert Day. Guest Stars: James Daly, Lin McCarthy, Phyllis Thaxter, Alfred Ryder, Pat Carding, Jan Merlin, Larry Thor, Byron Keith, Jack Bannon, Craig Huebing, Ed Deemer. (39) “The Vise” (2/20/68) Vincent tries to convince a black Senate investigator that a fellow African-American, up for a key NASA appointment, is an alien, but the man’s racial loyalty makes him reluctant to accept Vincent’s evidence. Teleplay by William Blinn. Story by Robert Sabaroff and William Blinn. Directed by William Hale. Guest Stars: Raymond St. Jacques, Janet MacLachlan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Austin Willis, Louis Gossett, Joel Fluellen, D’Urville Martin, John Ward, James Devine, Pepe Brown, Red Boyd Morgan, Robert Johnson. (40) “The Miracle” (2/27/68) In a small New Mexico town, a provincial teenage girl witnesses an alien’s incineration and believes it to be a sign from God. Teleplay by Robert Collins. Story by Robert Collins and Norman Herman. Directed by Robert Day. Guest Stars: Barbara Hershey, Edward Asner, Christopher Shea, Robert Biheller, Arch Johnson, Marion Thompson, Wayne Heffley, Rayford Barnes, Phil Adams. (41) “The Life Seekers” (3/5/68) A pair of aliens who want to return to their home planet and make a political argument against the invasion of Earth ask Vincent to help them elude an intensive police manhunt. Written by Laurence Heath. Directed by Paul Wendkos. Guest Stars: Diana Muldaur, R.G. Armstrong, Barry Morse, Arthur Franz, Stephen Brooks, Morgan Jones, Paul Comi, Herb Armstrong, Barry Cahill, Scott Graham, Robert Johnson. (42) “The Pursued” (3/12/68) The aliens’ experiments with artificial human emotions go awry when one of their subjects, prone to homicidal rages, defects to Vincent’s side. Written by Don Brinkley. Directed by William Hale. Guest Stars: Suzanne Pleshette, Will Geer, Gene Lyons, Dana Elcar, Richard O’Brien, Eldon Quick, Mike McGreevey, Mary Jackson, Barry Williams, Robert Johnson. (43) “Inquisition” (3/26/68) The aliens assassinate a senator just as Vincent and Scoville are trying to convince him to join their crusade, leaving the Believers in hot water as an ambitious governent prosecutor seeks conspiracy and murder indictments against them. Written by Barry Oringer. Directed by Robert Glatzer. Guest Stars: Mark Richman, Susan Oliver, John Milford, Stewart Moss, Robert H. Harris, Alex Gerry, Allen Joseph, Mary Gregory, Richard Merrifield, Burt Douglas, Bill Egan, Ernest Harada, Michael Harris, Lincoln Demyan, George Robotham. Copyright © 2000, 2007 Stephen W. Bowie
Roy Thinnes
Which actor played the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson in the 1960's TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?
"The Invaders" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 46 out of 46 people found the following review useful: Edge of the 60's from Norman, Oklahoma 9 August 2001 For me this show ranks as one of the 10 best TV shows ever made. It resonates with me even today, and I think Roy Thinnes' performances, especially in the first season, are brilliant in their subtlety. I guess what really hits me about this show is how you have a man, David Vincent, who was living in a very conventional 60's worldview--until the night he makes one wrong turn and ends up having his safe, comfortable little existence turned upside down. Somehow I see a parallel between David Vincent and the title character of another top ten TV show - THE PRISONER. Both Number Six and David Vincent have been dragged into worlds of great excitement and adventure - but both are also modern equivalents of Sisyphus, forever doomed to struggle against overwhelming opposition. Both Number Six and David Vincent are actually tragic characters. The trap of most TV shows - that the status quo must be maintained from episode to episode to keep the series going - proves in this case to be a great asset to the nightmarish quality of the premise. Also, you never truly see who the aliens "are", any more than you find out who's running the Village. Watch this show along with THE PRISONER. You'll be amazed at how much is going on within the "confines" of conventional TV drama. Was the above review useful to you? 42 out of 45 people found the following review useful: Hey, I want David Vincent's job. from Lincoln England 25 December 2004 For a guy supposedly on a lone (un-paid) crusade he seems to be doing incredibly well. Every single week he's out there in a crisp new suit, with a different gleaming car and limitless gas money. I wonder if there's a good dental plan too? But seriously, I love this series. One of my earliest memories of childhood was watching The Invaders on my parents' first TV set back in the late 1960s. This was just before the moon landings and we were all obsessed with Space; even little kids like me. It's really nice to see the show back on British Channel 5 - even if it is shown at 04:20. Basically, Architect David Vincent stumbles on an Alien plot to conquer Earth and each episode shows his lone struggle to fight the nasty aliens and convince fellow earthlings of the threat. I really don't know if this show will appeal to young people but to 40-somethings like myself it's delicious nostalgia & I'm hooked all over again. A really good example of '60s US television. What I particularly enjoy is seeing minor roles played by people who went on to become famous, even stars. Last week the lead "guest" alien was an obscure young actor called Gene Hackman. Several months later he won the role of Buck Barrow in Bonnie & Clyde, and the rest is history. It's quite fascinating to ponder on what made him SO much more successful than others who've long faded into oblivion, including (sadly) Roy Thinnes who played David Vincent so well. "That's Hollywood" I guess. All in all it's an excellent sci-fi series and to my mind it hasn't aged. The admittedly "formulaic" lay-put and 1960s feel to the show seems to be fashionable again. Well worth watching. Was the above review useful to you? 37 out of 40 people found the following review useful: Paranoia Galore from England 22 September 2002 The Invaders was a wonderful show. Roy Thinnes played architect David Vincent. One night, he stumbled upon an alien craft landing. Aliens had come from a dying world to take over the Earth. What should Vincent do? Contact the Air Force and get them to kick butt? Actually, no, Vincent was alone on this one which is what made this show great. The authorities didn't believe him, in fact no-one did. Whenever an alien was killed, he/she would vaporize. At first, there was no way of knowing who to trust; anybody could be an invader, the Invaders could take over anyone. Of course, later on we learned that the aliens had a funny little finger even when in human form. Like most films and shows of the 1950's/60's, the Invaders was about paranoia. No-one could trust anyone. Vincent could never be sure that potential allies were not really invaders themselves. He tried in vain to convince people but he was fighting a losing battle. The great thing was that he was alone in his battle. It was a great-if depressing-show. One of the other things worth mentioning is that there are viewers who suspected that Vincent was actually an invader himself and had been placed on Earth and told to try and convince the population of the danger. Apparently, the invaders used him to test the likelihood of their discovery. Is it true? Your guess is as good as mine. Was the above review useful to you? 30 out of 31 people found the following review useful: They Are Here from York, England 26 January 2002 In the late 1960s Science Fiction on British TV consisted of Thunderbirds and little else, since Star Trek had not been aired yet,but before that "The Invaders" established a Beachhead on our late night schedules. Aged 8 , i was soon captivated by the story one mans fight to convince the world that aliens were living among us and had wormed their way into the police,government and military and were planning to take over the Earth! This was not easy; the aliens looked and acted like us but required frequent "regeneration" in transparent tubes otherwise they would die,and burn up leaving only ashes. Whenever David Vincent [played by Roy Thinnes] discovered alien installations he would phone the cops,only for the switchboard operator to be alien! By the time the cops arrived only dust would remain and Vincent waswritten off as a nut. The show had strong parallels with Cold War paranoia communist witch hunts but benefitted from fine writing and sparingly used but impressive special effects.Of the videos available in Britain i strongly recommend #1] "Beachhead"[excellent music,great story and acting from Roy and his beautiful guest star Diane Baker] and "The Saucer/The Enemy"[two superb episodes on one vid!].Also, if you can find it,"The Trial" where a human is tried for murdering an alien.The scene with the alien "parents" outside the courthou astonishing-----10/10. Was the above review useful to you? 35 out of 41 people found the following review useful: Roy Thinnes is great- from Hollywood, Florida 10 January 2004 I think Roy Thinnes' role as "David Vincent" was unsurpassed; it is awfully difficult to appraise one's acting ability when the role they play has never, ever been played before--By anyone! I mean, Acting is an art of "role" playing-Mimicking- How does one confront such a disturbing revelation, as discovering that Alien beings have infiltrated the earth, especially, when they look exactly(almost)as we do? His bewildered look, and keen reactions--and sometimes, non-reactions, were the hallmark of his craft- I think he was underestimated as an actor- His "down-to-earth" behavior is perhaps his saving grace. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise- Actors today are wrapped up in their own self-certifying egos; and their idiot pride usually accellerates their status of, "Who was that?" after only a few years of practice. Roy, on the other hand, is impossible to forget- Ask anyone who is between the ages of 45 and 60, today if they know who Roy Thinnes is--or "DAVID VINCENT"--and I bet almost everyone will say, "THE INVADERS"! The Show itself had promise- Perhaps, if I were to rewrite it, I would have opted for a more Soap-Opera, serial "hook" to follow a sequence- The Aliens seemed to have no plan- but, for the Obvious-Take over the world- Some episodes were comical! Donald Davis played a funny kind of Alien-- and, most had no sense of Humor-but, even some of the Women Aliens were too weird to be true. Their gadgets were cool. Spinning Crystal hypno-beams to extract info for interrogation was cool; and the "Death-Disc" was sinister, to say the least- The Ray Guns were clumsy the first season; new model in '68- The Aliens'willingness to commit suicide, unquestionably, was also odd. The Aliens also seemed to be good fighters, in a fist-fight; but also, died easily when wounded or shot- Roy Thinnes is from Chicago--and his accent came through--! It was cool- and here is a kicker--I am related to him! My mother's family is "THINNES" from Wisconsin; then Illinois--and yes--it is the same Family, originally from Luxembourg! I hope only one day to meet him, and introduce him to my son, Dominic- He is a Fan of "The Invaders"! as am I! Try to find these on Video--they are worth it- Nothing Gross, or Evil--just good, wholesome science fiction, at it's best- FrancoDomenico Lisanti Was the above review useful to you? 23 out of 24 people found the following review useful: The Quintessential Sci-Fi TV show from Canada 18 October 2006 Quinn Martin had a great formula for TV series in the 60s and 70s. Recall "The Fugitive", "The FBI", "The Streets of San Francisco" The Invaders can emphatically be placed into the the category of a great and enduring science fiction television weekly show. At 12 years old when the pilot "Beachhead" aired, the scenes, opening credits and music left an indelible mark on my imagination. Roy Thinnes was a great fit for the lead; he had the chiseled bold look and the seriousness of demeanor that was required for the part. The show's producers managed to keep the show frightening, reasonably intact and progressive for a simple theme (aliens invading earth to make it their world), even with limited special effects available in the time. Now, some 40 years later, when I see a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500...flashback...again... I hope someone from Paramount stumbles across this an answers the prayer of many TV sci-fi enthusiasts and gets this series released soon. When I see some of the titles that have been released to date, and not this one....one can't help but wonder - "just what are they thinking?" Was the above review useful to you? 27 out of 33 people found the following review useful: THIS should be a movie from United States 14 January 2007 Of all of the TV shows of the past made into movies that stink, maybe, just maybe, some young, serious minded script writer will stumble upon this on late night TV somewhere and produce a script for a motion picture version. No MTV style quick cuts, no gangsta rap, no tricked up CGI, except as needed. Keep the seriousness of the Quinn Martin original and turn it loose. This was an amazing series, especially for a 12 year old, coming as it did, at the height of series of UFO sightings and reports during that time period. The whole concept was chilling. This would be a good movie, or even better, a new series, keeping in line with the original. Was the above review useful to you? 22 out of 25 people found the following review useful: "How does a nightmare begin ?" from Paris, France 20 April 1999 "The invaders" is the last great 1960's series and it is inspired by the "Invasion of the body snatchers" concept of conspiracy : science fiction + horror + reality = the fear of the unknown. One of the best show produced by Quinn Martin, including "The untouchables" and "The fugitive". Among the best episode, "The innocent" sums up the paranoiac symptoms at its best when Michael Rennie brainwashes Roy Thinnes in his flying saucer. According to me, the David Vincent character is a blend of Cary Grant, from "North by northwest", and Kevin Mc Carthy, from "Invasion of the body snatchers" : the innocent witness who becomes the new Cassandra, alone against everybody ! The pessimistic message of the series is equivocal : the world is corrupted by the authorities (officials, politicians, army, C.I.A., mafia) or the world is dominated by a claustrophobic mass conformism or the world is on the verge of being overthrown by the emotionless Soviet Union agents (blue collar workers who manufacture weapons and torture to get informations in hidden factories, and businessmen who infiltrate the power and whose bodies turn red when they die). Who knows ? The aesthetic of the show also adds more terror to the stories (the Wayne Fitzgerald expressionist title credits, the dead-serious tone of William Conrad's narration that gives you a cold warning at the beginning and the end of each episode, the Dominic Frontiere's suffocating music and the distorted cinematography). The best brainwashing episodes are : "The experiment", "The leeches", "The innocent", "The dark outpost", "The possessed" and "The pit". One of my all-time favourite tv show (with "The twilight zone", "The outer limits", "The wild wild west", "The time tunnel" and "Mission : impossible"). A word to the wise, don't watch the worthless new series aka "The impostors", you know what I mean. "The nightmare has already begun," and will never end, Mr. Vincent ! Was the above review useful to you? 19 out of 21 people found the following review useful: qm productions tackles sf from United States 29 November 2004 Quinn Martin uber-producer for television in the 60's & 70's with such classics as the Untouchables, the Fugitive, & numerous other shows tried a science-fiction series.This was a change of pace as most of his shows dealt with crimefighting premises.The Invaders was about architect David Vincent who becomes lost one evening while on an isolated country road.Becoming weary,he pulls off the road into a clearing in order to rest but witnesses a alien flying saucer.As the series went on,he discovers that the aliens are attempting to surreptitiously infiltrate earth's various organizations in government,military,& business in order to conquer us because their homeworld is dying.Since they can look like humans,Vincent never knows who he can trust.This added a creepy paranoia to the show.DV must give up his comfortable life as he launches his one man crusade to convince mankind that aliens are already among us.This was a well written show coming from QM productions.Roy Thinnes is a talented actor but he came off as cold & aloof in the lead part.He never generated the likability & sympathy that David Jansen did in the Fugitive.The spaceships were a cool looking design & the guest stars were excellent.This show belongs in the sf hall of fame. Was the above review useful to you? 17 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Great series from United Kingdom 26 May 2007 This was a milestone series in my opinion - the acting was usually above average. Roy Thinnes was excellent - the way he shows his frustration when explaining the aliens is very good. Roy was cast perfectly for this series. I recently was able to buy all the episodes on DVD - just watched "Dark Outpost" - This is one of the best episodes as well as the first one. If I remember rightly, the whole series doesn't end by driving the invaders off the Earth, when I get to that DVD I'll see of course Theme music excellent too (Dominic Frontiere I think) WELL DONE ROY!!
i don't know
Which famous pop-star, now aged 72, despite his claim of having slept with over 250 women married his school sweetheart Melinda Trenchard in 1957, a marriage that still remains?
Pattaya Grapevine Volume 1 Issue 1 by Pattaya Today - issuu issuu Grapevine Issue 01 - january 2009 On the Lighter Side WIN 2 Tickets to see SIMPLY RED Pages 10 How Green is my Valley 06. Sir Tom Jones - The Sex Bomb 08. Puzzle Mania 10. How Green is my Valley 14. On the Lighter Side 16. India - brings you the worlds cheapest car 18. Places to go - Things to do - People to see 20. Ripley’s - Believe it or not 22. Pattaya Air Park 26. Thai Lite 28. Laughter is the best medicine 32. Not the Real Headlines 34. Top Ten - Gadgets 38. Nightmarch 40. Outdoor Laser Tag 42. A Fool in Paradise 44. Clever Photography 46. Simply Red Competition 48. The Magical Mystery Tour of Dr Penguin where East meets West Pattaya W Desk elcome to this, the first of a new magazine for the Pattaya area aimed at both resident farangs and their spouses and the many tourists who visit our beautiful city each year. Our aim is to provide you with a magazine each month packed with news and articles you really want to read, so please feel free to contact us through telephone or eMail with your comments on our first issue, and any suggestions on topics you feel we should cover on a regular monthly basis or one off items you believe would be of interest to our readers. Great you may think, “another glossy magazine in Pattaya, just what we need!” And I know exactly what you mean, but hopefully, after reading this - our first issue - you will feel it is a breath of fresh air, something different, a magazine really worth reading from cover to cover. As you read and we hope enjoy the articles, please also take time to read the adverts, after all without their support we would not be able to publish, and when taking advantage of the services offered, please remember to let them know you saw it in the Grapevine, so they know what a fantastic vehicle it is to get their message across to you - our readers. In this first issue I would like to tell you a little about myself as your editor. I came to Pattaya in April 2006 with my wife Dee Dee from our home in Jávea, Spain, a small town about twenty five miles north of Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, where we had lived for the past twenty-two years after moving from the UK. For the past 10 years I have published a magazine for the ex-pat community within Jávea, called - you maybe surprised to learn ‘The Javea Grapevine’, and for the last six years we also had an instant print and photocopying business situated in the busy Port area. We sold the business in Spain and moved to Pattaya permanently in December 2007, spent a quit Christmas and New Year in holiday mode and started to look for ways to publish the Pattaya Grapevine in the early part of the year. A few months later, and certainly no closer to getting the required publishing license we looked for another road forward. In June 2008 we met Visa from Pattaya Today, a newspaper we had always believed to be the best in the town, and managed to put together a deal that suited both parties, so of course, we are just at the beginning of a whole new stage of our lives that we are really excited about. That very quickly brings us to almost present time, but I will tell you more about our years in Spain and why Pattaya for our new venture, but that will all have to wait for a future edition of Pattaya Grapevine. Of course, to prevent me from going on about myself, the readers of Pattaya Grapevine are welcome to write about their reasons for coming to Pattaya, and the lives they lived in the years BP - Before Pattaya. Well that’s it for my first Editor’s page, I hope you enjoy the rest of the magazine. Please remember to let us know your comments and suggestions and I look forward to meeting you again in the months to come, not only in these columns, but in the streets as well where East meets West Sir Tom Jones the Sex Bomb Tom Jones is a legend, he is one of the world’s most charismatic live performers and with a career spanning five decades, he has done quite well for a poor boy born into a coal mining family in the village of Pontypridd, in the Rhonda Valley in South Wales. Born on the 7th June 1940 to Freda and Thomas Woodward, Tom started to sing from an early age at family gatherings and in the school choir. Being a bit of a rebel in his teens, he left school early with no qualifications, married his school sweetheart, Melinda Trenchard, at only 16 years of age in 1957 and his son Mark was born just one month later. In 1963 Tom formed his own group called ‘Tommy Scott and the Senators’, even at this early age Tom already had a flare for the outrageous and the group sported a raunchy image all clad in black leather and were especially well known by many of the young ladies of the area. On what started out as a normal night whilst playing at the Top Hat in Gwmtillery, Tom was spotted by Gordon Mills who became Tom’s Manager and life long friend, Gordon loved the fact that he had discovered this white boy with a rich sexy black voice who could move like you wouldn’t believe. In 1964 Gordan managed to land Tom with a recording contract with Decca Records and his first release ‘Chills and Fever’ failed to make an impression on the UK charts. But his second single, written by manager Gordon, ‘It’s not unusual’ was a huge international hit with many people believing that the BBC’s decision to ban the single, plus pirate radio station ‘Carolina’ playing it day and night, ensured that when opening the music press on 1st March 1964, Tom had secured the number one spot and the single went on to reach number 10 in the much larger, and very difficult 06 Grapevine where East meets West American Singles Chart. And the rest as they say is history, or is it? With an international career Tom was up there with the big boys throughout the 60’s and 70’s and decided to move his family to Bel Air in America where he purchased a Tudor style mansion, once owned by Dean Martin as well as keeping his house in Wales. Following many years on the road where he was eventually joined by his son Mark as Lighting Director and Personal Assistant, Tom had food for thought in the early 80’s, slated by the critics, deserted by his fans he believes his career is over. Then as Tom believes things cannot get any worse his, manager, closest friend and huge part of his life dies in 1986. When giving the eulogy Tom told a stunned congregation “I owe him everything.” Mark eventually took over the management of his dad and things turn a corner when his comeback single ‘A Boy from Nowhere’ from the musical ‘Matador’, reaches number two in the charts, a quick re-release of ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and Tom is back. Surprisingly in 1988 when he did a cover version of the Prince single ‘Kiss’ with the ‘Art of Noise’ he received the breakthrough award at the MTV awards. Tom Jones is a sex symbol, adored by men and women all over the world and will always be remembered for his trademark of frenzied women ripping of their knickers to throw to him on stage. By his own admission he had countless affairs and slept with hundreds of women, but in 1989 one fateful fling just wouldn’t lower it’s ugly head. Katherine Berkley a 24 year old model claimed to have given birth to Tom’s child, a claim Tom strenuously denied, much later DNA testing proved that indeed the young boy in question, Johnathan, was the son of the World’s Sex Bomb. Tom had had a colourful life with a huge amount of success but a clever marketing move in 1996 saw the doors fly open to a larger and much younger generation. Tom changed direction with his music and recorded an album with young musicians, ‘Reload’, which became by far his biggest selling album going platinum 6 times over and selling over 4 million copies in the UK alone. Royal recognition was awarded to Tom in 1999 when he was awarded the OBE by the Queen and it seemed wherever Tom went, acclaims followed, including, best male at Britt Awards, Amigo Award for best international male in Spain, he was nominated for the prestigious NJR Award(France) for best international act and was presented with the ECHO Award for best international male in Germany. Tom went on to perform for the President and Mrs. Clinton at the Whitehouse to mak the new millennium celebrations and he had the great pleasure of performing at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2001. To celebrate his 65th birthday and his career spanning five decades he gave a special concert in his home town of Pontypridd for 25,000 adoring friends and fans, this was the first time he had performed in his home town since 1964. With the dawning of 2006 Tom was to receive two of his most treasured memories. Firstly he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen and later in the year he had the great privilege of watching his Grandson Alexander, brother to Emma, compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games representing Wales as a ‘full bore marksman’. Tom last year performed at the New Wembley Stadium to celebrate the life of his friend Dianah Princess of Wales. Tom Jones the sex bomb, has had a glorious and colourful career, so obviously has many fond memories to look back on in his twilight years, but I’m not so sure, having seen him in concert in 2005, in Benidorm, Spain of all places, I don’t believe we have heard the last of this living legend. Sir Tom Jones I salute you. where East meets West Pattaya Silly Quiz! e l z z u P a i n a M 1 The maker doesn't want it; the buyer doesn't use it; and the user doesn't even see it. What is it? 2 There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced incorrectly. What is it? 3 What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move? Sudoku 4 Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth? 5 What is one thing that all wise men, regardless of their religion or politics, agree is between heaven and earth? 6 If an electric train is going westbound and the wind blowing northbound, in what direction will the smoke from the train travel? 7 How could you rearrange the letters in the words "new door" to make one word? Note: There is only one correct answer. 8 Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg ‘are’ white" or "The yolk of the egg ‘is’ white"? Answers later in the magazine, good luck Quick Crossword 2 Hope you enjoy the Crossword, answers later in the magazine 08 Grapevine where East meets West Across 5. Al fresco party (5) 6. Cricketer is a Hero (6) 7. not mine anymore (6) 9. Angry fringe (9) 11. Knocked a little bit of food off (4) 12. Liams desert salvation (5) 14. Catholic head is a writer (4) 15. Twice a godess (3) 16. Not to good in pillaging. (3) 17. Not here (4) 19. Or almost betrays his manner (5) 21. A dot thanks Jupiters moon (4) 23. Great famous person (9) 26. All parties accept he's a pig (6) 27. Miners take weapons (6) 28. Pushes up a Flower (5) Down 1. Almost gone (7) 2. Dance in the jungle (5) 3. Polish (5) 4. Animal falls for flower (7) 8. Twice a godess (4) 9. Metal police (7) 10. Catholic head is a writer (7) 12. pick (3) 13. Tis back (3) 18. Eight sides disappear (7) 20. chocolate bubbles (4) 22. Informing bell (7) 24. Throws a tantrum in Chinese field (5) 25. T carries sunbeams (5) How Grapevine where East meets West First, a bit of surprising golf history: 1. Who was the first golf professional nicknamed " Tiger " ? 2. Who was the first pro to eschew the driver in an Open Championship and win? NO !! it is not Tiger Woods. It is Peter Thomson: ‘The Melbourne Tiger’. Green Valley was designed by Thomson & Wolveridge. Of Thomson much can be written and by way of Thomson an appreciation of green Valley can be gained. Thomson was a five time Open Champion with a hat trick in '54,; '55;, & '56. Who was in the field way back then one might ask ?...Player, DiVincenzo, Cotton, Locke, Von Nida, O'Connor Sr. and Charles. Perhaps Thomson saved his best for last when he won the Open for the final time in 1965 when Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and Lema were contending. It is fair to say the Thomson felt much at home on links courses and feared no one. He was not a long hitter but a thinker who managed his way around a course. Thomson's view on course design was that, "A course should be a bit wild, at least in some corners. A weed now and then would be a great where East meets West Grapevine 11 relief. The most important facets of golf are careful planning, calm and clear thinking and the ordinary logic of common sense. " Sounds easy ! Thomson brought his experience to Green Valley. The course is a cross between the American style with many links influences. There are 69 bunkers and many are deep faced. A stray shot into one of these will force the player to lay up well short of the green. Thomson stated that, "bunkers should be treated with respect and common sense. It is not always possible to play out forward, and the notion of getting away without a penalty of distance lost is usually a fantasy. " It is no secret that to score well at Green Valley S T A Y out of the bunkers. The course opens with a welcoming par 5. A strategic drive will leave you short of the central bunkers and a bunker on the right. If you are feeling spry those central bunkers can be flown giving the golfer the chance to get home in two. The first green runs away from the golfer. Any iron hit to the green must be struck precisely and with enough spin to hold. The second hole is a shortish par 3 over water. There is room to bail out right if your Bloody Mary has yet to kick in. The third hole, when the pin sits atop a smallish top level on the right of the green is all a short hole could call for. Play safe off the tee either short of the central bunkers or to the left and you will have a longer shot to the green. Take the bunkers on and a short iron remains. The second shot, uphill to the top tier will have your palms sweating and questioning your skills. How far uphill ...how far over the guarding bunker... how far right is far enough ??? Analysis of the wind, lie and the Pythagoream Theroem may not be enough to figure out this shot. Perhaps a shot of another sort will help steel ones nerves. Anything but a very precise shot to the seemingly credit card size shelf will be rejected...the ball rolling down a steep incline all but assuring a three putt. An approach to the right of the green demands an extremely fine and soft touch lest the ball rolls down the incline. Many times I have seen golfers try two, three and four times unsuccessfully to get the ball to the top shelf before just bashing it up the hill, over the green, out of play from sere frustration. I LOVE THIS GAME ! The next 3 holes are a bit controversial as they have either new greens or tees. Some will argue that they have made the course better. Traditionalists yearn for the original layout. Regardless they have the # 3 & 1 12 Grapevine where East meets West HDCP holes in succession. Many a fine golfer would settle for two bogeys and a par. The fourth hole is 390 yards with bunkers left and right in the driving area. The approach is to a 3 tiered green with water guarding the right side of the green. A very large bunker " the Hitler " ( once you go down into that bunker you may never come out ) guards the back left part of the green. The uphill par 4, fifth hole is unreachable in 2 shots for most golfers as it usually plays into the prevailing wind. Trees right and left and a gaping bunker to the right of a smallish green all adds up to a very tall order. Get your 5 and go gladly. A short walk follows to the next tee...a great time to lick your wounds and look about and see how beautifully this course is landscaped. Large boulders, diverse cacti and local flora with white stone ground cover.....look up and smell the roses. The 7th, a short , sharp dogleg left to a two tiered green balance out the side. Do not let your guard down. Birdies can be made here but I have seen far more double bogies. If your game has been on then nine hole remain to humble you. If you have been off your game then nine remain to right the ship. After nine holes it should dawn on the golfer that a driver is not needed or required. Get the ball in play at a fair distance and the course opens up. The 10th is a short par 4 to an elevated, crowned green A crowned green is one that resembles an upturned bowl, thus reducing the playable size of a seemingly enticing green. Trouble begins if you miss this narrow target. A deft touch is demanded to pitch on or else you may find yourself visiting both sides of the green. How can such a simple looking hole be so dangerous to your score and mental health ? The12th is the signature hole. A beautiful, short par 3, 110 yards. Water right...bunkers right and left and a sloping , narrow green. Miss this green left and you will be lucky to avoid the waiting right bunker. Remarkably 3 out of 4 golfers miss this green...time to review "careful planning and calm clear thinking." The 13th hole is the most difficult of the inward half. A par 4, 400 yards and trouble everywhere. Trees right and left, a narrow fairway with a deep bunker right and a tree blocking the approach to the short right side of the green. This green is sloped sharply left to right and back to front and plays the fastest of the course. This hole can make or break your round. A bogey 5 feels like a well earned par. A downhill , difficult par 4, 15th to the most subtle green before the uphill stretch to the clubhouse. A good drive leaves a mid-iron to a green that is beguilingly hidden by bumps and hillocks that give the illusion of a green closer to you than its actual yardage. Take enough club as it is better to err long rather than short. The par 3 16th play just the opposite. It has a very steep green slanted back to front and it is better to be a bit short as a putt from above the hole can run off the green. The 17th is a seemingly simple uphill par 4.Yet scores of 6,7 and 8 have oft been recorded. It is a subtle and deceptive hole that can leave you wondering what just happened to your round. The round closes with a typical Thomson par 4. A large central bunker cannot be ignored. Either play short of it or to the left or go for broke and attempt to fly it. Palm trees right and a bunker left further define the landing areas. Successfully negotiate this and a short to mid-iron will get you home, looking at a birdie and leaving a good taste in your mouth. If you are looking for a great day out, a complete and interesting challenge, testing all aspects of your game in beautiful surroundings then Green Valley is the ticket. Written by Steve Mascari On the Lighter Side The Talking of Animals While out walking one day, a young boy met a redneck riding along with a dog and sheep and began a conversation. “Hey, cool dog you got there. Mind if I speak to him?” asked the boy. “Stupid kid,” said the redneck. “Dogs don’t talk.” The little boy ignored the redneck and talked to the dog anyway. “Hey dog, how’s it going?” “Doin’ all right,” replied the dog to the redneck’s amazement. “Is this guy your owner?” asked the boy. “Yep,” replied the dog. “How does he treat you?” asked the boy. “Real good. He walks me twice a day, feeds me great food, and takes me to the lake once a week to play.” With that, the boy asked if he could talk to the redneck’s horse. “Stupid kid, horses don’t talk,” replied the redneck. The little boy ignored the redneck and talked to the horse, anyway. “Hey horse, how’s it going?” “Cool,” replied the horse. “Is this your owner?” asked the boy pointing to the redneck. “Yep.” “How’s he treat you?” asked the boy. “Pretty good, thanks for asking,” replied the horse. “He rides me regularly, brushes me down often, and keeps me in a shed to protect me.” The redneck was totally amazed at his talking horse. “Mind if I talk to your sheep?” asked the boy. “The sheep’s a liar,” answered the redneck. 14 Grapevine where East meets West Following a nasty car accident... Following a nasty car accident, a man’s wife slips into a coma. After spending weeks at her bedside, the husband is summoned to the hospital. “It’s amazing” says the Doctor, breathlessly. “While bathing your wife, one of the nurses noticed she responded to her breasts being touched.” The husband is very excited, and asks what he can do. “Well,” says the doc, “if one erogenous zone provokes a response, perhaps the others will too.” So the husband goes alone into the room, where he slips his hand under the covers and begins to massage her bits. Amazingly, the woman begins to move and even moan a little. The man tells the doctor, waiting outside. “Excellent!” he says. “If she responds like that to your finger, I think you should try oral sex.” Nodding, the husband returns to the room - but within minutes the heart monitor alarms go off, and the medics pile into the room. “What happened?” shouts the doctor, as he checks the prone woman’s pulse. “I’m not sure,” replies the man, looking sheepish. “I think she choked.” What is Politics A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is politics?” Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I’m the breadwinner of the family, so let’s call me capitalism.Your Mom, she’s the administrator of the money, so we’ll call her the Government. We’re here to take care of your needs, so we’ll call you the people. The nanny, we’ll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we’ll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,” So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents’ room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, “Dad, I think I Understand the concept of politics now.” The father says, “Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.” The little boy replies, “Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.” The Blonde & Ventriloquist A young ventriloquist is touring the clubs and stops to entertain at a bar in a small town. He's going through his usual run of stupid blonde jokes, when a blonde woman in the fourth row stands on her chair and says, "I've heard just about enough of your degrading blonde jokes, asshole. What makes you think you can stereotype women that way? What do a person's physical attributes have to do with their worth as a human being? It's guys like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in my community, of reaching my full potential as a person because you and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes but women at large ... all in the name of humor." Flustered, the ventriloquist begins to apologize, when the blonde says, "You stay out of this, Mister! I'm talking to that little bastard on your knee!" India Brings you the worlds cheapest car What can you buy for £1,300, $2,500 or approximately 75,000 baht these days? A couple of return tickets home? A 15 year old run around? A take-off of a Harley Davidson? Or you maybe surprised to know, a brand new car! Not as luxurious as a Rolls, nor as fast as a Porsche and definitely not as stunningly beautiful as an Aston Martin, but then again we are only talking about the price of a DVD player in a Lexus. Let me introduce you to the Nano, built by Tata, an Indian conglomerate who at the moment are bidding for Jaguar and Land Rover, who are better known for their elephantine lorries, have defied all the experts by producing a cutting-edge passenger car which is spacious and promises to be fuel efficient. The car is a culmination of 5 years research, involving a team of over 500 engineers which was revealed at this years Delhi Auto Expo to the sounds of 2001: A space odyssey. Where company chairman Mr. Tata, heralded it’s arrival with the likes of the Wright Bothers and the Moon Landing. The Nano is 3 metre’s long, can seat four comfortably, five at a squeeze, is four door, can do 65mph and has already been dubbed ‘The People’s Car,’ as it will revolutionise travel for millions of people around the world. The Nano which will be built at a plant in West Bengal will originally only be sold in India in the second half of 2008, with an estimated initial annual run of 250,000 units. It is expected to be made available in Latin America, South East Asia and Africa over the next few years when the company hopes to be producing in excess of 1,000,000 cars each year. Mr Tata, Company Chairman, said the Nano had passed a full frontal crash test in India and was 16 Grapevine where East meets West designed to sustain further impact testing under European standards, but it is believed the Nano will have to go through a few years of safety enhancement before it will meet European Safety Standards and of course this will significantly raise the price. Constructed from aluminium and containing a rear mounted 33bhp two-cylinder petrol engine the Nano weighs in at about half a ton. No frills here, the basic model comes with brakes, four gear manual gear box, door locks, wind down windows, seatbelts, window wiper and a steering wheel. The deluxe versions will have such luxuries as radio’s, air-bags and even air-conditioning. Mr Tata went on to say “I hope this changes the way people travel in rural India. We are a country of a billion people and are being denied connectivity. With a top speed of 65mph, a fuel consumption of 50mpg and a very small price tag, the no-nonsense. Nano is the no frills car for the 21st Century. I am sure this car will sell in it’s millions all over the world, but personally, I’m hoping its banned from the streets of Pattaya, can you imagine if all our mopeds were replaced by little, colourful, but much larger then mopeds, Nano’s? Now, how long will it take you to get to your favourite GoGo Bar? I mean supermarket or round of golf. Places To Go Things To Do People To See After the January 1st New Year’s Day the rest of the month of January in Thailand is usually void of festivals and is pretty much a time to lie back and enjoy the weather, but not this year. The 2009 lunar calendar causes the Chinese New Year to also fall in January. Dec 31 – Jan 1: On the 31st of December and 1st of January 2009 join the Thais in making merit at either Lan Pho Na Klua, South Pattaya Beach Road or at Jomtien Beach. For additional information call: 038-253-100 Jan 9 – 11: For you golfers, check out the Third Royal Trophy Europe vs Asia Golf Championship which challenges the masters of team golf – Europe against Asian golf pros in a Ryder Cup format. Play will take place January 9 thru 11 at the flawless 7,470 yard Amata Spring Country Club located southeast of Bangkok at the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate. For additional information call TAT: 02-250-5500 or go to www.theroyaltrophy.com Jan 10: Aka Hill Tribes Mini Light and Sound Presentation. Chiang Rai province hosts its annual light and sound show that presents insights into the culture and daily life of the Aka hill tribes, resident in hilltop villages in Mae Chan District. The show is presented in both Thai and English and runs from 1730 to 1930. Tickets cost Bt150 per person and the show with dinner 18 Grapevine where East meets West is priced at Bt300 per person. The location is: Chiang Rai Social Development Centre 12 on the Doi Mae Salong road in Pa Sang Sub-district of Mae Chan, Chiang Rai. For additional information call: TAT Chiang Rai Office 053-744-674-5 or the Chiang Rai Social Development Centre 12 at 053-914-471 Jan 17 – 21: For you Navy vets and military history buffs, from the 17th thru the 21st of January there will be a big parade and festival on the island of Koh Chang in Trat Province honoring Thai navy personnel who lost their lives while giving service to Thailand in 1942. Jan 23: The first ever Pattaya International Mardi Gras will be held in the evening of January 23 with an Electric Parade starting at City Hall and finishing on Pattaya’s Beach Road close to the Pattaya Klang (Central Pattaya Road) intersection. Pick your spot to watch or if you want to join the fun call the Pattaya City Hall or TAT at: : 02-250-5500 Jan 24 – 25: Reggae Music lovers head for the Pai Maehongson Thailand Reggae Festival located at the Pai Tree House Resort public area, Nong Krating Domain, Vieng Nei , Pai Mae Hong Son. The ticket price of Bt390 includes a premium gift, a free drink and other discounts. For more information go to http://paireggaefest.com or call the Pai Arts Club: 081-493-1246 or the Tourism Pai office at: 053-699-935 Jan 25 – 27: The Chinese New Year is on the first day of the first lunar month, usually in February, but this year it falls in January. The Chinese people celebrate their lunar new year with lion dances, fireworks, paying respect to their ancestors and a week house-cleaning. In Pattaya everyone can enjoy celebrating the Chinese New Year from January 25 to 27 at the Bali Hai Pier at the south end of Walking Street. Come with an appetite because Walking Street will be filled with table after table filled with a variety of exotic delectable international foods. Each evening concerts delight the crowds with music in the Bali Hai area. For additional information call: 038-253-100 Jan ??: Tennis fans and players won’t want to miss the Pattaya Tennis Open 2009 being held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and the Fairtex Sport Club & Hotel. At time of publication no dates had been set, but you can call 081-863-0668 for information. where East meets West s ’ y e l p i R ! t o N r o t I e v Belie of Entertainment World Robert Leroy Ripley, dubbed the ‘Modern Marco Polo’, was an insatiable, intrepid explorer of the bizarre, abnormal and the peculiar. In his forty-year quest, he traversed the globe, visiting 198 countries; a journey equivalent to 18 circumnavigations. Constantly on the lookout for the incredible and weird to bring back to the US; in this respect he was similar to that other remarkable collector of uncanny facts, Charles Forte. A talented cartoonist, who drew his pictures upside-down, Ripley produced his first collection of strange facts and feats in 1918. Originally entitled “Champs and Chumps’, his editor influenced its change to ‘Believe It or Not!’ Forming the core of an expanded book under the same name, it became a best-seller, selling over half-a-million copies. Republished in many editions, if all those ‘Believe It or Not!’ books were stacked together, they would be 100 times the size of the Empire State Building! Becoming a household name in the US, Ripley gradually became immensely popular worldwide, with his ‘Believe It or Not!’ feature syndicated in 300 newspapers, read by 80 million, in 17 languages, with a researcher labouring over 52 years, 10 hours daily in the New York Public Library to help source strange facts. Ripley received literally millions of mail items over the years, from both fans and incredulous critics, including one Wayne Harbour of Bedford, Iowa who, over 26 years, wrote over 22,000 letters trying to disprove Ripley, but never received one back which contradicted Ripley’s claims. 20 Grapevine where East meets West Next, hosting a popular radio programme, he brought vicarious pleasure to millions by interviewing such oddities as snake handlers and fire walkers and relating his own, often fantastic adventures. He featured on a variety of radio shows from 1930-48, achieving several firsts in this time, like the first mid-ocean broadcast and the first simultaneous broadcast to every nation in the world. He also branched out into films and TV, but most enduring are his museums or Odditoriums, the first staged as an exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, attracting over two million visitors. Several other notable exhibitions followed, but it wasn’t until 1950, a year after Ripley’s death, that the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida. Many of the 29 Ripley’s Odditoriums worldwide appear to have suffered a disaster; apt preparation for what one is about to experience inside! Two appear to have been impaled, Pattaya’s by a crashed plane and another by a shark. There are two earthquake- fractured museums, another hurricane-struck, with yet another apparently plummeting into a sinkhole and one where the building’s front seems about to fall off. There’s one resembling a broken-topped lighthouse, another a beached luxury cruise liner, whilst in Niagara Falls, King Kong stands astride a toppled Empire State Building. Finally, there are two castles, one Mediaeval and the other in St. Augustine, a Moorish Revival mansion transformed into a castle. We, in the Pattaya Today Review Team, had the pleasure of being introduced to the Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not!’ attractions by Ms.Yada Wongthongkum, Ripley’s Marketing Manager. Ripley’s Pattaya, located on 3rd Floor of Royal Garden Plaza, started as an Odditorium in 1995, but like many others soon expanded into a multi-faceted, world of entertainment. ‘Believe It or Not!’ now comprises the Museum, Haunted Adventure, Infinity Maze and 4D Moving Theatre. The Museum houses 10 themed galleries from primitive to marine, with over 300 intriguing real and replica exhibits, including torture devices, like the rack and the Manda U-kee-pa self-mutilation torture where a Red Indian brave is suspended by two hooks through his chest skin, weighed down by buffalo skulls, as dramatised by Richard Harris in ‘A Man Called Horse’, a mask made from human skin, a shrunken head, African fertility symbols, the wax figure of the four-eyed man, a 3-legged horse, a fake mermaid made from the top part of a monkey and the bottom of a fish, a 9ft-tall man, a man with musical ears, a Titanic model constructed from more than 1,000,000 matchsticks, the amazing disorienting tunnel, a Jaws exhibit, the world’s largest tyre, and a horse-mounted suit of armour by the side of two amazingly lifelike individuals, one a photographer and the other his subject that the Japanese group near us thought were so realistic, they didn’t venture across them for 5 minutes! The Haunted Adventure would obviously have appealed to Ripley’s ghoulish sense of humour, having once polished gravestones.You are introduced through the door of the dead to a replica of the original, 20th century warehouse of the Grimsby and Streaper Casket Company.Your initial host, in gruesome make up, conducts you inside where you are given a rope which all in your party hang on to, before you’re plunged into the dark to fend for yourself. Then you tentatively wend your way through various mostly dark, eldritch, winding passages while preternatural sounds are heard all around and you’re unexpectedly accosted along the way by stiffs that are suddenly projected from coffins or gibbets, or by live Thai staff, masquerading as the dead, who leap out shrieking from hidden corners and seem to prey on the female members. Chinese women have been known to wet themselves and I heard pretty realistic screams from a Japanese party that were being pursued by a manic chain saw-wilding ghoul. Next to the Infinity Maze where, issued with white gloves and socks, groups are sent into the maze and have to find their own way out. Each of the dozen rooms is futuristic, semi-dark or with innovative lightning, sound fields and atmospheric special effects. Walls, ceilings and floors are mirror-covered and you’re immersed in spectacular optical illusions as floors seem to melt away, and with no distinct exit, you have to push each mirror until eventually finding the door, you emerge into yet another confusing scenario. Some people apparently wander round lost for hours! Finally, the 4D Moving Theatre, featuring 3-D glasses, 70mm. high definition projection, 8-directional, dynamic motion seating, and digital surround sound to immerse you in the action of a high-tech film scenario. It’s the first one in Thailand. A simulated, visual-reality amusement, in our case partly a roller coaster ride, which my Thai ladyphotographer far preferred to the Haunted house! Well worth spending a few happy hours; quality entertainment for the whole family. where East meets West 21 Pattaya Air Park the Resort with a Difference Nestling down the Phoenix Golf Club Road is what is currently a little known Pattaya attraction, though its reputation will soon be widespread. You may well have seen evidence of this attraction in the form of a light aircraft, ultralight, or helicopter ranging across the skies, and apart from gazing in rapt envy, imagining the exhilarating freedom, you might have asked yourself where it had come from. The answer is Pattaya Air Park in Huay Yai, the site of Fun Flying Thai Air Service Co. Ltd. (FF) and one of the most adventurous projects in Thailand, as well as being the venue for flying shows and other entertainment events. Pattaya Air Park, incorporating the Pilot Village, is the dream made manifest of two individuals, Nawaporn Sawaetwong aka Neil and Sonny Souvannavong; two men totally passionate about the sheer joys of personal flying. And like enthusiasts of any persuasion, they don’t wish to keep it merely for themselves, but are intent on extending the privilege universally. Sonny equates himself with Henry Ford 22 Grapevine where East meets West insofar as he wishes everyone to have, not a car, but a plane, or, at the very least, a private pilot’s licence. He, himself, just so happens to own a Ferrari, but he prefers his plane by far, for the unbridled freedom it affords him. Neil was the one who actually started the Pattaya Air Park, by first leasing and then buying a 127 rai plot of land, which conveniently had an old airstrip located on it. This airstrip Neil refurbished into an airfield and began in earnest to develop Thailand’s first comprehensive airpark, essentially as a “haven for those fascinated by aerial sports and recreational flying, “ to quote the man, himself. The aerial services now on offer include air charter, special aerial services - filming, photographing, and video taking, for private individuals, businesses and TV companies, sightseeing from the four-seater Cessna-172 or tandem skydiving, with the ultimate: ultralight and private pilot flying lessons. A 20-30 minute Sightseeing flight will give you an unprecedented bird’s eye view of Jomtien Beach, Koh Larn and the whole of Pattaya City and its environs for Bt1,400 per person. With Tandem skydiving, accompanied by a certified Tandem master, intrepid souls can experience the adrenalin rush of a mid-air leap, costing from Bt11,000 for a basic jump to Bt16,000, for jump plus a video of your performance that you can show to your sceptical friends, just to prove your courage. Alternatively, for Bt90,000, you can become an ultralight pilot in the space of a month! Pattaya Airpark’s ultralight flying course includes: • all equipment costs; • 20 hours of ground school lessons; • 20 hours of one-on-one flying lessons with certified flight instructor; • written exam fee for Ultralight Pilot Licence (UPL); • life membership of the Royal Aeronautics Sports Association of Thailand (RASAT); • life membership of the Royal Thai Air Classic Association (RTAC). For ultralight novices, there’s a special 1-hour introductory flight costing Bt5,000. For those with the cash to spare and the ambition, the cost of a fully fledged Private Pilot Licence (PPL) is Bt300,000, including the aircraft use, flying lessons, manuals, fuel etc. Sonny reckons learning to fly a plane is actually easier than learning to drive and infinitely more enjoyable. Should you be in the position to buy, there are 3 types of light aircraft on sale: the FK9 Mk IV (Bt4.2 million), FK12 Comet bi-plane (Bt4.9 million), and FK14 Polaris (Bt5.6 million); all prices include PPL training, leading to a licence. The aircraft are all of contemporary design, with state-of-the-art equipment, including GPS navigation, and are composed of lightweight composite fibre-glass, carbon-fibre, aluminium and/or tubular steel. Ownership of one of these planes will open up endless opportunities to experience the total exhilaration of congestion-free flying. No more frustrations of traffic grid-locks; instead, you can indulge in fancy-free hedge-hopping across Thailand, via a network of private airports located in Hua Hin, Phuket, Kao Yai, Koh Chang, Chiang Mai, and Chang Rai. Pattaya Airpark also has full aircraft maintenance, repair and assembly facilities, making it effectively a one-stop aviation venue. But that’s only half of it; theirs is a lifestyle concept extraordinaire. Neil and Sonny would like to offer those similarly enflamed by the contagion of flying and with the necessary resources, the opportunity to share in their ‘Paradise for Aviators’ - the Pilot Village, Pattaya Air Park Resort, whereby you can not only buy a plane, but also a house actually located on the airpark itself, incorporating hanger facilities, giving immediate access to the runway and the skies of Thailand. This is a first in Thailand; a real estate where East meets West Grapevine 23 concept unique in SE Asia, albeit adapted from similar aviator resorts in the States. Just imagine the convenience of strolling from your house into your adjoining private hanger in the morning, getting into your own plane, conducting the necessary pre-flight checks, logging your itinerary and requesting flight clearance from the control tower and then just taking to the air, free as a bird, as you wend your merry way to Chiang Mai, perhaps for some exclusive shopping, or a business meeting. To reiterate Sonny’s sentiments, it’s infinitely more pleasurable and stress-free than driving, and, what’s more, it will only take you an estimated 4 hours and cost you about Bt2,800, including fuel and landing fees. To encourage pilots, who are or will become mutual friends, the Pilot Village, Pattaya Air Park Resort is offering the house-plus-plane package at a starting price of Bt11.5 million. The architect is a pilot and a shareholder of FF, so you can rest assured your house will be well custom-designed.The individual houses currently come in 3 designs, ranging from Bt8-11 million. These are: The Aviator - 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1000m2 land with 300m2 living area; The Colony – 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 1,500m2 land with 400m2 living area and The Retreat – 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 2,000m2 land with 450m2 living area. Each hanger will be able to accommodate the largest of the three planes on offer. Alternatively, you can buy your own land plot and typically custom-build a 2 storey, 3 bed room, 4-5 bath room residence, with living room, kitchen and a 2-car garage, hangar, terraces, 24 Grapevine where East meets West swimming pool, jacuzzi, work shop etc; as long as it’s in keeping with the surrounding architecture. Other deals include leasing the land, or even becoming a shareholder of Pattaya Airpark. Pilots and students taking pilot licences, as well as guests in general, can also find convenient accommodation in the Aviator Retreat, located on site. Pattaya Air Park will also be prominent in staging events, like Sun-&-Fun Air shows, concerts and parties. There is also the Thai Air Museum, under the patronage of His Majesty the King, In addition, there will soon be full resort-quality recreational facilities, including a restaurant, coffee shop and sports club, with swimming pool, tennis, squash, badminton, snooker, table tennis, spa, sauna, fitness, massage and a golfputting range. For those without transport, cars, motorbikes or bicycles will be on hire, as well as regular shuttle-vans to Pattaya, which, with all its myriad attractions, is very close. Every consideration has been given to providing a totally comprehensive service.Your every requirement will be satisfied, affording a completely wholesome, stress-free, fun-filled lifestyle that, as a consequence, if you’re careful, will actually go a long way to conferring the inestimable bonus of longevity, as well as all the other benefits. Contact Neil at [email protected] or call 086-374 1718 And see their website at: http://www.funflying.biz/ Noy Takes On S. Tsow U.S. Politics My friend Fardley Nerdwell is still recovering from the U.S. presidential campaign. It’s not because of the campaign itself, but because of the trouble he had explaining the campaign rhetoric to his girlfriend Noy. Fardley, incidentally, has some wise advice for every expat who may be thinking of sending his Thai girlfriend to school to study English. “I learned the hard way,” he now says ruefully. “I thought it was terrible that Noy and I couldn’t communicate. She would sit there watching Thai TV in silence, never speaking except in Thai or in terse English monosyllables. If only she could speak English, what scintillating discussions we might have! “So I sent her to a school called E-Z English 4 U. Even the name wasn’t English. It was some kind of deformed, airhead English that teenyboppers use on the Internet. That alone should have warned me. “The school did its fiendish work all too well. Now Noy speaks English, all right, but she never shuts up. It’s yak yak yak, all the time, and she’s always arguing with me. I was better off when we couldn’t communicate at all. The key to a successful intercultural relationship is the complete absence of communication.” Despite its name, the school was rooted in traditional English grammar. It had three stern slogans, which Noy took to heart: “Speak clearly. Speak grammatically. Be specific.” Noy applied these principles to the U.S. presidential campaign, which she watched on TV. Fardley reported her reactions as follows: Noy (watching the Obama campaign; frowning): Why Obama not have English name? What mean 26 Grapevine where East meets West “Barack”? Same-same “brack”? Fardley: No, no! It doesn’t have anything to do with black. Noy: Same-same “borrock”? Fardley: Jesus, no! It doesn’t have anything to do with bollocks. It’s an Arabic word, usually spelled “barak.” It means blessed. Noy: Ah. Nice name. But he have slogan, “Yes, we can.” This is not sentence. Is incomprete.Yes, we can…what? Fardley: Well, it means we can do anything, Noy. Noy: This not clear. Not grammatic. Not specific. If mean we can do anything, should say we can do anything. Not just “Yes, we can.” Slogan is…(taking a deep breath, as if reciting from memory)…wague and imprecite. Fardley: Vague and imprecise? Well, I suppose it is. But “Yes, we can do anything” is too long. A political slogan has to be short and punchy. Do you like Obama, Noy? Noy: No. Too brack. Fardley (taken aback by such overt racism): Uh. Too black, eh? Well, do you like McCain? Noy: No. Too owned. Fardley: Uh. Too old. Well, who DO you like? Noy (correcting him): WHOM do you rike. “Whom” is object of werb. Must be grammatic. I rike Hirrary. Not brack, not owned. Just right. Phuying duay! Phalang Phuying dee! [She’s a woman, too! Woman Power is good!] But Obama have other slogan: “Change we need.” Why not grammatic? Why put object fir’t? Should be “We need change.” Fardley: Ah, well, actually, he means “Change THAT we need.” He leaves out the “that.” Noy (severely): That is not sentence. That is subordinate crause. What ABOUT change that we need? And why he only want change? Why so keeniao [stingy]? Why he not want big money? Fardley: He’s not talking about money, Noy. He’s talking about change. Noy: Maichai! Change mean small money. You pay chekbin at restaurant, give waitrett big money, ask for change. Why Obama talk small money? Why he not want big money? Fardley: He’s talking about a different kind of change, Noy. What’s the Thai word? Bplian-bplaeng. To change, to make things different. Obama wants to change things, make things better. Noy: Oho. Different kind of change. Noy khaojai. But McCain have slogan too. What mean “StraightTalk Ekprett”? Fardley: Uhhhhh, that’s the name of his bus. It’s an express bus. He calls it “straight talk,” because he says he’s talking straight. That means clear and honest. No bullshit. Noy (enlightened): Ahhhh, “straight talk” mean no boorshit. Noy khaojai. But why he call everybody “my fliend”? He no have enemy? Fardley: He probably has lots of enemies, but he wants everybody to be his friend. That’s why he keeps saying “my friends.” I’ve always thought he should address his audiences as “my friends, my enemies, and all those jerks who haven’t made their minds up yet.” So Fardley finally straightened out Noy’s ideas about U.S. politics, except for her lamentable tendencies toward racism, ageism, and sexism. Those little prejudices may take some time to iron out. In the meantime, since she’s taken an interest in politics, he’s trying to correct her pronunciation of the name of the current U.S. secretary of state. It’s not pronounced Congo Reza Lite. S. Tsow can be flamed at [email protected], except when he’s wondering how Noy would pronounce “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” where East meets West Grapevine 27 Laughter is the Best Medicine Three men were standing in line to get into heaven one day. Apparently it had been a pretty busy day, though, so St. Peter had to tell the first one, “Heaven’s getting pretty close to full today, and I’ve been asked to admit only people who have had particularly horrible deaths. So what’s your story?” The first man replies: “Well, for a while I’ve suspected my wife has been cheating on me, so today I came home early to try to catch her red-handed. As I came into my 25th floor apartment, I could tell something was wrong, but all my searching around didn’t reveal where this other guy could have been hiding. Finally, I went out to the balcony, and sure enough, there was this man hanging off the railing, 25 floors above ground! By now I was really mad, so I started beating on him and kicking him, but wouldn’t you know it, he wouldn’t fall off. So finally I went back into my apartment and got a hammer and starting hammering on his fingers. Of course, he couldn’t stand that for long, so he let go and fell-but even after 25 stories, he fell into the bushes, stunned but okay. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the fridge, and threw it over the edge where it landed on him, killing him instantly. But all the stress and anger got to me, and I had a heart attack and died there on the balcony.” “That sounds like a pretty bad day to me,” said Peter, and let the man in. The second man comes up and Peter explains to him about heaven being full, and again asks for his story. “It’s been a very strange day.You see, I live on the 26th floor of my apartment building, and every morning I do my exercises out on my balcony. Well, this morning I must have slipped or something, because I fell over the edge. But I got lucky, and caught the railing of the balcony on the floor below me. I knew I couldn’t hang on for very long, when suddenly this man burst out onto the balcony. I thought for sure I was saved, when he started beating 28 Grapevine where East meets West on me and kicking me. I held on the best I could until he ran into the apartment and grabbed a hammer and started pounding on my hands. Finally I just let go, but again I got lucky and fell into the bushes below, stunned but all right. Just when I was thinking I was going to be okay, this refrigerator comes falling out of the sky and crushes me instantly, and now I’m here.” Once again, Peter had to concede that that sounded like a pretty horrible death. The third man came to the front of the line, and again the whole process was repeated. Peter explained that heaven was full and asked for his story. “Picture this,” says the third man, “I’m hiding naked inside a refrigerator...” The Birds and the Birds A lady approaches her priest and says, “Father, I have a problem. I have two female talking parrots, but they only know how to say one thing.” “What do they say?” the priest inquires. “They only know how to say, ‘Hi, we’re prostitutes. Want to have some fun?’” “That’s terrible,” the priest exclaims, “but I have a solution to your problem. Bring your two female parrots over to my house, and I will put them with my two male talking parrots whom I taught to pray and read the bible. My parrots will teach your parrots to stop saying that terrible phrase, and your female parrots will learn to praise and worship.” “Thank you!” the woman responds. The next day, the woman brings her female parrots to the priest’s house. His two male parrots are holding rosary beads and praying in their cage. The lady puts her two female parrots in with the male parrots, and the female parrots say, “Hi, we’re prostitutes, want to have some fun?” One male parrot looks at the other male parrot and exclaims, “Put the beads away. Our prayers have been answered!” Sudoku Answers Silly Quiz Answers 1. Coffin 2. incorrectly 3. Temperature 4. Mount Everest 5. The word "and." 6. Electric train has no smoke 7. "new door" = "one word" 8. Neither, the yolk is yellow Quick Crossword Answers Looking for something different? Pattaya FREE Do you get fed up with looking through the same old boring magazines, reading the same old boring property stories and wish for something a bit different? e n i v e p a r G uary Issue 01 - jan 2009 How n Gree ts West where East mee Night Well now we believe we are MARCH bringing you a brand new Thai publishing concept for Pattaya Lite 2 Tickets IN W RED to see SIMPLY Pages Competition LIVE in Concer Pattaya Grapevine is a new concept in high quality publishing with 60 pages of full colour containing interesting articles, regular columnists, news from around Thailand, where to go, national fiestas and attractions, fun and humour pages and quality advertising. t each month into key locations throughout Pattaya 5,000 distributed and Bangkok including Tourist Offices, Hotels, Hospitals and copies Clinics, Supermarkets, Restaurants, Lawyers, Advertisers, etc. Pattaya Grapevine will become your No.1 vehicle for getting your message across to the ex-pat community and visiting tourists alike, to place your advertisement for only 9,999 baht per full page in full colour please contact Peter on 0806 442 511 [email protected] Look out for it January 1st 2009 Top ten Let’s take a look at the must have gadgets for 2009. iPhone 3G (Apple) I suspect most people would vote the iPhone as the gadget of last year. Now with the addition of 3G and push enterprise e-mail, it’s a much stronger smartphone contender. It also is for me the first true convergence device that actually does for the most part work (firmware 2.0 bugs aside). Convergence coming in the form of GPS, Camera, E-mail, Phone, Web browser, Gaming, Application support, Picture and Video browser. It also has made a lot of the big mobile names like Nokia and Sony sit up, which is great, as the user interface on the iPhone and iPod Touch is truly heads and tails above any of their current phones on the market. All this and it comes in one of the slickest and minimalistic designs around. It does have its flaws - but still a true contender for gadget of the year, that is as much a fashion accessory as a practical device. 34 where East meets West Sony Rolly The Rolly from Sony is all about fun. It is essentially a robotic MP3 playing robot that dances to the music you play. It comes with Rolly Choreographer software to create your own motions and even share them online with others. But if you don’t want to create your own it comes with an Auto and Self Motion modes which will analyse the music and create the type of style dance you request. It also comes with Bluetooth streaming (A2DP), 5 hour battery life, 2GB of storage, high quality speakers with 180 degree baffle effect. 40” OLED TV Currently your best bet for an OLED is the Sony XEL-1. It’s not the best price screen per inch but certainly is the best looking on the market. But as with all good technology the price will start to come gadgets down and screen sizes will go up. Samsung have already prototyped early this year a 40” Full HD OLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and is under 1cm thick. Samsung therefore have proved it can all be done so it just a case of making them at a consumer friendly price and I think this year we will see these large sized OLEDs appearing. New Google Android Phones Not long ago Google announced that the source code at the core of its Android platform would be available for free to anyone wanting to use it and develop with. This open source approach has opened up the market to more phones manufacturers and developers able to make Android based phones but it also means there will be a host of application to download for it - and I suspect we will see more useful applications than the mainly games ridden App Store on iTunes (I want a good Exchange Mail client). It looks like Asus, Motorola and Samsung will be the next to follow Kogan and the rather averagely designed HTC G1 with a Google Android phone early next year, hopefully making the most of the Android platform finally. Touch Screen Eee PC 4 million sales to date, Asus have some new devices planned for next year. The CEO of Asus, Jerry Shen, has apparently announced a touch screen Eee PC laptop early 2009 capable of running Windows 7 - but I’m not holding my breath. However something that is more promising is the Eee Top All-in-one touch screen desktop which should be available early this year and I think this will make it big towards the end of the year. Currently launched in white only with 1.6GHz Intel Atom, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 15.6” screen, Window XP, 1.3 megapixel camera, Wi-fi, built in speakers and enough ports to keep you more than happy - look out for this one, prices will be around £450. New Intel Chip Codename Nehalem This is the next generation of chip sets from Intel - codenamed Nehalem. It brings a critical change not just to the processor but also in the way it communicates with memory and other processors. Intel have branded this as the QuickPath Interconnect (or QPI). QuickPath involves two main ingredients one is a built-in component called a memory controller that is separate on today’s Intel chips; integrating this memory controller reduces communication delays in transferring data to and from memory. All in all this should mean a dramatic increase in memory latency and bandwidth improvements with initial reports of as much as 3 times performance increases on today chipsets. They are expecting to sell “Nehalem” processors with 8 cores on a single slice of silicon in 2009. where East meets West gadgets Transparent Toaster This transparent toaster allows you to see your bread while it is toasting so you can make sure you never burn toast again. This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology. Although the glass unfortunately does not currently get hot enough to toast bread, the vendor explained with some research and development this appliance will be hitting the shelves by 2009. The concept was developed by the Inventables Concept Studio. iPod Touch 32GB (Apple) Want something to play and organising music and videos with ease? Well the iPod touch 32GB is just the ticket. It comes with an above average battery, intuitive touch interface, Wi-fi, a large selection of games and applications (built in and new ones from the constantly updated iTunes App Store) and, of course, an iconic, sleak form factor. This is without doubt the best mp3 player on the market. Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Dyson DC16) True 3D Satellite Navigation True 3D satellite navigaion units started to surface at the end of last year but none of them as yet have impressed as promised. However the concept of seeing your surroundings in a much more 3 dimensional space is definitely something which is going to keep sat nav sales up. Tomtom, who for me make the best sat navs currently on the market, will be releasing a new 3D range in 2009. It will be interesting to see how well they they stack up to the current 3D NavMan S50 sat navs which already offer 3D landmarks of more than 1,000 European buildings. 36 Grapevine where East meets West Getting in small nooks and crannies with a conventional vacuum cleaner is never easy in the best of places. Also if you have had another brand of handheld vacuums you will no doubt be aware of their poor power limitations. However, with an innovate design, this DC16 handheld vacuum from Dyson does actually make it easy to get in the small nooks, is more convenient and gives plenty of power too. NightMARCH That was the month that was (email: [email protected]) There's no Secrets to a good tasting beer The aim of this column within each issue of the monthly Pattaya Grapevine is to utilise the fact the magazine is printed on glossy paper to bring you as many pictures of the ladies who spend their evenings entertaining customers in the myriad bars of the city as possible. There won’t be much in the way of news as by the time the print deadline has passed and the magazine is on the streets the information would probably be old and redundant. Total number of Pattaya Dens of the Chrome Pole (as at 1/12/08): 76 Number on Walking Street (as at 1/12/08): 51 What’s Opened: Club Insomnia nightclub on Walking Street, the latest late-night venue, relocated from Soi Marina Plaza. End of November. Three reasons to visit Club Boesche 38 Grapevine 39 Outdoor Laser Tag Challenging combat sim and sociably chilling Outdoor Laser Tag, introduced to Thailand by LivePlay, Jomtien, on October 3, 2008, is the latest and most realistic external combat simulation game on the market, without the awkward splatter of Paint Ball, or the pain of BB Guns. However, LivePlay’s young partners, Bachar Settha and Mark Schwyn, are at great pains to point out that it’s essentially a social event, albeit a hyper-competitive one. Laser Tag is ideally a game for the boys (of all ages), though martially-inclined girls will get off on it, too. LivePlay, with the help of Nong Nooch Gardens, have built an extensive, authentic-style battleground, equipped with hut, warehouse, watchtower, fences, hedges, trees and concrete obstacles for cover, on Sukhumvit Road, just up from the Jomtien Floating 4 Market. Here you can compete in various two-team combat scenarios, ranging from novices’ 15-minute sessions to complex Special Forces’ ‘Stealth Dragon’ night missions; a far more exacting challenge, where you capture objectives and get to use the more sophisticated equipment, including smoke grenades and devastating claymore mines. The game can be played in any weather, including the rain, but for coolness, the special effects and accurate sighting, it’s best at night, where the flashes of the sensor devices register hits and the infrared dot of the ‘tag’ is far more visible. Our team played in the midday sun, being English, and our resident gamer, being more used to sedentary indoor gaming, succumbed to the heat, or maybe that should be PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The combat is so realistic, or ‘awesome’, as our gamer put it, that it’s not only used by various US SWAT teams and the South Korean Army for training, but also acts as an effective deterrent to participating in real combat, especially when you realise just how easy it is to get killed, despite all your previous preconceptions 40 Grapevine where East meets West of how adept you thought you might be in battle! The latest equipment was developed by the Australian Battlefield Sports Co., who invented the new infrared transmitters and receivers, providing considerably enhanced accuracy and range, making it perfect for outdoor game play. Thus perfected, Outdoor Laser Tag has resoundingly trounced its rivals Paint Ball and BB Guns, which pale in comparison, and has proved extremely popular, with 300 locations in 30 countries. The kit itself is relatively expensive, each gun, of which there are 7, ranging from US$ 1400 – 1700 each and it’s no easy matter to get them past customs! The 200 metre-range, target mechanism is actually infrared, rather than laser proper, and relies on accurate targeting of one of three body sensors, the most advanced players going for the headband type. There is a LED screen on each weapon to display available ammunition and the number of lives, with a reload button on the underside, close to the trigger guard. As a novice, one can play non-stop for 15 minutes and then be revived by the resident ‘lovely’ every time your triple lives are extinguished.You’ll know you are dead by the aural ‘Ow!” emitted by the sensor and the fact that your gun becomes inactive, incapable of being fired or reloaded. The game is awfully addictive and those of a competitive spirit will want to play time and time again to become proficient. Becoming more adept, you can then form 5-man teams to challenge the LivePlay Dream Team for a “Best of 5 Death Match”, with a contributory kitty that goes to the winners. Although our team was composed of raw novices, plus two experts and we were still pitted against an in-house team, who though handicapped, still managed to slaughter us effortlessly. As such, Outdoor Laser Tag is a perfect recreational sport for young corporate teams, or large bands of friends, being capable of accommodating up to 30 players. It’s also great for team building, honing team tactics and mutual support, apart from giving one the opportunity to ‘kill’ one’s boss, pleasantly. The game is also eminently mobile, being capable of being played virtually anywhere; it’s just that the LivePlay battle arena has more purpose-built props to make it more realistic and more fun. After the challenge, you can retire for refreshments at the on-site restaurant altogether and discuss tactics and your team’s shortcomings. As Bachar and Mark stress, Outdoor Laser Tag is perfect for developing social contacts and chilling out, where the nonparticipant female companions can commiserate with the ‘wounded pride’ of the defeated combatants. The facilities at Jomtien include tents under the trees and they are keen to put on social events and parties, including having a resident DJ for discos. The restaurant serves both Thai and Western food cheaply and has a drinks licence, so alcohol’s available, preferably post-game. Although they are partially targeting tour groups during the High Season, Bachar and Mark much prefer the repeat customer, especially the dedicated combat game aficionados with whom they can swop tips on strategy and agonise over ever-more perfect battlefield scenarios, the relative merits of each weapon and discuss increasingly more challenging tournaments and league play. Prices range from only to 600 baht per 30 minutes to a fantastic full day pass at only 2,000 baht. LivePlay location: 102/20,21 Sukhumvit Road, Najomtien, Chonburi 20250. Tel: 038-255 381 Website: www.liveplay.in.th where East meets West Fool A in Paradise How Smart Was That? As an avid listener, Pattaya is the greatest place in the world to hear anecdotes, opinions and observations of people from all walks of life. I don’t think I will ever get tired of hearing stories – and then writing about them – and laughing at the antics of other people instead of crying over my own. One of the most amazing things is the Thai-Westerner culture shock and the various opinions held by each side of the other. For instance, I have received e-mails from visitors who indicate that they detected a general lack of intelligence on the part of the Bar Hostesses. On the other hand, as we all know, most Bar Hostesses believe foreign men are stupid. It is not difficult to understand why given the moronic behaviour of a minority of the farang contingent. Some of them (myself included) seem capable of gross stupidity in anyone’s eyes. But if each side thinks the other is stupid, who is right and who is wrong? Or, are we both right or both wrong? I’m not going to try and defend the behaviour of foreign men because they are big boys and fully capable of taking care of themselves. Neither will I defend Bar Hostess antics but, as a diligent student of their operating manual, I am in a position to understand, and possibly explain, some of their behaviour. 42 Grapevine where East meets West Sometimes, the things they do may seem silly but there is definitely logic behind it. Two cases in point: The first involves an old guy who visits Pattaya a couple of times each year. He is single and has been coming here for a good time for more than a decade, so he knows the score around the bars. He explained that every time he sits at a new bar, the girls come out with the usual small talk and questions we are all familiar with. He says he tries to fob them off by saying that he is an old man. They counter by arguing that he is not old – he is a young man. During this light banter they come out with statements such as he only looks forty or fifty years old and is very handsome and even young for that age. Once he has had enough of all the jokes, he pulls out a 1,000 baht note from his pocket and tells them it is for the girl who correctly guesses his age. Now with a financial incentive, he says the next few moments are priceless. “74.” “76.” “83.” He said it was interesting how he suddenly ‘aged’ by up to thirty years. They only got one guess each and although some were close, at 72 years of age he said he has never had to pay out the 1,000 baht. The second story involves a friend of mine who has had a live-in girlfriend for about a year. He said he went to a bar with his girlfriend and, quite by accident, discovered one of the girls working there was someone he had known for many years. They caught up on old times - he flirted with her; pinched her bottom; gave her cuddles etc – all in front of his girlfriend who, although not amused, wisely realized she could do little about it. (Interesting aside to this story: if a guy behaved like that in the West, he would be hit with criminal action for sexual harassment or assault, a restraining order, civil action for damages due to the waitress’s inevitable stress and psychiatric treatment, followed by a divorce from his companion and alimony payments. Here, it is just harmless fun!) As the Hostess went off to attend other customers, his girlfriend handed her 200 baht. He didn’t quite understand why, but assumed it was just a tip because he had not bought her a lady drink. He said he was going to buy her one but did not get around to it. But really, as far as his girlfriend was concerned, how smart was she? What? You don’t get it? Well, by that one simple action she gave the girl several subliminal, but nevertheless forceful, messages: “I am his lady and I control the money. You are a bar girl and are being paid for being nice and flirting with a customer. This was not a re-acquaintance of good friends but a business deal.” Intelligence comes in many forms and is not merely a function of IQ or educational background. Some of the brightest scientific brains on the planet may be incapable of making toast or boiling water but give them a complex mathematical problem and they will solve it in seconds. It is the same with the Bar Hostesses of Pattaya. They may not know where your country is on a map, or even where Cambodia is; they may not be able to do simple mathematics in their heads or even read and write; but they know how to survive in an often cruel and unjust environment. Back to the first case of my 72-year-old friend, the Hostesses were simply being smart salespeople by using the oldest trick in the book – flattery. A man’s Achilles Heel is his ego and like Lord Byron said: “The reason that adulation is not displeasing is that, though untrue, it shows one to be of consequence enough, in one way or other, to induce people to lie.” So, some foreigners believe the girls are stupid because they could not live in our high-tech world, and they think we are stupid because we could not survive in their contrasting, but no less complex world. In this respect, both sides are right – and wrong. The trick is to accept the situation for what it is and not pass judgment. I am reminded of the guy selling his car. Once the negotiation was complete and the price of $10,000 agreed upon, the purchaser said, “You are not a very good salesman, mate, because I would have paid you $12,000 for that car.” To his surprise, the seller was not upset. He simply replied, “Well, neither are you. I would have sold it for $8,000!” Both sides won and both sides lost, but the result was an amicable compromise. In general, it is erroneous to judge someone simply by his or her momentary actions without being fully aware of the machinations going on behind the scene. Relevant to Pattaya, the worst mistake a foreigner can make in this town is to underestimate the talents of a Bar Hostess. where East meets West When BUYING or SELLING a Business in Pattaya contact TBAC our AIM is clear TBAC Tel: 038 489 074 5 or 087 283 534 9 Email: info @ t-b-a-k.com Web: www.t-b-a-c.com The Company You Can Trust Win Tickets to see one of the World’s Greatest Bands with Pattaya Grapevine There are not a lot of groups who survive for a few years within the music industry, most are here today gone tomorrow, so for a group to survive in this very competitive industry for 25 years is in itself an acknowledgement that they have the status of Superstars On February 1st 2009, Simply Red, with lead singer Mick Hucknall, will be opening their world tour with a gig in Bangkok to start the celebrations of 25 unbelievable years in the music industry. In this, the first issue of Pattaya Grapevine, we are giving you the opportunity to win two seats at this very special event. All you have to do to win is answer the very easy question towards the end of this article and follow the instructions on how to enter. It just goes for me to wish you all luck and tell you a little about this group who have survived with such a high profile for 25 years. Simply Red emerged out of the streets and clubs of Manchester in the post-punk era of 1984 and within 12 months were riding in the British charts. The original line-up of singer Hucknall, bassist Tony Bowers, drummer Chris Joyce, guitarist Dave Fryman, keyboardist/singer Fritz McIntyre and horn player Tim Kellet became regulars on the thriving club circuit and soon caught the attention of record company scouts on the hunt for new talent. Simply Red found themselves with a major record deal within six months of starting up and on their way to a recording studio with ace American producer Stewart 46 Grapevine where East meets West great Competition Levine. At this point the band experienced their first change as guitarist Sylvan Richardson replaced Dave Fryman during the making their first album Picture Book which was released in October 1985 and climbed to number two thanks to the top 20 success of debut hit Money’s Too Tight (Too Mention). The great success of the first album was followed by ‘Men and Women’ in 1987 and ‘A New Flame’ in 1989. The quality and success of the new album – it sold a million in the UK and over 6 million worldwide – also heralded the band’s move from club and theatre dates to major arenas including playing to 60,000 people in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For band leader Mick Hucknall and Simply Red, Stars became an album of truly classic proportions. In America, where it wasn’t considered radio friendly, the album still managed sales of 700,000 while it topped the 8 million mark worldwide, including over 4 million in the UK. It would now be a further four years before Simply Red returned with a new studio album but a highly regarded live EP recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1992 earned them new fans and kept them in the charts. In 1995 the album Life became Simply Red’s third successive chart topper and it heralded a change in the band’s line up as Kellet and Ward departed and reggae stars Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakepeare and Bootsy Collins augmented the regular line up in the recording studio. Despite some initial resistance from Hucknall, 1996 saw the release of Simply Red’s long awaited Greatest Hits collection and the 15 track album meant another number one for the band plus the specially recorded top five hit Angel, featuring the considerable talents of the Fugees. The line up of Simply Red took on a totally new appearance for the 1998 album Blue which was destined to make it five number one albums in a row plus a further four hit singles including Hucknall’s SayYou Love Me and the pop classic The Air That I Breathe. More albums followed and ever anxious to stretch himself musically, Hucknall embarked on debut solo effort in 2008 with his tribute album to the great soul singer Bobby Bland. Now, in the run up to Simply Red’s silver anniversary, Hucknall has undertaken the unenviable task of producing the ultimate Simply Red collection. Entitled Simply Red 25, the new double CD features the top 25 Simply Red tracks from the past two and half decades and is launched with a memorable cover version of the Moody Blues 1960s smash hit Go Now. For a band with all-time worldwide sales of over 50 million and 30 top 40 UK hits to their credit – in addition to having played over a 1000 concerts to more then 10 million people – Simply Red are set to create more records with their new release plus a 2009 world tour. Question What was Simply Red’s first no1 hit in XXXXXXXXXXXX To enter simply email your answer to [email protected], drop your answers into our office on Sukhumvit Road or telephone our offices on 038 410 077 and leave your details and answer before January 20th 2009. Winner will be notified on the 21st and published in next months Pattaya Grapevine. where East meets West DR. PENGUIN THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR OF Dr. Penguin, aka Chedly Saheb-Ettaba, is a man of many parts who has been entertaining vast groups of people from virtually all over the world for nigh on 45 years, since the tender age of 8. This marked the commencement of a career, which has led him to perform all over the planet, from the Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing 2008 to major rock shows, including U2, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Annie Lennox, TOTO etc., to high society and royalty. Numbered among this illustrious group are the Royal Families of the UK, Brunei, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Denmark et al. He has even performed before audiences in major political events like APEC. Dr. Penguin performs his own special brand of Comedy Magic, however, never having been one of the crowd. It’s also true to say that rather than seek the limelight, he has always been satisfied to play the backwaters of the world. One of the original “Bad Boys of Magic”, he developed his idiosyncratic style of interactive comedy from a combination of studies with great theatre icons such as Jacque Le Coq, and Marcel Marceau in Paris to La Mama in New York. However, before we embark on a narrative of Penguin’s achievements, let’s just step back to the beginning. Penguin was the product of an upper-class marriage between an American with a lineage stretching back to the Mayflower and a member of the Tunisian royalty. Penguin was born in Tangiers; a suitably mystical and exotic entrepot on the North African coast, traditionally the haven of the Barbary pirates. His parents had apparently been enamoured of the ‘50s Beat scene that was flourishing in the exotic city at the time. After the death of his father when he was 6, Penguin was taken via Paris and Spain to the US and after 48 Grapevine where East meets West a short passage of time, won a talent contest at an Episcopalian school in Los Angeles, which resulted in him attending St. Paul’s Cathedral School in London, due to the schools’ close affiliation. His guardian while he was in England was none other then the famous magical comedian, Tommy Cooper, who essentially sent him off on the magical mystery tour that he is still on. Penguin took that first fateful step after Tommy remarked on seeing Penguin give his first magical performance at school that it was ‘crap’ and needed more comedy to make an impact and he should try performing elsewhere. Penguin took Tommy’s throwaway remarks literally and he went AWOL from his boarding school, only to be found some days later performing in front of Lincoln Cathedral before a growing crowd. Penguin eventually finished school in London and went on to Santa Cruz University in the States, after which he returned to Europe, intending merely to go for a 6-month holiday, but never returned. Inevitably, his first port of call was London where he went to try and earn a living. However, he was plunged in at the deep end, after having been robbed before leaving the US, and ended up almost penniless in London. Undaunted and being a resourceful fellow, he BSed the hotel that he booked into that he was expecting money imminently via American Express, which they foolishly believed. To justify his ruse, he then went over to the nearest American Express office and began giving a magic show. Initially, however, he was a complete flop and made virtually no money. This didn’t last long though, he examined the British sense of humour and adapted his act accordingly. Soon he’d made enough to pay his 3-day hotel bill and moved on to Carnaby Street, that famous street of fashion and the arts media, part of which has always played host to struggling artists of all descriptions. Here, Penguin made a killing, drawing in over 1000 pounds in 2 weeks, a fortune for 1976 and enough to see him over the winter. While in London, Penguin was lucky enough to see the exhibition of Pharaoh Tutenkhamun and among the exhibits saw the paraphernalia of one of the court magicians. He was astonished to realize that some of the magical kit was identical to that used today, although unlike in Ancient Egypt, modern magicians don’t coat their hands in gold dust. After this, he headed off south, passing through Paris and Barcelona, Spain, working festivals and the streets, getting a grip on interaction through different languages and cultures. Eventually, tiring of Europe, Penguin decided to follow his Moroccan roots, where he ended up in Marrakech. This ancient colourful city has a famous square by the name of Djem’al Efna, the place of the dead, traditionally the venue for performers of all ilks, from snake charmers to native magicians and musicians from the desert, not to mention diminutive amputees who sit on trays with wheels attached to scoot along between people’s legs, begging. Here, Penguin rapidly became attached to a group of storyteller-performers who would tell long, interminable fables of the desert, interspersed with pleas for liquid sustenance when their throats became dry. Their avid fans would then shoot off to the nearest drinks seller and return with the requested refreshment. Penguin became intimately involved with this troupe of entertainers, adding his own brand of magical comedy to the exotic mix. Marrakech has traditionally been the interface between Morocco’s sometimes lush countryside and the desert and it was not long before Penguin was drawn further south to join the youthful cosmopolitan venture of hippies, travellers and adventurers that made the country one of their stop-overs on their global treks. Soon, being a colourful and entertaining individual, Penguin ingratiated himself with various musical and artistic people, one of whom was known by the unlikely name of Count Bruno the Terrible, who just so happened to have a red fire truck, which had originally been brought to the continent as part of Rommel’s Afrika Corps. Upon their first meeting, they experienced an immediate rapport and the two paired up to start the Magical Circus, which was to tour Europe, North Africa, and overland to Asia. In Asia, Penguin found his niche, delving into ancient cultures and magic, he developed a deep love of anthropology and travel. He also began extending his talents to TV and radio, performing, writing, directing, editing and producing, but that’s the subject of the next article. where East meets West
Tom Jones
Pattie Boyd was the first wife of which famous pop-star who she married on January 21st 1966 ?
Pattaya Grapevine Volume 1 Issue 1 by Pattaya Today - issuu issuu Grapevine Issue 01 - january 2009 On the Lighter Side WIN 2 Tickets to see SIMPLY RED Pages 10 How Green is my Valley 06. Sir Tom Jones - The Sex Bomb 08. Puzzle Mania 10. How Green is my Valley 14. On the Lighter Side 16. India - brings you the worlds cheapest car 18. Places to go - Things to do - People to see 20. Ripley’s - Believe it or not 22. Pattaya Air Park 26. Thai Lite 28. Laughter is the best medicine 32. Not the Real Headlines 34. Top Ten - Gadgets 38. Nightmarch 40. Outdoor Laser Tag 42. A Fool in Paradise 44. Clever Photography 46. Simply Red Competition 48. The Magical Mystery Tour of Dr Penguin where East meets West Pattaya W Desk elcome to this, the first of a new magazine for the Pattaya area aimed at both resident farangs and their spouses and the many tourists who visit our beautiful city each year. Our aim is to provide you with a magazine each month packed with news and articles you really want to read, so please feel free to contact us through telephone or eMail with your comments on our first issue, and any suggestions on topics you feel we should cover on a regular monthly basis or one off items you believe would be of interest to our readers. Great you may think, “another glossy magazine in Pattaya, just what we need!” And I know exactly what you mean, but hopefully, after reading this - our first issue - you will feel it is a breath of fresh air, something different, a magazine really worth reading from cover to cover. As you read and we hope enjoy the articles, please also take time to read the adverts, after all without their support we would not be able to publish, and when taking advantage of the services offered, please remember to let them know you saw it in the Grapevine, so they know what a fantastic vehicle it is to get their message across to you - our readers. In this first issue I would like to tell you a little about myself as your editor. I came to Pattaya in April 2006 with my wife Dee Dee from our home in Jávea, Spain, a small town about twenty five miles north of Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, where we had lived for the past twenty-two years after moving from the UK. For the past 10 years I have published a magazine for the ex-pat community within Jávea, called - you maybe surprised to learn ‘The Javea Grapevine’, and for the last six years we also had an instant print and photocopying business situated in the busy Port area. We sold the business in Spain and moved to Pattaya permanently in December 2007, spent a quit Christmas and New Year in holiday mode and started to look for ways to publish the Pattaya Grapevine in the early part of the year. A few months later, and certainly no closer to getting the required publishing license we looked for another road forward. In June 2008 we met Visa from Pattaya Today, a newspaper we had always believed to be the best in the town, and managed to put together a deal that suited both parties, so of course, we are just at the beginning of a whole new stage of our lives that we are really excited about. That very quickly brings us to almost present time, but I will tell you more about our years in Spain and why Pattaya for our new venture, but that will all have to wait for a future edition of Pattaya Grapevine. Of course, to prevent me from going on about myself, the readers of Pattaya Grapevine are welcome to write about their reasons for coming to Pattaya, and the lives they lived in the years BP - Before Pattaya. Well that’s it for my first Editor’s page, I hope you enjoy the rest of the magazine. Please remember to let us know your comments and suggestions and I look forward to meeting you again in the months to come, not only in these columns, but in the streets as well where East meets West Sir Tom Jones the Sex Bomb Tom Jones is a legend, he is one of the world’s most charismatic live performers and with a career spanning five decades, he has done quite well for a poor boy born into a coal mining family in the village of Pontypridd, in the Rhonda Valley in South Wales. Born on the 7th June 1940 to Freda and Thomas Woodward, Tom started to sing from an early age at family gatherings and in the school choir. Being a bit of a rebel in his teens, he left school early with no qualifications, married his school sweetheart, Melinda Trenchard, at only 16 years of age in 1957 and his son Mark was born just one month later. In 1963 Tom formed his own group called ‘Tommy Scott and the Senators’, even at this early age Tom already had a flare for the outrageous and the group sported a raunchy image all clad in black leather and were especially well known by many of the young ladies of the area. On what started out as a normal night whilst playing at the Top Hat in Gwmtillery, Tom was spotted by Gordon Mills who became Tom’s Manager and life long friend, Gordon loved the fact that he had discovered this white boy with a rich sexy black voice who could move like you wouldn’t believe. In 1964 Gordan managed to land Tom with a recording contract with Decca Records and his first release ‘Chills and Fever’ failed to make an impression on the UK charts. But his second single, written by manager Gordon, ‘It’s not unusual’ was a huge international hit with many people believing that the BBC’s decision to ban the single, plus pirate radio station ‘Carolina’ playing it day and night, ensured that when opening the music press on 1st March 1964, Tom had secured the number one spot and the single went on to reach number 10 in the much larger, and very difficult 06 Grapevine where East meets West American Singles Chart. And the rest as they say is history, or is it? With an international career Tom was up there with the big boys throughout the 60’s and 70’s and decided to move his family to Bel Air in America where he purchased a Tudor style mansion, once owned by Dean Martin as well as keeping his house in Wales. Following many years on the road where he was eventually joined by his son Mark as Lighting Director and Personal Assistant, Tom had food for thought in the early 80’s, slated by the critics, deserted by his fans he believes his career is over. Then as Tom believes things cannot get any worse his, manager, closest friend and huge part of his life dies in 1986. When giving the eulogy Tom told a stunned congregation “I owe him everything.” Mark eventually took over the management of his dad and things turn a corner when his comeback single ‘A Boy from Nowhere’ from the musical ‘Matador’, reaches number two in the charts, a quick re-release of ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and Tom is back. Surprisingly in 1988 when he did a cover version of the Prince single ‘Kiss’ with the ‘Art of Noise’ he received the breakthrough award at the MTV awards. Tom Jones is a sex symbol, adored by men and women all over the world and will always be remembered for his trademark of frenzied women ripping of their knickers to throw to him on stage. By his own admission he had countless affairs and slept with hundreds of women, but in 1989 one fateful fling just wouldn’t lower it’s ugly head. Katherine Berkley a 24 year old model claimed to have given birth to Tom’s child, a claim Tom strenuously denied, much later DNA testing proved that indeed the young boy in question, Johnathan, was the son of the World’s Sex Bomb. Tom had had a colourful life with a huge amount of success but a clever marketing move in 1996 saw the doors fly open to a larger and much younger generation. Tom changed direction with his music and recorded an album with young musicians, ‘Reload’, which became by far his biggest selling album going platinum 6 times over and selling over 4 million copies in the UK alone. Royal recognition was awarded to Tom in 1999 when he was awarded the OBE by the Queen and it seemed wherever Tom went, acclaims followed, including, best male at Britt Awards, Amigo Award for best international male in Spain, he was nominated for the prestigious NJR Award(France) for best international act and was presented with the ECHO Award for best international male in Germany. Tom went on to perform for the President and Mrs. Clinton at the Whitehouse to mak the new millennium celebrations and he had the great pleasure of performing at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2001. To celebrate his 65th birthday and his career spanning five decades he gave a special concert in his home town of Pontypridd for 25,000 adoring friends and fans, this was the first time he had performed in his home town since 1964. With the dawning of 2006 Tom was to receive two of his most treasured memories. Firstly he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen and later in the year he had the great privilege of watching his Grandson Alexander, brother to Emma, compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games representing Wales as a ‘full bore marksman’. Tom last year performed at the New Wembley Stadium to celebrate the life of his friend Dianah Princess of Wales. Tom Jones the sex bomb, has had a glorious and colourful career, so obviously has many fond memories to look back on in his twilight years, but I’m not so sure, having seen him in concert in 2005, in Benidorm, Spain of all places, I don’t believe we have heard the last of this living legend. Sir Tom Jones I salute you. where East meets West Pattaya Silly Quiz! e l z z u P a i n a M 1 The maker doesn't want it; the buyer doesn't use it; and the user doesn't even see it. What is it? 2 There is one word in the English language that is always pronounced incorrectly. What is it? 3 What is it that goes up and goes down but does not move? Sudoku 4 Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth? 5 What is one thing that all wise men, regardless of their religion or politics, agree is between heaven and earth? 6 If an electric train is going westbound and the wind blowing northbound, in what direction will the smoke from the train travel? 7 How could you rearrange the letters in the words "new door" to make one word? Note: There is only one correct answer. 8 Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg ‘are’ white" or "The yolk of the egg ‘is’ white"? Answers later in the magazine, good luck Quick Crossword 2 Hope you enjoy the Crossword, answers later in the magazine 08 Grapevine where East meets West Across 5. Al fresco party (5) 6. Cricketer is a Hero (6) 7. not mine anymore (6) 9. Angry fringe (9) 11. Knocked a little bit of food off (4) 12. Liams desert salvation (5) 14. Catholic head is a writer (4) 15. Twice a godess (3) 16. Not to good in pillaging. (3) 17. Not here (4) 19. Or almost betrays his manner (5) 21. A dot thanks Jupiters moon (4) 23. Great famous person (9) 26. All parties accept he's a pig (6) 27. Miners take weapons (6) 28. Pushes up a Flower (5) Down 1. Almost gone (7) 2. Dance in the jungle (5) 3. Polish (5) 4. Animal falls for flower (7) 8. Twice a godess (4) 9. Metal police (7) 10. Catholic head is a writer (7) 12. pick (3) 13. Tis back (3) 18. Eight sides disappear (7) 20. chocolate bubbles (4) 22. Informing bell (7) 24. Throws a tantrum in Chinese field (5) 25. T carries sunbeams (5) How Grapevine where East meets West First, a bit of surprising golf history: 1. Who was the first golf professional nicknamed " Tiger " ? 2. Who was the first pro to eschew the driver in an Open Championship and win? NO !! it is not Tiger Woods. It is Peter Thomson: ‘The Melbourne Tiger’. Green Valley was designed by Thomson & Wolveridge. Of Thomson much can be written and by way of Thomson an appreciation of green Valley can be gained. Thomson was a five time Open Champion with a hat trick in '54,; '55;, & '56. Who was in the field way back then one might ask ?...Player, DiVincenzo, Cotton, Locke, Von Nida, O'Connor Sr. and Charles. Perhaps Thomson saved his best for last when he won the Open for the final time in 1965 when Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and Lema were contending. It is fair to say the Thomson felt much at home on links courses and feared no one. He was not a long hitter but a thinker who managed his way around a course. Thomson's view on course design was that, "A course should be a bit wild, at least in some corners. A weed now and then would be a great where East meets West Grapevine 11 relief. The most important facets of golf are careful planning, calm and clear thinking and the ordinary logic of common sense. " Sounds easy ! Thomson brought his experience to Green Valley. The course is a cross between the American style with many links influences. There are 69 bunkers and many are deep faced. A stray shot into one of these will force the player to lay up well short of the green. Thomson stated that, "bunkers should be treated with respect and common sense. It is not always possible to play out forward, and the notion of getting away without a penalty of distance lost is usually a fantasy. " It is no secret that to score well at Green Valley S T A Y out of the bunkers. The course opens with a welcoming par 5. A strategic drive will leave you short of the central bunkers and a bunker on the right. If you are feeling spry those central bunkers can be flown giving the golfer the chance to get home in two. The first green runs away from the golfer. Any iron hit to the green must be struck precisely and with enough spin to hold. The second hole is a shortish par 3 over water. There is room to bail out right if your Bloody Mary has yet to kick in. The third hole, when the pin sits atop a smallish top level on the right of the green is all a short hole could call for. Play safe off the tee either short of the central bunkers or to the left and you will have a longer shot to the green. Take the bunkers on and a short iron remains. The second shot, uphill to the top tier will have your palms sweating and questioning your skills. How far uphill ...how far over the guarding bunker... how far right is far enough ??? Analysis of the wind, lie and the Pythagoream Theroem may not be enough to figure out this shot. Perhaps a shot of another sort will help steel ones nerves. Anything but a very precise shot to the seemingly credit card size shelf will be rejected...the ball rolling down a steep incline all but assuring a three putt. An approach to the right of the green demands an extremely fine and soft touch lest the ball rolls down the incline. Many times I have seen golfers try two, three and four times unsuccessfully to get the ball to the top shelf before just bashing it up the hill, over the green, out of play from sere frustration. I LOVE THIS GAME ! The next 3 holes are a bit controversial as they have either new greens or tees. Some will argue that they have made the course better. Traditionalists yearn for the original layout. Regardless they have the # 3 & 1 12 Grapevine where East meets West HDCP holes in succession. Many a fine golfer would settle for two bogeys and a par. The fourth hole is 390 yards with bunkers left and right in the driving area. The approach is to a 3 tiered green with water guarding the right side of the green. A very large bunker " the Hitler " ( once you go down into that bunker you may never come out ) guards the back left part of the green. The uphill par 4, fifth hole is unreachable in 2 shots for most golfers as it usually plays into the prevailing wind. Trees right and left and a gaping bunker to the right of a smallish green all adds up to a very tall order. Get your 5 and go gladly. A short walk follows to the next tee...a great time to lick your wounds and look about and see how beautifully this course is landscaped. Large boulders, diverse cacti and local flora with white stone ground cover.....look up and smell the roses. The 7th, a short , sharp dogleg left to a two tiered green balance out the side. Do not let your guard down. Birdies can be made here but I have seen far more double bogies. If your game has been on then nine hole remain to humble you. If you have been off your game then nine remain to right the ship. After nine holes it should dawn on the golfer that a driver is not needed or required. Get the ball in play at a fair distance and the course opens up. The 10th is a short par 4 to an elevated, crowned green A crowned green is one that resembles an upturned bowl, thus reducing the playable size of a seemingly enticing green. Trouble begins if you miss this narrow target. A deft touch is demanded to pitch on or else you may find yourself visiting both sides of the green. How can such a simple looking hole be so dangerous to your score and mental health ? The12th is the signature hole. A beautiful, short par 3, 110 yards. Water right...bunkers right and left and a sloping , narrow green. Miss this green left and you will be lucky to avoid the waiting right bunker. Remarkably 3 out of 4 golfers miss this green...time to review "careful planning and calm clear thinking." The 13th hole is the most difficult of the inward half. A par 4, 400 yards and trouble everywhere. Trees right and left, a narrow fairway with a deep bunker right and a tree blocking the approach to the short right side of the green. This green is sloped sharply left to right and back to front and plays the fastest of the course. This hole can make or break your round. A bogey 5 feels like a well earned par. A downhill , difficult par 4, 15th to the most subtle green before the uphill stretch to the clubhouse. A good drive leaves a mid-iron to a green that is beguilingly hidden by bumps and hillocks that give the illusion of a green closer to you than its actual yardage. Take enough club as it is better to err long rather than short. The par 3 16th play just the opposite. It has a very steep green slanted back to front and it is better to be a bit short as a putt from above the hole can run off the green. The 17th is a seemingly simple uphill par 4.Yet scores of 6,7 and 8 have oft been recorded. It is a subtle and deceptive hole that can leave you wondering what just happened to your round. The round closes with a typical Thomson par 4. A large central bunker cannot be ignored. Either play short of it or to the left or go for broke and attempt to fly it. Palm trees right and a bunker left further define the landing areas. Successfully negotiate this and a short to mid-iron will get you home, looking at a birdie and leaving a good taste in your mouth. If you are looking for a great day out, a complete and interesting challenge, testing all aspects of your game in beautiful surroundings then Green Valley is the ticket. Written by Steve Mascari On the Lighter Side The Talking of Animals While out walking one day, a young boy met a redneck riding along with a dog and sheep and began a conversation. “Hey, cool dog you got there. Mind if I speak to him?” asked the boy. “Stupid kid,” said the redneck. “Dogs don’t talk.” The little boy ignored the redneck and talked to the dog anyway. “Hey dog, how’s it going?” “Doin’ all right,” replied the dog to the redneck’s amazement. “Is this guy your owner?” asked the boy. “Yep,” replied the dog. “How does he treat you?” asked the boy. “Real good. He walks me twice a day, feeds me great food, and takes me to the lake once a week to play.” With that, the boy asked if he could talk to the redneck’s horse. “Stupid kid, horses don’t talk,” replied the redneck. The little boy ignored the redneck and talked to the horse, anyway. “Hey horse, how’s it going?” “Cool,” replied the horse. “Is this your owner?” asked the boy pointing to the redneck. “Yep.” “How’s he treat you?” asked the boy. “Pretty good, thanks for asking,” replied the horse. “He rides me regularly, brushes me down often, and keeps me in a shed to protect me.” The redneck was totally amazed at his talking horse. “Mind if I talk to your sheep?” asked the boy. “The sheep’s a liar,” answered the redneck. 14 Grapevine where East meets West Following a nasty car accident... Following a nasty car accident, a man’s wife slips into a coma. After spending weeks at her bedside, the husband is summoned to the hospital. “It’s amazing” says the Doctor, breathlessly. “While bathing your wife, one of the nurses noticed she responded to her breasts being touched.” The husband is very excited, and asks what he can do. “Well,” says the doc, “if one erogenous zone provokes a response, perhaps the others will too.” So the husband goes alone into the room, where he slips his hand under the covers and begins to massage her bits. Amazingly, the woman begins to move and even moan a little. The man tells the doctor, waiting outside. “Excellent!” he says. “If she responds like that to your finger, I think you should try oral sex.” Nodding, the husband returns to the room - but within minutes the heart monitor alarms go off, and the medics pile into the room. “What happened?” shouts the doctor, as he checks the prone woman’s pulse. “I’m not sure,” replies the man, looking sheepish. “I think she choked.” What is Politics A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is politics?” Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I’m the breadwinner of the family, so let’s call me capitalism.Your Mom, she’s the administrator of the money, so we’ll call her the Government. We’re here to take care of your needs, so we’ll call you the people. The nanny, we’ll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we’ll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,” So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents’ room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, “Dad, I think I Understand the concept of politics now.” The father says, “Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.” The little boy replies, “Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.” The Blonde & Ventriloquist A young ventriloquist is touring the clubs and stops to entertain at a bar in a small town. He's going through his usual run of stupid blonde jokes, when a blonde woman in the fourth row stands on her chair and says, "I've heard just about enough of your degrading blonde jokes, asshole. What makes you think you can stereotype women that way? What do a person's physical attributes have to do with their worth as a human being? It's guys like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in my community, of reaching my full potential as a person because you and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes but women at large ... all in the name of humor." Flustered, the ventriloquist begins to apologize, when the blonde says, "You stay out of this, Mister! I'm talking to that little bastard on your knee!" India Brings you the worlds cheapest car What can you buy for £1,300, $2,500 or approximately 75,000 baht these days? A couple of return tickets home? A 15 year old run around? A take-off of a Harley Davidson? Or you maybe surprised to know, a brand new car! Not as luxurious as a Rolls, nor as fast as a Porsche and definitely not as stunningly beautiful as an Aston Martin, but then again we are only talking about the price of a DVD player in a Lexus. Let me introduce you to the Nano, built by Tata, an Indian conglomerate who at the moment are bidding for Jaguar and Land Rover, who are better known for their elephantine lorries, have defied all the experts by producing a cutting-edge passenger car which is spacious and promises to be fuel efficient. The car is a culmination of 5 years research, involving a team of over 500 engineers which was revealed at this years Delhi Auto Expo to the sounds of 2001: A space odyssey. Where company chairman Mr. Tata, heralded it’s arrival with the likes of the Wright Bothers and the Moon Landing. The Nano is 3 metre’s long, can seat four comfortably, five at a squeeze, is four door, can do 65mph and has already been dubbed ‘The People’s Car,’ as it will revolutionise travel for millions of people around the world. The Nano which will be built at a plant in West Bengal will originally only be sold in India in the second half of 2008, with an estimated initial annual run of 250,000 units. It is expected to be made available in Latin America, South East Asia and Africa over the next few years when the company hopes to be producing in excess of 1,000,000 cars each year. Mr Tata, Company Chairman, said the Nano had passed a full frontal crash test in India and was 16 Grapevine where East meets West designed to sustain further impact testing under European standards, but it is believed the Nano will have to go through a few years of safety enhancement before it will meet European Safety Standards and of course this will significantly raise the price. Constructed from aluminium and containing a rear mounted 33bhp two-cylinder petrol engine the Nano weighs in at about half a ton. No frills here, the basic model comes with brakes, four gear manual gear box, door locks, wind down windows, seatbelts, window wiper and a steering wheel. The deluxe versions will have such luxuries as radio’s, air-bags and even air-conditioning. Mr Tata went on to say “I hope this changes the way people travel in rural India. We are a country of a billion people and are being denied connectivity. With a top speed of 65mph, a fuel consumption of 50mpg and a very small price tag, the no-nonsense. Nano is the no frills car for the 21st Century. I am sure this car will sell in it’s millions all over the world, but personally, I’m hoping its banned from the streets of Pattaya, can you imagine if all our mopeds were replaced by little, colourful, but much larger then mopeds, Nano’s? Now, how long will it take you to get to your favourite GoGo Bar? I mean supermarket or round of golf. Places To Go Things To Do People To See After the January 1st New Year’s Day the rest of the month of January in Thailand is usually void of festivals and is pretty much a time to lie back and enjoy the weather, but not this year. The 2009 lunar calendar causes the Chinese New Year to also fall in January. Dec 31 – Jan 1: On the 31st of December and 1st of January 2009 join the Thais in making merit at either Lan Pho Na Klua, South Pattaya Beach Road or at Jomtien Beach. For additional information call: 038-253-100 Jan 9 – 11: For you golfers, check out the Third Royal Trophy Europe vs Asia Golf Championship which challenges the masters of team golf – Europe against Asian golf pros in a Ryder Cup format. Play will take place January 9 thru 11 at the flawless 7,470 yard Amata Spring Country Club located southeast of Bangkok at the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate. For additional information call TAT: 02-250-5500 or go to www.theroyaltrophy.com Jan 10: Aka Hill Tribes Mini Light and Sound Presentation. Chiang Rai province hosts its annual light and sound show that presents insights into the culture and daily life of the Aka hill tribes, resident in hilltop villages in Mae Chan District. The show is presented in both Thai and English and runs from 1730 to 1930. Tickets cost Bt150 per person and the show with dinner 18 Grapevine where East meets West is priced at Bt300 per person. The location is: Chiang Rai Social Development Centre 12 on the Doi Mae Salong road in Pa Sang Sub-district of Mae Chan, Chiang Rai. For additional information call: TAT Chiang Rai Office 053-744-674-5 or the Chiang Rai Social Development Centre 12 at 053-914-471 Jan 17 – 21: For you Navy vets and military history buffs, from the 17th thru the 21st of January there will be a big parade and festival on the island of Koh Chang in Trat Province honoring Thai navy personnel who lost their lives while giving service to Thailand in 1942. Jan 23: The first ever Pattaya International Mardi Gras will be held in the evening of January 23 with an Electric Parade starting at City Hall and finishing on Pattaya’s Beach Road close to the Pattaya Klang (Central Pattaya Road) intersection. Pick your spot to watch or if you want to join the fun call the Pattaya City Hall or TAT at: : 02-250-5500 Jan 24 – 25: Reggae Music lovers head for the Pai Maehongson Thailand Reggae Festival located at the Pai Tree House Resort public area, Nong Krating Domain, Vieng Nei , Pai Mae Hong Son. The ticket price of Bt390 includes a premium gift, a free drink and other discounts. For more information go to http://paireggaefest.com or call the Pai Arts Club: 081-493-1246 or the Tourism Pai office at: 053-699-935 Jan 25 – 27: The Chinese New Year is on the first day of the first lunar month, usually in February, but this year it falls in January. The Chinese people celebrate their lunar new year with lion dances, fireworks, paying respect to their ancestors and a week house-cleaning. In Pattaya everyone can enjoy celebrating the Chinese New Year from January 25 to 27 at the Bali Hai Pier at the south end of Walking Street. Come with an appetite because Walking Street will be filled with table after table filled with a variety of exotic delectable international foods. Each evening concerts delight the crowds with music in the Bali Hai area. For additional information call: 038-253-100 Jan ??: Tennis fans and players won’t want to miss the Pattaya Tennis Open 2009 being held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort and the Fairtex Sport Club & Hotel. At time of publication no dates had been set, but you can call 081-863-0668 for information. where East meets West s ’ y e l p i R ! t o N r o t I e v Belie of Entertainment World Robert Leroy Ripley, dubbed the ‘Modern Marco Polo’, was an insatiable, intrepid explorer of the bizarre, abnormal and the peculiar. In his forty-year quest, he traversed the globe, visiting 198 countries; a journey equivalent to 18 circumnavigations. Constantly on the lookout for the incredible and weird to bring back to the US; in this respect he was similar to that other remarkable collector of uncanny facts, Charles Forte. A talented cartoonist, who drew his pictures upside-down, Ripley produced his first collection of strange facts and feats in 1918. Originally entitled “Champs and Chumps’, his editor influenced its change to ‘Believe It or Not!’ Forming the core of an expanded book under the same name, it became a best-seller, selling over half-a-million copies. Republished in many editions, if all those ‘Believe It or Not!’ books were stacked together, they would be 100 times the size of the Empire State Building! Becoming a household name in the US, Ripley gradually became immensely popular worldwide, with his ‘Believe It or Not!’ feature syndicated in 300 newspapers, read by 80 million, in 17 languages, with a researcher labouring over 52 years, 10 hours daily in the New York Public Library to help source strange facts. Ripley received literally millions of mail items over the years, from both fans and incredulous critics, including one Wayne Harbour of Bedford, Iowa who, over 26 years, wrote over 22,000 letters trying to disprove Ripley, but never received one back which contradicted Ripley’s claims. 20 Grapevine where East meets West Next, hosting a popular radio programme, he brought vicarious pleasure to millions by interviewing such oddities as snake handlers and fire walkers and relating his own, often fantastic adventures. He featured on a variety of radio shows from 1930-48, achieving several firsts in this time, like the first mid-ocean broadcast and the first simultaneous broadcast to every nation in the world. He also branched out into films and TV, but most enduring are his museums or Odditoriums, the first staged as an exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, attracting over two million visitors. Several other notable exhibitions followed, but it wasn’t until 1950, a year after Ripley’s death, that the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida. Many of the 29 Ripley’s Odditoriums worldwide appear to have suffered a disaster; apt preparation for what one is about to experience inside! Two appear to have been impaled, Pattaya’s by a crashed plane and another by a shark. There are two earthquake- fractured museums, another hurricane-struck, with yet another apparently plummeting into a sinkhole and one where the building’s front seems about to fall off. There’s one resembling a broken-topped lighthouse, another a beached luxury cruise liner, whilst in Niagara Falls, King Kong stands astride a toppled Empire State Building. Finally, there are two castles, one Mediaeval and the other in St. Augustine, a Moorish Revival mansion transformed into a castle. We, in the Pattaya Today Review Team, had the pleasure of being introduced to the Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not!’ attractions by Ms.Yada Wongthongkum, Ripley’s Marketing Manager. Ripley’s Pattaya, located on 3rd Floor of Royal Garden Plaza, started as an Odditorium in 1995, but like many others soon expanded into a multi-faceted, world of entertainment. ‘Believe It or Not!’ now comprises the Museum, Haunted Adventure, Infinity Maze and 4D Moving Theatre. The Museum houses 10 themed galleries from primitive to marine, with over 300 intriguing real and replica exhibits, including torture devices, like the rack and the Manda U-kee-pa self-mutilation torture where a Red Indian brave is suspended by two hooks through his chest skin, weighed down by buffalo skulls, as dramatised by Richard Harris in ‘A Man Called Horse’, a mask made from human skin, a shrunken head, African fertility symbols, the wax figure of the four-eyed man, a 3-legged horse, a fake mermaid made from the top part of a monkey and the bottom of a fish, a 9ft-tall man, a man with musical ears, a Titanic model constructed from more than 1,000,000 matchsticks, the amazing disorienting tunnel, a Jaws exhibit, the world’s largest tyre, and a horse-mounted suit of armour by the side of two amazingly lifelike individuals, one a photographer and the other his subject that the Japanese group near us thought were so realistic, they didn’t venture across them for 5 minutes! The Haunted Adventure would obviously have appealed to Ripley’s ghoulish sense of humour, having once polished gravestones.You are introduced through the door of the dead to a replica of the original, 20th century warehouse of the Grimsby and Streaper Casket Company.Your initial host, in gruesome make up, conducts you inside where you are given a rope which all in your party hang on to, before you’re plunged into the dark to fend for yourself. Then you tentatively wend your way through various mostly dark, eldritch, winding passages while preternatural sounds are heard all around and you’re unexpectedly accosted along the way by stiffs that are suddenly projected from coffins or gibbets, or by live Thai staff, masquerading as the dead, who leap out shrieking from hidden corners and seem to prey on the female members. Chinese women have been known to wet themselves and I heard pretty realistic screams from a Japanese party that were being pursued by a manic chain saw-wilding ghoul. Next to the Infinity Maze where, issued with white gloves and socks, groups are sent into the maze and have to find their own way out. Each of the dozen rooms is futuristic, semi-dark or with innovative lightning, sound fields and atmospheric special effects. Walls, ceilings and floors are mirror-covered and you’re immersed in spectacular optical illusions as floors seem to melt away, and with no distinct exit, you have to push each mirror until eventually finding the door, you emerge into yet another confusing scenario. Some people apparently wander round lost for hours! Finally, the 4D Moving Theatre, featuring 3-D glasses, 70mm. high definition projection, 8-directional, dynamic motion seating, and digital surround sound to immerse you in the action of a high-tech film scenario. It’s the first one in Thailand. A simulated, visual-reality amusement, in our case partly a roller coaster ride, which my Thai ladyphotographer far preferred to the Haunted house! Well worth spending a few happy hours; quality entertainment for the whole family. where East meets West 21 Pattaya Air Park the Resort with a Difference Nestling down the Phoenix Golf Club Road is what is currently a little known Pattaya attraction, though its reputation will soon be widespread. You may well have seen evidence of this attraction in the form of a light aircraft, ultralight, or helicopter ranging across the skies, and apart from gazing in rapt envy, imagining the exhilarating freedom, you might have asked yourself where it had come from. The answer is Pattaya Air Park in Huay Yai, the site of Fun Flying Thai Air Service Co. Ltd. (FF) and one of the most adventurous projects in Thailand, as well as being the venue for flying shows and other entertainment events. Pattaya Air Park, incorporating the Pilot Village, is the dream made manifest of two individuals, Nawaporn Sawaetwong aka Neil and Sonny Souvannavong; two men totally passionate about the sheer joys of personal flying. And like enthusiasts of any persuasion, they don’t wish to keep it merely for themselves, but are intent on extending the privilege universally. Sonny equates himself with Henry Ford 22 Grapevine where East meets West insofar as he wishes everyone to have, not a car, but a plane, or, at the very least, a private pilot’s licence. He, himself, just so happens to own a Ferrari, but he prefers his plane by far, for the unbridled freedom it affords him. Neil was the one who actually started the Pattaya Air Park, by first leasing and then buying a 127 rai plot of land, which conveniently had an old airstrip located on it. This airstrip Neil refurbished into an airfield and began in earnest to develop Thailand’s first comprehensive airpark, essentially as a “haven for those fascinated by aerial sports and recreational flying, “ to quote the man, himself. The aerial services now on offer include air charter, special aerial services - filming, photographing, and video taking, for private individuals, businesses and TV companies, sightseeing from the four-seater Cessna-172 or tandem skydiving, with the ultimate: ultralight and private pilot flying lessons. A 20-30 minute Sightseeing flight will give you an unprecedented bird’s eye view of Jomtien Beach, Koh Larn and the whole of Pattaya City and its environs for Bt1,400 per person. With Tandem skydiving, accompanied by a certified Tandem master, intrepid souls can experience the adrenalin rush of a mid-air leap, costing from Bt11,000 for a basic jump to Bt16,000, for jump plus a video of your performance that you can show to your sceptical friends, just to prove your courage. Alternatively, for Bt90,000, you can become an ultralight pilot in the space of a month! Pattaya Airpark’s ultralight flying course includes: • all equipment costs; • 20 hours of ground school lessons; • 20 hours of one-on-one flying lessons with certified flight instructor; • written exam fee for Ultralight Pilot Licence (UPL); • life membership of the Royal Aeronautics Sports Association of Thailand (RASAT); • life membership of the Royal Thai Air Classic Association (RTAC). For ultralight novices, there’s a special 1-hour introductory flight costing Bt5,000. For those with the cash to spare and the ambition, the cost of a fully fledged Private Pilot Licence (PPL) is Bt300,000, including the aircraft use, flying lessons, manuals, fuel etc. Sonny reckons learning to fly a plane is actually easier than learning to drive and infinitely more enjoyable. Should you be in the position to buy, there are 3 types of light aircraft on sale: the FK9 Mk IV (Bt4.2 million), FK12 Comet bi-plane (Bt4.9 million), and FK14 Polaris (Bt5.6 million); all prices include PPL training, leading to a licence. The aircraft are all of contemporary design, with state-of-the-art equipment, including GPS navigation, and are composed of lightweight composite fibre-glass, carbon-fibre, aluminium and/or tubular steel. Ownership of one of these planes will open up endless opportunities to experience the total exhilaration of congestion-free flying. No more frustrations of traffic grid-locks; instead, you can indulge in fancy-free hedge-hopping across Thailand, via a network of private airports located in Hua Hin, Phuket, Kao Yai, Koh Chang, Chiang Mai, and Chang Rai. Pattaya Airpark also has full aircraft maintenance, repair and assembly facilities, making it effectively a one-stop aviation venue. But that’s only half of it; theirs is a lifestyle concept extraordinaire. Neil and Sonny would like to offer those similarly enflamed by the contagion of flying and with the necessary resources, the opportunity to share in their ‘Paradise for Aviators’ - the Pilot Village, Pattaya Air Park Resort, whereby you can not only buy a plane, but also a house actually located on the airpark itself, incorporating hanger facilities, giving immediate access to the runway and the skies of Thailand. This is a first in Thailand; a real estate where East meets West Grapevine 23 concept unique in SE Asia, albeit adapted from similar aviator resorts in the States. Just imagine the convenience of strolling from your house into your adjoining private hanger in the morning, getting into your own plane, conducting the necessary pre-flight checks, logging your itinerary and requesting flight clearance from the control tower and then just taking to the air, free as a bird, as you wend your merry way to Chiang Mai, perhaps for some exclusive shopping, or a business meeting. To reiterate Sonny’s sentiments, it’s infinitely more pleasurable and stress-free than driving, and, what’s more, it will only take you an estimated 4 hours and cost you about Bt2,800, including fuel and landing fees. To encourage pilots, who are or will become mutual friends, the Pilot Village, Pattaya Air Park Resort is offering the house-plus-plane package at a starting price of Bt11.5 million. The architect is a pilot and a shareholder of FF, so you can rest assured your house will be well custom-designed.The individual houses currently come in 3 designs, ranging from Bt8-11 million. These are: The Aviator - 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1000m2 land with 300m2 living area; The Colony – 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 1,500m2 land with 400m2 living area and The Retreat – 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 2,000m2 land with 450m2 living area. Each hanger will be able to accommodate the largest of the three planes on offer. Alternatively, you can buy your own land plot and typically custom-build a 2 storey, 3 bed room, 4-5 bath room residence, with living room, kitchen and a 2-car garage, hangar, terraces, 24 Grapevine where East meets West swimming pool, jacuzzi, work shop etc; as long as it’s in keeping with the surrounding architecture. Other deals include leasing the land, or even becoming a shareholder of Pattaya Airpark. Pilots and students taking pilot licences, as well as guests in general, can also find convenient accommodation in the Aviator Retreat, located on site. Pattaya Air Park will also be prominent in staging events, like Sun-&-Fun Air shows, concerts and parties. There is also the Thai Air Museum, under the patronage of His Majesty the King, In addition, there will soon be full resort-quality recreational facilities, including a restaurant, coffee shop and sports club, with swimming pool, tennis, squash, badminton, snooker, table tennis, spa, sauna, fitness, massage and a golfputting range. For those without transport, cars, motorbikes or bicycles will be on hire, as well as regular shuttle-vans to Pattaya, which, with all its myriad attractions, is very close. Every consideration has been given to providing a totally comprehensive service.Your every requirement will be satisfied, affording a completely wholesome, stress-free, fun-filled lifestyle that, as a consequence, if you’re careful, will actually go a long way to conferring the inestimable bonus of longevity, as well as all the other benefits. Contact Neil at [email protected] or call 086-374 1718 And see their website at: http://www.funflying.biz/ Noy Takes On S. Tsow U.S. Politics My friend Fardley Nerdwell is still recovering from the U.S. presidential campaign. It’s not because of the campaign itself, but because of the trouble he had explaining the campaign rhetoric to his girlfriend Noy. Fardley, incidentally, has some wise advice for every expat who may be thinking of sending his Thai girlfriend to school to study English. “I learned the hard way,” he now says ruefully. “I thought it was terrible that Noy and I couldn’t communicate. She would sit there watching Thai TV in silence, never speaking except in Thai or in terse English monosyllables. If only she could speak English, what scintillating discussions we might have! “So I sent her to a school called E-Z English 4 U. Even the name wasn’t English. It was some kind of deformed, airhead English that teenyboppers use on the Internet. That alone should have warned me. “The school did its fiendish work all too well. Now Noy speaks English, all right, but she never shuts up. It’s yak yak yak, all the time, and she’s always arguing with me. I was better off when we couldn’t communicate at all. The key to a successful intercultural relationship is the complete absence of communication.” Despite its name, the school was rooted in traditional English grammar. It had three stern slogans, which Noy took to heart: “Speak clearly. Speak grammatically. Be specific.” Noy applied these principles to the U.S. presidential campaign, which she watched on TV. Fardley reported her reactions as follows: Noy (watching the Obama campaign; frowning): Why Obama not have English name? What mean 26 Grapevine where East meets West “Barack”? Same-same “brack”? Fardley: No, no! It doesn’t have anything to do with black. Noy: Same-same “borrock”? Fardley: Jesus, no! It doesn’t have anything to do with bollocks. It’s an Arabic word, usually spelled “barak.” It means blessed. Noy: Ah. Nice name. But he have slogan, “Yes, we can.” This is not sentence. Is incomprete.Yes, we can…what? Fardley: Well, it means we can do anything, Noy. Noy: This not clear. Not grammatic. Not specific. If mean we can do anything, should say we can do anything. Not just “Yes, we can.” Slogan is…(taking a deep breath, as if reciting from memory)…wague and imprecite. Fardley: Vague and imprecise? Well, I suppose it is. But “Yes, we can do anything” is too long. A political slogan has to be short and punchy. Do you like Obama, Noy? Noy: No. Too brack. Fardley (taken aback by such overt racism): Uh. Too black, eh? Well, do you like McCain? Noy: No. Too owned. Fardley: Uh. Too old. Well, who DO you like? Noy (correcting him): WHOM do you rike. “Whom” is object of werb. Must be grammatic. I rike Hirrary. Not brack, not owned. Just right. Phuying duay! Phalang Phuying dee! [She’s a woman, too! Woman Power is good!] But Obama have other slogan: “Change we need.” Why not grammatic? Why put object fir’t? Should be “We need change.” Fardley: Ah, well, actually, he means “Change THAT we need.” He leaves out the “that.” Noy (severely): That is not sentence. That is subordinate crause. What ABOUT change that we need? And why he only want change? Why so keeniao [stingy]? Why he not want big money? Fardley: He’s not talking about money, Noy. He’s talking about change. Noy: Maichai! Change mean small money. You pay chekbin at restaurant, give waitrett big money, ask for change. Why Obama talk small money? Why he not want big money? Fardley: He’s talking about a different kind of change, Noy. What’s the Thai word? Bplian-bplaeng. To change, to make things different. Obama wants to change things, make things better. Noy: Oho. Different kind of change. Noy khaojai. But McCain have slogan too. What mean “StraightTalk Ekprett”? Fardley: Uhhhhh, that’s the name of his bus. It’s an express bus. He calls it “straight talk,” because he says he’s talking straight. That means clear and honest. No bullshit. Noy (enlightened): Ahhhh, “straight talk” mean no boorshit. Noy khaojai. But why he call everybody “my fliend”? He no have enemy? Fardley: He probably has lots of enemies, but he wants everybody to be his friend. That’s why he keeps saying “my friends.” I’ve always thought he should address his audiences as “my friends, my enemies, and all those jerks who haven’t made their minds up yet.” So Fardley finally straightened out Noy’s ideas about U.S. politics, except for her lamentable tendencies toward racism, ageism, and sexism. Those little prejudices may take some time to iron out. In the meantime, since she’s taken an interest in politics, he’s trying to correct her pronunciation of the name of the current U.S. secretary of state. It’s not pronounced Congo Reza Lite. S. Tsow can be flamed at [email protected], except when he’s wondering how Noy would pronounce “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” where East meets West Grapevine 27 Laughter is the Best Medicine Three men were standing in line to get into heaven one day. Apparently it had been a pretty busy day, though, so St. Peter had to tell the first one, “Heaven’s getting pretty close to full today, and I’ve been asked to admit only people who have had particularly horrible deaths. So what’s your story?” The first man replies: “Well, for a while I’ve suspected my wife has been cheating on me, so today I came home early to try to catch her red-handed. As I came into my 25th floor apartment, I could tell something was wrong, but all my searching around didn’t reveal where this other guy could have been hiding. Finally, I went out to the balcony, and sure enough, there was this man hanging off the railing, 25 floors above ground! By now I was really mad, so I started beating on him and kicking him, but wouldn’t you know it, he wouldn’t fall off. So finally I went back into my apartment and got a hammer and starting hammering on his fingers. Of course, he couldn’t stand that for long, so he let go and fell-but even after 25 stories, he fell into the bushes, stunned but okay. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the fridge, and threw it over the edge where it landed on him, killing him instantly. But all the stress and anger got to me, and I had a heart attack and died there on the balcony.” “That sounds like a pretty bad day to me,” said Peter, and let the man in. The second man comes up and Peter explains to him about heaven being full, and again asks for his story. “It’s been a very strange day.You see, I live on the 26th floor of my apartment building, and every morning I do my exercises out on my balcony. Well, this morning I must have slipped or something, because I fell over the edge. But I got lucky, and caught the railing of the balcony on the floor below me. I knew I couldn’t hang on for very long, when suddenly this man burst out onto the balcony. I thought for sure I was saved, when he started beating 28 Grapevine where East meets West on me and kicking me. I held on the best I could until he ran into the apartment and grabbed a hammer and started pounding on my hands. Finally I just let go, but again I got lucky and fell into the bushes below, stunned but all right. Just when I was thinking I was going to be okay, this refrigerator comes falling out of the sky and crushes me instantly, and now I’m here.” Once again, Peter had to concede that that sounded like a pretty horrible death. The third man came to the front of the line, and again the whole process was repeated. Peter explained that heaven was full and asked for his story. “Picture this,” says the third man, “I’m hiding naked inside a refrigerator...” The Birds and the Birds A lady approaches her priest and says, “Father, I have a problem. I have two female talking parrots, but they only know how to say one thing.” “What do they say?” the priest inquires. “They only know how to say, ‘Hi, we’re prostitutes. Want to have some fun?’” “That’s terrible,” the priest exclaims, “but I have a solution to your problem. Bring your two female parrots over to my house, and I will put them with my two male talking parrots whom I taught to pray and read the bible. My parrots will teach your parrots to stop saying that terrible phrase, and your female parrots will learn to praise and worship.” “Thank you!” the woman responds. The next day, the woman brings her female parrots to the priest’s house. His two male parrots are holding rosary beads and praying in their cage. The lady puts her two female parrots in with the male parrots, and the female parrots say, “Hi, we’re prostitutes, want to have some fun?” One male parrot looks at the other male parrot and exclaims, “Put the beads away. Our prayers have been answered!” Sudoku Answers Silly Quiz Answers 1. Coffin 2. incorrectly 3. Temperature 4. Mount Everest 5. The word "and." 6. Electric train has no smoke 7. "new door" = "one word" 8. Neither, the yolk is yellow Quick Crossword Answers Looking for something different? Pattaya FREE Do you get fed up with looking through the same old boring magazines, reading the same old boring property stories and wish for something a bit different? e n i v e p a r G uary Issue 01 - jan 2009 How n Gree ts West where East mee Night Well now we believe we are MARCH bringing you a brand new Thai publishing concept for Pattaya Lite 2 Tickets IN W RED to see SIMPLY Pages Competition LIVE in Concer Pattaya Grapevine is a new concept in high quality publishing with 60 pages of full colour containing interesting articles, regular columnists, news from around Thailand, where to go, national fiestas and attractions, fun and humour pages and quality advertising. t each month into key locations throughout Pattaya 5,000 distributed and Bangkok including Tourist Offices, Hotels, Hospitals and copies Clinics, Supermarkets, Restaurants, Lawyers, Advertisers, etc. Pattaya Grapevine will become your No.1 vehicle for getting your message across to the ex-pat community and visiting tourists alike, to place your advertisement for only 9,999 baht per full page in full colour please contact Peter on 0806 442 511 [email protected] Look out for it January 1st 2009 Top ten Let’s take a look at the must have gadgets for 2009. iPhone 3G (Apple) I suspect most people would vote the iPhone as the gadget of last year. Now with the addition of 3G and push enterprise e-mail, it’s a much stronger smartphone contender. It also is for me the first true convergence device that actually does for the most part work (firmware 2.0 bugs aside). Convergence coming in the form of GPS, Camera, E-mail, Phone, Web browser, Gaming, Application support, Picture and Video browser. It also has made a lot of the big mobile names like Nokia and Sony sit up, which is great, as the user interface on the iPhone and iPod Touch is truly heads and tails above any of their current phones on the market. All this and it comes in one of the slickest and minimalistic designs around. It does have its flaws - but still a true contender for gadget of the year, that is as much a fashion accessory as a practical device. 34 where East meets West Sony Rolly The Rolly from Sony is all about fun. It is essentially a robotic MP3 playing robot that dances to the music you play. It comes with Rolly Choreographer software to create your own motions and even share them online with others. But if you don’t want to create your own it comes with an Auto and Self Motion modes which will analyse the music and create the type of style dance you request. It also comes with Bluetooth streaming (A2DP), 5 hour battery life, 2GB of storage, high quality speakers with 180 degree baffle effect. 40” OLED TV Currently your best bet for an OLED is the Sony XEL-1. It’s not the best price screen per inch but certainly is the best looking on the market. But as with all good technology the price will start to come gadgets down and screen sizes will go up. Samsung have already prototyped early this year a 40” Full HD OLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and is under 1cm thick. Samsung therefore have proved it can all be done so it just a case of making them at a consumer friendly price and I think this year we will see these large sized OLEDs appearing. New Google Android Phones Not long ago Google announced that the source code at the core of its Android platform would be available for free to anyone wanting to use it and develop with. This open source approach has opened up the market to more phones manufacturers and developers able to make Android based phones but it also means there will be a host of application to download for it - and I suspect we will see more useful applications than the mainly games ridden App Store on iTunes (I want a good Exchange Mail client). It looks like Asus, Motorola and Samsung will be the next to follow Kogan and the rather averagely designed HTC G1 with a Google Android phone early next year, hopefully making the most of the Android platform finally. Touch Screen Eee PC 4 million sales to date, Asus have some new devices planned for next year. The CEO of Asus, Jerry Shen, has apparently announced a touch screen Eee PC laptop early 2009 capable of running Windows 7 - but I’m not holding my breath. However something that is more promising is the Eee Top All-in-one touch screen desktop which should be available early this year and I think this will make it big towards the end of the year. Currently launched in white only with 1.6GHz Intel Atom, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 15.6” screen, Window XP, 1.3 megapixel camera, Wi-fi, built in speakers and enough ports to keep you more than happy - look out for this one, prices will be around £450. New Intel Chip Codename Nehalem This is the next generation of chip sets from Intel - codenamed Nehalem. It brings a critical change not just to the processor but also in the way it communicates with memory and other processors. Intel have branded this as the QuickPath Interconnect (or QPI). QuickPath involves two main ingredients one is a built-in component called a memory controller that is separate on today’s Intel chips; integrating this memory controller reduces communication delays in transferring data to and from memory. All in all this should mean a dramatic increase in memory latency and bandwidth improvements with initial reports of as much as 3 times performance increases on today chipsets. They are expecting to sell “Nehalem” processors with 8 cores on a single slice of silicon in 2009. where East meets West gadgets Transparent Toaster This transparent toaster allows you to see your bread while it is toasting so you can make sure you never burn toast again. This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology. Although the glass unfortunately does not currently get hot enough to toast bread, the vendor explained with some research and development this appliance will be hitting the shelves by 2009. The concept was developed by the Inventables Concept Studio. iPod Touch 32GB (Apple) Want something to play and organising music and videos with ease? Well the iPod touch 32GB is just the ticket. It comes with an above average battery, intuitive touch interface, Wi-fi, a large selection of games and applications (built in and new ones from the constantly updated iTunes App Store) and, of course, an iconic, sleak form factor. This is without doubt the best mp3 player on the market. Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Dyson DC16) True 3D Satellite Navigation True 3D satellite navigaion units started to surface at the end of last year but none of them as yet have impressed as promised. However the concept of seeing your surroundings in a much more 3 dimensional space is definitely something which is going to keep sat nav sales up. Tomtom, who for me make the best sat navs currently on the market, will be releasing a new 3D range in 2009. It will be interesting to see how well they they stack up to the current 3D NavMan S50 sat navs which already offer 3D landmarks of more than 1,000 European buildings. 36 Grapevine where East meets West Getting in small nooks and crannies with a conventional vacuum cleaner is never easy in the best of places. Also if you have had another brand of handheld vacuums you will no doubt be aware of their poor power limitations. However, with an innovate design, this DC16 handheld vacuum from Dyson does actually make it easy to get in the small nooks, is more convenient and gives plenty of power too. NightMARCH That was the month that was (email: [email protected]) There's no Secrets to a good tasting beer The aim of this column within each issue of the monthly Pattaya Grapevine is to utilise the fact the magazine is printed on glossy paper to bring you as many pictures of the ladies who spend their evenings entertaining customers in the myriad bars of the city as possible. There won’t be much in the way of news as by the time the print deadline has passed and the magazine is on the streets the information would probably be old and redundant. Total number of Pattaya Dens of the Chrome Pole (as at 1/12/08): 76 Number on Walking Street (as at 1/12/08): 51 What’s Opened: Club Insomnia nightclub on Walking Street, the latest late-night venue, relocated from Soi Marina Plaza. End of November. Three reasons to visit Club Boesche 38 Grapevine 39 Outdoor Laser Tag Challenging combat sim and sociably chilling Outdoor Laser Tag, introduced to Thailand by LivePlay, Jomtien, on October 3, 2008, is the latest and most realistic external combat simulation game on the market, without the awkward splatter of Paint Ball, or the pain of BB Guns. However, LivePlay’s young partners, Bachar Settha and Mark Schwyn, are at great pains to point out that it’s essentially a social event, albeit a hyper-competitive one. Laser Tag is ideally a game for the boys (of all ages), though martially-inclined girls will get off on it, too. LivePlay, with the help of Nong Nooch Gardens, have built an extensive, authentic-style battleground, equipped with hut, warehouse, watchtower, fences, hedges, trees and concrete obstacles for cover, on Sukhumvit Road, just up from the Jomtien Floating 4 Market. Here you can compete in various two-team combat scenarios, ranging from novices’ 15-minute sessions to complex Special Forces’ ‘Stealth Dragon’ night missions; a far more exacting challenge, where you capture objectives and get to use the more sophisticated equipment, including smoke grenades and devastating claymore mines. The game can be played in any weather, including the rain, but for coolness, the special effects and accurate sighting, it’s best at night, where the flashes of the sensor devices register hits and the infrared dot of the ‘tag’ is far more visible. Our team played in the midday sun, being English, and our resident gamer, being more used to sedentary indoor gaming, succumbed to the heat, or maybe that should be PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The combat is so realistic, or ‘awesome’, as our gamer put it, that it’s not only used by various US SWAT teams and the South Korean Army for training, but also acts as an effective deterrent to participating in real combat, especially when you realise just how easy it is to get killed, despite all your previous preconceptions 40 Grapevine where East meets West of how adept you thought you might be in battle! The latest equipment was developed by the Australian Battlefield Sports Co., who invented the new infrared transmitters and receivers, providing considerably enhanced accuracy and range, making it perfect for outdoor game play. Thus perfected, Outdoor Laser Tag has resoundingly trounced its rivals Paint Ball and BB Guns, which pale in comparison, and has proved extremely popular, with 300 locations in 30 countries. The kit itself is relatively expensive, each gun, of which there are 7, ranging from US$ 1400 – 1700 each and it’s no easy matter to get them past customs! The 200 metre-range, target mechanism is actually infrared, rather than laser proper, and relies on accurate targeting of one of three body sensors, the most advanced players going for the headband type. There is a LED screen on each weapon to display available ammunition and the number of lives, with a reload button on the underside, close to the trigger guard. As a novice, one can play non-stop for 15 minutes and then be revived by the resident ‘lovely’ every time your triple lives are extinguished.You’ll know you are dead by the aural ‘Ow!” emitted by the sensor and the fact that your gun becomes inactive, incapable of being fired or reloaded. The game is awfully addictive and those of a competitive spirit will want to play time and time again to become proficient. Becoming more adept, you can then form 5-man teams to challenge the LivePlay Dream Team for a “Best of 5 Death Match”, with a contributory kitty that goes to the winners. Although our team was composed of raw novices, plus two experts and we were still pitted against an in-house team, who though handicapped, still managed to slaughter us effortlessly. As such, Outdoor Laser Tag is a perfect recreational sport for young corporate teams, or large bands of friends, being capable of accommodating up to 30 players. It’s also great for team building, honing team tactics and mutual support, apart from giving one the opportunity to ‘kill’ one’s boss, pleasantly. The game is also eminently mobile, being capable of being played virtually anywhere; it’s just that the LivePlay battle arena has more purpose-built props to make it more realistic and more fun. After the challenge, you can retire for refreshments at the on-site restaurant altogether and discuss tactics and your team’s shortcomings. As Bachar and Mark stress, Outdoor Laser Tag is perfect for developing social contacts and chilling out, where the nonparticipant female companions can commiserate with the ‘wounded pride’ of the defeated combatants. The facilities at Jomtien include tents under the trees and they are keen to put on social events and parties, including having a resident DJ for discos. The restaurant serves both Thai and Western food cheaply and has a drinks licence, so alcohol’s available, preferably post-game. Although they are partially targeting tour groups during the High Season, Bachar and Mark much prefer the repeat customer, especially the dedicated combat game aficionados with whom they can swop tips on strategy and agonise over ever-more perfect battlefield scenarios, the relative merits of each weapon and discuss increasingly more challenging tournaments and league play. Prices range from only to 600 baht per 30 minutes to a fantastic full day pass at only 2,000 baht. LivePlay location: 102/20,21 Sukhumvit Road, Najomtien, Chonburi 20250. Tel: 038-255 381 Website: www.liveplay.in.th where East meets West Fool A in Paradise How Smart Was That? As an avid listener, Pattaya is the greatest place in the world to hear anecdotes, opinions and observations of people from all walks of life. I don’t think I will ever get tired of hearing stories – and then writing about them – and laughing at the antics of other people instead of crying over my own. One of the most amazing things is the Thai-Westerner culture shock and the various opinions held by each side of the other. For instance, I have received e-mails from visitors who indicate that they detected a general lack of intelligence on the part of the Bar Hostesses. On the other hand, as we all know, most Bar Hostesses believe foreign men are stupid. It is not difficult to understand why given the moronic behaviour of a minority of the farang contingent. Some of them (myself included) seem capable of gross stupidity in anyone’s eyes. But if each side thinks the other is stupid, who is right and who is wrong? Or, are we both right or both wrong? I’m not going to try and defend the behaviour of foreign men because they are big boys and fully capable of taking care of themselves. Neither will I defend Bar Hostess antics but, as a diligent student of their operating manual, I am in a position to understand, and possibly explain, some of their behaviour. 42 Grapevine where East meets West Sometimes, the things they do may seem silly but there is definitely logic behind it. Two cases in point: The first involves an old guy who visits Pattaya a couple of times each year. He is single and has been coming here for a good time for more than a decade, so he knows the score around the bars. He explained that every time he sits at a new bar, the girls come out with the usual small talk and questions we are all familiar with. He says he tries to fob them off by saying that he is an old man. They counter by arguing that he is not old – he is a young man. During this light banter they come out with statements such as he only looks forty or fifty years old and is very handsome and even young for that age. Once he has had enough of all the jokes, he pulls out a 1,000 baht note from his pocket and tells them it is for the girl who correctly guesses his age. Now with a financial incentive, he says the next few moments are priceless. “74.” “76.” “83.” He said it was interesting how he suddenly ‘aged’ by up to thirty years. They only got one guess each and although some were close, at 72 years of age he said he has never had to pay out the 1,000 baht. The second story involves a friend of mine who has had a live-in girlfriend for about a year. He said he went to a bar with his girlfriend and, quite by accident, discovered one of the girls working there was someone he had known for many years. They caught up on old times - he flirted with her; pinched her bottom; gave her cuddles etc – all in front of his girlfriend who, although not amused, wisely realized she could do little about it. (Interesting aside to this story: if a guy behaved like that in the West, he would be hit with criminal action for sexual harassment or assault, a restraining order, civil action for damages due to the waitress’s inevitable stress and psychiatric treatment, followed by a divorce from his companion and alimony payments. Here, it is just harmless fun!) As the Hostess went off to attend other customers, his girlfriend handed her 200 baht. He didn’t quite understand why, but assumed it was just a tip because he had not bought her a lady drink. He said he was going to buy her one but did not get around to it. But really, as far as his girlfriend was concerned, how smart was she? What? You don’t get it? Well, by that one simple action she gave the girl several subliminal, but nevertheless forceful, messages: “I am his lady and I control the money. You are a bar girl and are being paid for being nice and flirting with a customer. This was not a re-acquaintance of good friends but a business deal.” Intelligence comes in many forms and is not merely a function of IQ or educational background. Some of the brightest scientific brains on the planet may be incapable of making toast or boiling water but give them a complex mathematical problem and they will solve it in seconds. It is the same with the Bar Hostesses of Pattaya. They may not know where your country is on a map, or even where Cambodia is; they may not be able to do simple mathematics in their heads or even read and write; but they know how to survive in an often cruel and unjust environment. Back to the first case of my 72-year-old friend, the Hostesses were simply being smart salespeople by using the oldest trick in the book – flattery. A man’s Achilles Heel is his ego and like Lord Byron said: “The reason that adulation is not displeasing is that, though untrue, it shows one to be of consequence enough, in one way or other, to induce people to lie.” So, some foreigners believe the girls are stupid because they could not live in our high-tech world, and they think we are stupid because we could not survive in their contrasting, but no less complex world. In this respect, both sides are right – and wrong. The trick is to accept the situation for what it is and not pass judgment. I am reminded of the guy selling his car. Once the negotiation was complete and the price of $10,000 agreed upon, the purchaser said, “You are not a very good salesman, mate, because I would have paid you $12,000 for that car.” To his surprise, the seller was not upset. He simply replied, “Well, neither are you. I would have sold it for $8,000!” Both sides won and both sides lost, but the result was an amicable compromise. In general, it is erroneous to judge someone simply by his or her momentary actions without being fully aware of the machinations going on behind the scene. Relevant to Pattaya, the worst mistake a foreigner can make in this town is to underestimate the talents of a Bar Hostess. where East meets West When BUYING or SELLING a Business in Pattaya contact TBAC our AIM is clear TBAC Tel: 038 489 074 5 or 087 283 534 9 Email: info @ t-b-a-k.com Web: www.t-b-a-c.com The Company You Can Trust Win Tickets to see one of the World’s Greatest Bands with Pattaya Grapevine There are not a lot of groups who survive for a few years within the music industry, most are here today gone tomorrow, so for a group to survive in this very competitive industry for 25 years is in itself an acknowledgement that they have the status of Superstars On February 1st 2009, Simply Red, with lead singer Mick Hucknall, will be opening their world tour with a gig in Bangkok to start the celebrations of 25 unbelievable years in the music industry. In this, the first issue of Pattaya Grapevine, we are giving you the opportunity to win two seats at this very special event. All you have to do to win is answer the very easy question towards the end of this article and follow the instructions on how to enter. It just goes for me to wish you all luck and tell you a little about this group who have survived with such a high profile for 25 years. Simply Red emerged out of the streets and clubs of Manchester in the post-punk era of 1984 and within 12 months were riding in the British charts. The original line-up of singer Hucknall, bassist Tony Bowers, drummer Chris Joyce, guitarist Dave Fryman, keyboardist/singer Fritz McIntyre and horn player Tim Kellet became regulars on the thriving club circuit and soon caught the attention of record company scouts on the hunt for new talent. Simply Red found themselves with a major record deal within six months of starting up and on their way to a recording studio with ace American producer Stewart 46 Grapevine where East meets West great Competition Levine. At this point the band experienced their first change as guitarist Sylvan Richardson replaced Dave Fryman during the making their first album Picture Book which was released in October 1985 and climbed to number two thanks to the top 20 success of debut hit Money’s Too Tight (Too Mention). The great success of the first album was followed by ‘Men and Women’ in 1987 and ‘A New Flame’ in 1989. The quality and success of the new album – it sold a million in the UK and over 6 million worldwide – also heralded the band’s move from club and theatre dates to major arenas including playing to 60,000 people in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For band leader Mick Hucknall and Simply Red, Stars became an album of truly classic proportions. In America, where it wasn’t considered radio friendly, the album still managed sales of 700,000 while it topped the 8 million mark worldwide, including over 4 million in the UK. It would now be a further four years before Simply Red returned with a new studio album but a highly regarded live EP recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1992 earned them new fans and kept them in the charts. In 1995 the album Life became Simply Red’s third successive chart topper and it heralded a change in the band’s line up as Kellet and Ward departed and reggae stars Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakepeare and Bootsy Collins augmented the regular line up in the recording studio. Despite some initial resistance from Hucknall, 1996 saw the release of Simply Red’s long awaited Greatest Hits collection and the 15 track album meant another number one for the band plus the specially recorded top five hit Angel, featuring the considerable talents of the Fugees. The line up of Simply Red took on a totally new appearance for the 1998 album Blue which was destined to make it five number one albums in a row plus a further four hit singles including Hucknall’s SayYou Love Me and the pop classic The Air That I Breathe. More albums followed and ever anxious to stretch himself musically, Hucknall embarked on debut solo effort in 2008 with his tribute album to the great soul singer Bobby Bland. Now, in the run up to Simply Red’s silver anniversary, Hucknall has undertaken the unenviable task of producing the ultimate Simply Red collection. Entitled Simply Red 25, the new double CD features the top 25 Simply Red tracks from the past two and half decades and is launched with a memorable cover version of the Moody Blues 1960s smash hit Go Now. For a band with all-time worldwide sales of over 50 million and 30 top 40 UK hits to their credit – in addition to having played over a 1000 concerts to more then 10 million people – Simply Red are set to create more records with their new release plus a 2009 world tour. Question What was Simply Red’s first no1 hit in XXXXXXXXXXXX To enter simply email your answer to [email protected], drop your answers into our office on Sukhumvit Road or telephone our offices on 038 410 077 and leave your details and answer before January 20th 2009. Winner will be notified on the 21st and published in next months Pattaya Grapevine. where East meets West DR. PENGUIN THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR OF Dr. Penguin, aka Chedly Saheb-Ettaba, is a man of many parts who has been entertaining vast groups of people from virtually all over the world for nigh on 45 years, since the tender age of 8. This marked the commencement of a career, which has led him to perform all over the planet, from the Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing 2008 to major rock shows, including U2, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Annie Lennox, TOTO etc., to high society and royalty. Numbered among this illustrious group are the Royal Families of the UK, Brunei, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Denmark et al. He has even performed before audiences in major political events like APEC. Dr. Penguin performs his own special brand of Comedy Magic, however, never having been one of the crowd. It’s also true to say that rather than seek the limelight, he has always been satisfied to play the backwaters of the world. One of the original “Bad Boys of Magic”, he developed his idiosyncratic style of interactive comedy from a combination of studies with great theatre icons such as Jacque Le Coq, and Marcel Marceau in Paris to La Mama in New York. However, before we embark on a narrative of Penguin’s achievements, let’s just step back to the beginning. Penguin was the product of an upper-class marriage between an American with a lineage stretching back to the Mayflower and a member of the Tunisian royalty. Penguin was born in Tangiers; a suitably mystical and exotic entrepot on the North African coast, traditionally the haven of the Barbary pirates. His parents had apparently been enamoured of the ‘50s Beat scene that was flourishing in the exotic city at the time. After the death of his father when he was 6, Penguin was taken via Paris and Spain to the US and after 48 Grapevine where East meets West a short passage of time, won a talent contest at an Episcopalian school in Los Angeles, which resulted in him attending St. Paul’s Cathedral School in London, due to the schools’ close affiliation. His guardian while he was in England was none other then the famous magical comedian, Tommy Cooper, who essentially sent him off on the magical mystery tour that he is still on. Penguin took that first fateful step after Tommy remarked on seeing Penguin give his first magical performance at school that it was ‘crap’ and needed more comedy to make an impact and he should try performing elsewhere. Penguin took Tommy’s throwaway remarks literally and he went AWOL from his boarding school, only to be found some days later performing in front of Lincoln Cathedral before a growing crowd. Penguin eventually finished school in London and went on to Santa Cruz University in the States, after which he returned to Europe, intending merely to go for a 6-month holiday, but never returned. Inevitably, his first port of call was London where he went to try and earn a living. However, he was plunged in at the deep end, after having been robbed before leaving the US, and ended up almost penniless in London. Undaunted and being a resourceful fellow, he BSed the hotel that he booked into that he was expecting money imminently via American Express, which they foolishly believed. To justify his ruse, he then went over to the nearest American Express office and began giving a magic show. Initially, however, he was a complete flop and made virtually no money. This didn’t last long though, he examined the British sense of humour and adapted his act accordingly. Soon he’d made enough to pay his 3-day hotel bill and moved on to Carnaby Street, that famous street of fashion and the arts media, part of which has always played host to struggling artists of all descriptions. Here, Penguin made a killing, drawing in over 1000 pounds in 2 weeks, a fortune for 1976 and enough to see him over the winter. While in London, Penguin was lucky enough to see the exhibition of Pharaoh Tutenkhamun and among the exhibits saw the paraphernalia of one of the court magicians. He was astonished to realize that some of the magical kit was identical to that used today, although unlike in Ancient Egypt, modern magicians don’t coat their hands in gold dust. After this, he headed off south, passing through Paris and Barcelona, Spain, working festivals and the streets, getting a grip on interaction through different languages and cultures. Eventually, tiring of Europe, Penguin decided to follow his Moroccan roots, where he ended up in Marrakech. This ancient colourful city has a famous square by the name of Djem’al Efna, the place of the dead, traditionally the venue for performers of all ilks, from snake charmers to native magicians and musicians from the desert, not to mention diminutive amputees who sit on trays with wheels attached to scoot along between people’s legs, begging. Here, Penguin rapidly became attached to a group of storyteller-performers who would tell long, interminable fables of the desert, interspersed with pleas for liquid sustenance when their throats became dry. Their avid fans would then shoot off to the nearest drinks seller and return with the requested refreshment. Penguin became intimately involved with this troupe of entertainers, adding his own brand of magical comedy to the exotic mix. Marrakech has traditionally been the interface between Morocco’s sometimes lush countryside and the desert and it was not long before Penguin was drawn further south to join the youthful cosmopolitan venture of hippies, travellers and adventurers that made the country one of their stop-overs on their global treks. Soon, being a colourful and entertaining individual, Penguin ingratiated himself with various musical and artistic people, one of whom was known by the unlikely name of Count Bruno the Terrible, who just so happened to have a red fire truck, which had originally been brought to the continent as part of Rommel’s Afrika Corps. Upon their first meeting, they experienced an immediate rapport and the two paired up to start the Magical Circus, which was to tour Europe, North Africa, and overland to Asia. In Asia, Penguin found his niche, delving into ancient cultures and magic, he developed a deep love of anthropology and travel. He also began extending his talents to TV and radio, performing, writing, directing, editing and producing, but that’s the subject of the next article. where East meets West
i don't know
In which country can you find Ben Gurion International Airport, the country's largest?
Airport Executives from 40 Countries to Visit Israel for Security Lessons | The Tower Airport Executives from 40 Countries to Visit Israel for Security Lessons by TheTower.org Staff | 05.31.16 7:45 pm With concern rising after a string of terror attacks, airport representatives from 40 countries will visit Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport next month to learn about Ben-Gurion’s innovative security procedures. Ben-Gurion is one of the world’s safest airports—no flight departing Israel has ever been hijacked, and there hasn’t been a terrorist attack at Ben-Gurion since 1972. The layers of security are largely unnoticed by the more than 16 million passengers who arrive and embark there annually. The first layer occurs in Ben-Gurion’s Airport Security Operations Center, which monitors every flight in the area and conducts background checks on every passenger and flight crew scheduled to pass through Israeli airspace. Around ten flights per day are flagged for security irregularities and checked further, Dvir Rubinshtein, operations center manager for the Israeli Ministry of Transportation, explained to CNN. “There is, every day, a situation where we have such concerns [about a flight],”  he said, “and we check that and verify that everything is security cleared.” Because of its record, other nations are looking into adopting Israeli security methods for their airports. “Most of the countries are actually coming here often to see how Israel is dealing with security aviation and the threats from terror aviation,” Rubinshtein said. Aviation security expert Shalom Dolev told CNN that “some [of Ben-Gurion’s] fundamental principles and some best practices can be deployed in other parts of the world,” but because of its relatively smaller size, “it’s not a copy and paste because it’s not a situation where one size fits all.” For example, Ben-Gurion handles about 20% of the passenger traffic of London’s Heathrow airport and 15% of the traffic handled by Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which just signed a cooperation agreement with Ben-Gurion. (Heathrow is also  reportedly  considering adopting Israeli airport security methods.) In February, Israel added a new security directive to airlines traveling to Israel in order to address other potential threats to flights, such as from “insiders that are working at resorts and may have access to the luggage of passengers, insiders that may work at airports or even in cabin crew,” Dolev said. “And last but not least, the phenomenon we are facing since the early-90s of suicide pilots.” Dolev emphasized that Israeli airport security is ultimately at an advantage against threats because they “are more flexible, more dynamic to respond to emerging threats and respond effectively.” [Photo: Oyoyoy / WikiCommons ] A successful conviction in the ongoing trial of By TheTower.org Staff Likud MK Ayoub Kara is expected to be By TheTower.org Staff Israeli and Jewish American humanitarian aid organizations have By ISRAEL21c
Israel
Which play, written in 1923 by English playwright Arnold Ripley depicts a group of travellers stranded in a waiting room at a remote railway station?
Flights from Tel Aviv (TLV) to Nashville (BNA) on Orbitz.com Flights from Tel Aviv Yafo Ben Gurion International Airport Orbitz.com can find you flights from Tel Aviv-Yafo to any destination in the world. Ben Gurion International Airport is located on Highway 1, approximately 12 miles from the center of Tel Aviv-Yafo. The airport is the largest international airport in Israel and serves over 13 million people each year. It features hubs for numerous major airlines, including Delta Airlines, British Airways, Korean Air and US Airways. When you use Orbitz.com to book your flight, the site displays all of the available flights for your travel dates. This allows you to choose an air travel option that fits your needs and your budget. Parking and Transportation The airport features three long-term parking lots. The main lot is a main lot and a long-term lot. Shuttle buses run to and from the parking lots in 15 minutes intervals. The only bus line that runs directly to the airport is Egged bus line 5. Egged bus lines 249, 423, 475, 930, 943, 947 and 950 run from Tel Aviv to Airport City. Once you're in Airport City, you can transfer to bus line 5 to get to the airport. You can also take a taxicab to the airport; however, the taxi company you use needs to be accredited by the Israel Airports Authority. You can also use Orbitz.com to book a rental vehicle. Dining at the Airport Orbitz.com does more than find flights from Tel Aviv-Yafo. The website handles all of your travel arrangements, so you'll have plenty of time to eat before your flight. The airport has numerous restaurants, including Pizza Hut, Aroma Espresso Bar and the King David Lounge. Flights to Nashville Nashville Airport Information Finding cheap flights to Nashville isn't always easy considering all the airlines that must be checked. Orbitz.com turns this task into a simple and quick job by comparing the rates of all the airlines simultaneously so that you can choose the best rate for your budget. The Nashville International Airport is the major air service provider for Nashville. It is located at One Terminal Drive and is about 7 miles from downtown Nashville. Airlines servicing the airport include American, American Eagle, American Connection, Delta, Delta Connection, Frontier, Southwest, United, US Airways, US Airways Express, and Air Canada. Transportation to the Airport You can get from the airport to your hotel by bus, taxi, shuttle, car rental, and limousine service. Taxi rates from the airport to downtown Nashville average around $25. Car rental is provided by Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. Rates vary according to the type of vehicle and company you choose. Orbitz.com will compare the rates of the companies and provide you the best rate available. Nashville Weather Information The average weather in Nashville ranges from about 90º F in the summer to around 50º F during the winter. Average rainfall is between 3 and 5 inches, with May receiving the most. Severe storms are common during the spring. Major Attractions in Nashville Nashville is the country music capital of the world, so it has plenty of music-themed activities. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Grand Ole Opry, Hermitage, and the Parthenon are just a few attractions to see in Nashville. Orbitz.com will provide discounts on many activities and attractions when you book your air travel. When you are searching for cheap flights to Nashville, check out Orbitz.com for the best deals on flights and attractions. Map More to explore for Tel Aviv to Nashville Explore Nashville with Orbitz's Travel Guides to find the best flights, cars, vacation packages and more!
i don't know
The city of Melbourne, in Australia, lies on which river?
Melbourne live streaming webcam in Victoria, Australia Tweet DESCRIPTION Enjoy live stunning daytime and nightime streaming webcam views overlooking the city of Melbourne in the State of Victoria, Australia.  Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia, and lies on the banks of the Yarra River on the east coast of Australia This live streaming Melbourne webcam shows a great selection of stunning webcam views showcasing well known and famous cultural, sporting and artistic landmarks in Melbourne - Australia Enjoy wonderful live views of the Sydney harbour, webcam views overlooking the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour bridge.  View live streaming web cam views overlooking some of the top tourist attractions in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This Melbourne streaming camera overlooks the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Rod Laver Tennis Arena (where the Australian Tennis Open takes place), the beautiful Melbourne botanical gardens and the trendy district of South Bank in Australia's second largest capital city.. The panorama web cam views also showcases the beautiful Federation Square, The modern architectural memorial to celebrate the centenary of Australia's Federation. Further webcam sights in Melbourne are overlooking the Melbourne Museum, Cook's Cottage and large Eureka Tower
Yarra
What was the name of the supertanker which ran aground betwen Land's End and the Scilly Isles on March 18th 1967 ?
Detailed Map of Australia - Nations Online Project Map Index ___ Detailed Map of Australia Australia is all in one, a country, a big island, and the smallest continent. With an area of 7,617,930 km² it is slightly smaller than continental USA (without Alaska ), it is the sixth largest country in the world with only about 23.8 million inhabitants (in 2015). Map is showing mainland Australia and neighboring countries with international borders, state boundaries, the national capital Canberra, state capitals, major cities and towns, main roads, railroads and international airports . Australia's general geographical features. There are three distinctive physiographic regions, from east to west are the East Australian Highlands, the Interior Lowland Basins also known as Central Lowlands and the Western Plateau. Two thirds of continental Australia consists of the Western Plateau, 2.7 million km² of arid or semi-arid land, about the size of Argentina , covers large parts of Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. Much of the Great Western Plateau is almost uninhabited desert in diverse configurations, the spinifex dominated Great Sandy Desert, the rocky Tanami Desert, the gravel-covered Gibson Desert which has also red sand plains and some isolated salt-water lakes, and Australia's biggest desert, the Great Victoria Desert. East of the Gibson Desert lies Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park with Australia's most famous natural icon Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock. South of the Great Victoria Desert and north of the Great Australian Bight lies the Nullarbor Plain a semi-circular, flat and in large parts treeless arid region, nearly twice the size of Cuba . In the northern part of Western Australia located is Kimberley, a region with steep-sided mountain ranges and a tropical monsoon climate, the region was named after the Kimberley diamond fields in South Africa . You are free to use this map for educational purposes, please refer to the Nations Online Project. Bookmark/share this page One World - Nations Online All Countries of the World East of the Western Plateau lie the Central Lowlands, the country's fertile basins with the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), one of the largest artesian groundwater basins in the world and the Murray-Darling Basin which is Australia's largest river systems. Lake Eyre in the Lake Eyre Basin is the terminal point of the great continental drainage system and the largest lake in Australia (on the rare occasions when it is filled). Even if Australia is the flattest continent, there are the Eastern Highlands, also known as the Great Dividing Range. The Eastern Highlands are a vast mountainous region featuring Australia's "Alps". The mountain range separates the narrow fertile eastern coastal plains from the rest of the continent, the Outback. The Eastern Highlands are running along the entire length of the country's eastern seaboard (length: 3,500 km (2,175 mi)). All major cities Australia's are located in this part of the country. Highest point is Mount Kosciuszko, located in the south eastern corner of the country. With an elevation of 2,228 m (7,310 ft) it is Australia's highest mountain. The world's largest reef system the Great Barrier Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reef is composed of over 2,900 reefs and 900 islets and islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 mi) north-east of the continents eastern seaboard. The Great Barrier Reef covers an area of approximately 344,400 km² (133,000 sq mi).   Map of Australia Map shows the location of following Australian cities and towns: Adelaide, Albany, Alice Springs, Alyangula, Andamooka, Ararat, Armidale, Aurukun, AyrIngham, Bairnsdale, Balladonia, Ballarat, Ballina, Balranald, Bamaga, Barcaldine, Barkly Homestead, Barunga, Batchelor, Batemans Bay, Bathurst, Bega, Benalla, Bendigo, Biloela, Birdsville, Blackall, Blackwater, Bordertown, Borroloola, Boulia, Bourke, Bowen, Brewarrina, Brisbane, Broken Hill, Broome, Bunbury, Bundaberg, Burnie, Busselton, Cairns, Canberra, Carnarvon, Ceduna, Central Coast, Charleville, Charters Towers, Clare, Clermont, Cleve, Cloncurry, Cobar, Coffs Harbour, Collarenebri, Collie, Collinsville, Coober Pedy, Cooktown, Corfield, Corrigin, Cowra, Cunnamulla, Dalby, Dalwallinu, Daly River, Darwin, Denham, Deniliquin, Denmark, Derby, Devonport, Dirranbandi, Dongara, Doomadgee, Dubbo, Dysart, Echuca, Elliott, Emerald, Esperance, Exmouth, Fitzroy Crossing, Galiwinku, Gatton, Gayndah, Geelong, George Town, Georgetown, Geraldton, Gilgandra, Gladstone, Glen Innes, Gold Coast, Goondiwindi, Goulburn, Grafton, Greenvale, Griffith, Gunnedah, Gununa, Gympie, Halifax, Halls Creek, Hamilton, Hawker, Hay, Hermannsburg, Hervey Bay, Hobart, Horsham, Hughenden, Innamincka, Innisfail, Inverell, Ivanhoe, Jabiru, Jerramungup, Kadina, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Kalkarindji, Kalumburu, Kambalda, Karratha, Katanning, Katherine, Katoomba, Kellerberrin, Kempsey, Kingaroy, Kingscote, Kingston SE, Kojonup, Kowanyama, Kulgera, Kununurra, La Grange, Lajamanu, Lake Grace, Lancelin, Launceston, Laverton, Leigh Creek, Leinster, Leonora, Lightning Ridge, Lismore, Lockhart River, Lombadina, Longreach, Mackay, Malbon, Mandurah, Maningrida, Manjimup, Mareeba, Margaret River, Marree, Maryborough, Meekatharra, Melbourne, Merredin, Middlemount, Mildura, Miles, Millicent, Moe, Monto, Moora, Moranbah, Morawa, Moree, Mount Gambier, Mount Barker, Mount Isa, Mount Magnet, Mudgee, Murray Bridge, Naracoorte, Narooma, Narrabri, Narrandera, Narrogin, Newcastle, Newman, Nguiu, Ngukurr, Nhulunbuy, Normanton, Norseman, Northam, Northampton, Nowra, Numbulwar, Nyngan, Oenpelli, Onslow, Oodnadatta, Orange, Ouyen, Pannawonica, Papunya, Paraburdoo, Parkes, Perth, Peterborough, Pine Creek, Pingelly, Port Augusta, Port Douglas, Port Hedland, Port Lincoln, Port Macquarie, Port Pirie, Portland, Proserpine, Queanbeyan, Queenstown, Quilpie, Ravensthorpe, Renmark, Rockhampton, Rockingham, Roebourne, Rollingstone, Roma, Sale, Scone, Shepparton, Singleton, Smithton, Southern Cross, Springsure, St George, St Marys, Stamford, Streaky Bay, Sunshine Coast, Surat, Swan Hill, Sydney, Tambo, Tamworth, Tara, Tarcoola, Taree, Taroom, Telfer, Tennant Creek, Thargomindah, Tom Price, Toowoomba, Townsville, Traralgon, Tumby Bay, Tumut, Tweed Heads, Ulladulla, Ulverstone, Victor Harbor, Wagga Wagga, Walgett, Warburton, Warrnambool, Warwick, Weipa, West Wyalong, White Cliffs, Whyalla, Wilcannia, Wiluna, Windorah, Winton, Wollongong, Wongan Hills, Wonthaggi, Woomera, Woorabinda, Wudinna, Wyndham, Yamba, Yaraka, Yarralin, Yarrie, York, Young, Yuendumu, Yulara. Administrative Regions, the States of and Territories of Australia The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories (abbreviation in parenthesis). States and territories of mainland Australia: New South Wales (NSW), capital: Sydney Northern Territory (NT), capital: Darwin Queensland (QLD), capital: Brisbane South Australia (SA), capital: Adelaide Tasmania (TAS), capital: Hobart Victoria (VIC), capital: Melbourne Western Australia (WA) capital: Perth The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, capital: Canberra , is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. (see also: Administrative Map of Australia ) Australia shares maritime borders with:
i don't know
Published in 1952, who was the subject of the book Diary of a Young Girl?
picture:The first page of the diary, which Anne Frank receives for her thirteenth birthday on 12 June 1942. 1942 - 1944 The hiding place Margot’s call up to report for work duty speeds up plans to go into hiding in Otto’s business premises. His employees are responsible for the family’s and their friends’ well being in the secret annex. Allied gains give those in hiding hope of liberation. 1942 - 1944  The hiding place 1942 "Not being able to go outside upsets me more than I can say, and I'm terrified our hiding place will be discovered and that we'll be shot." Anne Frank picture:Auguste van Pels dies somewhere in Germany or Czechoslovakia, between April 9th and May 8th 1945. 1945 - 1948 Otto returns Germany surrenders, the war ends and Europe is free but in ruins. Otto Frank returns to Amsterdam, picks up the threads of his life and mourns for his family. He is not the only one, gradually the scale of the mass murder of the Jews becomes clear. 1945 - 1948  Otto returns 1945 "They were good people. We did not care if they were communists or not. We were not concerned with politics; we were concerned about our liberation." Otto Frank picture:Shelley Winters wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs van Pels in “The Diary of Anne Frank”. 1960 - 1969 The Anne Frank House opens The Secret Annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary becomes a museum. It attracts a huge amount of interest as Anne and her diary become known worldwide and the man responsible for the arrest of those in hiding is discovered. 1960 - 1969  The Anne Frank House opens 1960 "I believe that the Secret Annex should become a meeting place, and a place for reflection and inspiration as well as a museum." Otto Frank
Anne Frank
Released in the year 2000 what was the title of the TV film that followed the relationship between Carry On film actors Sid James, played by Geoffrey Hutchins and Barbara Windsor, played by Samantha Spiro?
The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank - Google Books The Diary of a Young Girl 78 Reviews https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl.html?id=kRE8xxCmUcMC The diary as Anne Frank wrote it. At last, in a��new translation, this definitive edition contains��entries about Anne's burgeoning sexuality and��confrontations with her mother that were cut from��previous editions. Anne Frank's The Diary of a��Young Girl is among the most enduring��documents of the twentieth century. Since its��publication in 1947, it has been a beloved and deeply��admired monument to the indestructible nature of the��human spirit, read by millions of people and��translated into more than fifty-five languages.��Doubleday, which published the first English translation��of the diary in 1952, now offers a new translation��that captures Anne's youthful spirit and restores��the original material omitted by Anne's father,��Otto -- approximately thirty percent of the diary.��The elder Frank excised details about Anne's��emerging sexuality, and about the often-stormy relations��between Anne and her mother. Anne Frank and her��family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation��forces, hid in the back of an Amsterdam office building��for two years. This is Anne's record of that time.��She was thirteen when the family went into the��"Secret Annex," and in these pages, she grows��to be a young woman and proves to be an insightful��observer of human nature as well. A timeless story��discovered by each new generation, The��Diary of a Young Girl stands without peer.��For young readers and adults, it continues to��bring to life this young woman, who for a time��survived the worst horrors the modern world had seen -- and��who remained triumphantly and heartbreakingly��human throughout her ordeal. From the Hardcover edition.
i don't know
Which play, written by Arthur Miller in 1949 features the lead character named Willie Loman?
Death of a Salesman Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 19 out of 20 people found the following review useful: A MOST Outstanding Play from Illinois 26 March 2005 Clearly, "Death of a Salesman" is the best play that Arthur Miller has written. It is almost as if he wrote it with Lee J. Cobb in mind to play salesman Willy Loman. Lee J. Cobb (then 38 years old) had performed this role on Broadway starring in the original cast. The play ran for 742 performances from February 10, 1949 thru November 18, 1950. I saw the television movie which ran on CBS television when it was broadcast in 1966. Back then we only had a black and white TV. Thirty-nine years later I purchased the DVD and marveled in seeing "Death of a Salesman" in color. Sixteen years later a now 55 year old Cobb reprises his Broadway stage role for the television cameras and was emotionally and dramatically perfect. Cobb plays road salesman Willy Loman so well that the viewer can see him having an emotional breakdown as the play progresses to it's conclusion. Part of the beauty of this television production is how it was video taped on a stage to resemble how an audience would see "Death of a Salesman" if it were being performed on the Broadway stage. The sets resembled those of a stage play. The only major difference is that, unseen by the viewers, the cameras were positioned to afford many dramatic angles and facial shots that could not be realized on a stage with a live audience. The television movie co-stars Mildren Dunnock as Willy's wife Linda Loman. Ms. Dunnock was also in the original Broadway cast. Her dramatic and long suffering role as Willy's wife is played with emotion and genuine love for her salesman husband. I can never forget when she is scolding her adult sons for their lack of compassion to their father when she says, "....So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be paid to such a person." George Segal turns in an excellent performance as Willy's son, Biff Loman, a son whom Willy had such dreams for Biff to be a college football star only to have a riff happen between Biff and his father. When Biff and Willy physically attack each other one can relate to real life when love covered over by hatred exists in real life families. James Farentino plays the playboy son, Happy Loman who is a disappointment to Willy's dreams and his mother's respect for him. Farentino is well matched as Biff's brother and at times the two brothers reflect upon their youthful years when they were still in high school and the pride of their father's eye. Gene Wilder (of Willy Wonka and Young Frankenstein fame) turns in a surprise performance at age 33 years old as Bernard the smart son of Willy's neighbor, Charley. Veteran character actor Edward Andrews gives a fine performance as Charley. Maybe Charley is Willy's only true friend. Throughout the play, Charley tries shows genuine concern for Willy's predicament and tries to help him, to no avail, because Willy will not listen to Charley's wise counsel. Albert Dekker plays Willy's older brother Ben. Ben is played as an hallucination. Ben's appears in Willy's mind dressed as a successful man who went away to make his fortune. Willy speaks to his brother as Hamlet spoke to his dead father and asks for Ben's advice on whether Willy has done right by his sons. Brother Ben's apparent success torments the mind of Willy. Bernie Kopell plays Howard Wagner the heir and president of the Wagner Company that Willy has worked at for many years. Bernie Kopell went on to become well known as Dr. Adam Bricker in the TV series "The Love Boat" as well as being cast in many movies and TV series. Character actor Stanley Adams has a small role as a waiter when Biff, Happy, and Willy meet for dinner. Up until his death in 1977 Stanley Adams appeared in roles in 65 motion pictures. Supporting roles were played by June Foray, Joan Patrick, Marge Redmond, and Karen Steele. At 88 years of age in 2005, June Foray continues to work in films doing cartoon voices. She is the voice of Rocky the Squirrel, Tweety Bird's Granny, and other various voices in 158 movie roles. The dialogue written by Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman is quite lengthy and difficult to perform by it's scope. Some passages delivered by Willy Loman comprise a whole page of dialogue. Biff, Happy, and Linda, likewise have dialogue segments of large paragraphs of speech. I followed the TV play using the play script and did notice that some lines from the play script were omitted during the television production. Some lines were combined and rearranged for the benefit of keeping the camera on the speaker for continuity. Yet, in no way did this detract from the movement of the play. Everyone who is a lover of good drama should find this DVD and enjoy what used to be the standard fare on television drama during the 1960s when great literary writings were presented to an appreciative audience much different than today's fast paced TV, remote control clicking audiences are now. Death of a Salesman will keep you glued to your seat and you won't even think of going to the refrigerator for snacks. See this movie. It is a "10." Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: must buy from Broadway Theatre Archive Author: rosenthal_s 31 August 2001 Just got this from Broadway Theatre Archive. I would recommend this to anyone remotely interested in this play and the history of American theater. While not the "film" the Dustin Hoffman version is, I found it more moving. It preserves two great performances, the original ones on Broadway. Lee J. Cobb is amazing. More than any other performance of this I've seen, he successfully shows Willy's horrifying diminishment in mental capacity while losing none of his character's or the play's emotional power. Mildred Dunnock is softer toward Willy than her successors but shows the steel within her when she deals with her sons. All in all a heartbreaking performance. George Segal is good as Biff, but unlike the more evenly balanced Dustin Hoffman-John Malkovich version, is somewhat dwarfed by Lee J. Cobb's Willy. James Farentino, who made a superb Biff on Broadway with George C. Scott, makes a superb Hap. Was the above review useful to you? 9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Lee J. Cobb was the best Willy Loman by far! Author: liberation-brew 3 November 1999 Arthur Miller's play is an American classic, timeless and poignant. I've seen three film/TV and one stage version of the play. Lee J. Cobb's performance is the most powerful and frightening, comparable to his earlier performance in "12 Angry Men". As far as the character of Willy Loman and the sales profession a recommended viewing of "Glengarry Glen Ross" would be enlightening. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: A Treasured Record of a Great Portrayal from North Huntingdon, PA, U.S.A. 29 March 2012 The only slight reservation I have about this TV version of the play is the fact that it was clearly shortened for the medium. The greatest thing about this recording is that it preserves Lee J. Cobb's interpretation of the lead role. I was enrolled in a drama school in the early 60s, a time when several of our teachers had actually seen him in the 1947 stage play. They would frequently speak, in reverent tones, of the scorching great performance that Cobb delivered. This 1966 television revival makes Cobb seem all the more remarkable to me due to the nearly twenty year interval that had passed since the New York run of the play. No matter how great a performance he might have initially delivered, many an actor would have lost a lot of the original intensity in that span. On top of this, Cobb had experienced a battering ordeal at the hands of the House on Un-American Activities Committee toward the end of the run of the play. There is a fascinating story behind Cobb's development of the role. During rehearsals, the director was considering replacing Lee, as his work was not showing promise. The story goes that, at a critical point, Cobb had been staring at a crack in a wall in the rehearsal space. Suddenly he was seized by a strong sense of the character which immediately endowed his reading with uncanny feeling and intensity. Late in the run, it is told that the characterization took such a pervasive hold on the actor that he started to take it home with him, unable to snap out of it. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: This is a play that will endure for all generations to come from Cleveland, Ohio 3 July 1999 This is my favorite adaption of the play, "Death of a Salesman". The play itself is timeless and could be portrayed in a modern setting (with some updating). Willie Loman and his family will always exist as long as people in all walks or professions are perceived as being past their prime and a liability rather than an asset to society. It is a tragic episode in the life of a family that outgrow dreams and ambitions and must accept reality and human imperfection. I have had arguments over the fact that I believed Gene Wilder played Bernard in this play before he became prominent in a movie career. This cast is unique with such excellent actors as Mildred Dunnock, Lee J. Cobb, George Segal, James Farrentino, Bernie Koppell and the remaining members of the cast. Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: If only all television could be as this.... from Portland, Oregon 13 June 2004 When "All My Sons" became too hard to take and critics began to call it a mere timepiece, Arthur Miller wrote another. Instead of life from the well-to-do point of view, he would wander to the other side of the street and look back. "Death of a Salesman" is life from the working man's front porch. And what a telling it is! Finally, Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock have one more opportunity together, this time recorded for the ages. And the rest of the cast, superb. Dear television gods, please bring it back at least one more time. This is a piece that needs to be seen by each generation: a constant reminder of how great the temptation always is to live in greed at the expense of the common man. Thank you again, Mr. Miller, for your wisdom and haunting words. Was the above review useful to you? 5 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Mr. Cobb absolutely riveting. Author: BrentCarleton 27 June 2006 Seeing Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman in this David Susskind produced version is as close as possible to seeing the original play on Broadway, and a far sight better than just about any live production one could find nowadays. Mr. Cobb's performance is so absorbing, so powerful and so disturbing, that we, (the audience) feel genuinely dazed at its conclusion. It's as though, by the time of the final scene, that we too, are attending Willy's funeral, and all stumble away drained and awed. The supporting cast are each and all superb, with Mildred Dunnock probably topping anything else in which she has appeared. Set design is also inventive in its combination of abstract and realistic interiors and exteriors. As to the character of Willy, it is to Mr. Cobb's credit, that for all of his past moral compromises and shabby aspirations, the most honest of us, will admit that we recognize something of ourselves in him. Theater and television at its best! Thank you Mr. Susskind. (Also interesting to note Karen Steele relegated to a bit role while still such a young woman--what a step down from "Marty.") Was the above review useful to you? 6 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Miller's classic, filmed as a play, deals with life's losers. from Jacksonville, Oregon, USA 20 April 2002 Willy Loman never realises until the end that he is a loser. Although his son Biff knows he himself is a loser, his father won't accept this. Son, Hap, like his father doesn't know he is a loser, either. Miller seems obliquely to imply that society is to blame for Willy's sad life. Maybe so, surely society doesn't cut him much slack, especially as represented by the son of his long time firm, for which he has been a fairly successful salesman much of his life. Whatever one's opinion on this subject, the play certainly portrays very genuine emotions and problems as the aging Willy more and more loses contact with reality and harkens back to nodal points in his life, especially contacts with his successful brother Ben. Or is Ben just a figment of his imagination. We can only guess. At the final funeral scene, Hap's losing philosophy continues. Could he and Biff take Willy's $20,000 insurance award and make it as ranching partners out west? We'll never know; Hap is determined to "make it big" in the Big Apple. Fat chance! A better cast would be hard to imagine and the stage setting is beautifully photographed. The "fantasy" scenes are smoothly integrated with bits of "movie magic" that emulate what would be accomplished in the theatre with tricks of lighting. Cuts from the complete play are minor. This was TV at its best. Was the above review useful to you? 1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: This DVD is as good as what you'll see on the stage from United States 2 November 2013 Death of a Salesman, in a tough competition with Long Day's Journey Into Night, is considered to be the best American play ever written. Our branch state university, conveniently located just 2 miles from my home, is presenting Salesman with an imported NY actor playing Loman. I wanted very much to see it but the $35 ticket price stopped me dead in my tracks. So, instead, I got this DVD from the library. Miller wrote his play to be performed live in a theatre, and while I agree that live theatre is the preferred medium, still, I'm grateful that the 1966 performances of Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock, both of whom appeared in the original 1949 stage production, have been preserved and are available to us. Both are superb, but Cobb is the star. In this performance he's the equal of Olivier. Although he swallows some of his lines, and makes me wish there were DVD captions for the 'hearing impaired', Cobb is Willy. What did the audiences of 1949, 17 years earlier, think of his Willy? Was Cobb as effective then as he is in 1966? In the 1966 filmed version Cobb was 55, in age closer to the play's 63 year old Willy. Also, another benefit of this DVD over any stage performance is that we see the actors in closeups, which is a major plus. As Norma Desmond said, "We had faces then", meaning that faces, not words, conveyed emotions to an audience. The other actors are all fine, although it's a bit unsettling to see that Hap is very Italian compared to his brother Biff. I'm now reading the play in preparation to viewing this DVD again, and probably a third time. It's that good. Was the above review useful to you? "What happened in Boston, Willy?" from United States 1 June 2016 Alex Segal and Lee J. Cobb leaves a piece of visual art for the ages with Segal's 1966 made for television version of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman. Lee J. Cobb's exceptional turn as a salesman at the end of his rope, in more ways than one, is one that will stick with audiences long after the film's conclusion. Telling the all too relatable tale of the lack of control we all have over our lives is one which will strike a chord with audiences whether they are in the spring or autumn of their lives. Willy Lowman (Lee J. Cobb) is a salesman relegated to the traveling circuit after a series of failures. In his 60's and tired Willy begins contemplating his life, both its successes and failures. He begins to get hung up on his failures and loses control of his life. When Willy's sons come home, be spirals even further into his failures as a father. Willy is constantly criticizing his son Biff (George Segal) claiming that he has yet to make anything of his life. His demure and obedient wife Linda (Mildred Dunnock) is constantly trying to both soothe Willy's doubts and support her sons. Ever nearing a nervous breakdown, Willy begins to relive each of his many personal failures, from the affair he committed against his wife, to the failed business decisions he made with his brother. The family is reeling from Willy's current business failures becoming behind on the final mortgage payment on their home. Dripping further and further into self-loathing, the Lowman family seeps to the pit of despair each wallowing in their various missteps in life. Life is full of transition phases, and each member of the Lowman family was experiencing their own unique life transitions. The boys were transitioning into adulthood which oftentimes requires one to abandon the way you thought adulthood would be and embrace what it is. Willy is transitioning in his career, not being as needed in his sales industry like he once was. Linda is transitioning into the autumn of her life, as she has stopped coloring her gray hair and seems to be accepting her decline in years. Oftentimes as we transition in our stages of life, we attempt to assemble a sense of control over things that we truly have no control over. One cannot stop the hands of time, and with each passing year comes a new reality of life. The more we try to control our lives, like Willy did, the more we realize we have no control. Another unfortunate truth we learn with each successive stage in life is just how little freedom we have. For most of our lives, human beings are chained to jobs out of necessity to make money to survive. We spend our lives away at jobs just so we can pay to have somewhere to live, even though we never get to spend any time there because we are always working. Willy worked his whole life only to die before the final payment on his house was made. Willy's is the story of so many everymen, living life for someone else only to be supremely disappointed by its outcomes because we never get to live our lives for ourselves. I watched this version of Death of a Salesman for Gene Wilder, although Lee J. Cobb is always a treat. It is disappointing to watch the earlier films in a favorite actor's filmography, as they are often only relegated to a handful of scenes. The few scenes Wilder was in were wonderful, and his gentle presence commanded the screen. He enjoys a powerful scene with Cobb in which he calls him to question what happened at what turned out to be a fateful meeting between him and his son. In spite of his minimal screen time, Gene Wilder was fantastic in the role of Bernard, Biff's tutor. I came for Gene Wilder, and stayed for Lee J. Cobb, and one can't really be disappointed about that. Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 2:
Death of a Salesman
In which country can you find Haneda Airport, one of its countries most important dealing with domestic flights?
Free Essays on Drama Comparison Death Of a Salesman through they dont think about how they are going to get there. In the play Death Of a Salesman Willy Loman sons have a very hard time deciding what they would like to do... 1021 Words
i don't know
Published in 1924, who was the author of the adventure book The Land That Time Forgot?
The Land That Time Forgot: Edgar Rice Burroughs: 9781516935871: Amazon.com: Books The Land That Time Forgot One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details Buy the selected items together This item:The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs Paperback $4.99 In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details Land of Terror (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) by Edgar Rice Burroughs Paperback $21.95 Temporarily out of stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. Page 1 of 1 Start over Sponsored Products are advertisements for products sold by merchants on Amazon.com. When you click on a Sponsored Product ad, you will be taken to an Amazon detail page where you can learn more about the product and purchase it. To learn more about Amazon Sponsored Products, click here . Stant Litore The Hunger Games meets Jurassic Park. In the far future, young gladiators compete with tyrannosaurs. In space. Legend of the Gate Keeper Omnibus: Books 1-3: Land of Shadows, Siege of Night, Lost Empire (The Legend of the Gate Keeper Boxset) Jeff Gunzel Eric just wanted to live out his days as a simple blacksmith, but it seemed the gods had a different plan for him. Not every hero is given a choice. Code of Rainbow: Soaring Flame and the Dragon-transcending Magimal Weiqi Wang Are dragons really the most powerful creatures in the world? Surely not! There are magimals who can overstep them! Oh, never judge them on their size! The Atomic Sea: Volume One Jack Conner If you like epic adventure set on unique worlds with thrilling twists and turns, then you'll love this incredible saga. The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller (The Origin Mystery, Book 1) A.G. Riddle An ancient secret, buried in Antarctica for thousands of years, will rewrite human history. And possibly end it. Rise of a Guardian (The Lost Relics Book 1) LJ Andrews An ordinary man with an extraordinary gift is destined to save the realms. But history is repeating and evil is lurking. Keep your enemies close. Draken (The Southern Fire Series Book 1) S. B. Nova Meet Skyla Draken. Her Quest? Saving her mother. Her Destiny? Saving the world. Perfect for fans of C.Clare, S.J Maas, J.K Rowling & M.Meyer. Ad feedback Special Offers and Product Promotions Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Review Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was a prodigiously productive writer of pulp fictions--literary entertainments, that is, published in inexpensive, easily obtained periodicals. His style was simple and instantly accessible, his stories riveting if often implausible tales of adventure, and of good overcoming evil. Burroughs wasn't much of an artist. But, as Mike Resnick writes in his introduction to this commemorative edition of Burroughs's immensely popular trilogy The Land That Time Forgot, first published in 1924, almost every book Burroughs wrote remains in print, and countless readers turn to his Mars and Tarzan novels every day. In Land, Burroughs concocts a fabulous microworld, located somewhere in the South Pacific, called Caspak. On this mountainous island live winged, humanlike creatures, dinosaurs, ferocious beasts of prey, Neanderthals, "wild ape-men," and monstrous reptiles; they terrorize each other, to say nothing of the mixed crew of World War I-era adventurers who inadvertently land on a Caspakian beach and fight their way across the island, dining on Plesiosaurus steaks and having a grand old time in the company of a jungle princess. The story streaks onward like a bullet toward its surprise ending, and it's pure fun all the way. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition. Read more From Library Journal Deserving a place in the small but popular submarine-adventure genre, this novella may be described as "U-571 meets Conan Doyle's The Lost World." Its protagonist is an American whose ship is sunk by a German U-boat while he is sailing to France in 1916 to serve the Allied cause. He and a beautiful young woman are the only survivors. They are rescued by an English tugboat, whose crew he leads in a brilliant capture of the enemy submarine. However, the new masters of the sub find that no one trusts their vessel, so they must seek a neutral port. What they find is something more a huge uncharted island teeming with prehistoric creatures and early humanoids. The story is anything but profound, but it moves along nicely, aided by Raymond Todd's energetic narration, and makes for diverting listening while driving. Recommended for libraries whose patrons include many commuters. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here , or download a FREE Kindle Reading App . New York Times best sellers Browse the New York Times best sellers in popular categories like Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Books and more. See more Product Details Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 17, 2015) Language: English Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces ( View shipping rates and policies ) Average Customer Review: By Michael Layne on April 21, 2016 Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase This is the classic "Dinosaur Island" tale. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World" is about contemporary with this one, written in the WWI period. It precedes the spate of 50s Dinosaur Island movies (such as the 1957 "The Land Unknown"), and of course, "Jurassic Park" by a number of decades. But, instead of the pulp-hero Professor Challenger and his associates, the dinos and cavemen are confronted by survivors of a torpedoed Allied ship, and of the German U-boat that sank them... and later by a rescue expedition organized to find and bring back those survivors. By today's more finicky standards, this would be a "pulp era adventure", with all the conventions that implies, but it is nonetheless high adventure -- Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, John Carter, and Pellucidar, could really write action scenes! Yes, he does more than a little German-bashing, but remember when these stories were written. (He tried to make up for it, years later, with the likeable German crew of the Zeppelin O-220 in "Tarzan at the Earth's Core"...) This edition not only includes "Land That Time Forgot", but both its sequels -- "The People That Time Forgot" and the somewhat better "Out of Time's Abyss"! (I was a bit surprised to learn in the foreword, that these three tales, though they appeared separately in a magazine, were apparently intended as the three parts of a novel -- a bit like a story arc from B5...) The journey starts off as a submarine story (which, while it doesn't include the later obligatory scene for submarine stories, where the sub dives deeper than it was designed to go, includes lots of intrigue, action, and a couple of takeovers (technically not mutinies) that keep things rolling), but soon develops into a classic "Lost World" tale on an uncharted island full of dinosaurs and cavemen (and Burroughs comes up with an appropriately weird reason why they can coexist), with Our Heroes endangered not only by the natives and local wildlife, but by the egos of the two faction leaders, who should (IMHO) better have set aside their quarrels and worked together here. The second part of the tale covers the adventures of the leader of a rescue team assembled to retrieve the survivors, after their plight is revealed by (literally) a message in a bottle. Marooned in the dino-infested lands of the island, by the crash of his recon plane, the leader of the rescuers must now face the additional matter of rescuing himself. Needless to say, various creatures and natives have other ideas. The third and final book ties everything together, as the protagonists of the first two parts, and the remaining survivors and rescuers, link up, and a really weird foe makes itself known. Fans of Tarzan and John Carter won't be disappointed! By N. H. on September 11, 2015 Format: Audible Audio Edition|Verified Purchase The Land That Time Forgot is a classic by Edgar Rice Burroughs (better known for his Tarzan series). I was familiar with it only through the 1975 movie (it's so bad it is a joy to watch). I recently had the opportunity to listen to the audio book narrated by David Stifel. I had previously heard a book narrated by him which is why I chose this particular version. His narration did not disappoint. The story takes place during World War I. A ship crossing the ocean is sunk by a German U-boat. The survivors are rescued but the same fate falls on their rescuers by the same U-boat. Events happen that leave the survivors and the Germans fighting for control of the U-Boat. About half the book is devoted to the struggle of each group trying to maintain control of the U-Boat. This back and forth power struggle leaves the U-boat open to sabotage and the group ends up in the south Pacific. It is here that the adventure truly begins. Despite the compass and the best efforts at navigation, the U-boat is drawn south into freezing waters until they arrive at a land mass surrounded by massive cliffs. Seeking fresh water and food, the U-boat finds a way through the cliffs and discovers a land that is an evolutionary mess. There are life forms from every time period in the earth’s long history. David Stifel does a very good job of narrating the story. He has no problem with different accents, American, German, Irish, English. His paces of the narration works well with the action in the story. The production values are very good. The sound is clear and the volume is at an equal level throughout. The Land That Time Forgot is a wonderful adventure story. I enjoyed it enough that I am planning on finding the other two books in the series. If you are looking for a fun rollicking adventure, I recommend this audio book. I especially recommend David Stifel as a narrator as he is has shown himself to be an excellent one. "This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review
Edgar Rice Burroughs
The city of Warsaw in Poland stands on which river?
Edgar Rice Burroughs - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss. Edgar Rice Burroughs Biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875- 1950) is best remembered as the creator of the world famous character of Tarzan, one of the indispensable icons of popular culture. Burroughs also published science fiction and crime novels. Critics have considered Burroughs's fiction often crudely written and chauvinist. His books, however, are still widely read. . Burroughs was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 1, 1875. His father, George Tyler Burroughs, was a Civil War veteran. Burroughs attended several private schools, including the Michigan Military Academy. He served in the 7th Cavalry in the Arizona Territory (1896-97) and Illinois Reserve Militia (1918-19). After his military career Burroughs was owner of a stationery store in Pocatello, Idaho (1898) In 1900 he married Emma Centennia Hulbert (divorced in 1934). Before Tarzan Burroughs led a life full of failures. The turning point came when he started to write for pulp magazines at the age of 35. His first professional sale was Under the Moons of Mars, serialized in 1912 and introducing the popular invincible hero John Carter, who is transported to Mars apparently by astral projection, following a battle with Apaches in Arizona. The 'Martian' series eventually reached eleven books. Other popular series - totally some 68 titles were eventually created by Burroughs. In 1912 Burroughs's breakthrough novel Tarzan Of The Apes appeared, to be followed by 24 other Tarzan adventures. In 1913 Burroughs founded his own publishing house Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises and Burroughs-Tarzan Pictures were founded in 1934. In addition to his four major adventure series, Burroughs wrote between the years 1912 and 1933 several other adventure novels, among them The Cave Girl (1925), in which a weak aristocrat develops into a warrior, two Western novels about a white Apache, The War Chief (1927) and Apache Devil (1933), showing sympathy for Native Americans, and Beyond The Farthest Star (1964), a science-fiction novel about the brutality of war. Burroughs's science fiction novels are full of sense of adventure, taking the reader on a fantastic voyage to chart strange and unfamiliar lands. The Land That Time Forgot (1924) is a Darwinist story set on a mysterious island near the South Pole, where dinosaurs and other primitive species have survived. In 1919 Burroughs purchased a large ranch in the San Fernando Valley, which he later developed into the suburb of Tarzana. To pay his expensive lifestyle and to cover his misadventures in financial investments he wrote an average of three novels a year. The first Tarzan film was produced in 1918. In 1933 Burroughs was elected mayor of California Beach. He married in 1935 Florence Dearholt (they divorced in 1942). During World War II Burroughs served at the age of 66 as a war correspondent in the South Pacific. He died of a heart ailment on March 19, in 1950. The above biography is copyrighted. Do not republish it without permission. Forum Discussions on Edgar Rice Burroughs Recent Forum Posts on Edgar Rice Burroughs
i don't know
Which tennis player played in four men's singles finals at Wimbledon between 1967 and 1971, winning the title on three occasions?
Tennis – ‘the golden age’ of the 1960s–70s and beyond | australia.gov.au Tennis – ‘the golden age’ of the 1960s–70s and beyond Tennis – ‘the golden age’ of the 1960s–70s and beyond Mark Woodforde, Doubles Champion 1989–2000 Australians dominated world tennis in the 1950s and 1960s in major events known as Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian, French and United States Open, and Wimbledon in the UK. This period was known as the ‘golden age’ of Australian tennis. In the 1960s, men's tennis open titles were dominated by six Australian men: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Ken Rosewall, and Fred Stolle. Between 1961 and 1970, Australian men's tennis champions won at least one Open Singles title every year at either Wimbledon or the French or US Opens, as well as the Australian Open titles. In men's tennis, the golden age culminated in 1969 with Rod Laver's second Grand Slam win, as well as four major titles in the same year. Margaret Court, courtesy of Australian Open In 1970, Margaret Court also completed the Grand Slam. Court is one of only three women ever to win four international tennis open titles in one year. Indigenous player Evonne Goolagong Cawley was also a strong force in women's tennis in Australia in the 1970s with wins at Wimbledon, the French and the Australian Opens. The ‘golden age’ for Australian tennis players declined from 1969 when amateur players were joined by professionals. Also by the 1980s, the Australian Open synchronised its dates to begin in January in line with the European, UK and USA players events schedule, which greatly widened the pool of players. Yet even following the decline of Australia's dominance in the Grand Slam tournaments, tennis remained popular in urban areas and the Australian Open grows in popularity as a spectator sport. Early tennis development 1900s–1950s The golden age of Australian tennis was built on the early successes of both men's and women's tennis with Grand Slam tournament winners: Norman Brookes in the 1900s to 1919, Jack Crawford in the early 1930s, and Harry Hopman from 1929–39. This was in tandem with the consistent wins and popularity of women's tennis from the 1920s to the 1950s. Daphne Akhurst reached the Wimbledon final in 1925 and won the Doubles in 1928. From the1930s to the 1950s, Nancy Bolton got to the USA Singles Open and won other titles with her doubles partner, Thelma Long. Bolton was ranked No.4 in 1947 and stayed in that position until 1949. This series of wins in the amateur Grand Slam tournament titles of the 1940s and 1950s was made possible by extensive community and industry support, and investment in the development and administration of amateur tennis players. Harry Hopman, courtesy of Australian Open Harry Hopman was a captain turned coach of 22 Australian Davis Cup teams between 1939 and 1967. As coach Hopman guided Australian male tennis players to 15 Davis Cup victories in 20 years. Ken Rosewall, Frank Sedgeman, John Bromwich, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Lew Hoad and Margaret Smith Court were all either trained by Harry Hopman or managed by Nell Hopman. ( The Hopman Era: Australia on the Rise) Amateurs, tennis community and industry in the 1960s By 1969 the game started to change. Professional players were invited to join the amateurs at the Grand Slam tournaments and prize money was offered for the first time, different tennis court surfaces and different game strategies emerged, and metal racquets were introduced. Professional versus amateur In 1969, the Australian Open Championships became 'open' to amateurs and professionals. This followed in the footsteps of the French Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, UK, and the USA Open. Rod Laver returned to win his second grand slam in 1969. The advantages to amateur Australian champions who had enjoyed the riches of the Davis Cup endorsements soon disappeared with the advent of ‘open’ tennis. The end of the golden age was seen in the average age of the Davis Cup team, which was 35 years. It was another 18 years until Pat Cash, another Australian man, won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987. Balls and tennis racquet with carbon fiber reinforced polymer frame Different surfaces – different game strategies, racquet evolution Different surfaces require different game strategies, maintenance and care. Tennis was originally played on grass courts but in the 1970s many other surfaces were common. These included dried cow faeces (mainly in India), wood, synthetic carpets, anthill grit (in Australia), concrete, crushed brick, clay, asphalt, canvas, rebound ace and plexicusion, to name just a few. In the 1960s and 1970s metal racquets were introduced. The next step in the evolution of the tennis racquet came with a material called graphite, which made the racquet lighter and stiffer. Soon after, a number of new materials were being used in racquets, including Kevlar, ceramic, and titanium. Prize pool changes It wasn't until the' introduction of truly ‘open’ tennis in 1968 that players were paid for their efforts on court. Prize money for singles titles has changed dramatically. In 1969 the Australian Open offered $4,500 (AUD) to the winning man and $1,750 (AUD) to the winning woman. The largest prize pool at this time was the US Open with the man taking home $15,068 (AUD) and the winning woman getting $6,457 (AUD). However this is a small amount compared to prize money in more recent times. In 2009 both the winning man and woman at the Australian Open received $2,000,000 (AUD). This was also the highest amount given at the four Grand Slams that year. The 'golden age' of men's tennis – the 1960s In the 1960s, men's tennis open titles were dominated by six Australian men: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Tony Roche. Ken Rosewall, and Fred Stolle. Between 1961 and 1970, Australian men's tennis champions won at least one Open Singles title every year at either Wimbledon, the French or US Opens, as well as the Australian Open titles. Roy Emerson, champion 1959–71 Roy Emerson was Australian Singles champion in 1961 and then five consecutive times between 1963 and 1967. Emerson also won the men's singles titles in the French, US and Wimbledon Opens, winning each of them twice between 1963 and 1967. His feats in doubles champions were extraordinary. Emerson won three Australian Open titles, five consecutive French titles from 1960 to 1965, four US titles between 1959 and 1966, and three Wimbledon titles between 1959 and 1971. Emerson came close to completing the Grand Slam in 1964 but fell in the French quarterfinals. Emerson played in eight winning Davis Cup teams, which was an incredible achievement. Ken Rosewall, champion 1953–1972 Ken Rosewall, Courtesy of Australian Open Ken Rosewall was a great singles champion, winning eight open titles between 1953 and 1972, Australian, French and US. He was one of the finest players to not win Wimbledon singles. Rosewall also won nine doubles champion titles, a total of 17 major titles, and achieved a career doubles Grand Slam. Rosewall, ‘Muscles’ to his friends, continued his tennis career into his 40s. Ken Rosewall is known as one of Australia's greatest tennis players. When he was 17 years of age, Ken was selected to play for the Australian Davis Cup team, travelling with Davis Cup captain and coach Hary Hopman. This kick-started his career playing amateur, professional and open tennis. In 1953 he won his first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open Singles tournament and then went on to win 17 more titles during his career of over 30 years. Fred Stolle, champion 1961–69 Fred Stolle won the French and US Opens in 1965 and 1956 respectively and was runner-up at Wimbledon three times (1963, 1964 and 1965) and twice at the Australian championships (1964 and 1965). Yet, Stolle won all four doubles opens, winning 15 titles from 1961 to 1969. Tall and competitive, Fred Stolle was known for his powerful serve, accurate volleys and fluid backhand. Rod Laver, Grand Slam winner 1961 and 1969, and champion 1959–71 Rod Laver, no source Rod Laver became the only Australian to win the Grand Slam twice in 1962 and 1969. Laver dominated Australian men's tennis in the 1960s although his competitors in Australia were also world champions. Laver won Wimbledon Singles titles four times – in 1961 and 1962 and in 1968 and 1969, the Australian Open three times, and the French and the United States Open twice each. Laver was Australian doubles champion four times, as well as winning at the French and Wimbledon titles. Dubbed ‘Rocket’ Rod Laver by then Davis Cup captain Harry Hopman, Laver ‘was a powerful left-hander who sent the ball hurtling over the net laden with topspin’. Laver was a driven competitor whose attacking play won him many titles, winning 17 of his 20 titles in this decade. Laver racked up a formidable 20-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup ties and was part of five winning teams during his career. In January 2000, centre court at Melbourne Park was named Rod Laver Arena in honour of Laver's achievements. 1969 Australian Open, Brisbane – Rod Laver and Margaret Court The tournament was contested on Milton's grass courts in Brisbane between a men's field of 48 and a women's field of 32. Rod Laver's semifinal victory over Tony Roche was played in 105-degree heat. Their contest dragged on for more than four hours, 7-5 22-20 9-11 1-6 6-3, both players putting wet cabbage leaves in their hats to help them keep cool. Laver went on to win the title, defeating Andres Gimeno of Spain 6-3 6-4 7-5, claiming $5,000 in prize money and the first leg of his second Grand Slam. Margaret Smith Court beat Billie Jean King 6-4 6-1 to take the $1,500 prize. Australian Open History, 1969) 1970–75 – Australian Open men's draw depleted of players In 1970 the Australian Open men's draw was depleted by the absence of Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andres Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle. They were all professional players signed to a tour-specific contract with the National Tennis League and ‘they were banned from entering the Australian Open because the tournament's financial guarantees were deemed too low’. It was in this field, or lack of it, that Arthur Ashe became the first non-Australian to win the title since 1959. Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong by Ern McQuillan,1971. Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery. In 1972, the gulf between professional players and amateurs widened with a dispute between the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) and World Championship Tennis (WCT) which impacted on players in events between January and July 1972. In a bid to subvert the ban, Australian Open organisers started their tournament on December 27. However, the December dates did nothing to attract European players who boycotted the Australian Open for another decade because of the clash with Christmas. In 1973 there was only marginal competition from overseas players. Nine of 12 men's seeds were Australian with no.1 seed and defending champion Ken Rosewall losing in the second round to Karl Meiler of Germany. On the women's side all but three of the 12 seeds were Australians. The Australian Open's timing, slap-bang in the middle of the holiday season, was a continued bone of contention with international players, the legendary Bjorn Borg boycotting the tournament saying, ‘I was trying to make a statement. My point was that a player requires some time to himself. He can't keep rushing from one court to another all the time without a break.‘ Australian Open, history, 1973 John Newcombe (right) with American Jimmy Connors, 1974, Australian Open, Courtesy Courier Mail Australian players like John Newcombe also objected to the event date in the December Christmas period. In 1975, Newcombe ranked as no 2, only entered at the last minute on hearing that the American Jimmy Connors, ranked as no.1, would be making the trip. It was the first Australian Open match televised in America, on CBS, and was Connors' last competitive match in Australia. Newcombe won 7-5 3-6 6-4 7-6. John Newcombe, champion 1965–75 John Newcombe is best remembered for his 12 doubles open titles with Tony Roche, which was more than any other men's team in tennis history. Newcombe also won the singles open titles in 1973–75, Wimbledon in 1967, 1970–71, and the US in 1967 and 1973, winning all bar the French title. As a player, John Newcombe was strong, athletic and a great competitor. His serve, volley and forehand were his most formidable weapons and he used them to devastating effect. Tony Roche, Champion 1965–74, Courtesy of Australian Open Tony Roche, champion 1965–74 Tony Roche (b. 1945) enjoyed startling success on the doubles court with his long-time partner John Newcombe. Between 1965 and 1974 the pair snared 12 major doubles titles together, including five Wimbledon championships, four Australian and two French Open titles, and one US Open title. Roche possessed a difficult left-hand serve and was skilled in attacking his opponent with volleys. These skills helped him claim the 1966 French title, which was his only major singles win. He finished runner-up in the single titles on several occasions – twice at the French (1965 and 1967), twice in the United States (1969 and 1970), and once at Wimbledon (1968). After retiring, Roche became a successful coach and has mentored world no.1 players including Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and Roger Federer. Women's tennis Women players made their marks in the 1960s and 1970s. Lesley Bowrey won 13 major titles between 1961 and 1967. After Margaret Court completed the Grand Slam in 1971, Evonne Goolagong Cawley dominated women's tennis in Australia in the 1970s winning the Wimbledon Singles title and the French Open in 1971, followed by four consecutive Australian Singles titles from 1974 to 1977. Lesley Bowrey, champion 1961–67 Lesley Bowrey. Courtesy of Australian Open Lesley Bowrey (b. 1942) from Trangie, NSW was the first Australian women to win two French Open Singles titles, in 1963 and 1964. Overall Bowery won 13 major titles including seven international doubles – the Australian, French, Wimbledon and the United States Open titles – as well as four mixed doubles champions in Australian Open and at Wimbledon between 1961 and 1967. She was a runner-up on 14 occasions in Grand Slam tournaments. Bowrey participated in the inaugural Federation Cup competition in 1963 and went on to captain Australia's Federation Cup team between 1994 and 2000. Margaret Court, Grand Slam, 1970 and champion 1960–75 Margaret Court nee Smith (b. 1942) is Australia's most successful women's tennis player on the world circuit. Court was dubbed ‘The Arm’ by Billie Jean King. Court amassed a list of tournament wins that is yet to be rivalled. She won: the Australian Singles champion ten times, the French Open Singles four times, the United States Open five times; and, Wimbledon three times. Altogether, Margaret Court collected 62 major titles in singles, doubles and mixed. Her closest rival is Martina Navratilova with 56 titles. A strong player known for her heavy ground strokes and powerful serve, she was the world's number one seeded player three times – in 1969, 1970 and 1973. In 1970, Margaret Court completed the Grand Slam, winning four international tennis open titles in one year. Court is one of only three women ever to complete this feat. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, champion 1971–80 Evonne Goolagong, 1971, courtesy of Australian Open Evonne Goolagong Cawley (b. 1951) dominated women's tennis in Australia in the 1970s with four consecutive Australian Singles titles from 1974 to 1977. Prior to this Goolagong Cawley won the Wimbledon Singles title in 1971, as well as the French Open in the same year and, the Wimbledon Singles again in 1980. Goolagong Cawley was ranked in the top 10 for nine years and climbed to the top of the rankings for one week in 1976. Goolagong was a poster girl for aspiring country players in the 1970s, a darling of the circuit with a song written about her achievements and popularity. A player renowned for her grace and speed around the court, Goolagong Cawley started playing as a young girl by hitting a ball against a wall with the paling from an apple crate board. Goolagong Cawley came close to completing a career Grand Slam in 1971 with a doubles win in the Australian Open but, the US Open title eluded her. Wendy Turnbull, champion 1978–82 Wendy Turnbull (b. 1952) made the final of every Open except Wimbledon, achieving a top 10 year-end world ranking for eight consecutive years (1977–1984) and a year-end top 20 ranking for 10 straight years (1977–1986). Turnbull's Open titles were in Doubles – Wimbledon (1978), the French (1979), and the US (1979 and 1982). She was also the Mixed Doubles champion five times across the French, Wimbledon and US titles between 1979 and 1980. Turnbull was renowned for her foot speed around the court. Australian Open 1980s–90s: a set venue and date but controversies Davis Cup final at Kooyong, 1986. Courtesy of Herald Weekly Times Image Library Whilst Melbourne's Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club had been the Australian Open's 'permanent' home since 1972, by 1980 there were suggestions that the Australian Open no longer deserved its 'big four' status. This was fuelled by the absence of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe who had won the previous three Slams between them and who were indisputably the top two players in the world. It was not until 1986 that organisers decided to move the tournament away from the Christmas/New Year period, scheduling it in a new, permanent timeslot in January, hoping to attract international players. In 1988 the Australian Open was held in a new modern Melbourne Park Tennis Centre, constructed with hard courts and a unique retractable roof over the centre court. However in 1995, the centre court's sliding roof was no match for Melbourne's weather, and rainfall during the Agassi – Aaron Krickstein semifinal flooded the arena, turning the stands into waterfalls. In 1996, the Australian Open benefitted from a facilities upgrade that effectively doubled the size of the venue. An investment of $23 million bought two new show courts, one seating 3,000 the other seating 800, and eight new Rebound Ace courts. The Centre Court was renamed the Rod Laver Arena. Pat Cash, champion 1987   Pat Cash in action during the 1986 Davis Cup final at Kooyong. Courtesy of Herald Weekly Times Image Library Pat Cash (b. 1965) won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987 and made the final of the Australian Open twice in 1987 and 1988. Cash was renowned for his serves and volleys and his best games were played on grass. Sportsmanship controversies – Cash pelted and McEnroe (USA) disqualified Two issues, the truly open nature of sport and sportsmanship came to the fore in 1987 and 1990 at the Australian Open. The open nature of sport, of having open selection trials and selecting representative teams, was an issue for international competition. In South Africa, the apartheid policies of the government and the sporting bodies deliberately excluded South Africa's non-white people from participating in representative sport. (ANC, International Boycott of Apartheid Sport, 25 May 1971, With special reference to the campaigns in Britain by the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Paper prepared for the United Nations Unit on Apartheid in 1971) Since the 1960s, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and internationally had campaigned to boycott international players and teams from participating in South African sports events until the government and sports administrators permitted open selection trails, mixed sports games and access to facilities. At the 1987 Australian Open, Australian Pat Cash was the reigning South African Open champion. Cash … was booed by banner-wielding anti-apartheid protesters and pelted with black tennis balls at the seventh-game change of end. … Cash shrugged off the distraction to reach the final for a second consecutive year. He lost to Mats Wilander in a 6-3 6-7(3) 3-6 6-1 8-6 epic regarded as the best Slam decider of the season. Australian Open, History, 1987 McEnroe disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, 1990. Australian Open, still Good sportsmanship is the 'golden rule' of sports. It means treating the people you play with and against as you'd like to be treated yourself. Good sportsmanship is seen to be demonstrated when players show respect for themselves, their teammates, and their opponents, for the coaches on both sides, and for the referees, judges, and other officials. Being polite, courteous and not losing tempers on the court is part of the practice of ‘good sportsmanship’. (What is sportsmanship?, Greater Brisbane Junior Tennis) The question of what is acceptable sportsmanship was tested when John McEnroe (USA) disagreed with and swore at the umpire at the 1990 Australian Open. McEnroe was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and tennis code violation. (McEnroe defaulted at Australian Open 1990) In 1990 … umpire Gerry Armstrong and chief supervisor Ken Farrar putting a rocket under John McEnroe in his fourth round match, disqualifying him for unsportsmanlike conduct under the new ‘three strikes you're out’ rule. Australian Open, History, 1990
John Newcombe
The Battle of Shiloh of 1862, also known as The Battle of Pittsburg Landing was a battle that took place during which war?
The 12 Greatest Wimbledon Champions of the Past 60 Years | Bleacher Report The 12 Greatest Wimbledon Champions of the Past 60 Years By JA Allen , Senior Writer Jun 20, 2012 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 28 Comments Since 1950, the lush lawns of Wimbledon have staged some of the greatest tennis matches of all time. Many of those battles were waged on Championship Sunday as two finalists faced off on opposite sides of the net to decide who would claim the vaunted title that year. Throughout the decades, the champions seemed to come in waves from Australia early on, then Sweden, the United States and lately from Switzerland, Spain and most recently from Serbia. The 12 greatest champions of the past 60 years won multiple titles on Centre Court after working through the draw to reach the final at the All-England Club. Until recently, most truly successful on the green lawns of Wimbledon played serve-and-volley tennis—a game which seemed unbeatable on grass. Now, however, base-liners rule Centre Court. Baseline players supplanted serve-and-volleyers as the seemingly less aggressive game style dominated, enhanced by new racket technology while the grass surfaces reportedly slowed significantly. As Wimbledon gets underway in 2012, world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic hopes to capture his second consecutive Wimbledon championship. Rafael Nadal desperately wishes to seize his third title on the grass while Roger Federer anticipates winning the Wimbledon trophy for the seventh time and, in the process, recapturing the No.1 ranking. At its conclusion in 2012, see whose name is added or moved up on this list of Wimbledon's greatest champions. Getty Images/Getty Images Wimbledon Results:  (2 Championships, 2 Finals, 81.08 winning percentage) Roy Emerson was one of the great Aussie tennis pros playing during the 1950s and 1960s. During his career, the great Emerson won 12 Grand Slam trophies—six Australian Open, two French Open, two US Open and two Wimbledon championships. Emerson competed in 16 Wimbledon tournaments, winning back-to-back singles titles in 1964 and 1965. Playing primarily serve-and-volley tennis on grass, Emerson’s style of play made him a natural on the Wimbledon courts. Still, the Aussie won the French Open twice, as well as numerous doubles titles on all surfaces. Emerson held the record for most Grand Slam titles at 12 until Pete Sampras broke his record, winning 14 with Roger Federer following with 16.  Emerson remains one of the all-time greats on grass. 11. Lew Hoad (Australia) Wimbledon Results: (2 Championships, 2 Finals, 82.35 winning percentage) Lew Hoad was another of the brilliant Aussies who dominated tennis during the '50s and '60s. Of course, when Hoad was playing, all majors were played on grass except the French Open which was played on the red clay of Stade Roland Garros since the 1920s. Hoad played amateur tennis during the '50s, turning pro in 1957. During his amateur career, the Aussie won four majors—one French Open, one Australian Open and twice captured the Wimbledon title in 1956 and 1957. Hoad was noted for his aggressive play, often going for winners rather than employing patience. This style endeared him to the public, who loved seeing the Aussie diving for balls on the court, but it confounded his opponents, who could never figure out what Hoad would do at any given moment on court. Hoad won three out of four majors in 1956, losing only the US Open that year to Ken Rosewall.  Like many of his era, Hoad turned pro and was unable to compete any longer on Centre Court at Wimbledon. But while he graced the grass on Centre Court, Hoad was one of the best. Bob Martin/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: ( 2 Championships, 3 Finals, 80.33 winning percentage) If ever there was a player meant to play on grass, it was Swede Stefan Edberg. His career stretched from the 1980s through the 1990s. Edberg’s last appearance at Wimbledon came in 1996.  His smooth serve-and-volley style flowed on Centre Court on Championship Sundays from 1988 through 1990.  Edberg reigned victorious in 1988 and in 1990 by defeating the Boris Becker on Centre Court for the Swede's two titles. In the intervening year, 1989, Edberg lost in the final to the German. The rivalry between Edberg and Becker became one of the great ones in men’s tennis. Edberg had a 49-12 career record on Wimbledon grass, winning twice in 14 appearances . The Swede also won the Wimbledon junior title in 1983 when he became the first player to capture the junior Grand Slam. Edberg remains one of the great serve-and-volley players of the 1980s and 1990s whose true genius blossomed on Centre Court at Wimbledon. Wimbledon Results: (2 Championships, 5 Finals, 87.5 winning percentage) Rafael Nadal first competed at Wimbledon in 2003, exiting the tournament in the third round. By 2006, Nadal reached the finals, facing the defending champion, world No. 1 Roger Federer.  Federer defeated Nadal in 2006 and 2007, each victory a little more difficult for the Swiss. The 2008 tournament, however, would change that outcome, adding a whole new dimension to their rivalry. After battling for hours, enduring rain delays and descending darkness, Nadal prevailed in the fifth and final set, forever changing the tennis landscape that Federer had ruled for the past four and a half years. No longer did the world regard Nadal as simply a clay-courter. His win at Wimbledon marked his first Grand Slam title not won on clay.  When the Majorcan dueled with Federer in 2008, it marked the only time that the final pair had made the finals for three consecutive years. Nadal would win at Wimbledon in 2008 and again in 2010. The former world No. 1 lost twice in finals to Federer and once to Novak Djokovic in 2011. Nadal's record going into this year’s Championship is 35-5, winning the Wimbledon title twice in seven tries. This year, Nadal will hope to bring home his third championship from the All-England Club. There was never a more determined champion than Nadal, whose dedication to winning appears unequaled on Centre Court. 8. Jimmy Connors (United States) Steve Powell/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: (2 Championships, 6 Finals, 82.35 winning percentage) Jimmy Connors, always the great competitor, won four different Grand Slam championships on grass including twice at Wimbledon in 1974 and 1982. At Wimbledon, Connors often found himself facing Bjorn Borg, who refused to lose on Centre Court or John McEnroe, who proved to be equally as stingy on the green lawns. In addition to his two titles, Connors was also the runner-up four times on at the All-England Club—losing to Arthur Ashe in 1975, Bjorn Borg in 1977-1978, and John McEnroe in 1984.  In all, Connors won eight Grand Slam titles—five at the US Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open. At the conclusion of his long, illustrious career, Connors finished with an 84-18 record at Wimbledon, winning twice in 21 tries. Connors never gave less than 100 percent on court, especially when facing men he considered true competitors as he battled his way into six finals on Centre Court. 7. John Newcombe (Australia) Wimbledon Results: (3 Championships, 4 Finals, winning percentage 76.27) Australian John Newcombe played tennis in both the Amateur Era and the Open Era. He reached the finals of Wimbledon in 1967, 1969, 1970 and 1971. Newcombe captured titles on all of those occasions except 1969, when he lost to fellow Aussie Rod Laver, who was on his way to winning his second calendar year grand slam. In 1967, Newcombe defeated German Wilhelm Bungert 6-2, 6-1, 6-1. In 1970 and 1971, however, he had to work much harder, going five sets first against Ken Rosewall and then Stan Smith before coming away with his second and third victories. Newcombe was the last of the great Aussies to dominate in men’s professional tennis. His serve-and-volley style of play suited Centre Court at Wimbledon, where his aggressive play reaped rewards in the form of three Championships. Throughout his career, Newcombe won seven Grand Slam singles titles at every venue except the French Open. All the Aussie's wins came on grass, playing at a time when all the majors except the French sported grass courts. Newcombe remains one of the few to win three championships on Centre Court. 6. John McEnroe (United States) Tony Duffy/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: (3 Championships, 5 Finals, 84.29 winning percentage) John McEnroe became a larger-than-life figure on the lawns of Centre Court in the early 1980s during epic on-court battles with Swede Bjorn Borg and fellow American Jimmy Connors. McEnroe did not endear himself to British fans and the media during his early days on court. The American's behavior on court was definitely not to their liking. As his hair seemed to expand, McEnroe's temper often exploded during battles with top-notch adversaries as well as umpires and linesmen. McEnroe’s most memorable finals were in back-to-back years in 1980, which he lost to Bjorn Borg; and in 1981, when he finally defeated Borg, who had won five consecutive titles on Centre Court. Johnny Mac won seven Grand Slam career singles titles, with three coming on the green lawns at Wimbledon, finishing his career with a 59-11 career record at the All-England Club.  McEnroe won the Championship three times in 14 tries against some legendary opposition. Wimbledon Results: (3 Championships, 7 Finals, 85.5 winning percentage) Who could forget when “Boom-Boom” Becker burst onto the stately Wimbledon lawns? The young German stunned the tennis world by winning his first title in 1985 unranked and unheralded by the media. Becker was 17 years old at the time. His hustle and aggressive style of play drew fans to Wimbledon and to tennis in general. It did not hurt that Becker’s rise to the top of the men’s game was accompanied by fellow German Steffi Graf’s rise in the women’s game. Becker followed up his first win in 1985 with another title in 1986, defeating Ivan Lendl in the final. Becker won his last Wimbledon title in 1989, upending defending champion Stefan Edberg.  In all, the German appeared in seven Wimbledon finals. Becker finished his All-England Club career with a 71-12 cumulative record —winning three times in 15 tries. Getty Images/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: (4 Championships, 6 Finals, 87.72 winning percentage) Rod Laver won two calendar-year Grand Slams in 1962 and again in 1969—a feat no other man has accomplished since Laver hung up his racket. The Aussie Laver is regarded by some as the greatest grass court player that ever lived. Of course, he played most of his career during the time when all majors were played on grass except the French Open. Laver’s career prior to the Open Era took him out of contention at the majors for five years, because only amateurs were allowed to compete at Grand Slam tournaments. Regardless, the Aussie won Wimbledon four times, in 1961-1962 and again during the Open Era in 1968-1969.  Laver also reached the finals in 1959-1960.  Many speculate that his Wimbledon title count might have been greater if not for his absence at the event from 1963-1967; but, we will never know for sure. Still, Laver’s career record at Wimbledon was 50-7, winning the event four times in 11 tries. Getty Images/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: (5 Championships, 6 Finals,  92.73 winning percentage) Super Swede Bjorn Borg owned the courts of Wimbledon and the French Open in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Borg won five consecutive titles on Centre Court at the All-England Club from 1976 through 1980 as well as winning four consecutive French Open titles from 1978-1981— six out of eight titles at Roland Garros from 1974-1981. During that period of time, Borg drew attention to men’s professional tennis at the beginning of worldwide coverage on television. Borg’s long blond hair and his rock-star appeal made him an instant fan favorite. The epic 1980 final with John McEnroe is regarded as one of the most thrilling Grand Slam title matches of all time—like fire and ice on Centre Court.  Borg’s loss in 1981 marked the beginning of the end of Borg’s stellar tennis career.  Borg retired from tennis after losing the 1981 U.S. Open final to McEnroe—this after also handing over his Wimbledon trophy to the American earlier that summer. The Swede held the record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles until Federer matched the feat in 2007. Borg competed at Wimbledon nine times, winning five. He finished with a 51-4 record on the green lawns. While he played, the Swede’s light burned bright. Julian Finney/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: (6 Championships, 7 finals, winning percentage 89.39) Roger Federer showed the world that he was ready for prime time at the 2001 Wimbledon tournament when then-teenaged Federer upset defending Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round. In 2001, Federer advanced to his first quarterfinal at the All-England Club. After being bounced in the first round in 2002, Federer battled his way into nine consecutive quarterfinals at Wimbledon. In fact Federer has won six Wimbledon championships, five consecutively, tying Bjorn Borg’s record. The Swiss won his sixth title in 2009, defeating Andy Roddick in another epic five-set final.  The grass courts of Wimbledon seem like home to the Swiss, who is hoping to win championship No. 7, allowing him to tie Pete Sampras whose seven Wimbledon titles rank as the best in the Modern Era. Federer won 40 consecutive matches at Wimbledon between 2003-2008, falling one short of equaling Bjorn Borg’s record-setting 41-match win streak at Wimbledon. Federer's record to date is 59-7, winning six titles in 13 tries.  Federer will be hoping to add to his totals as Wimbledon gets underway next week. The final chapter in Federer’s Wimbledon record book has not been written. 1. Pete Sampras (United States) Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Wimbledon Results: (7 Championships, 7 Finals, winning percentage 90.0) Pete Sampras is the last of the great serve-and-volley players who witnessed his style of play begin its demise on pro courts across the globe. What Pistol Pete discovered in the waning days of his career was that players could win, staying back, playing primarily from the baseline. But that transpired at the end of his career. In his heyday, Sampras was the world No. 1 player for a record 286 weeks.  Much of the American's success came on the green lawns at the All-England Club, where Sampras captured seven championships between 1993 and 2000. After Roger Federer defeated him during the fourth round in 2001, Sampras never again made the finals at Wimbledon, stopped one short of equaling Bjorn Borg’s five consecutive titles on Centre Court. The American ended with a record of 63-7 at Wimbledon, winning seven titles in 14 tries. To date, Pete Sampras is the all-time greatest Wimbledon champion. 
i don't know
Commonly found throughout the Southern USA and the Northern half of Mexico what type of creature is a Coachwhip?
New Mexico Mammals field guide Habitat: They prefer mountain forests, shrub lands, and grasslands.   Physical Description: Mexican wolves are the smallest sub species of the Grey Wolf. The height is a maximum of 32� and no greater than 4.5 ft. Their coat is a combo of brown, gray, rust, and tan. The tail, legs, and ears are often highlighted in black.   Main foods: They eat mainly deer and elk in the wild. The wolf may also eat livestock, pronghorn, rabbits, javelins, and other small mammals.   Behavior: There are usually 5 or 6 wolves in a pack, mainly the alpha pair and their offspring of that year. Packs rarely encounter each other because of the boundaries formed though howling and sent marking.   Niche: Carnivorous, preys on deer, antelope, javelins, rabbits, and small mammals, as well as carrion. The pack size is smaller than northern packs.   Interactions with other species: Mexican Wolves will kill coyotes, and cougars will kill the wolves. They also have deadly interactions with humans. A pack of Mexican Wolves have been reintroduced to Western Mew Mexico ), through forested areas, to shrub lands.   Habitat:� Mexican grey wolves prefer the oak and pine/juniper savannahs and mixed conifer woodlands above 4,000 feet, and would avoid desert areas   Physical Description: The Mexican gray wolf is a large dog-like carnivore, weighing between sixty and eighty pounds. Their coat is colored reddish brown, tan, black, and gray, with a whitish chin and throat.   Main Foods: Depending on the area the wolf lives, in a pack, they can take down deer, javelina, sheep, antelope and even cattle, while alone, will hunt out smaller mammals, like rabbits, mice, ground birds, etc.   Behavior: Wolves live in packs, ranging from a small family group of 3 or 4, to large packs of 10 or more. Wolves interact using body language, such as the position of their ears, tail, neck, and facial expressions, as well as barks, yips, snarls, and howls. The pack always has an alpha male and female, who are they only ones allowed to mate, and will go to great lengths to keep their status.   Niche: Wolves take the sick, weak and old animals, while hunting, making it easier for them, and keeping that herd and population healthy and strong. For example, Wolves also play a strong role, in the riparian banks of Yellowstone . Where they wolf population would keep down the elk population, which would eat the tree saplings, not allowing them to grow, which would essentially lead to erosion.   Interactions with other species: Wolves would interact with their prey, and are rarely seen playing with small mammals, and have been known to kill coyotes and even mountain lions. They also rarely interact with other packs of wolves, unless threatened.   Threats to species: The Mexican grey wolf is actually an endangered species, and have threats of becoming extinct. This happened because of the bounty once put on wolves heads, and from ranchers killing them off.   Sources:� http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Mexican_Gray_Wolf.asp ��������������� http://www.scz.org/animals/w/mgwolf.html ��������������� http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/sdcp2/fsheets/wolf.html Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Carlos�   Species common name(s):Cougar, Mountain Lion, Puma, Catamount, Deer Tiger, Indian Devil Scientific Name: Felis concolor ����������� � �Range: The Cougar is can be found in Canada/USA borders, Big Muddy River on the Alaska highway they can also be found on most coastal islands.   Habitat: The Cougar is found only in the Westernhemisphere of the Americas generally in mountainous areas�   Physical Description: The fur of this large cat is reddish-brown to grey brown with white on the underside and the tail is black tipped. The head is small, with rounded ears and they have large feet. The males weigh about 125 pounds and the females weigh about 100 pounds.   Main foods: They feed on large animals to mice; the cougar is capable of killing a 600 pound moose or elk. Behavior: They like to stalk their prey by staying perched in trees waiting to pounce on their prey.The female has destinct scream thatthat has been described as �nerve-wracking, demoniac, terror-striking, a trilling wail. Niche: Cougars are carnivores and need to eat no more than 14-20 mule deer per year to survive. � Interactions with other species: They like to keep to themselves and usually don�t really bother unless they are hunting.   Threats to the species: The only threat, is shortage of food from hunters killing all their food. Roads and habitat encroachment   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���� Page Author: Jennifer Mansker   Species common name(s): Bobcat, Bay lynx, and Wildcat Scientific Name : Lynx rufus ����������� ��������   �Range: The bobcats is found in the United States and in lower parts of Canada . ����������������������������������������������������������������������� Physical Description: The most common color is yellowish to reddish brown, streaked and spotted with black. Its total length ranges from 22 � - 50 inches, and its weight from 10-40 pounds. The bobcat has short legs and a stubby black-tipped tail.   Habitat: Bobcats are mostly found in rocky, broken terrain, near foothils and canyonlands. Bobcats prefer� habitats with pinyon-juniper woodlands, and mountain forests. They avoid unbroken agricultural lands, and really crowded urban areas. � Main foods: The bobcat often eats rabbits and hare. They are known to eat more that 40 kinds of different prey including: deer, birds, reptiles and small animals, such as squirrels, mice, voles, and bats. Behavior: The bobcat likes to lie on rocky ledges that face the south so that they can warm themselves in the sun. They are very fierce especially if they feel threatened in any way. The bobcat sneaks up on their prey; They attack larger prey (such as deer) while they are sleeping. Niche: Bobcats keep down the population of rabbits, birds, reptiles, and small mammals by eating them. Interactions with other species: Bobcats, as kittens are threatened by bigger animals (such as bears, coyotes, wolves, and others) because they eat them.   Threats to the species:� Habitat destruction and fragmentation. Hunting and trapping for their pelt is a big threat to them.   ��� Picture source: http://www.bobcats-bobcats.com/bobcats-general-information.htm ����� Book sources: Mammals of North America Ronald W. Kays & Don E. Wilson ������������������������������ Forest Cats of North America Jerry Kobalenko ������������������������������ Mammals of Arizona Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Cody Schmit   Species common name(s): Jaguarundi . Jaguarondi, Otter Cat, Wieselkatze, Eyra, Gato Eyra, Gato Moro Scientific Name: Herpailurus yagouarundi Range (Gray Area): The jaguarundi is found as far north as Texas and extends all the way down to parts of South America   Habitat: This cat is generally doesn�t live above 2,000 meters.� He occupies dry scrub, swamps, savanna woodland, and primary forest.   Physical Description: The jaguarundi has an elongated slim body and head, short legs, and smooth unpatterned fur.� Adult�s weigh anywhere from 2-9 kg and can be black, brownish grey, and red.   Main foods: �The jaguarundi hunts ground-dwelling birds, small rodents, rabbits, arthropods, armadillos, fruit, and reptiles.� Sime of these cats even eat fish. Behavior: Jaguarundi�s are flexible, agile swimmers and climbers.� They are generally quite individualistic but travel and hunt in pairs. Niche: These cats have niche�s similar to those of the raccoon, otter, and weasel.� They are omnivorous animals.� Its predators are mainly man and larger carnivores. Interactions with other species: The jagaurundi�s main predators are larger carnivores and man.� Jaguarundis compete for resources with other carnivores such as margays , ocelots , coyotes , foxes , bobcats , and mountain lions .� Several parasites use jaguarundis as hosts including several species of tapeworms , hookworms, and acanthocephalans.   Threats to the species: Jaguarundi�s are threatened by loss of habitat and prey, pollution, and hunting because of the growing human world.   . They are also found in rain forests in Central and South America . The largest known population of Jaguar�s live in the Amazon forest.   Habitat: They prefer to live in lowland habitats, swampy savannas, forests, grasslands, and areas where there are lakes and rivers.� The primary habitats of the jaguar include the dense tropical rain forests of Central and South America . Their distribution ranges from the southwestern portion of the United States to South central Argentina . Their homes are made out of leaves, rotten trees, and other soft materials found on the floor of forests. They prefer to live alone because it is their territorial area. � Physical Description: Jaguars have a similar brownish/yellow fur color, which is marked with dark rose shaped markings that are either brown or black. They look like a circle of spots circling a central spot. They have a more muscular body and shorter tail than the leopard. Jaguars that live in dense forests tend to have a darker fur color than jaguars that live in grasslands and scrub forests. The darker color makes them camouflage with the surrounding terrain and give them an easier survival rate.   Main foods: The jaguar eats more than 80 different kinds of prey. If they live in grasslands they eat deer, tapirs, peccaries and capybaras. In forests, they hide in trees to capture monkeys, and birds. On the plains, they prey on sheep and cattle. They eat almost any kind of food that they can find. Behavior: The jaguar is the fiercest animal in the cat family. The jaguar hunts for its food and attacks and kills its prey to eat. They swim in water to catch fish and turtles. When they locate herds of prey, they climb trees and pounce directly on the animal. The jaguar seizes its prey with its forelegs and kills it by biting its neck. Male and females do not associate with each other unless it is breeding season, which is in December and January. Niche: The niche in the area where they live have been taken over by the leopard. They are carnivores, so they are at the top of the food chain. They attack and kill animals for food and reproduce during breeding season. They mainly live in forests and live alone for territortial reasons. Interactions with other species: The jaguar is a main predator and carnivore, so all animals that they eat are in danger of being killed. Jaguars compete with each other to get food, if the food source is scarce.   Threats to the species:� Humans are the main threat to the jaguar. The jaguar is endangered because humans kill them for fur and farmers kill them because they kill their cattle. Over the years humans have also burned their homelands in Central and South America , cleared their grasslands, and have built cities. The smog also has an affect on their population because it burns the grasslands, which usually help them hide. The only natural predator is the Anaconda snake.   Habitat: This species can be found in the forest belt of North America   Physical Description: The Canadian Lynx is a long legged and short tailed� wild feline. Their apperance is simialer to a bobcat but they look like the are taller because of their long leggs, big feet and thick fur. Their fur is a tawny-gray color, their ear tuffs are black and tail are tipped balck as well. They have claws that help them climb, catch prey and fight.Their length is 3 ft.,height is 2 Ft. and their weight can range from 15-35 pounds.   Main foods: Their diet consists of mostly snowshoe hares but they also eat red squirrel, grouse and other small animals. Behavior: The lynx are nocturnal animals and they usually hunt for their prey at night. The lynx attack and stalk their prey at a close range. Niche: The Canadian Lynx are furbearing preaditors that have their population tied with the population of the snowshoe hare. Interactions with other species:� The lynx have no predators with the exception of humans that hunt them for their fur.   Threats to the species: The biggest threat to the species is the decline in the population the snowshoe hair and traps from humans. , and other central states. It is the only ferret native to North America .   Habitat: The Black �Footed Ferret inhabits areas with hills, and short grass praries in North America . The Ferret need between 100 to 120 acres to search for its food and mother Ferrets need up to 140 acres to find for in order for her and her young to survive.   Physical Description: The Black � footed ferret has coat that is normally a base of white with spots of dark brown to black which runs down the back. The ferrets head is dark brown with a black mask over the eyes, black legs and the tips of their tails. The black � Footed ferret can grow to be about 20 � 24 inches long, with 5 of these inches being the tail. They wiegh about 2 � pounds. The males are normally slightly larger. These ferrets have long front legs for digging and are the only ferrets with a cleft chin.   Main foods: The Black � Footed ferret�s diet consists mainly of prarie dogs. The save the prarie dogs to eat over time. They eat about one prarie dog every 3 -4 days. Behavior: The Black � Footed Ferret is nocturnal and will remain underground for 5-6 days at a time. The Black- Footed Ferret is very territorial and will defend its territory against other same sex species. Niche: Black- Footed Ferrets are consumers, being predators to an animal that is about the same siz, the prarie dog. In turn they are eaten by larger animals at time, but remain safe spending most of their time underground. Because of their predators the Black- Footed Ferret is now an endangered creature The Black- Footed Ferret lives in abondoned Prarie Dog holes. Interactions with other species: The Black- Footed Ferret is being killed of mainly by dogs and other member in the canine family. Besides eating prarie dogs, they are cut off from most other animals.   Threats to the species:� Habitat destruction of short grass lands, are a threat to the already endangered Black-Footed Ferret who depends on these old prarie dog homes for shelter.   Common names: lon g tailed weasel, weasel Scientific name: Mustela frenata (long tailed weasel)   ������������ ������������������������ �� Range: The long-tailed weasel can be found in most of the United States , with the exception of south east California .   Habitat: The long-tailed weasel lives in many habitats including woodlands, thickets, open areas and farmland. It usually lives near a water source.   Physical description: The long-tailed weasel has a small head with long whiskers, and a long body and neck and short legs. Its tail has a black tip; it has brown fur on the upper part of its body and white to yellow fur on its undersides. In the northern parts of its range, the weasel turns white in the winter. Long-tailed weasels in the Southwest have a white mask.   Main foods: Most of its diet is made up of small mammals like mice, voles, rabbits, gophers and chipmunks. It will occasionally eat birds and insects.   Behavior: The long-tailed weasel is a solitary animal except on mating season. It lives in the abandoned burrows of other mammals; its nest is made of grass and leaves and lined with fur. The long-tailed weasel is mostly active in the night, but it also comes out in the day. It does not hibernate. The long-tailed weasel can climb trees and it is a good swimmer. It uses lots of different vocalizations including squeals, squeaks, trills and purrs. It is very aggressive when its territory is invaded.   Niche: The long-tailed weasel is a carnivore, they are low-level predators, and they feed on small mammals, they are also eaten by predators higher in the food web.   Interactions with other species: the long tailed weasel is preyed on by, King snakes, gopher snakes, foxes, bobcats, house cats, large hawks, and owls.   Threats to the species:� Man is the weasel's greatest enemy the weasels are taken for their pelts, even though the fur itself is not of great value.   Source: http://www.northern.edu/natsource/MAMMALS/Longta1.htm �� � http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mustela_frenata.html   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico Species common name(s): Riv er Otter Scientific Name: Lutra canadensis (River otter)   Range: This species, the river otter, is found throughout the United States .   Habitat: River otters adapt to their surroundings by sometimes using lakes and ponds. They usually live along wooded areas and streams, and in marshes. Dens also provide a home for the river otter. They use dens from beavers, muskrats, and woodchucks.   Physical Description: River otter�s nose is diamond shaped, with two nostrils located at the bottom. Their ears and nose have a valve-like skin which closes and then allows them to be kept watertight when in water. Their feet have webbed feet with claws that enable them to swim, run and glide over ice in the winter time. River otters can reach up to 3-4 feet long and weigh around 15-25 pounds. Their coat on their back contains a wide range of colors, from black, reddish, or grayish brown. Their underside coat is usually silver, or grayish brown and their cheeks and throat are silver to yellow gray.   Main foods: The river otter�s diet mainly consists of fish, but they also eat frogs, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and sometimes small mammals, including muskrats. Behavior: Once the otters have caught their pray, they use their mouths and forelimbs to keep and hold it in place. All river otters eat their pray head first, and when fish is eaten, all of the fish fins are left behind and are not eaten. In order for the otters to clean themselves after eating, they wipe their face and whiskers in the grass or snow. Niche: The river otters are carnivores, which mean that they eat only meat. Since fish is the main source of food for the river otter, they catch them when they have easy access� to the school of fish. Interactions with other species: Most of the river otter�s natural enemies are found in the water, but on land they are used as prey for the fox, wolf and raptors. Humans also are a threat because river otters are still hunted for their fur and coat.   Threats to the species:� The river otter�s threats include habitat destruction by adding pollutants and pesticides to their surroundings. Some of the specific pollutants are: dieldrin and polychlorinated biphenyl, mercury, and DDT. The river otter is located at the top of the food chain, so all of these harmful materials are able to reach and cause problems for the river otter. River otters are also being trapped accidentally in Beaver traps. Source: Species common name(s): Black Bear, American Black Bear, and Brown Bear Scientific Name: Ursus Thibetanus Range: American black bears are found in Mexico , 32 states and occupy the shaded area of New Mexico above.   Habitat: Black bears are highly adaptable to different habitat types.� They are primarily found in the forested areas with lots of vegetation that have fruits, nuts, and vegetation.� Places where there�s water like streams, provide more vegetation.� Wooded areas with trees 20in. in diameter or bigger can be used for climbing.   Physical Description: Black bears are usually the same color all over except for a brown nose and white markings that sometimes appear on their chest.� Eastern populations are usually black, while western populations are brown. Male black bears are twice the size of female black bears.� They occasionally may weigh about 500-600 pounds, but average about 150-300 pounds.� Females average 90-150 pounds.   Main Foods: They will eat nuts and berries when available as an important food source.� They also eat a variety of plants, insects, small mammals, and dead animals when available.� In northern regions they eat salmon out of the stream.� They will occasionally kill young deer or moose calves.   Behavior: Black bears are stay to themselves.� The males and females come together to mate for a few hours or a few days.� The bears will gather food alone unless there�s a lot of food in one spot.� They hibernate to conserve energy during seasons with no food or water.   Niche: Black bears are omnivores.� They act as seed dispersers when they carry food away from a tree of bush.� They eat nuts, berries, plants, and small mammals   Interactions with other Species: They interact with salmon and young deer.� Sometimes hunters hunt the Black bear.� Black Bears are very timid and run away from humans and dogs.   Threats to the species: �In the U.S.A. , most states have reported that habitat loss and habitat fragmentation were the major threats, there�s a few that get poached and some get road killed.   Sources: ��������������� http://www.alaska-bear-pictures.com/ ��������������� http://kidplanet.org/factsheets/floridablackbear.html ��������������� Bears by Erwin A Bauer and photographs by Peggy Bauer   Species common name(s): Black Bear   Scientific Name: Ursus americanus amblyceps (NM,AZ) ����������� �������� Range: The Black Bear is found in many places throughout North America . They are found in about thirty- two states in the U.S. � Black bears live in the more forested parts of the U.S. that are less inhabited by humans.   Taxonomy- Kingdom- Animalia, Phylum- Chordata, Class- Mammalia, Order-Carnivora,� Family- Ursidae, Genus- Ursus, species- Americanus   Habitat: They are mainly found in wooded areas.�   Physical Description: The majority of black bears are black, but there are the select few that are white (albino) and lighter shades, and are still considered black bears.   Main foods: About 75 percent of their diet is Plant matter, the other 25 percent is insects and small mammals.� They also like to eat honey.� They rarley kill large animals,but occasionally, they will kill a young deer or moose. Behavior: Black Bear cubs stay with their mothers for about a year.� Black Bears spend a lot of their lives searching for food.�� Black Bears hibernate for five to seven months out of the year Niche and interactions with other species: Black Bears are omnivores, they have a great sense of smell, and so they can detect other animals before they can see them. They mainly are solitary animals.� Black bears do not have many predetors.� Their job is to� keep plants so that they don�t become overgrown. Threats to the species:� One of the main threats to the black bear is poaching.� Also their loss of habitat is a threat to the black bear.� In some states, the black bears biggest threats are road-kills and over-harvesting.� Also human populations are harming the black bear population, when humans move into the woods, it takes away the bears� home. Source: http://home.globalcrossing.net/~brendel/black.html ��������������� � http://www.bearbiology.com/bbdesc.html ��������������� � http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/blkber.htm ��������������� � http://www.black-bears.org/ Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ����� Page Author: Morgan Powers   Species common name(s): Kit Fox Scientific Name: Vuples macrotis   �������������������������������� ��������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ Range: The kit fox is found in Oregon . It occupies lowlands, valleys, and deserts.   Habitat: It�s common to grasslands, valley scrub, desert, oak woodlands, chaparral, and urban settings.   Physical Description: Length: 375-500mm. Tail length:225-323mm black-tipped. Average weight: males-2.2kg, females-1.9kg. Eyes: brown. Pelage: back gray, outer legs tan, nape of neck tan, belly grayish white.   Main foods: They are omnivorous; they eat small mammals, carrion, fish, and birds.   Behavior: Kit Foxes are nocturnal scavengers. Kit Foxes live in burrows that they dig or a den they have taken over. They raise a litter of 4-7 pups that live with the parents from spring to fall.   Niche: Its small size provides it with a niche not already occupied by other members of the dog family. The kit fox eats kangaroo rats, pocket mice, rabbits, reptiles, and insects.   Interactions with other species: Its large ears allow it to hear foot-drumming by a giant kangaroo rat or the screech of a wounded cottontail. Its large eyes enable the kit fox to see and hunt at night.   Threats to the species:� The Kit Fox is an endangered species. But there are about 4,500, enough to be researched. Because of industrial and urban growth in the area.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Diane Mitchell   Species common name(s): Coyote, coy dog, and trickster Scientific Name: Canis latrans �Range: Coyotes are found in the big areas of New Mexico and various other states   Habitat: Coyotes generally live in the lowlands and enjoy being around cottonwoods and rabbit brush. Grasslands and desert associated land with rocks and dirt. Physical Description: Adults have grey coat with outward facing ears, forelegs, and feet that resemble a browinish or yellow color. The throat and belly are light grey. Black tipped tail. Head and body are 70-97 cm. Weight varies from 9-16 kg. Females are 20% smaller. Main foods: Coyotes will eat almost anything if they�re hungry. Diet consists of squirrels, rabbits, livestock, rodents, insects, and even garbage. Behavior: Usually found in breeding pairs or alone. Coyotes often times take over badger or woodchuck borrows. Niche: Coyotes role in the ecosystem is clean up crew. Coyotes are also a helper in spreding the seeds of other plants and trees away from its orginal spot. Coyotes keep the rodent population down. Interactions with other species: The coyote and the redfox have been seen fighting for food or other animals. The bobcat and coyote have been said to never come within 50 ft of one another. Also coyotes and rodents, in this situation it either ends up the coyote taking over or having this small animal for lunch.�   Threats to the species:� Many threats to the coyote species consist of humans catching and killing these animals. Also mountain lions and bears are predators to coyotes. Coyotes also may carry rabies. Source: Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������������������������������������������������������������� Page Author: Ryan Ross   Species common name(s): Cottontail, De sert Cottontail � Scientific Name: Sylvilagus auduboni (Desert Cottontail)������ � Range: Found throughout the Plains states from eastern Montana . Found up to six thousand five hundred feet in elevation.   Habitat: Desert cottontails occur in a variety of habitats, including dry desert-like grasslands and shrub lands, and pinion-juniper forests. �   Physical Description:The adult desert cottontail is light colored, tan to gray. The underside of the cottontail is whitish. The tail is rounded and looks like a cotton ball .The length of a desert cottontail is thirteen to seventeen inches. Their ears average three to four inches long and the average weight is two to three pounds. Females are larger than the males.   Main foods: Cottontails are herbivores, so they eat a wide variety of plants, including grasses, forbs, shrubs and even cacti. Ninety percent of their diet is grass, but cottontails will forage on domestic crops, or even the bark of fruit trees. During the winter desert cottontails eat twigs and oak bark, since grasses and shrubs are in low supply.   Behavior: �During the day, cottontails rest in the shades of large shrubs or in burrows. In the hot months of summer, they conserve moisture and energy by avoiding activity during the hot daylight hours. The cottontail may have as many as three liters of young a year, a liter being from one to six youth. Cottontails have been known to climb trees and even swim across rivers to escape predators. The average life span for a cottontail is two years.� Desert cottontails rarely stray far from their birthplace area. Niche: A number of predators, including eagles, great horned owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans prey upon cottontails. The desert cottontail eats many grasses and shrubs so it keeps the level of vegetation to a minimum. Interactions with other species: The cottontail is the main food source for coyotes, foxes and hawks.� Younger cottontail are eaten by larger snakes, such as the rattlesnake. Cottontails may not interact with their neighbors, but they tolerate closer neighbors than most over rabbits do.   Threats to the species:� Habitat destruction has led to a decline in the number of desert cottontails in the wild. Over hunting of cottontail by natural predators have lead to the decrease of the cottontail population.   Picture above provided by Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico �� Page Author: James Mora   Species common name(s): Black-tailed jackrabbit������ Scientific Name: Lepus insularis ������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������� �Range: Balck-tailed jackrabbits prefer the desert. Black-tailed jackrabbits inhabit all four deserts in the southwest.       Habitat: Black-tailed jackrabbits are most abundant in valleys, adjoining lower slopes of� the hills. They are also found in rocky hills and lower mountains. But their favorite places to be are the places scattered with tropical shrubs and cacti. ��   Physical Description: Black-tailed jackrabbits have a glossy head, most of the time they will have a few white hairs on the middle of the crown and grayish hairs near their ears and eyes. A black line extends along the inner sides of the hind feet. Their feet are padded very well to handle the rough terrain. Their body size is 574mm and average tail length is 96mm.   Main foods: Black-tailed jackrabbits are herbivores. Grass is the preferred food, but not all the time grass is available so they are known to eat tree bark. Behavior: Black-tailed jackrabbits are solitary species. Instead of digging a burrow it rests and takes shelter in shallow depressions made in soil or vegetation. During the day they like to spent the majority of their time in the shade under bushes. Duing mating season the males will fight with other male to pursuad the females. The males usualy fight with there fore feet and kicking with the hind legs. Niche: They are food for other species. They turn plant life into aminal life then the carnivors have something to eat. Interactions with other species: Black-tailed jackrabbits can live up to eight years, but become dinner for hawks, coyotes, and badgers. These are the main predators that jackrabbits have to watch out for all the time.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico �������� Page Author: Tyler Escapule   Species common name(s): Silver Haired Bat Scientific Name: Lasionycteris noctivagans   ����������� �������   �Range: All of New Mexico that has trees. Do not live in the desert or in fields.   Habitat: In forest areas, they roost under the bark and other holes, like woodpecker nests.   Physical Description: 3 to 4 inches long, long black and silver hair. Stubby tail. May live up to 12 years.   Main foods: Various flying insects, especially flies, moths, and cadis flies. Behavior: Always gives birth to twins. Usually solitary. Slow flying. Migrate south in winters. Males roost alone while females group into nurseries. Insectivores. Are active during the evening to the morning, from dusk until dawn. Niche: To eat annoying insects, (keep the insect population in check.) and to be eaten by skunks and great horned owls. Interactions with other species: Are non-to-friendly with anything else. Dislike other flying things bigger than it.   Threats to the species:� Deforestation (habitat destruction)�   Range: The pronghorn antelope is North America �s only antelope.� They are true natives to America .�� The pronghorn antelope are inhabitants of the� southwestern United States and through out many parts of New Mexico .   Taxonomy:� Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata� Class: Mammalia� Order: Artiodactyla� Family: Antilocapridae Genus: Antilocapra Species: americana Habitat: These mammals usually live in open grasslands, prairies, deserts and plains.   Physical Description: Male pronghorn antelope are 1.3-1.4 m long and weigh about 42-59 kg. The females may be 1.3-1.5 m long and weigh 41-50 kg. The antelope have a cinnamon colored body with a white rump, belly and facial features.� Both the male and female have horns, although, the female have smaller horns and lack the �prongs� that the males exhibit.� The male is larger and has a black line on the lower jaw.� The antelopes have heavy eyelashes which serve as sun shades. The antelope have a very light bone structure and excellent vision so that they can protect themselves from any predators.� They have large windpipes and run with their mouths open so that they can inhale enough air. They are capable of running several miles at one time and can reach speeds of up to 60 mph.   Main foods: The antelope typically feeds on a variety of plants.� They especially enjoy forbs and shrubs.� They may even eat cacti. Behavior: The pronghorn antelopes are most active during early mornings and evenings.� These animals are nomadic, and usually move long distances, depending on the season.� In the winter, these animals tend to herd together, often sleeping and eating near each other. Niche:� The pronghorn antelope are very beneficial to the vegetation because they eat it and do not allow the vegetation to grow out of control. Interactions with other plants and animals:� The predators of the pronghorn antelope include coyotes, mountain lions, golden eagles, wild dogs and bobcats.� The antelope may also eat several types of grasses, but are very specific.� The grasses are eaten when young.� The antelope also feed on recently disturbed ground because these places can provide an abundance of new plant growth.   Threats to the species:� There are many pronghorn losses due to predation as well as destruction of land and human inhabitance.   Source:������� http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues01/Co12292001/CO_12292001_Antelope.htm �������������������� http://www.wmonline.com/gamefish/antelop.htm ��� �������������������� http://www.nps.gov/wica/Pronghorn.htm   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico Species common name(s): White Tail Deer �Scientific Name: Odocoileinae virginianus ����������� �������������������� ����������� ����������������������������������������Range- Most North America, southern Canada, and some of Central America. Habitat- White tail deer prefer open woodlands, and small meadows and they also like thickets to bed down during the day so they can here anything coming towards them. �� Physical Description- They have a reddish brown coat during the summer and a gray coat during the winter. They have a tail 4  to 8 inches long that is white underneath. And they stand 3.5 feet to the shoulder � Main Foods- They eat grass, leaves, and bark in the winter when food is scarce. �� Behavior- White tail deer have a good sense of smell and hearing but are colored blind. They are good swimmers and can run up to 36 miles per hour. And go into the rut (mating season) during the fall. �� Niche-They are prey to carnivores like wolves, bears, mountain lions, and coyotes. They use there tail as a communication device and they are food to people ��� �Interactions With Other Species- They interact with wolves, mountain lions, and bears when they try to attack them. And they interact with moose, elk , and caribou in the field wile they both feed and they warn each other when they sense danger�� �� Threats To The Species- There is this disease that is called CWD (chronic wasting disease) that kills deer very slowly and is caused by deer eating their own feces. .�� �� Related Species- Moose, Elk, Mule Deer, Coues Deer, Caribou � Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico Page Author: Laura Wilson   Species common name(s): Mule Deer Scientific Name: Odocoileus herionus ����������� ����������� �Range: The Mule Deer is found in the Western two-thrids of New Mexico , and in the Southern (desert) third of the state.   Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Cervidae, Genus:Odocioleus, Species: hemionus   Habitat: The habitat where Mule Deer live ranges from low elevation deserts and pinon-juniper forests to canyon and river bottoms and ponderosa forests in high mountain country.   Physical Description: Mule Deer have two sub species, the Rocky Mnt. Mule Deer, and the Desert Mule Deer. The name Mule Deer is unique to the species because of its large ears, narrow tail that is brownish in color with a black tip. Most Mule Deer have a reddish color in the summer, and blueish grey in the winter. They have very good eyesight, hearing and sense of smell. Both the male and female are about 3-3.5 feet tall at the shoulder. Males weigh from 100-400lbs. And females weigh 80-250lbs. Antlers are only found on the male Mule Deer.   Main foods: Mule Deer are browsers and will mostly eat any vegation that they can find in their habitat. They will eat leaves, branches, needles, oak tree leaves, juniper, mountain manogony, pinyon, ceanothus, bitterbrush, Douglas fir, white fir, ponderosa and eriogonums. Behavior: The Mule Deer typically rest througout the day in protective cover. They eat and scrounge for food at dawn and dusk. Niche: Mule Deer help the ecosystem because they benefit the vegitaion by keeping it controlled and trimmed. They help fertilize the ground, and serve as food to other carnivors in their habitats.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���� Page Author: Ryan Comsotock   Species common name(s): Wapiti, Elk Scientific Name: Cervus elaphus ��������������� ���������� �Range: The west side of New Mexico in the higest mountains. They may stretch to plains shrublands or grasslands.   Habitat: They where origonaly found in plains but were pushed into the mountains by people.� They now mostly live in sheltered canyons or National Forest lands.   Physical Description: Dark brown heads, tan bodies, and white rumps.� Males have large antlers usaly consisting of six points.� In the rut they have large manes.   Main foods: Grasses make up 85% of their diet and also they eat sage, asters, twigs and brush, and mushrooms.� Behavior: The males rub their horns on trees and role on the ground after they pee to get sent on them durring the breeding season. �Niche: They keep grasslands from turning into forests, and provide an important source of meat for carnivores and humans. Interactions with other species: Humans hunt them; aspens depend on them for pruning, lungworms, brucellosis, both feed off elk.   Threats to the species: Threats are hunting, diseases, parasites, starvation because of cattle grazing, and predation.   Mammals of Arizona� by Donald F. Hoffmeister   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���� Page Author: Amanda Wilson   Species common name(s): Javelina, Collard Peccary, musk hog, Tayaussa Scientific Name: Peccary angulatus ����������������������� � �Range: The Javelina lives in the Sonoran Deserts of southwestern Texas , and southward through Central America to northern Argentina .   Habitat: The Javelina adapts easily to any desert habitat but likes to live near watering holes and cliffs, possibly near oak trees.   Physical Description: Pig like snout, pointy ears, 3 toed hind foot, knee high or shorter, grey or brown coloration.   Main foods: The Javelina likes to eat foods such as prickly pears, lupines, mesquite beans, and they eat a wide variety of fruits, bulbs, and acorns. Behavior: Javelinas live in heards, and around mid morning when the heard eat, they separate into a loosely knit group. When the day heats up the Javelinas move into cave areas to keep cool. When sleeping, they huddle together for warmth. They also have a very strong family scent that helps keep the family together. Herd size ranges from five to twenty seven or more Javelinas. Niche: Javelinas are herbavoures, and eat fruits and nuts. When �Bathing� and eating, they run there snouts through the dirt and help aerate the soil. Interactions with other species: Their enemies include coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions. Luckily, their mall hooves are well adapted for running up to speeds of 25 miles an hour, to run from them.   Threats to the species: Coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, hunters, roads and habitat destruction.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ����� Page Author:Cori Rebarchik Species common name(s): Oryx , Gemsbok Orix Scientific Name: Oryx gazella ����������� �������� �Range: This is a native species to Africa , although their population was getting low so they were reared by the Department of Game and Fish at the Albuquerque Zoo for a year. Then eventually were released as game animals near the Redrock area and in the White Sands area in New Mexico .   Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Subphylum: Vertebrata, Class: Mammalia, Subclass: Theria, Order: Artiodactyla, Suborder: Ruminantia, Family: Bovidae, Genus: Oryx, Species: gazella��   Habitat: Oryx are most commonly found in arid areas, brush and tree savannahs in flat and hilly areas.� They can also be found in semi-desert and desert areas, including dry steppes.� In New Mexico most are found in the White Sands gated area built to keep the animals in (that cost $400,000 to build). � Physical Description: They have dramatic haltar-like facial masks paired with white patches.� The black striping also extends along the sides near the underbelly, although the rest of the body is a buffy tan color to a brown color.� Males have a tuft of black hairs on the throat.� A short mane runs from the head to the shoulders.� They have horns that are long and extend straight back from the head, with the lower half of them being ringed.� The horns can grow up to 150cm long, although the females horns tend to be more slender and longer than the males.� The gemsbok (certain species introduced to New Mexico ) is the largest of the oryx species. The ears are large and broad. They stand about as tall as a human but their horns extend farther.� �   Main foods: The oryx normally feeds on grasses and herbs, juicy roots, fruits, melons, leaves, buds, and bulbs. They can go without water for several days but drink at streams and waterholes when water is available. Oryx are experts at finding water and often dig into dried river beds to access ground water. If a dry periods occurs, oryx can dig up fruits and root containing water. Behavior: Oryx live in groups usually of 30 to 40 animals, but in NM are found in smaller groups. The herds usually consist of one dominant male with several females and subadults. Groups of bachelor herds also can form. Male-male interactions are aggressive but rarely result in severe injury. Displays are common with the oryx, where males show their size by standing broadside to one another with horns pointed over their shoulders toward the individual being threatened. Often males will defend small territories in which they attempt to mate with and control all the females. Niche: Oryx help to control the ground vegetation by consuming it.� They also can help other animals by digging holes for water, when there is little to be found. Interactions with other species: Oryx main predators are humans.� Hunting licenses are sold every year for both game and food purposes. Out of all animals in White Sands the oryx has had the most impact on the landscape.� The oryx has introduced a large threat to cacti, which also would endanger the White Sand�s entire ecosystem. Threats to the species:� The main threat to oryx is people because they are not a native species.� Oryx were placed in New Mexico to increase the big game in the area, started to breed, and now the species has taken off.� The main threat today for the oryx would be over hunting or environmental people eliminating them.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Sean Caton   Species common name(s): Plains Pocket Mouse, PP Mouse. Scientific Name: Perognathus flavescens. ����������� �������� �������������������������������������� � Range: Mostly found in the Panhandle of Texas, Colorado . Taxonomy:� Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Rodentia, Family: Heteromyidae Habitat: This Pocket Mouse lives in areas that have sandy soil, and light vegitation. It commonly burrows under clumps of Spanish bayonet, or prickley pears. It breeds April � July,� it has 4-5 young at a time, and it has 2 litters a year. Physical Description: A small yellowish colored mouse. Relativley short. Length 30cm. Tail 61mm. Weight 8-11 grams. Main foods: They typically fest on seeds beneath of grass and weeds. Behavior: It burrows usually banith blarge bushes or shrubs; its whole entrance is usually pluged durring the day, and it will come out at night to eat. Its home range is 1/10 an acre. Niche: It eats the seeds off of the grasses and plants, this helps so that there is not a wide spread of grass and plants, and there wont be over growth. Its other job is to sacrofice itself to other birds snakes reptiles and larger animals that get the erge to eat a pocket mouse. Threats to the species:� Large birds, snakes other reptiles, and larger mammals.   � Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ��� �� Page Author: Nick Wilvert   Species common name(s): Humans , people, mankind. Scientific Name: Homo sapiens   ��������������� ���������   Range: Due to technology of the modern world, humans are able to reach just about any location.� The range of human settlements spans widely across the world.   Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primata Family: Hominidae   Habitat: Most humans live in urban settings with buildings and housing made of non-natural materials like steel and concrete.� Many of these cities are built near rivers and fertile land, where there are few temperature or weather extremes.   Physical Description: Humans are bipeds, meaning we have two legs and two feet which we walk on.� We stand straight with a slightly �s curved� spine, and have two arms with 4 fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand.� Skin colors range from a pale tan/white color to dark brown.   Main Foods: Humans are omnivorous, eating both meat and plants.� However, today many of the foods consumed by humans are produced artificially, losing some of the vitamins and minerals needed to live a healthy life.   Behavior: Human behavior is different from many animals in that we spend most of our lives contributing to the rest of our society.� Humans do not need to spend time building houses, hunting and growing food, or finding water.� Each human performs one of those tasks for others in their habitat.� Humans are social beings and for the most part enjoy being around each other.   Niche: Humans have the ability to have a huge impact on the environment around them.� Due to the fact that we are one of the most intelligent beings and have to tools necessary to make things happen (arms, legs, hands, fingers, brains) we have the ability to drastically change the environment in which we live.   Interactions with other species: Humans are the top species and because of that many treat other species as inferior.� We keep animals as pets, have zoos, and hunt and breed animals for food.� We are also the only species that uses the scientific process to learn more about other species.   Threats to species: The only threat to humans as a species is other humans.� We have no natural predators, but for some reason seem to kill each other.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ������ Page ��������������� Author: Garrett S. Species common name(s): Raccoon , Masked bandit, aroughcun.������������� Scientific Name: Procyon lotor���������������������� �������������������������������������   , prairie, marsh, coasts, cities.   Physical Description: 18-28 in. long, tail is 8-12 in. Has a dark colored band of fur around eyes, looks like a mask. Main foods: Omnivorous, eats fish, frogs, clams, crayfish, termites, ant larvae, mice, insects, fruit, berries, nuts, and vegetables.� Behavior: Shy but curious. �wash� their food in water. Most active during the night. Raid trashcans. Sense of touch is highly developed, smell important for hunting. Good climbers and good swimmers. Makes low twittering sounds, growls, and snarls. Males have no part in raising babies. Do not hibernate. Tail used as fat storage, balance while climbing, and to support them when they sit up.   Interactions with other species: Adults have few natural enemies; great horned owls, wolves, coyotes, large snakes, and bobcats hunt young.   Threats to the species: Pollution is the greatest threat to them. Raccoons have adapted very well to urban sprawl. Except for roads/ road kill.��   New Mexico , it can be found in most rural or even some suburban areas (See Habitat). �������������������������������������   Habitat- Ringtails can live in a variety of climates, but prefer rocky areas, by broken fences, canyon walls, and slopes.� They occur less commonly in woodland areas, where they usually nest in hollow trees.� They sometimes also live in buildings. They are expert climbers, capable of ascending vertical surfaces, and thus can nest in crannies and crevices normally unreachable.   Description: �A cat-sized omnivore resembling a miniature fox with a long raccoon-like tail; tail flattened, about as long as it�s head and body, banded with 14 to 16 alternating black and white rings (black rings incomplete on underside), and with a black tip; five toes on each foot, armed with sharp, curved, non-retractile claws; upperparts fulvous, heavily overcast with blackish; face sooty gray with large, distinct, whitish areas above and below each eye, and one at anterior base of each ear; eye ring black; back of ears whitish toward tip, grayish basally; underparts whitish, tinged with buff.   Main foods- Ringtails eat a wide variety of foods. In central Texas, as judged by the examination of the digestive tracts of more than 100 ringtails, their diet consists of small passerine birds (9.9%); small mammals (rats, mice, squirrels, cottontails), including carrion (24.4%); snakes and lizards (3.9%); toads and frogs (0.2%); insects, mostly grasshoppers and crickets (31.2%); spiders, scorpions and centipedes (11.1%); and fruits of native plants, principally persimmon, hackberry, and mistletoe (19.3%). The diet varies with the season: largely birds, mammals, and fruits of hackberry and mistletoe in winter; mammals, insects, and juniper berries in spring; insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and persimmon fruit in summer. Insufficient data are available to determine the food in autumn.   Behavior:� They are not shy around people, and often nest in mines or sheds.���� They are wholly nocturnal, and spend the greater part of the day asleep in their dens, and venture out at night to feed.   Niche:    Possible predators include bobcats, raccoons, foxes, and especially large owls.� Potential competition for food exists between ringtails and many species that share similar habitats and feeding styles. species (e.g., raccoons, gray foxes, coyotes, barn owls, great horned owls, rattlesnakes, gopher snakes).   Interactions between Other Species:� Ringtails, being generalists, do have more ready access to food.� However, as noted in its niche, ringtails have a lot of competition and predation.   Threats to the Species:� The great horned owl and bobcat both prey upon the Ringtail.� It is not hunted by man, but human destruction of habitat harms the Ringtail directly, as well as indirectly by harming its food sources.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Tyler Species common name(s): Coati and the Coatimundi Scientific Name: Nasua narica ����������� �Range: The range is in the southwestern United States and all the way into Argentina Habitat: forests and tropical areas.   Physical Description: The coati is eight to twelve inches tall; it is thirteen to twienty seven inches long.� They range from a cinnamon color to black, and around their eyes there is a mask that is showed with white patches at the top, sides, and the bottom of their eyes.   Worms , termites, snails, lizards, snakes, mice, fruits, nuts, and eggs Behavior: The males will travel alone for the most part, but when they are ready to mate then they will go with a group of females and prevent the other males from joining them.� The females will travel in groups from four to fifty if they have their yound with them. Niche: The female coati is very social, but only to others in their group.� While the males are very solitary, but when it comes time to make then they join a group of females.� They also help keep the population of the insects and the small reptiles down. Interactions with other species: Large birds of prey, boas, jaguars, puma, ocelots, jaguarundis, and humans.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ������������������������������ Page Author: Haleigh Chwirka   Species common name: Western Spotted Skunk Scientific Name: Spilogale gracilis����������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� �����   .   Habitat: The Western Spotted Skunk usually lives around rocky bluffs, cliffs, and brush-bordered canyon streams or streambeds.   Physical Description: Spotted; smaller than striped skunk.  Total length: 35-55 cm; tail length: 7-22 cm. Unusually, its coat is spotted instead of striped.   Main Foods: Diet includes rodents, birds, fruits, insects, eggs, rabbits, carrion, and some vegetable matter.   Behavior: All skunks have highly developed spray techniques for defense and can spray their horrible-smelling musk distances of up to 15 feet. The musk can burn the eyes and cause momentary loss of vision. Also, most spotted skunks are found in rocky areas, where they have adapted by climbing rocks.   Niche: The spotted skunk is an omnivorous animal that feeds on many various animals and invertebrates and its predators are domestic cats and dogs and the great horned owls.   Interactions with other species: Cats, dogs, and the great horned owls prey on them.   Threats to the species: Roads, over hunting, global warming and pollution.   Scientific Name:� Mephitis mephitis     Striped Skunk������������������������������������������������� Range map � ������������������ ����������������������������������������������������     Range-� The range of the striped skunk is somewhat large and may vary extremely, they can be found in just about any part of New Mexico , along with many of the Southwestern states.   Habitat- The skunk often lives in wooded or brushy farmlands.   Behavior- Striped skunks are nocturnal animals, and hardly come out until the later part of the day, and are often back in their burrows by early morning. Towards the end of the fall they become extremely fat due to preparation for hibernation which takes place during the winter, they will again awaken in early spring. They are very social animals and many times during hibernation you will find between 5-6 in one burrow.   Physical description- Striped skunks are about 68 cm in length, they have stout bodies, and have two stripes along their backs which meet at the neck or head area. Male Skunks are usually larger than females. They have short ears and small eyes. They also have a long bushy tail.   Food-� Skunks do not eat just one main food, but a quite large variety of different things such as insects, arachnids, reptiles, small mammals, and some birds. Niche- This particular kind of skunk is a carnivore/omnivore. The diet of this animal varies according to the season. Interaction with other species- �Skunks don�t have much interaction with many other species, however they are very social amongst their own species. Species threat- One major threat of these animals is the destruction of their habitats, however many skunks may be killed by cars or by people shooting them, because sometimes they are thought to be a threat to some small farm animals.   Sources:� http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/mephmeph.htm ����������� http://www.encart.msn.com/striskunk.html ����������� http://www.chicagowilderness.org/images/photos/Striped_skunk.jpg   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico Page Author: Anthony Strickland�   Species common name(s): Least chipmunk Scientific Name: TAMIAS MINIMUS ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������� ��������   �Range: This creature is found mostly in the northen portion of New Mexico Habitat:   Physical Description: The least chipmunk is the smallest of all chipmunks hence the word least. The chipmunk is easily recognised by the black stripes running down its back and are accompanied by white stripes. The white stripes run from its ear down its back and above and below the eyes. It weighs about an ounce. Main foods: The least chipmunk tipically eats wild berries, seeds from coniferous trees, beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and cactus fruit when available. Behavior: The chipmunk spends most of its day feeding and building its nest. It uses its large cheeks to carry thing back to its nest. In the winter the chipmunk burros into a tree or deep into the ground. Niche: The least chipmunk gathers nuts most of its day gets eaten by predators and squished by cars. It also prepares for winter. Interactions with other species: Least chipmunks feed mostly hawks and other big birds, weasels, mink, and feral domestic cats. Threats to the species:� The biggest threats to the chipmunk are humans when the chipmunk enters a home or building the humans try to kill and trap the chipmunks. When chipmunks are present in large numbers they cause structural damage. In result more of them die due to humans.   http://www.animalcontrolproducts.com/Chipmunk.html   Species Common Name: Cliff Chipmunk����������� ������������������Page Author: Oona van Swol Scientific: Eutamias dorsalis������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �       Range: The range of the Cliff Chipmunks is from the Arizona Strip to the Mogollon Plateau and into the Whites and on many different mountain ranges.(Range shown in pink)   Habitat: Cliff chipmunks live in cliffs, hence the name �cliff chipmunk�, but they are also found in rocky areas and especially in pinon-juniper areas and also in ponderosa pine, oak, maple, and woodlands.   Physical Description: Their back feet are gray on the bottom, the stripes on their back or dark colored but not a complete black. Cliff chipmunks have gray heads with grayish shoulders. The male chipmunks are slightly smaller than the females.   Main Foods: The chipmunks eat many kinds of nuts, seeds, berries, various kinds of stems and flower heads. EX: mountain maple, wild carrot, serviceberry, bitterbrush, bird eggs and nestlings, and mushrooms.   Behavior: Cliff chipmunks hibernate during the winter season but may come out from its den when the weather is unusually warm. These dens are normally in cliffs, rock piles, but sometimes they may be in underground burrows and in trees. These chipmunks may give a sharp squeak approx. 160 times per a minute, and after each squeak they twitch their tail. The chipmunk will give a high-pitched yelp whenever it is startled or excited. The chipmunks slight striping is a wonderful protection devise for the rodents. They mate from April to May. Each female produces 4-8 babies. Some can have more than one litter. The way these chipmunks call to each other are from hiding spots and sounding a low and repeated �chuck�.   Niche: These chipmunks are herbivores. They survive on seeds, berries, nuts and such.�   Interaction with other species: The following animals eat the cliff chipmunk: coyotes, wolves, foxes, hawks, owls, rattlesnakes, and gopher snakes. Chipmunks dig burrows and also may use burrows of other animals to live in, the burrows they dig may be used by other animals. Threats to the species: Humans in the park will often feed these �cute� little chipmunks and then the chipmunks will become too dependent upon being fed that they will die if they don�t get fed.   Sources Books: Mammals of the Southwest E. Lendell Cockrum� Mammals of Habitat: This animal lives in mainly desert regions, especially low deserts with little vegetation.   Physical Description:� �The Harris� Antelope Squirrel has a pink beige back in the summer and gray upperparts in the winter. The under parts of this squirrel are white. The squirrel has a single white stripe on each side.� The tail is gray on top and mixed black and white on the bottom. The ears are small. They weigh about 4.5 oz, are about 6 inches long.   Main Foods: They Harris Antelope Squirrel main food is the fruits and seed of yucca and cacti but they also eat insects and other plants. The squirrel gets it water from the food it eats by metabolizing it.   Behavior: �The squirrel is very active even at the hottest times of days. They are solitary creatures that blend into the environment.   Niche: �The Harris Antelope Squirrel is an omnivore. They are also well adapted to the area around them and serve as an important part of the ecosystem because they are the prey of larger animals.   Interactions with other species: These are solitary animals, and they chose to live alone. The squirrel gets extremely upset when disturbed.� However some of their predators include reptiles and birds of prey.   Threats to the species:� The loss of habitat due to agriculture, growth of cities, mining and the use of chemicals to get rid of ground squirrels are threats to the specises.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Noah Duran   Species common name(s): Roc k Squirrel Scientific Name: Spermophilus variegatus ����������� �������� �Range: The rock squirrel is distrributed through most of the western United States . It can be found in southern Nevada .   Habitat: Rock squirrels mainly inhabit rocky areas. They can be found in canyons, on cliffs or in boulder piles. Its den is usually made under rocks in a burrow, but it may make its den in a hollow tree.   Physical Description: The rock squirrel can be between 17 and 21 inches in length. It is mainly a mottled gray with creamy white undersides. It has a large bushy tail and a brown rump.   Main foods: The rock squirrel eats pine nuts, walnuts, mesquite seeds, cherries, cactus, saltbush, agave, wild gourd, and sumac. It will also eat most fruits and vegetables. The rock squirrel also eats insects like grasshoppers and crickets. Rock squirrels also eat carrion or dead animals,   Behavior: Rock squirrels are most active during the earlymorning and the late afternoon. The usually live in small colonies. They may hibernate for short amounts of time in colder regions. Niche: Rock Squirrels are mainly herbivores, but also help control the population of crickets, grasshoppers, and other insects. Interactions with other species: The rock squirrel is prey for hawks, roadrunners, coyotes, and snakes.   Threats to the species:� The rock squirrel is really not under any serious threat, but habitat destruction could have an effect on their population in the future. Sources:� http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/rocksquirrel.htm ����������� ��� http://www.toddshikingguide.com/FloraFauna/Fauna22.htm Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico������� Author of Page: Nancy Frank   Species common name(s): White Footed Mouse Scientific Name: Peromyscus leucopus     �����������   Range: This is a picture of New Mexico all of the purple area is where the Whited Footed Mouse lives.   Habitat: Open and grassy places, logs, brushy, or wooded areas.   Physical Description:� it varies with its location. It often has a white stomach, body is usually reddish brown with a little bit of gray and a darker strip down its back. It also has long ears. The size of the mouse for the head and body is about 3-4 inches long. Its tal is about 4 inches long, it weighs from about � to 1 1/10 ounces.   Main foods:� seeds, nuts, berries, and sometimes smaller animals.   Behavior: when the mice are scared they start to beat their feet very fast on the ground, with their front feet they sometimes beat on a hollow reed.   Niche:� I could not find any information on how they have a roll on the ecosystem.   Interactions with other species: they live by themselves. The only time that they interact with each other is during the breeding season. This is usually around spring or fall.   Threats to the species: birds, some snakes, and owls. Two of the main owls that are a threat are the barred and the screech owl.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ������ Page Author: Sonya Martinez   Species common name(s): Masked shrew Scientific Name: Sorex cinereus�������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ����������������������� �Range:� The masked shrew ranges from Alaska .   Habitat: masked shrews usually live in ponderosa pine and higher elivations.� They also live nere strems where is moist and thick.� Also were the vegitation is moist and thick.   Physical Description: a masked shrews are a small mammal with a long nose.� They also have black velvet like fur.� The eyes and ears are also small and difficalt to see.� The teeth are numerous and most have red pigment in the enamel. Behavior:� masked shrews are active at night and at day.�� They often eat up to three quarters of their total body weight in food every day.� � Niche:� The masked shrew�s predators are owls, and, coyotes Interactions with other species:� none Threats to the species:� Humans and predators.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Brian Smith   Species Common Names: Opossum , Virginia Opossum Scientific Name: Didelphis virginiana �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   ����������������������������������� �������   Range: They are located in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia Habitat: Terrestrial and arboreal. Lives in many areas, but prefers wooded land areas.   Description: An opossum is small, thin, has hairless ears and a long, scaly tail. It is gray or brown, with some white hairs. It is about 15"to 20"in length, and it weighs 9 to 13 lbs, and the females are smaller than the males.   Main Foods: It is omnivorous, and eats foods which include fruit, insects, eggs, and small vertebrates.   Behavior: The opossum can be a very fierce fighter, and in the event that the possum runs into an animal much larger than it, it has the habit of playing dead.   Niche: They help control the insect population, by feeding on them.   Interactions: Shortened lifespan due to predators, such as humans, dogs, cats, and coyotes.   Threat of Species: Some opossums that are near Canada lose portions of the tail and ears to frostbite. They are also threatened by cars, and they can carry rabies.   Pictures: http://www.ohionature.org/animals/virginia.html ����������� �� http://www.nenature.com/virginiaopossum.htm   Species common name(s): Bison, Buffalo�������� Author: Ryan Comstock Scientific Name: Bison bison ����������� ��� ������� � Physical Description: The bison is the largest land animal in North America . �They are five to six ft. at their hump and can get up to eleven feet long.� The males weigh 2200 lbs and the females weigh 1320. Main foods: The American bison is a grazer. Its diet is made up of mostly grasses and sedges. It will occasionally eat berries and lichen. In winter, the bison uses its head and hooves to move snow off the vegetation. Behavior: The bison roam the plains in giant herds eating all shrubery in their path.� If a preaditor makes a move the herd will stampeed destroying anything in their way. Niche: Bison benifet their habitat by lowering fire danger by eating the vegitation.� They also provide food to predators and fertalize the soil. Threats to species: Bison are currently extinct in many places but there are programs that are raising herds to release into the wild. Interactions with other species: They are usaly left alone exept when being hunted.   Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ���������� Page Author: Jacob Retzer Species common name(s): Desert Shrew Scientific Name: Notiosorex crawfordi (Coues)������������ �Range: The desert shrew is found throughout the southern United States .   Habitat: Desert shrews do not need a particular habitat as long as there is ground cover available. They are often found in packrat houses, or under dead agaves, old logs, or other debris.   Physical Description: An adult weighs 3 - 5 grams (1/10 - 1/7 of an ounce, or less than a nickel), while a newborn is only 1/4 of a gram. They are 2-2 3/5� in length.   Main foods: The desert shrew eats a variety of arthropods, lizards and even small mice. They can also eat scorpions, which is different because they are immune to their sting. Behavior: The desert shrew is mainly active at night, which means that they are nocturnal. When they sleep they conserve energy by falling into a torper. They do this by lowering their body temperature. Niche: The desert shrew is an insectivore and eats scorpions. The desert shrew eats insects such as grass hoppers and they keep the population down. The shrew is the only poisonous mammal, but it only has enough poison to kill small organisms. Interactions with other species: The desert shrew is prey for the barn owl and horned owl. Other raptors, such as the red tailed hawk also use the desert shrew as a source of food. The desert shrew also steals pack rat dens and use them as their own.   Threats to the species:� �The habitats of the desert shrew are being destroyed by human actions, including the use of rodent poison.       Range: The Red Squirrel is found throughout many forests. These forest can be of pine, hardwood, mixed, ect.   Habitat: The Red Squirrel nests in tree tops, in many different types of forests. They are normally found in the north and in higher elevations The Red Squirrel can be found near or around houses.��   Physical Description: The Red Squirrel has a coat that is a shade of red. The sides of the squirrel are the brightest, while the ventral side is paler. The tail is the same color as the dorsal side of the squirrel but is also lined with black. The Red Squirrel wieghs about 7-12 ounces.   Main foods: The Red Squirrel eats a wide variety of foods. Their diet consists of small insects, nut, bark, mushrooms, fruit, seeds and cones. Behavior: The Red Squirrel is active in the morning and in the late afternoon. They spend most of their time alone with the exception of a mother and her young. The Red Squirrel� spend most of its time up in trees were their nests are. Red Squirrels are loud and squeak and �chatter� a lot.� Niche: Red Squirrels are mainly herbivores with the exception of them eating small insects. They also eat baby birds and eggs. They are also lower down on the foodchain. The Red Squirrel also helps with seed dispersal, the seeds are spread through their fecies. Interactions with other species: The Red Squirrel is constantly eaten by snakes mainly the rattlesnake in the southwest. They are also prey of many types of owls and hawks.   Threats to the species:� The Red Squirrels main threat right now is people. The Red Squirrel lives near residentail areas and often become victims of road kill.   , including many southern states and some eastern and western ones, as well.   Habitat: They tend to live in grassy areas, like, for example, in Buffalo grass, bluestem, and wire grass.   Physical Description: They are usually about 30 cm. (12 in.) at the shoulder, with a body length of up to 80 cm. (about 30 in.). Males are slightly bigger than females. The average weight of an adult Swift Fox is about 2.25-2.45 kilograms (about 5-5.5 lbs.). The coloring is buff-grey on their dorsal side (top) and orange-tan on their sides. In the summer, the fur is coarse and short with more red in the gray; their tail is long. They have a small nose with black spots on each side. The ear is an orange-tan, and the tip of the tail is black.   Main foods: In the wild, they eat a variety of foods, including mice, cottontail rabbits, carrion, small mammals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians. They hunt nearly every day, for most hours of the day; from dawn to dusk, covering as much distance as they can. They eat what they can catch, and if they cannot catch anything, they will settle for various kinds of grasses and berries. Behavior: Swift foxes are nocturnal, vocal and non-territorial. Although they are social animals, they keep one mate throughout their lifetime. They got the name "swift fox" because of their speed. They usually breed from December to February. The kits are born about 51 days later. Usually about four to five are born in each litter, and they begin to leave the den in about September to October. Niche: The swift fox has a special niche in its environment, depending on the open, short, mixed-grass prairies on which they can find prairie dog burrows, and ground squirrel dens on which they feed. Interactions with other species: They hunt other small mammals in the wild, as listed above. They are very social animals, though usually only with their own species. They also compete with other foxes, such as the Gray fox and the Kit fox, and the Coyote for food, as they eat many of the same things. Threats to the species: These animals are curious and have little fear of humans, so they are easy to hunt and kill. In the early 1900s, hundreds were killed accidentally during �predator control� programs aimed at killing wolves, coyotes and ground squirrels on the prairies, and farms. People today still mistake them for young coyotes and thus kill them. Much of their favored habitats have been destroyed because of agricultural, industrial and urban development and building. Farming, such as wheat and corn are unfit for foxes to eat, so much of their food supply has also been destroyed. They are endangered because of hunting, development, and building, as stated above. They disappeared from Canada in the early 1900�s, but there have been many efforts of reintroduction in the last 15 years.   .   Habitat: They live in broad-leafed woodlands. Mainly found at mid-elevations 2,400 to 7,200 feet. They live in trees preferably cotton or aspen along the river.   Physical Description: Their hair changes from yellow brown to orange. They have� a white bib under their chin. Their wings are black� and are about 12 inches. They can weigh anywhere from 7 to 13 grams. They have� a total length of 93 to 117 millimeters.   Main foods: Their hunting starts at dusk. They mainly eat large moths, beetles and grasshoppers.   Behavior: They migrate during the winter, when they hibernate they sleep in hollow trees. They can keep there body temperature just above freezing. They can catch their food with their tail membrane and can curl up.   Niche: They eat insects like months, beetles and grasshoppers and feed other animals.   Interactions with other species: The bat will eat and drink with others but it will not roost with them. They can also spread rabies to other mammals.   Threats to the species: Their threatened because they are losing their habitat due to cattle trampling down the aspen trees. Also because of pesticides killing off insects and have they have a low reproductive rate.   Habitat �Semi-arid grasslands, mixed-grasslands, scrublands Sandy waste areas, sand dunes, and sometimes hard packed soil Physical description �Length:�� Average: 243 mm males; 242mm females��� Weight: Average: 52 g The Ord�s kangaroo rat has a stripe on the top and bottom of its tail and at the end has a little tuft of fur. Main foods �They eat a variety of seeds, like sunflower seeds, oats, mesquite, tumbleweed, Russian thistle, and sandbur.   Behavior �They are most active on cloudy nights, to get around they hop instead of walking or running (hint the name).� They make a noise that is like that of a bird chirping.   Niche � The Ord�s kangaroo rat aerates the soil by digging burrows.   Interactions with species � The Ord�s kangaroo rat is very social, often interacting with prairie dogs gophers and other large rodents.   Threats to species � The major threats to the Ord�s kangaroo rat are foxes, coyotes, badgers, and long-tailed weasels, owls, and other large birds.     Species Common Name: Abert Squirrel or Tassel-eared Squirrel Species Scientific Name: Sciurus aberti����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������� �������� ����������������������� Physical Description: Abert squirrels have tufts of hair on the tips on their ears. It has grey fur on the sides, white fur on the belly, and reddish fur on its back. It has a bushy tail with white fur on the bottom of it. In the summer, its ear tassels can be smaller or they may disappear all the way. They have long back paws and powerful back legs.   Habitats: They live in coniferous forests, mainly Ponderosa Pine.   Niche: These squirrels cause economic loss to home owners, forest managers and nut growers.   Range: They are found in the mountainous areas of New Mexico and parts of North Central Mexico.   Interactions with other Species: they are preyed on by owls and sometimes a coyote will catch one.   Behavior: Its nest is normally built in a Ponderosa Pine. It is made in a group of twigs that have been infected with mistletoe. The nest is usually 20-40 feet above the ground, made with twigs and lined with grass, moss, leaves, pieces of bark, and feathers. It doesn't store its food in its nest, like other squirrels. They are active all year long. They will stay in their nest when it is very cold weather. They only leave to find food.   Main Foods: In the summer it normally eats the Ponderosa Pine�s seeds and buds. In the winter it eats the inner bark of the tree, and sometimes it eats the mistletoe and fungi growing on it. Threats to Species: One of the threats is said to be the drought, one because it is killing trees. This then humans come in to thin out trees, so no fires can start, and it is taking away all of their homes, and their food source. Humans are also known to hunt them. Other animals, such as owls are also known to prey on them.   Saskatchewan . Habitat: The American Badger lives in open areas like plains and prairies, farmland and the edges of woods. They prefer to live in dry, open grasslands, fields, and pastures.   Physical Description: The American badger has a flat body with short legs and a triangular face with a long, pointed nose. It has long brown or black fur with white stripes on its cheeks and one stripe running from its nose to the back of its head. It has sharp front claws and measure 520 to 875 mm from head to tail. Badgers weigh 4 to 12 kg. Main foods: The American Badger is carnivorous and actively hunts its prey. The Badgers diet consists of small mammals, birds, reptiles and arthropods. Badgers catch most of their food by digging. They can tunnel after ground dwelling rodents with amazing speed. Small burrowing mammals like ground squirrel, rats, gophers and mice make up most of the badger's diet. It digs its prey out of the ground with its strong, sharp claws. The badger will sometimes dig into the burrow of an animal and wait for it to return. Behavior: Badgers are solitary animals. Badgers are mainly active at night, and tend to be inactive during the winter months. Badgers are excellent digging machines. The badger is well-protected from predators. Its muscular neck and thick, loose fur protect it when it is captured by a predator. This gives the badger time to turn on the predator and bite and claw it. When a badger is attacked, it also uses vocalizations. It hisses, growls, squeals and snarls. It also releases an unpleasant musk that may drive a predator away. Niche: Badgers are highly specialized mammals that help control small mammal populations. Also, their burrows provide shelter for other species. Interactions with other species: Unfortunately, badger burrows often present a hazard to cattle and horses. Such animals have been known to break legs by stepping into a badger hole. Badgers provide humans with some service because of their diet. Badgers eat many rodent pests, which may carry disease or damage crops. Coyotes often will stand by while a badger is burrowing and catch animals that come out of a tunnel trying to escape the badger. The badger also eats snakes, birds and reptiles. It will sometimes bury extra food to eat later. Threats to the species: The American badger is classed as a "furbearer" in most of the US states in which this takes place. As a furbearer, the badger can generally only be hunted and trapped during a certain hunting season.       Range: They stretch north from Southern Mexico up all the way to Colorado, with spotty patches living throughout the western part of Texas, and the Texan Panhandle, and stretching east into Arizona.� This means they live in all of the above places in New Mexico (see map).   Habitat: These live in canyon walls, rimrocks, sinkholes, and other rocky areas where they can build dens into crevices and/or cracks in the stone.� Their homes will be filled with, and surrounded by, whatever rubbish they can find, though they do not build the elaborate homes like other woodrats.� When no rocky retreats are available, they will build their homes in the roots of trees, in piles of logs, hollow logs, or abandoned cabins.   Physical Description: Mexican woodrats are medium sized compared to the rest of the rat family.� Its total length is 300 mm, with the tail being 215 mm of that length.� The hind leg (including the hind foot) is 28 mm long, and the woodrat�s total weight being 140 to 185 grams.� Their underparts are rough white hair, while their tops hairs are a medium brown or gray, with the shoulders and head a brown borderline black.� The tail is brown above, and white below.   Main foods: Their food consists of a variety of plants, including green vegetation, nuts, berries, acorns, and fungi. Much of their range is above the limits of growth of cactus, so these plants do not figure importantly in their diet although, if available, they are eaten with relish.   Behavior:� They climb readily, and are usually active at night.� They can have more than one home, though the main den is only furnished extravagantly.� When threatened, they can be extremely dangerous, fighting (literally) �tooth and nail�.� Breeding occurs in the spring, with at least one litter being born each summer (usually more), and each litter containing between one to four babies.   Niche: The main point of the Mexican Woodrat is to disperse seeds throughout the countryside in which it lives.   Interactions with other species: They rarely interact with humans, and when they do, they are often controlled or killed by the humans they are threatening.� Woodrats can carry diseases and ectoparasites.� They will steal food from other creatures if their own habitat is running low on food.� However, they generally do not need to interact with other species.� They are eaten by many predators, from the common mutts of humankind   Threats to the species: Woodrats eat a variety of food, so they cannot be threatened by hunger unless all food is wiped out.� However, the expansion of humans threaten the species, because of their sprawling dens, and humans often kill the creatures because of they try to build within the actual houses.   Source:���������� Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ������   Species common name: Grey Fox (English), Zorro gris (Spanish), zorro plateado ( Venezuela ). Scientific name: Urocyon cinereoargenteus (New Mexican Grey Fox) ������ ��   Range: The grey wolf is widespread throughout deciduous forests from northern South America up through most of central America and into southwestern, western, and eastern United States . They are not found in the Rocky Mountains or the far northwest of the United States . Small populations have recolonized parts of southern Ontario .   Habitat: The grey fox is found in, and prefers, woodlands, but is also common in old field succession areas, preferring such habitat to cultivated or more open areas.     Physical Description: A grey fox has a coat of white black and grey hair. There is a dark stripe down the back and a small black mane. Parts of the neck, legs, face and underbelly are white or buff. Head-and-body length: 53-81 cm. Tail length: 27-44 cm. Weight: 3-7 kg, females slightly lighter than males. Shoulder height varies.     Main Foods: The grey fox is Omnivorous, so it�s diet includes small mammals and wild birds, as well as insects, fruit and vegetation. Their diet varies within their range. Some tend to be more insectivorous, some eat more vegetation, and some eat more meat, depending on what is available as prey. They rarely prey on domestic fowl. They are nocturnal, and so tend to hunt at night.   Social Behavior: The grey fox�s usual social unit is the mated pair. Their dens are located in brushy or woodland areas. The dens are rarely dug by the fox. The grey fox can climb trees and use hollows in standing trees, logs, buildings, and rock crevices.� The grey fox is found roaming thick brush and deep wooded areas, both in the trees and on the ground. They also like to relax in their dens normally founding a hollow tree, a rock crevice, or a woodpile.   Niche: The grey fox is omnivorous, so it eats and controls rodent population, as well as climbing trees and eating fruit. They climb trees to avoid leaving a scent trail.   Interactions with other species: The grey is prey to cougars, eagles, wolves, and coyotes. Grey foxes hunt small mammals and wild birds, as well as insects, fruit and vegetation.   Threats: The grey fox is prey to cougars, eagles, wolves, coyotes, and humans killing them for their fur. Half a million grey foxes are trapped annually to meet the still high and ever growing demand for fur. In Wisconsin alone, half the grey fox population is killed off annually. However, even with such a brutal impact on the species, the grey fox's numbers do not seem to decline.   ����������������� http://www.canids.org/SPPACCTS/greyfox.htm Environmental Science Field Guide to New Mexico ������ Page Author: Jonah Melchor   Species common name(s): Pi�on deer mouse Scientific Name: Peromyscus Maniculatus ����������� ����������� � Habitat: The deer mouse lives in mixed forests, grasslands, deserts, and underground burrows.�   Physical Description: The deer mouse is large in size, has brown fur, a brown and white tail, big ears, and beady eyes.   Main foods: The species eats nuts, grains, and greens. Behavior: Their nests are hollow balls of grass and weeds. Their gestation period lasts 22-27 days. They don�t hibernate, and during the winter they rest in piles of logs and gather food. Niche: The deer mouse may play an important role by feeding on larvae and pupae of insects that are harmful to trees. If the populations of predators decrease, the deer mouse can become a serious pest. Interactions with other species: The deer mouse is included in diets for many predators, including large birds, snakes, omnivorous mammals and grasshopper mice.   Threats to the species: �Habitat destruction can cause loss of population of the species, and preadators that eat them.  
Snake (disambiguation)
Which female singer reached number one in the UK charts in October 1979 with a record entitles One Day At A Time?
Wetlands Classification and Types | Wetlands Protection and Restoration | US EPA Wetlands Classification and Types Wetlands Factsheet Series   One commonly used classification system for wetlands was developed by Cowardin and is described in  Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States   Exit . The Cowardin system is used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the National Wetlands Inventory. In this system, wetlands are classified by landscape position, vegetation cover and hydrologic regime. The Cowardin system includes five major wetland types: marine, tidal, lacustrine, palustrine and riverine. Another common wetland classification system, used by the Army Corps of Engineers, was developed by Brinson and is described in  A Hydrogeomorphic Classification for Wetlands   Exit . As the title implies, wetlands are classified by their geomorphic setting, dominant water source (e.g. precipitation, groundwater or surface water) and hydrodynamics. The hydrogeomorphic (HGM) includes five major wetland types: riverine, slope depressional, flat and fringe. Tidal marsh along the Edisto River, South Carolina. Common Cattail (Typha latifolia) is a freshwater and estuarine marsh species.   Marshes are defined as wetlands frequently or continually inundated with water, characterized by emergent soft-stemmed vegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions. There are many different kinds of marshes, ranging from the prairie potholes to the Everglades, coastal to inland, freshwater to saltwater. All types receive most of their water from surface water, and many marshes are also fed by groundwater. Nutrients are plentiful and the pH is usually neutral leading to an abundance of plant and animal life. We have divided marshes into two primary categories: non-tidal  and tidal . Functions & Values Marshes recharge groundwater supplies and moderate streamflow by providing water to streams. This is an especially important function during periods of drought. The presence of marshes in a watershed helps to reduce damage caused by floods by slowing and storing flood water. As water moves slowly through a marsh, sediment and other pollutants settle to the substrate or floor of the marsh. Marsh vegetation and microorganisms also use excess nutrients for growth that can otherwise pollute surface water such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer. Non-Tidal Marshes Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) next to its house in a cattail-dominated marsh. Description Non-tidal marshes are the most prevalent and widely distributed wetlands in North America. They are mostly freshwater marshes, although some are brackish or alkaline. They frequently occur along streams in poorly drained depressions and in the shallow water along the boundaries of lakes, ponds and rivers. Water levels in these wetlands generally vary from a few inches to two or three feet, and some marshes, like prairie potholes, may periodically dry out completely. Highly organic, mineral rich soils of sand, silt, and clay underlie these wetlands, while lily pads, cattails (see photo), reeds and bulrushes provide excellent habitat for waterfowl and other small mammals, such as Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Blue Herons, otters and muskrats. Prairie potholes , playa lakes , vernal pools and wet meadows are all examples of non-tidal marshes. Functions & Values Due to their high levels of nutrients, freshwater marshes are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. They can sustain a vast array of plant communities that in turn support a wide variety of wildlife within this vital wetland ecosystem. As a result, marshes sustain a diversity of life that is disproportionate with their size. In addition to their considerable habitat value, non-tidal marshes serve to mitigate flood damage and filter excess nutrients from surface runoff. Mink (Mustela vison), a predator of the muskrat. Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata). Status Unfortunately, like many other wetland ecosystems, freshwater marshes have suffered major acreage losses to human development. Some have been degraded by excessive deposits of nutrients and sediment from construction and farming. Severe flooding and nutrient deposition to downstream waters have often followed marsh destruction and degradation. Such environmental problems prove the vital roles these wetlands play. This realization has spurred enhanced protection and restoration of marsh ecosystems, such as the prairie potholes and the Everglades. The Clapper Rail of the saltmarshes, which is more commonly heard than seen.  Description Tidal marshes can be found along protected coastlines in middle and high latitudes worldwide. They are most prevalent in the United States on the eastern coast from Maine to Florida and continuing on to Louisiana and Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. Some are freshwater marshes, others are brackish (somewhat salty), and still others are saline (salty), but they are all influenced by the motion of ocean tides. Tidal marshes are normally categorized into two distinct zones, the lower or intertidal marsh and the upper or high marsh. In saline tidal marshes, the lower marsh is normally covered and exposed daily by the tide. It is predominantly covered by the tall form of Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). The saline marsh is covered by water only sporadically and is characterized by Short Smooth Cordgrass, Spike Grass and Saltmeadow Rush (Juncus gerardii). Saline marshes support a highly specialized set of life adapted for saline conditions. Functions & Values Tidal marshes serve many important functions. They buffer stormy seas, slow shoreline erosion and are able to absorb excess nutrients before they reach oceans and estuaries. Tidal marshes also provide vital food and habitat for clams, crabs and juvenile fish, as well as offering shelter and nesting sites for several species of migratory waterfowl. The Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) winters in the tidal marshes along the Gulf Coast. Status Pressure to fill in these wetlands for coastal development has led to significant and continuing losses of tidal marshes, especially along the Atlantic coast. Pollution, especially near urban areas, also remains a serious threat to these ecosystems. Fortunately, most states have enacted special laws to protect tidal marshes, but diligence is needed to assure that these protective measures are actively enforced. Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) sprouts very early in the spring, melting the surrounding snow. The insects that pollinate it are attracted by its odor, which resembles decaying flesh. Description A swamp is any wetland dominated by woody plants. There are many different kinds of swamps, ranging from the forested Red Maple, (Acer rubrum), swamps of the Northeast to the extensive bottomland hardwood forests found along the sluggish rivers of the Southeast. Swamps are characterized by saturated soils during the growing season and standing water during certain times of the year. The highly organic soils of swamps form a thick, black, nutrient-rich environment for the growth of water-tolerant trees such as Cypress (Taxodium spp.), Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), and Tupelo (Nyssa aquatica). Some swamps are dominated by shrubs, such as Buttonbush or Smooth Alder. Plants, birds, fish, and invertebrates such as freshwater shrimp, crayfish, and clams require the habitats provided by swamps. Many rare species, such as the endangered American Crocodile, depend on these ecosystems as well. Swamps may be divided into two major classes, depending on the type of vegetation present: shrub swamps and forested swamps. Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) are found in southern swamplands. Functions &Values Swamps serve vital roles in flood protection and nutrient removal. Floodplain forests are especially high in productivity and species diversity because of the rich deposits of alluvial soil from floods. Many upland creatures depend on the abundance of food found in the lowland swamps, and valuable timber can be sustainably harvested to provide building materials for people.   Status Due to the nutrient-rich soils present in swamps, many of these fertile woodlands have been drained and cleared for agriculture and other development. Historically, swamps have been portrayed as frightening no-man's-lands. This perception led to the vast devastation of immense tracts of swampland over the past 200 years, such as the destruction of more than half of the legendary Great Dismal Swamp of southeastern Virginia. Swamps frequently support highly diverse vegetation because of the many layers of vegetation present: shrubs, saplings, and herbaceous plants. Forested Swamps Forested swamps are found throughout the United States. They are often inundated with floodwater from nearby rivers and streams. Sometimes, they are covered by many feet of very slowly moving or standing water. In very dry years they may represent the only shallow water for miles and their presence is critical to the survival of wetland-dependent species like Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa), River Otters (Lutra canadensis) and Cottonmouth Snakes (Agkistrodon piscivorus). Some of the common species of trees found in these wetlands are Red Maple and Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) in the Northern United States, Overcup Oak (Quercus lyrata) and Cypress in the South, and Willows (Salix spp.) and Western Hemlock (Tsuga sp.) in the Northwest. Bottomland hardwood swamp is a name commonly given to forested swamps in the south central United States. Button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is found only in shrub swamps. Shrub Swamps Shrub swamps are similar to forested swamps except that shrubby vegetation such as Buttonbush, Willow, Dogwood (Cornus sp.) and Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) predominates. In fact, forested and shrub swamps are often found adjacent to one another. The soil is often water logged for much of the year and covered at times by as much as a few feet of water because this type of swamp is found along slow moving streams and in floodplains. Mangrove swamps are a type of shrub swamp dominated by mangroves that covers vast expanses of southern Florida. This Eastern Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) is resting on sphagnum moss. Sphagnum creates bogs by holding water and creating acidic conditions. Sphagnum itself may be up to 70 percent water. Description Bogs are one of North America's most distinctive kinds of wetlands. They are characterized by spongy peat deposits, acidic waters and a floor covered by a thick carpet of sphagnum moss. Bogs receive all or most of their water from precipitation rather than from runoff, groundwater or streams. As a result, bogs are low in the nutrients needed for plant growth, a condition that is enhanced by acid forming peat mosses. There are two primary ways that a bog can develop: bogs can form as sphagnum moss grows over a lake or pond and slowly fills it (terrestrialization), or bogs can form as sphagnum moss blankets dry land and prevents water from leaving the surface (paludification). Over time, many feet of acidic peat deposits build up in bogs of either origin. The unique and demanding physical and chemical characteristics of bogs result in the presence of plant and animal communities that demonstrate many special adaptations to low nutrient levels, waterlogged conditions, and acidic waters, such as carnivorous plants. Carlisle Bog in Alaska. Unlike the rest of the United States, Alaska still has most of its wetlands. Functions and Values Bogs serve an important ecological function in preventing downstream flooding by absorbing precipitation. Bogs support some of the most interesting plants in the United States (like the carnivorous Sundew) and provide habitat to animals threatened by human encroachment. Status Bogs in the United States are mostly found in the glaciated northeast and Great Lakes regions ( northern bogs ) but also in the southeast ( pocosins ). Their acreage declined historically as they were drained to be used as cropland and mined for their peat, which was used as a fuel and a soil conditioner. Recently, bogs have been recognized for their role in regulating the global climate by storing large amounts of carbon in peat deposits. Bogs are unique communities that can be destroyed in a matter of days but require hundreds, if not thousands, of years to form naturally. Nothern Bogs This bog in Nova Scotia, Canada is dominated by ericaceous dwarf-shrubs, a common family of plants in the peat bogs of the Northeast. The Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) overcomes the nutrient deficiencies of bog life by capturing insects in pools of water in its leaves and digesting them with the help of some local bacteria. The Northern Pitcher Plant's flower looks much like the Sweet Pitcher Plant's (see below). Description Northern bogs are generally associated with low temperatures and short growing seasons where ample precipitation and high humidity cause excessive moisture to accumulate. Therefore, most bogs in the United States are found in the northern states. Northern bogs often form in old glacial lakes. They may have either considerable amounts of open water surrounded by floating vegetation or vegetation may have completely filled the lake (terrestrialization). The sphagnum peats of northern bogs cause especially acidic waters. The result is a wetland ecosystem with a very specialized and unique flora and fauna that can grow in these conditions called acidophiles. Nevertheless, bogs support a number of species of plants in addition to the characteristic Sphagnum Moss, including Cotton Grass, Cranberry, Blueberry, Pine, Labrador Tea and Tamarack. Moose, deer, and lynx are a few of the animals that can be found in northern bogs. The Greater Sandhill Crane, the Sora Rail, and the Great Gray Owl depend on bogs for survival.
i don't know
The Battle of Bomarsund of 1854 was a battle that took place during which war?
6148. Battle of Bomarsund 6148. Battle of Bomarsund Estimate: 2 000-3 000 SEK 220-320 € Share: Object description BALTIC - BATTLE OF BOMARSUND (3). 3 coloured lithograph plates depicting the battle of Bomarsund on the island of Åland in 1854. The plates are: Bomarsund. Attack on the Fors by HML Hecla Valorous and Odin... (from Sketches in the Baltic), about 310x390 mm; Bombardement de Bomarsund par les escadres combinées archipel d&#39Aland, 14 août 1854, about 401x590 mm; Beschiessung von Bomarsund durch die vereignigte Flotte (from Szenen vom Kriegsschauplaz, no 5), about 330x430 mm, small repair. The battle of Bomarsund, a fortress on the Åland isles, took place during the Crimean war.
Crimean War
Which male singer reached number one in the UK charts in February 1977 with a record entitled When I Need You?
The Crimean War in Finland by Marjatta Bell - Embassy of Finland, London : News & Current Affairs The Crimean War in Finland by Marjatta Bell - Embassy of Finland, London : News & Current Affairs News, 06/05/2004 The Crimean War in Finland by Marjatta Bell The Crimean War (1854-56) between Russia on one side and the alliance of Great Britain, France and Turkey on the other was not only fought in the Crimean peninsula. It was also fought in the Baltic Sea, and mainly along the Finnish coasts of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Why in Finland? Why were hostilities expanded to Finnish waters? After all, these regions were quite remote from the Holy Places of Jerusalem, a dispute over which had sparked off the war. Similarly they were distant from the gates of the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and from the main routes to Central Asia, the object of rivalry between Imperial Russia and Britain since the Napoleonic wars. A major reason was the threat to Britain of the Russian Baltic Fleet located in the Gulf of Finland within only a few days’ sail from the British coasts. But while blocking Russia’s access to the North Sea and endeavouring to cut her supply lines, the British fleet also proceeded to destroy much of her naval defences as well as her merchant fleet. At that time Finland was an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian empire and a part of the defence system protecting St Petersburg, the capital, at the head of the Gulf of Finland. Moreover, Finnish vessels formed the great bulk of the empire’s merchant fleet while Finnish towns on the Gulf of Bothnia were major shipping centres and suppliers of shipbuilding materials and provided 35 per cent of all tar imported by the British themselves. It was therefore Finland, which was to bear the brunt of the British-French naval assaults in the Baltic in the summers of 1854 and 1855. The Arrival of the British Fleet News from Hamburg on the approaching British Baltic fleet of 49 vessels was received in Finland in late March 1854 and by April the fleet had arrived at the gateways of the Baltic. On 8 April some British ships could be detected on the Helsinki horizon for the first time, and from then onwards people were eagerly following their movements in the open sea. Apart from building blockades to the main sea routes into the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia the Allied forces seemed, however, to do very little during the first few weeks of hostilities even if the Helsinki waters were free from ice in the last week of April and the upper part of the Gulf of Bothnia in late May. This created some impatience among the British officers and demands for action were also voiced in Britain. “Take, Burn or Destroy” In Finland the authorities had quietly been preparing for the hostilities since early 1854 onwards and more Russian troops were sent to Finland. In Sveaborg (the present Suomenlinna in front of Helsinki) some thousand men were strengthening its fortifications while scores of gunboats were being built and guns cast. A chain of observation posts was set up along the entire Finnish coast. However, the news of the transfer of official archives from the capital Helsinki to inland Finland, caused panic among Finnish people, and a few were also aware that out of 32 coastal towns as many as 21 would be vulnerable to attacks by the enemy’s steam powered battleships and gunboats which were able to penetrate narrow passages inaccessible to big men-of-war. Finnish history is riddled with wars, but attacks from the sea had been rare, and attacks from the west almost unheard of. These fears seemed justified as the news spread of British attacks in May-June 1854 on merchant towns in the Gulf of Bothnia in order “to take, burn or destroy” all equipment and materials potentially useful for military purposes. Within less than three weeks in that region the British fleet destroyed altogether, according to their own reports, 46 vessels; 40,000-50,000 barrels of pitch and tar; 6,000 square yards of rough pitch; stacks of timber, spars, planks and deal, sails, rope and various kinds of naval stores, of a total value at that time of some £300,000 to £400,000. No notice was taken of the protests by Finns that much of the materials were actually British property as they were already paid for and only awaited shipping! The burning of tar warehouses and ships in Oulu (Uleåborg) and Raahe (Brahestad) led to international criticism, and in Britain a Mr Gibson demanded in the House of Commons an explanation by the First Lord of the Admiralty of “a system which carried on a great war by plundering and destroying the property of defenceless villagers.” Nevertheless the British carried out naval attacks on Finnish coastal towns throughout the sailing seasons of 1854 and 1855, destroying much of the naval supplies as well as many of the optical telegraph communication points and coastal fortresses. Midnight Battle in Kokkola (Gamla Karleby) 7.6.1854 Apart from verbal protests the British had experienced no resistance in Oulu and Raahe. But once news of their fate reached other towns they took precautions by hiding and sinking their vessels and throwing timber into the sea. In Kokkola (Gamla Karleby) the local burghers decided to meet the enemy with arms. On Wednesday evening 7 June the 16-gun paddle-frigate HMS Odin and the 6-gun paddle-frigate HMS Vulture steamed to Kokkola and lowered into the water nine boats with 17 officers and 180 men. Protected by a negotiation flag the British suggested that as they had been ordered to destroy all contraband of war – ships, tar, pitch and planks – it would be sensible to hand them over voluntarily. When the representatives of the town refused to oblige, the British began to prepare for an attack and one of the boats set out, at 11 pm, to explore the surroundings in the light summer night. But when it came close to the Halkokari dock, it was fired on by the defenders who had been hiding behind boards constructed between the warehouses. The skirmish lasted about an hour. When the British withdrew from the scene one of their boats got firmly stuck on an old wreck and became war booty, which is still on display in the town. Altogether the British lost in the fight more than a quarter of their manpower, 52 men from the Vulture, dead, wounded or missing. All the wounded stayed for treatment in Kokkola whereas eleven able bodied prisoners were sent via Helsinki to St Petersburg together with the British flag and a bronze cannon taken from the captured boat. The successful defence of Kokkola arouse much attention in Finland and Russia, and its key figures were decorated by the Tsar Nicholas I. Portraits of two of them, the merchant Donner and the yeoman farmer Kankkonen, were widely circulated in lithographs to Finnish homes while the original oils were hung in an imperial residence of Nicholas himself. The Battles of Bomarsund 21.6. and 8.-16.8.1854 Bomarsund in the Åland Islands and Sveaborg in front of Helsinki formed the main Finnish strongholds of the Russian defence system in the Baltic, and the British fleet in the Baltic were instructed to do some reconnaissance of both fortresses and possibly attack the former. This fortress had been an enigma for the British for little was known of what was going on in the Åland Islands. Yet, the isles dominated the eastern Baltic and, as their fortification had started in the 1810s, Bomarsund was potentially the most modern Russian fortress. Moreover, it could turn Russia into a real sea-power as the waters round it were free of ice for most of the year. After a lengthy exploration of the surrounding seas the British deemed it opportune to attack the fortress on 21 June 1854. However, the defenders responded with such vigour that the British had to withdraw after a few hours, and so the battle is now remembered mainly as the one in which the first ever Victoria Cross was awarded for valour. In Finland it is recalled in a popular ditty Oolannin sota which emphasises the role of the Finnish defenders in producing the happy outcome of the June attack. The Allied forces returned on 8 August, and the fortress was encircled on land by French artillery troops of 11,000 men and from the sea by the British fleet of four 60-gun block-ships, one 34-gun screw-frigate and a dozen smaller vessels. The actual attack was launched on 10 August and after fierce battles the last defenders surrendered on 16 August. The Allies then destroyed the Bomarsund fortress and transported the Finnish and Russian prisoners of war, some with their wives, to Britain and France. In Britain the Battle of Bomarsund created much public enthusiasm as the operations in the Crimea had not been as successful as had been originally hoped. A coal mine opened in Northumberland a couple of weeks later was called Bomarsund in honour of the battle, and the neighbouring village still carries the same name. The Battle of Sveaborg 9-13 August 1855 The battle of Sveaborg (the present Suomenlinna) in front of Helsinki took place about a year later on 9-13 August 1855. Deemed old fashioned and in poor shape the Sveaborg fortress would have been significant for the Allies only as a bridgehead for a land battle. This would, however, have tied up troops while the outcome would have been uncertain bearing in mind the Russian manpower resources and the Finnish fighting capacity for defending their own country in a familiar terrain. Therefore the Allies limited themselves to bombarding the fortress and left the city itself unharmed. According to the naval historian Basil Greenhill, this course of action was above all a political gesture aimed at providing good tidings for a British public unsatisfied with the secondary role the British troops were then playing in the Crimea. For the Russians it demonstrated that the Allies would soon be technically equipped enough to tackle Kronstadt also if necessary. After the initial panic the burghers were able to follow the spectacle from the rocky hills of Helsinki without danger. Without knowing it they also witnessed the first ever occasion in history when the British had to sweep waters for mines as the Russians had laid some thousand of these in the immediate approaches to the fortress and the town. Epilogue As another historian A.J.P. Taylor once reminded his television audience that when the war ended in April 1856 it was not clear what would be the fate of the Holy Places in Jerusalem and few cared. By that time Finnish prisoners of war had been transported back to the Baltic shores from Lewes in Sussex where they had been treated very well as the leading Finnish paper Suometar reported as early as December 1854. In the war years the Finnish merchant fleet had been reduced to some half of its pre-war size, but trading links between Britain and Finland were re-established and Britain became Finland’s biggest export partner following the development of the Finnish timber and pulp industries. In Finland the Crimean War had revealed the backwardness of the existing communications system, and in June 1855 an electric telegraph link was established between St Petersburg and Helsinki and was soon to reach Northern Finnish towns as well. Together with the starting of the railway network a couple of years later this network helped to pull the country’s different provinces into a distinctive geographical unit while facilitating a wider and more speedy dissemination of news not only from different parts of the country but also from Europe and overseas. Thus the Crimean War also helped, in an indirect way, to pave the way to Finland’s gaining of independence in 1917 as a truly European nation. Main sources: Backström, Åke, ”Vid Bomarsunds fall 1854 tillfångatagna finska officerare och civila tjänstemän”, Åländsk Odling. 46:e årgången. Årsbok 1986, 121-141 (Ålands folkminnesförbund Mariehamn) Dodd, G., A Pictorial History of the Russian War 1854-5-6 with Maps, Plans and Wood Engravings (W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh and London 1856) Greenhill, Basil & Giffard, Ann, The British Assault on Finland 1854-55. A Forgotten Naval War (Conway Maritime Press, London 1988) Turpeinen, Oiva, Oolannin sota. Suuriruhtinaan Suomi 1. (Tammi, Helsinki 2003) by Marjatta Bell
i don't know
Found mainly in the US state of Texas, what type of creature is a Tooth Cave?
Endangered Species Of Animals In Texas by Editor on April 4, 2011 The Jaguarundi Is One Of Four Species Of Endangered Or Threatened Texas Cat. Photo:Bodlina Texas Has It’s Own List Of Endangered Species Of Animals Like all states, Texas is home to many species of animals that are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Also like other states, Texas maintains its own list of Endangered and Threatened species. There are 145 Texas animals on the state list of endangered and threatened species, including 29 mammal species, 32 fish species, 24 snakes and other reptiles, 13 frogs, toads, salamanders, and other amphibians, and 17 endangered invertebrate species. Of all the species listed as endangered or threatened by the State of Texas, some are also protected as endangered or threatened under the ESA. Endangered or threatened animals listed by both the state and federal governments include 11 mammal species, 11 fish species, 6 reptile species, 13 amphibian species, and 2 invertebrate species. In addition, the ESA provides protection for another 19 insects, spiders, snails, and other invertebrates that are not listed as endangered or threatened by the state. A listing as endangered or threatened protects a species and its habitat by legally restricting human activities that might push the species further toward extinction. Mammals on both the state and federal lists include three cat species: the jaguar, the ocelot, and the jaguarundi (see photo, above), all of which are listed as Endangered. The jaguar likely no longer exists in the state. A fourth wild cat, the diminutive margay, is listed as Threatened on the state list alone. The gray wolf and the red wolf are categorized as Endangered on both lists even though the gray wolf has likely been extirpated from the state, and the remaining 17 red wolves were rounded up many years ago and placed in captive breeding programs. Also among Texas’ endangered and threatened mammals (one or both lists) are four bat species, two native rats, a mouse, 12 whales and dolphins, and the West Indian manatee, which is classified as an Endangered Species on both the state list and under the ESA. Fish on one or both lists include the paddlefish (Threatened on the state list), the Devil’s River minnow (Threatened, both lists), the Comanche Springs pupfish (Endangered, both lists), and the smalltooth sawfish (Endangered, both lists). There are 9 tortoise, turtle, and sea turtle species on the lists of endangered and threatened reptiles, along with 12 snakes, including the timber, or canebrake, rattlesnake. Among listed amphibians are 8 salamanders and newts, and 5 frog and toad species, including the Endangered (both lists) Houston toad, the Threatened (state only) Mexican tree frog, and the Threatened (state only) Mexican burrowing toad. Birds classified as endangered species on both lists include the red cockaded woodpecker, the Southwestern willow flycatcher, the whooping crane, the golden-cheeked warbler, Attwater’s greater prairie chicken, the northern aplomado falcon, the piping plover, and the Eskimo curlew. Of 16 snail and mollusk species listed by the State of Texas, only one—the Endangered Pecos Assiminea snail—is also protected under the ESA. Texas spiders, however—some of which have very colorful names— are protected only under the ESA. Some threatened and endangered spider species are the Tooth Cave spider, the Bone Cave harvestman, the Robber Baron Cave meshweaver, and the Bracken Bat Cave Meshweaver. Likewise, the 9 protected insects in Texas—all of them beetles, and all of them classified as Endangered—are listed under the ESA, and are not on the state’s list of endangered and threatened species. The endangered beetles include the Coffin Cave mold beetle, the Tooth Cave round beetle, and the Comal Springs riffle beetle. Look here for the full list of Texas species classified as Endangered or Threatened by the state or federal governments. And for more details on Texas endangered species, including information on their habits and habitat, The Weirdness of Wildlife Abandoned Baby Bat Gets Human Care This video of a baby short-tailed fruit bat and his human caretaker will make you see bats in a whole different light. Who knew a bat could be as cute as a kitten . . . ? Hairy Frogfish Hunts. Watch! The hairy frogfish lives in tropical and subtropical waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It hunts shallow, sandy areas by disguising itself as a weed-covered rock. As you will see from the video, the hairy frogfish is a voracious predator capable of swallowing prey as large as itself. Baby Gorilla Gets Tough Adult male mountain gorillas drum their chests with their open hands in order to make a popping noise that resounds through the forest. This drumroll warns other male gorillas to stay off their territory and away from their families. Young gorillas also drum in an attempt to show how tough they are. In this video, a baby mountain gorilla in Rwanda fails hilariously when he tries to prove himself to a group of tourists. There are fewer than 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the wild. World's Weirdest Creature? Nto only are naked mole rats naked, but even though they are mammals, their family structure more closely resembles that of bees, ants, wasps, and other social insects. All the mole rats living in each underground mole rat colony serve the needs of their giant mole rat queen—who, like a queen bee or a queen ant does all the reproducing and is therefore the mother of all her subjects. Naked mole rats are native to the grasslands of East Africa. Honeybees: Bugs That Give Directions We all know that insects can't talk. However, some species can communicate nonetheless. Ants for instance lay down a trail of chemical markers called pheromones to tell other members of their colony where to find a food source. Because bees fly to and from their food, a chemical trail is not an option for them. Instead, honeybees are able to give their hive mates precise directions to a distant patch of flowers using an amazing form of dance. In this video, scientists tell us exactly how the bees accomplishing this incredible feat of nonverbal communication. Shape-Shifting Octopus Ooctopi are widely know to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates. They can learn such relatively complex tasks as undoing latches and opening jars—and they are infamous for their ability to escape from tanks and other enclosures. But the recently discovered mimic octopus of the South Pacific adds a strange, new twist to octopus intelligence with its ability to disguise itself as any number of other sea creatures in order to scare off would-be predators. Baby Kangaroos: Born Twice A baby kangaroo first leaves its mother's body while it is still an embryo. It doesn't even have fully developed hind legs at this stage. The hairless, jellybean-sized creature makes its way to its mother's pouch, where it develops into a real kangaroo—and the first time it jumps from the pouch is almost like a second birth. Deadly Aim With A Stream Of Water The archer fish, which is native to southern Asia, Polynesia, and Australia, employs one of the world's most unique methods of hunting. The fish knocks bugs off of overhanging vegetation by blasting them with a powerful stream of water from its mouth. Once the insect falls into the water it's helpless, and the archer fish can eat it at its leisure. These amazing fish can spit water up to two meters (six feet), and they almost always hit their mark. Ants That Make Slaves Of Other Ants It's one of the weirdest things that happens in nature: One species of ant making slaves of another. The slave-makers are known as Polyergus ants, and they are native to North America. Periodically, Polyergus will raid the colonies of another species, where they use an array of deceptive chemical signals to overcome the other ants. They then carry eggs of the conquered species back to their own colony, where they they raise them and put them to work. One of the most interesting aspects of this slaving behavior is that, not only does the Polyegus queen participate in the raid, but she is key to its success. The queens of all other species of ants never leave the nest. . . . Deep Sea Anglerfish: DON'T Go Into The Light! Deep sea anglerfish live so far down in the ocean that there is very little light in their environment. Creatures at that depth are drawn to any illumination, and the anglerfish takes advantage of that fact by using its natural headlamp to attract prey. But that's not the weirdest thing about the anglerfish: Wait till you see how they mate! Blood Lust And The Vampire Bat Vampires are real—but they're only as big as your thumb. In Central and South America, vampire bats emerge at night to sneak up on mammals such as cattle, shave a little skin off of them while they sleep, and drink their blood. In fact, vampire bats at the only mammal species that subsists entirely on a blood diet. Although few vampire victims die of blood loss, some do get rabies from these furry parasites. The Interior Decorator Of The Bird World Some animals go to great lengths to attract a mate. But no creature puts more effort or artistry into courtship than the male bowerbird of New Guinea. Not only does this amazing avian acquire hundreds of objects of art in order to impress the female of his species, but he builds an entire structure in which to house his collection. The Father That Gives Birth In most animal species, it is the female that carries and gives birth to the young. Seahorses, however, are different. The male seahorse sports a pouch like a kangaroo's, and during mating the female deposits her eggs in it. The male carries the eggs until they hatch, after which he gives "birth" to a brood of young seashores. A Spider That Fishes Most species of spiders are insectivorous, meaning that they survive by catching and eating insects. The European fishing spider, however, is piscivorous, which, as its name implies, means that it prefers prey with scales and fins. Watch as this spider detects and then attacks an unwitting stickleback that's unlucky enough to swim by. Gibbons: The Apes That Swing Although they might remind us of monkeys, the 16 species of gibbon are apes—a family of higher primates that also includes chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, and humans. Gibbons are entirely arboreal, which means that they live in trees. Because they seldom descend to the ground, gibbons travel through the rainforest treetops of Southeast Asia and Indonesia using their incredibly long arms rather than their legs, swinging from branch to branch in a form of locomotion called brachiation. As jungle acrobats, gibbons put most kinds of monkeys to shame. Almost Unbelievable: The Bird of Paradise Like the bower bird, most of the 42 bird-of-paradise species are found on the Island of New Guinea. Compared to male bower birds, male birds of paradise employ an equally elaborate, though completely different, strategy for attracting mates. They rely not only on their spectacular plumage, but also on their dancing ability in their attempts to convince females to mate with them. In fact, you wouldn't be wrong to call birds of paradise the exotic dancers of the animal world.
Spider (disambiguation)
Which British multinational drinks restaurant chain, established in 1971, is adertised by featuring three beans inside a circle?
Endangered Species Of Animals In Texas by Editor on April 4, 2011 The Jaguarundi Is One Of Four Species Of Endangered Or Threatened Texas Cat. Photo:Bodlina Texas Has It’s Own List Of Endangered Species Of Animals Like all states, Texas is home to many species of animals that are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Also like other states, Texas maintains its own list of Endangered and Threatened species. There are 145 Texas animals on the state list of endangered and threatened species, including 29 mammal species, 32 fish species, 24 snakes and other reptiles, 13 frogs, toads, salamanders, and other amphibians, and 17 endangered invertebrate species. Of all the species listed as endangered or threatened by the State of Texas, some are also protected as endangered or threatened under the ESA. Endangered or threatened animals listed by both the state and federal governments include 11 mammal species, 11 fish species, 6 reptile species, 13 amphibian species, and 2 invertebrate species. In addition, the ESA provides protection for another 19 insects, spiders, snails, and other invertebrates that are not listed as endangered or threatened by the state. A listing as endangered or threatened protects a species and its habitat by legally restricting human activities that might push the species further toward extinction. Mammals on both the state and federal lists include three cat species: the jaguar, the ocelot, and the jaguarundi (see photo, above), all of which are listed as Endangered. The jaguar likely no longer exists in the state. A fourth wild cat, the diminutive margay, is listed as Threatened on the state list alone. The gray wolf and the red wolf are categorized as Endangered on both lists even though the gray wolf has likely been extirpated from the state, and the remaining 17 red wolves were rounded up many years ago and placed in captive breeding programs. Also among Texas’ endangered and threatened mammals (one or both lists) are four bat species, two native rats, a mouse, 12 whales and dolphins, and the West Indian manatee, which is classified as an Endangered Species on both the state list and under the ESA. Fish on one or both lists include the paddlefish (Threatened on the state list), the Devil’s River minnow (Threatened, both lists), the Comanche Springs pupfish (Endangered, both lists), and the smalltooth sawfish (Endangered, both lists). There are 9 tortoise, turtle, and sea turtle species on the lists of endangered and threatened reptiles, along with 12 snakes, including the timber, or canebrake, rattlesnake. Among listed amphibians are 8 salamanders and newts, and 5 frog and toad species, including the Endangered (both lists) Houston toad, the Threatened (state only) Mexican tree frog, and the Threatened (state only) Mexican burrowing toad. Birds classified as endangered species on both lists include the red cockaded woodpecker, the Southwestern willow flycatcher, the whooping crane, the golden-cheeked warbler, Attwater’s greater prairie chicken, the northern aplomado falcon, the piping plover, and the Eskimo curlew. Of 16 snail and mollusk species listed by the State of Texas, only one—the Endangered Pecos Assiminea snail—is also protected under the ESA. Texas spiders, however—some of which have very colorful names— are protected only under the ESA. Some threatened and endangered spider species are the Tooth Cave spider, the Bone Cave harvestman, the Robber Baron Cave meshweaver, and the Bracken Bat Cave Meshweaver. Likewise, the 9 protected insects in Texas—all of them beetles, and all of them classified as Endangered—are listed under the ESA, and are not on the state’s list of endangered and threatened species. The endangered beetles include the Coffin Cave mold beetle, the Tooth Cave round beetle, and the Comal Springs riffle beetle. Look here for the full list of Texas species classified as Endangered or Threatened by the state or federal governments. And for more details on Texas endangered species, including information on their habits and habitat, The Weirdness of Wildlife Abandoned Baby Bat Gets Human Care This video of a baby short-tailed fruit bat and his human caretaker will make you see bats in a whole different light. Who knew a bat could be as cute as a kitten . . . ? Hairy Frogfish Hunts. Watch! The hairy frogfish lives in tropical and subtropical waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It hunts shallow, sandy areas by disguising itself as a weed-covered rock. As you will see from the video, the hairy frogfish is a voracious predator capable of swallowing prey as large as itself. Baby Gorilla Gets Tough Adult male mountain gorillas drum their chests with their open hands in order to make a popping noise that resounds through the forest. This drumroll warns other male gorillas to stay off their territory and away from their families. Young gorillas also drum in an attempt to show how tough they are. In this video, a baby mountain gorilla in Rwanda fails hilariously when he tries to prove himself to a group of tourists. There are fewer than 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the wild. World's Weirdest Creature? Nto only are naked mole rats naked, but even though they are mammals, their family structure more closely resembles that of bees, ants, wasps, and other social insects. All the mole rats living in each underground mole rat colony serve the needs of their giant mole rat queen—who, like a queen bee or a queen ant does all the reproducing and is therefore the mother of all her subjects. Naked mole rats are native to the grasslands of East Africa. Honeybees: Bugs That Give Directions We all know that insects can't talk. However, some species can communicate nonetheless. Ants for instance lay down a trail of chemical markers called pheromones to tell other members of their colony where to find a food source. Because bees fly to and from their food, a chemical trail is not an option for them. Instead, honeybees are able to give their hive mates precise directions to a distant patch of flowers using an amazing form of dance. In this video, scientists tell us exactly how the bees accomplishing this incredible feat of nonverbal communication. Shape-Shifting Octopus Ooctopi are widely know to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates. They can learn such relatively complex tasks as undoing latches and opening jars—and they are infamous for their ability to escape from tanks and other enclosures. But the recently discovered mimic octopus of the South Pacific adds a strange, new twist to octopus intelligence with its ability to disguise itself as any number of other sea creatures in order to scare off would-be predators. Baby Kangaroos: Born Twice A baby kangaroo first leaves its mother's body while it is still an embryo. It doesn't even have fully developed hind legs at this stage. The hairless, jellybean-sized creature makes its way to its mother's pouch, where it develops into a real kangaroo—and the first time it jumps from the pouch is almost like a second birth. Deadly Aim With A Stream Of Water The archer fish, which is native to southern Asia, Polynesia, and Australia, employs one of the world's most unique methods of hunting. The fish knocks bugs off of overhanging vegetation by blasting them with a powerful stream of water from its mouth. Once the insect falls into the water it's helpless, and the archer fish can eat it at its leisure. These amazing fish can spit water up to two meters (six feet), and they almost always hit their mark. Ants That Make Slaves Of Other Ants It's one of the weirdest things that happens in nature: One species of ant making slaves of another. The slave-makers are known as Polyergus ants, and they are native to North America. Periodically, Polyergus will raid the colonies of another species, where they use an array of deceptive chemical signals to overcome the other ants. They then carry eggs of the conquered species back to their own colony, where they they raise them and put them to work. One of the most interesting aspects of this slaving behavior is that, not only does the Polyegus queen participate in the raid, but she is key to its success. The queens of all other species of ants never leave the nest. . . . Deep Sea Anglerfish: DON'T Go Into The Light! Deep sea anglerfish live so far down in the ocean that there is very little light in their environment. Creatures at that depth are drawn to any illumination, and the anglerfish takes advantage of that fact by using its natural headlamp to attract prey. But that's not the weirdest thing about the anglerfish: Wait till you see how they mate! Blood Lust And The Vampire Bat Vampires are real—but they're only as big as your thumb. In Central and South America, vampire bats emerge at night to sneak up on mammals such as cattle, shave a little skin off of them while they sleep, and drink their blood. In fact, vampire bats at the only mammal species that subsists entirely on a blood diet. Although few vampire victims die of blood loss, some do get rabies from these furry parasites. The Interior Decorator Of The Bird World Some animals go to great lengths to attract a mate. But no creature puts more effort or artistry into courtship than the male bowerbird of New Guinea. Not only does this amazing avian acquire hundreds of objects of art in order to impress the female of his species, but he builds an entire structure in which to house his collection. The Father That Gives Birth In most animal species, it is the female that carries and gives birth to the young. Seahorses, however, are different. The male seahorse sports a pouch like a kangaroo's, and during mating the female deposits her eggs in it. The male carries the eggs until they hatch, after which he gives "birth" to a brood of young seashores. A Spider That Fishes Most species of spiders are insectivorous, meaning that they survive by catching and eating insects. The European fishing spider, however, is piscivorous, which, as its name implies, means that it prefers prey with scales and fins. Watch as this spider detects and then attacks an unwitting stickleback that's unlucky enough to swim by. Gibbons: The Apes That Swing Although they might remind us of monkeys, the 16 species of gibbon are apes—a family of higher primates that also includes chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, and humans. Gibbons are entirely arboreal, which means that they live in trees. Because they seldom descend to the ground, gibbons travel through the rainforest treetops of Southeast Asia and Indonesia using their incredibly long arms rather than their legs, swinging from branch to branch in a form of locomotion called brachiation. As jungle acrobats, gibbons put most kinds of monkeys to shame. Almost Unbelievable: The Bird of Paradise Like the bower bird, most of the 42 bird-of-paradise species are found on the Island of New Guinea. Compared to male bower birds, male birds of paradise employ an equally elaborate, though completely different, strategy for attracting mates. They rely not only on their spectacular plumage, but also on their dancing ability in their attempts to convince females to mate with them. In fact, you wouldn't be wrong to call birds of paradise the exotic dancers of the animal world.
i don't know
Who was the last Englishman to score in a Champion's League Final?
Wayne Rooney has scored more goals in the Champions League than any other Englishman | Daily Mail Online comments Wayne Rooney was a record-breaker on Tuesday night as he notched a 200th Manchester United goal in the win against Bayer Leverkusen. The finish puts the 27-year-old among true greats - including Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best - at Old Trafford. But the striker is leader of the pack in the Champions League having found the net for the 29th time in Europe. That sets him well apart from English contemporaries, and here Sportsmail takes a look at those who are closest. Cool: Wayne Rooney continues to find the net in the Champions League   Goals: 8 Games: 43 Only scoring one goal during last season's Champions League, Walcott has been around long enough to make it into the top 10. At 24, there's plenty of opportunity to add to his tally. Glide: Theo Walcott gets in between defenders in Europe and has time to add more goals 9. Teddy Sheringham Goals: 9 Games: 30 Sheringham may not have scored that many times in Europe's premier competition, but he sure made them count. Anyone remember that scrambled flick in the dying moments in Barcelona? Wish you were here: Teddy Sheringham celebrates equalising in the 1999 final 8. Michael Owen Goals: 11 Games: 29 Despite playing in the competition for three different clubs - Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United - Owen only managed 29 games. That encapsulates his career - almost scoring at a goal every other game but wasn't fit enough to play regularly. Highs and lows Michael Owen scored against Barcelona but didn't play enough Champions League games 7. Peter Crouch Goals: 13 Games: 33 Crouch's best moment in Europe arguably came when he was the lynchpin for Liverpool's knockout success against PSV Eidhoven in 2007 - netting the crucial third goal away from home and then scoring the only one in the home leg. Finisher: Peter Crouch nets in Liverpool's 8-0 win against Besiktas 6. David Beckham Goals: 16 Games: 107 Months before moving to Real Madrid, Beckham's genius turned the second leg at Old Trafford on its head by scoring twice to give Manchester United a 4-3 win. Unfortunately they'd lost in the Bernabeu, but that brilliance was a standout moment in his career in England. Delivery: David Beckham scored some crucial goals for Man United 5. Andrew Cole Goals: 18 Games: 48 A winner in 1999, Cole's partnership with Dwight Yorke was crucial to Manchester United's success - as referenced in the video below when they beat Barcelona on the way to the final. Cole's goal: The United striker netted at crucial times in 1999 4. Steven Gerrard Goals: 19 Games: 67 A man of the match performance in the Champions League final is Gerrard's highlight in his time at Liverpool but there is quite the European reel to go with it. Most notably would be the stunning late strike against Olympiakos earlier that season to send them through to the knockout stages. Captain marvel: Steven Gerrard drove Liverpool on in the 2005 final, scoring the first goal 3. Frank Lampard Goals: 22 Games: 91 A deft chip in Barcelona must be Lampard's best goal in the competition and he has almost mirrored a stunning Premier League record in the Champions League. His calming penalty against Benfica set Chelsea on their way to winning it in 2012. From the spot: Frank Lampard is trusty from 12 yards 2. Paul Scholes Goals: 24 Games: 124 When Scholes hits a ball, it stays hit. That was the case for many of his 24 goals in Europe, but not in the San Siro in March 1999 when a sidefooted 88th minute equaliser put Manchester United on track to see Inter Milan off in the second leg. Don't have to blast it: Paul Scholes equalises against Inter Milan 1. Wayne Rooney Goals: 29 Games: 73 Bursting on the scene at Old Trafford with a debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce, it's never dull with Rooney around. He's gone on to score a number of important goals and - despite his difficulties - will go down as a United great. Decent start! Wayne Rooney scored three on debut against Fenerbahce
Wayne Rooney
On a mobile phone keyboard the letters JKL are on which number button?
BBC SPORT | Football | Europe | Champions League final as it happened Champions League final as it happened Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea MAN UTD WIN 6-5 ON PENALTIES GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times BST) 606: DEBATE To get involved use 606 or text us your views & comments on 81111. (Not all contributions can be used) By Caroline Cheese 2310: I don't want to go... but I must... but I don't want to... but seriously... Was it only a few hours ago we were all worrying that game might not be that exciting? It was gripping from start to finish. Well done United, unlucky Chelsea. It is now 2.10am in Moscow and, look at that, it's only 17 days until Euro 2008 starts. Hurray! 2307: Your man of the match is Cristiano Ronaldo on 7.77, just about edging Petr Cech (7.58) and Frank Lampard (7.17). Still plenty of time to vote though... and I reckon Edwin van der Sar might make a late charge. 2304: "Drogba should have taken that fifth pen, I feel for Big John though, cannot fault his courage. Well done United (ungrits teeth)." Dario in London, via text on 81111 2303: "I think we dominated the game. Credit to United, they took control the first half an hour but once we woke up... we looked the strongest team. John slipped, it's very cruel. He's Mr Chelsea. He wants this more than anyone. I just want to say that not many centre-halfs would have taken that penalty. We'll be back. I feel emotionally drained after the last few weeks." Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard 2259: Sir Alex Ferguson becomes only the 16th coach to win the European Cup twice. Edwin van der Sar and Owen Hargreaves make it 12 players to pick up winners' medals with two different clubs. I don't think I've seen Fergie dad-dancing yet, which is a tad disappointing. 2257: The Manchester United players have been covered in gold string from which they are now trying to break clear in amusing fashion. "Glory Glory Man United" rings out at the Luzhniki Stadium as Ronaldo and Nani skip round the pitch with the trophy. 2256: "What can I say? In the beginning we dominated the game... we hit the post twice and then lost on penalties. JT is the main reason we're here. We had difficult times. I'm very proud of the team. It's not the last time for Chelsea in the final." Chelsea boss Avram Grant 2254: Avram Grant chucks his medal into the crowd in a Jose Mourinho-style gesture. Will he be at Stamford Bridge next season? Will Drogba? So many questions. 2253: "YES CHAMPIONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! i feel for chelsea though, but we fully deserve that." ManRooUnited on 606 Join the debate on 606 2250: There it is. Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand lift the Champions League trophy and the celebrations begin in earnest. 2249: A puffy-eyed John Terry is still watching as United receive their medals. Sir Bobby Charlton gets a hug and a pat on the head from Cristiano Ronaldo. 2248: Sir Bobby Charlton, survivor of the Munich air crash 50 years ago, leads the Manchester United team up. Emotional scenes in Moscow. Sir Bobby refuses the offer of a medal from Michel Platini. 2246: Uefa chief exec Michel Platini gives compatriot Claude Makelele a friendly slap on the face in an attempt to cheer him up. Avram Grant trudges slowly down the stairs. What's going through his mind? 2244: Manchester United applaud the beaten finalists as John Terry leads them up to receive their losers' medals. It's a long old walk for the Chelsea players. 2242: Avram Grant gathers his players for pep talk. It's going to need some pep talk. John Terry is still crying. 2240: "The first penalty shoot-out I've ever won in a big game. I think there was a bit of fate about it. We were fantastic in the first half and could have been three up but then they scored a lucky goal. They were better in the second half. I'm delighted for everyone. It's an amazing achievement. We deserve it." Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson 2237: The contrast between the two teams could not be greater. As John Terry tries to stem the tears, the United players are going absolutely bananas out there. Cristiano Ronaldo is also in tears. The winger missed the fifth spot-kick but was saved from a lifetime of regret when Terry missed his. 2235: Incredible, heart-stopping drama - and you have to feel sympathy for John Terry. The Chelsea skipper had a kick to win it for his club but slipped at the vital moment and saw his effort hit the outside of the post. He is at the moment being smothered in a hug from manager Avram Grant. Manchester United begin the celebrations after Edwin van der Sar saved the crucial final spot-kick from Nicolas Anelka. 2234: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 6-5 ON PENALTIES PENALTY SHOOT-OUT TEVEZ SCORES Man Utd 1-0 Chelsea BALLACK SCORES Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea CARRICK SCORES Man Utd 2-1 Chelsea BELLETTI SCORES Man Utd 2-2 Chelsea RONALDO MISSES Man Utd 2-2 Chelsea LAMPARD SCORES Man Utd 2-3 Chelsea HARGREAVES SCORES Man Utd 3-3 Chelsea A COLE SCORES Man Utd 3-4 Chelsea NANI SCORES Man Utd 4-4 Chelsea TERRY MISSES Man Utd 4-4 Chelsea ANDERSON SCORES Man Utd 5-4 Chelsea KALOU SCORES Man Utd 5-5 Chelsea GIGGS SCORES Man Utd 6-5 Chelsea ANELKA MISSES Man Utd 6-5 Chelsea 2224: Carlos Tevez up first - against Petr Cech. 2222: Avram Grant is beckoning his team over for a talk before the dreaded penalties. Fergie is with pen and paper working out his penalty-takers. 2221: Penalties it is. Who's your money on? 2220: FULL-TIME Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea after extra-time 2219: One change each. Juliano Belletti for Claude Makelele. Anderson for Wes Brown. 2217: Looks like Anderson will be on in a sec. Nani cuts in from the right and sets up Cristiano Ronaldo, who chips the ball up for Carlos Tevez. The Argentine hasn't quite got enough spring through and heads wide. 2216: We'll have a bit more added time as Ashley Cole and Nani receive treatment in the box after a collision. 2215: We are into two minutes of added time - which is weird because the argie bargie that ended with Drogba's departure seemed to last about five minutes. 2214: "Andriy Shevchenko has been warming up for what seems like about an hour to try to grab his manager's attention. It's almost sad to see the former European footballer of the year in such circumstances. And after his penalty for Milan three years ago, Grant would be brave to bring him on." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2212: It's all got very nasty out there. Drogba, by the way, is only the second man to be sent off in a Champions League final. The first was Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann in 2006. 2210: RED CARD Chelsea What the blazes? A flashpoint develops from what seems to be nothing at all as Carlos Tevez argues with a couple of Chelsea players. Gradually, more and more players get involved and - right in front of the ref - Didier Drogba slaps Nemanja Vidic. The ref gives him a straight red and was that the last we'll see of Drogba in a Chelsea shirt? 2208: Carlos Tevez beats two in midfield and gives the ball to Nani on the right, but as his cross comes over, both Tevez and Ryan Giggs are slipping over. 2206: Nemanja Vidic sees yellow for a challenge on Nicolas Anelka as the Chelsea striker makes strides towards goal. Then to add injury to insult, the United defender gets cramp. He's up and about now though. Didier Drogba whacks the free-kick wide from 30 yards. 2204: "People are just waiting for this game to run out. There are some tired players out there." BBC Radio 5 Live summariser Graham Taylor 2203: "Must not make a mistake, must not make a mistake," is what every player is thinking. Not much else to report. All a bit ponderous. 2203: "Tense or what? A group of passengers boarding a flight to Sydney are gathered round my Blackberry, hope the flight's delayed. Due off at 10.15 and looks like penalties." John via text on 81111 2202: "So Fergie has taken Scholes and Rooney off, and Avram has done likewise with Joey Cole. I wonder what they're trying to say about English penalty-takers. Fans latest - United's have upped their game, but Chelsea's are still the loudest." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2201: "I don't think I have the nerves to watch this. Please don't let it go to pens. Our record is POOOOOOOOR." JT_BlueForever on 606 Join the debate on 606 2200: Off we go again. Fergie's got his white tracksuit top on to protect his fancy suit from the rain. He did that at Wigan you know... and look what happened there. 2158: Switcheroo time as ref Lubos Michel blows his whistle for the end of the first-half of extra-time. 2157: "Mmm deja vu... I seem to recall Bayern hit bar and post yet couldn't win the match in '99..." Ian, Eastbourne, via text on 81111 2155: "Top class defending from John Terry." Summariser Stan Collymore on BBC Radio 5 Live 2153: Carlos Tevez breaks on the left, cuts back... and shoots straight at Petr Cech. Bit selfish there. 2151: Oh my goodness me. Patrice Evra rampages down the left and cuts the ball back for Ryan Giggs whose shot is brilliantly headed behind by John Terry for a corner. As Terry receives congratulations from some relieved team-mates, Wayne Rooney comes off, chucks his shirt on the ground, and Nani is on. 2149: Another change from Chelsea and Nicolas Anelka replaces Joe Cole. The Chelsea fans are whistling. No change in formation though. Anelka will play on the right of the front three. 2146: Joe Cole is down injured - and the booing from the Chelsea fans increases until United kick the ball out. Looks like cramp. 2146: "There's been some doubt about Cristiano Ronaldo in the big games. He's delivered tonight. No question." BBC Radio 5 Live summariser Graham Taylor 2145: A huge let-off for United as Frank Lampard swivels in the box and thumps a left-foot shot onto the bar. That's twice Chelsea have found the woodwork now. 2144: Salomon Kalou comes on for Florent Malouda as the rain falls in Moscow. 2143: Nice interchange on the edge of the area as Carlos Tevez attempts a one-two with Wayne Rooney but Chelsea cut out the return pass. 2141: Chelsea get extra-time under way. Salomon Kalou is poised to come on. 2140: "Well who would have thought? I bet the bookies have taken a real caning on extra-time. As for us, well, it's twenty to one in the morning Moscow time and an awful lot of people are on early-morning flights. There won't be much sleep going on tonight." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2138: Fergie's straight in among his players, giving instructions to Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand. Avram Grant, reports BBC 5 Live's Mark Saggers, is "just wandering about, as he does." 2137: FULL-TIME Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea 2136: Cristiano Ronaldo swings over a cross in the general direction of Wayne Rooney but it's too high. Rooney has been very quiet so far. 2135: We're into two minutes of added time. 2134: "Isn't it Sheva time yet? I can see him getting the winner ..." DoItForEddie on 606 Join the debate on 606 2132: "The Chelsea fans are the closest to me in the stadium - and my word are they going through the whole gamut of emotions. Half of them are singing their team on and the other half look like they are about to cry at any minute. Does it get more tense than this?" BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium I can answer that. No. 2130: Off comes Paul Scholes... on comes Ryan Giggs to make his record-breaking 759th appearance for United, breaking Sir Bobby Charlton's record. Charlton looks on proudly. 2129: With so many players slip-sliding about out there, I can't help fearing a mistake might settle this game. 2128: Lino reckons Nemanja Vidic has fouled Didier Drogba out right. Florent Malouda chips it to Didier Drogba, who chests down and shoots well wide. 2126: Sir Alex Ferguson is beckoning over Ryan Giggs and the winger takes off his green vest as he jogs towards his manager. Time to get the record books out. 2125: Carlos Tevez flings a shot just wide. Less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining. 2124: Florent Malouda takes advantage of a Rio Ferdinand before sliding the ball in from the left but Didier Drogba can't get hold of the shot. 2122: It's all getting tetchy out there. Carlos Tevez is the latest to give away a free-kick. 2122: Didier Drogba takes a step and bends a fabulous shot on to the post. So unlucky. 2120: Good call from the referee there as Florent Malouda appeals for a penalty. Replays show he was tripped by his own foot rather than Rio Ferdinand. 2119: Graham Taylor thinks he's spotted a change. Wayne Rooney is out on the right, Owen Hargreaves in the middle, with Carlos Tevez on his own up front. 2117: Cristiano Ronaldo does Michael Essien once again and skips into the box. Then we get bad Ronaldo as he lashes a shot into the side netting. The ref incurs the wrath of Joe Cole once again as he wrongly awards a corner against the Chelsea man. Nothing from it though. 2115: Owen Hargreaves sets up Michael Carrick on the edge of the box but the midfielder doesn't really get hold of the shot. He wins a corner though. Just before the shot comes in, Carlos Tevez collides with Claude Makelele - leaving the Chelsea midfielder needing treatment for a face injury. Makelele is off the pitch as the corner comes in - which results in a free-kick for a foul on Petr Cech. 2112: The stretcher's on for Ferdinand but it looks like cramp... And he's back up and running now. 2111: Corner for Chelsea... But Malouda's effort doesn't clear the first defender. United skipper Rio Ferdinand is limping badly. He manages to clear the ball with his wonky leg but then immediately collapses in agony. 2109: "Fergie remains impassive on the United bench, but surely he can't leave it too much longer before making a change? His team are being over-powered at present." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2108: Nemanja Vidic hauls down Didier Drogba to give away the free-kick in the United half. Michael Carrick cleverly hooks clear Florent Malouda's effort. 2106: Fergie is sitting back, arms folded, not looking happy at all. 2105: Michael Ballack slips a brilliant free-kick through for Florent Malouda but the winger's attempted cut-back is easily cut out. Chelsea looking dangerous. 2102: By the way, it's just ticked past midnight in Moscow. 2101: Michael Ballack is given an awful lot of space in midfield and takes the opportunity to stride forward and go for goal - wide. 2100: Nemanja Vidic comes to United's rescue with a well-judged clearing header from Florent Malouda's cross. Didier Drogba heads over under pressure from the corner. 2058: "Essien just had to get it on target because Edwin van der Sar slipped." Summariser Graham Taylor on BBC Radio 5 Live 2058: And up the other end, Michael Essien goes charging through the midfield before cutting back onto his left foot and shooting over. 2058: Cristiano Ronaldo tricks his way past Michael Ballack before releasing Patrice Evra with a fabulous weighted pass but the cross is too high for Owen Hargreaves at the far post. 2055: Joe Cole goes racing after the referee after failing to win a corner after a tussle with Patrice Evra. Careful, fella. 2053: Michael Ballack is penalised for pushing Cristiano Ronaldo. More of a tickle really. United waste the free-kick. 2052: "I'm invoking the gods of 26th May 1999 and praying we don't lose momentum. Wish we had Teddy and Ole Gunnar in reserve." Ellie, Wellingborough, via text on 81111 2051: "In order for Chelsea to get into the game they have to get Joe Cole into the game." Summariser Graham Taylor on BBC Radio 5 Live 2051: Pitch chat... seems to be holding up so far although there are plenty of players having trouble keeping their feet. 2048: United have to wait on the pitch for a few minutes before Chelsea finally jog out. Sir Alex Ferguson waits just outside the tunnel and has a word with the ref about something. The second half is finally under way. 2047: "I think we'll see a different Chelsea in the second half because the first 30 minutes it was all United. Will Chelsea keep the same system? That's the question." Stan Collymore on BBC Radio 5 Live 2045: "The Chelsea fans are delirious, they must feel they have got out of jail going in level after that half. Meanwhile in the press room, it's all kicking off. You can't even get a drink without your meal ticket - which they took off you when you had a, er, meal earlier. Clowns." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2041: "Almost smashed my flat screen when Chelsea scored. Avram, put on Kalou on for Malouda, Anelka for Joe Cole 75 minutes and the game is ours. Come on Chelsea." Kwasi, Stratford, via text on 81111 Not sure Avram's reading this, but you never know. 2040: Cristiano Ronaldo is well clear of the pack on Player Rater, leading the way on 8.29. Petr Cech is his closest rival with 7.22 - the least he deserved after that brilliant double save from Tevez and then Carrick. Wayne Rooney's the only other player to break seven - but do you know what? That can all change... Player Rater 2039: Roman Abramovich leapt athletically out of his (luxuriously cushioned) seat as that goal went in. 2034: Well, anyone think that was boring? No, didn't think so. United had a deserved lead after winning the tactical battle but that lucky Lampard goal has Chelsea level at half-time. Cristiano Ronaldo went off at half-time shaking his head, as well he might. 2033: HALF-TIME Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea 2033: Ricardo Carvalho is carded for a poor challenge on Cristiano Ronaldo, prompting a whole lot of pointless arguing from the Chelsea players. Claude Makelele - already on a yellow - is walking a fine line. 2030: GOAL Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea Michael Essien has a low shot from distance and it takes a deflection off Nemanja Vidic and then Rio Ferdinand before Frank Lampard slots in. Edwin van der Sar slipped over too just to add to the catalogue of misfortunes. Lampard points to the heavens just before he is mobbed by his team-mates. 2029: Rio Ferdinand gives away a free-kick on the edge of the area for obstructing Frank Lampard. Yellow card for Rio. Didier Drogba allows Michael Ballack to take it but the German's effort is too high. 2027: What a miss! Wayne Rooney skims a low cross into the area where Carlos Tevez gets only the slightest of touches. The ball squirms harmlessly away. Arms in the air from Fergie. 2025: "Chelsea have looked really dejected since the United goal, it's almost as though they were planning to keep it 0-0 for as long as possible then go at them late on." yorker_129-7 on 606 Player Rater 2021: Now Petr Cech comes to the party. A wonderful counter-attack from United, with Waye Rooney delivering a peach of a ball for Cristiano Ronaldo on the left. Carlos Tevez meets his cross from eight yards out but Cech saves brilliantly and then gets up to beat away Michael Carrick's follow-up. Breathless stuff. 2019: Edwin van der Sar has to make his first save - and it's out of the top drawer. Didier Drogba heads a crossfield ball back across goal where Rio Ferdinand almost heads into his own goal under pressure from Michael Ballack. 2018: Didier Drogba wins the header from John Terry's long ball but he hasn't got a team-mate anywhere near him. Fergie is winning the tactical battle at the moment. 2017: Didier Drogba has got a back problem or something. Reckon he'll be OK though. 2016: Michael Essien v Cristiano Ronaldo is a mismatch at the moment. The cross from the right comes in and Ronaldo beats Essien again at the far post but Ricardo Carvalho is there to clear his header across goal. 2014: "Cometh the hour, cometh the man - but what a stunning part Paul Scholes played in that goal. His flick to play in Wes Brown was absolute genius." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2011: GOAL Man Utd 1-0 Chelsea Wes Brown plays a quick one-two with Paul Scholes before delivering the cross from the right to the far post where Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Michael Essien completely flat-footed to head home. Big game? No problem. 2010: Paul Scholes is back on now, with some tissue stuck up his nose. Anderson starts to warm up as a precaution. 2008: Panic in the United defence as Frank Lampard's cross comes over. Nemanja Vidic opts against waiting for the keeper and heads it behind for the corner. Nothing from it. Scholes still getting treatment. 2005: Flashpoint time. Paul Scholes clatters into Claude Makelele as they go for an aerial ball and the United midfielder ends up with a bloody nose. Wayne Rooney gets involved with some unnecessary pushing and shoving. Scholes and Makelele get booked - which is a bit harsh on the Chelsea man if you ask me. 2005: "With all four centre-halves in imperious form so far, it's going to take something pretty special - like that moment of sublime skill from Ronaldo (2001) - to break the deadlock." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 2004: "I'm cold, yet sweating. This final has made me shakingly ill." Anon via text on 81111 Maybe you've just got flu? 2002: Claude Makelele and Paul Scholes have a little tiff in the centre circle but it's all smiles again now. 2001: Cristiano Ronaldo beats Michael Essien with ease on the left and whips over the cross but it goes over Owen Hargreaves at the far post. 2000: Michael Ballack lofts a pass over for Joe Cole, but it's far too heavy and goes out of play. United have edged the first 15 minutes just about. 1958: Ashley Cole is off the pitch. Is he changing his boots? I think so. Anyway, he's back now. 1955: Ten minutes gone and not a shot on goal. The ref has a word with Owen Hargreaves about shirt-pulling. 1953: Lovely passing and moving from United. The ball eventually comes out to Owen Hargreaves on the right but his cross is headed away by John Terry. Crucial intervention because Wayne Rooney was waiting. 1951: A little moment of worry for Petr Cech there as Owen Hargreaves' cross takes a wicked deflection, but the Chelsea keeper collects at the second attempt. 1949: Florent Malouda is played in by Frank Lampard and whips in a dangerous cross - but Nemanja Vidic is there to head clear. 1948: "It's difficult to imagine a game with a grander opening than what we've just seen, or a game with more riding on it. Calmest man in the house? Paul Scholes, no question." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 1946: United seem to be playing 4-4-2 with Cristiano Ronaldo on the left and Owen Hargreaves on the right, Rooney and Tevez up front. That means Ronaldo is up against Michael Essien, not Ashley Cole. 1945: It's 10.45pm in Moscow as Manchester United kick off the first ever all-English Champions League final. Lubos Michel, he of the 'ghost goal' for Liverpool against Chelsea, is our referee tonight. 1942: One last blast of the Champions League anthem. Frank Lampard looks to the heavens. 1941: Wayne Rooney looks very relaxed as he shares a joke with one of his Chelsea rivals, and here come the teams. We also get a first glimpse of Roman Abramovich, who appears to be in a very luxurious box. 1938: Some ladies in red leotards are dancing around to a re-working of the Champions League anthem. The players are in the tunnel... 1935: 10 minutes to go... Here's more from Stevo in the Luzhniki Stadium: "Just had a rendition of Blue Is The Colour that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Awesome. And I'm pretty sure every single Chelsea fan has got a flag. All of them. Rinat Dasayev just brought out the Champions League trophy. He was the Russia keeper who didn't get anywhere near Marco van Basten's ludicrous volley in the Euro '88 final." 1932: "Lots of chat in the press room about that boy Ronaldo and whether he can finally put to bed the critics' claim that he doesn't perform in the really, really, really big games. If he wants legend status, he'll get few better opportunites." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 1929: Here's Fergie on picking Owen Hargreaves over Ji-Sung Park: "Owen's been in fantastic form. He's reaching a peak for us. It was difficult one because Ji-Sung Park has contributed a tremendous amount and we're very proud of that. It's not easy - but I hope I'm right." 1926: Avram Grant is absolutely buzzing... well, I'm sure he is inside anyway. "It's a great opportunity," he says. "Great moments come from great opportunities." 1925: 20 minutes to go. "My stomach is gonna explode," says Kzrcfc26 on 606. Stomachs are on the point of exploding all over the country I imagine. 1918: Someone just asked who James Richardson is. Tsk. I'm not answering that. BBC 5 Live analyst Stan Collymore reckons the United players looked a bit calmer when they ran out to warm up. 1912: "The legendary James Richardson is chatting away on the two big screens inside the stadium and, brilliantly, he just got a huge cheer from both sets of fans for this: "Who'd have thought in 1990 we'd be in a new Russia for the biggest club game in the world? Who'd have thought it'd be two English clubs? And who'd have thought Liverpool would still be waiting to win the league again?" BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 1910: "Cheese - this is beyond a joke now. Instead of sinking a few pre-match pints in the pub, I'm waiting for a ****** bed to arrive at my new flat. If the John Lewis delivery man is reading this, please get your **** round to mine pronto. Blues 2-0. Cheers" Baz via text on 81111 1904: United's line-up contains none of the team that won the trophy in 1999 - although Ryan Giggs is on the bench. 1903: "Am disappointed that Malouda is playing but glad to see those rumours that Ballack was going to be dropped were wrong. Having said that the Hargreaves-Scholes-Carrick combination still looks more likely to control things from midfield than Ballack-Makelele-Lampard." Richard, revising French for finals exam tomorrow, via text on 81111 1901: I hope everyone was standing to respect the Champions League anthem. It brings a tear to my eye knowing we won't be hearing that again until, er, July is it? 1856: "The Chelsea keepers are the first to go through their paces, with Petr Cech getting a massive ovation from the Blues fans. Surely he won't make that rumoured �30m switch to AC Milan and break their hearts?" BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 1851: There is less than an hour to go until kick-off. LESS THAN AN HOUR. Sorry for shouting, but I'm excited you know? 1849: "Feel for Ji-Sung Park. Big time. Fergie knew looking back at his comments." Tom, Notts, via text on 81111 1836: I'll leave you to mull those teams over for 10 minutes while I pop for some tea. 1830: FULL TEAMS Manchester United: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Hargreaves, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. Subs: Kuszczak, Anderson, Giggs, Nani, O'Shea, Fletcher, Silvestre. Chelsea: Cech, Essien, Terry, Carvalho, A Cole, Makelele, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, J Cole, Drogba. Subs: Cudicini, Shevchenko, Mikel, Kalou, Alex, Belletti, Anelka. 1826: "I hope it will be a good game. I think it will depend on United's approach. In the league, they tend to attack and they're hard to handle. But when it comes to European games, they tend to match up to the opposition. My feeling is if they end up matching Chelsea's formation, it will end up favouring Chelsea." Graham Taylor on BBC Radio 5 Live 1820: The United players are also having a wander on the pitch, wearing grey suits and red ties. Oh, and the Manchelsea squad selector isn't working (see 1808). Let's hope that's not an omen. 1814: "Caroline, on the good omens for Man Utd, don't forget that it's 25 years since Sir Alex won his first European trophy." James, Hitchin, via text on 81111 1812: "The Chelsea team, in their very nice suits, have a stroll around the pitch and that's the best I've heard from their fans all day. Didier Drogba looks ridiculous with his enormous headphones." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in the Luzhniki Stadium 1808: I know what you're thinking... If, say, you were to amalgamate Chelsea and Manchester United, who'd make the starting XI? We could call it Chelsester United. Or Manchelsea. Or something. Anyway, if you're reading this on the website, why not have a go on this extra special squad selector... Manchelsea squad selector 1801: But there are omens for United too. It is 50 years since the Munich air crash and 40 since United first lifted the European Cup when they beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley. Bobby Charlton (twice), Brian Kidd and a fella called George Best provided the goals. 1759: I've got another good omen for Chelsea... the Blues won their first European trophy on 21 May 1971 with victory over Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup, exactly 37 years ago. 1755: "I hope the stewards are more used to the fans than they are to the press. Having been sent the wrong way around the ground, they then made a few of us take a ridiculous excursion down by the river. Uefa claims it has volunteers who speak English but four out of the five I spoke to didn't. Maybe it was my east Midlands lilt." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in Moscow 1745: Let me entertain you with my first stat of the day - and it's a good omen for Chelsea. In the previous two same-country Champions League finals, the team finishing lower in their domestic league has prevailed. AC Milan (v Juventus) in 2003 and Real Madrid (v Valencia) in 2000. 1743: I'm also hearing that flights from Moscow to the UK are on a first-come, first-served basis after the match. That's going to be a helluva queue. 1739: "I never failed to get surprised by our team, and it is a team. When you think it has taken a long time to get here, they are not going to miss this opportunity. I am just happy that we are here and I am enjoying every minute of it." Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton speaking to BBC News in Moscow 1735: News reaches us that there might have been a bit of trouble at Gatwick after that cancelled flight which left more than 200 Chelsea fans stranded in London. Here's Nick Morrow from Glasgow: "All hell broke loose for a short period of time but I have to say the police did a decent job of controlling it, they weren't aggressive, and by and large people behaved quite well. I've spent, well, the cost of the ticket, the charge for my ticket was �680. On top of that I had my match ticket, return flights from Scotland which have now cost me �200, a night at the Gatwick Hilton hotel which was �140, and I just feel at the moment like I don't even want to watch the game. I can't believe it's going to happen without me being there." 1732: "Am I the only one who despises Chelsea yet desperately wants them to win just to see Avram "The Extra Special One" Grant's celebration?" Will via text on 81111 1727: "I am in the stadium at last. The Luzhniki is an imposing-looking structure, austere even, and looks slightly like a mausoleum from the outside. The many uniforms stationed around the entrances remind me that when the Olympics were here in 1980 this was the Soviet Union. The wet weather has left a grey lid over the stadium. Let's hope Chelsea and Manchester United can provide us with some colour." BBC Radio 5 Live's Alastair Yeomans in Moscow 1720: "If Ballack has been dropped then that's the worst footballing decision since bringing Walcott to the World Cup for no reason." NameOnTheTrophy on 606 Join the debate on 606 1716: "Caroline, feel for me and the rest of my band - we're playing a gig in Old Street this evening - no football 'til we get home but bet you a fortune some wise guy will tell us the score before then! We're called Remodel by the way and all non-football fans are welcome to come see us." Via text on 81111 Thank goodness you didn't drop a massive advert for your band in there without me noticing. This is the BBC, you know. 1710: "Massive rumour among the Chelsea fans that Michael Ballack has been dropped. No wonder the United fans are still in far better voice. One Chelsea fan just said they've got no hope without the in-form German. Great melodrama." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in Moscow 1703: "It's a difficult one to call, they are two evenly-matched sides. I just think everybody is hoping for a great game and hoping it is not going to be like the FA Cup final last year. They are two outstanding teams and it is a great occasion for British football. It's a one-off game and I think both teams will go for it - let's hope so." Blackburn boss and former Man Utd and Chelsea striker Mark Hughes 1657: Excellent chat from our friends at Sportsround (which is like Newsround, but about sport). Apparently, England's new bowling hero Ryan Sidebottom - he of the ridiculous hair - is a massive United fan. The England cricket boys are split about 50-50 between United and Chelsea and will be dressing up in either red or blue to watch the game later at their team hotel near Old Trafford. BBC Sportsround 1652: "I like the sound of that line-up (see 1629). Defo pick Kalou over Malouda. I think it will be 2-1 Chelsea. The legend that is Andriy Shevchenko to come on and score the winner in the last few minutes or maybe extra time." laurent32 on 606 1647: "Everything is impeccable so far. There are about 7,000 supporters distributed between two fan zones. There's music, drinks and food - but no alcohol. It's a relief not many people seem to have travelled without tickets." Alexei Sorokin, project manager for the Champions League final, on BBC Radio 5 Live 1642: Ryan Giggs will break Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time appearance record for United if he plays tonight. He looks set to be a sub but if he comes on, it will be his 759th game for the club. Crikey. 1635: "It must be half-days all round as fans stake their spots in bars hours before the big kick-off. Chelsea fans are setting up camp near the club's Stamford Bridge ground. Fulham Road SW6 is a sea of blue with shirt-sleeved fans sinking chilled beers in the warm sunshine." BBC Sport's horse-racing expert and man-about-town Honest Frank 1629: Now then. What about Chelsea? BBC Radio 5 Live's Jonathan Legard has heard whispers that Salomon Kalou will get the nod ahead of Florent Malouda. He also says Ashley Cole will definitely start despite that ankle injury, but Wayne Bridge will be waiting on the bench just in case. So that makes the line-up something like this: Cech, Essien, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Ballack, Makelele, Lampard, J Cole, Drogba, Kalou. 1627: "I'll definitely let Park start. They don't call him three-lung Park for nothing." mdfactor on 606 1625: "I'm expecting a Fletcher-sized curveball. Fergie likes him in big games, he's got a winner against Chelsea and he's nice and fresh." Anon via text on 81111 1624: "It's finally stopped raining, which is good news when you consider the state of the pitch." BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Williams in Moscow 1621: "Am at the metro station nearest the ground, having taken the longest escalator since my life began. United fans gave a stirring rendition of 'Viva Ronaldo', before Chelsea hit back with a little Salomon Kalou number. No-one's moving outside though - when you go past the first checkpoint, there's no way back in." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in Moscow Just to add, Stevo's life didn't actually begin that long ago. I'm surprised they let him travel on his own. 1615: "Don't forget Park, he could start!" Anon via text on 81111 Good point. Ji-Sung Park has started 10 of the last 11 matches since late March. United lost only one of those 11 matches - against Chelsea, when Park did not play. 1612: Fergie will be telling his players who's starting tonight round about now. This is my best guess: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Hargreaves, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. How does that sound? Or is anyone expecting an Anderson-sized curveball from Fergie later? 1605: Nonsense Dirs, 1-0 to Chelsea, Lampard the scorer in minute 76. Oh, hello everyone. By Ben Dirs 1555: Right you lot, I'm handing over to Caroline Cheese for the business end of proceedings. It's been marvellous chatting and now it is time to make an inconsequential prediction that can only leave me open to criticism: 1-0 United, Tevez the scorer. Cheese, over to you... "Forget the much maligned pitch. I believe that if United don't get bogged down in a stifling midfield battle with Chelsea, their flair players should have just that little bit extra to swing the tie. It might not be a Rooney or Ronaldo who edges the crucial goal. I wouldn't like to bet against Paul Scholes making the headlines as he finally takes his bow on the biggest stage." BBC Radio 5 Live's Alastair Yeomans in Moscow 1545: Ten players have won the European Cup with two different clubs and there will be six players in the two final squads hoping to achieve that feat: Van der Sar and Hargreaves of United and Carvalho, Ferreira, Shevchenko and Makelele of Chelsea. Good to know that Olly doesn't mind who's going to win tonight. Mehmet, who owns the newsagent downstairs from me, doesn't mind who wins either (he supports Galatasaray) and neither does my mum (she'll be knitting). "I don't mind if Chelsea or Manchester United win. My favourite team is Liverpool, they have a few Spanish players." Spanish golfer Jose Maria Olazabal on 5 Live 1543: The Big Cheese will be taking over from me in about 20 minutes (she's not really big, that's just a term of endearment) and thank the Lord, my eyes are beginning to bleed blue and red. BBC Sport's Jonathan Legard has had a chat with Michael Ballack's agent and he says there is no truth in the rumour that the German will not start for Chelsea. "I am a United fan, but I have been singing Avram's praises for months. He is a no-nonsense, no flair style of manager who gets the job done. He does it well if you ask me. Don't forget they were unbeaten in the last 21 League games if I recall correctly." Andy, reading the build-up instead of looking after a shop full of brides-to-be, via text "Man Utd fans Shaun, wandering through Red Square trying to offload his five spare tickets (the guy sat next to him on the plane apparently had 12), is disgusted about plans to lock the losing fans in after the final whistle tonight. He's not the only one angry about that decision either." BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in Moscow "I wouldn't always try and judge players on how good or bad they were by the fact they might, or might not, have won the Champions League. Paul Scholes is a brilliant player and hopefully he will win it this year and hopefully he will have another chance in the next year or two because I don't think he has any plans to retire. He shouldn't because he is a top, top player and it will be a great reward for him. I feel honoured to have played with him." Former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane on 5 Live Why Scholes is Man Utd's talisman "I have no problem with Avram Grant, he's done very well and the only reason he's not as loved as Mourinho is because he's not as charismatic and gets on with the job. I would personally like to see him have another year, even if we lose, as I don't think second, final, final, quarter-final is particularly bad for a first year in charge." Ramps on 606 "Another cracker from the girls in work: 'If Man U won the league can they not just let Chelsea win this one? That would be fair'." Ruaraidh, Inverness, via text 1524: Looks like it's brightening up a little bit outside, which is nice, but also makes me fear any topless men who may be watching the game tonight. When did it become acceptable for men with breasts to roam our streets with no shirt on? Was down in Leigh-on-Sea a couple of weekends ago: lovely place, moobs everywhere. "I have a cheeky bet on Wes Brown to score first and 3-0. At 1051/1 its well worth it! And it happened against Liverpool earlier in the season!" Tom, Nottingham, via text 1520: United won their one previous all-English European tie against then holders Spurs in the first round of the 1963/64 Cup Winners' Cup. They overturned a 2-0 first leg loss with a 4-1 victory at Old Trafford. Chelsea's record against English teams in Europe is played 12, won five, drawn five, lost two. "I believe 'muffin' is a made up word so as Americans don't feel guilty about eating cake for breakfast." Graham, London, via text "A cupcake fits neatly into its paper casing whereas with a muffin you get some delicious overspill." Neil, Portsmouth, via text "Whenever I get a song stuck in my head I start singing Shanks and Bigfoot's late 90s hit 'Sweet Like Chocolate'. It's sure to supplant any other song knocking around your cranium." Jack, Cambridge, via text 1508: We had a bit of chat about Avram Grant just a minute ago. Caroline Cheese - a Lady - has written a feature on him which has been published on our website for your perusal. Ben Shimon, who will take over Grant's former club Maccabi Tel Aviv next season, says of him: "Sometimes when you fall in love at first sight, it's too easy. But if it takes work, the love you finally earn is stronger for that. Eventually I'm sure the fans will respect him very much." Grant's chance to silence doubters 1503: I have been challenged on 606 to stop sitting on the fence and name tonight's winner: football. I think football will be the winner. We have a new football index on the website and I think it looks very nice. One of our editors, Lewis Wiltshire, has written a blog all about it. The fresh face of football 1500: Sorry about that folks, we were switching the football index over, or something like that. The boss came over and went "blah blah blah blah blah", or something technical like that, and then I wasn't allowed to publish for 20 minutes. Sorry. Anyone on their way to Moscow reading this, pass the time by whistling a catchy tune. Myself and the bloke sat next to me have decided the catchiest tune ever is a toss up between The Associates' Party Fears Two or Rip It Up by Orange Juice. Actually don't start whistling either, once you start you won't be able to shift it for about six days and will probably end up with a bottle of Stolichnaya wrapped round your head. And all over an early 80s Scottish New Wave duo. "Slightly off topic, but I figure since there are so many people around, someone might know. What's the difference between a muffin and a cupcake?" UnitedAmen on 606 "You can watch the game at the MEN for a tenner. Sadly, that leaves your funds completly drained. I hear tap water is free though." Anon via text "What are the chances of my hero, G Neville, having some say in tonight's proceedings? Toss that legend back in at the deep end, Fergie, his delivery could be the difference in Moscow. If he scores the winner I'm getting his face tatooed on my own face out of respect." Jon Gallaway, Southend, via text "I do not understand people who still doubt Grant. He did a good job and he will prove it tonight. We are in the Champions League final, wake up everyone!" Anon via text "The Orange Grove used to be a filthy hole when I was in Manchester. Get yourself to Aldi for some sherry and get launched at home." Nick, Middlesbrough, via text 1429: So, Chelsea fans, why all this ambivalence towards Avram Grant? He's alright isn't he? Got you to a Champions League final, which is more than can be said for Special Boy. "The Orange Grove in Fallowfield is about as cheap as they come James (see below). Students only, although you do have to deal with a lot of Gooners..." Stephen, Manchester, via text 1420: PENALITIES!!! Sorry about that, someone had to mention them at some point. United have lost both of their two previous shoot-outs in Europe (1984/85 Uefa Cup QF v Fehervar and 1992/93 Uefa Cup first round v Torpedo Moskva). Chelsea's only previous shoot-out was against Liverpool last season. And another thing, why does everyone keep saying Roman Abramovich is from Moscow when he was born 800km away in Saratov? It's like saying Billy Connolly is from Thurrock. I was in Rainham at the weekend and noticed a newspaper headline that read: "Dead Porpoise found in Essex river". And all I could think to myself was, "the headline writer's had a shocker - how many people know what a porpoise is in Rainham?" "Regarding your A-level comment (see below): if you believe certain sections of the media, Ronaldinho is on his way to Man City! I do laugh at the way the generation above us claim they're easy now - my mum does it, but I know she's just upset she's thicker than me. United to win 2-0." Dav via text "Any suggestions for cheap places to watch the match in Manchester? Typical student, only got a tenner left..." James, Salford, via text 1414: As you will know, it's 50 years this year since the Munich Air Disaster, and, fittingly, survivors like Harry Gregg, Kenny Morgans and Albert Scanlon have joined Sir Bobby Charlton in Moscow. "We won't let them down" said Sir Alex Ferguson. 1410: More than 200 fans on that cancelled flight from Gatwick apparently and now they have no other way of getting to Moscow. One of them, Neil Turner, said: "We've kind of exhausted every avenue - it's not going to be quite what we thought it was. Um, there you go." Neil Turner, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability. "Re. United never scoring on Russian soil - hasn't this pitch been grown in England by an Englishman and flown over to Russia?" Chris, Manchester, via text "Some good old-fashioned women's logic in work today. Girl asks, 'why are two English teams playing in Moscow?' Other girl replies, 'I think Chelsea's owner paid for it to be moved there...'" Anon via text 1355: Ramps has gone for 29, the search for his hundreth first-class hundred goes on. Blimey, someone has just alerted me to the size of Neil Diamond's ears, they're huge! David Gill, Man United chief executive, has just confirmed that Sir Alex Ferguson will not be retiring, even if his side win, and that Cristiano Ronaldo is going nowhere, except maybe to Tanerife for a top-up. "I was on the cancelled 0555 from Gatwick. Biggest game in our history and the ticket is in my hand never to be used. Going to buy a cat, then kick it." Joe via text "Can everyone stop arguing. I've been single for six months and support Lincoln City. Hope Chelsea get stuffed tonight by the way." Mark via text "There's a calmness and confidence about Manchester United coming into this game which I believe will prove important in the final. Winning the Premier League - and by holding off Chelsea's late challenge - has given them a belief evident in the demeanour of players like Rio Ferdinand." BBC Radio 5 Live's Alastair Yeomans in Moscow 1345: Ramprakash Watch: he's 26 not out, looking for his 100th hundred. Chelsea would be the first London side to win the European Cup if they are triumphant tonight, and at least one of the omens looks good: United have never scored a goal on Russian soil, losing a Uefa Cup first-round tie against Torpedo Moskva in 1992/93 and another Uefa Cup first-round tie against SC Rotor Volgograd three years later. "As a Liverpool fan, it pains me to admit I really want United to win tonight. Over the competition they have been the better side (best side?). Even worse is the fact I think Ronaldo could be the difference between the two teams. People keep mentioning Drogba, but Ronaldo on his day is by far the best player in the country (a little bit of me died admitting that!)" Poppy on 606 "Sat reading all the comments with a smirk on my face. Why? Cos I'm sat in Moscow enjoying all the city has to offer. Did Red Square and the Kremlin this morning, now I'm doing the bars. The amount of Reds here proves that Abramovich's money can buy players, but can't buy 100 years of tradition. United are going to win 3-1 (you heard it here first!)." Big Rich via text "I am not quite sure how Manchester United will set up, whether they will go 4-4-2 or whether they will put three in there to combat the three that Chelsea will have in Makelele, Lampard and Ballack. If it is the three against two then I see the dominant side being Chelsea. It will really depend on how Manchester United set their team up." Former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Ray Wilkins on 5 Live 1335: Unused Sub (see below), if you believe certain sections of the media, A-levels are about as stressful as an aromatherapy back massage nowadays. You should have just said you had hay fever, they probably would have given you an A*. "I woke up this morning with a very nervous feeling in my stomach, and I wasn't sure whether it was because I had my English A-level exam or because Chelsea were in the Champions League final. Well, I've done my exam and it's still there, so I guess it must be Chelsea!" Unused Sub on 606 1329: Caaaarm daaaarn Andy! It ain't worf it! When you start bringing girlfriends into a conversation about football, you know things have got serious. I saw inside the mind of a Romford cab driver at the weekend, and I didn't like what I saw: "Do you like that Amy Winehouse? I'd like to kill her. In fact, I'd like to lock her and Pete Doherty in a house and burn it down." What do you say to that? I thought about telling him I would have liked to have murdered Frank Sinatra, but he probably would have swerved into the central reservation and killed us both. "What a terrific night it promises to be. The whole town here in Lagos, Nigeria is already agog and adorned with banners of both clubs. United should crown their successful season and I can't wait for the close of work. Yes, the best night in the history of football is here again!" Charming Red on 606 "Having to justify how 'big' a fan you are of any club is sad. Real blokes can hang onto their birds and their football team by the way you muppets." Andy on 606 1321: News from former Chelsea legend Pat Nevin that Michael Ballack may have been dropped. BBC 5 Live's football correspondent Jonathan Legard is doing some digging and trying to get to the bottom of the rumour for us. Talking of getting to the bottom of things, I uncovered one of mankind's greatest mysteries on the back of the 174 bus from Romford station last night. After almost a decade searching for someone who watches Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, I overheard one tracksuited lady declare that she was off home to watch it. Tellingly, she followed up this statement by saying: "I ain't really that fussed, I'll watch anything really..." "It is a clich� to say that the game will need an early goal, but it is a clich� because it is spot on. Finals are normally tentative affairs but Champions League finals are even more so. If one team doesn't score early on then players become fearful of making that one mistake. You need that goal to open the game up a little bit. It is unlikely though, I would be surprised if there is a goal in the first 25 minutes and it may be one of those wars of attrition. "If Michael Essien plays in midfield then Chelsea will win but if he plays at right back then that might hamper Chelsea. It will stop Ronaldo but it will also stop Chelsea completely controlling midfield. And if it's true, as I've been hearing, that Michael Ballack has been dropped, then that will also have a negative affect on Chelsea's chances." Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin on 5 Live "I'd rather be the 73cm chain-smoking Mongolian than the lanky beanpole patronising presenter that treated him as a child even though he was 19." Jamie, Sheffield, via text 1308: Chelsea's Drogba and Kalou are hoping to become the first winners of the European Cup from the Ivory Coast while United's Ji-Sung Park can make history in the same way for South Korea. About that delayed flight at Gatwick - it's now been cancelled, which makes Gatwick probably the worst place in the whole world to be at this particular moment in time after Burma and Sichuan province in China. Fans stranded by cancelled flight 1300: Well, well, well, some of you did get out of bed the wrong side this morning. Come on chaps, let's get things into perspective. When you find yourself getting a bit angry about tonight's match, take a deep breath and think to yourself: there but for the grace of God go I - I could be 73cm tall, live in Inner Mongolia and smoke 40 a day. Even worse, you could be Kerry Katona. "How amusing, yet also sad, to see people so consumed with hate, jealousy and bitterness, that they feel the need to rant about today's game which has no bearing on their tiny lives. Suppose it's possibly due to the fact that their own clubs, if they even have one, don't merit any interest or attention whatsoever." Andy on 606 1249: Frank Lampard says he will sit down in the summer with Chelsea to discuss his future and the club confirm no approach has been received. Got to be honest here, but what does that say about players when they go around kissing their badge every time they score a goal and telling everyone they love the club and then think about leaving as soon as they spot something in their contract they're not happy with? Mind you, I can understand pro footballers wanting to get as much money as possible, they may only have 10 years in the game earning �100,000 a week, and what does that buy you nowadays? "Sir Alex Ferguson looked relaxed at his press conference but I don't think you are very relaxed when there is a big game like this around the corner. Players and managers do get nervous, no matter how many times you have played. Sir Alex has to come out in front of the media and put on some sort of act that he is cool, calm and composed but he will be anxious at the same time. He is a winner, and putting a team out there to win the game is the only thing in his mind." Former Manchester United player Lou Macari on 5 Live "Walking towards Red Square and there are at least 10 times more United fans than Chelsea, who are getting a proper barracking. I thought we were in Roman's back yard? Surely he could afford to pay some of his countrymen to don blue shirts?" BBC Sport's Jonathan Stevenson in Moscow 1240: The head-to-head record between Man Utd and Chelsea in all competitions is: 65 wins for United, 41 for Chelsea and 44 draws. However, Chelsea have had the better of United over the last five seasons, with seven wins, five draws and two defeats. This is the third major final the two teams have contested. United won the 1994 FA Cup final 4-0, while Chelsea won last year's FA Cup final (an absolute cracker of a match) 1-0. 1233: Everyone stare whistfully out of the window - I've got another poem! Nice start, loses its way a bit in the middle and, frankly, my three-year-old niece could have written a better ending. But it's better than smashing up Manchester! "Two teams from England, travel abroad, 60,000 fans, a passionate horde. Millions spent on beer and hats, Leaving behind, their wives and their cats. It's all about football, the wonderful game, This one will be tense, but it won't be tame! Will United win, or will Chelsea prevail? Whatever the case, a beautiful tale, Of two teams in Europe, the final of kings, Nothing compares, there's no other things, As special as this, so sit back and enjoy, For what a match it will be!....boy oh boy!" The Gashead on 606 "I have spoken to Frank Lampard junior and senior and they both said that Frank wants to stay with the club. The club just needs to sort them out on certain things. They are not too far away, my understanding is that image rights is a little bit of a problem as well as one or two other little things. Frank is on the verge, if he is not already, of being a legend at Chelsea and if he stays and sees his career out there with a four-year contract then that legendary status will be assured." Kerry Dixon on 5 Live 1229: News has reached me that the 0555 from Gatwick to Moscow has been delayed and still hasn't taken off. That's got to be an absolute choker for all involved. Some chap called Stretch has texted in to tell me it's all kicking off. Wouldn't want to be serving behind the bar in the North Terminal's Red Lion... "Re: Henry (see below), from my A Level Physics knowledge, I seem to remember these things take months to reach operational temperature. So we can expect black holes around the time Andy Murray reaches the Wimbledon men's singles final." Rhys, North Wales, via text "I'm on the bus from the airport to the ground. Very strange atmosphere - everyone seems a bit sombre - possibly the calm before the storm. This time last week 150,000 Glaswegians were drinking our city dry. Moscow's outskirts are not exactly endearing. A bit like Middlesborogh with window boxes." Chris via text 1208: Hang on a second! I made a mistake! Sorry! I've got about four dozen Liverpool fans going mental at me, saying Bob Paisley won the European Cup three times and not, as I wrote, two. As Tony from Liverpool points out via text, he's the only man to manage that feat. What a ruddy legend, although, for some reason, he always reminded me of Spike off of Hi-de-Hi! I'm off for a 10 minute leg-stretch. Ramprakash at the crease for Surrey - not out 4, chasing his 100th hundred. Go on you tiny dancer! Wait a minute, not Spike, Ted...Ted Bovis...that's the man... "I'm a Man U fan, and I feel sick with nerves. The first football match I ever watched was the '85 Cup replay against Liverpool, where Robson saw us through in a heroic manner against a team that on paper [and results] was far superior. Alas, for all it's talent, the current United team lacks a Robson or Keane figure. In matches such as tonight's, that may be the difference between victory and defeat." 1159: It's Chelsea's third European final tonight (discounting the Super Cup in 1998): they won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998. Chelsea's starting line-up on the night they beat Real Madrid in a replay in Athens in 1971? Eight Englishmen, two Scots and an Irishman. Mind you, I bet no-one could pronounce Peter Bonetti's name and as for Derek Smethurst, their South African on the bench, Ron 'Chopper' Harris must have thought he came from outer space. 1149: Without wishing to get all Reithian on you, here are some cold, steely facts to digest with your poems and stories and that sad, limp packaged sandwich you're eating at your desk: Fergie would become the 16th manager to lift the trophy more than once if United defeat Chelsea. Brian Clough won it twice with Nottingham Forest, Bob Paisley won it three times with Liverpool. Got to love Lawro's quote about playing under Paisley: "It was like having your grandad as manager." "Does anyone know what time they're turning on that new particle accelerator at CERN? Really don't want the world to be engulfed by a black hole before kick-off..." A wor Bookmark with:
i don't know
The 'Thought Police' feature in whic famous novel of 1949?
The 100 best novels: No 70 – Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949) | Books | The Guardian The 100 best novels The 100 best novels: No 70 – Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949) George Orwell’s dystopian classic cost its author dear but is arguably the best-known novel in English of the 20th century “Imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for ever…” Richard Burton (background) and John Hurt in Michael Radford’s 1984 film adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Photograph: Allstar Share on Messenger Close “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Time is out of joint, and everyday life has no comfort any more: from Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) to Animal Farm (1945), George Orwell had been incubating a profound inner dissonance with his society. Even as a child, he had been fascinated by the futuristic imagination of HG Wells (and later, Aldous Huxley ). Finally, at the end of his short life, he fulfilled his dream. Nineteen Eighty-Four, arguably the most famous English novel of the 20th century, is a zeitgeist book. Orwell’s dystopian vision was deeply rooted both in its author’s political morality, and in its time, the postwar years of western Europe. Its themes (the threat of the totalitarian state, censorship and the manipulation of language) continue to reverberate, with prophetic menace, like distant gunfire, into the present. After the third world war, Britain is now Airstrip One in the American superstate of Oceania, permanently in conflict with Eurasia and Eastasia. Winston Smith, a former journalist employed by the Ministry of Truth to rewrite old newspaper articles so that the historical record always supports state policy, decides to launch his own hopeless private rebellion against the oppression of “the Party” and its all-seeing, all-powerful dictator, Big Brother. Winston’s revolt gets added impetus from his association with Julia, another dissident, who wants to use her rampant sexuality to defy the repression of “the Party”. When Winston and Julia’s brief affair is discovered by the Thought Police they are subjected to the torments of Room 101 at the hands of the merciless O’Brien. “If you want a picture of the future,” says this demonic figure, “imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for ever.” At the end, now brainwashed into submission, Winston awaits his execution as “the last man in Europe”, the working title of Orwell’s first draft. The plot of Nineteen Eighty-Four is one thing; its ideas are something else. In the 65 years since its publication, “Big Brother is watching you”, “newspeak”, “doublethink” “prole”, “thoughtcrime”, “unperson”, “reality control” and “the Two Minutes Hate” have become inseparable from the English language. Orwell himself, in the words of one critic, “the wintry conscience of his generation”, has become a kind of secular saint, which is an incarnation that might surprise his former colleagues on this newspaper, the Observer. A note on the text The circumstances surrounding the writing of Nineteen Eighty-Four make grim reading, and help to explain the persistent bleakness of Orwell’s dystopia. The idea for “The Last Man in Europe” had been in Orwell’s mind since the Spanish civil war. His novel, which owes something to Yevgeny Zamyatin’s dystopian fiction We, probably began to acquire a definitive shape during 1943-44, around the time he and his wife, Eileen, adopted their only son, Richard, whom I was once lucky enough to interview about his father. Orwell was also partly inspired by the meeting of the allied leaders at the Tehran Conference of 1944. Isaac Deutscher, a colleague on the Observer, for which Orwell was working as a foreign correspondent, reported that Orwell was “convinced that Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt consciously plotted to divide the world” at Tehran. Orwell had been attached to David Astor’s Observer since 1942, first as a book reviewer and later as a correspondent. His editor professed great admiration for Orwell’s “absolute straightforwardness, his honesty and his decency”, and would be his patron throughout the 1940s. The closeness of their friendship is crucial to the backstory of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell’s creative life had already benefited from his association with the Observer in the writing of Animal Farm. As the war drew to a close, the interaction of fiction and journalism would contribute to the much darker and more complex novel he had in mind. There were other influences at work. Soon after Richard was adopted, Orwell’s flat was wrecked by a doodlebug. The atmosphere of random terror in the everyday life of wartime London became integral to the mood of the novel-in-progress. Worse was to follow. In March 1945, while on assignment for the Observer in Europe, Orwell received the news that his wife, Eileen, had died under anaesthesia during a routine operation. Now David Astor stepped in. His family owned an estate on the remote Scottish island of Jura, next to Islay. There was a house, Barnhill, seven miles outside Ardlussa at the northern tip of this desolate part of the Inner Hebrides. Initially, Astor offered it to Orwell for a holiday. In May 1946 Orwell, still picking up the shattered pieces of his life, took the train to Jura, a risky move. He was not in good health. The winter of 1946-47 was one of the coldest of the century, and he had always suffered from a bad chest. At least, cut off from the irritations of literary London, he was free to grapple unencumbered with the new novel. “Smothered under journalism,” as he told one friend, “I have become more and more like a sucked orange.” Pinterest George OrwelI at his flat in Isllington, 1945. Photograph: Vernon Richards Part of Orwell’s difficulties derived from the success of Animal Farm. After years of neglect, the world was waking up to his genius. “Everyone keeps coming at me,” he complained to Koestler, “wanting me to lecture, to write commissioned booklets, to join this and that, etc – you don’t know how I pine to be free of it all and have time to think again.” On Jura he would be liberated from these distractions but the promise of creative freedom on an island in the Hebrides came with its own price. Years before, in the essay Why I Write, he had described the struggle to complete a book: “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon whom one can neither resist or [sic] understand. For all one knows that demon is the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention. And yet it is also true that one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one’s personality.” Then that famous Orwellian coda: “Good prose is like a window pane.” From the spring of 1947 to his death in 1950 Orwell would re-enact every aspect of this struggle in the most painful way imaginable. At first, after “a quite unendurable winter”, he revelled in the isolation and wild beauty of Jura. “I am struggling with this book,” he wrote to his agent, “which I may finish by the end of the year – at any rate I shall have broken the back by then so long as I keep well and keep off journalistic work until the autumn.” Life at Barnhill was simple, even primitive. There was no electricity. Orwell used Calor gas to cook and to heat water. Storm lanterns burned paraffin. In the evenings he also burned peat. He was still chain-smoking black shag tobacco in roll-up cigarettes: the fug in the house was cosy but not healthy. A battery radio was the only connection with the outside world. Once his new regime was settled, Orwell could finally make a start. At the end of May 1947 he told his publisher, Fred Warburg: “I think I must have written nearly a third of the rough draft. I have not got as far as I had hoped to do by this time because I really have been in most wretched health this year ever since about January (my chest as usual) and can’t quite shake it off.” Mindful of his publisher’s impatience for the new novel, Orwell added: “Of course the rough draft is always a ghastly mess having very little relation to the finished result, but all the same it is the main part of the job.” Still, he pressed on, and at the end of July was predicting a completed “rough draft” by October. After that, he said, he would need another six months to polish up the text for publication. In late October 1947, oppressed with “wretched health”, Orwell recognised that his novel was still “a most dreadful mess and about two-thirds of it will have to be retyped entirely”. Just before Christmas, he broke the news that he had been diagnosed with TB. In 1947 there was no cure for TB – doctors prescribed fresh air and a regular diet – but there was a new, experimental drug on the market, streptomycin. Astor arranged for a shipment from the US. The side-effects were horrific (throat ulcers, blisters in the mouth, hair loss, peeling skin and the disintegration of toe and fingernails) but in March 1948, after a three-month course, the TB symptoms had disappeared. “It’s all over now, and evidently the drug has done its stuff,” Orwell told his publisher. “It’s rather like sinking the ship to get rid of the rats, but worth it if it works.” As he prepared to leave hospital, Orwell received the letter from his publisher that, in hindsight, would be another nail in his coffin. “It really is rather important,” wrote Warburg to his star author, “from the point of view of your literary career to get it [the new novel] by the end of the year and indeed earlier if possible.” Just when he should have been convalescing, Orwell was back at Barnhill, deep into the revision of his manuscript, promising Warburg to deliver it in “early December”, and coping with “filthy weather” on autumnal Jura. Early in October he confided to Astor: “I have got so used to writing in bed that I think I prefer it, though of course it’s awkward to type there. I am just struggling with the last stages of this bloody book [which is] about the possible state of affairs if the atomic war isn’t conclusive.” The typing of the fair copy of “The Last Man in Europe” became another dimension of Orwell’s battle with his book. The more he revised his “unbelievably bad” manuscript, the more it became a document only he could read and interpret. It was, he told his agent, “extremely long, even 125,000 words”. With characteristic candour, he noted: “I am not pleased with the book but I am not absolutely dissatisfied… I think it is a good idea but the execution would have been better if I had not written it under the influence of TB.” He was still undecided about the title: “I am inclined to call it NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR or THE LAST MAN IN EUROPE,” he wrote, “but I might just possibly think of something else in the next week or two.” By the end of October, Orwell believed he was done. Now he just needed a stenographer to help make sense of it all. Pinterest In a desperate race against time, Orwell’s health was deteriorating, the “unbelievably bad” manuscript needed retyping, and the December deadline was looming. Warburg promised to help, and so did Orwell’s agent. At cross-purposes over possible typists, they somehow contrived to make a bad situation infinitely worse. Orwell, feeling beyond help, followed his ex-public schoolboy’s instincts: he would go it alone. By mid-November, too weak to walk, he retired to bed to tackle “the grisly job” of typing the book on his “decrepit typewriter” by himself. Sustained by endless roll-ups, pots of coffee, strong tea and the warmth of his paraffin heater, with gales buffeting Barnhill, night and day, he struggled on. By 30 November 1948 it was virtually done. Now Orwell, the old campaigner, protested to his agent that “it really wasn’t worth all this fuss. It’s merely that, as it tires me to sit upright for any length of time, I can’t type very neatly and can’t do many pages a day”. Besides, he added, it was “wonderful” what mistakes a professional typist could make, and “in this book there is the difficulty that it contains a lot of neologisms”. The typescript of George Orwell’s latest novel reached London in mid-December, as promised. Warburg recognised its qualities at once (“among the most terrifying books I have ever read”) and so did his colleagues. An in-house memo noted “if we can’t sell 15 to 20 thousand copies we ought to be shot”. Nineteen Eighty-Four was published on 8 June 1949 (five days later in the US). Secker & Warburg in the UK, and Harcourt Brace in New York were eager to get it out into bookshops as soon as possible. Orwell’s American editor, Robert Giroux, whom I remember with fondness from the 1980s, did not wait for the English page proofs from which to set his edition, as was customary. Instead, he prepared a fresh copy for the American printer, with the result that the two first editions are significantly different in many small ways. The novel was almost universally recognised as a masterpiece, even by Winston Churchill, who told his doctor that he had read it twice. Orwell’s health continued to decline. In October 1949, in his room at University College hospital, he married Sonia Brownell, with David Astor as best man. It was a fleeting moment of happiness; he lingered into the new year of 1950. In the small hours of 21 January he suffered a massive haemorrhage in hospital and died alone. Orwell’s title remains something of a mystery. Some say he was alluding to the centenary of the Fabian Society, founded in 1884. Others suggest a nod to Jack London ’s novel The Iron Heel (in which a political movement comes to power in 1984), or perhaps to one of his favourite writers GK Chesterton’s story, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, which is set in 1984. In his edition of the Collected Works (20 volumes), Peter Davison notes that Orwell’s American publisher claimed that the title derived from reversing the date, 1948, though there’s no documentary evidence for this. Davison also argues that the date 1984 is linked to the year of Richard Blair’s birth, 1944, and notes that in the manuscript of the novel, the narrative occurs, successively, in 1980, 1982 and finally, 1984. There’s no mystery about the decision to abandon “The Last Man in Europe”. Orwell himself was always unsure of it. It was his publisher, Fred Warburg, who suggested that Nineteen Eighty-Four would be a more commercial title. It remains one of the all-time classics of the 20th century. Three more from George Orwell Down and Out in Paris and London (1933); Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936); Animal Farm (1945).
one thousand nine hundred and eighty four
The food dish 'Chicken Montmorency' includes which fruit?
Nineteen Eighty-Four - Wikiquote Nineteen Eighty-Four Jump to: navigation , search To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone — to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone: From the age of uniformity, from the age of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from the age of doublethink — greetings! BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel by the English writer George Orwell , published in 1949. The story, which focuses on the life of Winston Smith, was Orwell's vision of a totalitarian state which has absolute control over every action and thought of its people through propaganda, secrecy, constant surveillance, and harsh punishment. In some editions it is retitled 1984. See also: Part One[ edit ] The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. The instrument (the telescreen it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely. DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs. The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp. Then the face of Big Brother faded away again and instead the three slogans of the Party stood out in bold capitals: WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same. He had committed— would still have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper— the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime , they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you. It was always at night—the arrests invariably happened at night. The sudden jerk out of sleep, the rough hand shaking your shoulder, the lights glaring in your eyes, the ring of hard faces round the bed. In the vast majority of cases there was no trial, no report of the arrest. People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word. Chapter 2[ edit ] Thoughtcrime does not entail death, thoughtcrime IS death It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children. And with good reason, for hardly a week passed in which The Times did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak —  'child hero' was the phrase generally used — had overheard some compromising remark and denounced its parents to the Thought Police. On coins, on stamps, on the covers of books, on banners, on posters, and on the wrappings of a cigarette Packet — everywhere. Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed — no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull. To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone — to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone: From the age of uniformity, from the age of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from the age of doublethink — greetings! Thoughtcrime does not entail death, thoughtcrime IS death Chapter 3[ edit ] Tragedy, he perceived, belonged to the ancient time. If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened — that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death? And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed -if all records told the same tale — then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past,' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.' And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. 'Reality control', they called it: in Newspeak, 'doublethink'. The past, he reflected, had not merely been altered, it had been actually destroyed. For how could you establish even the most obvious fact when there existed no record outside your own memory? His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget, whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself — that was the ultimate subtlety; consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word 'doublethink' involved the use of doublethink. Chapter 5[ edit ] It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Of course the great wastage is in the verbs and adjectives, but there are hundreds of nouns that can be got rid of as well. It isn't only the synonyms; there are also the antonyms. After all, what justification is there for a word which is simply the opposite of some other word? A word contains its opposite in itself. Take "good", for instance. If you have a word like "good", what need is there for a word like "bad"? "Ungood" will do just as well — better, because it's an exact opposite, which the other is not. Or again, if you want a stronger version of "good", what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like "excellent" and "splendid" and all the rest of them? "Plusgood" covers the meaning, or "doubleplusgood" if you want something stronger still. Of course we use those forms already. but in the final version of Newspeak there'll be nothing else. In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words — in reality, only one word. Don't you see the beauty of that, Winston? Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday […] it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it. Chapter 6[ edit ] Your worst enemy […] was your own nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom. The aim of the Party was not merely to prevent men and women from forming loyalties which it might not be able to control. Its real, undeclared purpose was to remove all pleasure from the sexual act. Not love so much as eroticism was the enemy, inside marriage as well as outside it. All marriages between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose, and — though the principle was never clearly stated — permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another. The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema. This again was never put into plain words, but in an indirect way it was rubbed into every Party member from childhood onwards. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion. Desire was thoughtcrime. Chapter 8[ edit ] We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness, O’Brien had said to him. But if there was hope, it lay in the proles. You had to cling on to that. When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith. Within twenty years at the most, he reflected, the huge and simple question, 'Was life better before the Revolution than it is now?' would have ceased once and for all to be answerable. But in effect it was unanswerable even now, since the few scattered survivors from the ancient world were incapable of comparing one age with another. They remembered a million useless things, a quarrel with a workmate, a hunt for a lost bicycle pump, the expression on a long-dead sister's face, the swirls of dust on a windy morning seventy years ago: but all the relevant facts were outside the range of their vision. They were like the ant, which can see small objects but not large ones. And when memory failed and written records were falsified —  when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested. It would not matter if they killed you at once. To be killed was what you expected. But before death (nobody spoke of such things, yet everybody knew of them) there was the routine of confession that had to be gone through: the grovelling on the floor and screaming for mercy, the crack of broken bones, the smashed teeth, and bloody clots of hair. Why did you have to endure it, since the end was always the same? Why was it not possible to cut a few days or weeks out of your life? Nobody ever escaped detection, and nobody ever failed to confess. When once you had succumbed to thoughtcrime it was certain that by a given date you would be dead. Why then did that horror, which altered nothing, have to lie embedded in future time? He thought with a kind of astonishment of the biological uselessness of pain and fear, the treachery of the human body which always freezes into inertia at exactly the moment when a special effort is needed. It struck him that in moments of crisis one is never fighting against an external enemy but always against one's own body. Chapter 2[ edit ] His heart leapt. Scores of times she had done it: he wished it had been hundreds —  thousands. Anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with a wild hope. Who knew, perhaps the Party was rotten under the surface, its cult of strenuousness and self-denial simply a sham concealing iniquity. If he could have infected the whole lot of them with leprosy or syphilis, how gladly he would have done so! Anything to rot, to weaken, to undermine! In the old days, he thought, a man looked at a girl's body and saw that it was desirable, and that was the end of the story. But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act. But by degrees the flood of music drove all speculations out of his mind. It was as though it were a kind of liquid stuff that poured all over him and got mixed up with the sunlight that filtered through the leaves. He stopped thinking and merely felt. Chapter 3[ edit ] If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time. All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour. If you're happy inside yourself, why should you get excited about Big Brother and the Three-Year Plans and the Two Minutes Hate and all the rest of their bloody rot? There was a direct intimate connexion between chastity and political orthodoxy. For how could the fear, the htred, and the lunatic credulity which the Party needed in its members be kept at the right pitch, except by bottling down some powerful instinct and using it as a driving force? The sex impulse was dangerous to the Party, and the Party had turned it to account. They had played a similar trick with the instinct of parenthood. The family could not actually be abolished, and, indeed, people were encouraged to be fond of their children, in almost the old-fashioned way. The children, on the other hand, were systematically turned against their parents and taught to spy on them and report their deviations. The family had become in effect an extension of the Thought Police. It was a device by means of which everyone could be surrounded night and day by informers who knew him intimately. "Actually, it would have made no difference," he said. "Then why are you sorry you didn't do it?" "Only because I prefer a positive to a negative. In this game that we're playing, we can't win. Some kinds of failure are better than other kinds, that's all." "We're not dead yet," said Julia prosaically. "Not physically. Six months, a year--five years, conceivably. I am afraid of death. You are young, so presumably you're more afraid of it than I am. Obviously we shall put it off as long as we can. But it makes very little difference. So long as human beings stay human, death and life are the same thing." Chapter 4[ edit ] The tune had been haunting London for weeks past. It was one of countless similar songs published for the benefit of the proles by a sub-section of the Music Department. The words of these songs were composed without any human intervention whatever on an instrument known as versificator. [Winston] turned over toward the light and lay gazing into the glass paperweight. The inexhaustibly interesting thing was not the fragment of coral but the interior of the glass itself. There was such a depth of it, and yet it was almost as transparent as air. It was as though the surface of the glass had been the arch of the sky, enclosing a tiny world with its atmosphere complete. He had the feeling that he could get inside it, and that in fact he was inside it, along with the mahogany bed and the gateleg table and the clock and the steel engraving and the paperweight itself. The paperweight was the room he was in, and the coral was Julia's life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal. Chapter 5[ edit ] Both of them knew —  in a way, it was never out of their minds —  that what was now happening could not last long. There were times when the fact of impending death seemed as palpable as the bed they lay on, and they would cling together with a sort of despairing sensuality, like a damned soul grasping at his last morsel of pleasure when the clock is within five minutes of striking. But there were also times when they had the illusion not only of safety but of permanence. So long as they were actually in this room, they both felt, no harm could come to them. Getting there was difficult and dangerous, but the room itself was sanctuary. But she only questioned the teachings of the Party when they in some way touched upon her own life. Often she was ready to accept the official mythology, simply because the difference between truth and falsehood did not seem important to her. It was all nonsense, as they both knew. In reality there was no escape. Even the one plan that was practicable, suicide, they had no intention of carrying out. To hang on from day to day and from week to week, spinning out a present that had no future, seemed an unconquerable instinct, just as one's lungs will always draw the next breath so long as there is air available. Once when he happened in some connexion to mention the war against Eurasia, she startled him by saying casually that in her opinion the war was not happening. The rocket bombs which fell daily on London were probably fired by the Government of Oceania itself, 'just to keep people frightened'. This was an idea that had literally never occurred to him. "You're only a rebel from the waist downwards," he told her. In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird. Chapter 7[ edit ] "Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter: only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you—that would be the real betrayal." She thought it over. "They can't do that," she said finally. "It's the one thing they can't do. They can't make you believe it. They can't get inside you." "No," he said a little more hopefully, "no; that's quite true. They can't get inside you. If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them." It would not have occurred to her that an action which is ineffectual thereby becomes meaningless. If you loved someone, you loved him and when you had nothing else to give, you still gave him love. When the last of the chocolate was gone, his mother had clasped the child in her arms. It was no use, it changed nothing, it did not produce more chocolate, it did not avert the child's death or her own; but it seemed natural for her to do it. The refugee woman in the boat had also covered the little boy with her arm, which was no more use against the bullets than a sheet of paper. The terrible thing that the Party had done was to persuade you that mere impulses, mere feelings, were of no account, while at the same time robbing you of all power over the material world. When once you were in the grip of the Party, what you felt or did not feel, what you did or refrained from doing, made literally no difference. Whatever happened you vanished, and neither you nor your actions were ever heard of again. You were lifted clean out of the stream of history. And yet to the people of only two generations ago, this would not have seemed all-important, because they were not attempting to alter history. They were governed by private loyalties which they did not question. What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a tear, a word spoken to a dying man, could have value in itself. Facts, at any rate, could not be kept hidden. They could be tracked down by enquiry, they could be squeezed out of you by torture. But if the object was not to stay alive but to stay human, what difference did it ultimately make? They could not alter your feelings: for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. They could lay bare in the utmost detail everything that you had done or said or thought; but the inner heart, whose workings were mysterious even to yourself, remained impregnable. Chapter 8[ edit ] The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible. You will never have anything to sustain you, except the idea. You will get no comradeship and no encouragement. When finally you are caught, you will get no help. We never help our members. At most, when it is absolutely necessary that someone should be silenced, we are occasionally able to smuggle a razor blade into a prisoner's cell. You will have to get used to living without results and without hope. You will work for a while, you will be caught, you will confess, and then you will die. Those are the only results that you will ever see. There is no possibility that any perceptible change will happen within our own lifetime. We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing. It might be a thousand years. At present nothing is possible except to extend the area of sanity little by little. We cannot act collectively. We can only spread our knowledge outwards from individual to individual, generation after generation. In the face of the Thought Police there is no other way. Chapter 9[ edit ] All rulers in all ages have tried to impose a false view of the world upon their followers. This section has been organized based on order of occurrence. Please consult the placement of the other quotes before adding another. The object of waging a war is always to be in a better position in which to wage another war. From the moment when the machine first made its appearance it was clear to all thinking people that the need for human drudgery, and therefore to a great extent human inequality, had disappeared. If the machine were used deliberately for that end, hunger, overwork, dirt, illiteracy, and disease could be eliminated within a few generations. And in fact, without being used for any such purpose, but by a sort of automatic process—by producing wealth which it was sometimes impossible not to distribute—the machine did raise the living standards of the average human being very greatly over a period of about fifty years at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. But it was also clear that an all-round increase in wealth threatened the destruction—indeed, in some sense was the destruction—of a hierarchical society. In a world in which everyone worked short hours, had enough to eat, lived in a house with a bathroom and a refrigerator, and possessed a motor-car or even an aeroplane, the most obvious and perhaps the most important form of inequality would already have disappeared. If it once became general, wealth would confer no distinction. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance. The problem was how to keep the wheels of industry turning without increasing the real wealth of the world. Goods must be produced, but they need not be distributed. And in practice the only way of achieving this was by continuous warfare. The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. In principle the war effort is always so planned as to eat up any surplus that might exist after meeting the bare needs of the population. In practice the needs of the population are always underestimated, with the result being that there is a chronic shortage of half the necessities of life; but this is looked upon as an advantage. It is deliberate policy to keep even the favored groups somewhere near the brink of hardship, because a general state of scarcity increases the importance of small privileges and thus magnifies the distinction between one group and another. War, it will be seen, not only accomplishes the necessary destruction, but accomplishes it in a psychologically acceptable way. In principle it would be quite simple to waste the surplus labour of the world by building temples and pyramids, by digging holes and filling them up again, or even by producing vast quantities of goods and then setting fire to them. But this would provide only the economic and not the emotional basis for a hierarchical society. The empirical method of thought, on which all the scientific achievements of the past were founded, is opposed to the most fundamental principles of Ingsoc. And even technological progress only happens when its products can in some way be used for the diminution of human liberty. The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought. All rulers in all ages have tried to impose a false view of the world upon their followers. War was a sure safeguard of sanity, and so far as the ruling classes were concerned it was probably the most important of all safeguards. While wars could be won or lost, no ruling class could be completely irresponsible. But when war becomes literally continuous, it also ceases to be dangerous. When war is continuous there is no such thing as military necessity. Technical progress can cease and the most palpable facts can be denied or disregarded. Nothing is efficient in Oceania except the Thought Police. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair. In the past, the ruling groups of all countries, although they might recognize their common interest and therefore limit the destructiveness of war, did fight against one another, and the victor always plundered the vanquished. In our own day they are not fighting against one another at all. The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. The very word "war", therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war. This—although the vast majority of Party members understand it only in a shallower sense—is the inner meaning of the Party slogan: War is Peace. The book fascinated him, or more exactly it reassured him. In a sense it told him nothing that was new, but that was part of the attraction. It said what he would have said, if it had been possible for him to set his scattered thoughts in order. It was the product of a mind similar to his own, but enormously more powerful, more systematic, less fear-ridden. The best books, he perceived, are those that tell you what you know already. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim—for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives—is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal. The new aristocracy was made up for the most part of bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, trade-union organizers, publicity experts, sociologists, teachers, journalists, and professional politicians. These people, whose origins lay in the salaried middle class and the upper grades of the working class, had been shaped and brought together by the barren world of monopoly industry and centralized government. As compared with their opposite numbers in past ages, they were less avaricious, less tempted by luxury, hungrier for pure power, and, above all, more conscious of what they were doing and more intent on crushing opposition. This last difference was cardinal. By comparison with that existing today, all the tyrannies of the past were half-hearted and inefficient. The ruling groups were always infected to some extent by liberal ideas, and were content to leave loose ends everywhere, to regard only the overt act and to be uninterested in what their subjects were thinking. Even the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages was tolerant by modern standards. Part of the reason for this was that in the past no government had the power to keep its citizens under constant surveillance. The invention of print, however, made it easier to manipulate public opinion, and the film and the radio carried the process further. With the development of television, and the technical advance which made it possible to receive and transmit simultaneously on the same instrument, private life came to an end. Every citizen, or at least every citizen important enough to be worth watching, could be kept for twenty-four hours a day under the eyes of the police and in the sound of official propaganda, with all other channels of communication closed. The possibility of enforcing not only complete obedience to the will of the State, but complete uniformity of opinion on all subjects, now existed for the first time. There are only four ways in which a ruling class can fall from power. Either it is conquered from without, or it governs so inefficiently that the masses are stirred to revolt, or it allows a strong and discontented Middle Group to come into being, or it loses its own self-confidence and willingness to govern. These causes do not operate singly, and as a rule all four of them are present in some degree. A ruling class which could guard against all of them would remain in power permanently. Ultimately the determining factor is the mental attitude of the ruling class itself. What opinions the masses hold, or do not hold, is looked on as a matter of indifference. They can be granted intellectual liberty because they have no intellect. Crimestop, in short, means protective stupidity. Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records, and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it. Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. […] The process has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt. The Party intellectual knows in which direction his memories must be altered; he therefore knows that he is playing tricks with reality; but by the exercise of doublethink he also satisfies himself that reality is not violated. For the secret of rulership is to combine a belief in one's own infallibility with the power to learn from past mistakes. The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink. For it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely. In no other way could the ancient cycle be broken. If human equality is to be forever averted—if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently—then the prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity. Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad. Sanity is not statistical. Chapter 1[ edit ] "They’ve got you too!" he cried. "They got me a long time ago," said O’Brien with a mild, almost regretful irony . One question at any rate was answered. Never, for any reason on earth, could you wish for an increase of pain. Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes, no heroes, he thought over and over as he writhed on the floor, clutching uselessly at his disabled left arm. Chapter 2[ edit ] That was doublethink. He had a feeling of deadly helplessness. If he could have been certain that O'Brien was lying, it would not have seemed to matter. But it was perfectly possible that O'Brien had really forgotten the photograph. And if so, then already he would have forgotten his denial of remembering it, and forgotten the act of forgetting. How could one be sure that it was simple trickery? Perhaps that lunatic dislocation in the mind could really happen: that was the thought that defeated him. I tell you Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the party holds to be truth, is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party. "How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four." "Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane." Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. When finally you surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us: so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him. We burn all evil and all illusion out of him; we bring him over to our side, not in appearance, but genuinely, heart and soul. We make him one of ourselves before we kill him. It is intolerable to us that an erroneous thought should exist anywhere in the world, however secret and powerless it may be. Even in the instant of death we cannot permit any deviation. In the old days the heretic walked to the stake still a heretic, proclaiming his heresy, exulting in it. Even the victim of the Russian purges could carry rebellion locked up in his skull as he walked down the passage waiting for the bullet. But we make the brain perfect before we blow it out. The command of the old despotisms was Thou Shalt Not. The command of the totalitarians was Thou Shalt. Our command is Thou Art. No one whom we bring to this place ever stands out against us. Everyone is washed clean. Do not imagine that you will save yourself, Winston, however completely you surrender to us. No one who has once gone astray is ever spared. And even if we chose to let you live out the natural term of your life, still you would never escape from us. What happens to you here is for ever. Understand that in advance. We shall crush you down to the point from which there is no coming back. Things will happen to you from which you could not recover, if you lived a thousand years. Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves. Chapter 3[ edit ] The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy — everything. He knew in advance what O'Brien would say. That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but only for the good of the majority. That it sought power because men in the mass were frail cowardly creatures who could not endure liberty or face the truth, and must be ruled over and systematically deceived by others who were stronger than themselves. That the choice for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness was better. That the party was the eternal guardian of the weak, a dedicated sect doing evil that good might come, sacrificing its own happiness to that of others. The terrible thing, thought Winston, the terrible thing was that when O'Brien said this he would believe it. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. 'We are the priests of power. God is power. But at present power is only a word so far as you are concerned. It is time for you to gather some idea of what power means. The first thing you must realize is that power is collective. The individual only has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual. You know the Party slogan: "Freedom is Slavery". Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible? Slavery is freedom. Alone —  free —  the human being is always defeated. It must be so, because every human being is doomed to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he is the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal. What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing, and then simply persists in his lunacy? The earth is as old as we are, no older. How could it be older? Nothing exists except through human consciousness. Obedience is not enough. Unless he is suffering, how can you be sure that he is obeying your will and not his own? Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy — everything. We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever. We control life, Winston, at all its levels. You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable. If you are a man, Winston, you are the last man. Your kind is extinct; we are the inheritors. Do you understand that you are alone? You are outside history, you are non-existent. "Tell me," [Winston] said, "how soon will they shoot me?" "It might be a long time," said O'Brien. "You are a difficult case. But don't give up hope. Everyone is cured sooner or later. In the end we shall shoot you." Chapter 4[ edit ] How easy it all was! Only surrender, and everything else followed. It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it. Nothing had changed except your own attitude: the predestined thing happened in any case. He hardly knew why he had ever rebelled. "Julia! Julia! Julia, my love! Julia!" For a moment he had had an overwhelming hallucination of her presence. She had seemed to be not merely with him, but inside him. It was as though she had got into the texture of his skin. In that moment he had loved her far more than he had ever done when they were together and free. Also he knew that somewhere or other she was still alive and needed his help. He lay back on the bed and tried to compose himself. What had he done? How many years had he added to his servitude by that moment of weakness? For the first time he perceived that if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself. You must know all the while that it is there, but until it is needed you must never let it emerge into your consciousness in any shape that could be given a name. From now onwards he must not only think right; he must feel right, dream right. And all the while he must keep his hatred locked up inside him like a ball of matter which was part of himself and yet unconnected with the rest of him, a kind of cyst. To die hating them, that was freedom. Chapter 5[ edit ] "You asked me once," said O'Brien, "what was in Room 101 . I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world." "By itself," he said, "pain is not always enough. There are occasions when a human being will stand out against pain, even to the point of death. But for everyone there is something unendurable —  something that cannot be contemplated. Courage and cowardice are not involved. If you are falling from a height it is not cowardly to clutch at a rope. If you have come up from deep water it is not cowardly to fill your lungs with air. It is merely an instinct which cannot be destroyed. It is the same with the rats. For you, they are unendurable. They are a form of pressure that you cannot withstand, even if you wished to. You will do what is required of you." Chapter 6[ edit ] The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc , but to make all other modes of thought impossible. "They can't get inside you," she had said. But they could get inside you. "What happens to you here is forever," O'Brien had said. That was a true word. There were things, your own acts, from which you could never recover. Something was killed in your breast: burnt out, cauterized out. "In that moment you really do mean it" But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. Appendix[ edit ] The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc , but to make all other modes of thought impossible. George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four Quotes about Nineteen Eighty-Four[ edit ] Newspeak was supposed to have become general by 2050, and yet it appears that it did not last that long, let alone triumph, that the ancient humanistic ways of thinking inherent in standard English have persisted, survived, and ultimately prevailed, and that perhaps the social and moral order it speaks for has even, somehow, been restored. ~ Thomas Pynchon Alphabetized by author Found the P.M. absorbed in George Orwell's book, 1984. ‘Have you read it, Charles? Oh, you must. I'm reading it for a second time. It is a very remarkable book.’ Charles Wilson (Lord Moran) recounting a conversation with Winston Churchill in his diary for 19 February 1953, in Lord Moran, Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival 1940-1965 (Sphere, 1968), p. 423. 1984 has taught millions to look at the conflict between East and West in terms of black and white, and it has shown them a monster Bogy and a monster Scapegoat for all the ills that plague mankind... It would be dangerous to blind ourselves to the fact that millions of people in the West may be inclined, in their anguish and fear, to flee from their own responsibility for mankind's destiny and to vent their anger and despair on the giant Bogy-cum-Scapegoat which Orwell's 1984 has done so much to lay before their eyes. Isaac Deutscher , in "1984 —The Mysticism of Cruelty" in Heretics and Renegades (1955) "Have you read this book? You must read it, sir. Then you will known why we must drop the atom bomb on the Bolshies!" With these words a blind, miserable news-vendor recommended to me 1984 in New York, a few weeks before Orwell's death. Poor Orwell, could he ever imagine that his own book would become so prominent an item in the programme of Hate week? Isaac Deutscher, in "1984 —The Mysticism of Cruelty" in Heretics and Renegades (1955) In North Korea , every person is property and is owned by a small and mad family with hereditary power. Every minute of every day, as far as regimentation can assure the fact, is spent in absolute subjection and serfdom. The private life has been entirely abolished. One tries to avoid cliché, and I did my best on a visit to this terrifying country in the year 2000, but George Orwell 's 1984 was published at about the time that Kim Il-sung set up his system, and it really is as if he got hold of an early copy of the novel and used it as a blueprint.
i don't know
William Lyon Mackenzie King, more famously known as Bill King was Prime Minister of which country during World War II ?
William Lyon Mackenzie King » J.J.'s Complete Guide to Canada Full name: William Lyon Mackenzie King Born: December 17, 1874, Kitchener, Ontario Died: July 22, 1950, Kingsmere, Quebec Served (first time): December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926 (4 years) Served (second time): September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930 (3 years) Served (third time): October 23, 1935 – November 15, 1948 (13 years) Party: Liberal Often ranked by historians as the single greatest prime minister in Canadian history, Mackenzie King was nevertheless an uncharismatic, unassuming man, today known as much for his bizarre superstitious beliefs as his strong leadership of Canada during World War II. A prominent Ontario lawyer, King was recruited to work as a bureaucrat in the new Canadian Department of Labour, before running for Parliament and becoming full-on Minister of Labour under Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919). When Laurier died in 1919, King was elected to replace him as Liberal leader, a post he would hold for an amazing 29 years. King was elected prime minister on three separate non-consecutive occasions. His first two terms (1921-1926, 1926-1930) were not terribly eventful, and are remembered primarily for King’s negotiations with London that helped secure the 1931 Statute of Westminister, which granted full political and foreign policy independence to Britain’s self-governing dominions. Ironically, he was briefly fired by Canada’s British-appointed governor general in 1926 (see Arthur Meighen ), though was easily re-elected back to office on a campaign opposing British “meddling” in Canadian affairs. Appearing cold and indifferent to the nation’s suffering during the Great Depression, however, he then lost re-election to R.B. Bennett (1870-1947) in 1930, and was out of power for five years. King’s third stint as PM overlapped with World War II (1939-1945). Though King had infamously described Hitler as harmless and peaceful in 1937, once Britain declared war in 1939 he was steadfast in opposition to the Nazi regime. A close friend of both President Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945) and Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965), King often served as an intermediary between the two men, and began the process of integrating Canada and the United States into a common North American defence structure. Over a million Canadians would serve in the Allied Forces, but King famously avoided imposing a national draft until the war’s final days, aware of how unpopular the conflict was in Quebec. After the war, King presided over the beginnings of a post-war economic boom born from an increase in wartime manufacturing and spending, before stepping down in favor of Louis St. Laurent (1882-1973). He died a year later.
Canada
Which moon of the planet Jupiter shares its name with the alias of the character Rosalind when she disguises herself as a man in Shakespeare's As You like It?
1000+ images about Canadian Prime Ministers on Pinterest | Prime minister, Canada and First prime minister Forward Hon. Sir Robert Borden....9th and 10th Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 1917 under the Conservative Party and 1917 to 1920 under Unionist Party......First World War; Military Service Act; Conscription Crisis 1917; Creation of Union gov't; Creation of National Research Council; Introduced Income Tax; Winnipeg General Strike; Nickle Resolution; Women's Suffrage; Granted a seat at Paris Peace Conference, signs the Treaty of Versailles and joins League of Nations. See More
i don't know
Taking place in 1513, the Battle of Flodden Field took place in which English county?
Battle of Flodden Field 1513. Photo: Bamburgh Castle photographed by David Simpson Photo: Hadrian's Wall photographed by David Simpson The Battle of Flodden Field THE `AULD ALLIANCE' The Battle of Flodden Field, was undoubtedly the most famous battle ever fought on Northumbrian soil. It took place eight miles north west of Wooler near the village of Branxton on the 9th September 1513 during the reign of Henry VIII. In 1513 England was at war with France and it was the Queen of that country who persuaded King James IV of Scotland to renew the `auld alliance' and assist the French, by invading northern England. Money and arms were sent to Scotland from France in the following months, enabling King James to build up an army for a large scale invasion of England. In August 1513 the first minor battle took place on Milfield Plain near Wooler , in which an army of Scots under Lord Home, were heavily defeated. The English knew however, that this was only a `warm up' for a greater battle which would inevitably follow. KING JAMES INVADES On the 22nd August King James of Scotland crossed the River Tweed at Coldstream entering England with an army of between 60,000 to 100,000 men who burned the fortress of Norham on Tweed and the Tillside castles of Ford and Etal. The reason King James gave for the invasion, was revenge for the murder of Robert Kerr, a Warden of the Scottish East March who had been killed in a fray by a Northumbrian called John `the Bastard' Heron in 1508. King James made Ford Castle, (a Northumbrian stronghold of the Heron family ), his battle headquarters, where only the lady of the house Eklizabeth Heron was present. For a number of days the king remained at Ford while his men rested. During this time the king is said to have been fully occupied by the amorous attentions of Lady Heron. Whatever the King's battle intentions may have been at Ford, his actions so far had amounted to little more than a large scale border raid. In fact many of his men had already returned home to Scotland with booty of English goods and livestock. THE ENGLISH PREPARE FOR WAR Meanwhile, the English were busy preparing for battle further to the south. Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, who had been left in charge of the defence of England, while Henry VIII was away fighting in France mustered forces in London and marched north to Pontefact, where he held a Council of War. Here he was joined by the fighting men of Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire. From here Surrey marched on to Durham where he prayed before the shrine of St Cuthbert in the Cathedral and collected the sacred banner of the saint, which was always good for morale in time of war. Surrey then continued north to Newcastle , where he was joined by the men of Northumberland and Durham, including the retainers of Percy, Lord Dacre, the Bishop of Durham and of William Bulmer of Brancepeth. Henry Percy, `the Magnificent' Fifth Earl of Northumberland, (a descendant of Hotspur), did not take part in the battle, since he was away in France helping the king with the siege of Therouenne and Tournay, but the Earl's brothers, Lionel and William Percy did join up with Surrey's men. Other additions to the English army included a crack regiment of archers under Sir Edward Stanley and the men of the Lord Admiral, Thomas Howard, who was Surrey's eldest son. He in turn was supported by his younger brother Edmund. Marching north Surrey's men stopped first at Alnwick and then continued north to Wooler , where they began to prepare for battle. A CAMP ON FLODDEN HILL By this time King James had moved from his headquarters at Ford Castle and had crossed to the western side of the River Till where he set up camp on the top of Flodden Hill. To here the English sent a messenger challenging the Scots to meet them in battle on Milfield Plain north of Wooler , but the Scots refused as they were not willing to vacate their advantageous lofty position for the flat levels of Milfield. For the time being at least, they remained where they were. By this stage the English and Scottish forces were roughly equal, with around 30,000 men each. THE DAY OF THE BATTLE On the following drizzly morning of Friday 9th September, 1513 the English began assembled for battle and in two parties made their way north, along the eastern flank of the River Till . The rearguard crossed the river by a ford at Heaton Castle (now gone), the vanguard crossed further north at Twizell Bridge. All this took place in full view of King James. Sir Walter Scott sets the scene; From Flodden ridge, The Scots beheld the English host Leave Barmoor Wood, their evening post And headful watched them as they crossed The Till by Twizell Bridge. High sight it is, and haughty, while They dive into the deep defile; Beneath the cavern'd cliff they fall, Beneath the castle's airy wall. By rock, by oak, by Hawthorn tree, Troop after troop are disappearing; Troop after troop their banners rearing Upon the eastern bank you see. Still pouring down the rocky glen, Where flows the sullen Till, And rising from the dim-wood glen, Standards on standards, men on men, In slow procession still, And sweeping o'er the Gothic arch, And pressing on in ceaseless march, To gain the opposing hill. Although king James could clearly see the movements of the English as they crossed the River Till , for some reason he decided against attacking them at this early stage, when the enemy was at its most vulnerable. Instead James ordered the burning of camp refuse, creating a dense wall of smoke, which temporarily blocked out the English view of his movements. When the smoke finally cleared the entire Scottish army had moved their position northward from Flodden Hill to the adjacent Branxton Hill. It is worth noting that the Battle of Flodden, was in fact known for many centuries as the `Battle of Branxton'. It was an important move by James, since the English could well have planned to occupy Branxton Hill as Sir Walter Scott suggests in the poem, but now all that lay between them and he Scots was flatter land. This meant that when the English attacked they would have to fight their way up hill, the Scots had the advantage of being able to charge down the slope against their enemy. Before the English could contemplate battle and get anywhere near the Scots they had to cross one major obstacle, a large marshy area formed by the Pallinsburn, a tributary of the River Till . James thought this would hold the English up and tire them out but he was mistaken, the English had men with knowledge of the local countryside and the mossy area was quickly negotiated by means of the Branxton Bridge, a feature unknown to King James. The English began to assemble in a field at the foot of Branxton Hill with the awesome sight of the Scots looking down upon them. THE BATTLE COMMENCES : A BORDER FRAY The time was four o' clock in the afternoon, when the Scots opened fire on the English, who looked so vulnerable down below. The battle commenced. Almost immediately the inexperience of the Scottish gunmen became apparent. Unable to handle their cumbersome artillery the Scots were missing their targets while the English fired back with much greater precission, until gradually the Scottish guns and gunmen, were blown to pieces. James was quick to react, he noticed a weakness in the right wing of the English army, a section of mainly Lancashire and Cheshire men under Edmund Howard, whose men looked rather disorganised, hungry and a long way from home. Edmund's men were supposed to have been backed up by a reserve of English borderers under Lord Dacre, but these men seemed to have fled the battle scene. James ordered the Scottish left wing, composed mainly of Scottish borderers, under the leadership of Lord Home , to attack this English `Achilles Heal'. Home's men gladly obliged and went charging down the hill towards the English right wing, causing most of Edmund's men to flee. The brave who remained were quickly slaughtrered. Fortunately for the English, Lord Dacre and his English borderers reappeared on the scene, rescued Edmund and engaged themselves in a battle with their Scottish counterparts. John Heron and his men gave added support. So the opening stages of the battle resembled a kind of grand border fray, with many of the familiar border reiving families, involved in the action. Meanwhile the remainder of the English right wing, under the leadership of Surrey's eldest son, the Lord Admiral, now came under attack from the Scottish section, led by Lords Crawford and Errol, the Battle was now well under way. KING JAMES ATTACKS King James excited by the scene before him was impatient to get involved with the action. In a moment of irrational impulse he wildly led his Scottish centre charging down the hill towards the English centre commanded by the Earl of Surrey. The sight of King James and his men must have struck terror in the English hearts, but they stood their ground and greeted the charge with an onslaught of arrows. At the base of the hill the Scottish charge was considerably slowed down and almost brought to a halt by an unexpected ridge and boggy area at the foot of the hill. This was a stroke of luck for the English, for it meant that the Scottish charge had lost is momentum. A fierce battle now began at the base of the hill. Now only the Scottish right wing and English left wings were not engaged in battle. This time the English took the initiative with Edward Stanley marching his men up Branxton Hill towards the Scots at the top. Here the Scots army was comprised of fierce looking highland clansmen, under the leadership of the Earls Lennox and Argyle, but Stanley's skilled fighting men were too much for the highlander's. Some fled for their lives, while others including the chiefs of the Campbells and the McCleans, who remained, were slain. Defeat was occuring all around for the unfortunate Scots, so the king desperately began charging towards the English banners held high where the English leaders were located. His actions proved fatal, he was felled from his horse almost unrecognised by his enemies. The following morning he was to become one of ten thousand Scottish victims who lay dead on the battle field. THE ATTITUDE OF THE BORDERERS Amidst all this slaughter, it is interesting to note the attitudes of the Border Reiver factions of the English and Scottish armies, who showed their true colours, as the fight progressed. Mosstroopers and reivers from both nations, most notably from the dales of Tyne and Teviot, gathered together under the leadership of Lord Home and began stripping the slain of their possessions and plundering the baggage of both armies as the night of fighting continued. National pride and identity were seemingly a low priority of the Borderers in those days gone by. A VICTORY FOR THE ENGLISH The Battle of Flodden was a decisive victory for the English. For the Scots it had been a disaster, with many of the most important members of Scottish society killed or slain in the conflict. The Scottish dead included twelve earls, fifteen lords, many clan chiefs an archbishop and above all King James himself. It is said that every great family in Scotland mourned the loss of someone at the Battle of Flodden. The dead were remembered in the famous Scottish pipe tune The Flowers of the Forest; We'll here nae mair lilting at our ewe milking, Women and bairns are heartless and wae, Sighing and moaning on a ilka green loaning, The flowers of the forest are a wede away. Today a large granite cross marks the site of the Battle of Flodden. It is touchingly inscribed; TO THE BRAVE OF BOTH NATIONS  
Northumberland
Which American author wrote the 1985 book The Cider House Rules?
Battle of Flodden Battle of Flodden The defeat in 1513 that crushed Scotland Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 The previous battle in the British Battles series is the Battle of Agincourt The next battle in the British Battles series is the Spanish Armada Battle: Flodden   War: Anglo-Scottish Wars Date of the Battle of Flodden: 9th September 1513 Place of the Battle of Flodden: The South Bank of the River Tweed on the border between Scotland and England. King James IV of Scotland, the commander of the Scottish army at the Battle of Flodden in 1513; his death at the battle, with many of his nobles and soldiers, plunged Scotland into crisis for many years Combatants at the Battle of Flodden:  An invading Scottish army against an English army. Generals at the Battle of Flodden:  King James IV commanded the Scottish Army and the Earl of Surrey commanded the English Army. Size of the armies at the Battle of Flodden:  The 2 armies were much the same size at 20,000 to 30,000 men, the English army larger than the Scottish. Winner of the Battle of Flodden:  The Scottish were overwhelmingly defeated by the English, with the death of King James IV and many of his accompanying Scottish nobles and citizens. Uniforms, arms and equipment at the Battle of Flodden: The 16th Century saw the transition across Europe from Medieval warfare with its feudal formations to armies with a more modern form, a change that was quicker on the mainland of Europe where new forms of battlefield tactic were being introduced by the Swiss, Spanish and the Swedes. Both sides at Flodden used cannon on the battlefield although their size and weight made them difficult to manoeuvre.  It is said that the 30 Scottish guns, 17 of them large required 400 oxen and 28 horses to draw them and the ammunition.  Loading was slow, propellant was unreliable and the solid projectiles caused little damage to troop formations.  Cannon was at its most useful against town and castle walls. English archers in battle with the longbow in the Middle Ages: Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 The Scottish cannon was considered of better quality than the English.  The Scottish cannon master Robert Borthwick cast his guns and oversaw their use on the battlefield.  Seven of his guns were known as the ‘Seven Sisters of Borthwick’.   At Flodden the English guns were more numerous and better served than the Scottish.  While the Scottish cannon were cast the English were made using the outdated system of hoops and bars. Robert White described the Scots army in the Cambridge History of the Renaissance:  “The principal leaders and men at arms were mounted on able horses; the Border prickers rode those of less size, but remarkably active.  Those wore mail, chiefly of plate, from head to heel;  that of the higher ranks being wrought and polished with great elegance, while the Borderers had armour of a very light description.  All the others were on foot, and the burgesses of the towns wore what was called white armour, consisting of steel cap, gorget and mail brightly burnished, fitting gracefully to the body, and covering limbs and hands.  The yeomen or peasantry had the sallat or iron cap, the hauberk or place jack, formed of thin flat pieces of iron quilted below leather or linen, which covered the legs and arms, and they had gloves likewise.  The Highlanders were not so well defended by armour, though the chiefs were partly armed like their southern brethren, retaining, however, the eagle’s feather in the bonnet, and wearing, like their followers, the tartan and the belted plaid.  Almost every soldier had a large shield or target for defence, and wore the white cross of Saint Andrew, either on his breast or some other prominent place.  The offensive arms were the spear five yards in length, the long pike, the mace or mallet, two-handed and other swords, the dagger, the knife, the bow and sheaf of arrows; while the Danish axe, with a broad flat spike on the opposite side to the edge, was peculiar to the Islemen, and the studded targe to the Highlanders.” Scots battle axe and halberd blades: Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 James IV met the feudal army of Scotland on the Burgh Muir at Edinburgh.  He planted his Royal Standard in the Hare Stone by the highway leading to Braid. The core of the army was the body of Scottish nobility most of whom attended with their sons and retainers except, by custom the oldest sons who remained at home to continue the family line in case of disaster; an appropriate precaution in the case of Flodden. The rest of the army was made up of those men liable for military service; that is every small or large landowner with his family and retainers. A Scottish Act of Parliament passed in 1491 required every man to have provisions for 40 days.  The Act stated that every possessor of £10 worth of land or more “shall have a helmet or salade, gorget or pisane, and mail for the limbs, a sword, spear and dagger.” “All other yeomen of the realm, betwixt sextie and sextene, shall have sufficient bowes and sheaves, sword, buckler, knife, speare, or any gude axe instead of bow.” “Every man must be accoutered in white harness or good jacks, with gloves of plate, and well-horsed “correspondent to his lands and goods.” The best sword blades and armour were made by Andrea de Ferrara the renowned Scottish armourer.  A Ferrara blade was required to bend double and spring back into true and continued to be much sought after by Scottish officers into the 19th Century. The arrival of two French dignitaries La Motte and D’Aussi brought a significant change in the Scottish army as they introduced the long pike used to such devastating effect by the Swiss Cantoniers. This was an unfortunate move as there was insufficient time for the Scottish soldiers to become sufficiently adept with this cumbrous weapon (the pike was 5 yards long) and to learn to act in concert as the long pike required to be effective. The Scottish army possessed little in the way of cavalry other than the mounted nobles. A strong Highland contingent joined King James IV’s army.  They remained armed in their traditional manner with swords, daggers and target shields or simply with bill hooks for the poorer men. The dignitaries in the Scottish army wore good suits of armour in battle. The English army had its own train of artillery which in the event did better service than its more technically advanced Scottish equivalent. As with the Scots the English army had few mounted men other than Lord Dacre’s body of Northern ‘Prickers’ or light horsemen. A high proportion of the English soldiers carried and were adept in the use of the longbow, Henry VIII’s favourite weapon.  The longbow delivered a volley of arrows up to 600 yards or aimed shots at 200 yards.  The longbow was a decisive weapon at Flodden, as the Scottish army did not have sufficient bowmen to counter the English archers. The arms of Lord Dacre of Gilsland: Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 Robert White described the armaments of the English army:  “.. Again, the nobility, knights, and men at arms were on horseback, each accompanied by attendants according to his rank.  They wore also plate armour from head to foot, some sorts of which, belonging to superior men, were brightly polished and occasionally inlaid with silver or gold, while their steeds were richly caparisoned with housings embroidered with the devices of their respective owners. “Among the spearmen and billmen, who were on foot, plate mail had given way to armour, similar to that mentioned previously in the Scottish army, being composed of small steel or iron plates, of a square form, overlapping each other, and quilted either upon or within linen or leather.  Such a covering was flexible, yielding to every turn of the body, and kept the wearer often safe from the thrust of a spear or the stroke of a sword. Swiss soldiers of the period carrying the 5 yard pike, that the French introduced into the Scots army for the invasion of England in 1513 and that proved so inappropriate at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 “Many of the archers wore the brigantine or jack, like the spearmen or billmen, while others, as in the preceding reign, were clad in a shirt of chain mail with very wide sleeves, and over this a small vest of red cloth laced in front, with hose on the legs and braces on the left arm.  “The horsemen had the mace or battle axe in addition to the lance, the sword and the dagger.  The spearman, whose name indicated the weapon he bore, had also the sword and dagger, and indeed the two latter were girded on almost every soldier in the army.  The two-handed sword was not in much request; but of the several mentioned, the most effective was the large bill – a strong blade with an edge from eighteen to twenty-four inches long, mounted on a handle of sufficient length, and wielded by a powerful and able-bodied peasantry of England. “The archer, again, with his bow cased in coarse cloth, and a sheaf of arrows, beside the dagger and sword, on the hilt of which was usually a small buckler, had often a leaden moll which he bore on his back, and as the bow was useless in close combat, such a hammer was often fatal as the great bill.   Swiss soldiers of the period carrying the 5 yard pike, that the French introduced into the Scots army for the invasion of England in 1513 and that proved so inappropriate at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 “According to the fashion of the previous reign, white was the prevailing hue of the whole army, save that of the mariners brought by the admiral, and all wore the red cross of St George except a dignitary of the church or an officer at arms.” Background to the Battle of Flodden: James IV came to the throne of Scotland in 1488 at the age of 15 following a sharp civil war with his father James III.  James IV’s followers defeated his father at the Battle of Sauchieburn and killed him contrary to the son’s specific instructions.  James IV is reputed to have born the burden of this regicide badly throughout the rest of his life wearing an iron chain around his waist with an additional ring added each year as penance and frequently going into retreat. Otherwise, James IV was an effective and popular King of Scotland. In 1502 James IV married Margaret Tudor daughter of Henry VII King of England.  The marriage assisted in keeping the peace between the two countries although James IV made the mistake of supporting the pretender Perkin Warbeck in his claim to the English throne as one of the Princes in the Tower against Henry VII. The Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 by Sir Edward Burne-Jones James IV stood by the ‘Auld Alliance’ between Scotland and France but declined to be drawn into a war with England for much of his reign. In 1509, King Henry VII of England died and was succeeded by the bombastic and difficult Henry VIII.  Initially James IV managed to avoid any substantial problem with the new King of England although there were minor disputes: Henry VIII refused to deliver the jewels Henry VII bequeathed to his daughter Margaret and English ships attacked and killed Sir Andrew Barton one of James IV’s favoured ship captains on the pretext that he was a pirate. Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII, sister of King Henry VIII, Queen of Scotland and wife of King James IV. In 1513 Margaret watched James leave for the war from a tower of Linlithgow Palace, now called Margaret’s Bower: Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 In 1511, King Henry VIII joined the Holy League against France with the Pope, Emperor Maximillian, Spain and Venice.  England would soon be at war alongside these states precipitating a crisis in relations with Scotland. In 1512, King James IV formally renewed the ‘Auld Alliance’ between Scotland and France.  If England attacked France Scotland would be required to fight alongside France. In early 1513, James IV formally offered peace to Henry VIII provided he did not attack France.  This proposal was rejected by Henry. In the meantime, ties between France and Scotland were strengthened.  A French envoy La Motte came to the Scottish court bringing wine, gun powder and other munitions, together with some English ships he captured on his journey. The French Queen, Anne of Brittany sent James IV 14,000 crowns and a ring of gold and turquoise with a letter couched as if to a lover, imploring James IV to be her ‘true knight’ and to invade England if England attacked France if only up to 3 feet in distance. Queen Margaret beseeched King James not to invade England and asked “Why he preferred the Queen of France to her his wife, the mother of his children, whom he had wedded in her girlhood.” Map of the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513: map by John Fawkes Account of the Battle of Flodden: The concerns of the French court were justified, as, in June 1513, King Henry VIII with a large army invaded France.  In compliance with his treaty obligations King James IV prepared to invade England. James IV’s Queen and his nobles were deeply worried and urged James not to take such a drastic step. King Henry VIII of England: portrait by Hans Holbein: Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 In a final attempt to avoid war with England, James IV, on 26th July 1513 sent his Lyon King of Arms to Henry VIII requiring him to withdraw from France.  Henry VIII sent back a bombastic and dismissive reply which did not reach King James before the Battle of Flodden. To his worried nobles King James said that Henry was gone to France with all England’s soldiers leaving no one behind capable of defending the country. King Henry was, throughout, fully aware that the Scots were likely to invade England.  Before leaving for France, Henry said to the Earl of Surrey, when appointing him Lord Lieutenant of the North ‘My Lord, I trust not the Scots, therefore I pray you be not negligent.’  Surrey was sixty nine, and showed himself far from negligent (Surrey was the son of the Duke of Norfolk, who had lost his dukedom by fighting for Richard III against Henry VII at Bosworth Field, in 1485). King James pressed ahead with plans to invade England in accordance with his treaty obligations to France, summoning all Scots liable for military service to gather at Edinburgh.  Queen Margaret and many of the nobles were dismayed at the prospect of what was seen as an unnecessary war with England. The Battle of Flodden: picture by George Goodwin: Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 Immediately before King James left his palace for the invasion of England an incident occurred in St Catherine’s Aisle of the Chapel Royal at Linlithgow Palace.  It was described by a contemporary account: “There entered by a door a man of strange and solemn aspect, clad in a blue weed, belted with a piece of linen.  The man approached King James and said ‘Sir King.  My mother has sent me to thee, desiring thee not to pass at this time where thou art purposed, for if thou dost, thou wilt not fare well in thy journey, nor any who pass with thee…. “ The man vanished through the hands of the attendants who tried to stop him.  The incident was thought to be a device by Queen Margaret.  It had no effect on the King. Margaret withdrew to a tower in Linlithgow Palace to watch King James leave for Edinburgh and the invasion of England.  The tower is known as Queen Margaret’s Bower.  This was the last time the Queen saw her husband. James’ intention was a limited attack to compel Henry to give up the invasion of France and return to England.  It may be that James expected the English would be unable to raise an army sufficient to resist his and that there would be little opposition to his limited operation. James was a popular king and his call to arms was enthusiastically received in all quarters of Scotland.  The Scottish Army began to gather at Edinburgh in August 1513. The place of assembly was the Burgh Muir or Borough Moor. It is said that the army the King gathered was the largest and best equipped army ever to leave Scotland for an invasion of England. “The Standard of the Crafts within the Burgh” of Edinburgh, known colloquially as “The Blue Blanket”, carried in war by the tradesmen of Edinburgh when led by their King: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 The tradesmen of Edinburgh possessed a banner, “The Standard of the Crafts within the Burgh”, known informally as ‘The Blue Blanket’, said to have been hand embroidered by the then Queen, and awarded by King James III for assisting his escape from Edinburgh Castle. The Blue Blanket was displayed when an audience was sought with the King or when the tradesmen of Edinburgh followed their King to war.  In August 1513 Provost Alexander Lauder of Blyth led out the burgesses of Edinburgh to join their King’s army on the Burgh Muir.  Few would return. As the Scottish cannon were being brought during the night to the assembly point a strange wailing voice was heard at the City Cross, known as the ‘Summons of Platcock’ giving the list of nobles who would not return from the campaign.  It proved prescient.  All named died but one who threw down a coin as a plea for release from the list. “The Standard of the Crafts within the Burgh” of Edinburgh, known colloquially as “The Blue Blanket”, carried in war by the tradesmen of Edinburgh, when led by their King: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 In early August 1513, The English Borderers carried out a raid into Scotland.  Choosing not to wait for his King, Alexander, Lord Home who held the posts of Warden of the Marches and Chamberlain of Scotland gathered a force of some 3,000 Borders horsemen and carried out a retaliatory raid into England.  After a successful foray Home was returning with substantial booty when, on 13th August 1513 he was ambushed at Milfield by Sir William Bulmer, whose archers killed some 400 Scots, took 200 prisoners and put the rest to flight.  The English recovered all the booty taken by Home’s men and Home’s foray was labeled by the Scots the ‘Ill Raid’. A French contingent commanded by the Comte D’Aussi provided training to the Scottish soldiers in the weapon being widely adopted in Europe following its successful use by the Swiss, the long 5 yard pike. Contingents joined James IV’s army from the Borders, the Lowlands, the Highlands and the Isles.  Several clans turned out to fight; Macleods, Mackenzies, Macleans and Campbells.  Estimates for the size of the army that left Edinburgh range between 30,000 and 40,000 men.  The army was quickly affected by desertion, particularly once there had been an opportunity to gather loot. On 22nd August 1513, the Scots army crossed the River Tweed into England.  Probably James’ eventual aim was to march on Newcastle.  On the south bank of the Tweed the Scots captured Wark Castle and marched east down the Tweed to besiege Norham Castle, which surrendered after 6 days. James resumed his march to the south east capturing the castles of Etal and Ford on the east bank of the River Till. Ford Castle on the River Till in Northumbria, captured by King James IV and burnt before the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 Ford Castle belonged to Sir William Heron, held hostage by James for the surrender of his natural brother ‘The Bastard John Heron’, considered responsible for the murder of one of James’ officials, Sir Robert Ker, the Laird of Cessford and Warden of the Scottish Middle March. A modern representation by Ruth O’Leary of the Sacred Banner of St Cuthbert. The original was destroyed in the Reformation: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 Sir William’s wife, Lady Elizabeth Heron surrendered Ford Castle to the Scots and entered into an agreement with the Scots King that if the English would release Lord Johnstone and Alexander Hume, the Scots would not destroy Ford Castle (Lady Heron was released to enable her to seek these terms from the Earl of Surrey.  Surrey agreed to the terms, but James destroyed Ford Castle nevertheless). In the meantime, Surrey was assembling the English forces.  He rode north through London with his 500 tenants and followers on 22nd July 1513 reaching Pontefract, in Yorkshire on 1st August.  Surrey dispatched Sir William Bulmer and Lord Dacre to the border area with their followers, to watch for the Scots incursion and wrote to the noblemen and gentlemen of England requiring them to be prepared to attend the army with their retinues. Surrey received the news that King James had crossed the border into England on 22nd August 1513 three days later on 25th August.  On that day, Surrey wrote to all the northern gentlemen requiring them to join his army with their retinues at Newcastle on Thursday 1st September 1513. On 30th August 1513, Surrey passed through Durham where he heard mass and received from the prior of the convent the sacred banner of St Cuthbert, considered to be a sure pledge of victory having been carried at several previous English victories over the Scots.  The banner was carried by Sir John Forster. Thomas Howard Earl of Surrey commander of the English army at the Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513; his sons Edmund and Thomas commanded the first two divisions of the English army at the battle. Surrey was made Duke of Norfolk by King Henry VIII after the battle Surrey was joined by his son, Sir Edmund Howard, Thomas, Lord Dacre of Gilsland with his force of border light horsemen known as ‘Prickers’, Sir William Bulmer of Burnspeth Castle fresh from his route of Lord Home, Sir Marmaduke Constable and other northern noblemen. In Surrey’s army was John Winchcombe, known as ‘Jack of Newbury’ with 100 of his employees from his cloth business. A strong contingent joined from the North-West of England, primarily Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumberland, largely composed of longbow men. On the next day, Surrey marched north, in such terrible weather that he feared for the safety of his son Thomas Howard, the Lord Admiral, then at sea and due to bring him 5,000 officers and men from the fleet. Surrey conferred with Dacre, Bulmer, Sir Marmaduke Constable and others as to his future course of action, and resolved to take the field on 4th September 1513.  Troops were pouring in to the army from all over the North West and North East of England to an extent that the army was unable to linger in Newcastle due to the lack of sufficient accommodation and advanced to Alnwick on Saturday 3rd September, where his son, the Lord Admiral landed with a force of 5,000 experienced sea fighters. On that day, Surrey sent a message to King James challenging him to remain where he was in the area of Ford Castle and to meet the English army in battle the following Friday, 9th September 1513.  At the same time his son, Thomas Howard sent an insulting message to King James saying:  “As Lord High Admiral of England, I have come to justify the death of that pirate Sir Andrew Barton, of which your majesty has so often complained, and I will be in the vanguard of the English army; I expect no quarter and will give none, other than to your majesty, should you be delivered into my hands.” King James ignored the letter from Howard, but answered Surrey saying:  “to meet the English in battle is so much my wish, that had your message found me at Edinburgh, I should have relinquished all other business to meet you in the field.” Surrey took this to mean that the Scots army would remain at Ford and meet him on the Friday on the east side of the River Till.  In fact, James’ army broke camp crossed the Till and took up a strong position along the crest of Flodden Hill, facing south with a marsh at one end of the hill and the Cheviot Hills at the other end. Surrey took this as a breach of the undertaking given in James’ letter.  The move presented him with the problem of how to get at the Scots without undertaking a hazardous assault uphill. Many of the Scots nobles considered that the requirements of the treaty with France were complied with by invading England and that the Scots army should now withdraw across the border.  They met in council, presided over by Lord Lindsay of the Byres. By this time, the Scots army was being fast reduced by desertion as soldiers left to take their booty home.  Information was coming in as to the increasing strength of the English army.  In addition, the Scots leaders were starkly aware of the implications for their country of defeat of an army comprising most of the nobility and prominent men of Scotland, as against a victory over an English army singularly lacking important men, most of whom were with King Henry VIII in France.  There was a looming sense of foreboding in the Scottish ranks. Following this council, Lindsay presented the view of the Scottish nobles that the army should return to Scotland.  King James was transported with rage and said he would fight the English alone if necessary.  He also said that if he survived the battle he would have Lindsay hanged over his own castle gate. The elderly Earl of Angus, known as ‘Bell the Cat’ accused the Frenchman, La Motte, of encouraging the King in his rash conduct.  The King replied “Angus, if you are afraid, go home.” Angus was deeply offended and left the army.  However Angus’ sons, the Master of Angus and Sir William Douglas remained with 200 Douglas gentlemen and vassals.  Both sons were killed in the battle and the Earl withdrew to a monastery, dying the following year. The death of Sir Andrew Barton at sea in 1511; one of the grievances King James held against the English. Thomas Howard, the Lord Admiral of England, was responsible for defeat and death of Barton: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 Surrey dispatched his challenge to King James from the area of Wooler, some 6 miles up the River Till from the Scots encampment.  Surrey then advanced his army to within a few miles of the Scots position on Flodden Hill, from where he could see that there was no prospect of a successful assault. Surrey sent James a further letter, complaining that his adoption of such a strong position after Surrey’s initial challenge was against the usage of war and that the Scots should come down off the hill to give battle.  James refused even to receive the letter, presumably after being told its content. The types of cannon made in the 16th Century: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 Surrey’s army was now suffering badly from shortage of provisions.  There had been little time to assemble supplies and reliance was placed on foraging.  But the presence of a large Scots army ensured that there was little local produce left for the English army.  It is said that, on 9th September 1513 the only commodity available for the English troops was water. Surrey’s army was joined by the Bastard John Herron, condemned as an outlaw by the Scots for the murder of the Laird of Cessford.   Queen Catharine of Aragon, the wife of Henry VIII and Regent in his absence annulled the declaration of outlawry enabling Heron to hurry north and assist Surrey.  The Heron family owned Ford Castle and Heron knew the area well from years of banditry along the Border. With Heron’s advice Surrey devised a plan to march around the Scottish position on Flodden Hill by way of the east bank of the Till, make as if to invade Scotland, cross the Till near its junction with the Tweed and appear in the rear of the Flodden Hill position.  It was to be hoped that the Scots would thereby be lured down from the high ground. The English army crossed to the east bank of the River Till on Thursday 8th September 1513 and marched north along the river to a position opposite the Scots camp on Flodden Hill, where they pitched camp. While the English were in the area of Ford Castle, the Lord Admiral climbed the hills to the east of the castle and confirmed the presence of the Scots army along the crest of Flodden Hill.  The Scottish cannon master, Borthwick brought some of his cannon down to the river and fired at parties of English on the far bank. On Friday 9th September 1513, the English army continued its march north along the east bank of the Till and, guided by Heron the English cannon and Vanguard crossed the Till at the Twizel Bridge, near to the junction of the Till with the Tweed.  The rest of the army crossed the Till by such fords as they could find.  The English army was now between the Scots and the Border. Giles Musgrave, an Englishman in favour with King James tried to convince the King that the English intended to invade Scotland and that he should bring his army down from Flodden Hill to the level ground to give battle to the English.  James declined to follow Musgrave’s advice. However James decided that he must move his army forward on to Branxton Hill, to stop that position being occupied by the  English.  The Scots broke camp and made the move, the cannon being trundled across the intervening valley to the new high ground.  As the Scots camp was taken down, the waste was fired, smoke billowing across the field. Once across the Till, the English army marched south down the west bank of the river towards the Scots’ position. Thomas Howard, the Lord Admiral, and commander of one of the English divisions at the Battle of Flodden. The portrait shows Howard as the 3rd Duke of Norfolk: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 Robert White described the English formation:  “The [English army] was separated into two bodies or wards, nearly equal in number, each having a centre and a right and left wing- the foreward being on the right, and rear or mainward on the left.  The former was commanded by Lord Thomas Howard the admiral, with Henry Lord Clifford, usually called “the Shepherd Lord,” aged sixty, Richard Nevill Lord Latimer, Lord Scrope of Upsal, Sir Christopher Ward, Sir John Everingham, Sir Nicholas Appleyard, Sir William Sydney of Penshurst, Thomas Lord Conyers of Sockburn, John Lord Lumley, William Baron of Hylton, Sir William Bulmer and others, being the power of the Bishoprick under the banner of Saint Cuthbert, Robert Lord Ogle, Sir William Gascoigne the elder of Leasingcroft, Sir John Gower, and divers gentlemen of Yorkshire and Northumberland, with their tenants and followers, also the mariners brought by the admiral himself, the whole amounting to about nine thousand men. ” “Westward of the foreward, but near to it, was the extreme right wing under Sir Edmund Howard, brother to the admiral, and Marshall of the host, with whom were Sir Bryan Tunstall and one hundred men, Sir Thomas Butler of Beausy, Sir John Bothe, Sir John Lawrence of Dun, Sir Richard Bold with his vassals and archers from Lancashire, Sir Richard Cholmolndeley of Cheshire, Sir John Bigot, Sir Thomas Fitz-William, Sir Robert Warcop, the men of Hull, the king’s tenants of Hatfield, many from Lancashire and the county palatine of Chester, and two hundred men from the south of England, numbering altogether above three thousand.  ”  “East of the Admiral’s battalion was his left wing, under charge of Sir Marmaduke Constable of Flamburgh, who was seventy years of age, William Constable, his brother, Sir Robert, Marmaduke, and William, his sons, Sir William Percy, his son in law, with a large number of retainers of his brother Earl Percy, Sir John Constable, others from Yorkshire and Northumberland, and all their respective followers, together with one thousand men from Lancashire, almost approaching in number to those who formed the right wing.  Such was the foreward, and it was considerably in advance of the other portion of the army. “The centre of the rearward was commanded by the Earl of Surrey, in company with Sir Philip Tylney, Henry Lord Scrope of Bolton, Sir John Radcliffe of Lancashire, Sir George Dacre, Christopher Pickering, George Darcy, Sir Richard Tempest, Sir John Mandeville, Sir Christopher Clapham, William Gascoigne the younger, Bryan Stapleton, John Willoughby, John Stanley with the Bishop of Ely’s servants, Sir Lionel Percy with an hundred followers and the Abbot of Whitby’s tenants, the citizens of York and others, with their retainers, numbering, as records tell us, about five thousand men.  “Westward of Surrey, forming his right wing, though placed somewhere behind the other divisions, that assistance might be rendered when required, was Lord Dacre with fifteen hundred horse, the bowmen of Kendal wearing milkwhite coats and red crosses, and the men of Keswick, Stanmore, Alston Moor, and Gilsland, chiefly bearing large bills.  In company with Dacre was the Bastard Heron, commanding another troop of horse, trained to Border depradation, and ready at any time for battle. “On the eastern edge of the field, forming Surrey’s left wing, was a numerous division, both of horse and foot, headed by Sir Edward Stanley, a knight whose father having married the mother of Henry VII, brought him into close relationship with the king.  Saving Sir William Molyneux of Seftonhall, in Cheshire, and Sir Henry Kickley, it is difficult to glean from our chronicles who were his gallant companions in arms, but his own son of the same name bore his banner, and his influence being extensive, he commanded the chief power of Cheshire and Lancashire- men well adapted for war, and exceedingly dexterous in the use of the bill and long bow.” Robert White estimates the strength of Stanley’s division as 3,000 and Dacre’s division as something less than that figure.  White puts the English army at around 26,000 and the Scots army at 20,000 to 24,000 at the time of the battle, the Scots suffering continuing desertion. With this clear disparity in numbers and the aggressive advance of Surrey’s English army the senior Scots noblemen urged King James not to take part in the battle but to watch from a distance. In case matters went badly for the Scots the King would survive to rule Scotland.  They proposed that command of the Scots army be divided so that the Earls of Huntley, Argyle and Crawford would lead the highland clans from the North, the Earl of Glencairn and Lords Graham and Maxwell would lead the men from the West and the Earls of Angus and Bothwell, with Lord Home would lead the men from the Borders. King James rejected this proposal out of hand and arranged his army for the coming battle. Robert White describes the deployment of the Scots army:  “They were divided into five battalions, each numbering probably from four to five thousand, the king himself heading that in the centre, whereby he was supported by two wings on every side.  Four of these divisions occupied the whole front of Branxton Hill, looking to the north, and ranging in lines from west to east, with the artillery placed both before each body of men and in the open spaces between them.  That which remained, forming the fifth, was placed behind the king on his right, and leaned towards the rear of that on the eastern side of the field.  Farthest to the west was the extreme left wing, under Alexander Earl of Huntley and the Lord Home- the former commanding Highlanders from Aberdeenshire and other places, and the latter, being Warden of the Marches, guiding the fierce Borderers, who were inured, from boyhood, to the strife and commotion of war.” “Next was another division from the central part of the Lowlands and from Forfarshire, north of the entrance to the Firth of Tay, under charge of John Earl of Crawford and William Earl of Montrose.  The third, towards the east, being the main body, was commanded by the king himself, the principal men of the Church, and the nobility, with the gentry, many of whom fought like common soldiers, and the whole comprised the very best and bravest warriors of Scotland.” “Eastward again, in front, was the extreme right wing of the Scottish army, strong in numbers, but consisting chiefly of undisciplined mountaineers from the west of Scotland and the Isles, led on by Matthew Earl of Lennox and Archibald Earl of Argyle.” “The last battalion, already alluded to, consisted chiefly of yeomen and others from the Lothians, with the burghers of the larger towns on the coast, under the guidance of Hepburn Earl of Bothwell.  This was a division of reserve stationed to yield help where it was requisite, but more especially to wait upon and succor the king.” Tapestry of the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 Matters began badly for the Scots on Friday 9th September 1513.  It was rumoured that the man of Linlithgow who approached the King in his chapel appeared again in the Royal Tent overnight.  It was also reported that, during the night field mice gnawed the lining of the King’s helmet and that the King’s tent was wet from a red liquid.  During a council meeting a hare started and escaped all attempts to kill it; all incidents of ill omen (contrast with the Battle of Culloden in 1746 when a hare starting in the Government ranks was seen as a good omen). Several of the Scottish leaders urged James to attack the English while they were crossing the River Till.  Borthwick begged for permission to open fire with his cannon.  James refused, saying to Borthwick that he would hang him if he fired a single shot, adding “I shall have all the enemy in the plain before me, and assay them what they can do.” The advancing English columns crossed the Palinsburn stream and began to march across the Scottish front at Branxton Village.  Edmund Howard’s men led and were followed by his brother, Thomas Howard, the Lord High Admiral.  The third column comprised the men led by the Earl of Surrey himself followed by Sir Edward Stanley’s men.  Lord Dacre’s horsemen followed in the rear of Surrey’s body.  Inevitably, with the difficulty of finding places to cross the Till and with such large numbers passing the river the English army was strung out, with a substantial distance in particular between the Lord Admiral’s men and Surrey’s. The Scots army formed on Branxton Hill, with Lord Home’s Borders Scots and Huntly’s Highlanders in the left hand division.  On the their right was the division commanded by Lords Errol and Crawford and the Duke of Montrose.  The next and largest division was commanded by King James himself and contained the flower of Scottish nobility.  The right division commanded by Lords Argyll and Lennox comprised the Highland clans.  In the rear behind the centre division stood the troops commanded by Bothwell and the Frenchman, D’Aussi.  The space between the divisions was said to be a bow’s shot. The advancing English did not initially see the Scots on Branxton Hill.  But as soon as the Lord Admiral realised that the Scots were significantly nearer than he had expected, having earlier seen them on Flodden Hill he dispatched an urgent plea to his father to bring up the divisions forming the left wing of the English army as quickly as possible, re-enforcing the urgency of his request by sending the religious emblem he habitually wore round his neck, an “Agnus Dei”. Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513 Battle began at 4pm with the cannon on each side opening fire.  The chronicler describes the effect:  “Then out burst the ordnance with fire, flame, and hideous noise, and the master gunner of the English slew the master gunner of Scotland, and beat all his men from their guns, so that the Scottish ordnance did no harm to the Englishmen, but the Englishmen’s artillery shot into the midst of the King’s battle, and slew many persons, which seeing, the King of Scots and his brave men made the more haste to come to joining.” The Scots army left its position on the high ground and advanced down the hill against the English. There is perplexity as to why the Scots army gave up the advantage of the higher ground for their rash attack which in the end lost them the battle. Branxton Church: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 There are a number of factors.  It is clear from this passage,that the English cannon fire was, at least in part instrumental in provoking the Scots to leave their positions on Branxton Hill and attack the English army. The armies of the period were ad hoc assemblages put together for a particular war from a wide range of social classes and areas of the country.  There was no obvious and easily understood structure of command.  Local prejudices and methods of fighting will have been stronger than any army wide sense of purpose. The first Scots formation to attack down the hill was the division commanded by Home and Huntley on the left flank and they charged against the column of Sir Edmund Howard at the head of the English advance. Home’s Borderers and Huntly’s highlanders were particularly wild and willful warriors, whose traditional methods of fighting were to close with the enemy and use sword, spear, bill or bludgeon.  Although nominally in command it is likely that Home and Huntley and the other nobles and gentlemen in the division were not really able to control such a large mass of excited warriors keen to get to grips with their enemies, apparently at their mercy at the bottom of the hill.  It may even be that an immediate charge was the preference of the commanders; to give them the best opportunity to despoil the enemy.  Certainly, Home’s conduct during the rest of the battle does not suggest that he was particularly concerned with the fate of his King and the rest of the army. If Sir Edmund Howard’s men followed the cannonade with discharges of arrows, the urge of Home’s men to close with them may have been even more pressing. Howard’s men, positioned on level ground were overwhelmed by Home’s Border men and Huntley’s highlanders and Howard’s standard taken, the English soldiers fleeing the battlefield.  Howard himself was rescued by a force of English Border men led by the Bastard John Heron. In the turmoil of their success Home’s wild Border Scots dispersed to loot while Huntly’s men were held in check by Lord Dacre and his ‘Prickers’ who rode up in support.  Sir Bryan Tunstall, Howard’s deputy commander was killed in this fight.  Edmund Howard escaped to join his brother, the Lord Admiral. Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513: a contemporary engraving Seeing the success of the attack by Home and Huntley, King James resolved to lead the central divisions of his army down the hill and charge the English opposite them.  For this attack, the King dismounted and directed his noblemen and gentlemen to do the same.  All would go into battle on the same terms, on foot. The King’s division and the division of Erroll, Crawford and Montrose advanced down the north face of Branxton Hill, followed by the division of Bothwell and D’Aussi, leaving only Argyll’s and Lennox’s highlanders of the right flank still on Branxton Hill. It is said that the Scots advanced in silence “In the German manner”; that is without sounding trumpets, beating drums or cheering. The two central divisions, comprising the majority of the Scots army crossed the boggy moorland at the base of Branxton Hill, forded a ditch and scrambled up the slope to the columns commanded by the Lord Admiral and The Earl of Surrey. It was here in two hours of terrible hand to hand fighting along the muddy ditch that fronted the English line that the battle was lost for Scotland. The long pikes carried by many of the Scots soldiers proved a significant disadvantage.  These unwieldy implements were not suitable for fighting in broken country and there had been insufficient time for the Scots to become proficient in their use.  The English soldiers used their shorter bills to cut the pikes and their handlers in pieces. King James’ decision to fight the battle on foot was intended to inspire his men.  This heroic but misguided act deprived the Scots army of a hard core of mounted men and rendered the King’s party vulnerable, floundering through the mud in their heavy armour.  In addition, the commanders could not exercise proper control of their troops when on foot. View of the Scots position from the English position before the battle: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 Nevertheless, the impact of the charge by the two central divisions of the Scottish army was hard for the English centre to resist.  James could well have expected the division of Home and Huntley to throw itself on the right flank of Howard’s men.  As it was, it was the English mounted troopers of Lord Dacre who attacked on the western flank, Home and Huntley’s men having dispersed to loot, while the commanders looked on apparently considering that they had done all that could be required of them. In the course of this remorseless struggle in and around the muddy ditch and bank King James of Scotland was killed with many of his nobles, retainers and soldiers. Memorial to the dead of the Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 On the eastern flank, Sir Edward Stanley’s column arrived in the field, significantly later than the rest of the English army.  Stanley immediately advanced up Branxton Hill and attacked Argyll’s and Lennox’s highlanders.  Stanley’s longbow men kept up a steady barrage of arrows on the highlanders, who wore no armour.  Part of Stanley’s force moved round to their left to take the Scots in the flank.  The highlanders did not wait for the impact of the English charge and fled the field, leaving Argyll and Lennox and a small party to face the English attack and perish. With the collapse of the Scottish right Stanley reformed his column and attacked the rear of the Scottish centre at the base of the hill.  By this time, after two hours of gruelling hand to hand struggle King James and many of his soldiers were dead. Those Scots who could get away retreated north.    They continued to fight the English as they withdrew into Scotland and several English knights were taken by the Scots during this retreat. Lord Home appeared the following morning but was driven away by the English, who were left in command of the field of battle, one of the classic measures of victory. Casualties at the Battle of Flodden: Reports of casualties at the Battle of Flodden differ widely.  It may be that around 10,000 Scots were killed and perhaps as few as 1,500 English.  The boggy valley floor, where much of the Scots army was trapped during the final attacks of Dacre and Stanley on the Scots flanks and rear, led to many Scots being slaughtered, as they were no longer able to defend themselves or to get away.  The King’s decision to fight on foot effectively prevented any of the nobility from escaping the rout. A survivor of the battle returns “The Blue Blanket” to the Edinburgh City Council: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 The effect of Flodden was to wipe out much of the current generation of Scottish nobility from the King down.  Among the Scots dead were: the Archbishop of St Andrews, the king’s natural son, the Bishops of Caithness and the Isles, the Grand Prior of the Knights of St John, the Abbot of Inchaffray, the Dean of Glasgow, 12 earls, 10 lords, 113 knights and a large number of family heads and clan chiefs. It was not just the nobles who suffered.  The Scottish dead were from all parts of the country and from all social levels.  Edinburgh sent much of its male population to the army.  They fought in the King’s division and many perished. In the English army, from Sir Edmund Howard’s division: Sir Bryan Tunstall, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir John Lawrence, Sir Wynchard Harbottle and Sir William Warcop were killed: Sir Henry Grey and Sir Humphrey Lisle were captured.  Otherwise few men of significance were lost. Supporters of the Earls of Arran and Angus fighting in the streets of Edinburgh in the “Cleansing of the Causeways” in 1515 Follow-up to the Battle of Flodden: The result of the battle was terrible confusion in Scotland.  The governing dynasty at every level and in every area of life was largely eliminated.  The harvest was temporarily abandoned as Scotland gave itself up to grief. A wave of transactions arose from the death of so many land owners.  Special dispensations from feudal dues were applicable for those who had died in battle following the king in accordance with an edict issued by King James before crossing the English border. Queen Margaret married the Earl of Angus to protect the succession of her young son, who became James V.  A struggle ensued between the Earl of Arran and the Earl of Angus as to who should be Regent during the king’s minority, leading to fighting between their supporters in the streets of Edinburgh.  Queen Margaret fled to Stirling Castle with her two young sons. The defeat at Flodden ensured that there was no significant fighting between England and Scotland for some 30 years. The Arms of the Molyneux family. Sir William Molyneux led a party of archers at the Battle of Flodden, for which he was thanked in a letter from King Henry VIII: Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 Anecdotes and traditions of the Battle of Flodden: It is said that Flodden was the victory of the English Bill over the Scots Pike.  However there is no doubt that the effectiveness of the English longbow and of the English cannon contributed significantly to the Scots defeat. Many of the soldiers in the central Scots divisions are reported as having removed their boots and shoes during the fighting to achieve a firmer foothold.  It seems more likely that footwear was sucked off by the mud, indicating starkly the terrible conditions through which the Scots were forced to advance in the boggy area in front of Surrey’s position. Lord Dacre and Sir William Scot, a Scots knight and personal attendant on the King, with difficulty identified the body of King James.  The King’s wounds were a deep gash down the neck, his left hand was nearly severed, and he was pierced by several arrows. The body of King James IV was taken to London, put in a lead coffer and stored in a lumber room at Sheen Priory to the South-West of London.  It was not until the time of Queen Elizabeth that the body was buried, but without a proper service. Legends persisted in Scotland that King James IV had not died in the battle but escaped abroad, perhaps for a pilgrimage to Palestine. The window in the parish church of St Leonard’s Middleton commemorating the 17 archers led by Sir Robert Ashton at the Battle of Flodden 9th September 1513 In early 1513, the Pope, Leo X directed that King James IV be excommunicated for his support of the French King.  Following Flodden, the Pope issued an order permitting James IV’s body to be buried in consecrated ground with full funeral rites.  In spite of this no burial was conducted.  This may reflect contemporary concerns that the body was not the King’s. King James’ bloody surcoat was sent to the Queen, Catherine of Aragon in London.  Catherine sent it on to Henry VIII in France. King James’ sword and a ring from his hand were passed to the College of Heralds in London, where it is still held.  It may be that this was the turquoise ring sent by Anne of Brittany to encourage James to invade England. Sir William Molyneux is buried in St Helens Church, Sefton.  His tomb commemorates his part in leading the archers of Lancashire at Flodden and refers to the letter of thanks he received from King Henry VIII. Sir Robert Ashton, who commanded a party of archers at Flodden installed a window in his parish church at St Leonard’s Middleton, now in Greater Manchester commemorating each of the 17 archers and their chaplain. The ‘Archers of Ettrick’ were known in Scotland as ‘The Flowers of the Forest’.  They perished nearly to a man at Flodden and the mournful tune of the same name is used at funerals in Scotland for the Dead March.  Indeed it is considered a bad omen to play the tune, ‘The Flowers of the Forest’ at any other occasion. The Earl of Surrey knighted some 45 gentlemen from his army who had distinguished themselves in the battle, including his son Edmund Howard. Comment is made on the lack of activity, other than besieging border castles by the Scots army, once it had crossed the border.  The weather was terrible, with constant rain and cold. The arms of the Duke of Norfolk who, as the Earl of Surrey commanded the English army at the Battle of Flodden on 9th September 1513, showing the arms of the King of Scotland halved and transfixed by an arrow Nevertheless, the Scots were well provisioned and could have marched south to take Newcastle and then York, thereby preventing Surrey from building up such a large army.  The plea from Anne of Brittany was for the Scots to enter “Three feet into England”. It may be that James felt that a short incursion over the Border was sufficient to discharge his obligation to France and to bring Henry VIII back to England. 11 years before the Battle of Flodden, in 1502 it was The Earl of Surrey who escorted Margaret Tudor to Scotland, to be married to King James IV.  Surrey and the Scottish King were on cordial terms over a number of years.  After the battle, the Earl of Surrey was restored to his family’s title of the Duke of Norfolk with arms reflecting the victory at the Battle of Flodden. References for the Battle of Flodden: British Battles by Grant Battles in Britain by William Seymour Cambridge History of the Renaissance, the Battle of Flodden by Robert White The previous battle in the British Battles series is the Battle of Agincourt The next battle in the British Battles series is the Spanish Armada
i don't know
What was the name of the Christmas hamper firm that in October 2006 collapsed and left hundreds of families out of pocket?
Britain: Farepak collapse ruins Christmas for tens of thousands - World Socialist Web Site World Socialist Web Site Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)   Britain: Farepak collapse ruins Christmas for tens of thousands By Jean Shaoul 20 November 2006 Farepak, one of the largest Christmas hamper and savings clubs in Britain, has collapsed, robbing at least 300,000 families of their Christmas savings worth up to £150 million. Some families lost up to £1,500 when Farepak went into liquidation four weeks ago. For many poor people it will mean a bleak festive season without the presents they had paid for. Alternatively, they could be forced into the arms of the loan sharks and high-priced debt from which regular savings schemes were supposed to protect them. The scale of the scandal and its wider ramifications are only just beginning to emerge, and the estimates of those affected have soared. The collapse of this little-known firm exposes the semi-criminal activities, arrogance and cynicism—not of some backstreet outfit—but of Britain’s financial and corporate elite. It also reveals the precarious financial situation of hundreds of thousands of families. Farepak, like many traditional savings clubs, relied on a network of 35,000 local agents to recruit savers and collect their weekly contributions. In return, they were paid in vouchers for Christmas hampers (baskets), as well as gifts and shopping vouchers from well-known stores and supermarkets such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. The agents, who typically collected from their friends, family and neighbours, would receive 2.5 percent commission or up to 25 percent off the cost of a hamper. As one of the agents, Hilary Astley, said, “The guilt we feel is unimaginable. Along with the other families, we have lost £1,461.25, £900 of which was what we had put away for Christmas. It was £140 a month, which is hard to get. When you’ve got disabled kids they look forward to Christmas so much. It breaks your heart that we can’t give them what we had planned.” Farepak’s parent company, European Home Retail (EHR), had made a disastrous £35 million takeover of a book sales firm, DMG, in 2000 with borrowed money. By 2003, sales fell and profits turned into losses, leading EHR to sell DMG for just £5 million. Its problems mounted this year when the retail stores, whose hampers, gifts and vouchers it was purchasing on behalf of its customers, demanded payment upfront. On June 30, EHR warned investors and the Stock Exchange that it was facing financial problems: its funding would run out by autumn, and it was seeking extra funding to ensure its survival. It assured the Hamper Industry Trade Association (HITA) that the extra funding would be forthcoming. But on August 23, it was suspended from trading on the Stock Exchange. On October 13, when the firm’s bankers, Halifax/Bank of Scotland (HBOS), refused to lend it £1.5 million, EHR went into administration. The company continued to send out letters demanding payments right up to October 13. The administrators have said that there is little chance that the customers would get any of their money back MPs claimed in the House of Commons under parliamentary privilege that EHR had been “siphoning off” Farepak’s customers’ money to repay its debts to the bank. Jim Devine, MP for Livingston in Scotland, whose constituents had been badly affected by the scandal, called for the Serious Fraud Office to investigate the affair. Labour MP Frank Field said, “HBOS took in £40 million of savers’ money over many months to pay off company debts, knowing that the money would be lost.” He tabled a motion for the House of Commons, signed by 44 MPs, criticising the bank and alleging that Halifax “allowed Farepak to continue trading while it clawed back something like £1 million a week of people’s savings to offset the company’s overdraft with the bank.” It has taken this scandal for the public to learn that, unlike banks and building societies, hamper clubs and other savings schemes are unregulated. They do not fall within the remit of the Financial Services Authority because their contributions are made not in return for interest, but for goods and services. In the last few years, thousands of customers have been left out of pocket when companies such as the furniture store Courts and the gift company Red Letter Days collapsed before goods, which had been paid for, were delivered. Farepak’s victims are not viewed as savers but as unsecured creditors and will be the last in line to be paid when all the firm’s assets have been auctioned off. The recent Companies Act, essentially another piece of deregulatory legislation, ignored the issue. The trade association HITA, of which Farepak was a member, offers no protection either in terms of policing its members or in providing compensation for the victims of its members’ actions. It has a Code of Practice, but it is entirely voluntary. Farepak claimed that it adhered “to the HITA Code of Practice to ensure the security of your savings and the safe delivery of your hampers and gifts,” but this is not enforced. According to HITA’s web site, the £100,000 annual membership fee was nothing more than “a commitment of good intent by each member [to honour the Code of Practice] and was never intended to compensate agents and customers should a situation like Farepak arise.” HITA claims that the annual fee was purely to keep “cowboy operators out of the sector and gave rise to no obligation to the firm’s customers.” It now appears that the company did not keep proper records of its customers’ savings, and no one really knows how many customers EHR had or how much they had paid, raising questions about the quality of the external annual audit in previous years. According to the Guardian, the administrators, BDO Stoy Hayward, were stunned to discover that Farepak had no detailed records of how much money it held and had no list of its customers’ names. They have had to ask customers to lodge claims for repayment in an attempt to work out how much the firm owes. Devine said he believed—based on the evidence given to him by 100 people who reported at a public meeting in his constituency about the Farepak scandal that they had lost £100,000—that the number of customers could be double the official estimates. They were likely to be at least 300,000, and even as many as 500,000. This would put the firm’s losses anywhere from £65 million to £120 million, not the £40 million originally suggested. While the most vulnerable members of society have been hurt by this scandal, the company’s directors have gone unscathed. The chairman of HER was Sir Clive Thompson, a former chairman of the Confederation of British Industry. Before joining EHR, he was chief executive and later chairman of the giant services company, Rentokil, where as the highest CEO in the country he earned up to £1.4 million a year with £11.4 million in shares. He became known as the “meanest boss in Britain” when it emerged in 1998 that 10,000 of his staff would need pay rises in order to reach the minimum wage, and compared trade unions to the pests his company chased. He was paid £100,000 a year as a consultancy fee for the last six years at HER. The chief executive, William Rollason, had an annual salary of £275,000, as well as a bonus of £75,000. He pulled the company out the Direct Selling Association because it required members to insure customers against collapse. He is now being paid to advise Findel plc, the company that has bought a share in EHR after it became insolvent. Farepak boss Nicholas Gilodi-Johnson, the son of the firm’s founder, received £62,000 a year, plus an estimated share dividend of nearly £445,000. He has a £1.5 million London home and will inherit the £75 million family fortune, believed to be held in offshore trusts and a tax-free fund in Lichtenstein. It took him more than four weeks to make a public statement lamenting the affair and say how “gutted” he was. The EHR directors who presided over the failed DMG takeover were given golden handshakes when they resigned. The former managing director received a £680,000 payoff, while finance director Chris Hulland netted £250,000. They and a further six directors will have their generous pensions underwritten by the government’s recently introduced Pension Protection Fund, which is set to make good the estimated £500,000 pension shortfall. The directors have attempted to deflect criticisms from themselves by blaming the bank, HBOS, for failing to support the company. Sir Clive Thompson claimed that EHR had put six different rescue packages to save the firm to HBOS, which turned them all down. Furthermore, he said it was HBOS that had knowingly taken customers’ money, twice rejecting proposals that such money be ring fenced (protected from risk). “They pulled the plug over what we believed was a really small amount of money,” he said. Such an amount was indeed loose change for these people. He and his co-directors could have personally written checks for that amount. HBOs flatly contradicted Thompson. It said that there was no money to ring fence as the funds had been used up as “working capital” to develop the business. It said that the so-called rescue plans were proposals and were not considered “viable and durable” solutions. “The situation was complicated by the fact that the owners declined to contribute any more cash to support the business,” a spokesman said. The Labour government’s Minister of Consumer Affairs, Ian McCartney, has refused to help the victims of the collapse. He called on MPs to sacrifice a day’s pay to help Farepak’s victims and urged the big corporations to contribute to a charity fund to help the families affected. “The fund is about the spirit of Christmas,” he said. Now running at just £4.5 million, it shuts in 10 days’ time and payouts may not be made until December 18. The giant high street stores have promised money. Tesco has pledged £250,000. Sainsbury’s has agreed that Farepak’s customers can get 25 percent of the value of their savings in Sainsbury’s vouchers. Marks and Spencer has said it will contribute, as has Argos and the Park Group, which owns High Street Gift Vouchers, one of the products sold by Farepak, and Findel, the home shopping firm that bought some of the business assets of EHR. HBOS has pledged £2 million—which is more than the £1.5 million Farepak needed to stave off bankruptcy. The high street stores have their own unregulated savings clubs, and they are anxious that Farepak does not discredit the whole industry.
European Home Retail
Taking place in 1644, the Battle of Marston Moor took place in which English county?
Doris Money, what bank called Farepak savers' cash as thousands who lost out in scandal are cheated out of justice | Daily Mail Online Doris Money, what bank called Farepak savers' cash as thousands who lost out in scandal are cheated out of justice When firm went into administration cash was used towards repaying the bank's £31million loan Published: 19:46 EST, 20 June 2012 | Updated: 02:14 EST, 21 June 2012 comments Anger: Thousands of Farepak Christmas hamper customers were cheated out of justice yesterday Thousands of customers who lost money in the Farepak Christmas hamper firm scandal were cheated out of justice yesterday. As a high-profile court case against the directors of the failed firm collapsed, it emerged that bankers had referred to customers' cash as 'Doris money'. It was also revealed that bankers, HBOS, twice refused to protect £4million saved by customers, mainly on low incomes, to buy a hamper. The Insolvency Service abandoned its five-year Farepak investigation after extraordinary new evidence showed that HBOS turned down the option of placing the money in a trust. This meant that when the firm collapsed into administration in  2006 the cash was used towards repaying the bank's £31million loan rather than refunded to Farepak's vulnerable customers, many of  them elderly. More than 150,000 customers who had paid regular instalments for a Christmas hamper were left on average £400 out of pocket and offered just 15p in the pound. Hugely embarrassing emails from senior bankers at HBOS, which is now owned by Lloyds Banking Group, showed they referred to the cash from Farepak's vulnerable customers as 'Doris money'. The new evidence will heap further pressure on Peter Cummings, known as the banker to the stars of the financial world, who was handed a 'warning notice' and punitive fine by the Financial Services Authority in April as part of its investigation into HBOS. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share It has been reported that  Mr Cummings, who is challenging the FSA's rebuke, had been the  'ultimate arbiter' of what happened with Farepak. This is the second collapse of a case brought by a government department this week – the Insolvency Service falls under the responsibility of the Department of Business. Rich pickings: When the firm went into administration in 2006 the cash was used towards repaying the bank's £31million loan not vulnerable customers On Monday the Serious Fraud Office dropped its investigation into property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz. On Farepak, lawyers representing the Insolvency Service had asked Mr Justice Peter Smith in the High Court to disqualify its former bosses from being company directors, accusing them of 'unfit conduct'. The former bosses, including  Sir Clive Thompson, an ex-president of the Confederation of British Industry, contested the disqualification applications. But yesterday the government's companies watchdog abandoned its bid to penalise the directors after the new evidence emerged that included the fact that they had twice tried to protect the cash of customers. Business Secretary Vince Cable said he felt 'huge' sympathy  for 'those who lost out' and would  reflect on the decision by the  Insolvency Service. A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group said: 'As this matter is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment. 'We have assisted the relevant authorities at all times during  their investigation of European Home Retail plc and Farepak and the conduct of their directors.'
i don't know
Which moon of the planet Saturn shares its name with the name of the girlfriend of the book character Adrian Mole?
What famous sauce is manufactured by McIlhenny & Co? Tabasco What year was th - Pastebin.com In what country can one find 40 species of lemurs? A: Madagascar. RAW Paste Data What famous sauce is manufactured by McIlhenny & Co? Tabasco What year was the first motor race held that was classed as Formula 1? 1950 In the wild west, how was Henry McCarty better known? Billy The Kid How many stories did each of the World Trade Towers have? 110 What is the name of the cafe in Coronation Street? Roy's Rolls According to the BBC how many rooms are there in Buckingham Palace? 775 What is the busiest single-runway airport in the world? London Gatwick By number of films made, which country has the largest film industry? India Who lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics? Muhammad Ali On what day of the year is St George's day held? 23rd of April The scientific unit lumen is used in the measurement of what? Light Which Apollo moon mission was the first to carry a lunar rover vehicle? Apollo 15 Who wrote the Twilight series of novels? Stephenie Meyer What is the capital of India? New Delhi Who wrote the poem 'The Owl and the Pussycat'? Edward Lear Which country had a secret police force known as the Tonton Macoute? Haiti In which city is the European Parliament based? Strasbourg Gala, Jonagold and Pink Lady are varieties of which fruit? Apple Which organ of the body is affected by Bright's Disease? Kidney What is the boiling point of water in Kelvin? 373 K What was the 1st human invention that broke the sound barrier? The whip What name was given to the Samurai code of honour? Bushido What colour is the bullseye on a standard dartboard? Red What song does the main character wake up to every morning in Groundhog Day? I Got You Babe What is the only Central American country in which baseball, not soccer, is the people's favourite sport? Nicaragua What is the largest fresh water lake in North America? Lake Superior Which South American country was named after the Italian city of Venice? Venezuela How many rounds are there in an olympic boxing match? 4 The highest temperature ever recorded outside in the shade was recorded in Azizah, in Africa. In which country is this city located? Libya Which Hasbro `action figure` got its name from a Robert Mitchum film? G.I. Joe In which country is the highest mountain in South America? Argentina How many emirates make up the United Arab Emirates? 7 If you were putting numbers on new changing room lockers to be numbered from 1 to 100, how many times would you use the number 9? 20 Which famous group performed the first ever song on Top Of The Pops in 1964? The Rolling Stones Who wrote the novel Revolutionary Road, which was made into a successful feature film? Richard Yates Which supermodel is seen pole dancing in the White Stripes video for the song `I Just Don`t Know What To Do With Myself`? Kate Moss Which band has released albums titled `Word Gets Around`, `Just Enough Education To Perform` and `Pull The Pin`? Stereophonics In the Adrian Mole Diaries, what is the surname of his girlfriend? Braiwaithe Charlotte Edwards led England`s women to World Cup glory in which sport in March 2009? Cricket What is sake made from? Rice Affenpinscher, Keeshond and Leonberger are all types of what? Dog Who won the 2009 Rugby World Sevens Cup? Wales Who is the only player to win a Champion`s League medal, the Premiership and the FA Cup, and to be relegated from the Premiership without going on to play in the Championship? Kanu With which club did David Beckham make his football league debut? Preston North End Who is the host of the TV show Q.I.? Stephen Fry Anyone Can Fall In Love was a chart hit set to the theme tune of which TV show? EastEnders Who is the only character to appear in the first ever Coronation Street who is still in the show at 2009? Ken Barlow The film `Black Hawk Down` was loosely based on a true incident that took place in 1993 in which country? Somalia What word does the bird constantly repeat in Edgar Allan Poe`s classic poem `The Raven`? Nevermore In the board game `Risk`, what colour is Europe? Blue What is the only anagram of the word `English`? Shingle Known as the Rio Grande in the USA, what is it called in Mexico? Rio Bravo In what year were the Orkney Islands reannexed to Scotland from Norway? 1472 In what year and in what country was the first FIFA world cup held? 1930, Uruguay Which actress, born in 1916, had her legs insured by 20th Century Fox for one million dollars? Betty Grable As of 2009, what is the last Best Picture Oscar winning film to also win Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars? The Silence Of The Lambs Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart are the protagonists of which Oscar winning movie? Chicago What is the name of Postman Pat`s pet cat? Jess In which sport are the Thomas Cup, Uber Cup and Sudiman Cup tournaments played? Badminton Anthony Stark is the alter-ego of which super-hero? Iron-Man Fort Knox lies in which American state? Kentucky What was the third last state to join the USA? Arizona What is the lightest metal under standard conditions? Lithium How many surfaces does a Mobius strip have? One Which King of England was crowned on Christmas Day? William the Conqueror Who was Queen for just nine days in 1553? Lady Jane Grey Tokelau is a dependency of which country? New Zealand How many wings does a bee have? Four A Scottish mountain must be at least how many feet high to be called a Munro? 3,000 In Gullivers Travels, what is the name of the flying island? Laputa In which 1951 film did Fred Astaire appear to dance on the ceiling? Royal Wedding On which Hebridian island did Prince Charles crash a plane in 1994? Islay Who was the author of Whisky Galore? Compton Mackenzie What is the collective noun for a group of moles? A labour What is `sciophobia` the fear of? Shadows According to Shakespeare, whose horse was called White Surrey? Richard III's What was the name of the rocket used by Yuri Gagarin for the first manned space flight? Vostok 1 Which shipping forecast area is to the directly north of Ireland? Malin What is the river that flows through the city of Albuquerque in the USA? Rio Grande On which side of the road do people drive in Japan? Left Winnepeg is the capital of which Canadian province? Manitoba Who overthrew King Idris in 1969? Colonel Gaddafi Kosciusko is the highest mountain in which country? Australia Who had a two ounce stone cut from his bladder in 1658? Samuel Pepys Who was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in 1948? Mahatma Ghandi Which monarch held her nerve in the Bedchamber Crisis? Queen Victoria In which county was Isaac Newton born? Lincolnshire In what year was Barack Obama born? 1961 In what American state was Barack Obama born? Hawaii What was Barack Obama`s father`s first name? Barack How many stones did David take for his fight with Goliath? 5 How many players make up an Australian rules football team? 18 What is the only English league football team with no letters in common with the word `mackeral`? Swindon Town In which event would you compete for the Borg Warner Cup? The Indianapolis 500 In the 1966 World Cup, matches were played at two London venues. Wembley was one, what was the other? White City Which breed of dog has breeds called Welsh, Scottish and Irish? Terrier How is the chaparral cock, a ground cuckoo native of Mexico, better known? The Roadrunner What sort of creature is a cassowary? A bird How old is Juliet when she dies in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliett? 13 What was the name of King Henry VIII`s older brother? Arthur What is the common name for the medical condition `epistaxis`? Nose bleed Who did Ted Turner, the media tycoon, marry in 1991? Jane Fonda Who has written a series of letters entitled `Dear Fatty` in the form of an autobiography? Dawn French What type of material is produced in a ginnery? Cotton What is made using soda, lime and silica? Glass Who created Wikipedia on the World Wide Web? Jimmy Wales Which three letters did SOS replace as a Morse mayday signal? CQD What was the breed of US detective Columbo`s dog? Basset hound What state does Sarah Palin represent as its governor? Alaska What US state did Barack Obama become senator of in 2005? Illinois What is the speed limit on a German motorway? None In a standard set of playing cards which is the only king without a moustache? The king of hearts Which Beatle led the way across the zebra crossing on the Abbey Road album cover? John Lennon In which year did Royal Mail introduce self adhesive stamps? 2001 If eating Cambridge No 5s, Wellands or Bedford Winter Harvests what would you be eating? Brussel Sprouts When world boomerang throwing championships were held from 1981, which country won it in 12 out of the first 13 years? USA Which category of sports men or women have been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year the most times? Athletes Which US city is home to sporting teams known as the Browns, the Cavaliers and the Indians? Cleveland Which fruit contains the most calories? Avocado What does a somnambulist do? Sleepwalk Which world famous musician was born as Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946? Freddie Mercury The name of which European capital city is derived from the names of two towns on either bank of its main river? Budapest What is the name of the famous statue by Edvard Eriksen, unveiled on the 23rd of August, 1913? The Little Mermaid After which sporting hero was Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton named? Carl Lewis In a competition in 1829, what beat Cycloped, Novelty, Perseverance and Sans Pareil? Stephenson's Rocket How old was the title character in the novel Lolita? 12 Which state is home to the Joshua Tree National Park? California Thomas Hardy`s heart is buried in his native Dorset, but where in London is his body buried? Poet`s Corner What numeric term describes perfect eyesight and a form of cricket? 20/20 What does the word `pop` refer to in `Pop Goes The Weasel`? To pawn In heraldry, what colour is gules? Red How many lions are depicted on the royal standard? Seven On what occasions would the royal standard be flown at half mast? Never In the cartoon books, what is the name of the druid that provides potions for Asterix? Getafix Inspector Morse actor John Thaw was married to which actress at the time of his death in 2001? Sheila Hancock Energy firm British Gas is owned by which company? Centrica In the game Cluedo, which room can be accessed via the secret passageway from the Study? The kitchen Which author wrote `The Bourne Identity`? Robert Ludlum Which Scottish actress played the TV character `Supergran`? Gudrun Ure In the TV show `Button Moon`, what was the name of Mr Spoon`s daughter? Tina Teaspoon In the TV show `Rentaghost`, Sue Nicolls played which character? Nadia Popov In the TV show `Family Guy`, what is the name of the Griffins` lecherous neighbour? Glenn Quagmire According to the Bible, how many of each type of animal did Moses take on the ark? None Common, Water and Pygmy are types of which British mammal? Shrew Which flower is the middle name of footballer turned TV presenter Bob Wilson? Primrose Where in the human body would you find the Islets of Langerhans? The pancreas What is the only bone in the human body that is not attached to any other bone? The hyoid In which British city did the Peterloo massacre take place in 1819? Manchester How is soccer superstar Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite better known? Kaka Which is the only US state that has no letters in common with its state capital? South Dakota Which group formed in 1977 and named themselves after their financial status at that time? Dire Straits What was the title of Bob the Builder`s second UK number one hit single? Mambo No 5 What mineral has the highest number on the Mohs scale? Diamond What mineral has the lowest number on the Mohs scale? Talc Who was British Prime Minister on V-J Day? Clement Attlee Three countries have both an Atlantic and a Mediterranean coast. France and Spain are two, but what is the other? Morocco What is the modern name for the country historically known as `Abyssinia`? Ethiopia In which year did brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald open their first McDonald`s restaurant in San Bernardino, California? 1940 Which type of pasta`s name translates literally as `little worms`? Vermicelli During World War II, how was William Joyce better known? Lord Haw-Haw What is the common name for the liquid secreted by your lacrimal glands? Tears What is the name of the sea that separates New Zealand and Australia? Tasman Sea How many states of the United States of America have a Pacific coast? 5 How many successive pots must a snooker player make to score a 147 break? 36 What is the more common name for the medical condition of `periorbital hematoma`? Black eye Who was known as the Maid of Orleans? Joan of Arc In George Orwell`s Animal Farm, what type of animals were Clover, Mollie and Boxer? Horses In which European country would you find the Troodos mountain range? Cyprus In literature, who owns a cat called Crookshanks? Hermione Granger What is the only national capital that borders two different countries? Bratislava What is the name of the canoeist who famously faked his own death when he disappeared in 2002? John Darwin Which supermarket is mentioned in Chas and Dave`s song `Rabbit`? Sainsbury`s In Peter Pan, what is the name of Captain Hook`s ship? The Jolly Roger How many boxes are used in the UK version of Deal Or No Deal? 22 Which singer had hits with `Rubber Ball` and `The Night Has A Thousand Eyes`? Bobby Vee Which South American country has borders with Colombia and Peru? Ecuador What sized ball is a game of netball played with? Size 5 Which country did Celine Dion represent when singing in the Eurovision song contest in 1988? Switzerland What was Margaret Thatcher`s maiden name? Roberts Who won the Rugby World Cup in 2007? South Africa On which planet is the solar system`s highest volcano? Mars Who discovered the element oxygen? Joseph Priestley Who assassinated John Lennon? Mark Chapman Which soccer club`s supporters are known as the Toon Army? Newcastle United `Sicknote` was the nickname of a character in which TV series? London`s Burning Which was the first colour film to win a Best Picture Oscar? Gone With The Wind What was the name of the banker who looked after Jed Clampett`s millions in `The Beverly Hillbillies`? Mr Drysdale Who played the Prince Regent in `Blackadder The Third`? Hugh Laurie Used in mathematics, what is the value of Pi to three decimal places? 3.142 Sigourney Weaver`s film debut was a non-speaking role in which Woody Allen film? Annie Hall Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate after 35 years of marriage? Sapphire, Crystal or Coral? Coral What was left in Pandora`s box after she released misery and evil? Hope Which famous actor had his scenes cut from the 1983 film `The Big Chill` Kevin Costner Which planet in the solar system would come third alphabetically? Mars In music, the band Travis got their name from a character in which film? Paris, Texas In which London park is London Zoo situated? Regent`s Park What is the name of the trophy awarded to the winners of the Rugby World Cup? William Webb Ellis Trophy Who famously said `L`Etat c`est moi` which translates as `I am the state`? Louis XIV What fraction of an iceberg is exposed above the water? one third, one seventh or one eleventh? One eleventh The Greek translation of the phrase `Which was to be proved` provided what abbreviation? QED How many pawns does each player have in a game of chess? 8 Who is the only person to have five stars on Hollywood`s walk of fame - one for each of movies, TV, theatre, radio and music? Gene Autry Which country was once referred to as `Gaul`? France How many pieces does each player have in backgammon? 15 Which former Blue Peter presenter died in April 2004, aged 41? Caron Keating The Sun is mainly composed of Hydrogen and which other gas? Helium In what town was William Shakespeare born? Stratford-upon-Avon What was ITVs first twice weekly soap opera? Emergency Ward 10 In the music world, by what name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III better known? Eminem Who painted `The Night Watch`? Rembrandt In the film `Casablanca`, how many times does Humphrey Bogart say `Play it again Sam`? Never Which of the following would a phillumenist collect? Bottle tops, Matchbox labels or Dolls? Matchbox labels With which artist is the famous painting `Sunflowers` associated? Vincent Van Gogh. Which club did Alex Ferguson leave to go to Man United? Aberdeen What was Everything But The Girl`s first top ten UK hit single? I Don`t Want To Talk About It Which Japanese word means `empty orchestra`? Karaoke Who was Queen of England for 9 days in 1553? Lady Jane Grey What company was founded by Parisian chemistry student Eugene Schuller in 1907, creating a dye to cover grey hair with natural looking colours? L`Oreal What was Ferdinand Porches best selling car design? Volkswagen Beetle Which `M` is the ruling planet of the astrological sign Gemini? Mercury What is the largest joint in the human body? The knee joint Who did Sitting Bull call `little sure shot`? Annie Oakley Which singer won the best actress award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival? Bjork (for `Dancer In The Dark`) The liquer cassis is made from which fruit? Blackcurrant What 1969 James Bond is the longest at 140 minutes? `On Her Majesty`s Secret Service` In the Bible who was Jacob`s wife? Rachel What is the colour of the `Black Box` in a plane which can be used to gather important information in the event of a crash? Orange In which decade did Christopher Cockerell invent the hovercraft? 1950s What is the chemical symbol for the element Silver? Ag More widely recognised as an actor, who won the 1997 Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the film `Slingblade`? Billy Bob Thornton Who wrote the book `Wuthering Heights` in 1847? Emily Bronte In which city is the literary character Dr Jekyll`s laboratory? London In which European city would you find Anne Frank`s house? Amsterdam Who was the first woman to be shot by the FBI? Bonnie Parker What is the capital city of Scotland? Edinburgh What product did Linda Bellingham advertise on TV for 12 years? OXO In the game of Pokemon, what colour is Pikachu? Yellow Who wrote the opera from which the melody known as `Here comes the bride` comes? Wagner In what year was the first bikini shown at a fashion show? 1946 What was the name of the helicopter written about by Sarah Fergusson, Duchess of York? Budgie Which song includes the line `Let`s play twister, let`s play risk` and which band who had a hit with it originally? `Man On The Moon` by REM Which 1975 film became only the second to win all five major Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay? `One Flew Over The Cuckoo`s Nest` Which department store shut 109 of its UK branches in the year 2000? C & A In the Bible, who cut off Samson`s hair? Delilah Who directed the 1956 film `The Killing`? Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick or Francis Ford Copolla? Stanley Kubrick Which famous rock star did Angie Barnett marry in 1970? David Bowie How many hoops are used in a game of croquet? 6 Which sport was invented by Dr James Naismith in Massachusetts in 1891? Basketball Who did Ronald Reagan succeed as American President Jimmy Carter In which film would you first have come across the character of Marty McFly? Back To The Future From what country does the chihuahua dog originate? Mexico In Greek mythology what is the name of the winged horse? Pegasus What was the name of the character in `Wacky Races` who drove `the Turbo Terrific`? Peter Perfect The emerald is the birthstone for what month? May Which of the characters in the `Wizard of Oz` would most accurately fit the description of `Vacuous`? The Scarecrow, Tin Man or Lion? Scarecrow The character played by Halle Berry in the 1994 film `The Flintstones` shares her name with what famous actress? Sharon Stone What is the most common surname in America? Smith Poseidon and Neptune were the Greek and Roman Gods of what? The sea In which year did the Falklands war take place? 1982 How is the drink which was introduced in 1929 and originally called Lithiated Lemon, known now? 7-Up Which twentieth century artist had a studio called `The Factory`? Andy Warhol. How old was Barings Bank when it collapse after Nick Leeson lost hundreds of thousands of pounds? 223 years Robert Englund is best known for playing which character in a series of horror films? Freddy Krueger In which famous Christmas Song is a snowman pretended to be `Parsons Brown`? `Winter Wonderland` Who realeased the 1985 hit album `Reckless`? Bryan Adams Which groups 1985 debut album was called `Wonderland`? Erasure In the movie `2001: A Space Odysey, what was the computer`s name? HAL What was the first city in modern history to have a population of a million when it did so in 1811? London What is the first property you`d pass on a standard Monopoly board? Old Kent Road Who played Al Capone in the 1987 film `The Untouchables`? Robert De Niro According to Benny Hill, what was the name of the horse that pulled the fastest milk-cart in the west? Trigger Which British actor plays Thomas Fowler in the 2002 film `The Quiet American`? Michael Caine Which painter`s works include `The Bathers` and `La Loge`? Renoir. Which 1987 film received 9 nominations at the Oscars in 1988? `The Last Emperor` Which is larger - the Indian or African elephant or are they both the same size? African Which battle of 1485 was the last in the War of the Roses? Bosworth Field With which sport are the Queensberry Rules associated? Boxing What does `I.Q.` stand for as in I.Q. Test? Intelligence Quotient Adapted from a British TV series, what 1997 featured Val Kilmer in the leading role? `The Saint` Tom Baker played Doctor Who in how many episodes of the TV series? 172 Who founded The Metropolitan Police? Robert Peel In which European country did the Mazurka dance originate? Poland What does the letter `T` stand for in the Star Trek character James T. Kirk`s name? Tiberius Which football team won the World Cup in 1954? West Germany Who had the 1981 hit single `Good Year For the Roses`? Elvis Costello In the film `The Life Of Brian`, who played Biggus Dickus? Graham Chapman Who`s last words were translated as `You too, Brutus`? Julius Caesar Celine Dion`s song `My Heart Will Go On` is from the soundtrack of which film? `Titanic` Which Charles Dickens novel featured the character of Tiny Tim? A Christmas Carol What city was the capital of Cambodia in the 11th century? Angkor, Hue or Mukden? Angkor What is the most westerly county in England? Cornwall `AD` stands for Anno Domini, but what does Anno Domini mean? In the year of our Lord. Which Monty Python star once played an art critic in `Doctor Who`? John Cleese What is the capital of Pakistan? Islamabad Who is the patron saint of television? Saint Clare Mickey Mouse is named after which actor? Mickey Rooney In what year did the building of the Panama canal begin? 1880 Which continent does the zebra come from? Africa What is Roxy Music`s only UK no 1 single? Jealous Guy What was Michael Jackson`s first UK number one single? `One day in your life` With which comic would you associate the characters Lord Snooty, Minnie The Minx and The Bash Street Kids? `The Beano` On which TV comedy show might you find the characters of Jesse, Bob Fleming and Competitive Dad? `The Fast Show` How is the medical condition dyspepsia better known? Indigestion Who was European footballer of the year for 2000? Luis Figo What is the second largest planet in the Solar System? Saturn What colour is the bottom stripe on the flag of Germany? Yellow Which is the southernmost of the North American Great Lakes? Lake Erie In which 1993 film is the main character called Phil Connors? Groundhog Day Who did Muhammad Ali fight in `The Thrilla In Manila`? Joe Frazier David Cornwell is the real name of which author? John Le Carre Which golf course hosts the US masters? Augusta Which actress starred in `The Pelican Brief` and `Sleeping With The Enemy`? Julia Roberts In which year did Kurt Cobain commit suicide? 1994 Which Beatles song was the biggest selling single in the UK in the 1960s? `She Loves You` How many players made up a squad In the 2002 soccer world cup? 22 Which city holds the title of World Cup capital due to the number of soccer World Cup matches held there? Mexico City `OK Computer`, `Pablo Honey` and `Kid A` are all albums by which British band ? Radiohead What was Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin`s first meal on the moon? Roasted Turkey, Steak Pie or Peanut Butter Sandwiches? Roasted Turkey Which of the states in Australia is the largest? Western Australia How many European countries qualified for the 2002 World Cup Finals? 15 Which American actress played Carrie in `Four Weddings and a Funeral`? Andie MacDowell What did Russia sell to America in 1867? Alaska Who starred as Mary Poppins in the 1964 film of the same name? Julie Andrews What number on the Beaufort scale represents a moderate wind? 4 Which musical style has a name which means `in the style of the chapel` in Italian? A Cappella Which country was the first to win the soccer World Cup three times? Brazil Which authour first coined the phrase `heavy metal`? William Burroughs What name is given to the lightest weight category in Olympic boxing? Light Flyweight Which band provided the main theme song for the film `Mission Impossible 2`? Limp Bizkit According to the Bible, what would have come first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken What was the name of the fort in Texas where a group of Americans fought a large Mexican force in 1836? Alamo In what 1971 film did Roy Kinnear play Mr Salt? `Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory` Which is the only country to have played in every World Cup since it started in 1930? Brazil Who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel `The Grapes of Wrath`? John Steinbeck Which member of the Royal Family was born on 19th February 1960? Prince Andrew Which of the following colours does not appear on the flag of Afghanistan? Green, Red or Yellow? Red What colour is the top stripe on the flag of Hungary? Red Which famous book is sub-titled `The Modern Prometheus`? `Frankenstein` In a standard game of poker, which of these hands would win? Three of a kind, a straight or a flush? A flush Which actor played the leading role in Alfred Hitchcock`s `North by north-west`? Cary Grant What method of transport did Christopher Cockerell patent in 1955? Hovercraft How many feet are in a furlong? 660 What was the name of Rodney`s wife in `Only Fools And Horses`? Cassandra Which cartoonist published the `Far Side` cartoons? Gary Larson Who famously said `a week is a long time in politics`? Harold Wilson Which US city contains the residential area of Bel Air? Los Angeles Roger Hargreaves created which characters in a series of books in the 1970s? The Mister Men Baton Rouge is the capital of which American state? Louisiana In which year did John Major become Prime Minister? 1990 What was Oliver Reed`s last film? `Gladiator` Who had a number one with `Little Things Mean A Lot` in 1954? Kitty Kallen, Jo Stafford or Vera Lynn? Kitty Kallen What was the first type of animal in the world to be domesticated? The dog Which TV actor provided the voice for Bob the Builder on his number one hit? Neil Morrissey In which hand does the Statue Of Liberty hold a torch? Left or Right? Right. Which band had a number one hit single called `Star Trekkin`? The Firm What `V. V.` is John Travolta’s character`s name in the film `Pulp Fiction`? Vince Vega In which of Shakespeare`s plays does the line `A horse! A horse ! My kingdom for a horse.` appear? `Richard III` Which cult TV show featured the characters called Donna Hayward, Doctor Jacobi and the Log Lady? `Twin Peaks` Who composed `Moonlight Sonata``? Handel, Mozart or Beethoven? Beethoven What is the second letter of the Greek alphabet? Beta Which English football team play their home games at the MacAlpine stadium? Huddersfield Town Which cartoon character lived at 52 Festive Road, London? Mr Benn On which famous award do the two words `For Valour` appear? The Victoria Cross What was Abba`s first British hit single? Waterloo What single letter is the chemical symbol for the element Tungsten? W Which football team lost both the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals? West Germany What was the name of the third fillm in the `Die Hard` series? `Die Hard: With A Vengeance In 1990, who became the oldest recipient of a best actress Oscar? Jessica Tandy In what century was the leaning tower of Pisa built? 14th How many UK number ones did Take That have in the 1990s? 7 Out of the 20 highest mountains in America, 17 are in which state? Alaska What is the capital of Iraq? Baghdad Who wrote `Finnegan`s Wake`? James Joyce After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a leather wedding anniversary? 3 What is the second largest continent in the world? Africa Which Italian football club bought David Platt for £5.5 million? Bari In which American state is Hollywood? California Who wrote `Ulysses` and `A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man`? James Joyce What is the only bird which hunts by the sense of smell? The Kiwi, The Condor or The Ostrich? Kiwi Who devoted four years of his life to painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Michaelangelo Who did Stevie Wonder write the song `Happy Birthday` for? Martin Luther King In which century did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone? 19th Which American poet wrote `Tales Of Mystery And Imagination`? Edgar Allen Poe What nationality was the artist Paul Gaugin? French. What is the name given to a young eagle? An eaglet Which country celebrated its bicentenary in 1988? Australia In July 2002, actress Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from which actor? Billy Bob Thornton David Prowse is best known for playing what Star Wars character? Darth Vader Which is the fastest land mammal? The cheetah What famous train would you find on the Island of Sodor? Thomas the tank engine How many days is the average gestation period of a mouse? 3, 11 or 21? 21 A tangelo is a cross between a tangerine and what other fruit? A grapefruit Which rock group had a hit with `The Final Countdown`? Europe What silent film star had a contract which forbid him from smiling on screen? Buster Keaton In which country would you find the original Legoland? Denmark Mel Gibson, Whoopi Goldberg and R.E.M. have all made guest appearances on which children`s TV show? `Sesame Street` What 1995 film featured the characters of Mr Potato Head, Bo Peep and Slinky Dog? `Toy Story` What was Elvis Presley`s middle name? Aaron What is the birthstone for the month of January? Garnet With which band would you associate Jack and Meg White? The White Stripes Which authour had the real name of Charles Dodgson? Lewis Carroll Which element has the chemical symbol P? Phosphorous Who played a singer called Rachel Marron in a 1992 fillm? Whitney Houston Which controversial 1955 novel is Vladimir Nabokov`s best known? Lolita What kind of animal is Pingu? Penguin Who became King of Scotland in 1371? Robert II, James III or James IV? Robert II Which 1962 film is based on the novel `The Executioners` by John D. MacDonald? `Cape Fear` What is the sum of the internal angles of any triangle? 180 degrees `Wichita Lineman` was the first British top ten hit for who? Glen Campbell Which island lies in the centre of Niagara Falls? Goat Island After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a crystal wedding anniversary? 15 What is the second most common word in spoken English? `and` Which female singer released her debut album `Not That Kind` in the year 2000? Anastacia `Snot Rap` was a 1983 top 10 hit single for which TV personality? Kenny Everett Which film, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Bruce Willis, was based on the short French film, `La Jetee`? `Twelve Monkeys` Which music hall entertainer was known as the `Prime Minister Of Mirth`? George Robey Who played the Riddler in the 1995 film `Batman Forever`? Jim Carrey In which year was the horse race the Derby first run? 1780 In which century did the ship the Mayflower begin it`s epic voyage? 17th What is the name of The Jetsons` dog? Astro, Apollo or Maris? Astro Acid rain is caused by what polluting gas? Sulphur Dioxide The group Steely Dan got their name from a sexual device depicted in which book? The Naked Lunch Mariner 10 is the only space probe to fly past which planet, sending back pictures showing it to resembling the Earth`s moon? Mercury Who played Dr Grant in the film `Jurassic Park`? Sam Neill How many pockets are there on a standard snooker table? 6 Which `J` is Homer Simpson`s middle name? Jay In what year did George Orwell write the bulk of his novel `1984`? 1948 According to the Collins Millenium Dictionary, in what year was the word `Jazz` introduced into the English language? 1909 Which sign of the zodiac falls in both October and November? Scorpio What flower is traditionally given at Easter? The lily On a London Underground map, what line is coloured dark blue? The Picadilly Line Which female singer had a 1990 hit album called `The Immaculate Collection`? Madonna What animal has the heavist and most complex brain in the animal world? The sperm whale. What famous novel did Mark Chapman have in his possession when he assassinated John Lennon? `The Catcher In The Rye` After the 1936 Olympic Games, they were not held again until what year? 1948 What nationality were the band the Chi-Lites? British, American or Canadian? American Which organ in the human body regulates the amount of water in the blood and helps remove waste products? Kidney What is the capital of the American state of Arizona? Phoenix Which American band had a hit single in the year 2000 with `The Great Beyond`? R.E.M. Which sport combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting? The Biathlon Which character has been played on screen by Tyrone Power and Alain Denoin? Zorro Which of the following teams was not in France`s group in the 2002 World Cup? Costa Rica, Senegal or Uruguay? Costa Rica Which song includes the line `Mere alcohol doesn`t thrill me at all`? I Get A Kick Out Of You With which sport are Andrew and Stephen Train associated? Canoeing Which school did Billy Bunter attend? Greyfriars The film `Gone With The Wind` is based on a novel by which author? Margaret Mitchell In which city was Dick Turpin hanged? York What word taken from the abbreviation for a unit of weight measurement was used by L. Frank Baum in the title of a novel? Oz By what name is the Central Criminal Court in London better known? The Old Bailey True or False: In America, on 1st January, 2001, over 3,700 prisoners were under sentence of death? True Who did John Francis attempt to assassinate in 1842? John Constable, Charles Dickens or Queen Victoria? Queen Victoria Nick Hornby`s book `Fever Pitch` is about supporting which English football team? Arsenal What is trichology the study of? Hair, Bones or Fingernails? Hair In what decade was London bridge transported from England to America? 1970s What would you do with a Tom Collins? Eat it, drink it or wear it? Drink it What English-speaking Carribean nation qualified for the soccer world cup finals in France in 1998? Jamaica What type of clouds produce rain or snow? Cirrus, Cumbulus or Nimbus? Nimbus What was the name of Sir Walter Raleigh`s ship in the battle of the Armada? The Ark Who was the manager of the punk band `The Sex Pistols`? Malcolm McLaren In 2004, football pundit Ron Atkinson resigned over comments about which player? Marcel Desailly After Osama Bin Laden, which person was searched for most on the Internet in September 2001? Nostradamus Who`s was the first voice on the original Band Aid single `Do They Know It`s Christmas`? Paul Young`s Which wedding anniversary would you celebrate after 25 years? Silver What is the name of the football team Barcelona`s home stadium? The Nou Camp With which Dickens novel would you associate the character of Thomas Gradgrind? `Hard Times` What is the name given to a young lion? A cub Which Australian golfer won the US Open in 1981? David Graham Where in the body would you find the femur bone? The leg Which building in London contains a slab on the floor marking the tomb of an `Unknown Warrior` of World War I? Westminster Abbey What instrument was Louis Armstrong most famous for playing? Trumpet What was the approximate population of the world in 1960? 3 billion, 4 billion or 5 billion? 3 billion What would the highest possible score be on the TV quiz show `Fifteen To One`? 433 To the nearest million, what did Census 2001 reveal was the population of Scotland? 5 million Which member of the Monty Python team was a doctor? Graham Chapman Which king was killed from getting hit by an arrow in his eye? King Harold What is the collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses? A strike, a blow or a crash? A crash Which song from the 80s includes the line `Before this river becomes an ocean`? `Faith` Approximately what percentage of the human body is water? 27%, 63% or 80%? 80% What was the surname of both the 9th and 23rd Presidents of the USA? Harrison What was the Lone Ranger`s horse called? Silver Who was the lead singer of the 1960s Irish group, `Them`? Van Morrisson Ascorbic acid also known as what Vitamin? Vitamin C Over how many days is a decathlon contested in the Olympic Games? 2 What was the number of the Apollo mission that first landed on the moon? 11 Which of the following religions was organized most recently? Islam, Hinduism or Christianity? Islam Which film star has the real name of Chan Kongsang? Jackie Chan What was the name of the first cartoon created for use with a soundtrack? Steamboat Willie Which Welsh band had the first UK number one of the 21st century? Manic Street Preachers What is the smallest planet in the Solar System? Pluto How many storeys does the Empire State Building in New York have? 102 When were the first Commonwealth games held? 1906, 1922 or 1930? 1930 Which musical term means `notes of a chord played in quick succession`? Arpeggio In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, what were there four of? Calling Birds Which Beatle was part of the Travelling Wilburys? George Harrison The song `Good Morning To All` written by the sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, was later adapted by Robert Coleman to become which famous song? `Happy Birthday To You` `Whiskey-A-Go-Go` in Los Angeles was America`s first what? Disco Which sea does the river Thames flow into? North Sea Which two colours appear on the Austrian flag? Red and White Who was the chief of the Greek Gods? Zeus What does the initial `P` stand for in the singer P. J. Harvey`s name? Polly What was the first in Krzysztof Kieslowski`s `Three Colours` trilogy of films called? Three Colours: Blue Which long-running show was first broadcast in 1958 when it was presented by a former Miss Great Britain and an ex-Army Officer? Blue Peter Bert and Ernie from `Sesame Street` are named after characters in what classic film? It`s A Wonderful Life What instrument did Dave Clarke play in the Dave Clarke Five? Drums Who plays the role of Sharon Watts in the TV soap opera `Eastenders`? Letitia Dean Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, who was the first director of the FBI? Stanley W. Finch When is All Souls` Day? November 2nd In what American TV series did David Duchovny appear as transvestite Dennis/Denise Bryson? Twin Peaks Which English explorer introduced tobacco and potatoes to England? Walter Raleigh What film features the characters Barry the Baptist and Hatchett Harry? `Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels` `Gregory Peck` is cockney rhyming slang for what? Cheque Which British actress has appeared in the films `The Last Days Of Disco`, `Serendipity` and `Pearl Harbour`? Kate Beckinsale In music, how many UK number ones has Ken Dodd had? 1 In what mountain range is the Yeti said to live? The Himalayas What Welsh band were originally known as `Betty Blue`? Manic Street Preachers How many balls are there on the table at the start of a normal game of pool? 16 How old was Bruce Lee when he died? 32 Who played `Balowski` in the TV comedy series `The Young Ones`? Alexie Sayle Who played lead guitar for Pink Floyd? Dave Gilmour In 1943, about 5,000 lives were lost due to flooding in which country? India Who directed the 1989 film `Crimes And Misdemeanors`? Warren Beatty, Woody Allen or Robert Redford? Woody Allen In which year did work began on building St Paul`s Cathedral? 1675 In what year was the first Barbie doll sold? 1959 What 1982 stars Dustin Hoffman as an actor who disguises himself as a woman to get work? `Tootsie` In which year were Joker`s first introduced to decks of cards in America? 1865 Which actress played the female lead in the film `Out Of Africa`? Meryl Streep In which year did the London store `Selfridges` open? 1909 In what year did Queen Victoria die? 1901 In which year did Bill Clinton become president of the USA? 1993 Which famous actress provided the voice of Maggie in the TV show The Simpsons when she uttered her first word? Elizabeth Taylor Which TV comedian plays the character of Alan Partridge? Steve Coogan What is the chemical symbol for the element Uranium? U, Ur or Un? U In what building in London is Poets Corner? Westminster Abbey What is the one place in all of Great Britain that the Queen cannot visit? The House Of Commons How much money is referred to in the slang term `a monkey`? 500 pounds In a standard game of poker, what is the name given to the strongest hand? A royal flush Is a substance with a pH value less than 7 known as an acid or an alkali? Acid Which of the following American states is nicknamed the Hoosier State? Montana, New Mexico or Indiana? Indiana How did Captain Hook die in Peter Pan? Killed by a crocodile Which of the following rivers is the longest? Ob, Mississippi or Mekong? Mississippi Of which US state is Columbus the capital? Ohio Which of the following is a palindrome? Abracadabra, Racecar or Whoosh? Racecar What does the musical term `adagio` mean? Slow Which Stanley Kubrick film was based on a short story by Gustav Hasford called `The Short Timers`? `Full Metal Jacket` In which year was the first Guinness Book of Records published? 1935, 1945 or 1955? 1955 Which Jane Austen novel was originally titled `First Impressions`? `Pride and Prejudice` Who had a number one hit in May 1958 with `All I Have To Do Is Dream`? Everly Brothers In which group of islands would you find Harris, Lewis and Benbecula? Outer Hebrides What colour are the stars on the Australian flag? White Nancy Spingen was the famous girlfriend of who? Sid Vicious On which island did Napoleon die? St Helena In the TV series `The Simpsons`, who replaced Sideshow Bob? Sideshow Mel From which 1999 film do the lines `I feel like I`ve been in a coma for the past twenty years. And I`m just now waking up.` come? `American Beauty` What was the 50th state to join the United States of America? Hawaii In Roald Dahl`s novel `The BFG`, what do the letters BFG stand for? Big Friendly Giant Which tropic is north of the equator? Cancer or Capricorn? Cancer Which of the following is considered `the Royal Game`? Polo, Chess or Tiddlywinks? Chess What was the name of the farm where the animals lived in George Orwell`s `Animal Farm`? Manor Farm `Thunderbirds Are Go` was a top ten hit in 1990 for FAB featuring who? MC Parker What is the capital of the American state of California? Sacramento In 2002, who topped Forbes magazine`s list of the richest fictional characters? Santa Claus Which band had a Top 10 hit in 1969 with `Pictures of Lily`? The Who Who directed the film `Full Metal Jacket`? Stanley Kubrick How many players are there in a hockey team? 11 For how many years was Queen Victoria queen of the United Kingdom? 51, 64 or 76? 64 In the Dilbert comic strips, what is the name of the management consultant? Dogbert What were the first names of the Everly Brothers? Don and Phil What number is meant by a devil`s dozen or a long dozen? 13 In what year did Alaska become on of the United States of America? 1959 Which country`s national symbol is a Lotus flower? India In the film `Psycho` what is Norman Bates` hobby? Taxidermy Which 80s pop star wrote Chesney Hawke`s hit single `The One & Only`? Nik Kershaw What American film was released in France with a title which translated as `Life, Love, Cows`? `City Slickers` In what year was the actor Robert De Niro born? 1943 How many dominoes are there in a full set? 28 What name is given to the part of a building from where bells are hung? Belfry Which Monty Python star won a lifetime acheivement award at the British Comedy Awards in 2002? Michael Palin Which fruit is the only one to grow seeds on the outside ? Strawberry True or false: Clinophobia is the fear of beds? True In the NATO phonetic alphabet, what word is used for `N`? November Which line in Casablanca was famously mis-translated into German as `I look in your eyes, little one.`? `Here`s looking at you, kid` What was the Beautiful South`s first UK top 40 single? `Song For Whoever` Which of these types of painting came first? Realism, Cubism or Impressionism? Realism. In music, Pulp, Def Leppard and ABC all come from which English city? Sheffield Which element was used to make brass, but not recognised as a separate metal until 1746? Zinc In the game of Monopoly, how much does it cost to buy Old Kent Road? 60 What is zoophobia the fear of? Animals Which adult male singing voice is lower than tenor but higher than bass? Baritone What authour was exiled from Russia because of his book `Dr Zhivago`? Boris Pasternak If penultimate means next to last, what is the correct word for second to last? Antepenultimate Who in 1938 invented the first ball point pen? Lasalo Biro Which footballer conceded a penalty in Englands last Euro 2000 match? Phil Neville Which band did singer Louise leave to go solo? Eternal Which of the following is not a moon of the planet Saturn? Titan, Juliet or Pandora? Juliet Which comedian`s real name is Robert Davies? Jasper Carrot Whose was the first star to be placed on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame? Joanne Woodward What single by `Wet Wet Wet` spent 15 weeks at number one in the UK charts in 1994? Love Is All Around In judo, what colour belt follows yellow? Orange Which Texas song includes the line `You can tell me your reasons, but it won`t change my feelings`? Say What You Want In which country did the `Rumble In The Jungle` between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman take place in 1974? Zaire In which continent is the Caspian Sea? Asia What is the French name for the English Channel? La Manche In computing, what does the letter `A` stand for in `ASCII`? All, Assumed or American? American Which of the following operas was first performed before the other two? The Merry Widow, Carmen or Madame Butterfly? Carmen Who had a hit in the nineties with the song `Breakfast At Tiffany`s`? Deep Blue Something Which novelist works include `Dead Cert`, `Comeback` and `To The Hilt`? Dick Francis The first golf shot to be played on the moon occurred in which year? 1971 Fat Tuesday is another name for what event? Mardi Gras What is the proper name for the fear of fire? Pyrophobia What was the name of the volcano that erupted in the year A.D. 79 and destroyed the city of Pompeii? Vesuvius Which British monarch was known as the `Sailor King`? William IV Which Madness song starts with the line `Good morning miss, can I help you son`? `House Of Fun` Who was the first Roman Catholic to become American President? John F. Kennedy Beelzebub is Hebrew for what four word phrase, which was also used as the title of a famous novel? `Lord Of The Flies` Which actress appeared in the films `Get Shorty`, `Ruthless People` and `The First Wives Club`? Bette Midler Which sign of the zodiac falls in both June and July? Cancer Who had a number one in 1974 called `Always Yours`? Suzi Quattro, Gary Glitter or Pilot? Gary Glitter Who plays Dr. Evil in the `Austin Powers` films? Mike Myers Which has the larger ears - the African or Asian elephant? African What is the state capital of New York? Albany Who first argued that the world was not flat? Aristotle What style of painting was demonstrated by Monet, Renoir and Degas in Paris in 1874? Impressionist. Who wrote `The Day Of The Triffids`? John Wyndham What city was the first in the southern hemisphere to host the Olympics? Melbourne What element was the chemical symbol `Y`? Yttrium Which name does Paul O`Grady usually use when appearing on TV? Lily Savage New Jersey, New Mexico, New York. Which other American state begins with `New`? New Hampshire What is the capital city of Saudi Arabia? Ryaddh Which of the following is not one of Michael Jackson`s brothers? Joe, Marlon or Tito? Joe Which TV puppet had an arch enemy called Grotbags? Emu Which month`s name is derived from the two-faced god of gates? January Which Canadian province lies in between Alberta and Manitoba? Saskatchewan What is the capital of Austria? Vienna In which country was the 1999 film `Human Traffic` set? Wales Which river flows through Dublin? The Liffey Who played the title role in the 2002 film `Spiderman`? Tobey Maguire Which TV show introduced Bonnie Langford, Bobby Crush and Lena Zavaroni? `Opportunity Knocks` Which element spontaneously ignites in normal air? Phosphorous What is Britain`s highest earning toll bridge? The Humber Bridge Who played Hercule Poirot in the films `Death On The Nile` and `Appointment With Death`? Peter Ustinov The Pied Piper was called in to Hamelin to deal with what problem? Rats Who was the oldest member of the Beatles? Ringo Starr What is the longest line on the London Underground? The Northern Line Which film starring Arnold Swarzenegger, was based on a short story called `We Can Remember It For You Wholesale`? `Total Recall` Cut-throat Jake was the arch enemy of who? Captain Pugwash Which actress starred opposite Michael Douglas in the 1984 film `Romancing The Stone`? Kathleen Turner In which 1933 film did Fay Wray star as Ann Darrow? King Kong How many sides does an octagon have? 8 How many tentacles does an Octopus have? 8 In which county would you find Middlesbrough? Cleveland Which DJ runs the record label Perfecto? Paul Oakenfold What was Michaelangelo`s first name? Michaelangelo If in a game of Monopoly, you owned Pall Mall and Whitehall, which other property would you need to complete the set? Northumberland Avenue Who was the first American President to be born in the 20th century? John F Kennedy In morse code which letter is symbolized by dot dash? A Who or what was Herbie in the 1974 film `Herbie Rides Again`? A car In which year did Britain change to decimal currency? 1971 Which Tim Burton film starred Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis? Beetlejuice What is the name of the Test cricket ground in Birmingham? Edgbaston What word is used to describe an angle between 90 and 180 degrees? Obtuse Which river runs through the Grand Canyon? The Colorado Who had top ten hits in the nineties with `End Of The Line`, `Love Of A Lifetime` and `Never Let You Down`? The Honeyz King Richard I was known by what other name? Richard the Lionheart Who narrates the initial lines in the Pink Floyd song `Keep Talking`? Stephen Hawking What is latitude 66°32`N otherwise known as? The Arctic Circle What is the maximum number of golf clubs a golfer is allowed to use in a game? 14 What word can be used to describe a group of Kangaroos or Baboons? A troop What is a group of chickens called? A brood Who directed the Oscar-winning film `The English Patient`? Anthony Minghella Who played the Honey Rider in an early James Bond film? Ursula Andress Who did Everton beat in the 1984 FA Cup final? Watford In the `Dukes Of Hazzard` was General Lee a car, a dog, or a person? A car A feathered shuttlecock contains how many feathers? 16 What type of animal is a Bombay Duck? Fish What is the plural of mongoose? Mongooses What is the collective noun for a group of monkeys? A troop Who plays Dr Jekyll in the 1996 film `Mary Reilly`? John Malkovich In which two cities would you find Cleopatra`s needles? London and New York Which of the following countries is larger than 100 square miles in area? Liechtenstein, Monaco or Malta? Malta `Restyle Perm` is an anagram of which famous actress? Meryl Streep Which cartoon cat would you associate with the bird Tweety Pie? Sylvester Which artist`s work includes `The Night Watch`, `The Mill` and `Christ Healing`? Rembrandt Who was British Prime Minister at the time of Elizabeth II's Coronation? Winston Churchill Who wrote a play about ten guests invited to a luxurious retreat who discover their unknown host is among them, intent on murder? Agatha Christie Who wrote the novel `The Count Of Monte Cristo`? Alexandre Dumas Which chemical element is derived from the Greek word for `male`? Arsenic Which if the following is not one of the standard playing pieces in the game of Monopoly? Ship, Hat or Bike? Bike Who plays Samantha in the TV series `Sex And The City`? Kim Cattrall Where were the 1984 summer Olympics held? Los Angeles What actor played `Crocodile Dundee`? Paul Hogan Where was the 2002 World Cup final played? Niigata, Yokohama or Osaka? Yokohama Which country was admitted to the United Nations in 1993, becoming the smallest country to have done so? Monaco Who composed `The Four Seasons`? Vivaldi How many squares are there on a chess board? 64 What was the score when Brazil beat Czechoslovakia in the 1962 World Cup final? 3-1, 4-2, or 5-3? 3-1 Who was the famous wife of King Louis XVI of France? Marie Antoinette Which brothers invented the airplane in 1903? Wilbur and Orville Wright Which is the only colour which appears on the flag of Libya? Green Used in the English language, what word translates as `little war` in Spanish? Guerrilla The 1956 film `Forbidden Planet` is loosely based on which Shakespeare play? `The Tempest` In which year did the first bungee jump in Britain take place? 1979 Thomas Selfridge was the first man to be killed by what type of transport? Aeroplane Who did Arsenal beat 3-2 in the 1979 FA Cup final? Manchester United What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Mensa`? Table What is the fourth book of the Bible? Numbers Which American Football team reached four consecutive Super Bowls between 1991-94? The Buffalo Bills In the board game Monopoly, how much does Euston Road cost? 100 pounds What sport do Manchester Giants and London Towers play? Basketball In the Bible, who was Cain`s father? Adam Which prison was built on the Isle of Wight in 1830? Parkhurst Where were the 1960 Olympic Games held? Rome Which famous song contains the line `I feel stupid and contagious`? Smells Like Teen Spirit What was Dom Perignon the first to insert in a bottle? A cork Which famous female singer made her movie debut alongside Tupac Shakur in the film `Poetic Justice`? Janet Jackson In which town in Mississippi is `The Adventures of Tom Sawyer` by Mark Twain set? St Petersburg What type of racing has only two cars competing on the track at the same time? Drag Racing Which famous song contains the line `I feel stupid and contagious`? `Smells Like Teen Spirit` (by Nirvana) Which comon word was first coined at the start of the 20th Century by Czech playwright Karel Capek and is derived from a word meaning `menial labour`? Robot In Greek mythology, what was Nike the Goddess of? Sport, Victory or Wisdom? Victory Which of the following artists came highest in the Eurovision Song Contest for Britain in the 1990s? Michael Ball, Gina G or Love City Groove? Michael Ball Christmas Island is surrounded by which ocean? The Indian Ocen What does the second `E` stand for in `EEC`? Economic The characters Bert and Ernie from Sesame street were named after a policeman and taxi driver from what famous film? `It`s A Wonderful Life` James Cagney is often misquoted by impressionists as saying `You dirty rat`. What was his exact original words that led to this misquote? `You dirty double-crossing rat` Which sign of the zodiac runs from March into April? Aries Tony Orlando was the lead singer with which band? Dawn What animal is used to represent the star sign Capricorn? Goat In which Formula One team did Damon Hill replace Nigel Mansell? Williams What was the name of the cowboy in the film `Toy Story`? Woody Which famous TV comedian changed his name from Eric Bartholomew? Eric Morecambe Which island is part of Danish territory, but if regarded as a country would be the 12th largest in the world? Greenland What colour is the middle stripe on the Irish flag? White In which city is the 2001 film `Mulholland Drive` set? Los Angeles What is the only letter of the alphabet which does not appear in any of the names of the 50 American states? `Q` In what year did Slade first have a hit with the song `Merry Christmas Everybody`? 1973, 1975 or 1977? 1973 Who was the second wife of Henry VIII? Anne Boleyn What nationality was the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud? Austrian What was the profession of the main character in the 2001 film `The Man Who Wasn`t There`? Barber In which year was the Encyclopedia Britannica first published? 1768 How many feet are there in a mile? 5,280 Which book, written in 1962 by Anthony Burgess, was later turned into a film directed by Stanley Kubrick? A Clockwork Orange What is the collective noun for a group of toads? A knot, a stitch or a weave? A knot Who was the first footballer to score 100 goals in the English Premiership? Alan Shearer Who gave the Beatles their name in April 1960? Paul McCartney, John Lennon or Stuart Sutcliffe? John Lennon Which famous actress once said `I`ve been in more laps than a napkin`? Mae West With which football club did Sir Matt Busby win an F.A. Cup winners medal as a player? Manchester City True or False: The first Mickey Mouse movie was silent? True In what year was the British Commonwealth established? 1931 In which ocean would you be if you were at the geographical position 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude? Atlantic If you had one nickel and two dimes, how many cents would you have in total? 25 What was Robbie Williams first solo top ten single called? `Freedom` Who was the male lead who starred with Demi Moore in the film `Ghost`? Patrick Swayze Which author married actress Patricia Neal and wrote the screenplay for the James Bond film `You Only Live Twice`? Roald Dahl Who won the singles title at the first World Bowls Championships in 1966? David Bryant Which of the following is not a continent? North America, Central America or South America? Central America The band `M People` come from which English city? Manchester Which of these letters is used most frequently in the English language? B, V or P? P `When Will I See You Again` was a number one hit in 1974 for which group? The Three Degrees What US state would you arrive in if you headed due north from Hawaii? Alaska What type of animal is an eland? An antelope, a monkey or a bat? An antelope. Which film star had his feet insured for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Charlie Chaplin In which TV series might you have found the `Pacific Princess`? `Love Boat` What was Jimi Hendrix`s only UK number 1 single? `Voodoo Chile` What is the name of the rabbit in the Magic Roundabout? Dylan Who had hits in the 80s with `Live To Tell`, `Causing A Commotion` and `Express Yourself`? Madonna Where in England was the rock guitarist Slash from Guns `n` Roses born? Grimsby, Hartlepool or Stoke on Trent? Stoke on Trent What nationality are the rock groups the Stereophonics and Catatonia? Welsh In 1980, who became the first British solo female artist to have a UK number one album? Kate Bush On the London Underground, which is the only line to connect at some point with every other line on the system? The Jubilee Line Which painting by Leonardo da Vinci is also known as La Gioconda? The Mona Lisa Which actress won an Oscar for the 1990 film `Ghost`? Whoopi Golberg In miles, what is the diameter of the moon? 2160 From which film does the line `If Mr. McMurphy doesn`t want to take his medication orally, I`m sure we can arrange that he can have it some other way` come? `One Flew Over The Cuckoo`s Nest` Which of the following is not a moon of the planet Jupiter? Ananke, Callisto or Bianca? Bianca Which of the following American states is nicknamed the Golden State? Arizona, California or Florida? California Which Japanese company is the world`s largest manufacturer of motorcycles? Honda Which musical does the song `I know him so well` come from? `Chess` Which of these oceans is the largest? Arctic, Atlantic or Indian? Atlantic With which sport would you associate TV presenter Mark Nicholas? Cricket In which Scottish city would you find the Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace? Edinburgh In the musical `Annie`, what is orphan Annie`s dog called? Sandy Paul Hewson and Dave Evans are the real names of members of which rock band? U2 In which city is Marco Polo airport? Venice What is the first prime number greater than 100? 101 How many points are on the maple leaf that appears on the Canadian flag? 11 In what year did Thomas Cook organise his first continental holiday? 1855 In what country is Waterloo, where the famous battle took place? Belgium What is popstar Darius` surname? Danesh Which D. G. is credited as having discovered the singer Kate Bush? Dave Gilmour William Gibson`s short story `Burning Chrome` first included which two word phrase, widely used today when talking about the internet? Cyber Space What is the name of the donkey in the film `Shrek`? Donkey What is the only country that Denmark borders? Germany Who had a number one hit in 1986 with `Nothing`s gonna change my love for you`? Glenn Medeiros What type of animal was Boris, who the rock group `The Who` sang about? Spider In the film `Bambi`, what is the name of Bambi`s rabbit friend? Thumper Which canal links the Meditteranean Sea to the Red Sea? Suez canal Which boxer did Robert De Niro play in the film `Raging Bull`? Jake La Motta Who directed the 1952 film `The Quiet Man`? David Lean, John Ford or Fedrico Fellini? John Ford Which of the Great Lakes in North America has the same name as a U.S. state? Lake Michigan Which of the following actors did not appear in the film `Platoon`? Johnny Depp, River Phoenix or Tom Berenger? River Phoenix In what century was Shakespeare born? 16th `Pebbles and Bam Bam` was a spin-off of which TV series? `The Flintstones` What was the name of the song which won an Oscar for the film `an officer and a gentleman`? `Up where we belong` In which year did Janis Joplin die? 1970 What Irish writer`s portrait appears on the front of the Irish 10-pound note? James Joyce Which American state comes first alphabetically? Alabama The city of Rome stands on which river? Tiber Which country has the airline Iberia? Spain What is the capital of Thailand? Bangkok Which cat was the most popular cartoon character before Mickey Mouse? Felix The Cat Who played the President in the film `Air Force One`? Harrison Ford Agatha Christie`s novel `The Mysterious Affair At Styles` introduced which famous detective? Hercule Poirot Who was the American president when the Berlin Wall was constructed? John F Kennedy In computing, which operating system has a penguin as it`s logo? Linux What oriental game comprises 144 tiles? Mah-jong For which of the following was the Frenchman Fourier best known? Chemistry, Biology or Mathematics? Mathematics In which American state was Madonna born? Michigan In which Shakespeare play does the phrase `to be or not to be` appear? `Hamlet` How many players are there in a water polo team? 7 In what sport would you compete for the `Silver Broom`? Curling Pearl is the birthstone for which month? June Which American TV sitcom has a theme tune called `Thank You For Being A Friend`? `The Golden Girls` What type of geographical feature is Okeechobee in Florida? A lake Ibiza belongs to which island group? Balaeric In Kendo, what is the `sword` made from? Bamboo In Tim Burton`s fame `The Planet Of The Apes` who played the character which was played by Charlton Heston in the original? Mark Wahlberg Invented in Germany by Margaret Steiff, what type of toy would an arctophile collect? Teddy Bears For what book is William Golding best known? `Lord Of The Flies` Bauxite is the ore of which element? Aluminium Yuri Gagarin was the first to orbit Earth in which year? 1961 Which British monarch of the 20th century was almost 60 years old when they were crowned? Edward VII The first artificially refrigerated ice rink opened in which country? U.S.A., England or China? England Who released the album `The Joshua Tree` in 1987? U2 Which actor won an oscar for playing Vito Corleone in `The Godfather Part II`? Robert De Niro What is the name of the disease caused by lack of vitamin C? Scurvy Which fictional detective`s arch-enemy was Professor Moriaty? Sherlock Holmes What is philately the study of? Stamp-collecting What is the first bridge that the boats pass under in the Oxford - Cambridge boat race? Hammersmith A Golden anniversary is celebrated after how many years of marriage? 50 Chemically pure gold contains how many carats? 24 What are the four main blood groups? A, B, AB and O White Admiral and Camberwell Beauty are different types of what creature? Butterfly Which actress did Freddie Prince Jnr marry in September 2002? Sarah Michelle Gellar Which planet in the Solar System is closest in size to Earth? Venus. In which year did the Great Wall Street Crash occur? 1929 Who was the first man to fly the Atlantic solo? Charles Lindbergh Davy Crockett`s hat was made from the fur of what animal? Racoon What animal does Tramp get to remove Lady`s muzzle in the film `Lady and the Tramp`? Beaver What is the only county in England to have two separate coasts? Devon What 1986 film is based on a story by Stephen King called `The Body`? `Stand By Me` How old was Henry III when he became King in 1216? 9 Who was the runner-up in ITV`s `Pop Idol` competition in 2002? Gareth Gates Does an average trained typist use their left or right hand to type more? Left Who had a number 2 hit in 1979 with `Pop Muzik`? M Who played Luke Skywalker in the film `Star Wars`? Mark Hamill Which month of the year features in the NATO phonetic alphabet? November True or False: Shakespeare`s Macbeth was a real person? True In April 2004, which player scored the winning goal for Chelsea to knock Arsenal out of the Champions League? Wayne Bridge What was Roachford`s biggest hit single in the UK? Cuddly Toy Who wrote `The Lord Of The Rings`? J. R. R. Tolkein Which 1997 film starred John Travolta as an angel? `Michael` How many buttons did Popeye have on his jacket? 3 Which British comedian wrote the novel `Time For Bed`? David Baddiel Which football team won the 1998 World Cup? France Which famous author once said `Work is the curse of the drinking class`? Oscar Wilde Which Saint`s day is on March 1st? St David`s Which TV police series began as a one off programme called `Woodentop`? `The Bill` In what year did Disneyland open? 1942, 1955 or 1966? 1955 Who had a top ten hit in 1998 called `I Don`t Want To Miss A Thing`? Aerosmith Which English football team became the first ever to win both the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season, when they did so in 1993? Arsenal Which line on the London Underground was opened in 1977 and was originally planned to be called Fleet? Jubilee How many legs does an ant have? 6 What type of animal is a `motmot`? A bird Which country is San Marino surrounded by? Italy Which waterway divides the Isle of Wight from the English mainland? The Solent Which is bigger - one litre or two pints? Two pints Who duetted with Michael Jackson on `The Girl Is Mine`? Paul McCartney Who wrote a book of childrens poems called `Old Possum`s Book Of Practical Cats`? T. S. Elliot Which of the following bands were once called the Warlocks? AC/DC, The Grateful Dead or Talking Heads? The Grateful Dead How many inches are in a yard? 36 Which band had top ten hits in the 1990s with `No Son Of Mine` and `I Can`t Dance`? Genesis What was the name of first feature film in which the dog `Lassie` appeared? `Lassie Come Home` Dustin Hoffman`s first major role was in what 1967 film? `The Graduate` Who played Eliza Doolittle in the film `My Fair Lady`? Audrey Hepburn In 2002, which film won Oscars for Best Sound and Best Editing? Black Hawk Down In which 1967 film would you find the character of Detective Virgil Tibbs? In The Heat Of The Night How is the mountain called Godwin Austen better known? K2 In computing, what does the letter `O` stand for in `MS-DOS`? Operating Which London art gallery is famous for it`s five Turner galleries? The Tate Gallery. Which vitamin improves the eye`s ability to see in the dark? Vitamin A How many stars make up Orion`s belt? 3 How many films did Marilyn Monroe make? 7, 15 or 30? 30 What is a flying fox? A bat, a fish or a lizard? A bat. Who was the first British King of the 19th century? George III What do the initials IBM stand for? International Business Machines Which New York bridge, completed in 1883, was designed by John Augustus Roebling? Brooklyn Bridge True or False: Taphephobia is the fear of losing your teeth? False Concord is the capital of which American state? New Hampshire On which river was Rome founded? Tiber Lentigines is the medical term for what? Birthmarks, freckles or fingernails. Freckles In 1999, what was the approximate population of Canada? 31 million, 63 million or 113 miilion? 31 million Who had top ten hits in the 1990s with `Goldfinger` and `Oh yeah`? Ash Which Spanish painter said `I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them`? Pablo Picasso Which 1974 number one with just one three letter word in the title was the the theme from the TV series `The Seven Faces Of Woman`? She In which year were Oscars first awarded for supporting actors and actresses? 1936, 1956 or 1976? 1936 Which of the following flags do not feature the colour red? Brazil, Vietnam or Luxembourg? Brazil In music, how is Harry Webb better known? Cliff Richard What type of bean is the ingredient for baked beans? Harricot What fairytale has been filmed the most? `Cinderalla` For how many days did the Great Fire of London last? 4 Which Sheffield band made the Top 10 twice with their hit single `Temptation`? Heaven 17 The Disney character Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was modified in 1928 to become who? Mickey Mouse Which artist`s `Les Desmoiselles d`Avignon` was an example of cubism? Pablo Picasso Who is the patron saint of Scotland? St Andrew The film `The Silence of the Lambs` was based on a novel by whom? Thomas Harris After John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963, on which date was Lee Harvey Oswald, who was alleged to have shot him, murdered? November 25th, 1963 What is name of the main female character, played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the film `The Matrix`? Trinity In which century was King Richard II of England born? 14th For most of history, two out of three people in the world have lived on what continent? Asia What was the nationality of the racing driver Keke Rosberg? Finnish Voyager 2 discovered 6 moons of which planet in August 1989? Neptune Which European country`s capital city changed it`s name from Christiana? Norway Which author made a surprise appearance during a U2 concert at Wembley in 1993? Salman Rushdie Which character is Arthur Conan Doyle most famous for creating? Sherlock Holmes Which 90`s song includes the line `Take a deep breath and get real high`? What`s Up In what decade was the FA Cup first held at Wembley? 1920s Who was Dr Richard Kimble accused of killing in the `The Fugitive`? His Wife How many stars appear on the flag of Australia? 6 What is the birthstone for the month of May? Emerald or Ruby? Emerald Which Spice Girl released a solo album called `A Girl Like Me`? Emma Bunton What is the world`s most popular musical instrument? Harmonica, Flute or Acoustic Guitar? Harmonica Who plays the detective `Columbo` on TV? Peter Falk What is another name for the mountain lion? Puma How many countries does the equator run through? 12, 16 or 21? 12 How many feet are in a furlong? 660 In the band Steps, one member is nicknamed `H`. What word does this letter stand for? Hyperactive In what year was Walt Disney born? 1901 Which famous Scandanavian pop group got their name by the members taking the first letter of each of their names? Abba Where might you come across a polar bear? At the north or south pole? North pole Is the bottom stripe on the USA flag red or white? Red What won `Best TV Comedy` at the British Comedy Awards in 2002? `The Office`, `Phoenix Nights` or `Eastenders`? The Office What is the longest river in China? The Yangtze Excluding jokers, how many cards are there in a standard pack? 52 In what year was the first atom bomb dropped? 1945 In what year did American President Richard Nixon resign from office? 1974 What is the collective noun for a group of whales? A school What type of dog is Ren in `The Ren and Stimpy Show`? Chihuahua In the TV series `Dr Who` what was the name of the character who created the Daleks? Davros Which 1961 war novel was written by Joseph Heller? `Catch-22` Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate last? Silver, Crystal or Ruby? Ruby By what nickname is criminal Albert De Salvo better known? The Boston Strangler The Victoria Falls waterfall lies on the boundary of which two African countries? Zimbabwe and Zambia In which film did the character of Marion Crane famously die? `Psycho` In what year was the first penalty scored in an FA Cup final? 1910 In which film does the main character befriend a dog he calls `two socks`? Dances With Wolves By what name is Graham McPherson better known as in the music world? Suggs What award was given to Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Martin Luther King in 1964 and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990? The Nobel Peace Prize In a round robin tournament with 5 teams, how many games in total would be played? 10 Guns `n` Roses had a hit with a cover version of which James Bond theme tune? `Live And Let Die` What was the approximate population of Mexico in 2000? 20 million, 50 million or 100 million? 100 million In what year did Hungarian Professor Rubik invent his famous cube? 1975 In which city are the remains of the ship the Mary Rose kept? Portsmouth At which sport did Mark Spitz win seven gold medals in 1972? Swimming The 2002 film `Death Watch` was centred around which war? World War I John Wayne won an Oscar for his performance in what 1969 film, which was based on a novel by Charles Portis? `True Grit` What is a Flemish giant? A rabbit At which film festival is the Palm d`Or awarded? Cannes Which actress played a mermaid in the film `Splash`? Daryl Hannah True or False: `copyrightable` is the longest word in the English language that can be written without repeating a letter? False Which London football team was formed from a company called `Thames Ironworks`? West Ham In Charles Dickens` `A Christmas Carol`, how many ghosts visited Scrooge? 4 What is the more common name for the condition of `otalgia`? Earache For how many years was Queen Victoria queen of the United Kingdom? 63, 73 or 83? 63 What name is given to the Southernmost point in South America? Cape Horn Which popular sport features in the NATO phonetic alphabet? Golf Who is the oldest member of U2? Adam Clayton Which of the following Bond films had a theme tune which was not sung by a female? Licence To Kill, From Russia With Love or Octopussy? From Russia With Love Which silent film star was known as America`s Sweetheart? Mary Pickford What is the colour of the bottom stripe of the US flag? Red Which female singer teamed up with the KLF for their hit `Justified and Ancient`? Tammy Wynette What yearly political event was broadcast live on British TV for the first time in March 1990? The Budget What is the name of the group of 1196 islands in the North Indian Ocean, none of which are bigger than 5 square miles? The Maldives According to the Collins Millenium Dictionary, in what year was the word `Allergy` introduced into the English language? 1907 What is the name given to a young whale? A calf What is a chuckwalla? A lizard, a turtle or an antelope? A lizard. Who played Mrs Robinson in the film `The Graduate`? Anne Bancroft What is the more common name for anthropophagy? Cannibalism Which D. D. wrote the book `Moll Flanders` in 1722? Daniel Defoe How many times is the f-word used in the film `Scarface`? 206 Which folk opera, in which all the cast were black, did George Gershwin write the music for? ``Porgy and Bess` In what year did Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister? 1979 Who has had hit albums called `Mutations` and `Midnite Vultures`? Beck In which country would you find the world`s biggest pyramid? Mexico What is the popular name for the antirrhinum? Snapdragon What was the name of the dog in Peter Pan? Nana What country celebrates a holiday in July in honour of an act in 1867 which unified the nation? China, Canada or Russia? Canada To which European country does Greenland belong? Denmark What was the name of the plane Lindbergh flew on the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic? The Spirit Of St Louis For what film were the best actress and supporting actress Oscars awarded in 1994? The Piano In what year were the world`s first test tube twins born? 1981 How many bronze lions would you find in Trafalgar Square in London? 4 How many rows of stars are there on an American flag? 9 Which Beatles single gave its name to the John Lennon memorial garden in Central Park? `Strawberry Fields Forever` In feet, how high is Ben Nevis? 4,406 From which country did King Zog flee in 1939? Albania Which famous artist painted the `Water Lilies`? Monet What name is given to the cooking of an egg without it`s shell by boiling it in water? Poaching What was the name of the tiger in the film `The Jungle Book`? Shere Khan What is an anenometer used to measure? Wind Speed What band provided the music for the musical `Tommy`? The Who What 1980 film featured the character of `Ming The Merciless`? `Flash Gordon` In which film did Al Pacino play the character of Tony Montana? `Scarface` Who wrote the novel `Lady Chatterly`s Lover`? D. H. Lawrence In October 2002, it was announced that which Big Brother 3 star was to join the cast of the musical `Boogie Nights`? Jonny In the Simpsons, what are the names of Marge`s two sisters? Patty and Selma Which cartoon character was `the fastest mouse in all Mehico`? Speedy Gonzales Which Elvis Presley song was based on the Italian folk song `O Sole Mio`? `It`s Now Or Never` How many times is the `F-word` used in the film `Goodfellas`? 246 How long is the Channel Tunnel? 31 miles, 49 miles or 77 miles? 31 miles How many sides has a heptagon? 7 Ginger ale and the pneumatic tyre were both invented in which European city? Belfast Who was the first actress to appear on a postage stamp? Grace Kelly Which of the following has the largest population? Canada, India or Brazil? India In April 2004, which singer did Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis demand an apology from? Justin Hawkins What replaced Calcutta as the capital of India in 1912? Delhi Who released the album `Wednesday Morning` in 1964? Simon and Garfunkel Which book is Douglas Adams most famous for? The Hitch Hiker`s Guide To The Galaxy Which French painter`s work included `The Pink Nude`? Matisse. Which pop song includes the lyrics `Don`t let your indecision take you from behind`? `Making Your Mind Up` Superman appeared for the first time in Issue of Action Comics. What was the year? 1938 What was the name of the horse in the film `Toy Story 2`? Bullseye Which song by Jackie Wilson was originally released in 1957, and reached number one in the UK when re-issued in 1986? `Reet Petite` In what year did India gain independence from the United Kingdom? 1947 Which animal represents the star sign Taurus? Bull What is the only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible? The cat What was an iron maiden used for? Torture Who represented Britain at ski-jumping in the 1988 Winter Olympics? Eddie Edwards Which countries national symbol is the `Fleur De Lys` or lily? France`s Triskadekaphobia is the fear of what number? 13 Steve, Larry and Jimmy were the first names of which 80`s pop group? Bronski Beat In which country did playing cards originate? China According to Oscar Wilde, what is `the name everyone gives to his mistakes? Experience Who was Queen Victoria`s grandfather? George III Which `M` is the capital of the American state of Vermont? Montpelier In Italian, what does the word Pizza mean? Pie Who painted `Vision Of A Night`? Raphael Whose ghost is said to haunt the White House? Abraham Lincolns Dinosaurs were the dominant land animal for approximately how many years? 130 million, 600 million or 2 billion? 130 million What is the name of Garlfield, the cartoon cat`s girlfriend? Arlene, Cheryl or Ma? Arlene Who directed the film `Natural Born Killers`? Oliver Stone In what year were electric christmas tree lights first used? 1895 How many minutes is a golfer allowed to search for his ball before it is considered lost? 5 What is the name given to a young goat? A kid Whose first hit single was `What Have You Done For Me Lately` which reached number 3 in 1986? Janet Jackson On which side of the road do the Japanese drive? The left Satay is a famous food from which country? Malaysia What name is given to the famous statue at the entrance to Copenhagen harbour? The Little Mermaid. In which century did Louis XIV begin ruling France? 17th In what year was the first women`s cricket World Cup held? 1988 Who played Batman in the 1997 film `Batman and Robin`? George Clooney Which Bob Dylan song was taken to number 1 in the UK in 1965 by The Byrds? `Mr Tambourine Man` Who wrote the song `All Along The Watchtower`, which was a hit for Jimi Hendrix? Bob Dylan What is the ancient Chinese book `I Ching` also known as? The Book Of Changes, The Book Of Chapters or The Book Of Children? Book of Changes Which football team won the FA Cup in 1997 and 2000? Chelsea Maoris are associated with which country? New Zealand. Which ocean surrounds Hawaii? Pacific Which famous British poet`s first names were Percy Bysshe? Shelley Which famous person in history did Mel Gibson play in the film `Braveheart`? William Wallace What would a Geiger counter be used to measure? Radiation Basil Rathbone was famous for playing which character in a series of 1940`s films? Sherlock Holmes What do the Welsh call Wales? Cymru How is the number 1000 represented in Roman numerals? M Blink 182 get there name from the number of times Al Pacino uses the `f word` in which film? Scarface What is the name of the quizmaster on the TV show `Fifteen to One`? William G Stewart What was Crocodile Dundee`s real first name? Mick For which river was Hernando de Soto famous for discovering? Mississippi In which city did the first recorded car accident occur? New York Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate first? Paper, Wood or Steel? Paper The River Danube flows into which sea? The Black Sea What was the title of New Order`s 1990 hit with the England football squad? `World In Motion` In Greek mythology, who was killed by a poisoned arrow in his heel? Achilles What nationality was the actor Errol Flynn? Australian Which `Ian` featured on the Madness song `Drip Fed Fred`? Ian Dury What 1986 film included the song `Take My Breath Away` by Berlin? `Top Gun` Martin Sheen had a heart-attack during the filming of which 1979 film? Apocalypse Now The Bahamas lie off the coast of which US state? Florida What historic event happened on Monday, December 9, 1980? John Lennon was killed. What was Marilyn Monroe`s real second name? Mortenson Which popular sport was once known as Sphairistike? Tennis Which of the following teams did not play against England in the 2002 World Cup finals? Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay? Uruguay Jodie Foster, Mel Brooks and Cindy Crawford have all lended their voices to phone callers on what TV sitcom? `Frasier` Which 90s number one included the line `You can brush me hair, undress me anywhere`? Barbie Girl What is Truman`s surname in the film `The Truman Show`? Burbank Which chancellor of the exchequer introduced the Tessa? John Major Which member of The Beatles is pictured barefoot on the front cover of the Abbey Road album? Paul McCartney Which famous authour has also written several books using the pseudonym Richard Bachman? Stephen King What is the only animal to have four knees? The elephant Which University is based in Milton Keynes? The Open University Which famous rock group were once called The High Numbers? The Who In the card game Gin Rummy, how many cards are dealt to each player? 10 How many league goals did Bobby Charlton score for Manchester United? 50, 99 or 199 199 What animal is used to represent the star sign Cancer? Crab In which year did the Queen visit the Vatican for the first time? 1980 Tenerife is part of which group of islands? Canary Islands What relation is Supergirl to Superman? Cousin The first ever film was shown in 1895 in which country? France Which singer provides the voice for Chef in South Park? Isaac Hayes How many stokes would you have to take in golf at a par 4 hole to get an albatross? 1 How many goals did Gary Lineker score for England in the 1986 World Cup finals? 6 What is the medical name for the small channel between your top lip and your nose? Philtrum What is the scientific name for the wind pipe? The trachea The drink Tequila originates from what country? Mexico Who wrote the Christmas story, `The Snowman`? Raymond Briggs Who captained the submarine in Stingray? Troy Tempest Which team did England beat in the 1966 World Cup final? West Germany What were Benjy and Laska, which were sent into space in 1958? Mice Which country has the international vehicle registration letter of `S`? Sweden Buggles `Video Killed the Radio Star` was the first video to be shown on MTV. In what year was this? 1981 Who were the first animated television couple to sleep in a double bed? Fred and Wilma Flintstone Approximately how many acres in size is a baseball field? 1, 2 or 4? 2 Who played Lois Lane in the 1978 film `Superman`? Margot Kidder What is England's most northerly county? Northumberland Which famous comedian and writer had a UK TV series in the 1990s called `The Man From Auntie`? Ben Elton In which famous novel was the official language of society called `Newspeak`? `1984` Which actress played a detective in the 1968 film `The Thomas Crown Affair` and played a psychologist in the 1999 remake? Faye Dunaway Which president of France from 1969 to 1974 had the first name Georges? Pompidou Which gas is often referred to as laughing gas? Nitrous Oxide In the TV show `The Simpsons`, who was kicked out of the group the Be-Sharpes and replaced by Barney? Chief Wiggum Which dance`s name is the Spanish word for sauce? Salsa How many legs does a spider have? 8 Which Scottish football team had the first top level all-seater stadium in British football? Aberdeen What subject was Rodney studying in `Only Fools And Horses`? Computing The Battle Of Agincourt features in which Shakespeare play? Henry V Who`s debut album was called `Left Of The Middle`? Natalie Imbruglia Which band has released albums called `His n Hers` and `Different Class`? Pulp What do the letters `U.S.S.R.` stand for? Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Which commonly used word literally means `adopted son` in Latin? Affiliate Which singer`s 1983 tour was called `The Serious Moonlight Tour`? David Bowie`s What was the name of the theatre where Abraham Lincoln was killed? Ford`s Theatre What is the only bird which hunts by the sense of smell? The kiwi. What sporting event was won by Antonio Pinto in 1997 and 2001 and by Dionicio Ceron in 1994 and 1995? The London Marathon Which city hosted the 2001 FA Cup Final? Cardiff What name is given to the young of a horse? Foal According to the film `It`s A Wonderful Life` how do you know when an angel has got his wings? A bell rings Which motor racing driver said `When a man holds you round the throat, I don`t think he has come to apologise` after a collision with Nigel Mansell in 1987? Ayrton Senna What was special about the FA Cup qualifying soccer match between Linfield and Cliftonville in 1888? It was the only FA Cup tie to be played on Christmas Day According to the TV series `Dr Who`, how many hearts does a Time Lord have? 2 Which TV presenter released their autobiography `Fools Rush In` in the year 2000? Anthea Turner Which Queen song is generally regarded as the first to be hit sold on TV by it`s video? `Bohemian Rhapsody` What type of animal is a sidewinder? A snake With which sport would you associate the Eisenhower trophy? Golf With which sport would associate the Sheffield Eagles? Rugby League Who was the first vocalist to actually appear in the credits sequence of a James Bond film? Sheena Easton What comes between Duke and Earl in the ranking of British peers? Marquess In mobile phone techonology, what does S.M.S. stand for? Short Message Service Which English county cricket team plays at the Oval? Surrey In which year did the first commercial radio broadcast take place? 1920 What are the names of the Duke Of York`s two children? Beatrice and Eugenie In what year did film star James Dean die? 1955, 1959 or 1964? 1955 `Sooner Or Later` and `You Must Love Me` were Oscar winning songs performed by which singer? Madonna Port of Spain is the capital city of which Carribean country? Trinidad and Tobago In mytholody, which of the following did Pegasus have that a normal horse wouldn`t? Wings, a Crown or three eyes? Wings Which actress won a lifetime acheivement award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001? Melanie Griffith In what year did Alanson Crane patent the fire extinguisher? 1863 In computing, what does the letter `B` stand for in the acronym BASIC? Beginners, Boolean or Basic? Beginners Which of the following did not star in the 1972 film `Deliverance`? Ned Beatty, Peter Coyote or Jon Voight? Peter Coyote Who`s play was adapted for the 1951 film `A Streetcar Named Desire`? Tennessee Williams` A deficiency of which vitamin causes the disease scurvy? Vitamin C What is the state capital of Massachusetts? Boston Who wrote the song `Who Wants to be a Millionaire`? Cole Porter At which British city was Gig In The Green held in 2002? Glasgow According to the nursery rhyme, who put pussy in the well? Little Johnny Green Which University has a rowing eight called Isis? Oxford Which of the following islands is smallest? Sumatra, Baffin Island or Borneo? Sumatra Which Premiership football teams ground is on Trinity Road? Aston Villa In which English county would you find Truro? Cornwall What is 73 miles long and stretches from Solway Firth to Wallsend on Tyne? Hadrian`s Wall Adapted to become a successful film, which James Ellroy novel was the third in a series which also included `The Black Dahlia`, `The Big Nowhere` and `White Jazz`? `L.A. Confidential` Called Tabula in medieval Europe, Tables in England, and Tric-Trac in France and Germany, by what name was this popular game now known? Backgammon What was the name of the first computer to defeat a World Chess Champion in a tournament? Deep Blue In which modern day country is the ancient city of Babylon? Iraq Who directed the 1991 film `JFK`? Oliver Stone Which famous London street was formerly known as Tyburn Way? Oxford Street Caedmon is regarded as the earliest English … what? Magician, Poet or Playwright? Poet Who wrote `Anna Karenina`? Leo Tolstoy What was the title of Steven Spielberg`s first full length movie? `Barricade`, `Duel` or `Nineteen Forty-One`? Duel Who was Prsident of the USA from 1974-1977? Gerald Ford From which film does the line `Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship` come? `Casablanca` In what year did the Queen talk about her `annus horriblis` in her Christmas speech? 1992 Who wrote `A Tale Of Two Cities`? Charles Dickens Isihara Plate tests are used to determine what? Colour Blindness What was the approximate population of the European country San Marino in 1999? 25,000, 75,000 or 150,000? 25,000 What is the largest country in the Caribbean? Cuba Whose first spoken words on screen were `Hot Dogs` in 1929? Mickey Mouse The Black Sea is off the north coast of which country? Turkey Which novel brought Charles Dickens to fame in 1837? Pickwick Papers Florence Nightingale was a nurse during which war ? The Crimean war What is the common name of a poker hand containing 3 of a kind and a pair? A full house Who was the first female to present of Points of View on a regular basis? Anne Robinson Which famous young pop star married Jason Alexander in Las Vegas in January 2004? Britney Spears In April 2004, which `Osbourne` entered drug rehabilitation clinic for addiction to painkillers? Kelly In which year was `Match Of The Day` first broadcast on BBC1? 1964 The novel `The Mystery Of Edwin Drood` was left unfinished in 1870 by which author? Charles Dickens What was the first country to issue postage stamps? Great Britain Who painted `Crucifixion` and `The Persistence Of Memory`? Salvador Dali In which year was the US space station Skylab launched? 1973 What are the periods of seven and a half minutes which form a game of polo called? Chuckas Who had a top ten hit in 1986 called `What`s The Colour Of Money`? Hollywood Beyond Who ruled England from 1910 to 1936? King George V Which female singer had the bestselling album in the UK in 1982 with `Love Songs`? Barbra Streisand What was the name of Dick Turpin`s horse? Black Bess What was the first English football club to have undersoil heating installed? Everton On which part of the body would you wear espadrilles? The feet Who bought the Castle of Mey in 1952? The Queen Mother Which country is also the title of a 1985 film by Terry Gilliam? Brazil What was the title of the last film in the `Omen` trilogy featuring the character of Damian? `The Final Conflict` From which country does the drink Pernod originate? France Who ordered the execution of John The Baptist? King Herod Based on the height above sea level, which South American city is the highest capital city in the world? La Paz Which canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans? The Panama Canal Approximately how many bricks are there in the Empire State Building? 1 million, 10 million or 100 million? 10 million Who played opposite Ewan McGregor as Nick Leeson`s wife in the film `Rogue Trader`? Anna Friel Who did actor David Arquette marry in 1999? Courtney Cox Created by author Ian Fleming, which James Bond villain had his heart on the right side of his body? Dr No On the Beaufort Scale of wind speed what comes after a fresh breeze? Strong Breeze Which of the following flags do not feature the colour red? Hong Kong, Algeria or Uruguay? Uruguay Approximately what percentage of the human body is water? 60%, 70% or 80% 80% What is the name of the three headed guard dog in Greek mythology? Cerberus The line `I can`t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life` comes from which Oscar winning film? `American Beauty` Which famous footballer left Tottenham in 1992 to join Japanese side Grampus Eight? Gary Lineker Who invented the television? John Logie Baird Which TV character named his son Mearth? Mork In the film `Citizen Kane`, what is dying word of Charles Foster Kane, which a reporter tries to investigate the significance of? Rosebud Which King defeated Harold at Hastings? William I With which controversial issue was Doctor Jack Kevorkian associated? Euthanasia Actress Kate Hudson is the daughter of which other actress? Goldie Hawn In which year was Prince Charles born? 1948 Which team won the first university boat race? Oxford Which English football team are nicknamed the `Hornets`? Watford How many verses make up the national anthem `God Save The Queen`? 3 In the 1998 version of `The Parent Trap`, the meddlesome twin sisters were both played by Lindsay Lohan. Who played them in the classic Walt Disney original? Hayley Mills Who played the nanny in the 1992 film `The Hand That Rocks The Cradle`? Rebecca De Mornay Who directed the 1971 film `The French Connection`? William Friedkin, Peter Weir or John Schlesinger? William Friedkin What was Princess Diana`s maiden name? Spencer In Grange Hill how did Danny Kendall die? Of a brain haemmorrhage Which single spent 16 weeks at number one in the UK music charts in 1991? `Everything I Do I Do It For You` What was the title of Beethoven`s only opera? `Fidelio` What three words was Uncle Sam depicted as saying while pointing his finger at the viewer on a World War I American army recruiting poster? `I want you` Who created the Peanuts comic strip? Charles M. Schultz In which English county is the Lake District? Cumbria In which country did chess originate in the 2nd century? India Which female singer recorded the 1993 album `The Red Shoes`? Kate Bush Which of the following countries` flags features the colours blue, yellow and red? Hungary, Belgium or Romania? Romania Who plays the Green Goblin in the 2002 film `Spider-Man`? Willem Dafoe What 1991 film stars Billy Crystal as a man plagued by mid-life crisis who goes on a cattle driving vacation? `City Slickers` Which TV show featured a dog called `Freeway`? `Hart To Hart` How old was Shirley Temple when she made her last film in 1949? 21, 31 or 41? 21 What is Scotland`s highest mountain? Ben Nevis What is tocophobia the fear of? Travelling by train, drowning or childbirth? Childbirth Who plays the title role in the TV series `A Touch Of Frost`? David Jason In music, which controversial star auctioned his Mustang car for almost $30,000 in July 2002? Eminem Which American state lies between Canada and Wyoming? Montana What is the name given to the system for categorising library books? Dewey Decimal System Who had a hit album in 1973 with `Don`t Shoot Me, I`m Only The Piano Player`? Elton John What is the atomic number of the element Californium? 98 What is the national flower of Wales? Daffodil During the making of which film did Brad Pitt chip his tooth, but refuse to have it capped as he felt it added to his character? Fight Club Scientist`s took the word `quark` from the work of which authour? James Joyce What is the second longest river in the world? The Amazon What dinosaur was an armoured plant-eater with a bony frill around its neck and three sharp horns on its head? Tricerotops Who`s 1981 debut album was called `Boy`? U2 How many operas did Beethoven write? 1 What do the English call the alcoholic drink which is called `Heavy` in Scotland? Bitter What legendary rock star`s real name was Johnny Allen? Jimi Hendrix Which song includes the line `My head`s spinning, boy I`m in a daze`? `Never Ever` Approximately how thick is the Earth`s crust under land? 2 miles, 20 miles or 200 miles? 20 miles In ten-pin bowling, what name is given to knocking down all ten pins with the two balls of a single frame? A spare What 1992 film had the tag line `A brutal murder. A brilliant killer. A cop who can`t resist the danger.`? Basic Instinct Which London play holds the record for the longest run of any show in the world? `The Mouse Trap` When is St Andrews day? 30th November Which American band had a top ten hit in 1976 called `26 Or 6 To 4`? Chicago How are the first five books of the bible known collectively? The Pentateuch By what scoreline did Manchester United beat Newcastle United in the 1999 FA Cup Final? 2-0 Who wrote the book `Swallows and Amazons`? Arthur Ransome What colour is Noddy`s hat? Blue Who directed the 1974 film `The Conversation`? Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese or Stanley Kubrick? Francis Ford Coppola Which film starring Julia Roberts had a working title of `$3,000`? `Pretty Woman` Peridot is the birthstone for which month? August What is Frank Spencer`s wife`s name in the TV comedy show `Some Mothers Do Have `Em`? Betty Who was the first Englishman to win the Formula 1 British Grand Prix? Stirling Moss What is the name of Snoopy`s little bird friend? Woodstock What type of transport was `The Flying Dutchman`? Ship Who was the Norse God of thunder? Thor Which word was used by Shakespeare in `Titus Andronicus` and was later developed into the word `hello`? `Hollo` How many players make up a volleyball team? 6 What is the highest possible number used in a standard Bingo game? 90 What style of painting has a name meaning `fresh` in Italian? Fresco Who invented the Centigrade scale of temperature? Anders Celcius What was the screen name of actor Lee Yuen Kim? Bruce Lee Which was the first product to ever have the bar code? Chewing Gum, Washing Up Liquid or Cigarettes? Chewing Gum Which of the following books of the Bible comes in the Old Testament? Daniel, Luke or Mark? Daniel Which American President founded the Peace Corps? John F Kennedy In which century did William Shakespeare die? 17th When Brazil won the 1994 soccer World Cup, to which famous sportsman did they dedicate it? Ayrton Senna Born in Paris in 1840, who was regarded as the leader of the 19th century impressionist art movement? Claude Monet What is the captial of the Isle of Man? Douglas By what name was authour Eric Blair better known? George Orwell In the film `Who Framed Roger Rabbit`, what is the first name of Roger`s wife? Jessica Which actor starred in `Snake Eyes`, `Peggy Sue Got Married` and `Moonstruck`? Nicolas Cage Under what name did Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov become better known? Lenin In which famous novel would you find the characters of Heathcliff and Mr Earnshaw? `Wuthering Heights` Where in England was Charles Dickens born? Portsmouth In what year did American Express introduce travellers cheques? 1891 What was the name of Audrey Hepburn`s character in the 1964 film `My Fair Lady`? Eliza Doolittle Which strait links the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean? Gibraltar Strait What type of sweet did Mars and Murrie develop in 1941? M & Ms Which of these periods came first? Jurassic, Palaeocene or Carboniferous? Palaeocene By what nickname was the 70s serial killer David Berkovitz better known? Son Of Sam Which country owns the Canary islands? Spain The Doggett`s Coat and Badge is contested in which sport? Rowing What type of dogs are commonly kept by Eskimos? Huskies On which Greek island was a famous sculpture with no arms found in 1820? Milos Which musical duo wrote the lyrics and music for the film `The Sound Of Music`? Rogers and Hammerstein Which character did Christopher Ryan play in the TV comedy series `The Young Ones`? Mike Who according to Shakespeare said `A horse, a horse. My kingdom for a horse`? Richard III Around which war is `The Dirty Dozen` set? World War 2 Which of Henry VIII`s wives was mother to Queen Mary? Catherine Of Aragon For what was Camille Pissarro best known? His paintings, his plays or his poems? His paintings. Who won the Eurovision song contest for Ireland singing `What`s Another Year`? Johnny Logan In 1933, what became the only film to have it`s sequel released in the same year? King Kong What is the title of Crowded House`s only UK top ten hit? `Weather With You` In what century was chocolate introduced to Britain? 17th What nationality was the inventor Thomas Edison? American Which flower does the spice saffron come from? Crocus What sport would you expect to see in a velodrome? Cycling Which country in Europe did the inventor of Lego come from? Denmark Which English football teams ground is on a road called Sir Tom Finney Way? Preston North End What type of headgear was named after a battle in the Crimean War? The Balaclava What was the capital of Norway in the 11th and 12th centuries? Oslo, Trondheim or Helsinborg? Trondheim What is the second longest river in the world? Amazon Which Stealers Wheel song is playing in `Reservoir Dogs` when Mr Blonde tortures a police officer? `Stuck In The Middle With You`. In the Bible, how many loaves did Jesus need to feed five thousand? Five On TV what is the real name of the `Naked Chef`? Jamie Oliver The 1997 Spanish film `Open Your Eyes` was remade into which American film starring Tom Cruise? `Vanilla Sky` How many cross bars are on a papal cross? 3 What is Victoria Beckham`s maiden name? Adams What is the only venomous snake in Britain? The adder. Which element has the chemical symbol S? Sulphur Which famous person in history was shot by John Wilkes Booth? Abraham Lincoln In which film did Al Pacino portray `60 minutes` producer Lowell Bergman? `The Insider` In the song `My Darling Clementine` how did Clementine die? Drowning What 16th century warship was raised from the sea bed in 1982? Mary Rose Which singer is known as the `Belfast Cowboy`? Van Morrison Which actress was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her performance in the 1995 film `Casino`? Sharon Stone In which film did Mel Gibson play a character who was frozen for 50 years? `Forever Young` Who duetted with Diana Ross on the hit single `Endless Love`? Lionel Richie In which year did Leonardo Da Vinci design the first parachute? 1480 In what year did the first postage stamp go on sale in Great Britain? 1840 Which piece of sporting equipment was once called a `battledore`? Badmington Racket How many wings does a normal bee have? 4 Which sign of the zodiac runs from December into January? Capricorn Tim Booth is the lead singer with which British band? James Who wrote the song `Jealous Guy`? John Lennon In `spam`, the internet term for sending unsolicited e-mail, what does the letter `p` stand for? Personl, People or Permission? People What drink is made from molasses? Rum In what year did Nicholas Hillyard become the first ever to be granted a patent, when he did so for engraving and printing the King`s head on documents? 1617 In the TV show, what kind of animal was `Gentle Ben`? A bear Which element has the highest melting point? Carbon In the song `the twelve days of christmas`, what did my true love send to me on the 9th day? 9 ladies dancing Whigfield, who had a hit single with `Saturday Night`, comes from which country? Denmark Who won the mens singles title at Wimbledon in 2000? Pete Sampras What is the name of the sorceror in the Disney film `Fantasia`? Yensid What was the name of Lulu's backing group? Luvvers In what year was the Polaroid camera invented? 1947 Which of the following books of the Bible does not come in the New Testament? Joel, Hebrews or Titus? Joel Which of the following elements has a chemical symbol which does not begin with `I`? Iodine, Iron or Iridium? Iron Who is the first character to speak in the film `Star Wars`? C3P0 `Your Song` in 1970 was the first American hit by which British artist? Elton John Which group had a UK number one hit single in 1977 with `So You Win Again`? Hot Chocolate What is the name of Sherlock Holmes` housekeeper? Mrs Hudson Which famous film director directed the second segment of the 1983 film `Twighlight Zone: The Movie`? Steven Spielberg Which 1967 film starred Sidney Poiter, and had a theme tune performed by Lulu? `To Sir With Love` In which 1995 film is the main character called Jim Lovell? Apollo 13 What is the name given to someone who studies plants? Botanist What is the name of the Christian festival that happens 12 days after Christmas? Epiphany In which country was Florence Nightingale born? Italy In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, if you add up the number of swans-a-swimming and geese-a-laying, what do you get? 13, 14 or 15? 13 Which number is referred to as `Doctor`s Orders` in Bingo? 9 In maths what name is given to the series of numbers where each number is the sum of the previous two? Fibonacci Series Who directed the films `Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!` and `Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls`? Russ Meyer What does the letter `S` stand for in `NASA`? Space, Science or Society? Space Which David Lynch film was based on the life of John Merrick? `The Elephant Man` What is the only English football team without a vowel in the first five letters of it`s name? Crystal Palace Which two months are covered by the star sign Aquarius? January and February Which football commentator was given an OBE in the Queen`s Birthday Honours list in 2001? John Motson Where is the Royal and Ancient Golf Club? St. Andrews What is the only bird that can swim but not fly? The penguin What is the longest river in the UK? The Severn In the title of a famous film, how is Uncas Chingacgook better known? The Last Of The Mohicans In Scrabble, how many points is the letter C worth? 3 What American film was released in France with a title which translated as `Life, Love, Cows`? City Slickers Which football league team was beaten 9-0 by Liverpool in 1992? Crystal Palace In which European city were the 1924 Olympics due to be held before being switched to Paris? Amsterdam In the series of children`s `Noddy` books, what is the name of the policeman? Mr Plod Which famous character was created by Michael Bond in a series of books for children? Paddington Bear What famous musical is also the name of an American state? Oklahoma Born in 1475, by what name was the painter and sculptor, Buonarroti, better known? Michaelangelo. What is the state capital of Florida? Tallahasse How many of Henry VIII`s wives were beheaded? 2 According to his fake ID, in `The Simpsons`, in feet and inches how tall is Bart Simpson? 4 foot, 2 inches What character was Henry Winkler best known for playing? Fonzie Which star or `The Goodies` also starred in `The Bubblegum Brigade`? Bill Oddie To the nearest whole number, how many metres is 20 feet? 6 In New Orleans, the Mardi Gras festival occurs each year in which month? February Who was backed by the Blackhearts in the early 1980s? Joan Jett What was the name of James Bond`s housekeeper? May In the film `The Matrix`, by what name is Keanu Reeve`s character Thomas A. Anderson commonly known? Neo Using a pseudonym, who wrote the song `Manic Monday` which was a hit for the Bangles? Prince Which actor has appeared in the films `Mrs Doubtfire`, `The Lawnmower Man` and `Mars Attacks`? Pierce Brosnan Which British actress played Ophelia in the 1996 film `Hamlet`? Kate Winslet In which century was the religion Buddhism formed? 6th century B.C, 2nd century A.D. or 9th century A.D.? 6th century B.C. What does the first `A` stand for in NASA? Aeronautics By what name is St. Stephens Day better known? Boxing Day Which artist was known as the `prince of shadows`? Rembrandt In which city in England is the National Railway Museum? York Which 1933 film is set on and around Skull Island? `King Kong` How much did the USA pay Russia for Alaskan territory in 1867? $7,200,000 In computing, what does CPU stand for? Central processing unit Who was the lead singer with the pop group Altered Images? Claire Grogan Which mammals have prehensile tails? Monkeys Which comedian played the leading role in the TV series `Sorry`? Ronnie Corbett By what stage name were the double act of Edward McGuinness and Cyril Mead better known, who had there own BBC TV show from 1978 to 1991? Little And Large What is the name of the cartoon character that chases after Roadrunner? Wile E. Coyote Waterloo, the scence of a famous battles involving Napoleon, is in what country? Belgium What 1970 film directed by Robert Altman, was later turned into a TV series? `MASH` Which musical film was the first to include the word `bloody`? `My Fair Lady` In what American state does most of the movie `White Christmas` take place? Vermont Who was Arthur Conan Doyle writing about when he said `He is the Napoleon of crime`? Professor Moriaty Which Scottish band had a hit album in 1999 with `The Man Who`? Travis What was the title of the Beatles` first single? `Love Me Do` What is the correct way to address an Earl or a Viscount? `Sir`, `Your Grace` or `My Lord`? `My Lord` What is the largest state in the USA? Alaska Which European capital city was known as Lutecia by the Romans? Paris The city of London stands on which of the following rivers? Thames, Severn or Tay? Thames Which musical composer wrote `Hungarian Rhapsodies`? Liszt In which quarter of the Australian flag does the Union Jack appear? Top left, top right, bottom left or bottom right? Top left Whose is the first birth to be recorded in the Bible? Cain Which major American city is known as the `Windy City`? Chicago In which country are Tivoli gardens? Denmark What is the Japanese art-form of paper folding called? Origami According to the Pulp song `Common People`, `she studied` what `at St. Martin`s college`? Sculpture Which female singer was once married to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr and had a child with Ray Davies of The Kinks? Chrissie Hynde Tony Allcock won the men`s singles titles in 1986 and 1987 world championships of what indoor sport? Indoor Bowls Who sings the theme tune to the TV game show `Big Break`? Captain Sensible Which of the Channel Islands lies furthest south? Jersey What was the name of the killer in the film `Halloween`? Michael Myers Which of the following countries does not border Costa Rica? Peru, Panama or Nicaragua? Peru Who had a number one hit in 1998 with `Frozen`? Madonna As at Janurary 2000, which fictional character has been used in most films? Sherlock Holmes What was the name of Robert Altman`s 1992 film about Hollywood? The Player `The Unknown Stuntman` was the theme song for which TV action series? `The Fall Guy` What school did cartoon characters Pebbles and Bam Bam go to? Bedrock High Traditionally, what colour is Santa Claus` belt? Black Which actress co-produced and starred in the 1999 film `Never Been Kissed`? Drew Barrymore In what year did Bartolomeo Cristofori event the piano? 1710 How many members does a rowing eights crew have? 9 Who played Mel Gibson`s sidekick in the `Lethal Weapon` films? Danny Glover What is theophobia the fear of? God More commonly known for writing detective novels, who wrote romantic novels using the name Mary Westmascott? Agatha Christie Which of the following did not star in the 1976 film `Network`? Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall or Glenn Close? Glenn Close Which city became the capital of America in 1788? New York In which television show did Sherilyn Fenn play the character of Audrey Horne? `Twin Peaks` Which number is written 1010 in binary? 10 How many players in total get down in a normal rugby union scrum? 16 Which Beatle`s middle name is Winston? John Lennon What name is given to the home of an otter? A holt `Slave To The Vibe` was a top twenty hit in 1993 for which group which is also the name of an alcoholic drink? Aftershock Which American athlete won 4 gold medals at the 1984 Olympic games? Carl Lewis In Greek legend, which King turned everything he touched into gold? King Midas Mount Cook is the highest peak in which country? New Zealand Which actor played Alex in the TV show `Family Ties`? Michael J Fox What word is derived from a modern plural of the Latin for `the place where three roads meet`? Trivia In which year did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour? 1941 What film`s three main characters are Brody, Hooper and Quint? `Jaws` Which 1971 novel by William Blatty was later turned into a famous horror film? `The Exorcist` Honolulu is the capital of which American state? Hawaii Who did singer Edie Brickell marry in 1992? Paul Simon, Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen? Paul Simon With which sport would you associate Nelli Kim? Gymnastics Which French city was besieged by the English until the arrival of Joan of Arc? Orleans Who was the first Indian born author to win a Nobel Prize? Rudyard Kipling In the game of Monopoly, what colour is Coventry Street? Yellow Which radio DJ wrote the autobiography `My Tune`? Simon Bates In which year did London Zoo open? 1828 Which American state is sometimes called `The Last Frontier` and `The Land Of The Midnight Sun`? Alaska Who are Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse`s famous uncle? Mickey Mouse Who had a hit single in the 1980s with `Pass The Dutchie`? Musical Youth Who preceded Queen Victoria on the British throne? William IV Which element has the chemical symbol As? Arsenic In which English County can you find 4 towns with the suffix Regis? Dorset How many people does the Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger kill in the film `Terminator 2`? 0, 1 or 71? 0 Vienna is the capital of which country? Austria Out of all the animals which make up the Chinese horoscope, which comes first alphabetically? Boar Which famous film actor once played the detective David Addison on television? Bruce Willis Which of Santa Claus` reindeer would come first alphabetically? Blitzen What is the capital of the Canadian provence of Nova Scotia and also a town in England? Halifax In what year was Martin Luther King assassinated? 1968 What was Bullitt`s first name in the 1968 film `Bullitt`? Frank Which British band`s first album was called `Word Gets Around`? The Stereophonics Which of the following colours does not appear on the Brazilian flag? Green, Red or Yellow? Red If the cheetah is the fastest thing on four legs, what is the fastest on two legs? The Ostrich. Which band`s 1997 debut album was called `Good Feeling`? Travis From which Bond movie did Matt Monroe sing the theme song? `From Russia With Love` In which country was the sport of Korfball founded? Holland The name of which sport means `empty hand` in Japanese? Karate What is the largest rainforest in the world? Amazon What is the highest mountain in the world? Mount Everest Which element forms 80% of the Earth`s atmosphere? Nitrogen Which English football club play at Roots Hall? Southend United What is the capital of Canada? Ottawa Which famous artist painted `Guernica` about the Spanish Civil War? Pablo Picasso. Who wrote the book `Watership Down`? Richard Adams In the game of Monopoly, how much does each player pay you if it`s your birthday? 10 Who wrote `Pygmalion` and `Caesar and Cleopatra`? George Bernard Shaw In what year did the character of Mickey Mouse first appear? 1928 From which country does Edam cheese originate? Holland What is the only world language that has a word for association football that is not derived from the word `football`? Italian The condition Scriveners Palsy is more commonly known as what? Writers Cramp Which `A` is the birthstone for the month of March? Aquamarine Who played Frankenstein`s monster in the 1931 film `Frankenstein`? Boris Karloff Where in Europe is Nicosia the capital of? Cyprus Dhaka is the capital of which Asian country? Bangladesh Who did Margaret Thatcher replace as leader of the Conservative party? Edward Heath True or False: Slug`s don`t have noses? False How many strings does a ukulele have? None, four or six? Four Which famous composer was known as the `Waltz King`? Johann Strauss Which range of mountains separates France from Spain? Pyrenees What is the largest city in China, which is thought to be the most densely populated area in the world? Shanghai In 1986 which boxer beat Trevor Burbick to become the youngest ever heavyweight world champion? Mike Tyson In what year did Edmond Halley discover Halleys comet? 1682 What is the collective name for a group of insects? A swarm Whose autobiography was called `A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man`? James Joyce`s In both the Old and New testaments which book has the shortest title? Job How many squares are there on a chess board? 64 How many yards are there between each set of stumps in cricket? 22 Which cat would you associate with Dilbert? Pussbert, Catbert or Mogbert? Catbert Which popular novelist died at her home in Newcastle in 1998? Catherine Cookson In what country were the 1992 Olympics held? Spain Where is the one place that the American flag flies 24 hours a day, but is never raised or lowered and is never saluted? The moon. Who played the possessed child in the film `The Exorcist`? Linda Blair In which year was the Battle of the Somme? 1916 Which of the following countries does not share a border with Luxembourg? Germany, Holland or Belgium? Holland In Scrabble how many letters have a value of 2? 2 Who wrote the novel `Jurassic Park` on which the Steven Spielberg film of the same name was based? Michael Crichton Which member of the `A Team` was a pilot? Murdoch True or False: In space it is impossible to cry:? True What surname is common to the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974 and an ex-England football manager? Ramsey What is Scooby Doo`s favourite food? Scooby Snacks What was The Divine Comedy`s first top twenty hit? Something For The Weekend What is the common title of an Elvis Presley movie and a hit song for Motley Crue? `Girls, Girls, Girls` Which of the following musical notes does not exist? B sharp, C sharp or D sharp? B sharp What is the only vegetable that is also a flower? Brocolli What is the capital of the American state of Colorado? Denver What was the title of Talking Heads first UK top ten hit? `Road To Nowhere` Where in the human body is the labyrinth? The ear In which country is the soap opera `The High Road` set? Scotland In 1901, who became the only US President not be sworn in on a Bible? Theodore Roosevelt What year saw the first flying bombs drop on London? 1944 What was the name of the Captain who hunted Moby Dick? Captain Ahab What is the opposite of `nocturnal`? Diurnal Whose face is referred to in `The face that launched a thousand ships`? Helen Of Troy What was Fatboy Slim`s first UK number one single? `Praise You` Who played Patrick Bateman in the film `American Psycho`? Christian Bale What is the name of the official London residence of the Queen Mother? Clarence House Before going solo, Lionel Richie sang with which group? The Commodores Which island was awarded the George Cross in 1942? Malta In the famous Monty Python sketch, what type of dead parrot did John Cleese take back to the shop? Norwegian Blue What is the antonym of a word? Same meaning, Same sounding or Opposite meaning? Opposite meaning What was `Happy`, which was sold for £55,000 at Sotheby`s in 1989? A teddy bear, a pendant or a skeleton? Teddy Bear Which children`s television show featured the characters of George, Zippy and Bungle? `Rainbow` In which year did Austria join the European union? 1995 Which boy band released the 1999 album `By Request`? Boyzone On the 1st of January of what year did Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia? 1993 From 1982-1989 Elle MacPherson appeared in every issue of which popular womans magazine? Elle Under what name did Erich Weiss achieve fame? Harry Houdini Which television program ended with the line `Time for bed said Zebedee`? `The Magic Roundabout` In which European city would you find the statue of the Little Mermaid? Copenhagen What is a sculpture of the upper part of a person, usually including the head and shoulders called? A bust Whose first UK top ten 20 single was `Eyes Without A Face` in 1984? Billy Idol In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, which gifts represent the ten commandments? Lords-a-leaping Which metal is the best conductor of electricity? Silver What was the name of the peace treaty at the end of World War I? The Treaty of Versailles How many cellos are involved in a typical string quartet? 1 Which film about dancing featured the characters Frances `Baby` Houseman and Johnny Castle? `Dirty Dancing` Which comedy series is set on Craggy Island? `Father Ted` How many housing property squares are there on a Monopoly board? 22 In computing, what does MS-DOS stand for? Microsoft Disk-Operating System Lois Maxwell played which character in a number of James Bond films? Miss Moneypenny Which of the following is not a moon of the planet Jupiter? Elera, Mimas or Carme? Mimas Who was the highest earning actress in America for the year 2000? Julia Roberts According to `The Hitch Hiker`s Guide To The Galaxy`, what number was the answer to life, the universe and everything? 42 What is the name of Elvis Presley`s daughter? Lisa Marie The name of which commonly used house-hold object comes from the Latin word meaning `admire` or `to wonder at`? Mirror Olympic testing of athletes for anabolic steroids began in what year? 1976, 1984 or 1992? 1976 How many yards wide is a soccer goal? 8 Who wrote the plays `Death Of A Salesman` and `The Crucible`? Arthur Miller In literature, how are the duo Charles and Gerald better known? Mills and Boon Who won back-to-back best actor Oscars in the late 1930s? Spencer Tracy Which of the following comics was issued earliest? The Beano or The Dandy? The Dandy On TV, how was the character of Diana Prince better known? Wonder Woman Which country in the world has the highest population? China Vehicles from which country have the letter `B` to identify their nationality? Belgium Which authour`s real name was Charles Dodgson and was a mathematics instructor at Christ Church Oxford? Lewis Carroll What name is given to the score 111 in cricket? Nelson In which English city was Charles Dickens born? Portsmouth Which war was fought between 1936 and 1939? Spanish Civil War What is the American name for what the British call a `drawing pin`? Thumbtack What was George Michael`s first solo UK single to reach the top 40? `Careless Whisper` In the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, what are the 10 Lords-a-leaping said to symbolise? The Ten Commandments On the 1st of January of what year did Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia? 1989, 1991 or 1993? 1993 In 2002, a tv advert for which drink featured a cat called Tom going clubbing? Bicardi Breezer Who played Jim Phelps in the 1996 film `Mission: Impossible`? Jon Voigt The speed of light is approximately equal to how many miles per second? 186,000, 6.1 million or 310 million? 186,000 What was the name of the mission that involved the first manned lunar landing in 1969? Apollo XI In which English county would you find Aylesbury? Buckinghamshire Who sang with Craig McLachlan on the 1993 single `You`re The One That I Want`? Debbie Gibson In 1956, who became the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar posthumously? James Dean Which TV character did Matt Frewer invent from an idea he had from a road sign? Max Headroom Which of the following actresses appeared in the film `Top Gun`? Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer or Helen Hunt? Meg Ryan How many pieces does a Jenga set have? 54 What was an iron maiden used for? Dress making, Feeding horses or Torture? Torture The Latin translation of the phrase `Which was to be proved` provided what abbreviation? Q.E.D. Who were Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar? The Three Wise Men In what film does Clint Eastwood play a radio d.j. stalked by an ex-fan? `Play Misty For Me` In which year did the radio show `The Archers` begin? 1950 What was the name of author A. A. Milne`s son? Christopher Robin Which famous Christmas Carol, was originally written in 1857 for Thanksgiving? `Jingle Bells` Who was England`s top wicket taker during the 1992 Cricket World Cup? Ian Botham Which of the following appeared in both the films `Magnolia` and `Boogie Nights`? Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore or Tom Cruise? Julianne Moore Which of the following colours does not appear on the Argentinian flag? Red, White or Blue? Red Which playing card is sometimes referred to as the `black lady`? The Queen of Spades Which artist painted `Sunflowers`? Van Gogh Who directed the film `Death Wish`? Michael Winner Excluding the sun, what is the name of the nearest star to Earth? Proxima Centauri Richard Starkey is the real name of which famous musician? Ringo Starr Who`s motto is `Let not the deep swallow me up`? Royal National Lifeboat Institution Which of the four Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles would come first alphabetically? Donatello Which city is served by W A Mozart airport? Salzburg What is the capital city of the Seychelles? Victoria What job did Helen Hunt`s character do in the film `As Good As It Gets`? Waitress In 1785, Blanchard and Jeffries became the first to cross the English channel using which method of transport? Balloon On which racecourse is the St Leger run? Doncaster Who won the `Best International Male` award at the Brit awards of 2000? Beck In which country was the writer Rudyard Kipling born? India Who wrote the 1995 novel `Rose Madder`? Stephen King Which actor more famous for his roles in horror films played Sherlock Holmes in a 1968 TV series? Peter Cushing Which British Admiral defeated the French at Trafalgar, but was killed during the battle? Nelson The city of Dublin stands on which of the following rivers? Liffey, Shannon or Clyde? Liffey Is the tropic of Cancer north or south of the equator? North Who won the men`s gold medal for ice-figure skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics? Robin Cousins Which of the following rock stars worked as a gravedigger before starting his musical career? Rod Stewart, Freddie Mercury or Billy Joel? Rod Stewart With which British Rock group did Ozzy Osbourne make his name? Black Sabbath In the American postal system, `MN` is the abbreviation for which state? Minnesota What does the letter `N` stand for in `NATO`? North What is the plural of `opus`? Opera Who directed the 1984 film `The Killing Fields`? Norman Jewison, Roland Joffe or Oliver Stone? Roland Joffe Which tennis player was runner up in the mens singles final at Wimbledon in both 2000 and 2001? Pat Rafter Who won the 1500m gold medal for Great Britain at the 1980 Olympics? Sebastian Coe In January 2003, it was reported that Dave Glover had been thrown out of which band due to his relationship with convicted murderer Rosemary West? Slade The island of Gotland belongs to which country? Sweden In what year did the building of the Panama canal begin? 1870, 1880 or 1890? 1880 What was the title of David Bowie`s 1977 album, his first of three collaborations with Brian Eno? `Low` How many members were in the band All Saints? 4 Who`s life inspired the 1987 film `Personal Services`? Cynthia Payne A Griffin has the head of which type of bird? Eagle Which 1992 film was advertised with the slogan `Never let her out of your sight. Never let your guard down. Never fall in love.`? `The Bodyguard` What is Madonna`s maiden name? Ciccone In which Scottish city are the comics the Beano and the Dandy published? Dundee What was the number on the back of the soccer jersey that both Maradona and Pele said was lucky? 10 Which female singer had a number one hit with `Mi Chico Latino`? Geri Halliwell In which year is the 1982 film Blade Runner set? 2019 Who said `Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind`? Albert Einstein The Chinese and the Mississippi are the only two known species of which creature? Alligator What characted does Jack Nicholson play in the 1989 film `Batman`? The Joker, The Penguin or The Riddler? The Joker Madonna appeared in which play in London in 2002? Up For Grabs, Up For Offer or Up The Ante? Up For Grabs Which of the following groups were once called the Mugwumps? The Yardbirds, The Mamas And Papas or Mott The Hoople? The Mamas And Papas Which 1952 Agatha Christie play ran in London for over 35 years? The Mousetrap Which Colonel was the manager of Elvis Presely? Tom Parker Who was the folk singer and ex-busker from Cleveland who filled in for Stevie Wonder at the 1988 UK Nelson Mandella Concert? Tracey Chapman How long did the one hundred year war last? 66, 89, 100 or 116 years? 116 years Who at the 1984 Olympics, won the 100m, 200m, sprint relay and the long jump? Carl Lewis Which Beatle`s first girlfriend was called Thelma Pickles? John Lennon`s Which team were Manchester United playing, when Eric Cantona was sent off and kicked one of their supporters? Crystal Palace Which English King was defeated by Robert The Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn? Edward II Which king of England had a mother and a son who were beheaded? James I Who directed the films `The Usual Suspects` and `X-Men`? Bryan Singer What ancient Greek mathematician compiled 13 volumes on geometry called `The Elements`? Euclid Which 90s song includes the line `What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you`? `Wicked Game` What colour is the bottom stripe on the Croatian flag? Blue Which band reached number 2 in the UK charts in 1982 with the song `Private Investigations`? Dire Straits How is the medical condition of myopia better known as? Short-sightedness What were the surnames of `Bonnie And Clyde`? Parker and Barrow In which English country was Cheddar cheese first made? Somerset Which 1956 musical was based on the 1940 film `The Philadelphia Story`? `High Society` What was the name of Britain`s first nuclear powered submarine? HMS Dreadnought What is the correct way to address a bishop? `Sir`, `Your Grace` or `My Lord`? `My Lord` What is the least used letter in the English language? `Z` In which 1980 film did Jack Nicholson ad-lib the line `Here`s Johnny`? `The Shining` What was the codename for the German invasion of Russia in World War II? Barbarossa In `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory`, what was the name of the little people who worked for Willy Wonka and loved to sing? Oompa Loompas What is the capital of Bosnia? Sarajevo What type of creature is a taipan? Snake Who created the character Gunga Din? Rudyard Kipling Which movie actor has played characters including Jack Ryan and Dr Richard Kimble? Harrisson Ford From which country does the dish Enchilada come? Mexico In 1981, who took over from Tom Baker in the TV series `Doctor Who`? Peter Davison Which famous British ship`s name means `The Short Skirt`? The Cutty Sark Who won a Golden Globe for playing the character Satine in the 2001 film `Moulin Rouge`? Nicole Kidman How is the number 60 written in Roman numerals? LX Which element has the chemical symbol P? Phosphorus In what year did the Beatles officially split up? 1970 What is the most common street name in Britain? High Street Which famous cartoon bird appeared for the first time in 1937 on the Porky Pig show? Daffy Duck In 1889, what took over from the Great Pyramid as the tallest building in the world? Eiffel Tower Which TV detective has a sidekick called Seargent Lewis? Inspector Morse What single letter is the chemical symbol for the element Potassium? K What is the only American state with a name which has just one syllable? Maine In which European country is the Costa del Sol? Spain Which band released the album `Second Coming` in 1994, five years after their debut album? The Stone Roses What was Marilyn Monroe`s full real name? Norma-Jean Baker What is the name of the diminutive snake-killing hero described in a story by Rudyard Kipling? Rikki-Tikki-Tavi What distance is covered in one circuit of a modern outdoor running track? 400 metres Which famous inventor was born in Scotland in 1847 and became a US citizen 35 years later? Alexander Graham Bell When asked if he would be going to Marilyn Monroe`s funeral, who said `Why should I go? She won`t be there`? Arthur Miller, Joe Di Maggio or John F Kennedy? Arthur Miller Which TV detective had a dog called simply `Dog`? Columbo Into which sea does the Nile flow? Mediterranean What is the only mammal that can fly? The bat In 1978 who became the youngest man to win a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in `The Goodbye Girl`? Richard Dreyfuss In which Charles Dickens novel does the character of Smike appear? `Nicholas Nickleby` Who wrote `Our Mutual Friend`? Charles Dickens In the childrens TV series, what was the name of the girl who looked after Bagpuss? Emily In what year was the first American test-tube baby born? 1983 Which plant is the only one to have flowers, but no proper leaves? Cactus In the Tour De France, what colour jersey does the rider with the fastest cumulative time wear? Yellow Where did the Clangers live? On the moon Glossophobia is the fear of what? Failure, The Opposite Sex or Public Speaking? Public speaking What was the name of John Wayne`s final film? `The Shootist` In what year B.C. was Alexander the Great born? 356 BC If you were born on July 4th, what star sign would you be? Cancer In which country did the 2000 Olympic Games take place? Australia What was the name of the world`s first cloned sheep? Dolly How long is a 10-pin bowling lane? 60 feet, 80 feet or 100 feet? 60 feet Who played the female lead in the 1933 film `King Kong`? Fay Wray What was the name of the character that O J Simpson played in the `Naked Gun` films? Officer Nordberg What is the name of the one-legged sailor with a parrot on his shoulder, and who is the main character in the book `Treasure Island`? Long John Silver Alvin Stardust had a number one in 1974 called `Jealous ...` what? Mind Which of the following authors wrote most recently? Jonathon Swift, Rudyard Kipling or Daniel Defoe? Rudyard Kipling Seoul is the capital of which country? South Korea Which singer came third in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest with the song `Power To All Our Friends`? Cliff Richard Which American state first declared Labor Day a legal holiday? Colorado, Connecticut or California? Colorado In which Scottish city is the book `Trainspotting` based? Edinburgh Who was the first person to Captain and Manage a World Cup winning Football team? Franz Beckenbauer In which year did Arthur Conan Doyle publish the first of his `Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes`? 1891 In which South American country are the Glass waterfalls? Brazil Which Beatle was the youngest? John, Paul, George or Ringo? George Igor Sikorsky designed and flew the first practical version of what flying machine? The helicopter Which animals become the leaders in the novel `Animal Farm` by George Orwell? Pigs Which actress sang with Peter Sellers on the 1960 hit `Goodness Gracious Me`? Sophia Loren How many funnels did the Titanic have? 4 Which of the four main Balearic Islands is closest to Spain? Ibiza In which American city was the TV show `Cheers` set? Boston What was Ezra Pound famous for writing? Poems, Musicals or Biographies? Poems Which is older? Stonehenge in England or the Colosseum in Rome? Stonehenge Augusta is the capital of which American state? Maine What was the name of the boat in the TV show `The Love Boat`? The Pacific Princess If Monday`s child is fair of face then what is Wednesday`s child? Full of woe Which 1980 horror film which spawned a number of sequels was directed by Sean S Cunningham? `Friday The 13th` A paper anniversary is celebrated after how many years of marriage? 1 Masked, Hermit and Spider are all types of which animal? Crab Which motorway links Birmingham and Lancaster? M6 Which band did Nirvana`s bass player Dave Grohl join after Nirvana split in 1995? The Foo Fighters Who did Coventry beat in the 1987 FA Cup final? Tottenham Hotspur In what year did the London Underground begin operations? 1863 What song was the Christmas number one in the UK in both 1975 and 1991? `Bohemian Rhapsody` With which song did Sacha Distel enter the UK charts 5 times? `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head` In millimetres, what is the width of an A10 sheet of paper? 26 What is the largest country in Africa? Sudan In which century did Belgium become independent from the Netherlands? 19th Hana Mandikova, who became an Australian citizen in 1988, was born in which country? Czechoslovakia In the game of Monopoly, what colour is Euston Road? Blue In which book of the Bible are the Ten Commandments first mentioned? Exodus By what abbreviation is the International Criminal Police Organisation better known? Interpol Which famous rock star wrote the lines `It`s better to burn out than to fade away` in his suicide note? Kurt Cobain In which year did Channel 4 begin broadcasting? 1982 How many players are in an ice-hockey team? 6 In BBC`s 2002 100 Greatest Britons, which position was Robbie Williams? 77 In Monty Python`s Flying Circus, what type of animal was Dinsdale? A giant hedgehog Which 1987 film stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley? Beverly Hills Cop II Which cartoon character has three nephews called Huey, Dewey and Louis? Donald Duck Which actress starred in `Wild Things` and the `Scream` trilogy? Neve Campbell Who played Father Peter in the TV series `Ballykissangel`? Stephen Tompkinson On which Saturday morning TV show might you have seen the Phantom Flan Flinger? Tiswas Who directed the 1993 film `The Fugitive`? Peter Weir, Andrew Davis or Wolfgang Peterson? Andrew Davis In which sport is there a yorkround? Archery Nicknamed Charles the Fat, of which European country did Charles II rule between the years 884 and 887? France In the TV series `I`m Alan Partridge`, in which English town does Alan broadcast his radio show? Norwich Who hosted the TV quiz show `Ask The Family`? Robert Robinson Which English explorer introduced the potato and the tobacco plant to England? Sir Walter Raleigh How high is the highest board in competition diving? 2 metres, 6 metres or 10 metres? 10 metres What is the collective noun for a group of kangaroos? An army, a mob or a troop? A mob In what year was highwayman Dick Turpin hanged? 1739 What is the state capital of Georgia? Atlanta Who played Nora Batty in the TV series `Last Of The Summer Wine`? Kathy Staff Casey Kasem provided the voice of which character in Scooby Doo? Shaggy In 1995, which singer was put on 18 months probation for firing a gun at two noisy teenagers? Ozzy Osbourne, Nina Simone or Van Morrison? Nina Simone Which London football club was the first in England to install an artificial pitch? Queens Park Rangers Which Simply Red song includes the line `And I love the thought of coming home to you`? Fairground Which of the following elements has the atomic number 2? Carbon, Lithium or Helium? Helium Which famous cartoon character first appeared on-screen in the 1934 cartoon `The Wise Little Hen`? Donald Duck Which singer is famous for his `moonwalk` dance? Michael Jackson What is the capital city of Libya? Tripolli What nationality was the composer Beethoven? German Which cartoon character has an anchor tatooed on his arm? Popeye What nationality was the explorer Dr Livingstone? Scottish What name is given to a leading female singer in an Opera, and is also used to describe someone who is temperamental and hard to please? Prima Donna In which year of the twentieth century did the Spanish Civil War begin? 1936 The TV series `Planet Of The Apes` starring Roddy McDowell was set in what year? 3085 Which author created the fictional land of Narnia? C. S. Lewis Who were the beaten finalists in both the 1974 and 1978 soccer World Cup finals? Holland Who directed the 2001 film `Black Hawk Down`? Ridley Scott What is Indiana Jones looking for in the film `Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade`? The Holy Grail What does the term `brut` mean when applied to wine? Very dry In cricket, how many runs is a double nelson? 222 In which English city is the world`s largest chocolate factory? Birmingham What was the name of the British liner which exploded in 1962 killing over 200 people? Dara St Mary`s, St Martins and Tresco are main islands in which group? Scilly Isles By what name is the domesticated albino variety of polecat better known? Ferret The abbreviation RSVP is taken from what language? French How many characters are there in the Russian alphabet? 33 Peter Mayhew is best known for playing what Star Wars character? Chewbacca Equus is the latin name for what animal? Horse What was the first `Carry On` film called? `Carry On Sergeant` What is sold by a costermonger? Fruit What is the only mammal which can`t jump? The Elephant In the film `The Truman Show` what was the first name of the character played by Jim Carrey? Truman How was author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known? Lewis Carroll What was the title of Shut Up And Dance`s top ten hit of 1992? `Raving, I`m Raving` or `The Bouncer`? Raving, I`m Raving In what film does Alec Baldwin play the character of Jack Ryan? `The Hunt For Red October` The name of which type of people means `eaters of raw meat`? Eskimoes What is the full title to the sequel to the film `Home Alone`? `Home Alone 2: Lost In New York`. How many players are there in a Handball team? 7 What is the more common name for the disease `Rubella`? German Measles Which is the smallest of North America`s great lakes? Lake Ontario Who wrote `Black Beauty` in 1877? Anna Sewell What is the only animal which, for both genders, is born with horns on its forehead? Giraffe Which Oasis song includes the line `I know I think I recognise your face, but I haven`t seen you before`? `Roll With It` What is the second book of the Bible? Exodus What is Frigophobia the fear of? The cold Who played the studio executive Griffin Mill in the 1992 film `The Player`? Tim Robbins In what year was `Chain Reaction` a number one single for Diana Ross? 1986 Which European state became two separate states in January 1993? Czechoslovakia What is the first name of Julian Lennon`s mother? Cynthia Who was Britains entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 with the song `Congratulations`? Cliff Richard The band Steely Dan got their name from a book by which American author? William Burroughs The modern flushing toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper, but the soldiers of which war were first to use it? World War I Which two characters in `Friends` got married in Las Vegas? Ross and Rachel Diana is the Roman goddess of what? The moon Albany is the capital of which American state? New York Who is the only American President to have been seen wearing a NAZI uniform? Ronald Reagan What is the most populated city in America? New York Who played Peter Pan in Steven Spielberg`s film `Hook`? Robin Williams What is the only venomous mammal in the world? The duckbill platypus. What was the last album ever recorded by the Beatles? `Abbey Road` What 1992 film starring Kristy Swanson is also the name of a TV series? `Buffy The Vampire Slayer` What was James Dean`s last film? `Giant` Which of Shakespeare`s plays begins with the words `If music be the food of love, play on`? `Twelfth Night` In what year was the world`s first daily newspaper published? 1702 Which character was kidnapped by a UFO in `The Colbys`? Fallon Which Brazilian footballer scored a goal in every round of the 1970 World Cup finals? Jairzinho In which European city are the headquarters of the World Health Organisation? Geneva What is the British term for what Americans call `gasoline`? Petrol Who captained Brazil`s World Cup winning football team in 1970? Carlos Alberto Who won the best actor award for the film `Ben Hur`? Charlton Heston Which musical composer wrote `The Firebird`, `Petruska` and `The Rite Of Spring`? Stravinsky Which American state is nicknamed the Lone Star State? Texas Lanzarote is part of which island group? The Canary Islands Who wrote `Frankenstein`? Mary Shelley Which planet was discovered in 1930 and has only one known satellite called Charon? Pluto What 1983 film starred David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve? `The Hunger` How much is the gold bullion worth in `The Italian Job`? $4,000,000 In the stock exchange what animal is used as a nickname to describe someone who sells shares thinking that the price will fall? Bear Which actor provides the voice for Rocky in the film `Chicken Run`? Mel Gibson Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993, Louis J. Freeh became the director of which organisation? The FBI Which country traditionally provides Britain with a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square in London? Norway What is the name of the aeroplane that the American President rides in? Air Force One Which Scottish football team are nicknamed the Arabs because they used to play on a pitch which was very sandy? Dundee United What is the common term for the type of people who prefer to be called `Inuit` or `Yupik`? Eskimos In `Thunderbirds`, what colour was Lady Penelope`s Rolls Royce? Pink What is the capital city of Finland? Helsinki In what year did the Great Train Robbery take place? 1963 Which ex-West Ham football manager is the father in law of pop star Louise? Harry Redknapp If you were born on April Fools Day, what star sign would you be? Aries At which battle in World War I were tanks used for the first time? The Battle Of The Somme The TV comedy series `George And Mildred` was a spin-off from which other sitcom? `Man About The House` How many spots in total does a full standard set of dominos have? 168 What was the name of the spacecraft which burst into flames on it`s ground-test in 1967, killing all three astronauts on board? Apollo I Who became the youngest person to be crowned Mr Universe in 1967 and later became a famous Hollywood actor? Arnold Swarzenegger In which US state did the World Cup final take place in 1994? California Which US state is home to cartoon character Deputy Dawg? Mississippi Which actor suffered a fatal heart attack during the filming of `Gladiator`? Oliver Reed. The largest ever teddy bears picnic was held in Dublin in 1995. How many bears were there? 33,573 In which board game might you land on Free Parking or The Water Works? Monopoly Which American actor died at the age of 22 after collapsing outside a club in 1993? River Phoenix Which famous singer was born Thomas Woodward in 1940? Tom Jones How many eyes does a cyclops have? 1 Stuart Sutcliffe of the Beatles died in 1962 of what cause? Brain haemmoridge. Which actress from the TV show `Friends` began her acting career advertising Tampax? Courtney Cox Which English league football team play at Ashton Gate? Bristol City By what nickname, meaning little barrel, is the artist born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi better known? Botticelli What nationality was Van Gogh? Dutch In the children`s TV show `The Magic Roundabout`, what was the name of the cow? Ermintrude A menorah is a candleholder used by people of which religion? Judaism What is Europe`s highest capital city? Madrid, Rome or Athens? Madrid Which male singer starred in a film version of the hit musical `The Wiz` in 1977? Michael Jackson, Roger Daltrey or Meatloaf? Michael Jackson The name `United States of America` was first officially used in what document? The Declaration Of Independence From which animal does Cashmere wool come from? Goat Who became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and returned to Space in 1997? John Glenn How many people signed the American Declaration Of Independence? 56 Which of the following letters does not feature in the chemical formula for water? C, H or O? C Which of the following animals have fingerprints that are very similar to human fingerprints? Chimpanzees, Koala Bears or Possums? Koala Bear What do the initials ASLEF stand for? Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen What was the name of song, written and performed by Harold Faltermeyer, on the soundtrack of the film `Beverly Hills Cop`? Axel F What nationality was the novelist Marcel Proust? French Who plays Sabrina in the television show `Sabrina the Teenage Witch`? Melissa Joan Hart Situated on an island in the Mediterranean, what is Europe`s largest active volcano called? Mount Etna In 1319, which country was Sweden united with under the rule Magnus VII? Norway What is the only anagram of the word `stationed`? Antidotes Who played the leading role in the 1986 film `The Golden Child`? Eddie Murphy Which pop group is an anagram of `Pen Ballad At Us`? Spandau Ballet In which century were the War of the Roses fought? 15th On a darts board, what number is directly opposite 1? 19 In the NATO phonetic alphabet, what word is used for `A`? Alpha Which American football team won the first ever Superbowl? Green Bay Packers In total, how many gold medals did Carl Lewis win in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics? 7 When Walt Disney`s seven dwarfs went off to work in the mines, what were they mining? Diamonds If you were born on 29th February, what star sign would you be? Pisces What was the name of the city where the Wizard of Oz lived? The Emerald City What was the original name of Wembley Stadium? Empire Stadium What was the title of Barbara Striesand`s first film? `Funny Girl` What number do the two numbers on the opposite side of dice always add up to? 7 What number is 10 to the power 15? One trillion, one quadrillion or one quintillion? One quadrillion Other than Great Britain, how many countries have stamps which do not feature the countries name? None Which of the following football teams won the World Cup before the other two? Brazil, West Germany or England? West Germany What American TV show had a spin-off called `Joanie and Chachi`? `Happy Days` How many carats are there in pure gold? 24 Which of the following animals is not part of the Chinese horoscope? A sheep, a bear or a hen? A bear In what year did Marilyn Monroe famously sing `Happy Birthday Mr President` to John F. Kennedy? 1962 How many zeros would you associate with the metric prefix `giga`? 9 What double act hold the record for the longest gap between number 1 records in the UK singles charts with hits in 1965 and 1990? The Righteous Brothers In Japan, what is a tsunami? Tidal wave What capital city stands on the Potomac river? Washington What is the official language of Brazil? Portuguese In September 2002, Johnny Vegas sold his wedding photos to which magazine for £1? Viz What is the name of the Manager played by Ricky Jervais in the comedy series `The Office`? David Brent In the Guinness British Hit Singles book, who is listed as the most popular chart star of all time? Elvis Presley What is the highest number on a roulette wheel? 36 What type of animal is a flying fox? A fish, a bat or a squirrel? Bat In what year was Steven Spielberg born? 1936, 1946 or 1956? 1946 In February 2000, which Scandanavian country elected it`s first female President? Finland What was the surname of the professor played by Rex Harrisson in the 1964 film `My Fair Lady`? Higgins How much does it cost to buy a station in the board game Monopoly? 200 In what year did the first recorded railroad accident occur? 1832 Muhammed Ali, Cher, Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan have all admitted to suffering from the fear of what? Flying Which of the following colours do not appear on the German flag? Green, Yellow or Red? Green What nationality was composer Franz Schubert? Austrian Which singer went solo after having success with the band the Commodores? Lionel Richie What was the first Australian city to host the Olympic games? Melbourne Who composed the opera `Turandot`? Wagner, Puccini or Verdi? Puccini In which 1993 film does Kevin Kline play a look-alike hired to impersonate the President? `Dave` What is the name given to an object with four sides, where all sides are of the same length, but none of the angles are right angles? A rhombus What type of creature is a kookaburra? Bird In football, in which year was the charity shield first contested for? 1908 How many prime numbers are there between 10 and 20? 4 What 1967 film had the tagline `Train them! Excite them! Arm them!...Then turn them loose on the Nazis!`? `The Dirty Dozen` Which 1986 film had the tag-line `Be afraid. Be very afraid.`? `The Fly` In computing, what does the letter `C` stand for in the acronymp BASIC? Code, Company or Computing? Code Which Welsh band released the album `The Holy Bible` in 1994? Manic Street Preachers What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Hydrus`? Water Snake Who played Janet in the 1975 film `The Rocky Horror Picture Show`? Susan Sarandon In what year was the first charity Christmas card produced? 1949 How many European Cups did Liverpool win with Alan Hansen playing in their defence? 3 Which football team were losing FA Cup finalists three times during the 1980`s? Everton What is the lighest weight category in boxing? Light Flyweight What medical term evolved as a result of a condition suffered by Chang and Eng Bunker? Siamese Twins Originally called 40/50, what did Rolls Royce`s 1907 car later become known as? Silver Ghost An unproduced play `Everybody Comes to Rick`s` was made into which famous film? `Casablanca` How many millions away from the Sun is the Earth? 93 million, 2 and a half billion, or 113 billion? 93 million How many minutes of play are there in an American football match? 60 Who was the first player from outside the UK to captain an FA Cup winning team at Wembley? Eric Cantona What was the first name of the cabin boy in `Captain Pugwash`? Tom What number on the Beaufort scale represents a storm? 10 What is the sum of the internal angles in a hexagon? 720 Which 1994 film featured Arnold Swarzenegger playing a pregnant man? `Junior` What does the letter `A` stand for in the disease `AIDS`? Acquired In which country did the religion of Taoism originate? China Which of the five Great Lakes in North America would come first alphabetically? Lake Erie What was the President of the USA between 1981 and 1989? Ronald Reagan In the famous Nintendo games, what is the name of Mario`s brother? Luigi In which film did a `Starling` capture a `Buffalo`? Silence Of The Lambs Where were the 1988 summer Olympics held? Seoul The 1985 film `The Color Purple` won no Oscars, but how many nominations did it receive? 11 How many degrees apart are two lines of longitude which determine a time zone? 15 Who orginally created the character of `Batman`? Bob Kane In the film `Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers` which character did Andy Serkis provide the voice for? Gollum What is the sum of the internal angles in a pentagon? 540 Who had a hit album in 2002 called `One Love`? Blue Which pop star died three days before Groucho Marx? Elvis Presley Which note do an orchestra normally tune to? A, C or G? A What nationality was the artist Rembrandt? Dutch. Who had a hit in 1997 with `Tubthumping`? Chumbawumba What is the capital of Syria? Damascus Where in the human body would you find the metatarsals? In the feet What is the name of Bart Simpson`s dog? Santa`s Little Helper Which footballer was England`s first black player? Viv Anderson Who directed the 1991 film `Cape Fear`? Martin Scorcese What do the letters `M` and `I` stand for in `MI5`? Military Intelligence In which country was the first ever golf course? Scotland What are the names of John Lennon`s two sons? Julian and Sean In which country was Mother Theresa born? Albania Who managed the first English soccer side to win the European Cup? Matt Busby In what city was John Lennon killed? New York City What colour is the cross on the greek flag? White In which capital city did Oscar Wilde die? Paris Who had a number one hit in 1993 with the song `Go West`? The Pet Shop Boys How old was Buddy Holly when he died in a plane crash in 1959? 22 Which famous person in history was born in 356 BC and had a horse called Bucephalus? Alexander the Great Who played Jimmy `Popeye` Doyle in `The French Connection`? Gene Hackman In which country was Albert Einstein born? Germany Rob Sering hosted the `Night Gallery`, but was more famous for hosting which other sci-fi series? `The Twilight Zone` In which English county would you find Carlisle? Cumbria The title of which Charles Dickens novel is also the name of a famous American magician? David Copperfield The song `Tomorrow` features in which musical? `Annie` The binary system of numbers uses which two numerical digits? 1 and 0 When was the first World Snooker Championship held? 1927, 1947 or 1961? 1927 What type of animals are the cartoon characters Chip and Dale? Chipmunks In which English county is Exeter? Devon Which actor had the real name of Bernard Schwartz? Tony Curtis Who wrote the book `A Brief History Of Time`? Stephen Hawking Which TV series featured a space-ship called `Jupiter 11`? `Lost In Space` Who had top ten hits in the 1980s with the singles `Complex`, `We Are Glass` and `She`s Got Claws`? Gary Numan How many of the Beatles` were left handed? 2 Who sang `Just A Little Bit`, Britain`s entry to the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest? Gina G Who is Amelia Fieldmouse`s famous cartoon brother? Mickey Mouse Which actress said `I always did like a man in uniform. And that one fits you grand. Why don`t you come up sometime and see me?` Mae West Which fictional charcter, created by Mary Shelley, had the first name of Viktor? Frankenstein What was the first name of Nelson, the British Admiral who defeated the French at the battle of Trafalgar? Horatio Who won an acting Oscar in 1999 for their performance in a film, which they appeared on screen for only 8 minutes? Judi Dench In which city is the world`s biggest and busiest McDonalds fast food restaurant? Moscow In which city were the 1912 Olympic games held? Oslo, Antwerp or Stockholm? Stockholm In Greek mythology, who hit Achilles in his heel with a poisoned arrow? Paris Who played Joey Boswell in Bread and later went on to direct the film `Sliding Doors`? Peter Howitt In 2002, which what was Britain`s only top ten entry in Forbes magazine`s list of richest fictional characters? Willy Wonka In which 1955 film does Frank Sinatra play Nathan Detroit? `Guys and Dolls` What 1946 film features the characters George Bailey and Clarence? `It`s a wonderful life` Which English King was publicly beheaded in front of his palace in 1649? Charles I In what year were the first Olympic Games held? 1896 What is the name given to a triangle with two sides the same length and two angles of equal size? Isosceles What is the name of the main street in the TV soap opera `Neighbours`? Ramsay Street In what country is Transylvania? Romania Which book has the dedication “For Esme with Love and Squalor”? The Catcher In The Rye Where is the world`s oldest motorcycle race held? The Isle Of Man In what year did the Bee Gees have a UK number one hit with `Tragedy`? 1979 Which of these was a 1948 Western starring John Wayne and directed by Howard Hawks? Red River, Yellow River or Moon River? Red River Where were the first pair of sunglasses invented? China, America or Italy? China In which of Shakespeare`s play does the title character die in the first half of the play? Julius Caesar As at the end of 2000, how many films has Harrison Ford appeared in which have earned over 100 million dollars worldwide? 16 Tequila used instead of vodka turns a Bloody Mary cocktail into what? A Bloody Maria What large plant-eating dinosaur has a name that means `thunder lizard`? Brontosaurus Who played Eliot Ness in the 1987 film `The Untouchables`? Kevin Costner In the line in `Casablanca` which is often misquoted as `Play it again, Sam`. What song is Sam asked to play? `As Time Goes By`. Who played a bisexual bank robber in the 1975 film `Dog Day Afternoon`? Al Pacino Who was the first female newsreader on `News at 10`? Anna Ford What is lexicology the study of? Words What is the square root of one quarter? One half In what year did the Great Fire of London occur? 1666 In 1972, who became the first woman to be named Sports Illustrated`s `Sportsperson of the Year`? Billie Jean King Which film ends with the words `It`s the stuff that dreams are made of`? The Maltese Falcon In which country did the first football World Cup take place? Uruguay In which American state was the film `The Blair Witch Project` set? Maryland Who wrote the book `Heidi`? Johanna Spyri What was the title of Kylie Minogue`s first UK top 10 single? `I should be so lucky` In which century did Henry VIII rule? 16th The film `Clueless` starring Alicia Silverstone was based on which Jane Austen novel? `Emma` In which year did Kurt Cobain commit suicide? 1994 The first Opium War was a conflict between which two nations? Great Britain and China Which major sporting event did Irishman Stephen Roche win in 1987? The Tour De France Who was the only England player sent of during the 1986 World Cup Finals? Ray Wilkins What was the first film that Alfred Hitchcock made in Hollywood and the only one that won a Best Picture Oscar? Rebecca In which British city is the 1997 film `Twin Town` set? Swansea How many children made up Enid Blyton`s `Famous Five`? 4 What song from the film `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` won an Oscar for best song? `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head` In what year did the attack on Pearl Harbour take place? 1941 Which football team won the World Cup in 1938? Italy What animals name is also the term given to three strikes in a row in ten-pin bowling? Turkey James Earl Ray was responsible for who`s death in 1968? Martin Luther King`s Is Saint Apolline the patron saint of earache, toothache or headaches? Toothache In which film did actress Hayley Mills first appear? `Tiger Bay` On what date and in what year did America declare it`s independence from Britain? 4th July, 1776 What is the name of the python in The Jungle book? Kaa In 1999, who had her first UK number one with `Genie In A Bottle`? Christina Aguilera What sport involves stones and a house? Curling Which character in the TV show `Sesame Street` lives in a trash can? Oscar Which actor famously said the line `Here`s looking at you, kid` in the film `Casablanca`? Humphrey Bogart Who wrote the play `Cat on a Hot Tin Roof`? Tennessee Williams Which rock band was the subject of a 1991 Oliver Stone film? The Doors Carrots are especially rich in which vitamin? Vitamin A Which famous person in history, when he died he left his property in his will to his two daughters, sister, three nephews and many friends, but left nothing to his wife Anne? William Shakespeare Who is the only artist, as at November 2000, to have had their first 10 singles reach the top 5 in the US charts? Mariah Carey What is the name of Sherlock Holmes` arch enemy? Professor Moriaty Which city in the American town of Massachusetts is nicknamed `Beantown` because it is famous for its baked beans? Boston With which instrument would you associate Caroline Corr? Drums Fun Lovin` Criminals` hit `Love Unlimited` is a tribute to which singer? Barry White Which of the following was not one of the famous Bronte sisters? Anne, Jane or Emily? Jane Which sign of the zodiac is represented by a lion? Leo Which famous TV and film actress got engaged to musician Kid Rock in April 2002? Pamela Anderson If you were born on 4th March, what star sign would you be? Pisces `Weir of Hermiston` is the unfinished work of which author? Robert Louis Stevenson What is the Decalogue better known as? The Ten Commandments Who played Mr Orange in `Reservoir Dogs`? Tim Roth Which book by George Orwell includes the line `Man is the only creature that consumes without producing`? `Animal Farm` In the TV comedy series `Red Dwarf`, what letter does Rimmer have on his forehead? `H` What was the name of Frank and Betty`s daughter in the TV comedy series `Some Mother`s Do Have Em`? Jessica What is the largest island in the Meditteraenean? Sicily Situated in Italy, what is Stromboli? An active volcano Which is the only planet in our Solar System that is not named after either a Greek or Roman God? Earth What is the second most common word in written English? `of` What was the name of Thomas Keneally`s book on which the film `Schindler`s List` was based? `Schindler`s Ark` What does the letter `N` stand for in `NASA`? National Who had a top ten hit in 1987 with `(Something Inside) So Strong`? Labi Siffre In the film `Jean De Florette`, what is Gerard Depardieu`s character looking for? Water, his twin brother, or the Holy Grail? Water As at March 2003, who is the most successful female chart act of all time in the UK? Madonna Which famous book begins with the line `Marley was dead, at least to begin with`? `A Christmas Carol` In which American state is Death Valley? California Who won a Golden Globe best actor award in 1999 for his performance in `The Truman Show`? Jim Carrey What would an American call a baby`s nappy? A diaper What classical composer wrote some of his greatest music after becoming deaf? Beethoven Who directed the 1980 film `The Elephant Man`? David Lynch Who`s piano was auctioned for 1.45 million pounds in October, 2000? John Lennon`s Approximately how much bigger is the land area of Greenland compared to Great Britain? 2 times, 10 times or 50 times? 10 times A painting by which artist was sold for some 5.1 million pounds in June 1996? Cezanne Which of the following didn`t appear in the film `Stand By Me`? Corey Haim, River Phoenix or Keifer Sutherland? Corey Haim What was the name of the spiv played by James Beck in Dad’s Army? Private Walker Which of these styles of painting is most recent? Realism, Surrealism or Impressionism Surrealism In 2001, which Welsh rugby union player became the first to have scored more than 1,000 points in international rugby? Neil Jenkins Who had hit singles in the 1990s including `A Change Would Do You Good` and `My Favourite Mistake`? Sheyl Crow Who sang the theme song for the Bond film `Goldfinger`? Shirley Bassey As at the year 2000, how many times have the summer Olympics been held in London? Twice In which British City is Temple Meads station? Bristol Who painted the `Rouen Cathedral` series? Claude Monet. Which city in Scotland is also known as `Auld Reekie`? Edinburgh What was the first Bond film to be based on one of Ian Fleming`s short stories and not on one of his novels? `For Your Eyes Only` What was the name of Marmalades only number one hit in the UK? `Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da` How many players made up a squad in the 1998 soccer world cup? 22 Who wrote `Moby Dick`? Herman Melville Which Dutchman won the men`s singles title at Wimbledon in 1996? Richard Krajicek In what country was the game of golf invented? Scotland Which band released their third album called `War` in 1983? U2 Broadcast in 1983 ,`Goodbye, Farewell and Amen` was the name of the last episode of which American TV series? `M*A*S*H` In which American city is the largest settlement of Chinese people outside of Asia? San Francisco How many toes do camels have on each foot? 2 How many bits are there in a byte? 8 Who painted `The Scourging Of Christ` and `The Disrobing Of Christ`? El Greco. Which group, who were founded in 1981 had members called Siobhan, Keren and Sarah? Bananarama What is the opposite of `diurnal`? Nocturnal Which Bond film featured a theme tune sung by Tom Jones? Thunderball What letter of the alphabet is the most common letter to come at the start of words? `S` In what year did white lines first appear on Britains roads? 1925 In which year did Jackie Stewart first win the Formula One World Drivers Championship? 1969 In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, which gifts represent the six days of creation? Geese-a-laying Which `Sex and the City` star is actor Matthew Broderick married to? Sarah Jessica Parker Which character from the Popeye cartoon liked eating hamburgers? Wimpy Which fictional detective lives in the village of St Mary Mead? Miss Marple In which country was the recent `Lord Of The Rings` movie filmed? New Zealand What nationality was the explorer Roald Amudsen? Norwegian Robert Van Winkle was the real name of what American rapper? Vanilla Ice In which century was the 1995 film `Judge Dredd` set? 22nd Which famous American family live at 742 Evergreen Terrace? `The Simpsons` Who gave the famous speech known as the `Gettysburg Address`? Abraham Lincoln Babara Millicent Roberts is better known by what name? Barbie Which musical term was first coined in William Burroughs` book `Naked Lunch`? Heavy Metal, New Wave or Pop? Heavy Metal Which of the following large lakes is not in North America? Michigan, Huron or Victoria? Victoria What is the northernmost American state? Alaska Which film has been nominated for the most Oscars in one year? All About Eve What is the plural of `dwarf`? Dwarfs In `The Lord Of The Rings`, what type of creature was Legolas? Elf Who wrote the book `The Commitments` which was later made into a film? Roddy Doyle FINA is the governing body of which sport? Swimming In computing, what does the letter `S` stand for in `ASCII`? Standard In which battle was Nelson killed? The Battle of Trafalgar In what year was the Davis Cup tennis competition first held? 1900 What country has the largest Christian population? America In mythology, who supported the heavens on his shoulders? Atlas The line `Get busy living, or get busy dying` is spoken by the actor Morgan Freeman in which film? `The Shawshank Redemption` Which of the Beatles was the first to be a grandfather? Ringo Starr In which city is the soap opera `Brookside` set? Liverpool What motorway connects Glasgow and Edinburgh? M8 Who played Batman in the 1989 film called `Batman`? Michael Keaton Which weekly BBC TV show was axed in January 2003 after nearly 40 years? `Tomorrow`s World` In what decade did the BBC begin television broadcasting? 1930s Which cartoon character sometimes had trouble controlling Musky and Vince? Deputy Dawg Which of the following countries` flags features the colours white and blue? Switzerland, Finland or Austria? Finland In which art gallery can the `Venus De Milo` be found? The Louvre Who had a number one hit single in the UK with `Being With You` in 1981? Smokey Robinson In what film does Jack Nicholson play the character of Randle Patrick McMurphy? `One flew over the cuckoo`s nest` The Chaco War of 1932 - 1935 was between which two South American countries? Bolivia and Paraguay Which novel by Irvine Welsh, was the basis for a 1996 film starring Ewan McGregor? `Trainspotting` How many points would you get for the word `Scrabble` in a game of Scrabble? 11 How many keys are on a standard piano? 88 Which Dutchman managed both Newcastle and Chelsea in the 1990s? Ruud Gullit Which small European country has the capital city of Vaduz? Liechtenstein What does a Herpetologist study? Reptiles What name is given to a triangle with 3 unequal sides? Scalene With which country are Mounties associated? Canada What was the title of the first Harry Potter book? `Harry Potter and the Philospher`s Stone` Which member of the band the Beatles wrote `Here Comes The Sun`? George Harrison What are Philadelphia`s American Football team called? Philadelphia Eagles Which English writers first novel was called `The Light That Failed`? Rudyard Kipling `Big Brother` was the title of the first episode of which long running TV comedy series? `Only Fools And Horses` Which heavyweight boxer is nicknamed `The Real Deal`? Evander Holyfield How many bones are in a human neck? 2, 7 or 31? 7 What is another name for a baby kangaroo? A joey What is the largest planet in the Solar System? Jupiter Which actress starred in the films `Scarface`, `One Fine Day` and `Batman Returns`? Michelle Pfeiffer Which male singer was backed by the `Heartbreakers`? Tom Petty Who wrote the opera `La Traviata`? Verdi In centimeters, what is the diameter of a standard CD? 12, 14 or 16? 12 Where is the lowest point in the United States? Death Valley Who was the first US President to appear on television? Franklin D. Roosevelt In what film did Oprah Winfrey make her big screen acting debut? `The Color Purple` In computing, if a byte is 8 bits, how many bits is a nibble? 4 In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, what were there eight of? Maids-a-milking What pop group got their name from a song by Bernard Cribbins? Right Said Fred Which 1974 sequel won the best picture award at the 1975 Oscars? The Godfather, Part II Which article of clothing would you associated with designer Patrick Cox? Shoes In which novel is the world divided into Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia? `1984` How many loaves are in a bakers dozen? 13 In which Scottish city would you find Holyrood Palace? Edinburgh What colour is the cross on the flag of Denmark? White What 1974 film features a character called Leatherface, who was based on real-life mass murderer Ed Gein? `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre` Which football team scored the first goal to be conceded by Fabian Barthez in the English Premiership? Ipswich In what 1984 film does `Gizmo` appear? `Gremlins` In which decade did The Faces have hits called `Stay With Me` and `Cindy Incidentally`? 1970s Who played the leading role in the film `The Man Who Wasn`t There`? Billy Bob Thornton What is the most densely populated continent in the world? Europe What father and daughter duo had a hit in 1967 with the song `Something Stupid`? Frank and Nancy Sinatra What do the letters in QANTAS, the Australian international airline, stand for? Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service Which American band released their first mini-LP `Chronic Town` in 1982? R.E.M. Which TV puppet has its own museum in Shipley in Yorkshire? Sooty In the children`s TV show `Tiswas`, what did the letters in the title stand for? Today Is Saturday Watch & Smile Who plays Jim Morrison in the film `The Doors`? Val Kilmer Titan and Pandora are moons of which planet? Saturn Do rattlesnakes lay eggs or have live babies? They have live babies In 1993, Kim Campbell became the first female Prime Minister of which country? Canada Who did Priscilla Anne Beaulieu marry in 1967? Elvis Presley In which country was actress Vivien Leigh born? India Who were the only football team to beat the Republic of Ireland in their qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup Finals? Iran According to surveys in the 1990s, what was the most common New Year resolution? To lose weight, get fit, or stop biting fingernails? Lose weight What nationality was the economist Adam Smith? Scottish When was Adolf Hitler born? 1879, 1889 or 1899? 1889 In what year was the first Miss World contest held? 1951 In 1982, the `Man Of The Year` in Time magazine was not human - who or what was it? Greenpeace, a computer or Charlie Brown? A computer In computing, what word comes from a contraction of the words `by eight`? Byte What war began on 10 October, 1899? The Boer War Which county cricket team play at Trent Bridge? Nottinghamshire Who was the first American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Theodore Roosevelt In Roman numerals, what is CC? 200 Who wrote `Winnie The Pooh`? A. A. Milne Which team beat Brazil 3-2 in the 1982 soccer World Cup finals? Italy Which song begins `When you`re weary, feeling small; when tears are in your eyes`? `Bridge over troubled water` Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts appear as love rivals in which 90’s romantic comedy? `My Best Friends Wedding` St. Anne`s lies to the south of which holiday resort? Blackpool In which English county is Plymouth? Devon Who was the female judge on the first of ITV`s `Pop Idol` series? Nicki Chapman Who in 1961 made the first space flight? Yuri Gagarin In which American city is the film `Minority Report` set? Washington D.C. In 1998, who did Bill Clinton agree to pay $850,000 to drop her sexual harrassment lawsuit? Paula Jones Who was the British king during World War I? George V In which city would you find the Happy Valley race course? Hong Kong What does the letter `A` stand for in `NICAM`? Audio Which footballer won the golden boot in the 1966 World Cup scoring 9 goals? Eusebio The 1949 film `The Third Man` was based on whose novel? Graham Greene`s Which bay has the longest shoreline in the world? Hudson Bay Which Abba song includes the line `Do you still recall that fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande`? Fernando In which month is St Swithin`s Day? July William Pratt is the real name of which actor, best known for his work in horror films? Boris Karloff In which county is Jodrell Bank? Cheshire In which US state was the TV show `Flipper` set? Florida Which football team were formed in 1867 from a cricket club and got their name because they could only play on one day of the week? Sheffield Wednesday What is the chemical symbol for the element Radon? Ra, Rd or Rn? Rn With which pop duo would you associate Theresa Bazaar and David Van Day? Dollar In which country is San Salvador? El Salvador The Jurassic and Triassic periods fall into which era? Caenozoic, Mesozoic or Palaezoic? Mesozoic What is the second largest country in Europe? Ukraine The Beatles` last live performance was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. In what year was this? 1966 Which of the Bronte sisters wrote `Jane Eyre` in 1847? Charlotte In 2002, which actress/singer released the album `This Is Me Then`? Jennifer Lopez At the 2002 `Top Of The Pops` awards, which singer won the best tour award for her `Fever` tour? Kylie Minogue Who sang `One Step Out Of Time` in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest? Michael Ball What colour jacket does a greyhound running from trap 3 wear? White In the year 2000, how much of a fine did Ann Widecombe propose for the possession of cannabis? £100 How many players are there in a rugby league team? 13 What type of fruit is a cantaloup? A melon In the music world, how is Norman Cook better known? Fatboy Slim Which city is 88 miles from Birmingham, 71 miles from York and 43 miles from Leeds? Manchester What is the county town of Essex? Chelmsford Who plays Inspector Morse on TV? John Thaw What famous book was published in 1816 by Mary Shelley? `Frankenstein` Whose assassination is said to have led to the outbreak of the first world war? Archduke Ferdinand`s The Elton John song `Empty Garden` was a tribute to who? John Lennon Out of all the animals in the Chinese horoscope, which comes last alphabetically? Tiger Who first crossed the English channel by aeroplane? Louis Bleriot Which Southern Hemisphere country was the first in the world to allow women to vote? New Zealand In the police force, what rank comes above Chief Inspector? Superintendent Which 1969 film features the song `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head`? `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` Which stand-up comedian wrote the novel called `Stark`? Ben Elton Which of the following elements has an atomic number less than 10? Beryllium, Phosphorus or Titanium? Beryllium What is Postman Pat`s cat called? Jess For how many years is a French President elected? 7 On what childrens TV show would you find Spud the Scarecrow? Bob The Builder How many of the seven dwarfs had beards? 6 Who was British Prime Minister from 1955 to 1958? Anthony Eden Who were Jake and Elwood better known as in a 1980 film? The Blues Brothers Which continent can be credited with the invention of hot chocolate? Africa, South America or Europe? South America Who wrote the horror book `The Shining`? Stephen King Jan Sterling in 1956 and Suzanna Hamilton in 1984 both played the part of Julia in two different versions of what film? 1984 How old was Tiger Woods when he won the US Masters in 1997? 21 What appears at the centre of the flag of Cameroon? The sun, the moon or a star? A Star Shakespeare`s `The Tempest`, Milton`s `Paradise Lost` and Pope`s `The Rape Of The Lock` all feature a character of the same name. What is this name? Ariel Which wedding anniversary would you celebrate after 20 years? Crystal, China or Pearl? China Who had the first chart hit (apart from the Beatles) with a Lennon-McCartney hit and what was the song? Del Shannon What was David Bowie`s first top ten hit single and later became his first number one when it was re-released 6 years later? `Space Oddity` For what film did Tommy Lee Jones win the best supporting actor Oscar in 1994? The Fugitive Requiring 800,000 hours to generate all the images, what 1995 film was the first fully computer generated full length feature film? `Toy Story` How many husbands did Mary Queen of Scots have? 3 What is the birthstone for the month of June? Pearl Which actor starred as Dr Doolittle in the 1967 film of the same name? Rex Harrison In 2000, who stopped Victoria Beckham reaching number one in the singles chart with her first non-Spice Girls single? Spiller What was the name of the mouse that Dumbo the elephant made friends with in the Disney cartoon? Timothy Who was the lead singer with the American band `The Go-Go`s`? Belinda Carlisle Which British city has an underground railway system which is nicknamed `The Clockwork Orange`? Glasgow In the TV comedy series `Steptoe and Son`, what was the name of Steptoe`s horse? Hercules Tobermory is the only town on which Scottish island? Mull Who had a hit album in 1994 called `Monster`? R.E.M. On a London Underground map, what colour is the Circle Line? Yellow In which British city were the rock group Def Leppard formed? Sheffield Which TV medical drama was set in Oxbridge General Hospital and was originally entitled `Calling Nurse Roberts`? `Emergency Ward 10` How many nations competed in the first ever Olympic Games? 1 Which group sang the theme tune to the TV series `Brush Strokes`? Dexy`s Midnight Runners Who`s first solo album was released in 1979 and called `The Pleasure Principle`? Gary Numan Who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald? Jack Ruby In the nursery rhyme. what was old Mother Hubbard looking for in her cupboard? A bone Who had a hit in 1987 with the single `Tonight, Tonight, Tonight`? Genesis Who wrote the song `I Shot the Sheriff` which Eric Clapton had a hit single with? Bob Marley Claustrophobia is the fear of what? Confined Spaces In diving, what does the letter `C` stand for in `Scuba`? Core, Controlled or Contained? Contained Which famous speech began with the words `At long last, I am able to say a few words of my own`? The abdication speech of Edward VIII What does NATO stand for? North Atlantic Treaty Organization Who wrote `Jungle Book`? Rudyard Kipling How many tiles are used in a game of Scrabble? 100 What was the first Beatles number one on which neither John or Paul sang the lead vocal? `Yellow Submarine` Which famous singer is an anagram of `No I Decline`? Celine Dion Which film director`s real name was Terrence Nezman? Stanley Kubrick Which London football team won the FA Cup in 1988? Wimbledon Which famous literary character said he had an older and smarter brother called Mycroft?? Sherlock Holmes In what year did Stanley Baldwin first become Prime Minister? 1923 What is the Italian for `mixed fruits`, and is also the title of a famous song? `Tutti Frutti` Who was the last actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress for playing the title character of the film? Jessica Tandy In what year was the first television broadcast in the UK? 1930, 1933 or 1936? 1936 In which German city did the 1974 World Cup final take place? Munich How many points do you get for hitting the outer bull in a game of darts? 25 In World War II, what was the name of the German coding machine, which the British eventually managed to crack? Enigma What film won the best picture, best director and best actor Oscars in 1995? Forrest Gump Who wrote a famous diary between 1660 and 1669 which included detailed descriptions of the Plague and the Great Fire of London? Samuel Pepys Which vitamin is also known as tocopherol? Vitamin E Which English league football team are nicknamed the `Millers`? Rotherham What do edentulous mammals not have? Teeth What does VHS stand for as used in video tapes and recorders? Video Home System Which N. M. married Graca Machel on his 80th birthday? Nelson Mandela In which two months could you be born if your star sign was Libra? September or October Who was shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876 in the Number 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota? Wild Bill Hickok Who patented the sewing machine in 1851? Isaac Singer In which year did Dick Whittington become Mayor of London? 1397 What is the most Northern national capital in Europe? Helsinki What nationality is Pope John Paul II? Polish In 2001, which pop group turned on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street in London? S Club 7 Which theatre in London was originally called the Waldorf? The Strand What was John Napier famous for inventing? Logarithms What is the unofficial internet term for junk e-mail? Spam Who was the first footballer to be knighted? Stanley Matthews In which 1985 film did Harrison Ford play detective John Book? Witness What English football club was originally known as Newton Heath? Manchester United Who wears `The Fisherman`s Ring`? The Pope What is the capital of Barbados? Bridgetown What is the most popular surname in the world? Chang Who painted `The Haywain`? Constable Napier University is situated in which British city? Edinburgh In the late 1960s two bands called `The Garden Wall` and `The Anon` joined together to form which band? Genesis Which international soccer team is sometimes known as the `Azzurri`? Italy Who painted the Mona Lisa? Leonardo Da Vinci What is the only known substance that naturally exists on Earth in all three chemical states? Water Which star sign is represented by the Archer? Sagittarius In the book `Huckleberry Finn`, what was the first name of Huckleberry`s best friend? Tom True or False: Metathesiophobia is the fear of hairdressers? False What surname is common to the inventor of vulcanised rubber and an actress in `Coronation Street`? Goodyear What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Ursa Major`? Great Bear Which author wrote `The Dead Zone`, `Dolores Clairborne` and `Misery`? Stephen King Which spirit is used in a Bloody Mary? Vodka After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a tin wedding anniversary? 10 In Roman times, what was the tenth month of the year? December What is the scientific term for the process of water turning to steam? Evaporation Who played Tinkerbell in Steven Spielberg`s film `Hook`? Julia Roberts What is the farenheit equivalent of 20 degrees centigrade? 68 Who directed, produced and starred in the film `The Mirror Has Two Faces`? Barbra Streisand At the Academy Awards in 1999, `The Truman Show` was nominated in which of the following categories? Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress? Best Supporting Actor Which word originated in the English language from the Latin word for `sword`? `Gladiator` In which year did James Boyd patent the rubber fire hose? 1821 What is the largest sea in the world? South China sea In what year was Hong Kong returned to China? 1997 Who featured on Chicane`s number one hit `Don`t Give Up`? Danii Minogue, Bryan Adams or Iggy Pop? Bryan Adams What is the largest island in the world? Greenland Who wrote A Severed Head (1961) and The Sea, The Sea (1978)? Iris Murdoch How is the novel `Le Tour Du Monde En Quatre-Vingts Jours` better known in English? 80 Days Around The World How old was Orson Welles when he made `Citizen Kane`? 26, 36 or 46? 26 Who became the only racing driver to win the World Championship by driving his own car when he did so in 1966? Jack Brabham According to the Bible, whose hair did Delilah cut, taking his strength away from him? Samson In `Buffy The Vampire Slayer`, what is Buffy`s last name? Summers Who wrote `The Pied Piper Of Hamelin`? Hans Christian Anderson Which sign of the Zodiac means `archer` in Latin? Sagittarius According to the famous rhyme, what day of the week was Solomon Grundy married on? Wednesday Who was responsible for the introduction of the penny post in Britain in 1840? Sir Rowland Hill What are Sirius, Vega and Rigal? Stars, Comets or Galaxies? Stars From which film did the pop group Heaven 17 take their name? `A Clockwork Orange` If all the signs of the zodiac were listed alphabetically, which would come second? Aries In the film `Dirty Harry` what was Harry`s surname? Callahan For what team did Jimmy Greaves score 41 league goals in the 1960-61 season? Chelsea How many players made up a squad In the 1998 soccer world cup? 22 What was the title of the modern film version of `Cyrano de Bergerac` starring Steve Martin? `Roxanne` Which 1963 film won 3 Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress? `Tom Jones` How was pop star Priscilla Maria Veronica White better known? Cilla Black Who wrote `The Importance Of Being Earnest`? Oscar Wilde Which actress was only 10 years old when she won a best supporting actress Oscar for the film `Paper Moon`? Tatum O`Neal The film `10 things I hate about you` is based on which Shakespeare play? The Taming Of The Shrew In which was did the Battle of the Somme take place? World War I In which city did James Bond get married? Munich What sporting event which takes place annually in England was won by Hugh Jones in 1982? The London Marathon What is the national emblem that appears on the Canadian flag? The maple leaf What make of car does TV`s Mr Bean drive? Mini In `Star Wars`, what do the letters `TIE` stand for in `TIE Fighter`? Twin Ion Engine In which century did William Shakespeare write `Romeo And Juliet`? 16th What nation developed a secret coding device called the `Enigma` ? Germany Which of these countries has the most coastline? Greenland, Italy or Japan? Greenland Which John Lennon song did Roxy Music take to number one the year after his death? `Jealous Guy` In what year was Mensa founded? 1946 Which Australian city is the capital of the state of Victoria? Melbourne Better known as an actor, who directed the film `A Bronx Tale`? Robert De Niro Where in the body is the patella? The knee Who wrote a famous diary between 1660 and 1669 which included detailed descriptions of the Plague and the Great Fire of London? Samuel Pepys In the film Goldeneye, which British actor played agent 006? Sean Bean What is the normal colour of sulphur? Yellow When was Lewis Carroll`s book `Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland` written? 1865 What was the first in Krzysztof Kieslowski`s `Three Colours` trilogy of films called? Red, White or Blue? Blue In what year was the Berlin Wall knocked down? 1989 Which sport would you be playing if competing for the Ryder Cup? Golf In which country was Leon Trotsky killed? Mexico Which element is used in vulcanising rubber? Sulphur What number on the Beaufort scale represents a calm wind? 0 The songs `Aquarius`, `Good Morning Starshine` and `Let The Sunshine In` are associated with what musical? `Hair` What was the sequel to the 1987 film `Three Men and a Baby` called? `Three Men And A Little Lady` Who co-wrote `Fawlty Towers` with John Cleese? Connie Booth Which star of many comedy films died during the making of the 1994 film `Wagon`s East`? John Candy Which of the following is not a prime number? 319, 521 or 1033? 319 Which famous novel includes the words `light of my life, fire of my loins`? `Lolita` Which A. S. played Manuel in the TV show `Fawlty Towers`? Andrew Sachs In `The Simpsons`, what relation is Herb Powell to Homer Simpson? Brother Which group had a hit first with `Sweets for My Sweet`? The Searchers Which footballer scored 220 league goals for Tottenham Hotspur during the years 1961 and 1970? Jimmy Greaves Which country has the world`s oldest flag? Denmark What 70s pop group was fronted by Brian Connolly? The Sweet In what year was the first American test-tube baby born? 1983 What is Rambo`s first name? John As at 2004, who is the most successful female chart act of all time in the UK? Madonna What does a cryometer measure? Air speed, low temperatures or the age of trees? Low Temperatures Neil Hannon had 9 top 40 singles in the 1990s under what name? The Divine Comedy In which year was Benny Goodman born? 1909 What does AC/DC stand for? Alternating current / direct current What was Peter Beardsley`s first English league club? Carlisle United Which actor was Madonna married to between 1985 and 1989? Sean Penn In the title of an H. G. Wells book, how is Griffin better known? `The Invisible Man` How may balls are used in a game of Snooker (including the cue ball) ? 22 Which `Sesame Street` character is named after a taxi driver in `It`s A Wonderful Life`? Ernie How many counties share a border with Cornwall? One What colour in art is said to signify royalty? Purple. In what year did Pocahontas die? 1617 To the nearest whole number, what percentage of the world`s surface is land? 29% In which city were the 1920 Olympic games held? Oslo, Antwerp or Stockholm? Antwerp Which Shakespeare play was banned by some schools because it contains a girl dressing as a boy? `Twelfth Night` Which pair of twin puppet pigs first appeared on UK television in 1957? Pinky and Perky Which make of car was James Dean driving when he was killed in 1955? Porsche With which famous rock band did John Paul Jones play guitar? Led Zeppelin Boston is the capital of which American state? Massachusetts What condition did Karen Carpenter suffer from which eventually lead to her death? Of anorexia As well as the `Stars and Stripes` what other name is given to the flag of the USA? Old Glory Who played Butch Cassidy in the 1969 film `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`? Paul Newman In which sport might you adopt the `egg` position? Skiing On a typewriter, which word beginning with `l` and ending in `p` is the longest word that can be typed only using the right side of a typewriter? Lollipop What was the Beatles` first UK number one single? `From Me To You` In `Star Trek`, from which planet did Spock`s mother come? Earth Who wrote `The Ugly Duckling` and `The Emperor`s New Clothes`? Hans Christian Anderson Which British band has had members called 3D, Daddy G and Mushroom? Massive Attack Who directed, produced and starred in the 1977 film `High Anxiety`? Mel Brooks Which famous film director directed the 1956 film `The Killing`? Stanley Kubrick Who were the first band to have a number one hit single with the word `drugs` in it? The Verve Who starred with Jack Lemmon in `The Odd Couple`? Walter Matthau Montgomery is the capital of which American state? Alabama At which battle was King Harold killed by an arrow? Battle of Hastings What is the second highest mountain in the world? K2 What four words first appeared on American coins in 1864 and became the American national motto in 1956? `In God We Trust` In `A Christmas Carol`, on what date is Scrooge first visited by the ghost of Marley? 24th December In which month is the French national holiday, Bastille Day? July Before becoming Liverpool football team manager, Gerard Houllier once had another job in Liverpool. What was it? Teacher USA contains approximately what percentage of the worlds population? 1%, 5% or 10%? 5% How many stripes are there on an American flag? 13 Hamilton is the capital of which North American country? Bermuda Which Shakespearian character did Leonardo DiCaprio play in a 1996 film directed by Baz Luhrmann? Romeo As at January 2001, who is the only artist to have performed three James Bond title themes? Shirley Bassey Who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe? Sir Francis Drake 10 to the power 0 is equal to what number? 1 As at the year 2001, who is the only film director to have won 4 Best Director awards at the Oscars? John Ford How was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu better known? Mother Theresa What is the smallest bird in the world? The Bee Hummingbird In October 2002, Fiona Banner, Liam Gillick, Keith Tyson and Catherine Yass were announced as the nominees for which prize? The Turner Prize With which 1980s TV show would you associate the character Terry McCann? `Minder` Where were the 1924 Olympics due to be held before being switched to Paris? Amsterdam, Oslo or Berlin? Amsterdam Who replaced Asquith as leader of a coalition government during World War I? David Lloyd George. What did the `F` in John F. Kennedy stand for? Fitzgerald Which British King wrote farming articles under the pseudonym Ralph Robinson? George III In what year was the first traffic light installed? 1868 Which of the following films wasn`t directed by David Lynch? The Straight Story, Existenz or Dune? Existenz How many gold medals did swimmer Mark Spitz win at the Munich Olympics in 1972? 7 Which precious stone is the birthstone for the month of April? Diamond What is the name given to a triangle where all sides are of different lengths and all angles of different size? Scalene In nature, what does a dendrologist study? Trees As at the year 2000, how many Queens have ruled France? None Who had a UK top ten hit in July, 1980 with `9 to 5`? Sheena Easton What was Jimi Hendrix`s first single to reach the UK top 40 called? `Hey Joe` From which football team did Chelsea sign England midfielder Frank Lampard? West Ham United Where in the human body is the femur bone? The leg, the arm or the head? Leg From `The Famous Five` who is missing from George, Anne, Dick and Timmy? Julian The words Czar and Kaiser are both derived from which famous person in history? Julius Caesar In the music world, which front man died of heart failure at the age of 27 in 1971? Jim Morrison Which All Saints song includes the line `My head`s spinning, boy I`m in a daze`? Never Ever Who was the first golfer to achieve a hole-in-one on British TV? Tony Jacklin What nationality is the footballer Marian Pahars? Latvian How many countries border San Marino? 1 Who wrote the poem `Venus and Adonis`? William Shakespeare Which 1982 film featured the line ``More human than human` is our motto.`? `Blade Runner` How many valves are there in the human heart? 4 What type of animal was Baloo in Walt Disney`s `The Jungle Book`? A bear Kim Campbell became the first female Prime Minister of which country in 1993? Canada In which country is Damascus, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world? Syria In which famous novel does Fagin appear? Oliver Twist How many claws does a domestic cat have? 18 In the film `Cujo` what type of dog was `Cujo`? A St Bernard In the TV show `Trumpton`, what was the profession of Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub? Firemen Who painted `The Laughing Cavalier`? Frans Hals. In which British city is Lime Street railway station? Liverpool What is musophobia the fear of? Mice Which author and poet famously wrote the line `The female of the species is more deadly than the male`? Rudyard Kipling For which film and television role is actor Leonard Nimoy best known? Spock What is the traditional Christmas flower? Poinsettia For which historical event did Benjamin Brittain compose the opera `Gloriana`? The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Who provided the voice for Woody in Toy Story? Tom Hanks If you are being lapidated, what is happening to you? You are being stoned to death In Greek mythology, who did Zeus punish by making him carry the heavens with his head and hands? Atlas Which current American state was called Franklin until 1796? Tennessee What was Roy Rogers` horse called? Trigger In what year was Elvis Presley born? 1935 Which horse in a story by Anna Sewell, began life called `Darkie` and later changed names as it changed owners? Black Beauty Which country has the longest coastline in the world? Canada What American singer released a 1999 album with a title 90 words long? Fiona Apple In Britain, in which month does the longest day occur? June What is the common title of hit singles for `David Bowie`, `Five` and `Chris Rea`? `Let`s Dance` Which member of the Beatles was the first to have a Number One hit after their break-up? George Harrison On which children`s game is the triple jump thought to have been based? Hopscotch Whose resignation eventually landed Sven Goran Ericsson the job as manager of the England football team? Kevin Keegan What now-common four-letter word was first heard on the screen in the film `Gone With The Wind`? `Damn` What is the capital of Northern Ireland? Belfast Which `M` is the country which has the capital city of Rabat? Morocco Who created havoc in 1938, when his radio broadcast of `The War Of The Worlds` was believed to be true? Orson Welles The film `10 things I hate about you` is based on which Shakespeare play? `The Taming Of The Shrew` In which century did Christopher Columbus die? 16th What is the name given to a poker hand where all cards are of the same suit, but not in running order? A flush Who performed the first human heart transplant? Dr Christiaan Barnard For what role is actor Buster Crabbe best known? Flash Gordon What English word comes from two French words meaning sour wine? Vinegar Which of the Rocky films was released in 1983? Rocky III Where was Napoleon Bonaparte`s place of exile? Corsica, St Helena or Jersey? St Helena What is the name given to someone who makes arrows? Fletcher In the TV series `Thunderbirds`, what was the registration number of Lady Penelope`s Rolls Royce? `FAB 1` In `The Wizard Of Oz`, what was the Scarecrow looking for? A brain In the line in `Casablanca` which is often misquoted as `Play it again, Sam`, what song is Sam asked to play? As Time Goes By Which famous model tried to embark on a career in music when she released the single `Oh Yeah` in 1999? Caprice Which British scientist originated the theory of evolution based on natural selection? Charles Darwin Which Blondie song includes the line `Go insane and out of your mind`? Maria Which 1999 film was the last to be directed by Stanley Kubrick? `Eyes Wide Shut` What is the main element found in steel? Tin, Iron or Lead? Iron `Island Of Lost Dreams` was part of the title to which 2002 movie sequel? Spy Kids 2 In what country was actress Greta Garbo born? Sweden Which British band released an album called `Treasure` on which all the song titles contain one word only? The Cocteau Twins Who was President of the USA from 1963 to 1969? Lyndon B Johnson In which sport are competitors not allowed to play left handed? Polo In which city were the Olympic Games held in 1964, the first time they were held in Asia? Tokyo How many islands make up the Maldives? 1196 In which book of the Bible is the birth of Moses? Exodus In Greek mythology, who was the daughter or Cronus and wife of Zeus? Hera On the set of what film did Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman fall in love and then got married later in the same year? `Days Of Thunder` Which chemical element is most abundant in the air that we breathe? Nitrogen In 1999, Lance Armstrong became only the second American to win which famous sporting event? Tour De France Which song was a UK number 2 hit for both Nat King Cole and Rick Astley? `When I Fall In Love` The film `Ben-Hur` was nominated for 12 awards at the 1960 Oscars. How many did it win? 11 How many of Henry VIII`s wives were called Catherine? 3 Which of Snow White`s seven dwarfs would come first alphabetically? Bashful. Which female singer performed the first song on Top Of The Pops? Dusty Springfield What was the first name of Wayne`s friend in `Wayne`s World`? Garth Which international football team, in 1953, became the first to beat England at Wembley? Hungary Which football team won the old English First Division in 1984-95, and 1986-87? Everton In what athletics event do you have to go backwards to win? Tug of war In which American state is the 2002 film `Insomnia`, starring Al Pacino set? Alaska Which American rock star was the first music artist to release a music album on CD? Bruce Springsteen As at March 2001, who holds the record for scoring the most league goals for the soccer team Arsenal? Ian Wright Which European football club is nicknamed as `La Vicchia Signora`, which translates as `the old lady`? Juventus Which of the following counties is not in East Anglia? Suffolk, Essex or Sussex? Sussex Which Premiership footballer has the real first name of Sulzeer? Sol Campbell If a month has a Friday the thirteenth then on what day of the week would that month begin? Sunday What French phrase meaning `from the menu` is often used in the English language? `A la carte` In which film would you first have come across a sorcerer called Yesnid? `Fantasia` From the Christmas Carol `Good King Wenceslas`, where was Good King Wenceslas the King of? Bohemia In the Bible, what is the fifth book of the Old Testament? Deutrronomy Described in the Book of Job, how many heads does a Leviathan have? 2 What was Morpheus the Greek god of? Sleep, Dreams or Time? Dreams In which board game might you land on Pall Mall or The Strand? Monopoly What football team does singer Robbie Williams support? Port Vale Which wood is traditionally used to make the black keys of a piano? Ebony At what sport does Jane Sixsmith represent England? Hockey Which ex-boxer completed the 2003 London Marathon in 6 days, 2 hours and 27 minutes? Michael Watson Spinderella is the female DJ for what rap group? Salt-n-pepa Who played Robert Wagner`s wife in the TV series `Hart to Hart`? Stephanie Powers On the London Underground, which line would you use to get to Heathrow Airport? The Picadilly Line What do the members of `Mensa` call themselves? Mensans Which actress provided the voices for Jane and Brooke Shields in the 1999 films `Tarzan` and `South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut`? Minnie Driver In computing, what does the acronym ROM stand for? Read Only Memory Who wrote the novel `Salem`s Lot`? Stephen King Which TV series had characters called Jack Rolfe, Ken Masters and Claude Du Pont? `Howard`s Way` In which decade was insulin first used to treat Diabetes? 1920s In which American state is the 1953 film `From Here To Eternity` set? Hawaii For what 1991 film did Robert De Niro pay a dentist $5,000 to make his teeth look bad, and then after filming paid $20,000 to get them fixed? `Cape Fear` If you asked for `Trojans` in America, what would you get? Cigarettes, Stamps or Condoms? Condoms In `The Simpsons`, what type of animal is Santa`s Little Helper? Dog Which of the following countries is smallest in area? San Marino, Malta or Monaco? Monaco What is the most popular natural attraction in Alaska? Mount McKinley Which English Cathedral has the tallest spire? Salisbury Cathedral Who captained Europe to victory in the 2002 Ryder Cup? Sam Torrance What did Henry Beck famously map out in 1932? The London Underground In what year did London`s last tram run? 1932, 1942 or 1952? 1952 What is the boiling point of water in degrees Fahrenheit? 212 What sport was the subject of the 1996 film `Tin Cup` starring Kevin Costner? Golf If you were born on April 29th, what star sign would you be? Taurus Which famous sportsman lit the torch at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games? Muhammed Ali Which of the following planets has no moons? Neptune, Venus or Pluto? Venus Which sport do the Chicago Bears play? American Football In which year was the Declaration Of Independence signed in America? 1776. At what age did Marilyn Monroe die? 36 What was the name of the cow in the childrens TV show `The Magic Roundabout`? Ermintrude Who had hits in the 80s with `It Must Be Love`, `Wings Of A Dove` and `Uncle Sam`? Madness In the book `Through The Looking Glass`, which chess piece does Alice start off as? Pawn What is the heaviest weight category in boxing? Super heavyweight What was the name of George Stephenson`s train which made its first journey in public passenger service in 1825? Locomotion No. 1 In which continent is Lake Superior? North America Who was the first person pictured on a British postage stamp? Queen Victoria In boxing what is the maximum allowed weight to enter the flyweight category? 8 stone, 9 stone 6 or 11 stone? 8 stone What is an `Anthropomorphic Mannequin` better known as? Crash test dummy What is the name of the 10 pin bowling player played by John Turturro in `The Big Lebowski`? Satan, Lucifer or Jesus? Jesus How many stars appear on the flag of New Zealand? 4 Who had a hit in 1988 with `The First Time`? Robin Beck Who was the subject of the Mel Brooks film subtitled `Men in Tights`? Robin Hood Which animal lives in a drey? A squirrel What is the most abundant metal in the earth`s crust? Aluminium What name is given to an area is Space where the pull of gravity is so strong that nothing can escape it? Black Hole. What company is said to be responsible for Santa Claus being dressed in the colours red & white? Coca-Cola John Huston directed a 1975 film called `The Man Who Would Be ____` what? King What is orology the study of? Mountains, Rivers or Precious Stones? Mountains At the time when dinosaurs existed on the Earth`s surface, how many continents were there? One How many kilometres long is the `walk` - the longest race in men`s athletics? 50 Who made his first appearance in Issue 27 of `Detective Comics`? Batman In which war was the Victoria Cross first awarded? Crimean In which film did Clint Eastwood first appear as the `Man with no name`? `A Fistful Of Dollars` The song `You`ve got to pick a pocket or two` featured in what 1968 film? `Oliver!` What is the colour of the ball that is worth 6 points in snooker? Pink In 2003, what did the pop group S Club Juniors change their name to? S Club 8 Which famous person has the first names of Orenthal James? O J Simpson What is Charlie`s surname in `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory`? Bucket What were Dirty Den`s first two words on his `Eastenders` comeback in 2003? Hello princess Who won a record 7 Grammy awards in 1984? Michael Jackson Sand consists of what two chemical elements? Oxygen and Silicon Which British 400 metre hurdler announced her retirement at the World Championships in Athens in 1997? Sally Gunnell In which James Bond film does the character of Solitaire appear? `Live and Let Die` Which actress plays the character of Tracy who marries James Bond in `On her majesty`s secret service`? Diana Rigg What were Charles De Gaulle`s last two words? `Not now`, `It hurts` or `Maybe later`? It hurts Which famous person from history opened the 1936 Olympic Games? Adolf Hitler Which famous person owns a racehorse called Rock of Gibraltar? Alex Ferguson Is Sirius, which is also known as the Dog Star, the biggest, the brightest or the hottest star in the sky? Brightest Who had a number one hit in 1994 with `Mmm mmm mmm mmm`? Crash Test Dummies How many stomachs does a cow have? None, Two or Four? Four Who hosted the TV show `The Krypton Factor`? Gordon Burns What is the capital of Switzerland? Bern The Greek gods were believed to reside on what mountain? Olympus Who was the first divorced man to become American President? Ronald Reagan In what year did Robert Rusticoat publish `The Wasp`, the first comic book ever to be published? 1802 In the board game Monopoly, how many houses must you buy on a property before you can buy a hotel? 4 Where in the human body would you find the malleus, incus and stapes? In the ear Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Scales? Libra Which 90s song includes the line `What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you`? Wicked Game As at January 2003, which of the following has been the most profitable movie series: James Bond, Indiana Jones or Star Wars? James Bond How many lines does a poem called a quatorzain have? 14 Which type of animal was Robin Hood in the Disney cartoon film `Robin Hood`? A fox What is the musical term for a note that equals half a crotchet? A quaver What was the first team sport to be publicly televised? Baseball In July 1998, who became the youngest solo act to top the UK charts with a debut single? Billie Piper Which 1999 film featured a sequence in which 7,900 rubber frogs were used? Magnolia What is the largest lake in the Lake District national park? Lake Windemere In `The Simpsons`, what was the name of the first cartoon Scratchy appeared in? `The Happy Cat`, `Scratchy Goes West` or `Steamboat Scratchy`? The Happy Cat Which film released in the year 2000, was advertised with the slogan `Escape or Die Frying`? `Chicken Run` The Bible is the best selling non-copywrited book in the world. What is the best selling copywrited book? `The Guinness Book Of Records` How many wheels does a hansom cab have? 2 The owl and the pussycat bought their wedding ring from which animal? A pig Who was the first female DJ on Radio 1? Annie Nightingale Bibliomania is an obsession with what? Books What is the only country which is crossed by both the equator and the tropic of capricorn? Brazil Where are you most likely to come across the dewey-decimal system? On a railway track, on a baseball field or in a library? In a library What is Paul McCartney`s middle name? Paul What is the last book in the Bible? Revelation What was the full title of Robert Louis Stevenson`s book which first featured `Jekyll and Hyde`? `The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde` At which distance did Sally Gunnell win her gold medal for hurdling at the 1992 Olympics? 400m Mickey Mouse have eyes which have pupils for the first time in which 1940 film? `Fantasia` In what year was Nelson Mandela imprisoned for life? 1964 Which cartoon character lives at 1313 Webfoot Walk? Donald Duck Which actress was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra? Meg Ryan In 1980 which electronics company demonstrated its latest invention, the compact disc? Philips Which Take That song includes the line `Just tell me the song and I`ll sing it`? Back For Good What nationality is Jean Marc Bosman, famous for the `Bosman Ruling` which affected footballers being transferred from one club to another? Belgian Which TV detective kept his gun in a biscuit jar? Jim Rockford How many teaspoons go into one tablespoon? 3 Which film featured Robin Williams playing an English teacher called John Keating? `Dead Poets Society` In what year did William Gillette invent the safety razor? 1895 Who shared a Nobel prize in 1945 for his discovery of the antibiotic penicillin? Alexander Fleming In which city is Tianamen Square where over 1,000 demonstraters were killed in 1989? Beijing What nationality was the composer Bela Bartok? Hungarian How is the year 1999 written in Roman Numerals? MCMXCIX Which famous person in history had a horse called Marengo? Napolean An ivory anniversary is celebrated after how many years of marriage? 14 Which sign of the Zodiac is represented by the goat? Capricorn Who played `The Elephant Man` in a David Lynch film? John Hurt In the TV comedy series `The Good Life`, what was the surname of the Good`s neighbours? Leadbetter In which town did Jesus grow up? Nazareth Waitangi Day on February 6th is the national day in which country? New Zealand. Attu Island is the most western point of which country? USA In what year was Income Tax introduced into the UK? 1799 In which year did the last public execution by guillotine take place in France? 1939 In which year was the first Eurovision Song Contest? 1956 Which sport would you practice if you were a toxophilite? Archery What American city was devastated by fire in 1871, allegedly as the result of a cow kicking over a lantern? Chicago Which jockey famously rode 7 winners at a race meeting in Ascot in 1996? Frankie Dettori In the French language, when is `le soir`? In the evening Which 1963 film had a budget of 44 million dollars which if adjusted for inflation would make it one of the most expensive films ever made? `Cleopatra` Who directed the film `Almost Famous` based on his own experiences as a rock reporter in the 70s for Led Zeppelin? Cameron Crowe According the the nursey rhyme, what was Little Miss Muffet eating? Curds and Whey Who played the title role in the 1965 film `The Cincinnati Kid`? Steve McQueen In the 1998 film `The Big Lebowski`, what is the dude`s favourite cocktail? White Russian Which of the following does not mean the fear of surgery? Ergasiphobia, Tomophobia or Rupophobia? Rupophobia What 1995 animated Disney film featured a raccoon called Meeko and a hummingbird called Flit? `Pocahontas` What is the emlem of Islam, which is displayed on a number of national flags? A crescent moon Which fashion model is nicknamed `the body`? Elle McPherson Who is the author of the `Harry Potter` books? J. K. Rowling What 19973 film starred Ron Howard, Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss? `American Graffiti` Located in New York City, what type of building is Sing Sing? A prison In which Scottish city would you find Dyce Airport? Aberdeen Which actress played Dorien in the TV sitcom `Birds of a Feather`? Lesley Joseph What is the name of the fault that causes the earthquakes around San Francisco? San Andreas Fault What type of creature is Indiana Jones scared of? Snakes, Spiders or Rats? Snakes What is Fred Flintstone`s wife called? Wilma By what name is the comic book character of Oswald Cobblepot better known? The Penguin What is one third divided by one half? Two thirds Which Madonna song includes the line `I have a taste for danger`? Beautiful Stranger Which food, not rationed during World War II was later rationed after it? Bread In which Italian city would you find the Uffizi Gallery? Florence Which major tennis tournament is played annually at the Roland Garros Stadium? French Open What is the chemical symbol for the element Gold? Au In the NATO phonetic alphabet, what word is used for `M`? Mike Which `P` is the book of the Bible comes after Job and before Proverbs? Psalms What kind of animal is a saki? Monkey Who, at 42 years old, was the youngest President of the United States of America? Theodore Roosevelt What license cost 37 pence when it was abolished in 1988? Dog Licence Which 1982 British film is thought to have had 300,000 extras appear in it? `Gandhi` Which controversial 1955 novel is Vladimir Nabokov`s best known? `Lolita` Which two throwing events in track and field require safety netting? Discus and Hammer Which Radio 1 DJ announced he was leaving the station in August 2002, after 15 years? Mark Goodier Sapphire is the birthstone for which month? September Which band had a UK number one hit single with `I`m A Believer` in 1967? The Monkees From which country did Paddington bear come? Peru In which 1993 film does the character Dr Richard Kimble appear? The Fugitive What is America`s equivalent of `University Challenge` called? `College Bowl` In which American city would you find Dodge City? Kansas `Whiskey-A-Go-Go` in Los Angeles was America`s first what? Discotheque What was the approximate population of Portugal in 2000? 10 million, 20 million or 30 million? 10 million What was Henry Moore`s `Reclining Figure`? A poem, a play or a sculpture? A sculpture. Who played Scaramanga in the James Bond film `The man with the golden gun`? Christopher Lee Who was the British Prime Minister at the outbreak of the Second World War? Neville Chamberlain What European country is home to the majority of Catalan speakers? Spain How old was Tiger Woods when he first won the British Open Golf Tournament? 24 Which country`s name originates from a line of Latitude? Equador Which sport is covered on television by Claire Balding and Willie Carson? Horse Racing In which year were bar codes first introduced into shops in America? 1974 Which English city was named Aquae Sulis by the Romans? Bath Which athlete broke the women`s 100m record in 1988 by recording a time of 10.49 seconds? Florence Griffith-Joyner How many holes does a 10-pin bowling ball have in it? Three Who was killed playing poker while holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights leading to expression `dead man`s hand`? Wild Bill Hickock What is the chemical symbol for the element Neon? Ne In which harbour did the Mary Rose sink in 1545? Portsmouth How many events were contested in the first ever Olympic Games? 43 Vulcan was the Roman God of what? Fire A dagger, lead piping, a revolver, rope and a candlestick - which murder weapon is missing from the game of Cluedo? Spanner Geri Halliwell`s single `It`s Raining Men` featured on the soundtrack to what film? `Bridget Jones` Diary` On what date is St Georges day? April 23rd Which band had a number one hit with `Barbie Girl`? Aqua What is the largest land mammal in the world? Elephant What name is given to a female horse aged four or under? Filly In the name of the electronics manufacturer JVC, what does the letter `J` stand for? Japanese Which British Prime Minister was assassinated in 1812? Spencer Perceval Who was the first man to reach the South Pole? Roald Amundsen What was A-Ha`s first number one single in the UK? The Sun Always Shines On TV In what 1977 film did John Travolta get his first starring role? `Saturday Night Fever` Which Beatles song has been recorded the most by other artists? `Yesterday` Who was the second son of Adam and Eve and was murdered by his brother? Abel What was the name of No Doubt`s hit single which included the line `Don`t tell me cos it hurts`? `Don`t speak` In what year did Elvis die? 1977 If you were born in October, and you weren`t a Scorpio, what star sign would you be? Libra Which British driver won the Formula One World Drivers Championship in 1992? Nigel Mansell Which of the following would be interested in collecting a `penny black`? A Conchologist, A Numismatist or a Philatalist? Philatalist Which country`s flag is red with a five pointed yellow star in the middle? Vietnam`s What is the normal colour of a black box used in aeroplanes? Orange In the film `The Curse Of The Pink Panther`, which actor plays Inspector Clouseau after having plastic surgery? Roger Moore The Panama Canal opened in the same year as a major war broke out. Which war? World War I In geography, what is Rapa Nui better known as? Easter Island In mathematics, what does the letter `L` stand for in the abbreviation `LCD`? Lowest Who directed the 1974 film `Blazing Saddles`? Mel Brooks In Dennis Potter`s TV series `The Singing Detective`, what was the name Michael Gambon`s character which was also the name of famous fictional detective? Philip Marlowe With which Edith Piaf song did Grace Jones have a hit in 1986? `La Vie En Rose` In which year was Napolean proclaimed emperor of France? 1804 In which country was Arnold Swarzenegger born? Austria How is singer Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou better known? George Michael Who was reigning in Britain at the start of the First World War? King George V When women first got the vote in Britain in 1918, how old did they have to be? 30 In boxing which weight category comes in between Flyweight and Featherweight? Bantamweight Which film character do the japanese call `Mr. Kissy Kissy Bang Bang`? James Bond Which country is bigger? North Korea or South Korea? North Korea In what year was the battle of Trafalgar? 1805 Which collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling includes the story `How The Leopard Got His Spots`? `The Just So Stories` In what year did the first parachute jump take place? 1783 In the title of a 1996 hit single The Divine Comedy was `Becoming More Like …` who? Alfie In what 1976 gangster film are the gangsters played by children? `Bugsy Malone` What was the name of Kylie Minogue`s debut album? `Kylie` Which goalkeeper has played both football and cricket at international level for Scotland? Andy Goram Ruby is the birthstone for which month? July In which city is Karl Marx buried? London Who had a number one album in 2002 called `Escapology`? Robbie Williams Which city is known as the `Eternal City`? Rome Which footballer won 88 caps for Northern Ireland and went on to manage Macclesfield Town? Sammy McIllroy In golf, who was the first European to win the US Masters? Seve Ballesteros How many strings are there on a normal a bass guitar? 4 Bahia was the capital city of which South American city between 1552 and 1763? Brazil In what year did J Fletcher-Dodd found the first holiday camp? 1906 In which decade was the TV series `Grange Hill` first broadcast - the 1970s or the 1980s? 1970s Who sang the theme tune to the TV series `Minder`? Denis Waterman Which country was once known as Constanstinople? Istanbul What metal is also known as quicksilver? Mercury What is the world`s largest man-made structure? The Great Wall of China Which Russian writer wrote `The Seagull` and `The Cherry Orchard`? Chekhov What acid is extracted from the juice of lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruit? Citric In the English and Scottish football leagues, which team has the longest name? Inverness Caledonian Thistle What nationality was Whigfield who had a number one hit in 1994 with `Saturday Night`? Danish In the film `Toy Story 2` what is the name of Buzz Lightyear`s arch enemy? Emperor Zurg Which English King was nicknamed `The Hammer of the Scots`? Edward I Which group had the bestselling album in the UK in 1981 with `Kings Of The Wild Frontier`? Adam And The Ants In which 1992 film does the character Catherine Tramell appear? Basic Instinct In which country is the Great Bear lake? Canada In a circus, what would a funambulist do? Walk the tightrope In Monopoly, what is the cost of Marylebone Station? 200 pounds Who was the first American President to be assassinated? Abraham Lincoln Which film was advertised with the line `In space, no-one can hear you scream`? Alien What nationality was the philosopher Confucious? Chinese What was the name of the blind Benedictine monk who invented Champagne? Dom Perignon Who wrote Das Kapital? Karl Marx In the medical world, what do the initials ENT stand for? Ear, Nose and Throat Which famous actor is the lead singer with the rock group 30 odd foot of grunts? Russell Crowe Which famous building is used for the election of a Pope? The Cisteen Chapel Which famous literary character lived at No.7 in Saville Row in London, before embarking on a famous journey? Phileas Fog Which famous duo began in a 1940 MGM short called `Puss Gets the Boot`? Tom and Jerry Which Canadian city was originally called York in 1793? Toronto What was actor David Niven`s final film? `Curse Of The Pink Panther` What is the minimum number of darts a person needs to throw to complete a leg from 501? 9 American Airlines Flight 587 was headed to what country when it crashed in New York shortly after take off on November 12, 2001? Dominican Republic Room 101 features in which George Orwell novel? `1984` On what day of the year is St Georges day held? 23rd April What colour is the bullseye on a standard dartboard? Red What is the name of Postman Pat`s pet cat? Jess Which breed of dog has breeds called Welsh, Scottish and Irish? Terrier What numeric term describes perfect eyesight and a form of cricket? 20/20 Who was known as the Maid of Orleans? Joan of Arc How many boxes are used in the UK version of Deal Or No Deal? 22 Which soccer club`s supporters are known as the Toon Army? Newcastle Utd What was Mohammad Ali`s birth name? Cassius Clay What is Doctor Who`s time box called? The Tardis How many dots are there in total on a pair of dice? 42 Who wrote the book The Hound Of The Baskervilles? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle How many wives did Henry VIII have? 6 In which city is the film Trainspotting set? Edinburgh In a game of chess, what is the only piece able to jump over other pieces? Knight Who is the presenter of the Weakest Link? Anne Robinson How many events are there in a decathlon? 10 What is the square root of 169? 13 According to the old proverb all roads lead to which capital city? Rome At which racecourse is the Derby and the Oaks traditionally run? Epsom Which children`s television show featured the characters of George, Zippy and Bungle? Rainbow What gas do all fuels need in order to burn? Oxygen When spoken by a police officer, what do the letters RTA stand for? Road Traffic Accident Formed in 1976, which famous band consists of Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr? U2 Who had a hit single with `Crocodile Rock` in 1972? Elton John Who played Basil Fawlty in `Fawlty Towers`? John Cleese Who is the author of the `Harry Potter` books? J K Rowling Steve McLaren was manager of which football club immediately before being appointed England manager? Middlesbrough What is the name of the clockwork device used by musicians to measure time? Metronome Which sport is played over four periods of 15 minutes where only two of the seven players can score? Netball `Question or Nominate` was a phrase commonly heard on which UK TV quiz show? Fifteen-to-one Which two colours are Dennis the Menace`s jumper? Red and Black In which film did Roy Scheider play a sheriff and Richard Dreyfus a marine biologist? Jaws The name of which football club is an anagram of `Red Admiral`? Real Madrid Which Football team overturned a 3-0 half-time score to win the Champions League final in 2005? Liverpool In the TV show `Fawlty Towers` from which city does the waiter Manuel hail? Barcelona By what name is singer Paul Hewson better known? Bono In 2004, Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Jason Hatch caused an embarrassing security breach at Buckingham Palace dressed as who? Batman What is the furthest planet from the sun? Pluto The Colosseum is located in the capital city of which country? Italy Michelle McManus found her fame on which TV show? Pop Idol In the cartoon world, who has a cousin called Slowpoke Rodriguez? Speedy Gonzales What is the chemical symbo for Hydrogen? H How many sides has an octagon? Eight With which football club would you associate the Toon Army? Newcastle United Who played Jerry in the film `Jerry McGuire`? Tom Cruise What is the most common surname in England? Smith Which football team won the World Cup in 2002? Brazil Who was the lead singer in The Police? Sting Which football team won the World Cup in 1986? Argentina What is the name of the coloured part of an eye? The iris Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Ram? Aries How many strings are on a violin? 4 In which famous film would first have come across the character of Dorothy Gale? The Wizard Of Oz Which part of the body would be treated by a chiropodist? Feet In which month of 1929 did the St Valentines Day massacre take place? February The word `cerebral` refers to which part of the body? The brain Which animal is associated with the beginning of an MGM film? A lion In which American city was the first Mardi Gras celebration held in 1827? New Orleans Which of the following is not a proper football team? Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace or Macclesfield Harriers? Macclesfield Harriers What nationality was the 1962 Formula One World Drivers Championship winner Graham Hill? British Which of the following is not a formation in football? 4-4-2, 4-5-3 or 3-5-2? 4-5-3 Which animal would you associate with the start of a film by the studio MGM? Lion What was the hunchback of Notre Dame`s name? Quasimodo Who is the animated star of the computer game Tomb Raider? Lara Croft Which famous person in history rode a horse called Black Bess? Dick Turpin What nationality was the writer Robert Louis Stevenson? Scottish Which actor played a character who was frozen for 50 years in the film `Forever Young`? Mel Gibson In what country does the story `The Pied Piper Of Hamelin` take place? Germany What is comic book hero Roy of the Rovers` surname? Race What is the plural of `axis`? Axes In Greek legend, who turned everything he touched into gold? Midas What vegetable is the national emblem of Wales? The leek What was Sarah, the Duchess of York`s maiden name? Ferguson At which event in the 1968 Olympics did Dick Fosbury win with a radical new technique? The High Jump Brothers Gary and Philip Neville have both represented England at what sport? Football How many kidneys does a normal human have? 2 What is the longest river in the world? The Nile In snooker, what colour is the ball that begins a game in the centre of the table? Blue How many legs does an insect have? Six What is the name of the city in which The Simpsons live? Springfield Which of the following stations does not feature on a standard Monopoly board? Charing Cross, Kings Cross or Fenchurch Street? Charing Cross Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Fishes? Pisces Which motorway circles London? M25 In what mountain range is Mount Everest? The Himalayas The film `All The President`s Men` is set around which political scandal? Watergate Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Virgin? Virgo How many red balls are used in a game of snooker? 15 What word is used to describe a group of ants? Colony Which of the following isn`t one of the famous Bronte sisters? Charlotte, Anne or Emma? Emma Exmoor, Welsh Mountain and Shetland are varieties of what type of animal? Pony Who starred in the film `Enter The Dragon`? Bruce Lee If you were riding in a Gondola which city are you most likely to be in? Venice Which of the following flags does not feature the colour blue? Greece, Uruguay or Japan? Japan In `The Simpsons`, what type of animal is Santa`s Little Helper? A Dog Which actress played the title role in the 1990 film `Pretty Woman`? Julia Roberts Who was Elton John`s `Candle in the Wind` originally written about? Marilyn Monroe What is the colour of the dragon on the Welsh flag? Red Which of the following is not a proper football team? Swansea Rovers, Swindon Town or Aston Villa? Swansea Rovers How many American cents make up a dime? 10 In 1997, what took over from `The Flintstones` as the longest running prime-time animated series? `The Simpsons` What is the name of the motel in which Janet Leigh`s character is killed in `Psycho`? The Bates Motel Which sport is played on a grass field whose maximum dimensions are 200 yards by 300 yards? Polo Which tennis player was stabbed in 1993 while playing against Magdaleena Maleeva in the Citizen Cup? Monica Seles How many arms does a starfish usually have? 5 What animal is used to represent the star sign Leo? Lion Which of the following countries is not in Europe? Luxembourg, Austria or Morocco? Morocco Which singer starred in the film `Desperately Seeking Susan`? Madonna In which Scottish city is Strathclyde University? Glasgow How many lines are there in a limerick? 5 Which golfer is nicknamed the `Great White Shark`? Greg Norman What is the chemical symbol for the element Hydrogen? H Who played the role of Dr. Malcom Crowe in the film `The Sixth Sense`? Bruce Willis What is the tallest mammal? The giraffe What country does Portugal border? Spain What was the first animal to be sent into space? A dog What do humans have 52 of in a lifetime, 20 of which are deciduous? Teeth Who invented the telephone? Alexander Graham Bell What continent is sometimes known as the `Dark Continent`? Africa In which film would you first have come across the character of Marty McFly? `Back To The Future` In athletics, how many times does the baton change hands within one team in a standard relay race? 3 In the Australian TV series, what type of animal was `Skippy`? Kangaroo In which year did the phrase `They think it`s all over… it is now` first become famous? 1966 In what film did George Lazenby play James Bond? `On her majesty`s secret service` What colour is the circle on the Japanese flag? Red What is the normal colour of the gem sapphire? Red, Green or Blue? Blue How many years are there in a millennium? 1000 In which Shakespeare play does the line `To be or not to be, that is the question` appear? Hamlet Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Twins? Gemini Does a record turntable revolve clockwise or anti-clockwise? Clockwise How many red balls are there in a game of snooker? 15 Which of the following flags does not feature the colour blue? Brazil, Germany or France Germany What is most expensive property in the board game Monopoly? Mayfair Who had a number one in 1960 called `Only The Lonely`? Roy Orbison After how many years of marriage is a gold wedding anniversary celebrated? 50 Which Dire Straits album was the bestselling album in the UK in the 1980s? `Brothers In Arms` Which of the following countries is not in Africa? Ecuador, Sudan or Egypt? Ecuador On the football field, how was Edson Arantes do Nascimento better known? Pele What is the name of the poker hand containing three of a kind and a pair? Full house What is the most common letter used in the English language? `E` Who played Rita`s tutor in the film `Educating Rita`? Michael Caine What colour spots does a common ladybird have? Black Which group had a hit album in 1977 with `Arrival`? Abba Who supplied the voice of the genie in the 1992 film `Aladdin`? Robin Williams Which cartoon show included characters called Thelma and Shaggy? Scooby Doo In which American city might you see a Broadway show? New York The Rio Grande borders Mexico and which other country? U.S.A. In which American city are Madison Square Gardens? New York What does a kleptomaniac compulsively do? Steal things Which canal joins the Red Sea and the Mediterranean? The Suez Canal What name is given to the fear of spiders? Arachnophobia Football team Benfica come from which country? Portugal Who had a number one hit in 1984 with `Hello`? Lionel Richie Which animal completes the phrase `blind as a …`? Bat How is the number one usually called in a game of Bingo? Kelly`s Eye What is the largest desert in the world? Sahara What sign of the zodiac is represented by the Crab? Cancer What type of ball did Nolan Ryan once throw at a record speed of 100.9 miles per hour? Baseball Where are the British Crown Jewels kept? The Tower Of London In Greek mythology, what was Medusa`s hair made of? Snakes What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet? Alpha Maverick, Goose, and Iceman are characters in which 1986 film? `Top Gun` After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a silver wedding anniversary? 25 In which country does the wild dog, the dingo, live? Australia. Which band released the album `Dark Side of the Moon`? Pink Floyd In the Bible, how is the Decalogue also known? Ten Commandments Who played the title role in the 1960 film `Spartacus`? Kirk Douglas What is Bugs Bunny`s catchphrase? `What`s Up Doc` In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, what were there two of? Turtle Doves Which of the following colours appears on the French flag? White, Black or Yellow? White Who is the patron saint of Wales? St David What name is given to the young of a deer? Fawn What type of animal was Stuart, in the 1999 film `Stuart Little`? Mouse What creature appears on the flag of Wales? A dragon Which country`s national rugby team are called the All Blacks? New Zealand First published in 1904, for which book is J. M. Barrie best known? `Peter Pan` Which of the following occurred most recently? The Iron Age or The Bronze Age? Iron Age Which country does Zinedine Zidane play for in international football? France What is the bestselling book in the world? The Bible Carbon, Oxygen and which other element makes up carbohydrates? Hydrogen What 1975 film features the characters of Riff Raff, Magenta and Doctor Frank-n-Furter? `The Rocky Horror Picture Show` What measurement is used to measure the size of horses? Hands How old is a quadragenarian? 40 What is a group of geese called? A gaggle On what part of the body would you wear a `sombrero`? The head In which European country would you find the city of Strasbourg? France In which country is Ayres Rock? Australia What two letters are worth the most in a game of Scrabble? Q and Z How many wheels are on a tricycle? 3 What is the name given to a young bear? A cub In the Bible, how is the Decalogue also known? The Ten Commandments What type of animals were the subject of the 2002 film `Eight Legged Freaks`? Spiders Which cartoon character was featured in the short film `Steamboat Willie`? Mickey Mouse What 1965 film included the songs `Do Re Mi`, `Climb Every Mountain` and `Edelweiss`? `The Sound Of Music` What colour jersey does the overall leader of the Tour de France? Yellow In ballet, a `pas de deux` is a dance for how many persons? Two Which chemical element can take the form of diamond or graphite? Carbon Which of the following colours appears on the flag of Italy? Green, Blue or Yellow? Green What is the longest river in the world? Nile Which element has the chemical symbol `N`? Nitrogen In which board game would you find the characters of Miss Scarlett and Professor Plum? Cluedo How much does it cost to buy a station in the board game Monopoly? £200 What is the first book of the Bible? Genesis Oxygen and which other element makes up water? Hydrogen How many sides does a dodecahedron have? 12 What is the nickname of the Australian rugby union team? Wallabies What type of animals are portrayed in the book `Watership Down`? Rabbits On which London street is Selfridges? Oxford Street Which country is sometimes known as the Emerald Isle? Ireland What is the largest country in the world? Russia Who sang for both `The Jam` and `The Style Council`? Paul Weller What type of animal was Bambi`s friend, Thumper? A rabbit. What is the average of the numbers 1, 10 and 100? 37 In 1991, Anthony Hopkins won the best actor Oscar for his performance in what film? `Silence Of The Lambs` What river is known in Hungary as the Duna? The River Danube The city of Cairo stands on which famous river? Nile What is ornithology the study of? Birds Which quiz show often featured the line `I`ve started so I`ll finish`? Mastermind How many lanes are there in an Olympic sized swimming pool? 8 In what 1984 film did Sean Connery return as James Bond? `Never Say Never Again` Which Alfred Hitchcock film features a wheelchair bound James Stewart convinced that a neighbour has committed murder? `Rear Window` What is the only continent which does not have any reptiles or snakes? Antarctica What colour are the spots on Mr Blobby? Yellow How many Presidents heads are sculpted on Mount Rushmore? 4 What animal is known as the ship of the desert? The camel Who won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic games in 1980 and 1984? Daley Thompson What chess piece does not move in a straight line? Knight How many lines are there in a limerick? 5 In which 2000 film would you find the character of General Maximus Decimus Meridus? Gladiator Which US President was forced to resign because of the Watergate scandal? Richard Nixon In music, which superstar was jailed in Tokyo in 1980 for drugs possession? Paul McCartney In which year was the phrase `They think it`s all over… it is now` first said? 1966 What is the highest mountain in Great Britain? Ben Nevis Which female singer sang with Take That on the hit song `Relight My Fire`? Lulu In what sport is the `Fosbury flop` technique used? High Jump Gorgonzola cheese comes from which country? Italy Chris Boardman is famous for what sport? Cycling A Sphinx has the body of which animal? Lion In the 1986 John Landis film, how many `Amigos` were there? Three In a standard game of Monopoly, what colour are the two cheapest properties? Brown What was the name of Anthony Perkins` character in the film `Psycho`? Norman Bates In which country was the BBC soap opera `Eldorado` set? Spain How many Presidents heads are sculpted on Mount Rushmore? 4 Which sportsman`s autobiography is called `You Cannot Be Serious`? John McEnroe Which comedian has the nickname `the big yin`? Billy Connolly Great Britain declared war on Germany after they invaded which country in 1939? Poland Which actress played Barbella in the film of the same name? Jane Fonda How many inches are in a yard? 36 Around which war is the 1986 film `Platoon` based? Vietnam What was the nickname of the first Spice Girl to go solo? Ginger Spice Whose last words were `Et tu, Brute`? Julius Caesar`s Excluding jokers, how many playing cards are there in a standard pack? 52 How is trinitrotoluene better known? TNT Which of the following colours does not appear on the Irish flag? White, Yellow or Orange? Yellow Which company produces `Minituare Heroes` chocolates? Cadburys What colour is an emerald? Green What is the average of the numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5? 3 Who had hits with `Hot In The City` and `White Wedding`? Billy Idol What film was advertised with the slogan `an adventure 65 million years in the making`? `Jurassic Park` What was the name of the characted played by Ray Park in `Star Wars Episode 1 : The Phantom Menace`? Darth Maul How many lines does a limerick have? 5 What is the chemical symbol for the element Oxygen? O How old was Adrian Mole when he wrote his `secret diary`? Thirteen and three quarters What is the collective noun for a group of lions? A pride The sale of which drink accounts for 10% of the income of the government in Russia? Vodka According to legend, what type of creature was slain by St George? Dragon Which Shakespeare play inspired the musical `West Side Story`? `Romeo And Juliet` Which country was once ruled by Tsars? Russia Which 1977 film was introduced by the words, `A long time ago in a galaxy far away...`? `Star Wars` In the medical world, what do the initials ENT stand for? Ear, Nose and Throat What is the minimum number of darts a person needs to throw to complete a leg from 501? 9 Which city is known as the `Eternal City`? Rome How many strings are there on a normal a bass guitar? 4 Which band had a number one hit with `Barbie Girl`? Aqua What is the normal colour of a black box used in aeroplanes? Orange How many holes does a 10-pin bowling ball have in it? Three Which band had a UK number one hit single with `I`m A Believer` in 1967? The Monkees Who is the author of the `Harry Potter` books? J. K. Rowling Geri Halliwell`s single `It`s Raining Men` featured on the soundtrack to what film? `Bridget Jones` Diary` Which sign of the Zodiac is represented by the goat? Capricorn In which town did Jesus grow up? Nazareth Where are you most likely to come across the dewey-decimal system? On a railway track, on a baseball field or in a library? In a library According the the nursey rhyme, what was Little Miss Muffet eating? Curds and Whey Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Scales? Libra John Huston directed a 1975 film called `The Man Who Would Be ____` what? King What is the colour of the ball that is worth 6 points in snooker? Pink Which famous person has the first names of Orenthal James? O J Simpson What sport was the subject of the 1996 film `Tin Cup` starring Kevin Costner? Golf Which sport do the Chicago Bears play? American Football Who had hits in the 80s with `It Must Be Love`, `Wings Of A Dove` and `Uncle Sam`? Madness In which continent is Lake Superior? North America What French phrase meaning `from the menu` is often used in the English language? `A la carte` If a month has a Friday the thirteenth then on what day of the week would that month begin? Sunday In which board game might you land on Pall Mall or The Strand? Monopoly Whose resignation eventually landed Sven Goran Ericsson the job as manager of the England football team? Kevin Keegan What is the capital of Northern Ireland? Belfast For which film and television role is actor Leonard Nimoy best known? Spock (in `Star Trek`) In Britain, in which month does the longest day occur? June In the TV show `Trumpton`, what was the profession of Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub? Firemen Which sport would you be playing if competing for the Ryder Cup? Golf Which sign of the Zodiac means `archer` in Latin? Sagittarius What is the national emblem that appears on the Canadian flag? The maple leaf According to the Bible, whose hair did Delilah cut, taking his strength away from him? Samson Who painted `The Haywain`? Constable Who painted the Mona Lisa? Leonardo Da Vinci Which star sign is represented by the Archer? Sagittarius What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Ursa Major`? Great Bear When Steve McClaren became Enland manager who replaced him at his Premiership club? Gareth Southgate (at Middlesbrough) In Britain, what is the only road sign to be on an inverted triangle? Give Way Which US rapper died on September 13th 1996 after being shot in a drive-by shooting after watchin Mike Tysons comeback fight 7 days earlier? Tupac Shakur What were lost by King John, melted down by Oliver Cromwell and almost stolen by Thomas Blood? The Crown Jewels Which of the Great Lakes touches Chicago? Lake Michigan What type of animal is at the centre of the film Racing Stripes? A zebra Which football team are nicknamed the Rams? Derby County With which sport would you associate Nick Skelton? Show Jumping What is the hardest natural substance? diamond How many different scoring areas are there on a standard dart board? 82 Who directed the 1976 film Taxi Driver? Martin Scorsese The film Trainspotting is from a novel by which author? Irvine Welsh The pop groups Ace Of Base and The Cardigans both hail from which country? Sweden `Woman Hitler` is an anagram of which relative? Mother-in-law What colour are the shorts that Bart Simpson normally wears? Blue In which art gallery is the Mona Lisa kept? The Louvre Which spider gets its name from when the female sometimes eats the male after mating? Black Widow Spider Which British female singer had a 2006 hit with `Rehab`? Amy Winehouse In which country would you find the Mojave Desert? USA In terms of land area, what was the largest empire of all time? The British Empire During the Great Plague, what was painted on the front doors of plague-ridden houses? Red crosses Which Barbadian singer stayed ten weeks at number 1 with `Umbrella`? Rihanna Genghis Khan founded which empire? Mongol empire According to the lyrics of the song by the Weather Girls, it will start raining men at just about what time? Half past ten What is a more common name for the Aurora Borealis? The Northern Lights What is the hardest natural substance? Diamond What is the name of the housing estate where the Trotters live in Only Fools And Horses? Nelson Mandela House What does the information technology term RAM stand for? Random Access Memory Who painted the famous painting The Scream? Edward Munch What is the third book of the Bible? Leviticus In cycling, what colour jersey is awarded to the leader in a stage race of the Tour de France? Yellow Cyril the Swan is the mascot for which football club? Swansea Who had a number one hit single in 1964 with `Little Red Rooster`? The Rolling Stones Which 1969 film was based on Barry Hines novel A Kestrel For A Knave? Kes What is the lightest chemical element? Hydrogen By what name is the Sodium Chloride more commonly known? Salt Who wrote War and Peace? Leo Tolstoy Which author created Elinor Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse and Catherine Morland? Jane Austen What was the name of the character played by Ronnie Barker in `Open All Hours`? Arkwright In horse racing, what betting odds are known as a `carpet`? 3-1 Which american state has a name that ends in three vowels? Hawaii George Bernard Shaw`s play `Pygmalion` was adapted to become which musical? My Fair Lady Common, Arctic and Sooty are all varieties of which type of bird? Tern Which band had hits with `Linger` and `Dreams`? The Cranberries The does the chemical symbol Pb stand for? Lead Which Carthaginian general led his army across the Alps with a contingent of elephants? Hannibal Which fictional character has been played by Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov and David Suchet? Hercule Poirot Who had a hit single in 1981 with `Romeo And Juliet`? Dire Straits Who had a hit with `La Bamba` in 1987? Los Lobos Who was the lead singer of The Four Seasons in the 1960s and 1970s? Frankie Valli Who had a hit with a cover version of Frankie Laine`s hit single `I Believe` in 1996? Robson And Jerome Which actor starred in `Rooster Cogburn`? John Wayne Who wrote the novel `Fantastic Mr. Fox`? Roald Dahl Which band had a hit with `Too Shy` in 1983? Kajagoogoo Who had a hit in 1982 with `Maneater`? Hall And Oates Who had a hit in 1985 with `One More Night`? Phil Collins Which band had a hit with `He Ain't Heavy, He`s My Brother` in both 1969 and 1988? The Hollies Who had a hit single in 1961 with `Runaway`? Del Shannon In which 1983 movie did Sean Connery return as James Bond? Never Say Never Again Which bird can run the fastest? Ostrich Which 1972 film features the song `Dueling Banjos`? Deliverance In "Only Fools and Horses", by what name did Trigger always call Rodney? Dave Who is Liza Minnelli`s famous actress mother? Judy Garland Who is actress Shirley Maclaine`s famous actor brother? Warren Beatty In what sport do players take long and short corners? Hockey Durham County Cricket Club and Middlesbrough Football Club both have stadiums called what? The Riverside if a picture is painted monochromatically how is it painted? In black and white What is the name of the highest mountain in England? Scafell Pike In May 2006, Belfast Airport officially changed its name in honour of which famous Irishman? George Best Who scored Arsenal`s goal in the 2-1 defeat by Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League Final? Sol Campbell Which artist painted the famous `Sunflowers`? Vincent Van Gogh What was the name of the horse, part owned by Alex Ferguson in 2004 when he got involved in a row about stud rights? Rock Of Gibraltar What name is given to a matador on horseback? Picador What is the correct term for the people commonly known as `Eskimos`? Inuit What starts with `T`, ends with `T` and has `T` in it? A Teapot From what stone is the Taj Mahal built? Marble Nutwood Cottage is the home of which children`s storybook character? Rupert Bear If a sow is a female pig, what is a male pig called? A boar On which subject does Monty Don write and broadcast? Gardening What is the only sign of the zodiac that contains none of the letters in the word `Bungee`? Scorpio In which famous novel would you find Ralph, Simon and Piggy? Lord of the Flies What is the only sign of the zodiac that contains none of the letters of the word `School`? Gemini In which decade was the film `Grease` set? 1950s If Superman works for the Daily Planet who works for the Daily Bugle? Spiderman Which jump in the Grand National shares its name with a piece of furniture? The Chair Which point in Cornwall is the most southerly point of mainland Britain? Lizard Point What was the character name of the `Saint`? Simon Templar Which Olympic sport needs a planting box? Pole Vault What word describes substances that can be broken down by biological action? Biodegradable What is the world`s largest lake? The Caspian Sea From what type of stone is the Taj Mahal built? Marble Who captained Jules Verne`s submarine `Nautilus`? Captain Nemo Which of Disney`s Seven Dwarfs wore glasses? Doc Who was the first member of the royal family to divorce? Henry VIII What was the name of the police officer in the cartoon Top Cat? Officer Dibble In which country is the town of Tequila? Mexico `Hakuna Matata` was a song from which 1994 Disney film? The Lion King Which famous fictional character lives at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging? Harry Potter What species is Gizmo in the `Gremlins` movies? Mogwai What train would you find on platform 9 and three quarters at Kings Cross? The Hogwarts Express What is the highest score a judge can award in figure skating? 6 What type of vehicle would you expect to find on the Cresta Run? A Bobsleigh What is the final word spoken in the 1939 film `The Wizard Of Oz`? Home As at November 2005, who was last British Prime Minister not to have a wife? Margaret Thatcher Which Snooker player was nicknamed the Romford Robot? Steve Davis Which product`s 1987 TV adverts were backed by the songs `Stand by me` and `When a man loves a woman`? Levis 501 Jeans In which English town was William Shakespeare born? Stratford-Upon-Avon What is the tallest grass in the world? Bamboo What is the only football team in the UK with the letter J in its name? St Johnstone Who sung the theme tune for the film `Goldeneye`? Tina Turner What would be your hobby if you were interested in a Stanley Gibbons album? Stamp Collecting Which cartoon characters name is Italian for `pine eye`? Pinocchio How many scoring zones are there on a conventional dart board? 82 With which sport would you most associate the commentator Ted Lowe? Snooker Which football team play at Goodison Park? Everton Justin Timberlake was formerly a vocalist for which band? N Sync In which country is the river Yangtze? China Which actor won an oscar for his portrail of Ray Charles in the 2004 film `Ray`? Jamie Foxx Who had a hit in 1984 with `99 Red Balloons`? Nena Which real-life Russian did Boney M sing about in 1978? Rasputin Who had a 1983 hit with `Too Shy`? Kajagoogoo Which football is nicknamed `The Baby Faced Assassin`? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Which fictional TV character runs a production company called Peartree Productions? Alan Partridge Is it possible for a man in Scotland to wed his widows sister? No In which famous race is the slowest man of the day given a red lantern? Tour de France Who played Luke Skywalker in `Star Wars`? Mark Hamill Who was known as the `Desert Fox`? Erwin Rommel How many grooves are on one side of an LP record? 1 In what film does Morgan Freeman play an inmate called Red? The Shawshank Redemption Which artist is responsible for `Self Portrait With Bandaged Ear`? Vincent Van Gogh What is the sum of all the numbers round a dartboard? 210 Lord David Sutch was the founder of which UK political party? Official Monster Raving Loony Party How many balls are on a snooker table at the start of a game? 22 What do the letters OC stand for in the programme The OC? Orange County Which chess piece always remains on the same coloured squares? Bishop Which Womble was named after a South American river? Orinoco Which famous footballer played for teams including Machester United, Hibernian and Los Angeles Aztecs? George Best Which of the following TV shows has a theme tune which doesn`t mention the show`s name in the song? Sesame Street, The Dukes Of Hazzard or Wonder Woman? The Dukes Of Hazzard What is the name of the holiday company that caters for the over 50s? Saga For what is Michael Eavis best known in the music world? The Glastonbury Festival Which film was subtitled 'How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb'? Dr Strangelove Which state did Arnold Schwarzenegger become Governor of in November 2003? California Which famous rock group played their first gig together at the Marquee Club in London on July 12th, 1962? The Rolling Stones Which two actors appeared together in the films `Meet The Parents`, `Zoolander`, `The Royal Tennenbaums` and `Cable Guy`? Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson What is Austin Powers middle name? Danger Who was Britains entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 with the song `Congratulations`? Cliff Richard In the board game monopoly, what colour is Bond Street? Green What is the common name for the chemical ethanol? Alcohol, Ammonia or Citric Acid? Alcohol Which pop group had their first number one in the UK with a cover version of A-Ha`s `Take On Me`? A1 In which month is poet Robert Burns birthday celebrated? January Which Spice Girl realeased the album `Schizophonic`? Geri Halliwell Who wrote the book `About A Boy` which was later turned into a successful film starring Hugh Grant? Nick Hornby Which King was known as William the Conqueror? William I, William II or William III? William I Which 1995 film starred Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer? Heat Who had hits in the seventies with `Everybody Dance` and `Good Times`? Chic Who won a Grammy in 2002 for her vocal on the song `I`m Like A Bird`? Nelly Furtardo In which battle was Horatio Nelson fatally wounded? Trafalgar The lyrics `There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don`t know how` come from which 1990s song? `Wonderwall` With which band is Fred Durst the lead singer? Limp Bizkit In which Scottish city are Partick Thistle football club based? Glasgow According to the Bible, who committed the first ever murder? Cain Which of the following books of the Bible comes in the New Testament? Matthew, Ruth or Jeremiah? Matthew What sport features in the Stella Artois tournament? Tennis Which 1997 film featured Batman and Robin battling against Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy? `Batman and Robin` Who invented the light bulb? Thomas Edison Who had hits in the sixties including `Something`s Happening`, `Silhouettes` and `I`m Into Something Good`? Herman`s Hermits What 1960 western was based on the film `The Seven Samurai`? `The Magnificent Seven` What Walt Disney film was the first to combine visual images with concert music? `Fantasia` What does a Gieger counter measure? Radioactivity How is the sport of tauromachy better known? Bull fighting What is the largest city in Scotland? Glasgow In which British city would you find Arthur`s Seat? Edinburgh Soul singer, Bobby Brown, married which successful female singer in 1992? Whitney Houston In which film did Arnold Swarzenegger say `I`ll be back` for the first time? `The Terminator` Who is said to have founded Rome after killing his brother? Romulus or Remus? Romulus Which comedian plays the character of Paul Calf on television? Steve Coogan Who had a hit in 1975 with `I`m Not In Love`? 10cc Who recorded the 1994 album `Return Of The Space Cowboy`? Jamiroquai Who plays the title role in the 2002 film `Mr Deeds`? Adam Sandler The Ivor Novello awards are presented in what field? Music, Art or Film-making? Music Who sang the title track for the Bond Film `For Your Eyes Only`? Sheena Easton In the cartoon series `Wacky Races`, who drove the `Compact Pussycat`? Penelope Pitstop Who wrote `A Brief History Of Time`? Stephen Hawking How many penalty strokes are added for a lost ball in golf? 1 Which football team did Alf Garnett support in the TV show `Till Death Do Us Part`? West Ham United Which solo artist had the second and third best-selling albums of the 1980s in the UK? Michael Jackson What are the three primary colours of light? Red, Blue and Green. Excluding the ball (which has a core made from cork), how many pieces of wooden equipment are necessary for a game of cricket? 12 In `The Simpsons`, who replaced Sideshow Bob? Sideshow Mel Where in your body would you find the anvil and the stirrup? The ear In literature, what was the surname of Jacob and Wilhelm who wrote many fairy tales together? Grimm Who`s demonstrations led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964? Martin Luther King`s In `The Flintstones`, what is Barney`s wife called? Betty Who played Pussy Galore in the James Bond film `Goldfinger`? Honor Blackman The film `Rogue Trader`, starring Ewan McGregor, is based around the life of which real life person? Nick Leeson Which of the following could you use to measure how far you had walked? A Pedometer, A Cryometer or a Micrometer? Pedometer Which sea separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and the Sudan? The Red Sea Which town was the scene of the Gunfight at the OK Corral? Tombstone What is the fastest animal on 2 legs, which can reach a speed of around 40 miles per hour? The ostrich What instrument was Louis Armstrong most famous for playing? The trumpet. If you were born on September 1st, what star sign would you be? Virgo Who had a Christmas number one in 1974 with `Lonely This Christmas`? Mud Which of the following actors does not appear in the film `The Royal Tenenbaums`? Gene Hackman, Ben Affleck or Ben Stiller? Ben Affleck In what year did the London Eye open? 2000 What was Muhammed Ali`s name before he changed it? Cassius Clay What was the sequel to the film `Saturday Night Fever` called? `Staying Alive` Who played the title role in the 1983 film `Scarface`? Al Pacino In 2002, who was the only musician to be voted in the top ten in BBC`s `Great Briton`s` poll? John Lennon What is the name of the local farmer who organises the Glastonbury music festival? Michael Eavis Which two months are named after Roman Emperors? July and August Which comedian wrote the book and the play called `Popcorn`? Ben Elton Who played Kavanagh QC on British television? John Thaw Who played the title role in the film `Edward Scissorhands`? Johnny Depp To what animal was Robert Burns referring in his poem with the lines `Wee, sleekit, cow`rin, tim`rous beastie`? A Mouse Who was Prime Minister for France in 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988 and became President of France in 1995? Jacques Chirac With which mountain range would you associate the Abonimable Snowman? Himalayas In what 1995 film did Sylvester Stallone play the title character, who was adapted from a comic book? `Judge Dredd` What word associated with Christmas could be illustratied by `ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ`? Noel In what film does Bill Murray play a character who keeps reliving the same day over and over again? `Groundhog Day` Who designed Elizabeth Hurley`s famous dress which she wore to the premiere of the film `Four Weddings And A Funeral`? Gianni Versace In which film did Tom Hanks play a prison guard called Paul Edgecomb? `The Green Mile` What was the Spice Girls` debut single called? `Wannabee` What was the name of film director George Lucas` dog which lended it`s name to a famous film character? Indiana What is the first prime number greater than 50? 53 What `rock` did Graham Greene write about? `Brighton Rock` In which 2000 film would you find the character of General Maximus Decimus Meridus? `Gladiator` Who played the villain Howard Payne in the film `Speed`? Dennis Hopper Which Shakespearian character famously said `to be or not to be, that is the question`? Hamlet Occuring once a year in Britain, what is the modern day equivalent of the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria? April Fool`s Day In which game does the word which indicates victory originate from Persian phrase `Shah-mat`? Chess Which actor played John Malkovich in the film `Being John Malkovich`? John Malkovich What day of the week provides the name of one of the children in `The Addams Family`? Wednesday In which country did the religion of Rastafarianism originate? Jamaica Which series of erotic films shot Sylvia Krystal to fame in the 70s? `Emmanuelle` What is the national dance of Brazil? The samba Which film was advertised with the slogans `Collide with destiny` and `Nothing on Earth could come between them`? `Titanic` At which sport did Johnny Weismuller, who played the character of Tarzan on screen, win 5 Olympic Gold medals? Swimming Which scientist was born in Germany in 1879, became a Swiss citizen in 1901 and later became a US citizen in 1940? Albert Einstein For which carnival is the American city of New Orleans famous? Mardi Gras Who was the lead singer with the band Thin Lizzy? Phil Lynott Which metal has the chemical symbol Ag? Silver Which superhero has a butler named Alfred? Batman Which sporting event did the Brit Ann Haydon Jones win in 1969? Wimbledon Who is reported to have said to his wife `Honey, I forgot to duck` after an assassination attempt in 1981? Ronald Reagan If you were born in December, and you weren`t a Capricorn, what star sign would you be? Sagittarius Which character in the television series `London`s Burning` was played by Richard Walsh? Sick note, Four eyes or Rent boy? Sick-note What trilogy did John Ronald Reuel write under a pseudonym? `Lord Of The Rings` In which film are Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson said to be smoking real marijauna on camera? `Easy Rider` How many times have the Olympic Games been cancelled due to war? Three In the game of draughts, how many men does a player start with? 12 In the TV show `The Simpsons`, who or what is Santa`s Little Helper? Their pet dog With which hobby would you associate `twitchers` ? Bird-watching What type of pastry is used in profiteroles? Choux What 1984 film starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver? `Ghostbusters` Thom Yorke is the lead singer with which band? Radiohead Which game was invented in the 1930s and originally called Lexiko? Scrabble In which Ocean are the group of islands called the Seychelles? The Indian Ocean What nationality was Adolf Hitler? Austrian With which sport was American Babe Ruth most commonly associated? Baseball Who solves the crime in `Death on the Nile`? Hercule Poirot In the cartoon series `The Simpsons`, what musical instrument does Lisa Simpson play? The saxophone What is the only common metal that is liquid at room temperature? Mercury What do the initials YMCA stand for? Young Mens Christian Association Which 1979 features characters called Ripley, Dallas, Brett and Lambert? Alien Who plays the main villain in `Die Hard: With A Vengeance`? Jeremy Irons What was the secret identity of the comic book character Babs Gordon? Batgirl Which group had a 2001 hit with a cover version of Billy Joel’s `Uptown Girl`? Westlife Which 1980`s film had the tag-line `He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home.`? `E.T.` With which group would you most associate singer Bobby Gillespie? Primal Scream In `Star Trek`, what is the nickname of Dr McCoy? Bones What was the Roman name for Scotland? Caledonia What was Bob Marley`s backing band called? The Whalers What would someone who was involved in pyrotechnics make? Fireworks In the Bible, are there more chapters in the Old Testament or in the New Testament? The Old Testament What was the surname of the family who employed Julie Andrews` character in the film `The Sound Of Music`? Von Trappe Who wrote `The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe`? C. S. Lewis Who`s 1978 debut single was called `Sultans Of Swing`? Dire Straits In which decade did the Eurovision Song contest begin? 1950s What does REM stand for? Rapid Eye Movement At what type of shop did the Great Fire Of London start in 1666? Bakers What 1976 film about a boxer won an Oscar for Best Picture? `Rocky` Which cricketer resigned as England captain in the winter of 1997/98 after having captained them in a record 54 test matches? Michael Atherton What sport features in the films `He Got Game` (1998), `Flubber` (1997) and `Celtic Pride` (1996)? Basketball Who won `Celebrity Big Brother` on Channel 4 in 2002? Mark Owen If you were born on December 1st, what star sign would you be? Sagittarius What is the maximum number of people that could be `beamed up` into the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek in one go? 3 In the 1996 Olympics, who was disqualified from the 100m final after two false starts? Linford Christie Which rock star did Joan Rivers describe as being `the only man with child-bearing lips`? Mick Jagger What was the last James Bond film in which Roger Moore starred? `A View To A Kill` After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a ruby wedding anniversary? 40 Who has had albums called `Blonde On Blonde`, `Blood On The Tracks` and `Highway 61 Revisited`? Bob Dylan What is the name of the theatre in Sheffield where the World Professional Snooker championships take place? The Crucible Which TV show is centred around the firm of Wernham Hogg? The Office Which element has the chemical symbol Br? Bromine During what century was Napoleon Bonaparte the emperor of France? 19th What was the name of the follow up to the film `Raiders Of The Lost Ark`? `Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom` If you were born on Halloween, what star sign would you be? Scorpio Which city did the Romans call Eboracum? York In which British TV show is there a pub called the Woolpack? `Emmerdale` What was the title of the Sex Pistol`s first British hit single? `Anarchy in the UK` Which 1961 film features the character of Holly Golightly? `Breakfast At Tiffany`s` What is the only mammal that can fly? Bat Who was President of the United States during the American Civil War? Abraham Lincoln What brand of beer does Homer Simpson drink? Duff Which city is 402 miles from Cardiff, 156 miles from Newcastle and 149 miles from Aberdeen? Glasgow For what invention is Earl Silas Tupper best known? Tupperware `C-notes` and `Benjamins` are slang terms for which denomination of U.S. currency? 100 dollar bills In music, which is the lowest male voice? Bass In which TV comedy might you see a horse called Hercules? `Steptoe And Son` What three continents lie on the tropic of Capricorn? Australia, Africa and South America. Who is the patron saint of lovers? St Valentines Which Cliff Richard single was at number one over Christmas in the UK in 1988? `Mistletoe and Wine` In which American state is San Quentin prison? California Which ice cream has been advertised on TV to the tune of `It`s Now Or Never`? Cornetto What is Cliff Richard`s real name? Harry Webb Who was the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917? Lenin Who created the police drama series `Prime Suspect`? Lynda La Plante What nationality is the racing driver Mikka Hakkinen? Finnish In the story of Jack and the Beanstalk what did Jack exchange for the beans from which the beanstalk grew? A cow What character did Alicia Silverstone play in the 1997 film `Batman and Robin`? Batgirl Maoris are associated with which country? New Zealand What type of animal is a mandrill? Monkey Who is generally referred to as being the first serial killer of all time? Jack The Ripper What is the sum of the internal angles in a hexagon? 720 degrees The Scandanavian pop group Aqua had a hit single about which doctor? `Dr Jones` What was the subject of the 1958 film `A Night To Remember`? The sinking of the ship Titanic Who played the character of `Ferris Bueller` in the film `Ferris Bueller`s Day Off`? Matther Broderick In which 1993 film does Bill Murray play Phil Connors? `Groundhog Day` Which pop group took its name from a character in the film `Barbarella`? Duran Duran Which Spice Girl had a number one single with `I Turn To You`? Melanie C Which actor turned singer had a UK number one hit single with `Ain`t No Doubt` in 1992? Jimmy Nail For what book is William Golding best known? Lord Of The Flies Who played `The Talented Mr Ripley` in a 1999 film? Matt Damon What was the name of the Greenpeace ship which was blown up in New Zealand? Rainbow Warrior Which of the Marx brothers was the silent one? Harpo The film `A.I.` was completed by director Steven Spielberg, but which director started the project? Stanley Kubrick In snooker, what is the lowest score that can be achieved by a player if he makes a full clearance in one visit to the table and only pots a maximum of one red with each shot? 72 Which American President appears on a one dollar bill? George Washington Which character from `Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland` often said `Off with his head`? The Queen of Hearts Who was the Roman God of War? Mars Which `S.P.` was invented by Walter Hunt in 1847? Safety Pin Between which two cities did the train `the Flying Scotsman` run? London and Edinburgh In which year was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties? 1994 What was the name of The Who`s drummer, who died in 1978? Keith Moon In which country was Mel Gibson born? USA In which book would you read about Mr Toad of Toad Hall? `The Wind In The Willows` How many strings does a ukulele have? 4 What does the letter `Q` stand for in `I.Q. Test`? Quotient How many days were there in February in the year 2000? 29 Who played the Sundance Kid in the 1969 film `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`? Robert Redford What is the national bird of New Zealand? The Kiwi How many pieces are there in a standard set of dominoes? 28 Which actress starred in `Dial M For Murder`, `Rear Window` and `High Society`? Grace Kelly How many numbered compartments are there on a roulette wheel? 37 In the 1974 film `Zardoz`, Sean Connery discovers that the name in the title of the film comes from which famous book? The Wizard Of Oz Dr. Banner is the alter-ego of which comic book hero? The Incredible Hulk The second series of the TV comedy `Blackadder` is set during the reign of which monarch? Queen Elizabeth I The action at the end of the James Bond film `A View To A Kill` features around which famous bridge? Golden Gate Bridge `Not Known As Air` is an anagram of which comedy actor? Rowan Atkinson Which comedy duo had first names Bud and Lou? Abbott and Costello What is the subject of Robert Altman`s 1992 film `The Player`? Hollywood, Baseball or the Stock Exchange? Hollywood What country had the Roman name Hibernia? Ireland The Italian word for `scratched drawings` is used commonly in English. What is it? Graffiti Which American president gave the order to withdraw from the Vietnam War? Richard Nixon What is the name of the planet closest to the Sun? Mercury In music, how is Gordon Sumner better known? Sting What famous heavy metal band is named after a medieval torture device? Iron Maiden In 2002, who won BBC TVs `Fame Academy`? David Sneddon If it is 2 P.M. in London, what time would it be in Greece? 4 P.M. How many players make up a netball team? 7 In the game of chess, what type of piece is involved in the move `en passant`? Pawn The book `Man And Wife` by Tony Parsons was a sequel to which of his other books? `Man And Boy` Which knight of the Round Table fell in love with Queen Guinevere? Lancelot Which tourist attraction can be found at Anaheim, Orange County, California? Disneyland Which football team had a hit in 1975 with `I`m Forever Blowing Bubbles`? West Ham United What boxing weight falls between bantam-weight and light-weight? Feather-weight Who played Cat Ballou in the 1965 film of the same name? Jane Fonda In the solar system, what is the third planet from the sun called? Earth Where in London were Prince Charles and Princess Diana married? St Pauls Cathedral Which famous ballet is about a young girl`s broken Christmas present? The Nutcracker In music, who has sometimes been called the `thin white duke`? David Bowie What name is given to a young hare? A leveret Which element has the chemical symbol Fe? Iron If Monday`s child is fair of face then what is Tuesday`s child? Full of grace Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? Marie Curie What Bond villian has been played by Telly Savalas, Charles Gray and Donald Pleasance? Blofeld What sport would you be playing if competing for the Harry Vardon trophy? Golf What musical gave Jason Donovan his first starring West End role? `Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat` Which football team won the World Cup in 1970? Brazil On whose life was Arthur Miller`s 1964 play `After The Fall` based? Marilyn Monroe Who or what was `The Pink Panther` in the 1964 film of the same name? A diamond What is France`s largest vehicle manufacturer? Renault Who played Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 film `The Fugitive`? Tommy Lee Jones What does the first letter stand for in `AC/DC`? Alternating Which actor played Private James Francis Ryan in the film `Saving Private Ryan`? Matt Damon In `The X-Files`, what is Agent Mulder`s first name? Fox Which World Wrestling champion appeared in the films `Rocky III`, `Mr. Nanny` and `Muppets From Space`? Hulk Hogan Which 1959 film made won 11 Oscars? Ben Hur `NCC 1701` is the registration number of which famous fictional vehicle? The Starship Enterprise By what name was the Allied operation against Iraq in the Gulf war of 1991 known? Desert Storm In the film `The Jungle Book` what type of animal was Bagheera? A panther Lester Burnham is a character in which 1999 film? American Beauty Which author wrote the novels `The Odessa File`, `The Fourth Protocol` and `The Fist Of God`? Frederick Forsyth In which sport do people compete for the America`s Cup? Yachting In which country is the Simpson desert? Australia Who played the character who was `Sleepless In Seattle`? Tom Hanks A quadricentennial event would take place once every how often? 400 years To the nearest million, what did Census 2001 reveal was the population of Northern Ireland? 2 million What name is given to word that is spelt the same backwards? Palindrome Into which sea does the Nile flow? The Mediterranean The film `Casablanca` is set around which war? World War II Which novel by Enid Bagnold is about a girl who races her horse in the Grand National? `National Velvet` What is the most popular sport in the world? Soccer Which 1942 film features the characters Rick, Isla and Laszlo? `Casablanca` In which of Shakespeare`s plays does the line `A horse! A horse ! My kingdom for a horse` appear? Richard III Which band had UK top ten singles with `Jump`, and `Why Can`t This Be Love`? Van Halen What would you use if you were practising ikebana? Flowers Which Arthur wrote `Death Of A Salesman`? Arthur Miller Which TV family live at 742 Evergreen Terrace? The Simpsons What number does the letter D represent in Roman numerals? 500 Which European country is also called the Hellenic Republic? Greece What type of music originated in Seattle in the early 1990s and brought commercial success for Nirvana? Grunge Robert Zimmerman is the real name of which famous person? Bob Dylan Which TV cast had a hit with `Hi-Fidelity`? `The Kids From Fame` In which 1993 film does the character Dr Richard Kimble appear? `The Fugitive` How did Eric the Eel make his name at the Sydney Olympics in 2000? By winning a swimming heat in a record slow time What was the first method of transport used to take people into the air? Hot Air Balloons Which American President once famously proclaimed `Ich bin ein Berliner`? John F. Kennedy How many times did Ivan Lendl win Wimbledon? 0 What was the name of the murder victim at the beginning of the TV series `Twin Peaks`? Laura Palmer Which synthetic material was named by combining the French words for velvet and hook? Velcro What would you use an `Endoscope` for? Looking inside peoples bodies In the highway code, what shape are signs which give orders? Circular What was John Milton`s follow up to `Paradise Lost` called? Paradise Regained At which racecourse is the Grand National held? Aintree How many stripes are there on an American flag? 13 Which country borders Sweden and Russia? Finland Which singer`s 1985 autobiography was called `Who`s Sorry Now`? Connie Francis` What nationality was Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics? American What colour is the maple leaf on the Canadian flag? Red What is the national sport of Japan? Sumo Wrestling What was the title of Greg Lake`s top ten Christmas hit of 1975? I Believe In Father Christmas In which film would you find Hatchet Harry and Barry The Baptist? Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels Which American singer has a backing band called `The E Street Band`? Bruce Springsteen Which British monarch was on the throne at the beginning of the 20th Century? Queen Victoria The eastern entrance to the Panama Canal is in which ocean? The Pacific `Steamboat Willy` introduces which character into TV and films? Mickey Mouse In degrees celcius, what is the normal body temperature? 37 What is xenophobia the fear of? Foreigners In which film did Pierce Brosnan play James Bond for the first time? `Goldeneye` In which film does Kevin Costner star as Jim Garrison? `J.F.K.` Who played Oskar Schindler in the film `Schindler`s List`? Liam Neeson The song `Moon River` appeared in what 1961 film? `Breakfast At Tiffany`s` What American state is Silicon Valley in? California How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win at the 1936 Berlin Olympics? 4 With which sport do you associate `Flushing Meadow`? Tennis Which of Henry VIII`s children reigned in England for 44 years? Elizabeth I Which company makes the chocolate biscuit Kit Kat? Rowntrees Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate first? Golden, Emerald or Ruby? Ruby What does a numismatist collect? Coins In which 1999 film does the main character quit his job at Media Monthly Magazine to start work at fast food joint Mr. Smiley`s? `American Beauty` Who reached number 7 in the UK charts in 1972 with the single `Layla`? Derek And The Dominoes After which famous person in history was the teddy bear named? Theodore Roosevelt What does BAFTA stand for? British Academy of Film and Television Arts Which actress won three BAFTAs in the 1990s for playing a policewoman on TV? Helen Mirren What was the name given to the trials of 24 Nazi leaders for war crimes in 1945? The Nuremberg Trials Which band released the 1987 album `Appetite For Destruction`? Guns `n` Roses Who is the lead singer with the pop group Madness? Suggs The reference lines on a globe which circle the Earth parallel to the equator are lines of what? Longitude or Latitude? Latitude Which gangster said `I`ve been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War`? Al Capone. What was the approximate population of Mexico in July 1999? 10 million, 50 million or 100 million? 100 million The 1971 TV movie `Duel` was one of the first pieces of work by which famous film director? Steven Spielberg What is the name of a line on a map that joins places of equal height? Contour In computing, what does WYSIWYG stand for? What you see is what you get What name is given to the young of a lion? Cub Who wrote the 1976 novel `Interview With The Vampire`? Anne Rice Who plays Agent Scully in the X-Files? Gillian Anderson What was the name of Britney Spears` first hit single? `Baby One More Time` In 1997, which song by D-Ream did the Labour Party adopt as the theme tune to their General Election campaign? `Things Can Only Get Better` What western won the best picture Oscar in 1993? Unforgiven Who had a hit single in the seventies with `I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday`? Wizzard How many teaspoons go into one tablespoon? 3 Who was the first President of America? George Washington Who wrote `The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn`? Mark Twain Which `Benny` was known as the King of Swing? Benny Goodman Which part of the body is affected by conjunctivitis? The eyes Which of the following elements has a chemical symbol which does not begin with `A`? Silver, Gold or Tin? Tin As Dorothy taps her heels together 3 times and prepares to return to Kansas at the end of `The Wizard of Oz` what does she repeatedly say? `There`s no place like home` Which racehorse won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977? Red Rum What was the profession of Mastermind winner Fred Housego? Taxi Driver Which book made J. D. Salinger famous in 1951? The Catcher In The Rye What is the only gemstone to be composed of one single element? Diamond What is the name of the local pub in the TV series `Only Fools and Horses`? The Nag`s Head Which famous Chuck Berry song included the name of a classical composer in it`s title? `Roll Over Beethoven` How many people make up a basketball team? 5 What is the Spanish name for a Bullfighter? Matador Which film features the famous scene of Marilyn Monroe`s dress blowing as she stands over a subway grate? `The Seven Year Itch` In the film `Carlito`s Way`, who played Carlito? Al Pacino On a standard Monopoly board, what square lies diagonally opposite `Go`? Free Parking In which English city is Picadilly Railway Station? Manchester In 1996, what overtook Coca-Cola as being the most well known brand name in the world? McDonalds In Disney`s `The Incredible Journey` what type of animal was `Badger`? A dog What type of monsters are at the centre of the films `The Howling` and `Ginger Snaps`? Werewolves How many rows of stars are there on an American flag? 9 Fats Waller was famous for playing which instrument? Piano By what name was Norma Jean Baker better known? Marilyn Monroe What are the 5 coloured rings on the Olympic flag? Red, yellow, blue, black, and green Which bird is the state bird of New Mexico, and also the name of a cartoon character? Roadrunner Tim Allen provided the voice for which computer generated character in a 1995 film? `Buzz Lightyear` In the 1983 film `Christine`, who or what was Christine? A car Who was the Greek God of love? Eros Which actor is the narrator in the film `Blade Runner`? Harrison Ford The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 was the last battle of which series of wars? The Wars Of The Roses Who did Ringo Starr replace in the Beatles? Pete Best Which Travis song includes the line `Is it because I lied when I was seventeen`? Why Does It Always Rain On Me? Which of the following planets has no moons? Mars, Earth or Mercury? Mercury Which of the following teams did not play in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup finals? Sweden, France or Senegal? Sweden What would you measure with a protractor? Angles What name is given to a female swan? A pen On which scale would force 6 equal a strong breeze? Beaufort Collectively, by what name are Carole Richardson, Patrick Armstrong, Paul Hill and Gerard Conlon better known? The Guildford Four Which of these countries has the most coastline? Iceland, Norway or Portugal? Iceland Who played Catwoman in the 1992 film `Batman Returns`? Michelle Pfieffer Which insects account for most deaths? Mosquitos Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of which number? 13 In `Tales From Toytown` what type of animal was Larry? A lamb What was Raymond Chandler`s first novel, which was later made into a successful film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall? `The Big Sleep` Orly airport is situated in which European city? Paris Which Eastenders character married Cat Slater on Christmas day 2003? Alfie Moon How many species of elephant are there in the world? 2 What kind of animal is James Stewart`s invisible friend in the film `Harvey`? A rabbit. What is the capital city of New Zealand? Wellington Which song was a hit for both Freddie Mercury and The Platters? `The Great Pretender` Who recorded albums called `Dangerous` and `Bad`? Michael Jackson The name of which month of the year is derived from the Roman God of war? March (after Mars) Who produced, directed and starred in `Citizen Kane`? Orson Welles Which actor and actress played the leading roles in the TV series `Moonlighting`? Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard In which American city is Sears Tower? Chicago What is the second largest country in South America? Argentina On a standard dart board, what is the lowest number that cannot be scored with a single dart? 23 In the sitcom `Are You Being Served`, what was the name of the character who had the catchphrase `I`m Free`? Mr Humphries Which female singer had the bestselling album in the UK in 1999 called `Come On Over`? Shania Twain Which Leicestershire town is famous for its pork pies? Melton Mobray Clarice Starling is a character in what 1991 film? `Silence of the lambs` Which of the following William Shakespeare plays would be classed as a tragedy? Henry V, Midsummer`s Night Dream or Hamlet? Hamlet What type of bird features on the seventh day of Christmas in the song `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`? Swan In what month of the year do the USA celebrate Thanksgiving? November The actor Brandon Lee died during an accident on the set of what film? `The Crow` In which film did the character Ellen Ripley first appear? Alien What film`s theme song did Ray Parker Junior sing in 1984? Ghostbusters John Weissmuller and Rowdy Gaines are associated with which Olympic sport? Swimming Who wrote `If Only They Could Talk` and `Let Sleeping Vets Lie`? James Herriott Which fictional park off the coast of Costa Rica did Michael Crichton write about? `Jurassic Park` In which Ocean are the group of islands called the Seychelles? Indian Which film won the best picture, best director, best actor and best actress Oscars in 1992? Silence of the lambs What river forms a large part of the boundary between Mexico and the USA? The Rio Grande What was the name of the novelty song that Spitting Image took to number one in 1986? `The Chicken Song` Where would you find budgerigars in their natural habitat? North Africa, The Far East or Australia? Australia. Which of the following elements has the lowest atomic number? Silver, Calcium or Nitrogen? Nitrogen What colour is the diamond on the Brazilian flag? Yellow What is a perfect score in ten-pin bowling? 300 What is deoxyribonucleic acid better known as? DNA In American football, how many points are awarded for a touchdown? 6 Thomas Chippendale was best known for making and designing what in the 18th century? Furniture In what film did Elizabeth Taylor shoot to fame as a child star in 1944? `National Velvet` Which famous female singer appeared as a fairy in the 2001 film `Moulin Rouge`? Kylie Minogue Nashville is the capital of which American state? Tennessee Which cartoon takes place in Greendale in Cumbria? Postman Pat Which 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film was based on a novel by John Buchan? `The 39 Steps` If you had one dime and two nickels, how many cents would you have in total? 20 By what name is the New Palace of Westminster in London better known? The Houses Of Parliament What organisation is also known as `La Cosa Nostra`? The Mafia If you were born on July 25th, what star sign would you be? Leo In the British Army, which of these ranks is the highest? Major, Captain or Colonel? Colonel In the TV comedy series `Frasier`, what is Frasier`s surname? Crane Which of the following countries` flags features the colours red, white and green? Hungary, Israel or Romania? Hungary Gwen Stefani is the lead singer with which band? No Doubt In which county is Reading? Berkshire Which author wrote about the characters Anne Elliot, Jane Fairfax and Emma Woodhouse? Jane Austen Who played Mary in the film `There`s Something About Mary`? Cameron Diaz Which band had top ten hits in the 1960s with `Don`t Let Me Be Misunderstood` and `We Gotta Get Out Of This Place`? The Animals Which 1995 film featuring talking animals is based on a book by Dick King-Smith? Babe Which element has the chemical symbol C? Carbon A centaur is a cross between which two creatures? Horse and Human Which band had a hit album called `Slippery When Wet`? Bon Jovi With which sport would you associate Lance Armstrong? Cycling In literature, which fictional character has parents called Lily and James? Harry Potter Which female scientist was the first to win 2 Nobel Science prizes? Marie Curie In which continent are the top ten highest active volcanoes in the world? South America Which band have had hits called `Waiting For A Girl Like You` and `I Want To Know What Love Is`? Foreigner When was the last Olympic games to be held before World War I? 1912 Which darts player is known as `The Power`? Phil Taylor In which continent is the Angel Falls waterfall? South America Who created the muppets? Jim Henson Jennifer Warnes had two number one hit singles with duets from which two films? `Dirty Dancing`, `An Officer And A Gentleman` As in the music shop, what do the letters HMV stand for? His Masters Voice Which actress played Princess Leia in the film `Star Wars`? Carrie Fisher Which famous musician narrated the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine on British television? Ringo Starr What nationality was the racing driver Ayrton Senna? Brazilian Which famous fictional character kept his tobacco in the toe of a Persian slipper? Sherlock Holmes How many faces does the clock tower of Big Ben have? 4 What was Hitler`s title as the leader of Nazi Germany? Fuhrer, Muller or Kaiser? Fuhrer Mikado is a title given to emperors of which country? Japan Marlon Brando won best actor award for what 1954 film? `On the waterfront` What is the English translation of the film title `Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo`? The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Who does Alice follow into Wonderland? The white rabbit What is the currency of Holland? The Guilder What is the name of the lake in the middle of Hyde Park? The Serpentine Which common English word was derived fron the Greek for `dip` ,as in `dipping in water` and so on? Baptise Who scored the winning goal for Manchester United against Bayern Munich in the 1999 European Cup final? Ole Gunner Solskjaer What is the name of the dog in Enid Blyton`s `Famous Five`? Timmy Who invented penicillin in 1928? Sir Alexander Fleming Phoenix is the capital city of which US state? Arizona Who stars as Roy Neary in the film `Close Encounters Of The Third Kind`? Richard Dreyfuss What 1974 disaster movie starred Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Faye Dunaway? `The Towering Inferno` In the film `The Life Of Brian`, who played Brian? Graham Chapman Who played Che Guevera alongside Madonna in the film `Evita`? Antonia Banderas The BDO is the governing body of which sport? Darts Better known in the world of music, who played the leading role in the film `Buster`? Phil Collins How many points does a `Star of David` have? 6 Who played Philip Marlowe in the 1946 film `The Big Sleep`? Humphrey Bogart Which of the following would live in a formicary? Owls, bees or ants? Ants Which song includes the line `And I`m floating in the most peculiar way`? `Space Oddity` Who played the title role in the film `Gandhi`? Ben Kingsley Which element has the chemical symbol Cu? Copper What is the common name for decompression sickness, a condition experienced by divers? The bends What is `hi-fi` short for? High-fidelity In Greek mythology, what was unusual about Medusa`s hair? It was made of snakes. How many hurdles must a runner jump over in the 110m men’s hurdles race? 10 The Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest point in which ocean? The Atlantic Ocean What was the name of the hit single on which Frank and Nancy Sinatra duetted in 1967? `Something Stupid` How many lines does a poem called a quatorzain have? 14 What actress was the subject of the 1983 film `Mommie Dearest`? Joan Crawford Which line on the London Underground is represented by the colour yellow? The circle line With which BBC TV show would you associate the character of David Brent? `The Office` Who provided the voice of the title character in the 2001 film `Shrek``? Mike Myers Which district of London was named after a battle fought in 1815? Waterloo Which is longer, the Grand National or the University Boat Race? The Grand National Which fiction character from children`s books said `I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me`? Winnie The Pooh Who played Lex Luthor in the Superman films? Gene Hackman Death Cap, Shaggy Ink Cap and Stink Horn are all types of what? Toadstools Who played Norman Bates in the 1960 film `Psycho`? Anthony Perkins Parker and Barrow were the surnames of which famous couple? Bonnie and Clyde What type of animal was the first to be sent into space? A dog What is the element Uranium named after? The planet Uranus In which country is the film `Jean De Florette` set? France Which actor had the real name of Marion Morrison? John Wayne The city of Glasgow stands on which of the following rivers? Forth, Clyde or Tay? Clyde Who were the two main stars of the film `Nine and a half weeks`? Mickery Rourke and Kim Basinger From which country does beef stroganoff originate? Russia Montevideo is the capital of which South American country? Uruguay With which band was David Lee Roth lead vocalist in the 1980s? Van Halen What animals head did a Minotaur have? Bull Who played Barbara Good in `The Good Life` ? Felicity Kendall What does `E.S.P.` stand for? Extra-sensory perception. In `The Wizard Of Oz`, what was the Tin Man looking for? A heart In computing what does RAM stand for? Random Access Memory Which cartoon characters live at 39 Canyon Way? The Flintstones Which of these letters is used most frequently in the English language? H, U or W? H Which Czech novelist wrote `The Trial`? Kafka or Kapra? Kafka Who had a number one hit single in 2002 with `Round Round`? Sugarbabes Which author sometimes used the pseudonym Acton Bell which had the same initials as her real name? Anne Bronte Which pop star filed for divorce from her husband Cris Judd in July, 2002? Jennifer Lopez Which of the major tennis tournaments is played annually at the Roland Garros Stadium? The French Open Lanzarote is part of which island group? Canaries In which continent do most tornadoes occur? North America What type of dog was the cartoon character Snoopy? A beagle By what name was the Scottish outlaw Robert McGregor better known? Rob Roy What 1976 film featured Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Jodie Foster? `Taxi Driver` Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and Beyonce Knowles make up which band? Destiny`s Child Who wrote `Treasure Island`? Robert Louis Stevenson What is main language on the island of Anglesey? Welsh What is the acronym for the agency which provides co-operation between police forces worldwide? Interpol Which British TV series takes place in Sun Hill? `The Bill` Which synthetic fabric was first developed by Dupont in 1958 and is worn regularly in a variety of sports? Lycra Which J. C. won two of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments in 1992? Jim Courier What is the capital of Jamaica? Kingston In the film and TV series, what does the letter `A` stand for in `M*A*S*H`? Army In which European country would you find the cities of Kiev and Odesa? Ukraine What would William Shakespeares plays `Twelfth Night` and `Much Ado About Nothing` be classed as? Comedies, Histories or Tragedies? Comedies What is the lighest element? Hydrogen The Rio Grande separates which 2 countries? Mexico and the USA In which film would you find `the Knights who say Ni`? `Monty Python and the Holy Grail` Which international football team had a squad full of players in Euro 96 whose surnames all ended with the letter `v`? Bulgaria Who wrote `The Hobbit`? J. R. R. Tolkein What number do the Roman numerals XL represent? 40 Which British driver won the Formula One World Drivers Championship in 1996? Damon Hill Which of the following characters would you not associate with the Irvine Welsh novel `Trainspotting`? Home-boy, Rent-boy or Sick-boy? Home-boy What rank did the leader of the TV series `The A-Team` reach in the army? Colonel A prune is what type of fruit dried? Plum Which Eurovision song contest winner completed the 1981 Labour Party slogan `The Tories have a worse record than ...`? Bucks Fizz What two-letter abbreviation in the computer industry stands for 1,048,576 bytes? MB (for megabyte) In which game would you find Misty, a midriff-bearing teenager? Pokemon What surname is common to the infamous resident of Rillington Place and the 1992 men`s Olympic 100m champion? Christie In Greek mythology is the winged horse Pegasus male or female? Male The title of the French national anthem is derived from the name of which French city? Marseilles Which actress, also known for her singing, played the character Alexandra Medford in the film `The Witches of Eastwick`? Cher How are the employees of the Charles Townsend Associates private detective agency better known? `Charlie`s Angels` `A Kind Of Magic` and `Hammer To Fall` by Queen are songs on the soundtrack to which 1986 film? `Highlander` Which 1984 film about the life of a famous composer, won an Oscar for best film? `Amadeus` In which country was authour Isaac Asimov born? Russia Which 1974 sequel won six Oscars? `The Godfather: Part II` Who was nicknamed `The Ayrshire Poet`? Robert Burns What is the most contagious disease in the world? The common cold In what film does Tom Hanks star as a boy in a adult body? Big Which jazz musician had the nickname `Bird`? Charlie Parker What is the common name for sodium bicarbonate? Baking Soda Into which ocean does the river Amazon flow? Atlantic With what game would you associate Bobby Fischer? Chess What colour is the cross on the national flag of Switzerland? White Which famous raid did Guy Gibson lead in 1943? The Dambusters Who wrote `Pride And Prejudice`? Jane Austen In which decade was the film `The Exorcist` originally released? 1970s What was the name of the bank for which Nick Leeson worked? Barings What colour is the Ferrari emblem? Yellow In the 1950 movie `Harvey`, what type of animal was Harvey? Rabbit Which black American won 4 gold medals in 1936 Olympics in Berlin? Jesse Owens Where on the Greek flag does the cross appear? The top left of the top right? Top left Which actress starred in the films `Addicted To Love`, `City Of Angels` and `Courage Under Fire`? Meg Ryan What is Madonna`s real first name? Madonna What was the code name of the person who created James Bond`s gadgets in the novels by Ian Fleming? Q Which television show took place at Wentworth Detention Centre? `Prisoner: Cell Block H` What does `p.m.` stand for meaning `in the afternoon`? Post-meridian Which Quentin Tarantino film won the main prize at the 1994 Cannes film festival? `Pulp Fiction` 10 to the power 0 is equal to what number? 0, 1 or 10? 1 Which of the following composers has appeared in the title of a hit song for Chuck Berry? Mozart, Handel or Beethoven? Beethoven Which desert is found in South East Mongolia and Northern China? Gobi What British TV show is the equivalent ot the American `College Bowl`? `University Challenge` Which 1980s song includes the line `Please, Louise, pull me off`a my knees`? `Footloose` (by Kenny Loggins) In degrees Fahrenheit, what is the boiling point of water? 172, 212 or 252? 212 By what name is London Cathedral better known? St. Paul`s Cathedral What was the former name for Halloween? All Hallow`s Eve, All Saints Eve or All Souls Eve? All Hallow`s Eve Created by Mike Judge, which cartoon characters first appeared on MTV in 1993? Beavis and Butthead Which is bigger - Europe or Antarctica? Antarctica Which games company invented Pokemon? Nintendo What colour are the seats in the House of Lords? Red, Blue or Green? Red What does the Dewey Decimal System classify? Books What is Paddington Bear`s favourite type of sandwiches? Marmalade Which 1997 comedy starred Elizabeth Hurley and Mike Myers? `Austin Powers : Internation Man Of Mystery` What was the band The Animals` only UK number one hit single? `House Of The Rising Sun` Which instrument does the leader of an orchestra play? Violin Who said in 1963 `All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin`? John F. Kennedy (shortly followed by `ich bin ein Berliner`) In George Orwell`s novel `1984` which room was the `ultimate torture room`? Room 101 What colour is the number 10 on the door of 10 Downing Street? White In the board game Monopoly, how many houses must you buy on a property before you can buy a hotel? 4 Which famous artist`s career stretched from 1895 to his death in 1973? Pablo Picasso What is the capital of China? Beijing What is the name of the ficticious suburb where Coronation Street is set? Weatherfield Which politcal party did American President Bill Clinton represent? Democratic Party Which singer married model Christie Brinkley in 1985? Billy Joel What nationality was pop artist Andy Warhol? American Who was Britains entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with the song `Save All Your Kisses For Me`? Brotherhood Of Man Which British golfer was Europe`s leading money earner in 1997? Colin Montgomerie What is the name of the famous Chicago building that is 110 storeys high? Sears Tower What is the literal translation of the word `dinosaur`? Ancient Lizard, Great Lizard or Terrible Lizard? Terrible Lizard Which type of material was first manufactured in France at Nimes, from where it got its name? Denim What 1958 film features the songs `Some Enchanted Evening`, `There Is Nothing Like A Dame` and `Happy Talk`? `South Pacific` In what year did Adolf Hitler commit suicide? 1945 Which chocolate manufacturer makes Crunchie? Cadbury`s The burning of what substance produces most of the world`s electricity? Coal Through which city did Lady Godiva famously ride naked? Coventry Which artist, sculptor and architect designed the Dome of St Peter`s in Rome? Michaelangelo It was announced in 2002 that Edwina Currie had an affair with which former politician? John Major In which month does Spring offically begin? March Who sang the theme for the Bond film `The Spy Who Loved Me`? Carly Simon Which of the following events did Carl Lewis not win a gold medal for at the 1984 Olympics? Long Jump, 400m or 100m relay? 400m Who was the main villain in the cartoon `Wacky Races`? Dick Dastardly Which actor received 4 million dollars for his 10 minutes on screen in the film `Superman`? Marlon Brando Who ruled England from 1837 to 1901? Queen Victoria Who played James Bond in the film `You Only Live Twice`? Sean Connery What nationality was the racing driver Alberto Ascari? Italian What was the name of the 80s band of which Fatboy Slim was a member? The Housemartins Which element has the chemical symbol Zn? Zinc How long is an Olympic sized swimming pool? 50 metres Which organ of the human body does Hepatitis affect? Liver What are commonly referred to as shooting stars? Meteors Who played the character of Lord Flasheart who appeared in several episodes of the TV comedy series `Blackadder`? Rik Mayall What unusual physical characteristic does the Bond villain Scaramanga have in the film `The Man With The Golden Gun`? A third nipple On which corner of a motorway sign do junction exit numbers appear? Bottom left Which month`s name is derived from the ninth month of the old Roman calendar? November Which of the following are the first names of a married couple who acted in the 2000 film `Traffic`? Uma and Stephen, Catherine and Michael or Andie and Ethan? Michael and Catherine What was advertised with Eva Herzagovia using the slogan `hello boys`? The wonder-bra `All children, except one, grow up` is the opening line from which famous story? `Peter Pan` Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are associated with the three colours of what country`s flag? France`s What is pathophobia the fear of? Illness, Lying or Memory Loss? Illness Who has managed the football teams West Bromich Albion, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Coventry? Ron Atkinson In which European country is the `Black Forest`? Germany Which comedian partnered Robert Powell in the TV comedy series `The Detectives`? Jasper Carrott What word represents `S` in the phonetic alphabet? Sierra Which of the following Shakespeare plays would be classed as a comedy? Titus Andronicus, Two Gentlemen Of Verona or Othello? Two Gentlemen Of Verona In which country is the river Yangtze located? China In 1978, who became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Mickey Mouse Which team knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup finals? Argentina Which football club did Kenny Dalglish leave in 1977 to join Liverpool? Celtic The Grand Canyon is located in which state? Arizona Which two singers duetted on the 1991 UK number one hit single `Don`t Let The Sun Go Down On Me`? George Michael and Elton John Which singer published his autobiography called `X-Ray` in 1995? Ray Davies How many minutes long is a rugby union match? 80 Which two comedians sang on the song `3 Lions` which became an anthem during Euro 96? Frank Skinner and David Baddiel Who is actress Jamie Lee Curtis` famous mother? Janet Leigh The film `Roxanne` starring Steve Martin is based on which classic French film? `Cyrano De Bergerac` What is the young of a deer called? A fawn What type of animal was Dougal in `The Magic Roundabout`? Dog How many stars make up Orion`s belt? 3 Which female singer had hits with `I Am What I Am` and `Never Can Say Goodbye`? Gloria Gaynor How is the number 500 represented in Roman numerals? D Which wedding anniversary would you celebrate after 40 years of marriage? Ruby Which baseball star did Marilyn Monroe marry in January, 1954? Joe DiMaggio What is the origin of the word `alphabet`? From the two Greek letters `alpha` and `beta` What was the profession at the centre of the film `Backdraft`? Firefighting Which Britney Spears song includes the line `I must confess I still believe`? Baby One More Time In what way is a Dutch auction different from a normal auction? The price starts high and comes down until a bid is made. What TV show connects Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavnar and Yeardley Smith? `The Simpsons` (they provide some of the character`s voices) Which famous film villain had David Prowse play it`s body, Sebastian Shaw play it`s face, and James Earl Jones provide it`s voice? Darth Vader Which actor links `Legends Of The Fall`, `Interview With The Vampire` and `Ocean`s Eleven`? Brad Pitt What animals head did a Minotaur have? A bull`s Which famous authour was married to Anne Hathaway? William Shakespeare Which band released the 1999 comeback single `Maria`? Blondie Which actor featured in the title of a Madness hit in 1984? Michael Caine According to Elvis Presley, where was Heartbreak Hotel situated? At the end of lonely street Which continent has the largest population? Asia Which 1985 film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and featured the characted Marty McFly? Back To The Future In which series of action films does the character of John McClane appear? `Die Hard` What was the sequel to the 1991 film the `Addams Family` called? Addams Family Values What was the first name of ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher`s husband? Denis Better known as a comedian, who sang the theme tune for the TV series `One Foot In The Grave`? Eric Idle What name is given to the art form of the twentieth century, which is said to `explore the sub-concious`? Surrealism. In Monopoly, what is the cost of Marylebone Station? 200 pounds Who was the first American President to be assassinated? Abraham Lincoln Which film was advertised with the line `In space, no-one can hear you scream`? Alien What nationality was the philosopher Confucious? Chinese Who wrote Das Kapital? Karl Marx Which famous building is used for the election of a Pope? The Cisteen Chapel Who sang the theme tune to the TV series `Minder`? Denis Waterman Which country was once known as Constanstinople? Istanbul What metal is also known as quicksilver? Mercury What is the world`s largest man-made structure? The Great Wall of China Which Russian writer wrote `The Seagull` and `The Cherry Orchard`? Chekhov What acid is extracted from the juice of lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruit? Citric In mathematics, what does the letter `L` stand for in the abbreviation `LCD`? Lowest Who directed the 1974 film `Blazing Saddles`? Mel Brooks Which film character do the japanese call `Mr. Kissy Kissy Bang Bang`? James Bond What is the largest land mammal in the world? Elephant What name is given to a female horse aged four or under? Filly Which Beatles song has been recorded the most by other artists? `Yesterday` Who was the second son of Adam and Eve and was murdered by his brother? Abel Who was the first man to reach the South Pole? Roald Amundsen If you were born in October, and you weren`t a Scorpio, what star sign would you be? Libra Which British driver won the Formula One World Drivers Championship in 1992? Nigel Mansell Which of the following would be interested in collecting a `penny black`? A Conchologist, A Numismatist or a Philatalist? Philatalist What European country is home to the majority of Catalan speakers? Spain Which sport is covered on television by Claire Balding and Willie Carson? Horse Racing What is the chemical symbol for the element Neon? Ne What is the chemical symbol for the element Gold? Au Which controversial 1955 novel is Vladimir Nabokov`s best known? `Lolita` Which two throwing events in track and field require safety netting? Discus and Hammer From which country did Paddington bear come? Peru What structure joins a bone to a muscle? A: Tendon. What is the shoulder blade called in a human? A: Scapula. What is the scientific name for a human kneecap? A: Patella. The Hypothalamus regulates what in the human body? A: Physiologic stability. Which part of the human digestive system is the most acidic? A: Stomach. What human organ is protected by the cranium? A: The human brain. The tube connecting the kidney to the bladder is called what? A: Ureter. Where in the human body can one find alveoli? A: The Lung. What is the muscle used for breathing called which separates the chest from the abdomen? A: Diaphragm. Where in the human body are red blood cells produced? A: In the bone marrow. Which finger has the fastest growing nail? A: Middle finger. Which sex is twice as likely to catch leprosy? A: The male. The most insect bitten part of the human body is what part? A: Foot. Cholecystitis affects what part of the human body? A: Gall bladder. When sneezing, what part of the body is it impossible to keep open? A: Eyes. Which bone is the hardest bone in the human body? A: Jaw bone. What is an erythrocyte? A: A red blood cell. How long is the small intestine in a human? A: 4 to 7 meters. What is the roughly 24-hour cycle in the physiological processes of living things called? A: Circadian rhythms. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs in what part of the human body? A: Hand or fingers. Where is one's gluteus maximus located? A: Your buttocks. Veins carry blood to what organ? A: Heart. What component is shared by hair, nails, and skin? A: Keratin. The tendon at the top of the human heel is called what? A: Achilles tendon. What bone is also called the tibia? A: The shin bone. Hepatitis affects which organ? A: Liver. How many teeth do humans have? A: 32. How many senses to human beings have? A: 5. In the human body, what is the longest bone? A: Femur. The major artery in the side of the neck is called what? A: Carotid. Where is ones uvula located in the body? A: At the back of the throat. What are the two bones in the forearm called? A: Ulna and radius. What disease does a tick bite spread? A: Lyme disease. Serborrheic dermatitis is more commonly called what term? A: Dandruff. A phlebotomist specializes in what? A: Drawing blood. What are the three parts of the backbone called? A: Lumbar, Cervical, and thoracic. The study of the skin is called the study of what? A: Dermatology. What is the term in medicine given to the deficiency of blood sugar which may occur after too large a dose of insulin has been given? A: Hypoglycemia. What does necrotizing fasciitis attack? A: Skin or flesh. The light sensitive membrane on the inner lining of the eyeball is called what? A: Retina. What is another name for the disease known as Varicella? A: Chickenpox. What is the term used for a breast X-ray? A: Mammogram. What instrument is used to measure blood pressure? A: Sphygmomanometer. What human organs are affected by glaucoma? A: Eyes. Which human bone is most often broken? A: Collar bone. What deficiency causes anemia? A: Red blood cells. What is another more common term for acetylsalicylic acid? A: Aspirin. Which is the lowest of the seven vertebrae? A: Coccyx. In the X Files what is Mulder's first name? A: Fox. Which of the Beatles was the first to be widowed? A: Paul McCartney. Which Menacing US sitcom was screened as Just Dennis in the UK? A: Dennis The Menace. In which country were the 1996 Olympic Games held? A: United States. In Mask Jim Carrey starred as someone working where? A: A bank. Who had a 70s No 1 with If You Leave Me Now? A: Chicago. What is the postal abbreviation for Indiana? A: IN. Which Jeff starred in The Fabulous Baker Boys? A: Bridges. IN 1998 actor James Brolin married which singer / actress? A: Barbra Streisand. Bill Clinton was Governor of which state when he became President? A: Arkansas. Wichita international airport is in which US state? A: Kansas. The Dalai Lama fled which country in the 50s? A: Tibet. In 1998 Celine Dion and R Kelly sang I'm Your what? A: Angel. In which decade did Boris Yeltsin come to power? A: 1990s. Woody Allen was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 30s. Which series with Ellen DeGeneres as originally called These Friends of Mine? A: Ellen. Which Spanish Salvador was a surrealist artist? A: Dali. Which country does golfer Ben Crenshaw come from? A: USA. Who had a 70sNo 1 hit with Stayin' Alive? A: The Bee Gees. What type of curtain divided eastern and western Europe during the cold war? A: Iron. Bandleader Edward Ellington was known by what nickname? A: Duke. Which state is called the Garden state? A: New Jersey. What did Cecil B de Mille make? A: Movies. Which star of Shakespeare in Love guest-edited the magazine Marie Claire? A: Gwyneth Paltrow. What was added to Stevie Wonder's name when he was a youngster? A: Little. Which character is the most famous creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs? A: Tarzan. Which state is called the Bear State? A: Arkansas. Who played Emma Peelinthe90s film version of The Avengers? A: Uma Thurman. Which Michael starred in Doc Hollywood? A: J Fox. What is the capital of the state of Louisiana? A: Baton Rouge. Which veteran pop singer has the first names Roderick David? A: Rod Stewart. What came after The Brady in the sitcom title? A: Bunch. What did teenager Anne Frank leave behind that was published after her death? A: Diary. Who had a 60s No 1 with Stop In the Name Of Love? A: Supremes. Who liked Richard Burton so much that she married him twice? A: Elizabeth Taylor. In which decade did people last get the chance to see Halley's comet? A: 1980s. At what time of year did Eddie Cochran get the blues? A: Summer time. In football, where do the 1990s Titans come from? A: Tennessee. Who was younger when they became President, Clinton or Kennedy? A: Kennedy. The novel Airport was a best seller for which author? A: Arthur Haily. Which female sang the Bond theme to Goldeneye? A: Tina Turner. Golfer Bernhard Langer comes from which country? A: Germany. The D Day landings took place in which country? A: France. Who was the first man to fly in space? A: Yuri Gagarin. In which decade of the 20th century was Chevy Chase born? A: 1940s. What is the postal abbreviation for Missouri? A: MO. Who was Bill Clinton's first Vice President? A: AL Gore. Which Box gave Mariah Carey a multi-million album success? A: Music. Which Bruce declared he was Born In The USA? A: Springsteen. Oakland international airport is in which state? A: California. What kind of animal is the emblem of the US republican political party? A: Elephant. Which type of animals have more teeth, reptiles or mammals? A: Mammals. A cow normally has how many teats? A: Four. What is the only venomous snake found in Britain? A: Adder. What type of leaves does a Koala use for food? A: Eucalyptus. What type of animal is the main source of food for a mole? A: Earthworms. What is another name for a Guinea Pig? A: Cavy. What kind of animals live in an apiary? A: Bees. What was Tarzan's Chimpanzee's name? A: Cheta. Celeste was the wife of which fictional animal? A: Babar the Elephant. What is the name for a collection of frogs? A: Army. What kind of animal was "Gentle Ben" on the TV show? A: A Bear. A female donkey is called a what? A: Jenny. On a common lady bug, what color are the spots?> A: Black. Which subhuman primate is the most intelligent? A: Chimpanzee. A mandrill is what type of creature? A: Monkey. The most Asian elephants to be found in their natural habitat can be found in what country? A: India. Which animal is the fastest, a hare, greyhound, or horse? A: Hare. What type of animal is a Tasmanian Devil? A: Marsupial. Which sense is the weakest sense in most primates? A: Sense of Smell. Sika, fallow, and Roe, are what types of animal? A: Deer. Animals living in what type of habitat are arboreal animals? A: In or amongst trees. What type of animal produces gossamer? A: Spider. What kind of animal is the source of mohair? A: Angora Goat. What land mammal other than man has the longest lifespan? A: Elephant. Lupus is the Latin name for what animal? A: Wolf. Who was the British TV personality that presented the show Animal Magic? A: Johnny Morris. Michael Bond created what famous bear? A: Paddington Bear. Walt Disney's famous deer was named what? A: Bambi. A horse named Black Bess was ridden by who? A: Dick Trupin. In the Lone Range, what was Tonto's horse's name? A: Scout. What kind of animals were Chi Chi and An An? A: Panda bears. In the Jungle Book, what kind of creature was Baloo? A: A bear. How do bees communicate with each other? A: Dancing. A stoat produces fur called what? A: Ermine. What type of insect eats its mate after mating? A: Preying Mantis. Coral and algae have what kind of relationship? A: Symbiotic. What kind of animals don't hunt or eat any meat? A: Herbivore. What is the name of the largest land animal? A: Elephant. When caterpillar changes into an adult butterfly what is the change called? A: Metamorphous. The study of animals is given the name of what? A: Zoology. What type of mammals fly using echolocation? A: Bats. The longest beetle in the world is how long? A: Six inches. Animals without backbones are called what? A: Invertebrates. An earthworm has how many hearts? A: 5. A fluke is what kind of animal? A: Worm. The spots on a plaice are what color? A: Orange. An abalone is what kind of animal? A: Marine snail. The study of birds eggs is called what? A: Oology. What is the offspring of a mare and a male ass called? A: A mule. On a rabbit where would you find a scut? A: The tail. In Thailand, what is the sacred animal? A: The white elephant. Alphabetically, what animal comes first in the Chinese horoscope? A: Boar. Alphabetically, what animal comes last in the Chinese horoscope? A: Tiger. What type of animal is the symbol of medicine? A: Snake. Which type of semi aquatic animal is a lutra-lutra? A: An Otter. What animals make a sound called nuzzing? A: Camels. What animal is the symbol of long life in Korea? A: The Deer. A Curry Comb is used on what type of creature? A: Horse. The llama belongs to what family to what family of animals? A: Camel. Eskimos call what kind of creature a nanook? A: Polar Bear. Which animal has the longest lifespan in captivity? A: Giant Tortoise. In Peru, what animal provides 50% of all the protein eatin? A: The Guinea Pig. What animal pollinates banana plants in the wild? A: Bats. A fennec is what type of animal? A: A Desert Fox. What kind of creature always gives birth to same sex twins? A: Armadillo. The Suidae family is made up of what animals? A: Pigs. A markhor is what type of animal? A: Wild goat. What type of insect has the best eyesight? A: Dragonfly. What form was the Egyptian god Sobek? A: Crocodile. A cow's stomach has how many chambers? A: 4. How many humps does an African camel have? A: One. Who are the queen bee's closest servants in a beehive? A: Drones. What is the animal with the Latin name "syncerus caffer"? A: Cape Buffalo. A Quagga is an extinct animal that was a distant cousin to which animal that exists today? A: Zebra. What does a carpophagus animal feed on? A: Fruit. Which animal has rectangular pupils? A: Goat. What kind of animal mates only once for 12 hours and can sleep for three years? A: Snail. Do mosquitoes have teeth? A: yes. A typical mayfly lives for how many days? A: One. What is a fox's den called? A: Earth. What is a castrated pig called? A: Barrow The correct name for a male Hawk or Falcon is what? A: A Tiercel The aardvark is the first animal in the dictionary, what is the second animal? A: Aardwolf A baby oyster is called a what? A: Spat What kind of animal is a bariroussa? A: A pig What are spraints? A: Otter droppings (manure) What family of animals does the Kinkajou belong? A: Raccoon What's the most popular name for a male pet cat? A: Tiger There are over 130,000 species of what type of insect? A: Butterflies In Georgia What can you not keep in your bathtub, in the State of Georgia? A: A donkey What color are a giraffes eyelashes? A: Black What animals cannot swim? A: Gorillas In Utah is it illegal to fish From where? A: Horseback What large animal has a name that translates as "water horse"? A: Hippopotamus What is a group of a Jellyfish called? A: A smuck What is the state bird of Wisconsin? A: The Robin 33 What type of bird turns it head upside down to eat? A: Flamingo The animal with the Latin name Cricetus-cricutus is more commonly known as a what? A: Hamster In North Africa a mouflon is a wild what? A: Sheep What animal sport is only legal in 16 States? A: Greyhound Racing A newborn bactrian camel has how many humps? A: None Cats are feline, cows are bovine, what are eagles? A: Aquiline Which animal has a name that comes from the Sanskrit "to steal"? A: The mouse What is the name for the length of a hawks legs from thigh to foot in falconry? A: It's an Arm What kind of an animal is a lurcher? A: A dog According to a popular fable, who sold a cow for five beans? A: Jack What types of animals are Grevys and Burchells ? A: Zebras What type of animal comes in both spotted and striped varieties? A: Skunk What was Bugs Bunnies original name? A: Happy Rabbit What kind of a snake builds a nest? A: King Cobra On the TV show Frazier, what was the dads dogs name? A: Eddie What part of a sleeping person do vampire bats prefer to bite? A: The toe What is a baby rabbit called? A: Kit or Kitten In the Bible what was an adamant? A: Diamond In which book of the Bible did Moses die? A: Deuteronomy Exodus and which Bible book list the ten commandments? A: Deuteronomy In the Bible David played the Kinnor. What is a Kinnor? A: Lyre Only one miracle is mentioned in all four gospels what is it? A: Feeding of 5000 In the Bible Cain built a city named after his son. What is the name? A: Enoch In what Bible book is "The love of money is the root of all evil" ? A: Timothy 6: 10 Who got Judas job as the twelfth apostle? A: Matthias In the Old Testament what is the first book of Moses? A: Genesis - first 5 all Moses books David kills Goliath in which book of the Bible? A: Samuel In the Bible John the Baptist lived on wild honey and what? A: Locusts Melita in the Bible where Paul was shipwrecked is where today? A: Malta In the Old Testament whose name means Gods with us? A: Emanuel What is the last book of the Bible? A: Revelations What kind of wood was Noah's Ark made from? A: Gopher wood In the bible - Leviticus - what was lapidation? A: Death by stoning What language was the first complete bible in US printed in? A: Algonquin Indian What animal is most often mentioned in the Bible? A: Sheep There are how many Bible Psalms? A: 150 Which Biblical heroes name meant splendid sun? A: Samson Who betrayed Jesus to the Romans? A: Judas What book of the Bible does not mention the name of God? A: Esther Who was the third and favorite son of David in Old Testament ? A: Absolom What does the word Matrix mean in the Bible? A: Womb What book In the Old Testament comes between Obadiah - Micah? A: Jonah Which of the Apostles is traditionally pictured with a purse? A: Matthew What was the name of the hill that Solomon built his temple on? A: Zion In the Bible, Who read the original writing on the wall? A: Daniel What was Paul the Apostles real name? A: Saul Which biblical prophet was sawn in half inside a hollow log? A: Isaiah Which of Jesus disciples was the treasurer? A: Judas Escariot In the Bible where was Jesus when he ascended into heaven? A: Bethany Who climbed Mount Nebo to see promised land? A: Moses What was the last item shown on British TV before World War II? A: Mickey Mouse What comic strip character is the most filmed? A: Zorro Olive Oyls boyfriend before Popeye was whom? A: Ham Gravy On the Flintstones, what kind of dinosaur was Dino? A: A snorkasaurus In Disney's 1973 animated Robin Hood what type of animal was Robin? A: A Fox If Speedy Gonzales was fastest mouse in all of Mexico, who was the slowest? A: Slowpoke Rodriquez In the cartoon series, the Flintstones, what was the Great Gazoo? A: An Alien In the Tom and Jerry cartoons what was the name of the other mouse? A: Nibbles or Tuffy Disney added what character to Winnie the Pooh that was not in book? A: Gopher Dino was Fred Flintstone's pet, but who was Barnie's pet? A: Hoppy + What was superhero Green Lantern vulnerable to? A: Anything Yellow On Scooby Doo what was Shaggys real name? A: Norville What is a feline according to Homer Simpson? A: An Elephant Who produced the Tom and Jerry cartoons until 1956? A: Fred Quimby Mr. Magoo, the short sighted cartoon character, had a nephew named what? A: Waldo What did Sylvester the Cat win? A: An Academy Award Bob, Wally, Alice and Asok can be found in which cartoon comic strip? A: Dilbert Rocky and Bullwinkle's enemies are Boris Badenov and whom? A: Natasha Fatale Crystal City in Texas put up a statue of what cartoon character Popeye? A: They grow spinach Who created Gomez, Mortia and Uncle Fester as a cartoon? A: Charles Adams Who was the original voice of the cartoon character Shaggy on Scooby Doo? A: Casey Kasem What superhero was the first Marvel Comics superhero? A: Human Torch What is Olive Oyls brother s name? A: Castor Oyl What was the cartoon character Mr. Magoos first name? A: Quincy What cartoon strip is known as Radishes in Denmark? A: Peanuts What is Warner Brothers oldest cartoon character? A: Porky Pig Homer Simpson's middle name is what? A: Jay On the Simpsons, Armand Tarmizan is the 'real' name of what cartoon character? A: Principle Skinner In the Flintstones what was Betty Rubbles maiden name? A: Betty Jean McBricker Where do Rocky and Bullwinkle live? A: In Frostbite falls Minnesota What does Lucy offer in her booth in the Snoopy cartoons? A: Psychiatric help In the Snoopy cartoons, how much does Lucy charge for psychiatric help in her booth? A: 5 cents In the roadrunner cartoons, what does the E stand for in Wiley E Coyote? A: Ethelbert Which cartoon character was originally called egghead? A: Elmer J Fudd Hanna-Barbera's first cartoon was what? A: Ruff and Reddy Oil can Henry is which cartoon character's enemy? A: Mighty Mouse What was the name of the dog in Peter Pan? A: Nana Pinto Colvig voiced what Disney character? A: Sleepy What is Dick Tracey's girlfriends name? A: Tess Trueheart Originally, what color was Tweety Bird? A: Pink What is Donald Ducks sister's name? A: Dumbella What comic strip character did Alex Raymond create in 1934? A: Flash Gorden The cartoon character Droopy was created by who? A: Tex Avery The Incredible Hulks girlfriend has what name? A: Betty Ross Woody Woodpecker was created by who? A: Walter Lantz Wile E. Coyote scenes were edited in the 1980s for being too what? A: Violent In the Simpsons what is the name of the Police Chief? A: Chester Wiggum Before spinach, what did Popeye eat for strength? A: Garlic What do Beavis and Butt-head have on their T shirts? A: Metallica - AC/ DC In Peanuts, where was Snoopy born? A: Daisy Hill Puppy Farm In Batman Forever, who rejected the role of Riddler? A: Robin Williams Winnie the Pooh lived where? A: Hundred Acre Wood In The Simpsons what is the name of the cat? A: Snowball What cartoon characters first name is Quincy? A: Mr. Magoo What is the name of the shrunken city in a bottle in the Superman comics? A: Kandor Which comic character was dynamited to death in issue 428? A: Robin What group of Marvel comic superheroes battle with Doctor Doom? A: The Fantastic Four What X man shoots laser beams from his eyes? A: Cyclops Where did Bunyon write "Pilgrims Progress"? A: Bedford Jail The nightclub called "The Ba Da Bing" is owned by which TV gangster? A: Tony Soprano In 1982, what famous actress was sent to jail for tax evasion? A: Sophia Loren In Massachusetts it's illegal to wear what without a license? A: Goatee In ancient Turkey you could be executed for drinking what? A: Coffee In the middle ages you could be fined four pence murdering who? A: Travelling Musician In 1978 a grocer in Paris was sent to jail for two years for stabbing his wife with a what? A: A wedge of hard cheese 52% of American citizens would prefer to spend a week in jail than be what? A: President Nelson Mandela spent 19 of 27 years in what prison? A: Robben Island In Atlanta Georgia, what is it illegal to tie a giraffe to? A: telephone pole What nation was the first to abolish capital punishment in 1826? A: Russia What fictitious murderer first appeared in" String of Pearls" in the 1840s? A: Sweeny Todd You could be jailed for doing what in public in 1919 in the United States? A: Sneezing In Little Rock Arkansas men and women can get 30 days in jail for what? A: Public Flirting It's illegal to run out of what in Youngstown Ohio ? A: Gasoline What did 24% of American adults admit to doing? A: Illegal Gambling What was the name of the gangster that escaped from jail using a wooden gun? A: John Dillinger What country did 182 people die in jail during 2005 and 2006? A: United States Which Nazi died in jail after being imprisoned for 46 years? A: Rudolf Hess. What is the first title word of Meat Loaf's big 90s No 1 hit? A: I'd. What was the first name of the fictional sleuth Kojak? A: Theo. Which word went with Britannia to describe the supposedly vibrant late 90s? A: Cool. In medicine, what does the D stand for in CJD? A: Disease. Sky Harbor international airport is in which US state? A: Arizona. Whose Navy was the subject of a sitcom with over 130 episodes? A: McHale's. What did the Mason Dixon line divide? A: North & South. The Way We Were was the first No 1 for which singer? A: Barbra Streisand. Who had a 60s No 1 hit with Groovin? A: The Young Rascals. In which film did Madonna play Breathless Mahoney? A: Dick Tracy. Which English Kate became the face of L'Oreal in 1998? A: Moss. What was developed in the 40s Manhattan Project? A: Atomic Bomb. Which group backed Bill Haley in the 50s? A: The Comets. Which Quincy produced the Michael Jackson album Bad? A: Jones. Who was the most famous blonde in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? A: Marilyn Monroe. How did Allen Steward Konigsberg become better known? A: Woody Allen. Who was Richard Nixon's first Vice President? A: Spiro T Agnew. Which actress did John McEnroe marry? A: Tatum O'Neal. In movies, how was Dominic Amici better known? A: Don Ameche. Croatia and Slovenia used to be part of which country? A: Yugoslavia. What is the main airport in Germany? A: Frankfurt. Michael Hutchence was lead singer with which group? A: INXS. In which city is O'Hare International airport? A: Chicago. Where was Elvis Presley Crying in 1965? A: In The Chapel. Drew Barrymore was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 70s. Which caped crusader operated in Gotham city? A Batman. By what descriptive word was 1950s singer Otis Dewey Whitman known? A: Slim. What role as a member of her staff did the father of Madonna's first child have? A: Fitness Trainer. Which group went to the Chapel Of Love? A: The Dixie Cups. Which bandleader Benny was "The King of Swing"? A: Goodman. In which country did Ho chi Minh come to power? A: Vietnam. Which sport in the Olympics includes pikes, tucks and twists? A: Diving. In which decade did Gorbachev lose power? A: 1990s. Which Richard starred in Petty Woman? A: Gere. Which Heart was reinstituted as an honor in 1932? A: Purple Heart. Which Tom starred in Three Men and a Little Lady? A: Selleck. Singer Nat King Cole was also very talented on which musical instrument? A: Piano. What is the postal abbreviation for Montana? A: MT. In which state was boardsailing or windsurfing invented? A California. Robbie Coltrane and Whoopi Goldberg have played in films where their characters disguise themselves as what? A: Nuns. Which famous Briton did Linda Eastman marry? A: Paul McCartney. Which spectral hound of the moors first appeared in a classic 1902 detective story? A: Hound Of The Baskervilles. In football, what position is LB. A: Linebacker. Which country hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics? A: Japan. Which controversial American sportsman had the first names Orenthal James? A: O J Simpson. In which 20th-century decade was Barbie's boyfriend Ken first made? A: 60s. In which decade was Madonna born? A: 50s. Which initials did rapper Hammer lose? A: M C. Who plays against the USA in golf's Walker Cup? A: Great Britain. Who had a huge 70s No 1 with Shadow Dancing? A: Andy Gibb. In Canada what is the NHL? A: National Hockey League. Marlon Brando was born in which decade of the century? A: 20s. Who did Elton John originally duet with on Don't Go Breaking My Heart? A: Kiki Dee. The cause of what color fever was discovered in 1900? A: Yellow. Which actor is the dad of Jamie Lee Curtis? A: Tony Curtis. In football, where do the Chargers come from? A: San Diego. What does the F stand for in FBI? A: Federal. Tony Curtis was in which of the armed services in WWII? A: Navy. Which state is called the volunteer State? A: Tennessee. How did Greta Gustafson become better known as an actress? A: Greta Garbo. Albertville and Lillehammer were two 90s venues for which event? A: Winter Olympics. The US declared war on which country after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? A: Japan. Where do the Super Bowl winning Cowboys come form? A: Dallas. Kirk Douglas was in which of the armed services in WWII? A: Navy. What sport is the winner of the Harry Vardon trophy playing? A: Golf. Which shoe company did Michael Jordan famously promote? A: Nike. Which musical instrument did Pablo Casals play? A: Cello. In horse racing, which triple Crown race is held on Long Island? A: Belmont. In which country was the AIDS virus first recognized? A: USA. Scott Hamilton won Olympic gold for the USA on what surface? A: Ice. How was Billie Jean Moffitt later known in the tennis world? A: Billie Jean King. Who won the Wimbledon singles in 1998 after twice losing in the final? A: Jana Novotna. In which decade did people last get the chance to see Halley's Comet? A: 1980s. Where does Greg Norman come from? A: Australia. In which Park was the New York marathon run until 14970? A: Central Park. The Walker Cup is competed for in which sport? A: Golf. In the charity AHA, what part of the body does H stand for? A: Heart. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man was a hit for which singer after his death? A: Buddy Holly. In which state did both Kennedy and Johnson die? A: Texas. The Fresh Prince of where was the subject of a sitcom of 140+ shows? A: Bel Air. Who is younger, Serena or Venus Williams? A: Serena. Which state is called the Golden state? A: California. What color is the M in McDonald's? A: Yellow. What was President Yeltsin's first name? A: Boris. In fiction, what is the last name of Dr. Hannibal--the Cannibal? A: Lecter. In which month does the Kentucky Derby take place? A: May. Rugby's man mountain Jonah Lomu plays for which country? A: New Zealand. Magician David Kotkin managed to change his name to what? A; David Copperfield. What is the postal abbreviation for Idaho? A: ID. San Antonio international airport is in which state? A: Texas. What is the Aloha State? A: Hawaii. Which record label did Michael Jackson first record on? A: Motown. Who recorded the album Dark Side Of the Moon? A: Pink Floyd. Which Bobby took Mack The Knife to No 1 in the charts? A: Darin. My Heart Will Go On came from which movie? A: Titanic. With which spot is Cedric Pioline associated? A: Tennis. What does the N stand for in NATO? A: North. Who played Rachel Green in Friends? A: Jennifer Aniston. Which instrument is Roberta Flack associated with? A: Piano. Who famously announced "heeeere's Johnny" on the Johnny Carson show from the early 60s? A: Ed McMahon. Dramatist Brendan Behan came from which county? A: Ireland. On which continent did the samba originate? A: America. Who sang the theme from the 70s movie Love Story? A: Andy Williams. Which talk-show hostess appeared in The Color Purple? A: Oprah Winfrey. Which Barney was the subject of a sitcom of over 160 episodes? A: Miller. Which state is called the cornhusker State? A: Nebraska. In baseball, where do the Blue Jays come from? A: Toronto. What followed Exhale in the 1995 Whitney Houston hit? A: Shoop Shoop. Which sitcom about an army hospital in Korea was transmitted in the UK without the canned laughter of the US version? A: M*A*S*H. The disastrous poison gas leak at Bhopal took place in which country? A: India. Which Sinatra song manages to rhyme a line with "shy way"? A: My Way. In which decade of the 20th century was Andie MacDowell born? A: 1950s. What sort of Nest was the subject of over 150 sitcoms? A: Empty. What type of cargo was carried by the stricken vessel the Torrey Canyon? A: Oil. What was Aretha Franklin's first No 1? A: Respect. What is the main color on the Chinese flag? A: Red. Dick Francis novels revolve around which sport? A: Horse racing. What does the C stand for in LCD? A: Crystal. In which country did Marilyn Monroe die? A: United States. Which Danny starred in Batman Returns? A: De Vito. In which state is Prince William Sound? A: Alaska. Playwright Arthur Miller was married to which famous blond actress? A: Marilyn Monroe. In football, where do the Broncos come from? A: Denver. Which actress married for the seventh time on Michael Jackson's ranch in 1991? A: Elizabeth Taylor. Hartsfield international airport is in which US state? A: Georgia. What sort of Acres were the subject of a sitcom of over 170 episodes? A: Green. On a computer keyboard what letter is between Q and E? A: W. In basketball, where do the Hawks come from? A: Atlanta. Which fictional bear thought he had "very little brain?" A: Winnie-the-Pooh. Lord Mountbatten was murdered off the coast of which country? A: Ireland. In which state was Isaac Hayes born? A: Tennessee. Black activist Steve Biko died in which country in the 70s? A: South Africa. What is the postal abbreviation for Main? A: ME. McCoy international airport is in which US State? A: Florida. Which Madeline became the first woman US Secretary of State? A: Albright. In which US state is the only major military academy founded this century? A: Colorado USAF. What is the postal abbreviation for California? A: CA. With which sport is Shaquille O'Neal associated? A: Basketball. Who declared, "The lady's not for turning"? A: Margaret Thatcher. Who had a 90s No 1 hit with Always Be My Baby? A: Mariah Carey. What was Georges that left a trail of destruction in Florida in 1998? A: Hurricane. What is the capital of the state of Connecticut? A: Hartford. Which machine's name comes from some letters in the words 'general purpose'? A: Jeep. A 1997 phenomenon, Hale-Bop was a type of what? A: Comet. The Louise Woodward affair was tried in which country? A: United States. Which John travelled in space over 35 years after his first flight? A: Glenn. Which Jane starred in Klute and Nine To Five? A: Fonda. How is Ann-Margret Olsson better known? A: Ann-Margret. In Notting Hill what does the Hugh Grant character deal in? A: Books. In the 90s film, who played G I Jane? A: Demi Moore. In which decade of the 20th century was Kevin Costner born? A: 1950s. Which Nilsson classic was Mariah Carey's first UK No 1? A: Without You. Henry Ford claimed that, "History is..." what? A: Bunk. What was Elvis Presley's daughter called? A: Lisa Marie. Circle of Life came from which film? A: The Lion King. In its early days, what was offered for sale" in any color as long as it's black"? A: Motor car. In a movie title Elvis Presley said Viva to where? A: Las Vegas. Who was In Charge in the title of the sitcom? A: Charles. Johnny Cash recorded a number of live albums at what unusual institutions? A: Prisons. Which Buzz appeared in Toy Story? A: Lightyear. What is the postal abbreviation for Minnesota? A: MN. In which 20th-century decade were Barbie dolls first made? A: 50s. In which country is Ciampino airport? A: Italy. Which world heavyweight boxing champion was jailed in the 90s? A: Mike Tyson. Rupert Murdoch comes from which country? A: Australia. Ursula Andrews was the Bond girl in which movie? A: Dr. No. The sale of what was prohibited in America during prohibition? A: Alcohol. Which Russian leader had a pronounced birth mark on his forehead? A: Gorbachev. What is the postal abbreviation for Tennessee? A: TN. Which Tim co-wrote the musical Chess? A: Rice. Which Landings were the subject of Saving Private Ryan? A: D Day. Chancellor Helmut Kohl led which country in the 80s and 90s? A: Germany. IN February 1996 the Princess of Wales agreed to Prince Charles' request for what? A: Divorce. Who or what was Piper Alpha? A: An oil rig. Which spinach-eating sailor has Robin Williams played on the film? A: Popeye. Which John was the tar of the film Grease? A: Travolta. In the 90s which European country had a King Albert? A: Belgium. What is the postal abbreviation for Iowa? A: IA. Which member of her staff did Celine Dion marry in 1994? A: Manager. Burt Lancaster enlisted in the American Fifth Army after which event? A: Pearl Harbor. What is the postal abbreviation for Mississippi? A: MS. Who sang I will Always Love You in her film, The Bodyguard? A: Whitney Houston. Which cartoon character says What's up, Doc? A: Bugs Bunny. Who had a 60s No 1 with It's Now Or Never? A: Elvis Presley. What followed the names of Rowan and Martin in the classic 60s comedy series? A: Laugh In. The deepwater port of Gdansk was developed in which country? A: Poland. Which girl was In Disguise (with Glasses)? A: Judy. Which country was racing's Niki Lauda born in? A: Austria. Who was born first, Arnold Schwarzenegger or John Travolta? A: Arnold Schwarzenegger. In which decade of the 20th century was Michal J Fox born? A: 1960s. Who had 60s No 1s with Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn Turn Turn? A: The Byrds. Who took the Miami Vice Theme to No 1 in the charts? A: Jan Hammer. Archbishop Makarios was president of which Mediterranean island? A: Cyprus. Which US state, which joined the Union in 1912, has New and the name of a country in its name? A: New Mexico. In which decade of the 20th century was Jane Fonda born? A: 1930s. In which decade of the 20th century did Elvis Presley shoot to fame? A: 50s. In which decade did Elvis Presley die? A: 70s. What did Abraham Saperstein start in January 1927? A: Harlem Globetrotters. Which Irving penned the song White Christmas? A: Berlin. What is the postal abbreviation for Wisconsin? A: WI. Which state is called the silver state? A: Nevada. Brian Mulrooney was Prime Minister of which country in the 80s and 90s? A: Canada. In which decade of the 20th century was Jodie Foster born? A: 1960s. Who or what were Gropius and Le Corbusier? A: Architects. Johnny Depp was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 60s. Who had a 70s No 1 with You've Got A Friend? A: James Taylor. In which country was Pablo Picasso born? A: Spain. What is the capital of the state of Ohio? A: Columbus. Peninsula international airport is in which US sate? A: California. Robert Menzies was Prime Minister of which country? A: Australia. What did Tony Bennett leave in San Francisco? A: His Heart. David Solberg became a famous actor / singer under which name? A: David Soul. What is the capitol of the state of Rhode Island? A: Providence. With which sport is Grant Hill associated? A: Basketball. In which state is the San Andreas fault? A: California. David Bowie was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 40s To which lady did Dolly Parton plead, "I'm beggin' of you please don't take my man? A: Jolene. Which is further north, Miami or Orlando? A: Orlando. What is the postal abbreviation for Washington? A: WA. On what type of vehicle did Rupert Murdoch remarry in 1999? A: Yacht. Who directed Apocalypse Now? A: Francis ford Coppola. Which Michelle starred in Batman Returns? A: Pfeiffer. Which American actor refused his Oscar awarded for The Godfather? A: Marlon Brando. Warren Beatty was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 30s. Which group backed Buddy Holly? A: The Crickets. Which Reba McIntyre song shares its name with the Little capital of Arkansas? A: Little Rock. Alicia Christian Foster is better known by which first name? A: Jodie. Which country has the most radio stations? A: USA. What type of tragedy blighted Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1998? A: Terrorist bomb. Which sport did Fred Perry take after becoming world champion at table tennis? A: Tennis. Glenn Frey and Don Henley were members of which band? A: The Eagles. Which state is called the Empire State? A: New York. What is the postal abbreviation for Kentucky? A: KY. In which ocean is the California current? A: Pacific. Logan international airport is in which US state? A: Massachusetts. Which Jack starred in The Odd Couple? A: Lemmon. Margarete Steiff made what kind of toy creature? A: Bears. In which country did The Flying Doctor usually do his rounds? A: Australia. What sort of creature appeared in Free Willy? A: Whale. In football, where do the Falcons come from? A: Atlanta. Which state is called the Coyote State? A: South Dakota. Which state is called the gem state? A: Idaho. What's the first name of Frank Sinatra's elder daughter? A: Nancy. Which Michael starred in Hannah and Her Sisters? A: Caine. In which state is the Mojave desert? A: Nevada. The New York Stock Exchange was established on which street? A: Wall Street. In which country did rap originate? A: USA. Suzanne Lenglen was a champion in which sport? A: Tennis. Who had a 60s No 1 with Honey? A: Bobby Goldsboro. Both father and daughter of the Bhutto family have been prime minister of which country? A: Pakistan. In which country is Archangel airport? A: Russia. Whose name followed Dirty in a 1980's No 1 for Michael Jackson? A: Diana. Which sage musical was set in the Paris Opera House? A: The Phantom of the Opera. Mount St. Helens is in which state? A: Washington. Which state is called the Gopher State? A: Minnesota. Mark Knopfler is associated with which musical instrument? A: Guitar. Which British band recorded Another Brick In the Wall? A: Pink Floyd. What is the postal abbreviation for Oklahoma? A: OK. Which horror movie actor was quite literally a Pratt from birth? A: Boris Karloff. Dian Fossey found fame working with which animals? A: Gorillas. Who made a 50s album called A Twist of Lemmon? A: Jack Lemmon. In 1970 Germaine Greer produced the feminist book The Female What? A: Eunuch. Chernobyl witnessed a disaster at what type of power station? A: Nuclear power. Who did Mariah Carey sing with on Endless Love? A: Luther Vandross. Which Ann starred in The Graduate? A: Bancroft. Which group had a 90s hit with How Do You Talk To An Angel? A: The Heights. What is the capitol of Wyoming? A: Cheyenne. What type of Love Songs did Wings sing about? A: Silly. In football, where do the Saints come from? A: New Orleans. Which cartoon character says "Dagnabit"? A: Deputy Dawg. What type of days went with Mondays for the carpenters? A: Rainy Days. Which parenting guru Doctor wrote Baby and Child Care? A: Spock. In which city is the Metropolitan Opera? A: New York. In 1987 the Russians and the Americans signed the Washington summit agreement to limit what? A: Nuclear Missiles. What does the G stand for in WYSIWYG? A: Get. Linda McCartney launched a range of what type of food? A: Vegetarian. Which Kevin starred in The Bodyguard? A: Costner. What completes the lines, "Cruising and playing the radio, With no particular place...? A: To go. What is the postal abbreviation for Florida? A: FL. In football, what position is QB? A: Quarterback. President John F. Kennedy international airport is in which US city? A: New York. Which association for magicians was founded in 1905? A: Magic Circle. John Travolta was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 50s. Which type of aircraft was produced by Sigorsky in the US in 1942? A: Helicopter. The 1980 Olympics were boycotted because of the USSR's invasion of which country? A: Afghanistan. Who was In Disguise in Elvis Presley's 1963 hit? A: Devil. Which year is used as the title of a George Orwell Book? A: 1984. What is the postal abbreviation for Colorado? A: CO. What is the capitol of of the state of Mississippi? A: Jackson. Which word completes the name of the Tony Award-winning musical, Kiss of the Spider...? A: Woman. Euro Disney is on the outskirts of which city? A: Paris. The first artificial satellite was launched on the 40th anniversary of which county's Revolution? A: Russian. Charles de Gaulle was President of which European country? A: France. Who was the Prince of thieves in a 90s blockbuster movie title? A: Robin Hood. Who won the first Davis cup? A: USA. In which decade was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima? A: 40s. What went before Ties in the sitcom which had over 160 episodes? A: Family. For which 1990s movie did Sigourney Waver shaver her head? A: Alien. Which Raymond wrote the novel The Big Sleep? A: Chandler. Which film company merged with Time Inc in 1989 to make Time Warner? A: Warner Brothers. In which city was the music industry's Brill Building? A: New York City. How is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation better known? A: LASER. The deepwater port of Alicante was built in which country? A: Spain. Who did Michael Jackson marry in May 1994? A: Lisa Marie Presley. Which US colonel featured in the 'Irangate' court trials? A: North. James Baulmgarner changed his name slightly to become which actor? A: James Garner. In 1930 which comic duo made the film Another Fine Mess? A: Laurel & Hardy. Who did Neil Diamond duet with on the 70s No 1 You Don't Bring Me Flowers? A: Barbra Streisand. The 90s Good Friday Agreement sought peace in which country? A: N. Ireland. What followed Home in the title of the sitcom with over 160 episodes? A: Improvement. A Tony is an award for entertainment where? A: Theater. Which President was in office for most of the 1920s? A: Calvin Coolidge. Who became the world's first billionaire in 1916? A: John D Rockefeller. Which stage musical does the song Memory come from? A: Cats. Where did the Boeing 707 make its maiden flight form? A: Seattle. Which state is called the Green Mountain State? A: Vermont. In which country was Karl Marx born? A: Germany. With which sport is Herbie Hide associated? A: Boxing. In the rock'n'roll song, what is said before Miss Molly? A: Good Golly. Which company made the Lion King CD ROM? A: Disney. Which Irish name is Ryan O' Neal's real first name? A: Patrick. Which Yuri made the first human journey into space? A: Gagarin. Which state is called the Magnolia State? A: Mississippi. Which Michael had a No 1 with How Am I Supposed To Live Without You? A: Bolton. What was the name of Michael Jackson's famous chimpanzee companion? A: Bubbles. In the 60s, in which Asian country did a Cultural Revolution take place? A: China. Which state is called the Bluegrass State? A: Kentucky. In football what position is S? A: Safety. Which London theater takes its name from the Mermaid Tavern where writers met in Shakespeare's time? A: Mermaid. How is Shirley Beaty better known? A: Shirley Maclaine. What type of lover gave Mariah Carey a chart No 1 in 1993? A: Dreamlover. Which part of the brilliant Albert Einstein was preserved after his death? A: Brain. What was the favorite food of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? A: Pizza. According to Nancy Sinatra what are boots made for? A: Walkin'. Key West airport was built in which US state? A: Florida. Which Duck & Bunny were created by Tex Avery? A: Daffy & Bugs. In fiction and film what is the first name of female FBI agent Starling? A: Clarice. Which city has a team of bulls and a team of Bears? A: Chicago. What comes before "Rattle and roll in a Bill Haley hit title? A: Shake. The first modern cassette was produced in which decade? A: 40s. Which Mark starred in Star Wars? A: Hamill. Which playwright Noel, whose centenary was celebrated in 1999, wrote Hay Fever and Private Lives which were revived in London that year? A: Coward. San Diego is in which state? A: California. What's Love Got To Do With It? was a film about which female singer? A: Tina Turner. How was Argentinean revolutionary Ernesto Guevara de la Serna better known? A: Che Guevara. How is Radio Direction and Ranging better known? A: RADAR. What was the name of the musical about rock legend Buddy Holly? A: Buddy. What sort of Strangers were the subject of a sitcom of 150 + episodes? A: Perfect. In which city did Gone With The Wind have its premiere? A: Atlanta. Which Big named vocalist died with Buddy Holly? A: Bopper. In which state did skateboards originate as an alternative to surfing? A: California. Which Lillie was the mistress of Edward VII? A: Langtry. Who teamed up with Hanna to form a studio producing cartoon films? A: Barbera. Which item, essential for world travel, is made in Seattle? A: Jet planes. What entertainment consists of people singing to a backing tape? A: Karaoke. What color are the stars on the United States of America flag? A: White. What used to go round at thirty three and a third r.p.m.? A: Long-playing records. Who was Diana Prince able to change into? A: Wonder woman. Which Ford first mass-produced the car? A: Henry. Which anti-impotence treatment became the 90s fastest-selling prescription drug? A: Viagra. Lourdes Maria is what relation to Madonna? A: Daughter. Which Frankie sang about Venus in the 50s? A: Avalon. The Heisman Trophy is presented in which sport. A: Football. Which Christmas record was the world's most-bought single before Candle In the Wind 97? A: White Christmas. What was the name of flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur? A: Wright. What kind of codes did American supermarkets introduce in the mid 70s? A: Bar codes. Which solo singer with a single name accompanied Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams on All For Love? A: Sting. In which year did Bill and Hillary Clinton get married? A: 1975. Who had a 70s No 1 with Knock Three Times? Dawn. Who was born first, Kim Basinger or Melanie Griffith? A: Kim Basinger. Who had a 90s hit with The Shoop Shoop Song? A: Cher. In which city was Marco Polo airport built? A: Venice. EuroDisney was built in which country? A: France. In 1993 which op artist changed his name to a symbol? A: Prince. Yitzhak Rabin was Prime Minister of which country when he was assassinated in 1995? A: Israel. What sort of transport is a Kayak? A: Canoe. Which animal name was given to the terrorist Carlos who was tried in 1997? A: The Jackal. How did Frances Gumm become known on stage? A: Judy Garland. Who was President during WWI? A: Woodrow Wilson. Which Justin set the 98 British Open alight as an amateur? A: Rose. In 1990 Lithuania declared its independence from what? A: USSR. How are the Motion Picture Academy Awards also known? A: Oscars. What is the postal abbreviation for Vermont? A: VT. Who was Allied Supreme Commander in Europe in 1944? A: Dwight D Eisenhower. Thelonious Monk was associated with which musical instrument? A: Piano. What is the main color of the UN flag? A: Blue. Under what name did sharp-tongued Joan Molinksy become famous? A: Joan Rivers. Who was born first, Chevy Chase or Nicolas Cage? A: Chevy Chase. Was Abbott or Costello born in the 20th century? A: Costello. In which decade of the 20th century was Glenn Close born? A: 1940s. What type of cat introduced MGM movies? A: Lion. T. E. Lawrence's name is mostly associated with which country? A: Arabia. Who had a 50s No 1 with Poor Little Fool? A: Ricky Nelson. Which Janet had a 1990 NO 1 with Escapade? A: Jackson. Which military title did Elvis's manage Rom Parker assume? A: Colonel. In which branch of the arts did Dame Alicia Markova find fame? A: Ballet. P W Botha was prime minister of which country? A: South Africa. Which food was rationed after WWII ended, but not during the war? A: Bread 61 Rhapsody, Aromel, Tamella Cambridge favorite types of what? A: Strawberry Varieties Condensed Milk was invented by whom? A: Gail Borden A hen of the woods is what? A: A mushroom The most popular meal ordered in US restaurants is what? A: Fried Chicken Charlie Chaplin ate a boot in the movie "Gold Rush"... what was it made out of? A: Liquorice What kind of plant does the Colorado beetle attack? A: Potato What two ingredients make the dish 'angels on horseback '? A: Oysters and Bacon In Newark it's illegal to sell what after 6pm unless a Doctors note is shown? A: Ice Cream What was the first food consumed on the moon in the Apollo 11 moon mission? A: Turkey According to a survey, what is the U.S. top family food? A: Spaghetti How many cans of soda does the average American consumes in a year? A: 600 The top United States food consumption days are Xmas, Thanksgiving ,and what? A: Super Bowl Sunday What is the oldest soft drink in the US? A: Doctor Pepper Garbanzo beans also known as what? A: Chick peas What is the most often ordered seafood item in restaurants? A: Shrimp Lobster Newberg was invented at what famous American restaurant? A: Delmonicos What was invented in the 1800s and sold as a diarrhea cure? A: Tomato Ketchup What America food did Charles Jung invent? A: Fortune Cookies What are the two items that make up the dish "devils on horseback"? A: Bacon and Prunes Q: What food is the leading source of salmonella poisoning? A: Chicken. Q: What company first condensed soup in 1898? A: Campbell's. Q: What nutty legume accounts for one sixth of the world's vegetable oil production? A: The peanut. Q: What country saw the cultivation of the first potato, in 200 A.D.? A: South America. Q: What type of lettuce was called Crisphead until the 1920s? A: Iceberg lettuce. Q: What tree gives us prunes? A: The plum tree. Q: What type of chocolate was first developed for public consumption in Vevey, Switzerland in 1875? A: Milk Chocolate. Q: What added ingredient keeps confectioners' sugar from clumping? A: Corn starch. Q: What edible comes in crimmini, morel, oyster and wood ear varieties? A: Mushrooms. Q: What newly-imported substance caused the first major outbreak of tooth decay in Europe, in the1500's? A: Sugar. Q: What fat substitute got FDA approval for use in snack foods, despite reports of diarrhea and cramps? A: Olestra. Q: What ingredient in fresh milk is eventually devoured by bacteria, causing the sour taste? A: Lactose. Q: What uncooked meat is a trichina worm most likely to make a home in? A: Pork. Q: What baking ingredient, sprayed at high pressure, did the U.S. Air Force replace its toxic paint stripper with? A: Baking soda. Q: What staple is laced with up to 16 additives including plaster of paris, to stay fresh? A: Bread. Q: What falling fruit supposedly inspired Isaac Newton to write the laws of gravity? A: An Apple. Q: What method of preserving food did the Incas first use, on potatoes? A: Freeze-drying. Q: What drupaceous fruit were Hawaiian women once forbidden by law to eat? A: The coconut. Q: What hit the market alongside spinach as the first frozen veggies? A: Peas. Q: How many sizes of chicken eggs does the USDA recognize, including peewee? A: Six. Q: What are de-headed, de-veined an sorted by size in a laitram machine? A: Shrimp. Q: What's the only fish that produces real caviar, according to the FDA? A: Sturgeon. Q: What type of egg will yield 11 and one-half average-size omelettes? A: An Ostrich egg. Q: What's the groundnut better known as? A: The peanut. Q: What crystalline salt is frequently used to enhance the flavor to TV dinners? A: Monosodium glutamate. Q: What sticky sweetener was traditionally used as an antiseptic ointment for cuts and burns? A: Honey. Q: What should your diet be high in to lessen the chance of colon cancer, according to a 1990 study? A: Fiber. Q: What nut do two-thirds of its U. S. producers sell through Blue Diamond? A: The Almond. What type of oven will not brown foods? A: Microwave oven. What type of food did Linda McCartney launch? A: Vegetarian food. What type of tree leaves are the only food that a koala bear will eat? A: Eucalyptus. Which country in Europe consumes more spicy Mexican food than any other? A: Norway. The FDA approved what fat substitute for use in snack foods even though there were reports of side affects like cramps and diarrhea? A: Olestra. Federal labeling regulations require how much caffeine be removed from coffee for it to be called decaffeinated? A: Ninety seven percent. What famous Greek once advised: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food"? A: Hippocrates. Chicken is the leading cause of what food born illness? A: Salmonella poisoning. Who invented Margarine in 1868? A: Hyppolyte Merge-mouries. What group of people were the first to use freeze-drying on potatoes? A: The Incas. What was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles favorite food? A: Pizza. What food was considered the food of the Gods, and was said to bring eternal life to anyone who ate it? A: Ambrosia. When Birdseye first introduced its frozen foods in 1930, what was it called? A: Frosted Food. What was the convenience food that Joel Cheek developed? A: Instant Coffee. The song, Food, Glorious Food, was featured in which musical? A: Oliver. Of the Worlds food crops, what percentage is pollinated by insects? A: 80 percent. The Giant panda's favorite food is what? A: Bamboo shoots. Which entertainer on Conan O'Brien's show, choose NBC cafeteria chicken over his own brand in a blind taste test? A: Kenny Rogers. What drink was sold as Diastoid when first introduced? A: Malted milk. What type of micro organism makes up the base of marine and freshwater food chains? A: Plankton. What type of creature builds a lodge in which to store food, rear its young, and pass the winter? A: Beaver. What fruit or vegetable was dubbed the FlavrSavr and was the first genetically engineered food sold in the United States? A: The tomato. What fitness guru appeared as a dancing meatball in an Italian TV commercial as an art student? A: Richard Simmons. What Olympic athlete could not run the 200-meter final in the 92 Olympics because of food poisoning? A: Michael Johnson. What morning food has a name derived from the German word for stirrup? A: Bagel. In 1904, what food product was renamed Post Toasties cereal because the clergy objected to the original name? A: Elijah's Manna. What is Gohan? A: Japanese Rice In a formal Japanese meal, what is always served early? A: Sashimi In Chinese cookery, what is the most commonly used oil? A: Groundnut or Peanut What is the triangular shaped Indian pastry containing spiced meat? A: Samosa Which small animal provides 50% of all the protein eaten in Peru? A: Guinea Pigs What type of food is coulibac? A: Russian Fish Pie In Scotland, what is a spurtle? A: a spoon If you ordered unagi in a Japanese restaurant, what would you get? A: Eel What Lop cheong are Chinese what? A: Sausages The French call it pomplamouse, what do we call it? A: Grapefruit Miso a basic ingredient in Japanese cooking is made of what? A: Soybean paste What is the staple food of one third of the world's population? A: Rice What is the important ingredient in Chinese birds nest soup A: Bird Saliva If you were eating fragrant meat in Hong Kong, what kind of meat would you be eating? A: Dog meat. What kind of Italian stew translates as "Bone with a Hole"? A: Osso Bucco French fried potatoes were invented in what country? A: Belgium Japanese Soya noodles are made from what? A: Buckwheat What was the first country to recognize Mexico's independence, in 1836? A: The U.S. What encyclopedia's first edition, in 1771, described California as "a large country of the West Indies"? A: Encyclopedia Britannica's. Who was the only American to become vice president and president after resignations? A: Gerald Ford. There is one in Las Vegas for every how many inhabitants. A: Eight. What year did the Dow Jones Industrial Average break both the 4000 and 5000 marks? A: 1995. Who saw his crew dine on wormy biscuits and rats on his fourth voyage to the New World? A: Christopher Columbus. What disgraced vice president's high school yearbook quote read; "An ounce of wit is worth a pound of sorrow"? A: Spiro Agnew. Who was the youngest man to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff? A: Colin Powell. Which of Henry VIII's wives gave birth to Elizabeth I? A: Anne Boleyn. What 19th-century president erroneously noted: "The ballot is stronger than the bullet"? A: Abraham Lincoln. What country led all Arab nations in the number of troops participating in Operation Desert Storm? A: Saudi Arabia. Who did George Bush accuse of being "a card-carrying member" of the American Civil Liberties Union, in 1988? A: Michael Dukakis. What presidential election year saw Republicans dub Democrats the party of "Communism, Corruption and Korea"? A:1952. What position was Eileen Collins the first female to hold on a space shuttle mission? A: Captain. What were the Viet Minh called when they crossed into South Vietnam? A: The Viet Cong. What Russian cleric was poisoned, shot and finally drowned on December 30, 1916? A: Rasputin. Who led the Million Man March on Washington? A: Louis Farrakhan. What country suffered the worst two earthquakes in history, killing 830,000 in 1556 and 750,000 in 1976? A: China. What Eastern European city was the last city to be liberated in World War II? A: Prague. What country used the deadly nerve gas Sarin against its Kurdish minority in the 1990s? A: Iraq. What general did GI's nickname "Top Gun" in the Persian Gulf War? A: Colin Powell. What trade union was finally legalized in Poland in 1989? A: Solidarity. What symbol was first linked to the Democratic party in an 1870 cartoon by Thomas Nast? A: A donkey. What Harry Callahan line did Ronald Reagan invoke to "tax increasers"? A: "Go ahead, make my day". What explorer of North Carolina never got to finish his "History of the World" while banished to the Tower of London? A: Sir Walter Raleigh. Who was president of the U.S. when Uncle Sam first got a beard? A: Abraham Lincoln. Who did Adolf Hitler dictate Mein Kampf to while in prison? A: Rudolf Hess. What structure was 26.5 miles long until 1989? A: The Berlin Wall. What sport sparked a war between El Salvador and Honduras, after an unpopular referee's call in 1969? A: Soccer. What amendment in the U.S. Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, speech and the press? A: The First Amendment. Who was dubbed "Lenin's left leg" during the early stages of Russia's Marxist movement? A: Joseph Stalin. What doctor came to court dressed as Thomas Jefferson, who was also thought to favor helping the terminally ill commit suicide? A: Jack Kevorkian. What country was ruled from 827 until 860 by Egbert, Ethelwulf and Ethelbald? A: England. What did Elizabeth I have removed from her palaces when her hair thinned and her cheeks hollowed? A: Mirrors. What historic structure was saved from a real estate syndicate by a donation from a Texas cattle heiress? A: The Alamo. Who's letter to Ronald Reagan read: "I'm very sorry...I thank God no one died"? A: John Hinckley Jr. How many people were killed in 1979 at the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster? A: Zero. What British prime minister defined a fanatic as "one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject"? A: Winston Churchill. What Japanese war cry meant "May you live forever"? A: Banzai. Who distanced herself from politics by changing her last name to Davis at 22? A: Patti Reagan. Who piloted the first airplane to suffer a passenger fatality, in 1908? A: Orville Wright. What river was Hernando De Soto the first white man to see and be buried in? A: The Mississippi River. Who was known as "Tanya" after a 1974 San Francisco bank robbery? A: Patti Hearst. What seventh king of Israel shares his name with a Herman Melville literary character? A: Ahab. What U.S. president died 79 days after being shot? A: James Garfield. What outfit's National Intelligence Daily has a circulation of about 200? A: The Central Intelligence Agency's. What leader said in 1942: "Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much"? A: Franklin D. Roosevelt. What child name's plunge in U.S. popularity was attributed to a famous 1974 scandal? A: Richard's. What 1970 hit movie was banned on military bases for "reducing the conventions and paraphernalia of war to total idiocy? A: M*A*S*H What awards, founded in 1901, are funded wit the help of the Bank of Sweden? A: The Nobel Prizes. What country did 300,000 Chinese troops invade in February of 1979? A: Vietnam. What spa town headquartered the French who collaborated with the Nazis in World War II? A: Vichy. What seductive World War I spy had a daughter named Banda who was also a spy? A: Mata Hari. What color were the "black boxes" on TWA Flight 800? A: Orange. Where in Beijing did Chinese students build a Goddess of Democracy in May, 1989? A: Tiananmen Square. What author moved some 56 times in the six months after he was issued a death threat? A: Salman Rushdie. What Connecticut resident was the first woman in U.S. history to be elected a U.S. governor without inheriting the office from a hubbie? A: Ella Grasso. What secretary of defense admitted the Vietnam War was a "mistake" in 1995? A: Robert McNamara. What nation's 90-man army is the world's oldest, dating back to 1506? A: Vatican City's. What British royal spent over $26,000 on underwear in the 1980s? A: Princess Diana. What First Lady became the first wife of a sitting president to appear under subpoena before a grand jury? A: Hillary Rodham Clinton. What war was Lt. Hiroo Onoda ordered by his commanding officer to stop fighting, in 1974? A: World War II. What Beverly Hills 90210 star led the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1992 Republican convention? A: Shannen Doherty. Whose assassination resulted in the Lorraine Motel being named the National Civil Rights Museum? A: Martin Luther King Jr's. What Arab intoned: " I want a homeland even if the devil is the one to liberate it for me"? A: Yasir Arafat. What name was the last word uttered by Napoleon? A: Josephine. What nation bid adieu to the United Kingdom in 1921? A: Ireland. History trivia questions and answers. What Nazi propagandist said: "Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play"? A: Joseph Goebbels. What cleric addressed the U.N. in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese in 1995? A: Pope John Paul II. What mobster sighed: "I've been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War"? A: Al Capone. What was the first company in the world to post $1 billion in annual earnings, in 1995? A: General Motors. What Uganda city's airport saw an Israeli commando raid rescue 103 hostages in 1976? A: Entebbe's. What 20th-century conflict saw U.S. soldiers "die for a tie"? A: The Korean War. What increased in the U.S. from 1.5 million to seven million in 1930? A: Unemployment. What city had the first public school, college and newspaper in the thirteen British colonies? A: Boston. What scandal was the Tower Commission set up to investigate in 1986? A: The Iran-Contra affair. What Filipino was acquitted of fraud charges in the U.S. in 1990? A: Imelda Marcos. What were the Soviet Union's symbols for work in the factory and on the land? A: Hammer and sickle. Who expected to be paid 2,000 pounds for surrendering West Point to the British? A: Benedict Arnold. What did an official U.S. investigation call " the greatest military and naval disaster in our nation's history"? A: The attack on Pearl Harbor. Whose migraine headache vanished after he read Robert E. Lee's note of surrender? A: Ulysses S. Grant's. What did "loose lips" do, according to a popular rhyming World War II slogan? A: "Sink Ships". What city had North America's first medical school, bank and city-paid police force. A: Philadelphia. What Filipino was nicknamed the " iron butterfly". A: Imelda Marcos. What did Jack McCall fall off, seconds after he shot Wild Bill Hickok? A: His Horse. Who was the longest-serving president in French history? A: Francois Mitterrand. What country's rampant political corruption was probed by the Mani Pulite, or "Clean Hands," of the 1990s? A: Italy's. Who was it that ran through the streets naked crying Eureka? A: Archimedes What was the famous clown, Coco's real name? A: Nikioli Poliakoff The first Christmas stamp appeared in what country in 1898? A: Canada Rhodopsis, the original Egyptian Cinderella, had what job? A: Prostitute Mathias Rust landed his Cessna in 1987at what location? A: Red Square Moscow What is the literal meaning of Magna Carta? A: Great Charter What "temporary measure" was introduced to the UK in 1799? A: Income Tax Super Mario's original name was what? A: Jumperman In 1449, Thomas Brightfield built London's first what? A: Lavatory Jacques Garnerin made the first what in 1797? A: Parachute Jump Who designed the first Iron ship the Great Britain in 1845? A: I. Kingdom Brunel A Japanese artist copied the Mona Lisa in 1983 in what material? A: Toast What became legal in 1901 in the UK? A: Boxing Why did the Emperor Augustus ban his men from wearing silk? A: It was Effeminate What gem was Cleopatra's signet? A: The Amethyst In the ancient Roman Calendar, what was the eighth month? A: October What nation built the world’s first chemistry lab in 1650? A: Netherlands Alice Springs, an Australian town, used to be called what until 1925? A: Stuart What was Attila the Hun called? A: The Scourge of God Lady Chatterley's first name was what? A: Constance Methodism was founded in 1738 by who? A: John Wesley In 18th century England what was known as Old Tom? A: Gin Who was the Roman god of field boundaries? A: Terminus Sotheby's sold a 200 year old bit of Tibetan what for $ 1500 in 1993? A: Cheese Who sailed in the Golden Hind? A: Sir Francis Drake The mutineers of the Bounty settled on what islands? A: Pitcairn Islands In Monty Pythons Flying Circus, Dinsdale was a giant what? A: Hedgehog In the Falklands Islands area, what is the 10th of January? A: Margaret Thatcher day The oldest science is what? A: Astronomy Queen Victoria's first name was what? A: Alexandria Who owned and lived in the castle Joyous Guard? A: Lancelot The archaeologist Hiram Bingham discovered what lost city in 1911? A: Machu Picchu In 1797 3 pence could buy you a good what A: Wife Where was Napoleon born? A: Ajaccio - Corsican capitol As she got older Queen Elizabeth 1st, banned what? A: mirrors What sport was banned in England in 1849? A: Cockfighting In 1890 the first electric what opened in London? A: Underground railway Who once said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"? A: Sigmund Freud What brand of car was seen for the first time in 190? A: Mercedes Fritz Von Werra was the only German pilot in World War II to do what? A: Escape The first public supply of electricity in Britain came from what river in 1881? A: Wey What did Winston Churchill call his favorite poodle? A: Rufus 40 Who nickname was the Desert Fox ? A: Erwin Rommel Canadian Fran Philps was the first woman to reach what? A: The North Pole What breakthrough aid to archaeologists from 197 BC was found in Egypt in 1799? A: Rosetta Stone What was the tabularium in ancient Rome? A: Hall of Public Records The first Englishman to die in an air plane crash was who? A: Charles Rolls Who was the jeweler to the Russian Court famous for his decorated Easter eggs? A: Faberge What Athenian philosopher wrote nothing but was immortalized by Plato? A: Socrates Jesuit Bark was used in 1666 as a prevention against what disease? A: Malaria Hercules had to clean whose stables in one night? A: Aegean Stables In 1000 B.C., what did Israelites pay their taxes in? A: Raisins Which car company was founded by Sir William Lyons in 1922? A: Jaguar In 1720 what exploded ? A: The South Sea Bubble Noah's Ark had two of everything including what feature? A: Windows Ilich Ramirez Sanchez was better known as who? A: Carlos the Jackal What navel officer fought at the battles of Bastia, Calvi and Toulon? A: Horatio Nelson What is the oldest swimming stroke, dating from the 16th century? A: Breaststroke Augusto Pinochet ruled what country? A: Chile Which state lies to the south of Georgia? A: Florida. If it's noon in Boston, what time is it in New York? A: Noon. What is the postal abbreviation for New Hampshire? A: NH. What is the capital of the state of Mississippi? A: Jackson. Boris Karloff starred as which monster in one of the first horror movies? A: Frankenstein. Which company made the Lion King CD ROM? A: Disney. Which ocean is off the California coast? A: The Pacific ocean. San Diego is in which state? A: California. What was the last name of flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur? A: Wright. In 1993 Michael Jordan gave up basketball to try which sport? A: Baseball. What color are the stars on the United States of America Flag? A: White. What is the postal abbreviation for Vermont? A: VT. Which city is the home of Jazz? A: New Orleans. What state is called the Sioux State? A: North Dakota. In basketball where do the Suns come from? A: Phoenix. Which baseball team are Giants? A: San Francisco. What is the capital of Alabama? A: Montgomery. Which Gulf lies to the south of Florida? A: Mexico. Which Island is the smallest state of the Union? A: Rhode Island. Which city has an area called Haight-Ashbury? A: San Francisco. Who was the youngest US President to die in office? A: John F. Kennedy. The Sony company originated in which country? A: Japan. Which Bill formed Microsoft? A: Gates. Foods will not brown in what type of oven? A: Microwave. Which fruit gave its name to a desk top computer in 1984? A: Apple. What was the favorite food of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? A: Pizza. Who was the first ex-movie actor to become President of the United States? A: Ronald Reagan. In football, where do the Vikings come from? A: Minnesota. In sports, what is an MVP? A: Most Valuable Player. What is the postal abbreviation for Alaska? A: AK. What was the name of Michael Jackson's famous chimpanzee companion? A: Bubbles. Which state is called the Green Mountain State? A: Vermont. In baseball where do the Twins come from? A: Minnesota. Ottawa is which country's capital? A: Canada. Buckingham palace is in which English city? A: London. Which US state is famous for Disneyland and the film industry? A: California. What is the postal abbreviation for Nevada? A: NV. How many brothers were in the original Jackson family line up? A: Five. What was Elvis Presley's middle name? A: Aaron. Who was the ex-peanut farmer who became a US President? A: Jimmy Carter. Who declared he had ' a dream' where all Americans would live as equals? A: Marin Luther King. In baseball where do the Braves come from? A: Atlanta. Whose ancient tomb was discovered in Egypt in 1922? A: Tutankhamen. Who formulated the theory of relativity early in the century? A: Albert Einstein. What's the response to , "see you later, alligator"? A: After a while, crocodile. What type of animal was Babe in the film of the same name? A: Pig. What is Prince Harry's real first name? A: Henry. Fidel Castro led a communist revolution where? A: Cuba. Which state is called the Treasure State? A: Montana. What is the postal abbreviation for Texas? A: TX. Which Joe was nicknamed the Yankee Clipper? A: DiMaggio. William Henry Gates III amassed his fortune from which source? A: Computer Software. In Peter Pan, what sort of animal was Nana? A: Dog. In basketball, where do the Supersonics come from? A: Seattle. Which state is called the Pine Tree State? A: Maine. What is the postal abbreviation for Pennsylvania? A: PA. What is California's state capital? A: Sacramento. What is Ohio's largest city? A: Columbus. Which state lies due east of Alabama? A: Georgia. What is the largest of the Southern states? A: Georgia. Which river starts at Lake Itasca Minnesota and flows into the Gulf of Mexico? A: Mississippi. What type of creature was the star of the film Jaws? A: Shark. What was the name of the mansion where Elvis Presley died? A: Graceland. In which country was a 2000 year old, life size terracotta army discovered? A: China. Which was the 50th state to become part of the United States of America? A: Hawaii. Which state is called the Great Lake State? A: Michigan. What was the first name of the first man in space? A: Yuri. Where in America was the world's biggest rock festival staged? A: Woodstock. What was the world's biggest passenger ship when it was launched in 1912? A: Titanic. What is the capital of the state of Alaska? A: Juneau. In football, where do the Redskins come from? A: Washington. What does the B stand for in SCUBA diving? A: Breathing. What color is an Oscar? A: Gold. Which state is called the Bear State? A: Arkansas. Who was the 41st President of the USA? A: George H. Bush. Which Texan Governor was traveling with the Kennedys when JFK was shot? A: Connolly. Who was the first American to walk in space? A: Edward White. Who was the first man to set foot on the moon? A: Neil Armstrong. Which brothers made the first powered plane flight? A: Wright. Which state is called the Panhandle State? A: West Virginia. What was Michael Jackson's album follow-up to Thriller? A: Bad. What is the capital of the state of Virginia? A: Richmond. In Forrest Gump, his mom says, "Life is like a box of " what? A: Chocolates. Who became the first US President to resign in office? A: Richard Nixon. Where was the second Atom bomb dropped? A: Nagasaki. Who lost part of his ear to the teeth of Mike Tyson in 1997? A: Evander Holyfield. Where was a wall built to divide a city? A: Berlin. Which lake provides Chicago with 20 miles of lake shore? A: Michigan. What is Minneapolis's 'twin city'? A: St. Paul. Which part of Florida is famous for its alligators? A: Everglades. Which is the other northern Pacific state along with Washington? A: Oregon. What's the name of the bird that cartoon cat Sylvester chases in vain? A: Tweety Pie. What continent's macro zamia tree lives for 7,000 years? A: Australia's. What determines the sex of crocodile embryos--temperature, humidity, or genetics? A: Temperature. What do imbibers know as the most prevalent fruit crop in the world? A: Grapes. What color are a zebra's black stripes during the first six months of life? A: Brown. What mollusk was obliged to share its name with the first waterproof watch? A: The oyster. What animal's flesh, when sun-dried in the Andes, becomes a jerky called charqui? A: A Llama's. What can mutagens cause? A: Mutations. What drug did the University of Pennsylvania animal-behavior clinic prescribe for depressed dogs? A : Prozac. What amphibians do you raise if your run a ranarium? A: Frogs. What caused half of all deaths from natural disasters from 1945 to 1986? A :Earthquakes. What mineral accounts for 35 percent of the Earth's composition? A: Iron. What did the ancient Greeks believe to be a cross between a tiger and a horse? A: A zebra. What does the praying mantis store by the hundreds in oothecas? A: Eggs. What elemental event rejuvenates a prairie by causing more plants to grow taller, flower and produce seed? A: Fire. What simple creature is employed to turn organic garbage into "vermicompost"? A: Worms. What Greek announced in 420 B.C. that women suffer hysteria due t a "wandering uterus"? A: Hippocrates. How many days can an ant survive under water? A: Two. What's the term for an adult male pig? A: Boar. What creature's tongue weighs as much as a full grown elephant? A: The blue whale's. What amphibian did Pliny the Elder suggest be tied to the jaw, t make teeth firmer? A: A frog. What creature goes through a period where it gains 10 pounds an hour? A: A blue whale. What's the least expensive and most popular fruit? A: The banana. How many feet tall are most cattle at the shoulder? A: Five. What rodents, believed to have great teeth, did ancient Romans often place live on the gums of a toothache sufferer? A: Mice. What does a bee larva have no chance of becoming if it stops eating royal jelly after three days? A :A queen bee. What city's streets and sidewalks received 175 tons of daily et excrement deposits before a "Pooper scooper" law passed in 1978? A: New York City's. What people were the first to adopt a solar year, after noticing spring holidays were beginning to occur in winter? A :The Egyptians. What type of whale can dive over 2,000 feet? A: The sperm whale. What weather phenomenon is measured by the Beaufort scale? A: Wind. What European country accounts for most of the 30 percent of the world's prunes not produced in California? A: France. What's the most common trick a pet dog can perform? A: Sit. What organ's need for oxygen causes angina pectoris pain? A: The heart's. What tree-dwelling ape is known to Malaysians as the "person of the forest"? A :The orangutan. What organ of a buffalo did Plains Indians use to make yellow paint? A: The gallbladder. What characteristic of minerals is described by the Mohs Scale? A :Hardness. What Nation's treasures include the Sistine Chapel? A: Vatican City's. Which extends further North- Japan, North Korea or turkey? A: Japan. What country can an Afghani escape to on the Khyber Pass? A: Pakistan. What two countries sandwich the dead sea? A: Israel and Jordan. What U.S. state is said to have as many cows as people? A: Wisconsin. What continent boasts the most telephone lines? A: Europe. What future Soviet republic produced one-half of the world's oil in 1901? A: Azerbaijan. What African country is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique? A: South Africa. What's the only Central American country without a coastline on the Caribbean? A: El Salvador. What North American mountain range is an apt anagram for "o, man--ski country"? A: Rocky Mountains. What city is headquarters for Zero Population Growth and the Impotence Institution of America? A: Washington, DC. What city boasts a Board of Trade that buy and sells half the world's wheat and corn? A: Chicago. What island boasts Mount Fuji? A: Honshu. What European country's most common last name is De Vries? A: The Netherlands'. What desert do Botswana, Namibia and South Africa have in common? A: The Kalahari. What U.S. state has the highest percentage of residents born in other countries? A: California. How many U.S. states are named after a president>? A: One. What's the world's highest island mountain? A: Mauna Kea. What was the only country still building steam locomotives in 1990? A: China. Which two European countries lead the world n wine consumption pr capita? A: France and Italy. What was the world's highest man-made structure for 4,000 years before being passed by the central tower of Lincoln Cathedral? A: The Great Pyramid of Cheops. What western state is less than thrilled to be known as the "Vermin State"? A: New Mexico. What's the only South American country that has both a Pacific and a Caribbean coast? A: Colombia. What interstate highway connects Boston and Seattle? A: I-90. What state boasts all or part of the ten largest American Indian reservations? A: Arizona. What Canadian city's name means "muddy water"? A: Winnipeg's. What desert did David Livingstone have to cross to reach Lake Ngami? A: The Kalahari. What country sent out 15,000 census workers to count its homeless population, in 1990? A: The U.S. What do Americans call the Huang Ho, China's second-longest river? A: The Yellow River. What Russian republic has its capital in Grozny? A: Chechnya. What state made the U.S. the fourth largest country in land mass in 1959? A: Alaska. What state does the Yellowstone River rise in? A: Wyoming. What island has endured Mount Etna's wrath over 140 times? A: Sicily. How many months per year do residents of Tromso, Norway go without seeing a sunset? A: Three. What Memphis mansion was opened to the public in 1982? A: Graceland. What U.S. state gave the world Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton? A: Louisiana. What country is central to the books Out of Africa and The Green Hills of Africa? A: Kenya. What country boasts the world's highest paid national legislators? A: The U.S.. What southwestern U.S. state adopted the bola tie as its official state neckwear? A: Arizona. What $325 million chateau was finished for Louis XIV of France in 1682? A: Versailles. What southeastern state boasts the cities of Frog Jump, Only, and Sweet Lips? A: Tennessee. What Mississippi town name provides the answer to the Arizona town of Why? A: Why Not. What European country sells an amazing 550 million one-pound cans of Heinz Baked Beans, or ten per citizen, each year? A: Britain. What eastern town is home for a service academy and the U.S. Silver Depository? A: West Point. What ancient African country did the Greeks name for the "sun burnt faces" of its natives. A: Ethiopia. What's the only remaining European territory on the South American continent? A: French Guiana. What nation of over 7,000 islands has two-thirds of its population living on Luzon and Mindanao? A: The Philippines. What country receives 26 percent of all Saudi Exports? A: The U.S.. What Massachusetts spot is hyped as " America's Hometown"? A: Plymouth. What biblical place name means "pleasure"? A: Eden. What preceded Tokyo as the capital of Japan? A: Kyoto. What nation boasts the cities of Go Cong, Play Cu, Dong Ha and Ha Dong? A: Vietnam. What U.S. state was named after chaste Queen Elizabeth I? A: Virginia. What Southwestern state are you standing in if you ring a doorbell in Ding Dong? A: Texas. What continent is Greenland a part of? A: North America. What southern U.S. state boasts the town of Satellite Beach? A: Florida. What country was created in 1920 from the remains of the Hapsburg Empire? A: Austria. What do Southerners call ground hominy with the germ removed? A: Grits. What Arab nation has the highest percentage of Christians? A: Lebanon. What U.S. state gets raked by the most tornadoes annually? A: Texas. What city does the Bible call the City of David. A: Jerusalem. What two U.S. states went to court in 1996 over ownership of historic Ellis Island? A: New York and New Jersey. What ice cream factory is the number one tourist attraction in Vermont? A: Ben & Jerry's. What Nebraska city outlawed burping in churches? A: Omaha. Which city is farthest west - San Diego, Reno, or Los Angeles. A: Reno. What island calls itself the Republic of China? A: Taiwan. What's the only state whose official state song was composed for a Broadway musical? A: Oklahoma. What outfit is known as the Red Crescent in Muslim nations? A: The Red Cross. What Florida city's name translates to "mouth of the rat" because of it's toothy inlet? A: Boca Raton's. What Italian city had the Roman name Mediolanum? A: Milan. What New England state would be home if you laid down roots in Bald Head? A: Maine. What 4,588-mile dune-laden expanse did Choi Jong-yul say he walked across "because it was there"? A: The Sahara Desert. What country is bordered by Algeria, Niger, Chad, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia? A: Libya. What Asian country boasts the largest Muslim population in the world? A: Indonesia. What academy is sometimes dubbed "Canoe U."? A: The U.S. Naval Academy. What U.S. state has an official commonwealth folk song written by resident Arlo Guthrie? A: Massachusetts. What island was Abel Tasman the first European to land on, in 1642? A: Tasmania. What African country's name is from the Latin for "free"? A: Liberia's. What republic is sandwiched between Lithuania and Estonia? A: Latvia. What's the only U.S. state to share a border with one of Canada's Maritime Provinces? A: Maine. What Central American nation flies a flag with one blue and one red star? A: Panama. What 1994 U.S. event was tagged pas le Big One by French journalists? A: The Los Angeles earthquake. What Australian geological wonder has an aboriginal name that means "great pebble"? A: Ayers Rock. Which of the seven wonders of the ancient world was demolished by an earthquake in 224 B.C.? A: The Colossus of Rhodes. What country is home to 21 percent of the world's people? A: China. What are painted bright yellow and left out for public use on the streets of Portland, Oregon? A: Bicycles. What southern city did Andrew Jackson name for one on the Nile River? A: Memphis. What city, founded in 1550 by Sweden's King Gustav Vasa, was first called Helsingfors? A: Helsinki. What country's auto identification letters are KWT? A: Kuwait's. What strife-torn African nation boasts a world high of 8.3 births per female? A: Rwanda. What Asian county's women's magazine Non Non is its bestseller? A: Japan's. What's the world's largest desert, as determined by the least precipitation? A: The Antarctic. What's a German sign reading "Rauchen verboten" telling you not to do? A: Smoke. What U.S. state boasts a difference of 20,320 feet between its highest and lowest points? A: Alaska. What Boston green space, founded in 1634, is the oldest park in the U.S.? A: The Boston Common. What New Orleans soup has a name derived from the Bantu word for okra? A: Gumbo. What country is bordered by Austria, France, Slovenia and Switzerland? A: Italy. What city was the site of the last Moorish Kingdom in Spain? A: Granada. Ehat interstate highway connects Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, to San Francisco? A: I-80. What Pacific atoll got its name from its location between the Americas and Asia? A: The Midway Islands. What Tuscan city do Italians know as Firenze? A: Florence. What Canadian province got its name from the Iroquois word guilibek, meaning "place where waters narrow"? A: Quebec. Which U.S. president used some of his winnings from poker games to help launch his campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives? A: Richard Nixon What country's farthest southern and northern points are Land's End and John O' Groats, respectively? A: Britain's. What New York City landmark is the largest movie theater in the U.S.? A: Radio City Music Hall. What's the world's longest road, running from Texas to Valparaiso, Chile? A: The Pan-American Highway. What $7.2 million purchase did one senator call "an awful lot of ice for an awful lot of dollars," in 1867? A: Alaska. What European capital's Potsdamer Platz was busy enough to warrant the world's first traffic light? A: Berlin's. What was the most populous state in the U.S. for the last time in 1800? A: Virginia. What Nepalese city name means "wooden temples"? A: Katmandu. What Egyptian city was built up during the Middle Ages from limestone stripped off the exterior of the Great Pyramid? A: Cairo. What Yukon mining district was the site of the 1890s gold rush? A: The Klondike. What Texas city along Route 66 got its name from the Spanish word for yellow? A: Amarillo. What two republics make up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia? A: Montenegro and Serbia. What Scandinavian country last fought in a war in 1814? A: Sweden. What U.S. state's public golf courses have the highest average green fees? A: Hawaii's. What former Soviet republic joined Russia as one of the world's ten largest countries? A: Kazakhstan. What Arab country's national dish is a soup called fool? A: Egypt's. What continent are you on if you're lost in the eastern tip of Egypt? A: Asia. What continent has the fewest flowering plants? A: Antarctica. What country lies on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula? A: Portugal. What volatile nation was the first Caribbean country to gain independence? A: Haiti. What barnyard animal utterance is known in France as groin groin? A: Oink-Oink. What southern state capital got its name for being the terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad? A: Atlanta. What desert's name was inspired by the array of colors that erosion has exposed there? A: The Painted Desert's. What Berlin landmark had lost over 60 tons in shipments to the U.S. by 1990? A: The Berlin Wall. What was the biggest city in America until 1755? A: Boston. What U.S. city had three of the world's five tallest man-made structures in 1994? A: Chicago. What cave mammals inspired some folks to dub Nebraska the "Bug-eating State"? A: Bats. What Asian country has the world's lowest amount of urban green space per person? A: Japan. What country went metric to join the European Community, but kept the pint for use in pubs and for milk? A: Britain. What two cities are connected by the busiest international airline route? A: London and Paris. What Spanish port city was founded by Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca? A: Barcelona. What Bengal nation lost 300,000 people to a cyclone and a tidal wave in 1970? A: Bangladesh. What desert has an area larger than the continental U.S.? A: The Sahara. What river was designated the U.S.-Mexican border in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo? A: The Rio Grande. What city's garbage collectors are honored by a street called Avenue of the Strongest? A: New York City's. What wonder of the ancient world did Babylonians refer to as the "House of the Foundations of Heaven and Earth"? A: The Tower of Babel. What country was Berlin part of when it passed one million in population? A: Prussia. What's Rome's Piazza San Pietro known as in English? A: St. Peter's Square. What West African nation's name means "lion mountain"? A: Sierra Leone's. What U.S. state would you be in if you made the short trip from Citronelle to Tangerine? A: Florida. What state is home to a huge hunk of granite called The Dan Blocker Memorial Head? A: Texas. What's the world's second largest archipelago, after Indonesia? A: The Philippines. What's Canada's largest inland sea? A: Hudson Bay. What nation has had a monarchy the longest? A: Japan. What Great Lake state are you stuck in if your car has broken down in Hell? A: Michigan. What Italian city is considered "the fashion capital of the world"? A: Milan. What British town got its name from its proximity to the Cam River? A: Cambridge. What western state answers Pamplona's Running of the Bulls with its own annual Running of the Sheep? A: Montana. What's the southernmost country in Central America? A: Panama. What ocean are the Maldives in? A: The Indian Ocean. What body of water is approximately nine times saltier than ocean water? A: The Dead Sea. What U.S. state's official fish is the humuhumunukunukuapuaa? A: Hawaii's What island country is visited by the most cruise ships? A: The Bahamas. What capital has a name meaning "city of Islam"? A: Islamabad. What did Puritans dub "Rogues Island"? A: Rhode Island. What Alpine country's women got the right to vote in 1971? A: Switzerland's. What U.S. state legislated the pronunciation of its name in 1881, to accent the first and third syllables and quiet the final "s"? A: Arkansas. What U.S. state do Knickerbockers knock around in? A: New York. Which is further south - the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn or Cape Catastrophe? A: Cape Horn. What 120,000-square-mile African desert is almost completely covered by woods and grass? A: The Kalahari. What country managed to reduce its vodka consumption from 2.6 billion liters in 1984 to just 1.6 billion in 1990? A: The Soviet Union. What city did Sigmund Freud call home? A: Vienna. What bay do Royal Bengal tigers most often swim in? A: The Bay of Bengal. What Asian nation was not invaded by enemy forces between 1275 and 1944? A: Japan. What central African state boasts a big "R" in the middle of its flag? A: Rwanda. What's the most popular honeymoon destination outside the contiguous 48 states for U.S. couples, according to Modern Bride? A: Hawaii. What Kentucky tourist attraction's entrance was allegedly discovered by a hunter while tracking a wounded bear? A: Mammoth Cave's. What's the only U.S. state never to have banned prostitution? A: Nevada. What do Texas beef partisans call "wool on a stick"? A: Lamb. What mountain range's name is Sanskrit for "abode of snow"? A: The Himalayas'. What country boasts the world's oldest active brewery, dating back to 1040 A.D,.? A: Germany. What's the main mode of transport for the nomads who make up half of Somalia's population? A: Camel. What Western Hemisphere people spoke Nahuatl? A: The Aztecs. What U.S. state was once called West New Jersy? A: Pennsylvania. What city is home to the busiest stock exchange? A: Tokyo. What Central American country is bordered by Honduras and Costa Rica? A: Nicaragua. What Minnesota town boasts an annual celebration called Wrong Day? A: Wright. What two nations are alluded to in the first line of the Marine Hymn? A: Mexico, Libya. What's the only U.S. state to border Maine? A: New Hampshire. What peppery spice shares its name with the capital of French Guiana? A: Cayenne. What country in Eastern Europe has a name that means "people from Rome"? A: Romania. What South American country comes last alphabetically? A: Venezuela. What U.K. principality has its capital in Cardiff? A: Wales. What two countries are separated by the Tortilla Curtain? A: Mexico and the U.S. What Great Lake state has more shoreline than the entire U.S. Atlantic seaboard? A: Michigan. What mountains do the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus rivers begin in? A: The Himalayas. What nation will need an estimated 4,300 years to remove the 10 million land mines left there by the Soviet Army? A: Afghanistan. What U.S. state has the most unemployed dancers? A: Nevada. What was dedicated in 1982 when veteran Ian Scruggs said: "Thank you America...for finally remembering us"? A: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What nation boasts northern towns called Resolute, Eureka and Alert? A: Canada. What river do Mexicans call Rio Bravo? A: The Rio Grande. What was the city of Edo renamed in 1869? A: Tokyo. What European museum opened a controversial metal-and-glass pyramid entrance in 1989? A: The Louvre. What major city is close to the middle of the Iberian Peninsula? A: Madrid. What country is bordered on the west by Germany and on the est by Ukraine and Belarus? A: Poland. Which northwestern state borders only two other states? A: Washington. What European city decided new names were in order for Foul Lane, Stinking Lane and Bladder Street? A: London. What African republic's name was inspired by its thriving elephant tusk trade? A: Ivory Coast's. What country is second to South Africa in gold production? A: The U.S. What southern U.S. state has no telephones in 12 percent of its households.? A: Mississippi. What river provided water to nurture the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? A: The Euphrates. What European country boasts the cities of Kalamata, Katerinin and Kilkis? A: Greece. What meat will you eat after you point to reinsdyrkaker on an Oslo menu? A: Reindeer. Where in Massachusetts is the only island, county and town in the U.S. that share the same name? A: Nantucket. What favorite hangout of divers extends for 1,250 miles off Australia's northeast coast? A: The Great Barrier Reef. What river system drains water from 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces? A: The Mississippi River. What Asian people traditionally believe there to be a toad on the moon, instead of a man? A: The Chinese. What 200-block section of Miami is considered the best place to dance the merengue or dine on roast goat? A: Little Haiti. What English-speaking Caribbean island has a Spanish name meaning "Bearded"? A: Barbados. What Peruvian city was the capital of the Spanish empire in the New World until the 19th century? A: Lima. What country supplies three-quarters of the world's maple syrup? A: Canada. What Asian surname is shared by 104 million people? A: Chang. What nation in the Western Hemisphere is the world's largest exporter of forest products? A: Canada. What Arab city has a name derived from a word meaning "sanctuary"? A: Mecca. What San Francisco fixture is a favorite jumping-off point for an average of 14 people a year? A: The Golden Gate Bridge. What's the acronym for the South Western Townships near Johannesburg? A: Soweto. What state can you get tourist information on by dialing 1-800-BUCKEYE? A: Ohio. What country's holidays include Discovery Day, Natal Day and Fete Nationale? A: Canada's. What European city is served by Keflavik Airport? A: Reykjavik. What bridge did New York City's first subway system travel from 145th street to? A: The Brooklyn Bridge. What's the southernmost state capital among the 48 contiguous states? A: Austin. What Ohio city's thriving hog industry earned it the nickname "Porkopolis" in the 1830s? A: Cincinnati's. What Paris landmark did con man Victor Lustig sell to a metal dealer for $50,000? A: The Eiffel Tower. What country provides Cuba with most of its new cars and computers in exchange for sugar? A: Japan. What country boasts Great Glen, Glen Eagles and Glenfiddich? A: Scotland. What winter celebration calls for lighting red, green and black candles in the Kinara? A: Kwanza. What's Latvia's largest minority ethnic group? A: Russians. What country sends the highest percentage of 15- and 16-year-olds to the altar? A: The U.S. How many expressways did China's drivers have to choose from, in 1992? A: Zero. What southern city is famous for its "Beale Street Blues"? A: Memphis. What's the only U.S. state that serves all of its residents with water systems that have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act? A: New Jersey. What British Commonwealth nation has the most people driving on the right side of the road? A: Canada. What two African rivers did Henry Stanley prove were not connected? A: The Congo and the Nile. What infamous Beijing square has a name that ironically means "Gate of Heavenly Peace"? A: Tiananmen Square. How are you traveling in Africa if you've rented a rakumi? A: By camel. Which of the Great Lkes does not lap Canadian shores? A: Lake Michigan. What's the third-largest continent in square miles? A: North America. What European country uses its Latin name, Helvetia, on its stamps. A: Switzerland. What East African country's annual four percent population growth rate is the world's highest? A: Kenya's. What town name did Missouri's postmaster come up with when residents asked for something "sort of peculiar"? A: Peculiar. What South American country elected as its president Alberto Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, in 1990? A: Peru. What U.S. state had the first 7-Eleven stores? A: Texas. What sea laps the shores of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan? A: The Aral Sea. What Central American country has its capital in Tegucigalpa? A: Honduras. What country calls its expressways autostrada? A: Italy. What Great Plains state are you stuck in if you're out of gas in Gas? A : Kansas. What African country is serviced by Jan Smuts International Airport? A :South Africa. What Arizona city was so named because it rose from the ruins of a Native American town? A: Phoenix. How may years did Britain lease Hong Kong for? A: Ninety-nine. What country boasts the towns of Barnstaple, Fishguard and Holyhead? A: Britain. What U.S. state grabs the most money from domestic tourists, double that of Hawaii? A: Nevada. What eastern European country's name is a Slavonic word meaning "plain dwellers"? A: Poland's. What fish is called "finnan haddie" when smoked in Scotland? A: Haddock. What Southeast Asian city did the U.S. open an embassy in, in 1995? A: Hanoi. What mountains are home to the entertainment world's Borscht Belt? A: The Catskills. What's the southernmost nation on the Balkan Peninsula? A: Greece. What city has been the center of the U.S. oil industry since 1901? A: Houston. What country is only bordered by Spain? A: Portugal. What Frenchman designed the national flag of Italy? A: Napoleon. What valley separates East Africa from the remainder of the continent? A: The Great Rift Valley. What Milanese opera house has a name meaning "The Stairs" in Italian? A: La Scala. What continent is cut into two fairly equal halves by the Tropic of Capricorn? A: Australia. What nation has the longest school year? A: Japan. What storied Sudanese city's name means "elephant's trunk"? A: Khartoum's. What title would you hold in Germany if townsfolk addressed you as Burgermeister? A: Mayor. What Scandinavian country are you in if you're vacationing in Hell? A: Norway. What's squid cooked in if you order calamare en su tinta at a Spanish restaurant? A: Its ink. What U.S. state pays its governor the most money? A: New York. What state grew to become the second most populous in the U.S. , by 1994? A: Texas. What tourist state leads the U.S. in booze consumption per capita? A: Nevada. What city do Saudis cal Makkah? A: Mecca. What continent has the most countries represented in the U.N.? A: Africa. What do residents of Bunyol, Spain, throw at each other during the LA Tomatina Festival? A: Tomatoes. What Spanish islands are Gomera, Hierro and Lanzarote a part of? A: The Canary Islands. What nation has 1,000 permanent inhabitants and produces no export goods? A: Vatican City. What was the first city to be leveled by a plutonium-based atomic bomb? A: Nagasaki. What high-level computer language was named after a French mathematician and philosopher? A: PASCAL. What Mercury astronaut had a pulse rate of 170 at lift-off-John Glenn, Alan Shepard or Gus Grissom? A: Gus Grissom. What type of vessel was powered by a hand-cranked propeller when first used in combat in 1176? A: A submarine. What creature proved to be much faster than a horse in a 1927 race in Sydney, Australia? A: The Kangaroo. What radioactive element is extracted from carnotite and pitchblende? A: Uranium. What organ of a buffalo did Plains Indians use to make yellow paint? A: The gallbladder. What optical aids was nearsighted model Grace Robin the first to show off in 1930? A: Contact lenses. What sticky sweetener was traditionally used as an antiseptic ointment for cuts and burns? A: Honey. What computer was introduced in 1984 Super Bowl ads? A: The Macintosh. What male body part did Mademoiselle magazine find to be the favorite of most women? A: Eyes. What planet is named after the Greek god who personified the sky? A: Uranus. What fat substitute got FDA approval for use in snack foods, despite reports of diarrhea and cramps? A: Olestra. What plant's meltdown was dubbed "Russian Roulette" by nuclear power wags? A: Chernobyl's. What is a single unit of quanta called? A: A quantum. What will fall off of the Great Sphinx in 200 years due to pollution and erosion, according to scholar Chikaosa Tanimoto? A: It's head. What suntan lotion was developed by Dr. Ben Green in 1944 to protect pilots who bailed out over the Pacific? A: Coppertone. What was Friedrich Serturner the first to extract from opium and use as a pain reliever? A: Morphine. What substance nets recyclers the most money? A: Aluminum. What are you shopping for if you are sized up by a Brannock Device? A: Shoes. What animal travels at 25 mph under water but finds it easier to toboggan on its belly on land? A: The penguin. What's the itchy skin condition tinea pedis better known as? A: Athlete's foot. What uncooked meat is a trichina worm most likely to make a home in? A: Pork. How many of every 10 victims infected by the Ebola virus will die in two days? A: Nine. What computer company was named after a founder's memories of spending a summer in an Oregon orchard? A: Apple. What butterfly-shaped gland is located just in front of the windpipe? A: The Thyroid. What's short for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"? A: Laser. What planet is the brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon? A: Venus. What weapon did German gunsmith August Kotter unload on the world in 1520? A: The rifle. What type of machine did 19-year-old French genius Blaise Pascal invent to help his dad do taxes in 1642? A: An adding machine. What do leukemia sufferers have too many of? A: White blood cells, or leukocytes. What Benjamin Holt invention was good news to farmers in 1900? A: The tractor. What weather phenomenon is measured by the Beaufort scale? A: Wind. What do itchy people call the "rhus radicans" they were sorry they came into contact with? A: Poison Ivy. What drupaceous fruit were Hawaiian women once forbidden by law to eat? A: The coconut. What was the first planet to be discovered using the telescope, in 1781? A: Uranus. What V-word is defined as "the ability of a liquid to resist flowing". A: Viscosity. What unit of measure was originally designed to be one forty-millionth of the Earth's circumference? A: The meter. What's sometimes dubbed Biosphere I? A: Earth. What are "human incubation chambers" heated to before Gillette's odor judges test deodorants by smelling human armpits? A: 100 degrees Fahrenheit. What antidepressant is most often referred to by snide shrinks as "Slo Mo"? A: Valium. What gardeners' aid is identified by numbers indicating its percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium? A: Fertilizer. What facial features flank your glabella? A: The eyebrows. What organ of the body leads all others with 3,195 distinct genes? A: The brain. What Cool Whip ingredient outweighs all the others? A: Water. What does a kit-flying linonophobic fear? A: String. What's the common name for the eye inflammation doctors call conjunctivits? A: Pink eye. What country flew the first supersonic airliner in 1968 but saw it crash in 1973? A: The Soviet Union. What two-word term is defined as "the lowest possible temperature"? A: Absolute zero. What century did mathematicians first use plus and minus signs? A: The sixteenth. What handy mathematical instrument's days were numbered when the pocket calculator made the scene in the 1970s? A: The slide rule's. What boxcar-sized instrument was repaired by the crew of the shuttle Endeavor in 1993? A: The Hubble telescope. What name for a bone disease translates as "porous bone"? A: Osteoporosis. What earthenware ceramic was produced in ancient China from feldspar and china clay? A: Porcelain. What's the U.S. military acronym for liquid oxygen? A: LOX. What's one-tenth of a bel? A: A decibel. What type of vessel was powered by a hand-cranked propeller when first used in combat in 1776? A: A submarine. What type of machine do the French call a telecopie? A: A fax machine. What unit of measure was once defined as the length of three grains of barley laid end to end? A: The inch. What are the two main constituents of bronze. A: Copper and tin. What Greek was the first physician to record case histories of patients? A: Hippocrates. What four planets have a smaller diameter than Earth? A: Mars, Mercury, Pluto, Venus. What word was coined when a trapped moth caused an early computer to crash? A: Bug. What technological revolution was credited with the large increase in paper use in the 1980s and 1990s? A: The computer revolution. What name for an automaton came from the Czech word meaning "forced labor"? A: Robot. What delta-winged supersonic transport is the fastest passenger plane? A: The Concorde. What comet was first sighted by the Chinese in 240 B.C.? A: Halley's Comet. What does "SPF" mean on sunscreen containers? A: Sun Protection factor. What M-word is defined as "a device that changes sound into electric current"? A: Microphone. What brand became the first sugar-free sugar substitute, in 1957? A: Sweet'n Low. What colorless gas is essential in the production of fertilizers and light bulbs? A: Nitrogen. What weapon did German gunsmith August Kotter unload on the world in 1520? A: The rifle. What explosive jelly is combined with gasoline to make incendiary bombs? A: Napalm. What did Dr. Heinrich Dreser hype as a non addictive substitute for morphine in 1898? A: Heroin. What did the Nimbus-7 satellite monitor changes in the depth of? A: The ozone layer. What body part is low-density lipoprotein most likely to clog? A: Arteries. What's wire rope most often called? A: Cable. What was the short word for "Infantile Paralysis" on 1950s March of Dimes posters? A: Polio. What book did Christians often place on their foreheads to cure insomnia in medieval times? A: The Bible. What are you shopping for it you're sized up by a Brannock Device? A: Shoes. What's the most common automotive essential that is measured in terms of its viscosity? A: Oil. What did 18th-century chemist Antoine Lavoisier prove was a compound of hydrogen and oxygen? A: Water. What objects are studied in what enthusiasts call "ufology"? A: Unidentified flying objects. Who's known in the shrink biz as "Weird Beard"? A: Sigmund Freud. What's the unit of capacity for fuel wood? A: A cord. How many of every ten coffee beans in USDA approved coffee can be moldy, insect-infested or insect-damaged? A: One. What's the English title of Freud's book Traumdeutung? A: The Interpretation of Dreams. What celestial objects were once referred to as "hairy stars"? A: Comets. What piece of lumber's actual size is one-and-a-half by three-and-a-half inches when "surfaced"? A: A two-by-four. What tool did astronomer Rodger Thompson say is "fundamentally altering our view of the universe"? A: The Hubble telescope. What's the most common contributor to chronic bronchitis? A Smoking. What constellation points to the south celestial pole? A: The Southern Cross. What's the study of materials at very low temperatures? A: Cryogenics. What unit of length is derived from the Latin word uncia? A: The inch. What country launched Europe's first super-high-speed passenger train, in 1981? A: France. What's believed by many to be a satellite of Neptune that escaped its primary orbit? A: Pluto. What planet is circled by only two moons? A :Mars. What artillery weapon was launched upon the world in 400 B.C.? A: The catapult. What procedure is performed on an abscess if the dentist thinks the tooth can be saved? A :Root canal. What Greek advised: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine by your food"? A: Hippocrates. What does an anthropophagic census-taker fear? A: People. What "black metal" gave blacksmiths their name? A :Iron. What word describes the physical components of a computer? A: Hardware. What planet is the brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon? A: Venus. What does a bromidrosiphobic shoe salesman fear? A :Smelly feet. What planet needs 248 years to meander its way around the sun? A: Pluto. What did 18th-century astronomer Edmund Halley chart 24 of? A: Comets. What's a video cameraman doing when he "juices the brick"? A: Recharging the battery. What New York City hospital founded the first school for nursing in the U.S. , in 1872? A: Bellevue. What type of telephones did AT&T stop making in the mid-1980s? A: Rotary phones. What Entertainment Tonight star's voice did the New England Journal of Medicine claim triggered a woman's epileptic seizures? A :Mary Hart's. What planet is named after the Greek god who personified the sky? A :Uranus. What home appliance did the U.S. produce seven million of in 1953, up from 6,000 in 946? A: The television. What are you forbidden to do in a "snuff zone"? A: Smoke. What teenage year does an American first develop phobias in, on average? A: Thirteen. Who would send you an e-mail message with the return address "[email protected]"? A: Bill Gates. What innovation decreases the odds of hitting the car in front of you, but increases the odds of being hit by the car behind you? A: Anti-lock brakes. What red-blooded body organ are vitamins A, B, D, E, and K stored in? A: The Liver. What's the positively charged particle in the nucleus of an atom called? A: A proton. What cartoonist has had three insect species named after him? A :Gary Larson. What did William Stanley invent in 1885 to transfer the current of one circuit to another? A : The transformer. What is a siderodromophobic hobo afraid to hitch a ride on? A: Trains. What country was India ink developed in? A: China. What three-letter word denotes the residue of combustion or incineration? A: Ash. What fiber-optic instrument allows surgeons to see and repair damage within joints? A: An arthroscope. What photo company brags that with their products, "there really are no negatives"? A :Polaroid. What high-tech mogul appeared on a 1995 cover of Time headlined "Master of the Universe"? A: Bill Gates. What time period is sandwiched between the Cretaceous and Triassic? A: The Jurassic. What suntan lotion was developed by Dr. Ben Green in 1944 to protect pilots who bailed out over the Pacific? A: Coppertone. What colorless, odorless substance is the main constituent of natural gas? A: Methane. What was the first place name uttered by a man on the moon? A: Houston. What does an AutoCut VCR automatically cut from TV programs? A: Commercials. What early scientist, after being forced to declare the Earth was motionless, muttered: "Nevertheless, it does move"? A :Galileo. What typewriter brand was invented by a man whose father made a well-known flintlock rifle? A: Remington. What term for "bipolar disorder" has fallen out of general use? A: Manic depression. What planet has a storm system called the Great Red Spot? A: Jupiter. What will not be back to entice astronomers until 2061? A: Halley's Comet. Where did Bill Clinton urge U.S. scientists to look for more signs of life, in 1996? A: Mars. What office image transmitter did Bell Labs demonstrate as early as 1924? A: A fax machine. What direction did cartographers usually place at the top of maps when they believed the Earth was flat? A: East. What U.S. agency is considered by e-mail users to deliver "snail mail"? A: The U.S. Postal Service. What N-word describes a cloud of dust and gas in space. A: Nebula. What car model was developed in 1938 by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche? A: The Volkswagen Beetle. What plant's meltdown was dubbed "Russian Roulette" by nuclear power wags? A: Chernobyl's. What Internet search utility was named for the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where it was developed? A: Gopher. What type of power is defined as the generation of electricity from water? A: Hydroelectric power. What type of pills are known in the pharmacy biz as "pillows:? A: Sleeping pills. What organ was operated on in the first microsurgical procedure, in 1921? A :The ear. What transparent material is produced by heating lime, sand and soda? A: Glass. What does the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determine? A: Its Atomic number. What unit of time, when measured by an atomic clock, equals 9,192,631,770 energy changes of a cesium atom? A: One second. What heat-resistant element replaced cotton as the filament of choice in electric light bulbs in 1910? A: Tungsten. What now-extinct bird's gizzard, when stewed in milk, was once thought to cure gallstones? A: The passenger pigeon's. What unit of power did James Watt coin to help market his steam engines? A: Horsepower. What comes in Bibb, oak leaf and escarole varieties? A: Lettuce. What treatment for cavities was first recommended by a 10th-century physician name Rhazes? A: Fillings. What did the EPA once refer to as "poorly buffered precipitation"? A: Acid Rain. What car parts require alignment in toe, camber and caster? A: Wheels. What car of the 1940s featured a central "Cyclops-eye" headlight that turned with the wheels"? A: The Tucker. What could Harrison's chronometer accurately measure during 18th-century voyages? A: Longitude. What's short for "binary digit"? A: Bit. Who licensed the MS-DOS operating system to IBM in 1980? A: Bill Gates. How many 1990s cigarettes must you smoke to get the toxic effect of one 1950s cigarette.? A: Three. What oil was first used as a laxative by Egyptians in 1600 B.C.? A: Castor oil. Who was amazed to see the moons of Jupiter through a telescope on January 7, 1610? A: Galileo. What geographic term describes a hill with sharply sloping sides and a flat top? A: Butte. What serious underwater ailment was named after a Victorian notion of chic posture? A: The bends. What Mercury astronaut had a pulse rate of 170 at lift-off--John Glenn, Alan Shepard, or Gus Grissom? A :Gus Grissom. What U.S. coin weighs five grams? A: A nickel. Who spent more time in space than any woman or any U.S. astronaut, after NASA delayed her ride home by six weeks in 1996? A: Shannon Lucid. How many Russian cosmonauts have walked on the moon? A: Zero. What staple of Sigmund's profession lies in state at the Freud Museum in London? A: His couch. What wattage of incandescent light bulb typically produces 1,700 lumens? A: 100 watts. What 20th-century decade saw the introduction of the felt-tip pen? A: The 1960s. What needle-stickers use the word "Qi" to describe the energy that flows through the body's pathways? A: Acupuncturists. What continent has yielded the largest trove of meteorites? A: Antarctica. What letter did NASA decide to preface "Okay" with, due to radio stati problems? A : A. What L-word is the proprietary name of the tranquilizer chlordiazepoxide? A: Librium. What are "newbies," who tend to attract scorn from Internet flamers? A: Newcomers. What's the smallest time interval -- a microsecond, a nanosecond or a picosecond? A: A picosecond. What sterilization process can kill 99.9 percent of salmonella organisms in poultry? A :Irradiation. Which Smithsonian museum attracted a record 118,437 people on April 14,1984? A: The National Air and Space Museum. Who saw the dies used to stamp out bodies of his stainless-steel cars end up as anchors for salmon traps? A: John DeLorean. What's the largest and densest of the four rocky planets? A: Earth. What branch of biology deals with the nature of aging? A: Gerontology. What tropical disease were mental patients intentionally infected with in the early 1900s as a treatment for insanity? A: Malaria. What's a detective studying if he's staring at arches loops, whorls, islands and dots? A: Fingerprints. What unit of measurement has a fluid volume of three teaspoons? A: A tablespoon. What creature's heart kept Baby Fae alive for 21 of her 33 days in 1984? A: A baboon's. What country was home of 153 of the first 400 Nobel Prize-winning scientists? A: The U.S. What chemical compound comes from the Greek word for "primary"? A: Protein. What number, a one followed by 100 zeroes, was first used by nine-year-old Milton Sirotta in 1940? A: Googol. What's the most common computer acronym for a "Picture element"? A: Pixel. What's the most common cause of cirrhosis? A: Alcohol abuse. Which character is the most famous creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs? A: Tarzan. Which state is called the Bear State? A: Arkansas. Who played Emma Peelinthe90s film version of The Avengers? A: Uma Thurman. Which Michael starred in Doc Hollywood? A: J Fox. What is the capital of the state of Louisiana? A: Baton Rouge. Which veteran pop singer has the first names Roderick David? A: Rod Stewart. What came after The Brady in the sitcom title? A: Bunch. What did teenager Anne Frank leave behind that was published after her death? A: Diary. Who had a 60s No 1 with Stop In the Name Of Love? A: Supremes. Who liked Richard Burton so much that she married him twice? A: Elizabeth Taylor. In which decade did people last get the chance to see Halley's comet? A: 1980s. At what time of year did Eddie Cochran get the blues? A: Summer time. In football, where do the 1990s Titans come from? A: Tennessee. Who was younger when they became President, Clinton or Kennedy? A: Kennedy. The novel Airport was a best seller for which author? A: Arthur Haily. Which female sang the Bond theme to Goldeneye? A: Tina Turner. Golfer Bernhard Langer comes from which country? A: Germany. The D Day landings took place in which country? A: France. Who was the first man to fly in space? A: Yuri Gagarin. In which decade of the 20th century was Chevy Chase born? A: 1940s. What is the postal abbreviation for Missouri? A: MO. Who was Bill Clinton's first Vice President? A: AL Gore. Which Box gave Mariah Carey a multi-million album success? A: Music. Which Bruce declared he was Born In The USA? A: Springsteen. Oakland international airport is in which state? A: California. What was an official language in 87 nations and territories, by 1994? A: English. What's the third-largest continent in square miles? A: North America. What is the capital of Kuwait? A: Kuwait City. World trivia questions. "What town name did residents of a Florida retirement community switch to because they found Sunset Depressing? A: Sunrise. What's the second most populous continent? A: Europe. What finally went out of fashion in ancient Rome, prompting people to begin wearing short pants called feminalia? A: The Toga. What southwestern U.S. state has the highest percentage of non-English speakers? A: New Mexico. What M-word did Texas citizens choose as a town name that would "attract" folks? A: Magnet. What state leads the U.S. with 15 tons of solid waste per citizen each year? A: California. Which is further from the equator, Tasmania, Tanzania, or Transylvania? A: Transylvania. What eastern town is home for a service academy and the U.S. Sliver Depository? A: West Point. What's the University of Paris more commonly called? A: The Sorbonne. What religion has the most adherent, Buddhism, Christianity or Islam? A; Christianity. What U.S. state boasts a town called Captain Cook? A: Hawaii. What's the Greek name for hell? A: Hades. What European country does Aruba maintain the strongest ties to? A: The Netherlands. What do the Chinese call kwai-tsze, or "quick little fellows"? A: Chopsticks. What European country uses its Latin name, Helvetia, on its stamps? A: Switzerland. What British university boasts and endowment called the Jackie Mason Lectureship in Contemporary Judaism? A: Oxford. What country did Greek historian Herodotus dub "the gift of the Nile"? A: Egypt. What country is only bordered by Spain? A: Portugal. What's the flattest U.S. state? A: Florida. What U.S. state, after much debate, made the bizcochito the official state cookie? A: New Mexico. What Australian city boasts the largest Greek population in the world outside of Greece? A: Melbourne. What U.S. state boasts the towns of Gulf Stream, Lakebreeze and Frostproof? A: Florida. What country has bee the planet's largest aid donor since 1991? A: Japan. What island nation is a must for anyone wishing to see 40 species of lemours? A: Madagascar. What country is almost twice as large as either the U.S. or China? A: Russia. What South Asian city is the planet's biggest feature film producer? A: Bombay. How many Great Lakes do not border Michigan? A: One. What cowboy tune is the official song of Kansas? A: Home on the Range. What continent boasts the most telephone lines? A: Europe. What do Texas beef partisans call "wool on a stick"? A: Lamb. What South American country was home to the early human 'Patagnian giants"? A: Argentina. What Western Hemisphere people spoke Nahuatl? A: The Aztecs. What New Orleans soup has a name derived from the Bantu word for okra? A: Gumbo. What Pacific atoll got its name from its location between the Americas and Asia? A: The Midway Islands. What state volunteered to drop the moniker Hog and Hominy State? A: Tennessee. What regional accent did Americans deem sexiest, most liked and most recognizable? A: Southern. What interstate highway connects Boston and Seattle? A: I-90. What European country delights the Pope with the lowest divorce rate in the western world? A: Italy What Las Vegas hotel claims to display the world's largest hunk of gold? A: The Golden Nugget What's the only New England state without a seacoast? A: Vermont What foreign language do Norwegians study for seven years, beginning in the second grade? A: English What U.S. state has only 113 divorces for every 1,000 marriages? A: Nevada. What South American capital's name means "I saw the mountain"? A: Montevideo's What nation's culinary wizards gave the world Stuffed Calf's Eyes and Cow Brain Frittters? A: France's What's the largest country in the Commonwealth of Independent States? A: Russia What was the final destination of the first U.S. paddle wheel steamboat, which departed from Pittsburgh? A: New Orleans What southern city does Federal Express channel all its packages through? A: Memphis What country sends the most tourists to Australia? A: Japan What Spanish ethnic group do geneticists consider the most direct descendants of Cro-Magnons? A: Basques What U.S. state is the eighth largest economic power in the world? A: California What southeast Asian nation's shoppers began flashing new American Express cards in 1994? A: Vietnam's What bridge, celebrated in a Bobbie Gentry song, collapsed in 1972? A: The Tallahatchie Bridge. What do English-speaking tourists usually call France's Cote d' Azur? A: The Riviera What U.S. city is across the Rio Grande from Juarez? A: El Paso What European capital used to be called Lutetia? A: Paris What high-stakes city has the most unlisted phone numbers per capita in the U.S.? A: Las Vegas What South American archipelago has a name meaning "land of fire"? A: Terra del Fuego What country has the highest teen pregnancy rate of all the western industrial nations? A: The U.S. How many ngwee equal a kwacha when you're paying for gods in Zambia? A: One hundred What Jerusalem site is the only surviving part of the Second Temple? A: The Wailing Wall What city did environmental writer Edward Abbey call "the blob that ate Arizona"? A: Phoenix What nation in the Western Hemisphere is the world's largest exporter of forest products? A: Canada What sea laps shores of Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan? A: The Caspian The Punjab is an area of India, what does it mean? A: Five Rivers Who is supposed to be buried under Kings Cross station? A: Boadicea The world's oldest university, Fez, founded in 859 is located where? A: Morocco In what country are Bam Yat and Holon located? A: Israel What animal comes last alphabetically in the Chinese horoscope? A: Tiger What city was nicknamed "The Pearl of the Orient" ? A: Manila - Philippines In what country are the Choke mountains located? A: Ethiopia What is the name of the Greek national airline? A: Olympic Airways In Poland if you asked for a piwo what would you get A: A Beer What is the name of the capital city that is heated by volcanic springs? A: Reykjavik (Iceland) In which Irish county is the Blarney stone located? A: Cork In what country was the bayonet designed and developed? A: France What sport takes place at Montlhery France, and Zandvoort Holland? A: Motor car racing In London, what are the Whitechaple, Courtald and Heywood? A: Art Galleries Auld Reekie is the nickname for what European city? A: Edinburgh Which European country awards the Nobel peace prize? A: Norway Ouagodougou is the capitol of what country? A: Bakina Faso In Thailand it's illegal to step on what? A: Nation's Currency Bourse is the name of the Paris what? A: stock exchange What country calls itself Republika Shqiperise? A: Albania What nation's population, on the average, takes the most time to eat their meals? A: French In what city is Schipol airport? A: Amsterdam Scotland exports what to Saudi Arabia? A: Sand English ships carried limes to protect the crew against scurvy. What did US ships carry? A: Cranberries In the city of Paris, what are FD Roosevelt, Stalingrad and Louis Blanc? A: Metro Stations In June 1906, where was the world's first grand prix held? A: Le Mans in France Where did coffee originally from? A: Ethiopia For the first time, in 1986, what was used at Wimbledon? A: Yellow tennis balls Britain, Ireland, and what other country joined the EEC simultaneously? A: Denmark The Academie Francaise ensures the purity of what? A: The French language The people of which European country consume the most calories per capita? A: Ireland What country has the most daily newspapers in the world? A: India What Olympic event was dropped in 1920? A: Tug of War -1900 to 1920 The Dolomites are mountains in what country? A: Italy What country is Dacca the capital of? A: Bangladesh What's the name of the Irish writer who appeared on the Irish £ 10 note? A: James Joyce Ancient Carthage is located in what modern country? A: Tunisia Where could you find the Lutine Bell? A: Lloyds of London In what area of Africa do the Kung San people live? A: Kalahari Desert in Botswana What city is located on the Hooghly river? A: Calcutta A duffer is Australian slang for what? A: Cattle Thief In what country could you spend a Kwanza? A: Angola What's the world's most popular brand of malt whisky? A: Glenfiddich There is a temple in Sri-Lanka is dedicated to what body part? A: Buddha's tooth What is the longest river in France? A: Loire What South American country has no public toilets? A: Peru In Portugal, what dance means the snapping of a whip? A: Lambada What's the term for the geographical dividing line between North and South Korea? A: 38th Parallel How is the Olympic torch lit in Greece? A: By the sun Operation Dracula in World Warr II freed what city? A: Rangoon Burma do Brazil nuts come from what country? A: Bolivia What liqueur means cupid in Italian and love in Latin? A: Amaretto What nations national flag has the biggest animal emblem, a lion? A: Sri Lanka Where did the name "Europe" come from? A: Greek Mythology Victoria falls is the biggest tourist attraction in what country? A: Zambia All windmills turn counter clockwise except where? A: Ireland International car registration letters for what country is "IS"? A: Iceland Which country spends the largest percentage on social security? A: Uruguay In 1909, who was the first woman to get a Nobel Prize for Literature? A: Selma Lagerlof of Sweden What country in Europe is divided into areas called Cantons? A: Switzerland What is 6 inches taller in the summer than the winter in Paris? A: Eiffel tower What was the name of Canada's first prime minister? A: Sir John MacDonald Which African country gained independence in 1980? A: Zimbabwe The capitol of Nigeria was previously Lagos, but what is it now? A: Abouga What was the name of the family that was the last ruling house of Italy? A: Savoy Which modern country did the Franks come from? A: Germany An eagle and a snake appear on what countries flag? A: Mexico The rivers Lahn and Mosel are tributaries of what larger European river? A: The Rhine In which country was the film Midnight Express set? A: Turkey What cities gothic cathedral ,started in 1386 was completed in 1805? A: Milan Persia became Iran in 1935. What was it before that? A: Iran What city was known as Christiana until 1925? A: Oslo Fried fish, lettuce, and spinach is a traditional Christmas eve meal where? A: Armenia An unusual official sporting event in China is what? A: Grenade Throwing What is the second most commonly spoken language in Australia? A: Italian In what city can you find the Spanish steps? A: Rome What is the national sport of Finland? A: Motor Rallying What is the name of the Greek mountain consecrated to the muses? A: Helicon In which city is The Abbey theatre? A: Dublin The Capodichino airport serves what Italian city? A: Naples What is the capitol of Fiji? A: Suva In what country did doughnuts originate? A: Holland Bahina de los Cochinos is better known as what? A: Bay of Pigs Which European country consumes the most coffee per capita? A: Finland The Japanese dish that is made with Tofu Beef and vegetables is called what? A: Sukiyaki Santiago is the capitol of Chile. What does it mean? A: Saint James In China what color does the bride traditionally wear? A: Red Where are the Canary Islands situated? A: In the Atlantic Ocean In 1741 Robert Keeler was the first to commercially manufacture what food product? A: Marmalade The city of Adelaide, Australia stands on what river ? A: Torens In 1605, what did the Japanese Emperor make mandatory in schools? A: Learning swimming In Ireland what is a Gombeen Man? A: A moneylender India has the largest Hindu population. What country has second largest Hindu population? A: Nepal Japanese porcelain is called what? A: Kakiemon What is Irelands oldest licensed whiskey distillery? A: Bushmills The tradition of exchanging Christmas gifts began in what country? A: Italy The international car registration letters for what country are RA? A: Argentina What is the name of the river that flows through Baghdad? A: Tigris What sea is directly north of Poland? A: Baltic sea Antanananarivo is the capitol of what country? A: Madagascar What is the fastest growing religion in Ireland? A: Buddhism The glasshouse mountains are located where? A: Queensland Australia Crossair originated in what European country? A: Switzerland In what city would you find Giacomo Marconi airport? A: Bologna 300,000 Chinese troops invaded a country in February of 1979, what was the country? A: Vietnam. Worlds most remote weather station is located in what country? A: Canada. What European country was in an official state of emergency from 1933 until 1945? A: Germany. Which country lost over seventeen percent of its entire population in World War II? A: Poland. Which two countries share Victoria Falls? A: Zimbabwe and Zambia. Adolf Hitler was born in what country? A: Austria. In 1989, what country did the United States invade in what George Will dubbed "an act of hemispheric hygiene"? A: Panama. What country did Ion Iliescu take over after its previous president was arrested, tried and shot? A: Romania. What North American country enacted the War Powers Act to quell a separatist rebellion in 1970? A: Canada. Aruba maintains the strongest ties to what European country? A: Netherlands. Fireworks originated in what country? A: China. The Saturn V rocket was built by what country? A: USA. What European country uses its Latin Name, Helvetia, on its stamps? A: Switzerland. In which country was the World Wide Web invented? A: Switzerland. China has how many time zones? A: China has only one time zone. The government requires all clocks throughout the country be synchronized with Beijing. What is the name of the country that flew the first supersonic airliner in 1968 and had it crash in 1973? A: The Soviet Union. The Greek historian Herodotus dubbed what country "the gift of the Nile"? A: Egypt. In South America what is the largest country? A: Brazil. Japan sends the most what to Australia? A: Tourists. Which European country launched Europe's first super high speed passenger train in 1981? A: France. Portugal is bordered by only want country, what is it? A: Spain. India ink was developed in what country? A: China. What country did 153 of the first 400 Nobel Prize-winning scientists call home? A: The United States. A patent on polyester was patented first in what country? A: Briton. The worlds first mid air collision took place over what country? A: Austria. Eddy Grant comes from what country? A: Guyana. Roxette came from which European country? A: Sweden. Celine Deion was born in what North American Country? A: Canada. What floral symbol do the country of Peru and the state of Kansas have in common? A: The sunflower. What country has a volcano called Okinawa? A: Japan. Lesotho is a southern African Kingdom surround by which country? A: South Africa. In what country can one find 40 species of lemurs? A: Madagascar.
Pandora Archive
Peter Fraser was the Prime Minister of which country for vast the majority of World War II ?
What famous sauce is manufactured by McIlhenny & Co? Tabasco What year was th - Pastebin.com In what country can one find 40 species of lemurs? A: Madagascar. RAW Paste Data What famous sauce is manufactured by McIlhenny & Co? Tabasco What year was the first motor race held that was classed as Formula 1? 1950 In the wild west, how was Henry McCarty better known? Billy The Kid How many stories did each of the World Trade Towers have? 110 What is the name of the cafe in Coronation Street? Roy's Rolls According to the BBC how many rooms are there in Buckingham Palace? 775 What is the busiest single-runway airport in the world? London Gatwick By number of films made, which country has the largest film industry? India Who lit the Olympic flame at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics? Muhammad Ali On what day of the year is St George's day held? 23rd of April The scientific unit lumen is used in the measurement of what? Light Which Apollo moon mission was the first to carry a lunar rover vehicle? Apollo 15 Who wrote the Twilight series of novels? Stephenie Meyer What is the capital of India? New Delhi Who wrote the poem 'The Owl and the Pussycat'? Edward Lear Which country had a secret police force known as the Tonton Macoute? Haiti In which city is the European Parliament based? Strasbourg Gala, Jonagold and Pink Lady are varieties of which fruit? Apple Which organ of the body is affected by Bright's Disease? Kidney What is the boiling point of water in Kelvin? 373 K What was the 1st human invention that broke the sound barrier? The whip What name was given to the Samurai code of honour? Bushido What colour is the bullseye on a standard dartboard? Red What song does the main character wake up to every morning in Groundhog Day? I Got You Babe What is the only Central American country in which baseball, not soccer, is the people's favourite sport? Nicaragua What is the largest fresh water lake in North America? Lake Superior Which South American country was named after the Italian city of Venice? Venezuela How many rounds are there in an olympic boxing match? 4 The highest temperature ever recorded outside in the shade was recorded in Azizah, in Africa. In which country is this city located? Libya Which Hasbro `action figure` got its name from a Robert Mitchum film? G.I. Joe In which country is the highest mountain in South America? Argentina How many emirates make up the United Arab Emirates? 7 If you were putting numbers on new changing room lockers to be numbered from 1 to 100, how many times would you use the number 9? 20 Which famous group performed the first ever song on Top Of The Pops in 1964? The Rolling Stones Who wrote the novel Revolutionary Road, which was made into a successful feature film? Richard Yates Which supermodel is seen pole dancing in the White Stripes video for the song `I Just Don`t Know What To Do With Myself`? Kate Moss Which band has released albums titled `Word Gets Around`, `Just Enough Education To Perform` and `Pull The Pin`? Stereophonics In the Adrian Mole Diaries, what is the surname of his girlfriend? Braiwaithe Charlotte Edwards led England`s women to World Cup glory in which sport in March 2009? Cricket What is sake made from? Rice Affenpinscher, Keeshond and Leonberger are all types of what? Dog Who won the 2009 Rugby World Sevens Cup? Wales Who is the only player to win a Champion`s League medal, the Premiership and the FA Cup, and to be relegated from the Premiership without going on to play in the Championship? Kanu With which club did David Beckham make his football league debut? Preston North End Who is the host of the TV show Q.I.? Stephen Fry Anyone Can Fall In Love was a chart hit set to the theme tune of which TV show? EastEnders Who is the only character to appear in the first ever Coronation Street who is still in the show at 2009? Ken Barlow The film `Black Hawk Down` was loosely based on a true incident that took place in 1993 in which country? Somalia What word does the bird constantly repeat in Edgar Allan Poe`s classic poem `The Raven`? Nevermore In the board game `Risk`, what colour is Europe? Blue What is the only anagram of the word `English`? Shingle Known as the Rio Grande in the USA, what is it called in Mexico? Rio Bravo In what year were the Orkney Islands reannexed to Scotland from Norway? 1472 In what year and in what country was the first FIFA world cup held? 1930, Uruguay Which actress, born in 1916, had her legs insured by 20th Century Fox for one million dollars? Betty Grable As of 2009, what is the last Best Picture Oscar winning film to also win Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars? The Silence Of The Lambs Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart are the protagonists of which Oscar winning movie? Chicago What is the name of Postman Pat`s pet cat? Jess In which sport are the Thomas Cup, Uber Cup and Sudiman Cup tournaments played? Badminton Anthony Stark is the alter-ego of which super-hero? Iron-Man Fort Knox lies in which American state? Kentucky What was the third last state to join the USA? Arizona What is the lightest metal under standard conditions? Lithium How many surfaces does a Mobius strip have? One Which King of England was crowned on Christmas Day? William the Conqueror Who was Queen for just nine days in 1553? Lady Jane Grey Tokelau is a dependency of which country? New Zealand How many wings does a bee have? Four A Scottish mountain must be at least how many feet high to be called a Munro? 3,000 In Gullivers Travels, what is the name of the flying island? Laputa In which 1951 film did Fred Astaire appear to dance on the ceiling? Royal Wedding On which Hebridian island did Prince Charles crash a plane in 1994? Islay Who was the author of Whisky Galore? Compton Mackenzie What is the collective noun for a group of moles? A labour What is `sciophobia` the fear of? Shadows According to Shakespeare, whose horse was called White Surrey? Richard III's What was the name of the rocket used by Yuri Gagarin for the first manned space flight? Vostok 1 Which shipping forecast area is to the directly north of Ireland? Malin What is the river that flows through the city of Albuquerque in the USA? Rio Grande On which side of the road do people drive in Japan? Left Winnepeg is the capital of which Canadian province? Manitoba Who overthrew King Idris in 1969? Colonel Gaddafi Kosciusko is the highest mountain in which country? Australia Who had a two ounce stone cut from his bladder in 1658? Samuel Pepys Who was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in 1948? Mahatma Ghandi Which monarch held her nerve in the Bedchamber Crisis? Queen Victoria In which county was Isaac Newton born? Lincolnshire In what year was Barack Obama born? 1961 In what American state was Barack Obama born? Hawaii What was Barack Obama`s father`s first name? Barack How many stones did David take for his fight with Goliath? 5 How many players make up an Australian rules football team? 18 What is the only English league football team with no letters in common with the word `mackeral`? Swindon Town In which event would you compete for the Borg Warner Cup? The Indianapolis 500 In the 1966 World Cup, matches were played at two London venues. Wembley was one, what was the other? White City Which breed of dog has breeds called Welsh, Scottish and Irish? Terrier How is the chaparral cock, a ground cuckoo native of Mexico, better known? The Roadrunner What sort of creature is a cassowary? A bird How old is Juliet when she dies in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliett? 13 What was the name of King Henry VIII`s older brother? Arthur What is the common name for the medical condition `epistaxis`? Nose bleed Who did Ted Turner, the media tycoon, marry in 1991? Jane Fonda Who has written a series of letters entitled `Dear Fatty` in the form of an autobiography? Dawn French What type of material is produced in a ginnery? Cotton What is made using soda, lime and silica? Glass Who created Wikipedia on the World Wide Web? Jimmy Wales Which three letters did SOS replace as a Morse mayday signal? CQD What was the breed of US detective Columbo`s dog? Basset hound What state does Sarah Palin represent as its governor? Alaska What US state did Barack Obama become senator of in 2005? Illinois What is the speed limit on a German motorway? None In a standard set of playing cards which is the only king without a moustache? The king of hearts Which Beatle led the way across the zebra crossing on the Abbey Road album cover? John Lennon In which year did Royal Mail introduce self adhesive stamps? 2001 If eating Cambridge No 5s, Wellands or Bedford Winter Harvests what would you be eating? Brussel Sprouts When world boomerang throwing championships were held from 1981, which country won it in 12 out of the first 13 years? USA Which category of sports men or women have been voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year the most times? Athletes Which US city is home to sporting teams known as the Browns, the Cavaliers and the Indians? Cleveland Which fruit contains the most calories? Avocado What does a somnambulist do? Sleepwalk Which world famous musician was born as Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946? Freddie Mercury The name of which European capital city is derived from the names of two towns on either bank of its main river? Budapest What is the name of the famous statue by Edvard Eriksen, unveiled on the 23rd of August, 1913? The Little Mermaid After which sporting hero was Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton named? Carl Lewis In a competition in 1829, what beat Cycloped, Novelty, Perseverance and Sans Pareil? Stephenson's Rocket How old was the title character in the novel Lolita? 12 Which state is home to the Joshua Tree National Park? California Thomas Hardy`s heart is buried in his native Dorset, but where in London is his body buried? Poet`s Corner What numeric term describes perfect eyesight and a form of cricket? 20/20 What does the word `pop` refer to in `Pop Goes The Weasel`? To pawn In heraldry, what colour is gules? Red How many lions are depicted on the royal standard? Seven On what occasions would the royal standard be flown at half mast? Never In the cartoon books, what is the name of the druid that provides potions for Asterix? Getafix Inspector Morse actor John Thaw was married to which actress at the time of his death in 2001? Sheila Hancock Energy firm British Gas is owned by which company? Centrica In the game Cluedo, which room can be accessed via the secret passageway from the Study? The kitchen Which author wrote `The Bourne Identity`? Robert Ludlum Which Scottish actress played the TV character `Supergran`? Gudrun Ure In the TV show `Button Moon`, what was the name of Mr Spoon`s daughter? Tina Teaspoon In the TV show `Rentaghost`, Sue Nicolls played which character? Nadia Popov In the TV show `Family Guy`, what is the name of the Griffins` lecherous neighbour? Glenn Quagmire According to the Bible, how many of each type of animal did Moses take on the ark? None Common, Water and Pygmy are types of which British mammal? Shrew Which flower is the middle name of footballer turned TV presenter Bob Wilson? Primrose Where in the human body would you find the Islets of Langerhans? The pancreas What is the only bone in the human body that is not attached to any other bone? The hyoid In which British city did the Peterloo massacre take place in 1819? Manchester How is soccer superstar Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite better known? Kaka Which is the only US state that has no letters in common with its state capital? South Dakota Which group formed in 1977 and named themselves after their financial status at that time? Dire Straits What was the title of Bob the Builder`s second UK number one hit single? Mambo No 5 What mineral has the highest number on the Mohs scale? Diamond What mineral has the lowest number on the Mohs scale? Talc Who was British Prime Minister on V-J Day? Clement Attlee Three countries have both an Atlantic and a Mediterranean coast. France and Spain are two, but what is the other? Morocco What is the modern name for the country historically known as `Abyssinia`? Ethiopia In which year did brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald open their first McDonald`s restaurant in San Bernardino, California? 1940 Which type of pasta`s name translates literally as `little worms`? Vermicelli During World War II, how was William Joyce better known? Lord Haw-Haw What is the common name for the liquid secreted by your lacrimal glands? Tears What is the name of the sea that separates New Zealand and Australia? Tasman Sea How many states of the United States of America have a Pacific coast? 5 How many successive pots must a snooker player make to score a 147 break? 36 What is the more common name for the medical condition of `periorbital hematoma`? Black eye Who was known as the Maid of Orleans? Joan of Arc In George Orwell`s Animal Farm, what type of animals were Clover, Mollie and Boxer? Horses In which European country would you find the Troodos mountain range? Cyprus In literature, who owns a cat called Crookshanks? Hermione Granger What is the only national capital that borders two different countries? Bratislava What is the name of the canoeist who famously faked his own death when he disappeared in 2002? John Darwin Which supermarket is mentioned in Chas and Dave`s song `Rabbit`? Sainsbury`s In Peter Pan, what is the name of Captain Hook`s ship? The Jolly Roger How many boxes are used in the UK version of Deal Or No Deal? 22 Which singer had hits with `Rubber Ball` and `The Night Has A Thousand Eyes`? Bobby Vee Which South American country has borders with Colombia and Peru? Ecuador What sized ball is a game of netball played with? Size 5 Which country did Celine Dion represent when singing in the Eurovision song contest in 1988? Switzerland What was Margaret Thatcher`s maiden name? Roberts Who won the Rugby World Cup in 2007? South Africa On which planet is the solar system`s highest volcano? Mars Who discovered the element oxygen? Joseph Priestley Who assassinated John Lennon? Mark Chapman Which soccer club`s supporters are known as the Toon Army? Newcastle United `Sicknote` was the nickname of a character in which TV series? London`s Burning Which was the first colour film to win a Best Picture Oscar? Gone With The Wind What was the name of the banker who looked after Jed Clampett`s millions in `The Beverly Hillbillies`? Mr Drysdale Who played the Prince Regent in `Blackadder The Third`? Hugh Laurie Used in mathematics, what is the value of Pi to three decimal places? 3.142 Sigourney Weaver`s film debut was a non-speaking role in which Woody Allen film? Annie Hall Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate after 35 years of marriage? Sapphire, Crystal or Coral? Coral What was left in Pandora`s box after she released misery and evil? Hope Which famous actor had his scenes cut from the 1983 film `The Big Chill` Kevin Costner Which planet in the solar system would come third alphabetically? Mars In music, the band Travis got their name from a character in which film? Paris, Texas In which London park is London Zoo situated? Regent`s Park What is the name of the trophy awarded to the winners of the Rugby World Cup? William Webb Ellis Trophy Who famously said `L`Etat c`est moi` which translates as `I am the state`? Louis XIV What fraction of an iceberg is exposed above the water? one third, one seventh or one eleventh? One eleventh The Greek translation of the phrase `Which was to be proved` provided what abbreviation? QED How many pawns does each player have in a game of chess? 8 Who is the only person to have five stars on Hollywood`s walk of fame - one for each of movies, TV, theatre, radio and music? Gene Autry Which country was once referred to as `Gaul`? France How many pieces does each player have in backgammon? 15 Which former Blue Peter presenter died in April 2004, aged 41? Caron Keating The Sun is mainly composed of Hydrogen and which other gas? Helium In what town was William Shakespeare born? Stratford-upon-Avon What was ITVs first twice weekly soap opera? Emergency Ward 10 In the music world, by what name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III better known? Eminem Who painted `The Night Watch`? Rembrandt In the film `Casablanca`, how many times does Humphrey Bogart say `Play it again Sam`? Never Which of the following would a phillumenist collect? Bottle tops, Matchbox labels or Dolls? Matchbox labels With which artist is the famous painting `Sunflowers` associated? Vincent Van Gogh. Which club did Alex Ferguson leave to go to Man United? Aberdeen What was Everything But The Girl`s first top ten UK hit single? I Don`t Want To Talk About It Which Japanese word means `empty orchestra`? Karaoke Who was Queen of England for 9 days in 1553? Lady Jane Grey What company was founded by Parisian chemistry student Eugene Schuller in 1907, creating a dye to cover grey hair with natural looking colours? L`Oreal What was Ferdinand Porches best selling car design? Volkswagen Beetle Which `M` is the ruling planet of the astrological sign Gemini? Mercury What is the largest joint in the human body? The knee joint Who did Sitting Bull call `little sure shot`? Annie Oakley Which singer won the best actress award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival? Bjork (for `Dancer In The Dark`) The liquer cassis is made from which fruit? Blackcurrant What 1969 James Bond is the longest at 140 minutes? `On Her Majesty`s Secret Service` In the Bible who was Jacob`s wife? Rachel What is the colour of the `Black Box` in a plane which can be used to gather important information in the event of a crash? Orange In which decade did Christopher Cockerell invent the hovercraft? 1950s What is the chemical symbol for the element Silver? Ag More widely recognised as an actor, who won the 1997 Oscar for best adapted screenplay for the film `Slingblade`? Billy Bob Thornton Who wrote the book `Wuthering Heights` in 1847? Emily Bronte In which city is the literary character Dr Jekyll`s laboratory? London In which European city would you find Anne Frank`s house? Amsterdam Who was the first woman to be shot by the FBI? Bonnie Parker What is the capital city of Scotland? Edinburgh What product did Linda Bellingham advertise on TV for 12 years? OXO In the game of Pokemon, what colour is Pikachu? Yellow Who wrote the opera from which the melody known as `Here comes the bride` comes? Wagner In what year was the first bikini shown at a fashion show? 1946 What was the name of the helicopter written about by Sarah Fergusson, Duchess of York? Budgie Which song includes the line `Let`s play twister, let`s play risk` and which band who had a hit with it originally? `Man On The Moon` by REM Which 1975 film became only the second to win all five major Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay? `One Flew Over The Cuckoo`s Nest` Which department store shut 109 of its UK branches in the year 2000? C & A In the Bible, who cut off Samson`s hair? Delilah Who directed the 1956 film `The Killing`? Roman Polanski, Stanley Kubrick or Francis Ford Copolla? Stanley Kubrick Which famous rock star did Angie Barnett marry in 1970? David Bowie How many hoops are used in a game of croquet? 6 Which sport was invented by Dr James Naismith in Massachusetts in 1891? Basketball Who did Ronald Reagan succeed as American President Jimmy Carter In which film would you first have come across the character of Marty McFly? Back To The Future From what country does the chihuahua dog originate? Mexico In Greek mythology what is the name of the winged horse? Pegasus What was the name of the character in `Wacky Races` who drove `the Turbo Terrific`? Peter Perfect The emerald is the birthstone for what month? May Which of the characters in the `Wizard of Oz` would most accurately fit the description of `Vacuous`? The Scarecrow, Tin Man or Lion? Scarecrow The character played by Halle Berry in the 1994 film `The Flintstones` shares her name with what famous actress? Sharon Stone What is the most common surname in America? Smith Poseidon and Neptune were the Greek and Roman Gods of what? The sea In which year did the Falklands war take place? 1982 How is the drink which was introduced in 1929 and originally called Lithiated Lemon, known now? 7-Up Which twentieth century artist had a studio called `The Factory`? Andy Warhol. How old was Barings Bank when it collapse after Nick Leeson lost hundreds of thousands of pounds? 223 years Robert Englund is best known for playing which character in a series of horror films? Freddy Krueger In which famous Christmas Song is a snowman pretended to be `Parsons Brown`? `Winter Wonderland` Who realeased the 1985 hit album `Reckless`? Bryan Adams Which groups 1985 debut album was called `Wonderland`? Erasure In the movie `2001: A Space Odysey, what was the computer`s name? HAL What was the first city in modern history to have a population of a million when it did so in 1811? London What is the first property you`d pass on a standard Monopoly board? Old Kent Road Who played Al Capone in the 1987 film `The Untouchables`? Robert De Niro According to Benny Hill, what was the name of the horse that pulled the fastest milk-cart in the west? Trigger Which British actor plays Thomas Fowler in the 2002 film `The Quiet American`? Michael Caine Which painter`s works include `The Bathers` and `La Loge`? Renoir. Which 1987 film received 9 nominations at the Oscars in 1988? `The Last Emperor` Which is larger - the Indian or African elephant or are they both the same size? African Which battle of 1485 was the last in the War of the Roses? Bosworth Field With which sport are the Queensberry Rules associated? Boxing What does `I.Q.` stand for as in I.Q. Test? Intelligence Quotient Adapted from a British TV series, what 1997 featured Val Kilmer in the leading role? `The Saint` Tom Baker played Doctor Who in how many episodes of the TV series? 172 Who founded The Metropolitan Police? Robert Peel In which European country did the Mazurka dance originate? Poland What does the letter `T` stand for in the Star Trek character James T. Kirk`s name? Tiberius Which football team won the World Cup in 1954? West Germany Who had the 1981 hit single `Good Year For the Roses`? Elvis Costello In the film `The Life Of Brian`, who played Biggus Dickus? Graham Chapman Who`s last words were translated as `You too, Brutus`? Julius Caesar Celine Dion`s song `My Heart Will Go On` is from the soundtrack of which film? `Titanic` Which Charles Dickens novel featured the character of Tiny Tim? A Christmas Carol What city was the capital of Cambodia in the 11th century? Angkor, Hue or Mukden? Angkor What is the most westerly county in England? Cornwall `AD` stands for Anno Domini, but what does Anno Domini mean? In the year of our Lord. Which Monty Python star once played an art critic in `Doctor Who`? John Cleese What is the capital of Pakistan? Islamabad Who is the patron saint of television? Saint Clare Mickey Mouse is named after which actor? Mickey Rooney In what year did the building of the Panama canal begin? 1880 Which continent does the zebra come from? Africa What is Roxy Music`s only UK no 1 single? Jealous Guy What was Michael Jackson`s first UK number one single? `One day in your life` With which comic would you associate the characters Lord Snooty, Minnie The Minx and The Bash Street Kids? `The Beano` On which TV comedy show might you find the characters of Jesse, Bob Fleming and Competitive Dad? `The Fast Show` How is the medical condition dyspepsia better known? Indigestion Who was European footballer of the year for 2000? Luis Figo What is the second largest planet in the Solar System? Saturn What colour is the bottom stripe on the flag of Germany? Yellow Which is the southernmost of the North American Great Lakes? Lake Erie In which 1993 film is the main character called Phil Connors? Groundhog Day Who did Muhammad Ali fight in `The Thrilla In Manila`? Joe Frazier David Cornwell is the real name of which author? John Le Carre Which golf course hosts the US masters? Augusta Which actress starred in `The Pelican Brief` and `Sleeping With The Enemy`? Julia Roberts In which year did Kurt Cobain commit suicide? 1994 Which Beatles song was the biggest selling single in the UK in the 1960s? `She Loves You` How many players made up a squad In the 2002 soccer world cup? 22 Which city holds the title of World Cup capital due to the number of soccer World Cup matches held there? Mexico City `OK Computer`, `Pablo Honey` and `Kid A` are all albums by which British band ? Radiohead What was Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin`s first meal on the moon? Roasted Turkey, Steak Pie or Peanut Butter Sandwiches? Roasted Turkey Which of the states in Australia is the largest? Western Australia How many European countries qualified for the 2002 World Cup Finals? 15 Which American actress played Carrie in `Four Weddings and a Funeral`? Andie MacDowell What did Russia sell to America in 1867? Alaska Who starred as Mary Poppins in the 1964 film of the same name? Julie Andrews What number on the Beaufort scale represents a moderate wind? 4 Which musical style has a name which means `in the style of the chapel` in Italian? A Cappella Which country was the first to win the soccer World Cup three times? Brazil Which authour first coined the phrase `heavy metal`? William Burroughs What name is given to the lightest weight category in Olympic boxing? Light Flyweight Which band provided the main theme song for the film `Mission Impossible 2`? Limp Bizkit According to the Bible, what would have come first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken What was the name of the fort in Texas where a group of Americans fought a large Mexican force in 1836? Alamo In what 1971 film did Roy Kinnear play Mr Salt? `Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory` Which is the only country to have played in every World Cup since it started in 1930? Brazil Who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel `The Grapes of Wrath`? John Steinbeck Which member of the Royal Family was born on 19th February 1960? Prince Andrew Which of the following colours does not appear on the flag of Afghanistan? Green, Red or Yellow? Red What colour is the top stripe on the flag of Hungary? Red Which famous book is sub-titled `The Modern Prometheus`? `Frankenstein` In a standard game of poker, which of these hands would win? Three of a kind, a straight or a flush? A flush Which actor played the leading role in Alfred Hitchcock`s `North by north-west`? Cary Grant What method of transport did Christopher Cockerell patent in 1955? Hovercraft How many feet are in a furlong? 660 What was the name of Rodney`s wife in `Only Fools And Horses`? Cassandra Which cartoonist published the `Far Side` cartoons? Gary Larson Who famously said `a week is a long time in politics`? Harold Wilson Which US city contains the residential area of Bel Air? Los Angeles Roger Hargreaves created which characters in a series of books in the 1970s? The Mister Men Baton Rouge is the capital of which American state? Louisiana In which year did John Major become Prime Minister? 1990 What was Oliver Reed`s last film? `Gladiator` Who had a number one with `Little Things Mean A Lot` in 1954? Kitty Kallen, Jo Stafford or Vera Lynn? Kitty Kallen What was the first type of animal in the world to be domesticated? The dog Which TV actor provided the voice for Bob the Builder on his number one hit? Neil Morrissey In which hand does the Statue Of Liberty hold a torch? Left or Right? Right. Which band had a number one hit single called `Star Trekkin`? The Firm What `V. V.` is John Travolta’s character`s name in the film `Pulp Fiction`? Vince Vega In which of Shakespeare`s plays does the line `A horse! A horse ! My kingdom for a horse.` appear? `Richard III` Which cult TV show featured the characters called Donna Hayward, Doctor Jacobi and the Log Lady? `Twin Peaks` Who composed `Moonlight Sonata``? Handel, Mozart or Beethoven? Beethoven What is the second letter of the Greek alphabet? Beta Which English football team play their home games at the MacAlpine stadium? Huddersfield Town Which cartoon character lived at 52 Festive Road, London? Mr Benn On which famous award do the two words `For Valour` appear? The Victoria Cross What was Abba`s first British hit single? Waterloo What single letter is the chemical symbol for the element Tungsten? W Which football team lost both the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals? West Germany What was the name of the third fillm in the `Die Hard` series? `Die Hard: With A Vengeance In 1990, who became the oldest recipient of a best actress Oscar? Jessica Tandy In what century was the leaning tower of Pisa built? 14th How many UK number ones did Take That have in the 1990s? 7 Out of the 20 highest mountains in America, 17 are in which state? Alaska What is the capital of Iraq? Baghdad Who wrote `Finnegan`s Wake`? James Joyce After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a leather wedding anniversary? 3 What is the second largest continent in the world? Africa Which Italian football club bought David Platt for £5.5 million? Bari In which American state is Hollywood? California Who wrote `Ulysses` and `A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man`? James Joyce What is the only bird which hunts by the sense of smell? The Kiwi, The Condor or The Ostrich? Kiwi Who devoted four years of his life to painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Michaelangelo Who did Stevie Wonder write the song `Happy Birthday` for? Martin Luther King In which century did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone? 19th Which American poet wrote `Tales Of Mystery And Imagination`? Edgar Allen Poe What nationality was the artist Paul Gaugin? French. What is the name given to a young eagle? An eaglet Which country celebrated its bicentenary in 1988? Australia In July 2002, actress Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from which actor? Billy Bob Thornton David Prowse is best known for playing what Star Wars character? Darth Vader Which is the fastest land mammal? The cheetah What famous train would you find on the Island of Sodor? Thomas the tank engine How many days is the average gestation period of a mouse? 3, 11 or 21? 21 A tangelo is a cross between a tangerine and what other fruit? A grapefruit Which rock group had a hit with `The Final Countdown`? Europe What silent film star had a contract which forbid him from smiling on screen? Buster Keaton In which country would you find the original Legoland? Denmark Mel Gibson, Whoopi Goldberg and R.E.M. have all made guest appearances on which children`s TV show? `Sesame Street` What 1995 film featured the characters of Mr Potato Head, Bo Peep and Slinky Dog? `Toy Story` What was Elvis Presley`s middle name? Aaron What is the birthstone for the month of January? Garnet With which band would you associate Jack and Meg White? The White Stripes Which authour had the real name of Charles Dodgson? Lewis Carroll Which element has the chemical symbol P? Phosphorous Who played a singer called Rachel Marron in a 1992 fillm? Whitney Houston Which controversial 1955 novel is Vladimir Nabokov`s best known? Lolita What kind of animal is Pingu? Penguin Who became King of Scotland in 1371? Robert II, James III or James IV? Robert II Which 1962 film is based on the novel `The Executioners` by John D. MacDonald? `Cape Fear` What is the sum of the internal angles of any triangle? 180 degrees `Wichita Lineman` was the first British top ten hit for who? Glen Campbell Which island lies in the centre of Niagara Falls? Goat Island After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a crystal wedding anniversary? 15 What is the second most common word in spoken English? `and` Which female singer released her debut album `Not That Kind` in the year 2000? Anastacia `Snot Rap` was a 1983 top 10 hit single for which TV personality? Kenny Everett Which film, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Bruce Willis, was based on the short French film, `La Jetee`? `Twelve Monkeys` Which music hall entertainer was known as the `Prime Minister Of Mirth`? George Robey Who played the Riddler in the 1995 film `Batman Forever`? Jim Carrey In which year was the horse race the Derby first run? 1780 In which century did the ship the Mayflower begin it`s epic voyage? 17th What is the name of The Jetsons` dog? Astro, Apollo or Maris? Astro Acid rain is caused by what polluting gas? Sulphur Dioxide The group Steely Dan got their name from a sexual device depicted in which book? The Naked Lunch Mariner 10 is the only space probe to fly past which planet, sending back pictures showing it to resembling the Earth`s moon? Mercury Who played Dr Grant in the film `Jurassic Park`? Sam Neill How many pockets are there on a standard snooker table? 6 Which `J` is Homer Simpson`s middle name? Jay In what year did George Orwell write the bulk of his novel `1984`? 1948 According to the Collins Millenium Dictionary, in what year was the word `Jazz` introduced into the English language? 1909 Which sign of the zodiac falls in both October and November? Scorpio What flower is traditionally given at Easter? The lily On a London Underground map, what line is coloured dark blue? The Picadilly Line Which female singer had a 1990 hit album called `The Immaculate Collection`? Madonna What animal has the heavist and most complex brain in the animal world? The sperm whale. What famous novel did Mark Chapman have in his possession when he assassinated John Lennon? `The Catcher In The Rye` After the 1936 Olympic Games, they were not held again until what year? 1948 What nationality were the band the Chi-Lites? British, American or Canadian? American Which organ in the human body regulates the amount of water in the blood and helps remove waste products? Kidney What is the capital of the American state of Arizona? Phoenix Which American band had a hit single in the year 2000 with `The Great Beyond`? R.E.M. Which sport combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting? The Biathlon Which character has been played on screen by Tyrone Power and Alain Denoin? Zorro Which of the following teams was not in France`s group in the 2002 World Cup? Costa Rica, Senegal or Uruguay? Costa Rica Which song includes the line `Mere alcohol doesn`t thrill me at all`? I Get A Kick Out Of You With which sport are Andrew and Stephen Train associated? Canoeing Which school did Billy Bunter attend? Greyfriars The film `Gone With The Wind` is based on a novel by which author? Margaret Mitchell In which city was Dick Turpin hanged? York What word taken from the abbreviation for a unit of weight measurement was used by L. Frank Baum in the title of a novel? Oz By what name is the Central Criminal Court in London better known? The Old Bailey True or False: In America, on 1st January, 2001, over 3,700 prisoners were under sentence of death? True Who did John Francis attempt to assassinate in 1842? John Constable, Charles Dickens or Queen Victoria? Queen Victoria Nick Hornby`s book `Fever Pitch` is about supporting which English football team? Arsenal What is trichology the study of? Hair, Bones or Fingernails? Hair In what decade was London bridge transported from England to America? 1970s What would you do with a Tom Collins? Eat it, drink it or wear it? Drink it What English-speaking Carribean nation qualified for the soccer world cup finals in France in 1998? Jamaica What type of clouds produce rain or snow? Cirrus, Cumbulus or Nimbus? Nimbus What was the name of Sir Walter Raleigh`s ship in the battle of the Armada? The Ark Who was the manager of the punk band `The Sex Pistols`? Malcolm McLaren In 2004, football pundit Ron Atkinson resigned over comments about which player? Marcel Desailly After Osama Bin Laden, which person was searched for most on the Internet in September 2001? Nostradamus Who`s was the first voice on the original Band Aid single `Do They Know It`s Christmas`? Paul Young`s Which wedding anniversary would you celebrate after 25 years? Silver What is the name of the football team Barcelona`s home stadium? The Nou Camp With which Dickens novel would you associate the character of Thomas Gradgrind? `Hard Times` What is the name given to a young lion? A cub Which Australian golfer won the US Open in 1981? David Graham Where in the body would you find the femur bone? The leg Which building in London contains a slab on the floor marking the tomb of an `Unknown Warrior` of World War I? Westminster Abbey What instrument was Louis Armstrong most famous for playing? Trumpet What was the approximate population of the world in 1960? 3 billion, 4 billion or 5 billion? 3 billion What would the highest possible score be on the TV quiz show `Fifteen To One`? 433 To the nearest million, what did Census 2001 reveal was the population of Scotland? 5 million Which member of the Monty Python team was a doctor? Graham Chapman Which king was killed from getting hit by an arrow in his eye? King Harold What is the collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses? A strike, a blow or a crash? A crash Which song from the 80s includes the line `Before this river becomes an ocean`? `Faith` Approximately what percentage of the human body is water? 27%, 63% or 80%? 80% What was the surname of both the 9th and 23rd Presidents of the USA? Harrison What was the Lone Ranger`s horse called? Silver Who was the lead singer of the 1960s Irish group, `Them`? Van Morrisson Ascorbic acid also known as what Vitamin? Vitamin C Over how many days is a decathlon contested in the Olympic Games? 2 What was the number of the Apollo mission that first landed on the moon? 11 Which of the following religions was organized most recently? Islam, Hinduism or Christianity? Islam Which film star has the real name of Chan Kongsang? Jackie Chan What was the name of the first cartoon created for use with a soundtrack? Steamboat Willie Which Welsh band had the first UK number one of the 21st century? Manic Street Preachers What is the smallest planet in the Solar System? Pluto How many storeys does the Empire State Building in New York have? 102 When were the first Commonwealth games held? 1906, 1922 or 1930? 1930 Which musical term means `notes of a chord played in quick succession`? Arpeggio In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, what were there four of? Calling Birds Which Beatle was part of the Travelling Wilburys? George Harrison The song `Good Morning To All` written by the sisters Mildred and Patty Hill, was later adapted by Robert Coleman to become which famous song? `Happy Birthday To You` `Whiskey-A-Go-Go` in Los Angeles was America`s first what? Disco Which sea does the river Thames flow into? North Sea Which two colours appear on the Austrian flag? Red and White Who was the chief of the Greek Gods? Zeus What does the initial `P` stand for in the singer P. J. Harvey`s name? Polly What was the first in Krzysztof Kieslowski`s `Three Colours` trilogy of films called? Three Colours: Blue Which long-running show was first broadcast in 1958 when it was presented by a former Miss Great Britain and an ex-Army Officer? Blue Peter Bert and Ernie from `Sesame Street` are named after characters in what classic film? It`s A Wonderful Life What instrument did Dave Clarke play in the Dave Clarke Five? Drums Who plays the role of Sharon Watts in the TV soap opera `Eastenders`? Letitia Dean Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, who was the first director of the FBI? Stanley W. Finch When is All Souls` Day? November 2nd In what American TV series did David Duchovny appear as transvestite Dennis/Denise Bryson? Twin Peaks Which English explorer introduced tobacco and potatoes to England? Walter Raleigh What film features the characters Barry the Baptist and Hatchett Harry? `Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels` `Gregory Peck` is cockney rhyming slang for what? Cheque Which British actress has appeared in the films `The Last Days Of Disco`, `Serendipity` and `Pearl Harbour`? Kate Beckinsale In music, how many UK number ones has Ken Dodd had? 1 In what mountain range is the Yeti said to live? The Himalayas What Welsh band were originally known as `Betty Blue`? Manic Street Preachers How many balls are there on the table at the start of a normal game of pool? 16 How old was Bruce Lee when he died? 32 Who played `Balowski` in the TV comedy series `The Young Ones`? Alexie Sayle Who played lead guitar for Pink Floyd? Dave Gilmour In 1943, about 5,000 lives were lost due to flooding in which country? India Who directed the 1989 film `Crimes And Misdemeanors`? Warren Beatty, Woody Allen or Robert Redford? Woody Allen In which year did work began on building St Paul`s Cathedral? 1675 In what year was the first Barbie doll sold? 1959 What 1982 stars Dustin Hoffman as an actor who disguises himself as a woman to get work? `Tootsie` In which year were Joker`s first introduced to decks of cards in America? 1865 Which actress played the female lead in the film `Out Of Africa`? Meryl Streep In which year did the London store `Selfridges` open? 1909 In what year did Queen Victoria die? 1901 In which year did Bill Clinton become president of the USA? 1993 Which famous actress provided the voice of Maggie in the TV show The Simpsons when she uttered her first word? Elizabeth Taylor Which TV comedian plays the character of Alan Partridge? Steve Coogan What is the chemical symbol for the element Uranium? U, Ur or Un? U In what building in London is Poets Corner? Westminster Abbey What is the one place in all of Great Britain that the Queen cannot visit? The House Of Commons How much money is referred to in the slang term `a monkey`? 500 pounds In a standard game of poker, what is the name given to the strongest hand? A royal flush Is a substance with a pH value less than 7 known as an acid or an alkali? Acid Which of the following American states is nicknamed the Hoosier State? Montana, New Mexico or Indiana? Indiana How did Captain Hook die in Peter Pan? Killed by a crocodile Which of the following rivers is the longest? Ob, Mississippi or Mekong? Mississippi Of which US state is Columbus the capital? Ohio Which of the following is a palindrome? Abracadabra, Racecar or Whoosh? Racecar What does the musical term `adagio` mean? Slow Which Stanley Kubrick film was based on a short story by Gustav Hasford called `The Short Timers`? `Full Metal Jacket` In which year was the first Guinness Book of Records published? 1935, 1945 or 1955? 1955 Which Jane Austen novel was originally titled `First Impressions`? `Pride and Prejudice` Who had a number one hit in May 1958 with `All I Have To Do Is Dream`? Everly Brothers In which group of islands would you find Harris, Lewis and Benbecula? Outer Hebrides What colour are the stars on the Australian flag? White Nancy Spingen was the famous girlfriend of who? Sid Vicious On which island did Napoleon die? St Helena In the TV series `The Simpsons`, who replaced Sideshow Bob? Sideshow Mel From which 1999 film do the lines `I feel like I`ve been in a coma for the past twenty years. And I`m just now waking up.` come? `American Beauty` What was the 50th state to join the United States of America? Hawaii In Roald Dahl`s novel `The BFG`, what do the letters BFG stand for? Big Friendly Giant Which tropic is north of the equator? Cancer or Capricorn? Cancer Which of the following is considered `the Royal Game`? Polo, Chess or Tiddlywinks? Chess What was the name of the farm where the animals lived in George Orwell`s `Animal Farm`? Manor Farm `Thunderbirds Are Go` was a top ten hit in 1990 for FAB featuring who? MC Parker What is the capital of the American state of California? Sacramento In 2002, who topped Forbes magazine`s list of the richest fictional characters? Santa Claus Which band had a Top 10 hit in 1969 with `Pictures of Lily`? The Who Who directed the film `Full Metal Jacket`? Stanley Kubrick How many players are there in a hockey team? 11 For how many years was Queen Victoria queen of the United Kingdom? 51, 64 or 76? 64 In the Dilbert comic strips, what is the name of the management consultant? Dogbert What were the first names of the Everly Brothers? Don and Phil What number is meant by a devil`s dozen or a long dozen? 13 In what year did Alaska become on of the United States of America? 1959 Which country`s national symbol is a Lotus flower? India In the film `Psycho` what is Norman Bates` hobby? Taxidermy Which 80s pop star wrote Chesney Hawke`s hit single `The One & Only`? Nik Kershaw What American film was released in France with a title which translated as `Life, Love, Cows`? `City Slickers` In what year was the actor Robert De Niro born? 1943 How many dominoes are there in a full set? 28 What name is given to the part of a building from where bells are hung? Belfry Which Monty Python star won a lifetime acheivement award at the British Comedy Awards in 2002? Michael Palin Which fruit is the only one to grow seeds on the outside ? Strawberry True or false: Clinophobia is the fear of beds? True In the NATO phonetic alphabet, what word is used for `N`? November Which line in Casablanca was famously mis-translated into German as `I look in your eyes, little one.`? `Here`s looking at you, kid` What was the Beautiful South`s first UK top 40 single? `Song For Whoever` Which of these types of painting came first? Realism, Cubism or Impressionism? Realism. In music, Pulp, Def Leppard and ABC all come from which English city? Sheffield Which element was used to make brass, but not recognised as a separate metal until 1746? Zinc In the game of Monopoly, how much does it cost to buy Old Kent Road? 60 What is zoophobia the fear of? Animals Which adult male singing voice is lower than tenor but higher than bass? Baritone What authour was exiled from Russia because of his book `Dr Zhivago`? Boris Pasternak If penultimate means next to last, what is the correct word for second to last? Antepenultimate Who in 1938 invented the first ball point pen? Lasalo Biro Which footballer conceded a penalty in Englands last Euro 2000 match? Phil Neville Which band did singer Louise leave to go solo? Eternal Which of the following is not a moon of the planet Saturn? Titan, Juliet or Pandora? Juliet Which comedian`s real name is Robert Davies? Jasper Carrot Whose was the first star to be placed on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame? Joanne Woodward What single by `Wet Wet Wet` spent 15 weeks at number one in the UK charts in 1994? Love Is All Around In judo, what colour belt follows yellow? Orange Which Texas song includes the line `You can tell me your reasons, but it won`t change my feelings`? Say What You Want In which country did the `Rumble In The Jungle` between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman take place in 1974? Zaire In which continent is the Caspian Sea? Asia What is the French name for the English Channel? La Manche In computing, what does the letter `A` stand for in `ASCII`? All, Assumed or American? American Which of the following operas was first performed before the other two? The Merry Widow, Carmen or Madame Butterfly? Carmen Who had a hit in the nineties with the song `Breakfast At Tiffany`s`? Deep Blue Something Which novelist works include `Dead Cert`, `Comeback` and `To The Hilt`? Dick Francis The first golf shot to be played on the moon occurred in which year? 1971 Fat Tuesday is another name for what event? Mardi Gras What is the proper name for the fear of fire? Pyrophobia What was the name of the volcano that erupted in the year A.D. 79 and destroyed the city of Pompeii? Vesuvius Which British monarch was known as the `Sailor King`? William IV Which Madness song starts with the line `Good morning miss, can I help you son`? `House Of Fun` Who was the first Roman Catholic to become American President? John F. Kennedy Beelzebub is Hebrew for what four word phrase, which was also used as the title of a famous novel? `Lord Of The Flies` Which actress appeared in the films `Get Shorty`, `Ruthless People` and `The First Wives Club`? Bette Midler Which sign of the zodiac falls in both June and July? Cancer Who had a number one in 1974 called `Always Yours`? Suzi Quattro, Gary Glitter or Pilot? Gary Glitter Who plays Dr. Evil in the `Austin Powers` films? Mike Myers Which has the larger ears - the African or Asian elephant? African What is the state capital of New York? Albany Who first argued that the world was not flat? Aristotle What style of painting was demonstrated by Monet, Renoir and Degas in Paris in 1874? Impressionist. Who wrote `The Day Of The Triffids`? John Wyndham What city was the first in the southern hemisphere to host the Olympics? Melbourne What element was the chemical symbol `Y`? Yttrium Which name does Paul O`Grady usually use when appearing on TV? Lily Savage New Jersey, New Mexico, New York. Which other American state begins with `New`? New Hampshire What is the capital city of Saudi Arabia? Ryaddh Which of the following is not one of Michael Jackson`s brothers? Joe, Marlon or Tito? Joe Which TV puppet had an arch enemy called Grotbags? Emu Which month`s name is derived from the two-faced god of gates? January Which Canadian province lies in between Alberta and Manitoba? Saskatchewan What is the capital of Austria? Vienna In which country was the 1999 film `Human Traffic` set? Wales Which river flows through Dublin? The Liffey Who played the title role in the 2002 film `Spiderman`? Tobey Maguire Which TV show introduced Bonnie Langford, Bobby Crush and Lena Zavaroni? `Opportunity Knocks` Which element spontaneously ignites in normal air? Phosphorous What is Britain`s highest earning toll bridge? The Humber Bridge Who played Hercule Poirot in the films `Death On The Nile` and `Appointment With Death`? Peter Ustinov The Pied Piper was called in to Hamelin to deal with what problem? Rats Who was the oldest member of the Beatles? Ringo Starr What is the longest line on the London Underground? The Northern Line Which film starring Arnold Swarzenegger, was based on a short story called `We Can Remember It For You Wholesale`? `Total Recall` Cut-throat Jake was the arch enemy of who? Captain Pugwash Which actress starred opposite Michael Douglas in the 1984 film `Romancing The Stone`? Kathleen Turner In which 1933 film did Fay Wray star as Ann Darrow? King Kong How many sides does an octagon have? 8 How many tentacles does an Octopus have? 8 In which county would you find Middlesbrough? Cleveland Which DJ runs the record label Perfecto? Paul Oakenfold What was Michaelangelo`s first name? Michaelangelo If in a game of Monopoly, you owned Pall Mall and Whitehall, which other property would you need to complete the set? Northumberland Avenue Who was the first American President to be born in the 20th century? John F Kennedy In morse code which letter is symbolized by dot dash? A Who or what was Herbie in the 1974 film `Herbie Rides Again`? A car In which year did Britain change to decimal currency? 1971 Which Tim Burton film starred Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis? Beetlejuice What is the name of the Test cricket ground in Birmingham? Edgbaston What word is used to describe an angle between 90 and 180 degrees? Obtuse Which river runs through the Grand Canyon? The Colorado Who had top ten hits in the nineties with `End Of The Line`, `Love Of A Lifetime` and `Never Let You Down`? The Honeyz King Richard I was known by what other name? Richard the Lionheart Who narrates the initial lines in the Pink Floyd song `Keep Talking`? Stephen Hawking What is latitude 66°32`N otherwise known as? The Arctic Circle What is the maximum number of golf clubs a golfer is allowed to use in a game? 14 What word can be used to describe a group of Kangaroos or Baboons? A troop What is a group of chickens called? A brood Who directed the Oscar-winning film `The English Patient`? Anthony Minghella Who played the Honey Rider in an early James Bond film? Ursula Andress Who did Everton beat in the 1984 FA Cup final? Watford In the `Dukes Of Hazzard` was General Lee a car, a dog, or a person? A car A feathered shuttlecock contains how many feathers? 16 What type of animal is a Bombay Duck? Fish What is the plural of mongoose? Mongooses What is the collective noun for a group of monkeys? A troop Who plays Dr Jekyll in the 1996 film `Mary Reilly`? John Malkovich In which two cities would you find Cleopatra`s needles? London and New York Which of the following countries is larger than 100 square miles in area? Liechtenstein, Monaco or Malta? Malta `Restyle Perm` is an anagram of which famous actress? Meryl Streep Which cartoon cat would you associate with the bird Tweety Pie? Sylvester Which artist`s work includes `The Night Watch`, `The Mill` and `Christ Healing`? Rembrandt Who was British Prime Minister at the time of Elizabeth II's Coronation? Winston Churchill Who wrote a play about ten guests invited to a luxurious retreat who discover their unknown host is among them, intent on murder? Agatha Christie Who wrote the novel `The Count Of Monte Cristo`? Alexandre Dumas Which chemical element is derived from the Greek word for `male`? Arsenic Which if the following is not one of the standard playing pieces in the game of Monopoly? Ship, Hat or Bike? Bike Who plays Samantha in the TV series `Sex And The City`? Kim Cattrall Where were the 1984 summer Olympics held? Los Angeles What actor played `Crocodile Dundee`? Paul Hogan Where was the 2002 World Cup final played? Niigata, Yokohama or Osaka? Yokohama Which country was admitted to the United Nations in 1993, becoming the smallest country to have done so? Monaco Who composed `The Four Seasons`? Vivaldi How many squares are there on a chess board? 64 What was the score when Brazil beat Czechoslovakia in the 1962 World Cup final? 3-1, 4-2, or 5-3? 3-1 Who was the famous wife of King Louis XVI of France? Marie Antoinette Which brothers invented the airplane in 1903? Wilbur and Orville Wright Which is the only colour which appears on the flag of Libya? Green Used in the English language, what word translates as `little war` in Spanish? Guerrilla The 1956 film `Forbidden Planet` is loosely based on which Shakespeare play? `The Tempest` In which year did the first bungee jump in Britain take place? 1979 Thomas Selfridge was the first man to be killed by what type of transport? Aeroplane Who did Arsenal beat 3-2 in the 1979 FA Cup final? Manchester United What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Mensa`? Table What is the fourth book of the Bible? Numbers Which American Football team reached four consecutive Super Bowls between 1991-94? The Buffalo Bills In the board game Monopoly, how much does Euston Road cost? 100 pounds What sport do Manchester Giants and London Towers play? Basketball In the Bible, who was Cain`s father? Adam Which prison was built on the Isle of Wight in 1830? Parkhurst Where were the 1960 Olympic Games held? Rome Which famous song contains the line `I feel stupid and contagious`? Smells Like Teen Spirit What was Dom Perignon the first to insert in a bottle? A cork Which famous female singer made her movie debut alongside Tupac Shakur in the film `Poetic Justice`? Janet Jackson In which town in Mississippi is `The Adventures of Tom Sawyer` by Mark Twain set? St Petersburg What type of racing has only two cars competing on the track at the same time? Drag Racing Which famous song contains the line `I feel stupid and contagious`? `Smells Like Teen Spirit` (by Nirvana) Which comon word was first coined at the start of the 20th Century by Czech playwright Karel Capek and is derived from a word meaning `menial labour`? Robot In Greek mythology, what was Nike the Goddess of? Sport, Victory or Wisdom? Victory Which of the following artists came highest in the Eurovision Song Contest for Britain in the 1990s? Michael Ball, Gina G or Love City Groove? Michael Ball Christmas Island is surrounded by which ocean? The Indian Ocen What does the second `E` stand for in `EEC`? Economic The characters Bert and Ernie from Sesame street were named after a policeman and taxi driver from what famous film? `It`s A Wonderful Life` James Cagney is often misquoted by impressionists as saying `You dirty rat`. What was his exact original words that led to this misquote? `You dirty double-crossing rat` Which sign of the zodiac runs from March into April? Aries Tony Orlando was the lead singer with which band? Dawn What animal is used to represent the star sign Capricorn? Goat In which Formula One team did Damon Hill replace Nigel Mansell? Williams What was the name of the cowboy in the film `Toy Story`? Woody Which famous TV comedian changed his name from Eric Bartholomew? Eric Morecambe Which island is part of Danish territory, but if regarded as a country would be the 12th largest in the world? Greenland What colour is the middle stripe on the Irish flag? White In which city is the 2001 film `Mulholland Drive` set? Los Angeles What is the only letter of the alphabet which does not appear in any of the names of the 50 American states? `Q` In what year did Slade first have a hit with the song `Merry Christmas Everybody`? 1973, 1975 or 1977? 1973 Who was the second wife of Henry VIII? Anne Boleyn What nationality was the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud? Austrian What was the profession of the main character in the 2001 film `The Man Who Wasn`t There`? Barber In which year was the Encyclopedia Britannica first published? 1768 How many feet are there in a mile? 5,280 Which book, written in 1962 by Anthony Burgess, was later turned into a film directed by Stanley Kubrick? A Clockwork Orange What is the collective noun for a group of toads? A knot, a stitch or a weave? A knot Who was the first footballer to score 100 goals in the English Premiership? Alan Shearer Who gave the Beatles their name in April 1960? Paul McCartney, John Lennon or Stuart Sutcliffe? John Lennon Which famous actress once said `I`ve been in more laps than a napkin`? Mae West With which football club did Sir Matt Busby win an F.A. Cup winners medal as a player? Manchester City True or False: The first Mickey Mouse movie was silent? True In what year was the British Commonwealth established? 1931 In which ocean would you be if you were at the geographical position 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude? Atlantic If you had one nickel and two dimes, how many cents would you have in total? 25 What was Robbie Williams first solo top ten single called? `Freedom` Who was the male lead who starred with Demi Moore in the film `Ghost`? Patrick Swayze Which author married actress Patricia Neal and wrote the screenplay for the James Bond film `You Only Live Twice`? Roald Dahl Who won the singles title at the first World Bowls Championships in 1966? David Bryant Which of the following is not a continent? North America, Central America or South America? Central America The band `M People` come from which English city? Manchester Which of these letters is used most frequently in the English language? B, V or P? P `When Will I See You Again` was a number one hit in 1974 for which group? The Three Degrees What US state would you arrive in if you headed due north from Hawaii? Alaska What type of animal is an eland? An antelope, a monkey or a bat? An antelope. Which film star had his feet insured for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Charlie Chaplin In which TV series might you have found the `Pacific Princess`? `Love Boat` What was Jimi Hendrix`s only UK number 1 single? `Voodoo Chile` What is the name of the rabbit in the Magic Roundabout? Dylan Who had hits in the 80s with `Live To Tell`, `Causing A Commotion` and `Express Yourself`? Madonna Where in England was the rock guitarist Slash from Guns `n` Roses born? Grimsby, Hartlepool or Stoke on Trent? Stoke on Trent What nationality are the rock groups the Stereophonics and Catatonia? Welsh In 1980, who became the first British solo female artist to have a UK number one album? Kate Bush On the London Underground, which is the only line to connect at some point with every other line on the system? The Jubilee Line Which painting by Leonardo da Vinci is also known as La Gioconda? The Mona Lisa Which actress won an Oscar for the 1990 film `Ghost`? Whoopi Golberg In miles, what is the diameter of the moon? 2160 From which film does the line `If Mr. McMurphy doesn`t want to take his medication orally, I`m sure we can arrange that he can have it some other way` come? `One Flew Over The Cuckoo`s Nest` Which of the following is not a moon of the planet Jupiter? Ananke, Callisto or Bianca? Bianca Which of the following American states is nicknamed the Golden State? Arizona, California or Florida? California Which Japanese company is the world`s largest manufacturer of motorcycles? Honda Which musical does the song `I know him so well` come from? `Chess` Which of these oceans is the largest? Arctic, Atlantic or Indian? Atlantic With which sport would you associate TV presenter Mark Nicholas? Cricket In which Scottish city would you find the Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace? Edinburgh In the musical `Annie`, what is orphan Annie`s dog called? Sandy Paul Hewson and Dave Evans are the real names of members of which rock band? U2 In which city is Marco Polo airport? Venice What is the first prime number greater than 100? 101 How many points are on the maple leaf that appears on the Canadian flag? 11 In what year did Thomas Cook organise his first continental holiday? 1855 In what country is Waterloo, where the famous battle took place? Belgium What is popstar Darius` surname? Danesh Which D. G. is credited as having discovered the singer Kate Bush? Dave Gilmour William Gibson`s short story `Burning Chrome` first included which two word phrase, widely used today when talking about the internet? Cyber Space What is the name of the donkey in the film `Shrek`? Donkey What is the only country that Denmark borders? Germany Who had a number one hit in 1986 with `Nothing`s gonna change my love for you`? Glenn Medeiros What type of animal was Boris, who the rock group `The Who` sang about? Spider In the film `Bambi`, what is the name of Bambi`s rabbit friend? Thumper Which canal links the Meditteranean Sea to the Red Sea? Suez canal Which boxer did Robert De Niro play in the film `Raging Bull`? Jake La Motta Who directed the 1952 film `The Quiet Man`? David Lean, John Ford or Fedrico Fellini? John Ford Which of the Great Lakes in North America has the same name as a U.S. state? Lake Michigan Which of the following actors did not appear in the film `Platoon`? Johnny Depp, River Phoenix or Tom Berenger? River Phoenix In what century was Shakespeare born? 16th `Pebbles and Bam Bam` was a spin-off of which TV series? `The Flintstones` What was the name of the song which won an Oscar for the film `an officer and a gentleman`? `Up where we belong` In which year did Janis Joplin die? 1970 What Irish writer`s portrait appears on the front of the Irish 10-pound note? James Joyce Which American state comes first alphabetically? Alabama The city of Rome stands on which river? Tiber Which country has the airline Iberia? Spain What is the capital of Thailand? Bangkok Which cat was the most popular cartoon character before Mickey Mouse? Felix The Cat Who played the President in the film `Air Force One`? Harrison Ford Agatha Christie`s novel `The Mysterious Affair At Styles` introduced which famous detective? Hercule Poirot Who was the American president when the Berlin Wall was constructed? John F Kennedy In computing, which operating system has a penguin as it`s logo? Linux What oriental game comprises 144 tiles? Mah-jong For which of the following was the Frenchman Fourier best known? Chemistry, Biology or Mathematics? Mathematics In which American state was Madonna born? Michigan In which Shakespeare play does the phrase `to be or not to be` appear? `Hamlet` How many players are there in a water polo team? 7 In what sport would you compete for the `Silver Broom`? Curling Pearl is the birthstone for which month? June Which American TV sitcom has a theme tune called `Thank You For Being A Friend`? `The Golden Girls` What type of geographical feature is Okeechobee in Florida? A lake Ibiza belongs to which island group? Balaeric In Kendo, what is the `sword` made from? Bamboo In Tim Burton`s fame `The Planet Of The Apes` who played the character which was played by Charlton Heston in the original? Mark Wahlberg Invented in Germany by Margaret Steiff, what type of toy would an arctophile collect? Teddy Bears For what book is William Golding best known? `Lord Of The Flies` Bauxite is the ore of which element? Aluminium Yuri Gagarin was the first to orbit Earth in which year? 1961 Which British monarch of the 20th century was almost 60 years old when they were crowned? Edward VII The first artificially refrigerated ice rink opened in which country? U.S.A., England or China? England Who released the album `The Joshua Tree` in 1987? U2 Which actor won an oscar for playing Vito Corleone in `The Godfather Part II`? Robert De Niro What is the name of the disease caused by lack of vitamin C? Scurvy Which fictional detective`s arch-enemy was Professor Moriaty? Sherlock Holmes What is philately the study of? Stamp-collecting What is the first bridge that the boats pass under in the Oxford - Cambridge boat race? Hammersmith A Golden anniversary is celebrated after how many years of marriage? 50 Chemically pure gold contains how many carats? 24 What are the four main blood groups? A, B, AB and O White Admiral and Camberwell Beauty are different types of what creature? Butterfly Which actress did Freddie Prince Jnr marry in September 2002? Sarah Michelle Gellar Which planet in the Solar System is closest in size to Earth? Venus. In which year did the Great Wall Street Crash occur? 1929 Who was the first man to fly the Atlantic solo? Charles Lindbergh Davy Crockett`s hat was made from the fur of what animal? Racoon What animal does Tramp get to remove Lady`s muzzle in the film `Lady and the Tramp`? Beaver What is the only county in England to have two separate coasts? Devon What 1986 film is based on a story by Stephen King called `The Body`? `Stand By Me` How old was Henry III when he became King in 1216? 9 Who was the runner-up in ITV`s `Pop Idol` competition in 2002? Gareth Gates Does an average trained typist use their left or right hand to type more? Left Who had a number 2 hit in 1979 with `Pop Muzik`? M Who played Luke Skywalker in the film `Star Wars`? Mark Hamill Which month of the year features in the NATO phonetic alphabet? November True or False: Shakespeare`s Macbeth was a real person? True In April 2004, which player scored the winning goal for Chelsea to knock Arsenal out of the Champions League? Wayne Bridge What was Roachford`s biggest hit single in the UK? Cuddly Toy Who wrote `The Lord Of The Rings`? J. R. R. Tolkein Which 1997 film starred John Travolta as an angel? `Michael` How many buttons did Popeye have on his jacket? 3 Which British comedian wrote the novel `Time For Bed`? David Baddiel Which football team won the 1998 World Cup? France Which famous author once said `Work is the curse of the drinking class`? Oscar Wilde Which Saint`s day is on March 1st? St David`s Which TV police series began as a one off programme called `Woodentop`? `The Bill` In what year did Disneyland open? 1942, 1955 or 1966? 1955 Who had a top ten hit in 1998 called `I Don`t Want To Miss A Thing`? Aerosmith Which English football team became the first ever to win both the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season, when they did so in 1993? Arsenal Which line on the London Underground was opened in 1977 and was originally planned to be called Fleet? Jubilee How many legs does an ant have? 6 What type of animal is a `motmot`? A bird Which country is San Marino surrounded by? Italy Which waterway divides the Isle of Wight from the English mainland? The Solent Which is bigger - one litre or two pints? Two pints Who duetted with Michael Jackson on `The Girl Is Mine`? Paul McCartney Who wrote a book of childrens poems called `Old Possum`s Book Of Practical Cats`? T. S. Elliot Which of the following bands were once called the Warlocks? AC/DC, The Grateful Dead or Talking Heads? The Grateful Dead How many inches are in a yard? 36 Which band had top ten hits in the 1990s with `No Son Of Mine` and `I Can`t Dance`? Genesis What was the name of first feature film in which the dog `Lassie` appeared? `Lassie Come Home` Dustin Hoffman`s first major role was in what 1967 film? `The Graduate` Who played Eliza Doolittle in the film `My Fair Lady`? Audrey Hepburn In 2002, which film won Oscars for Best Sound and Best Editing? Black Hawk Down In which 1967 film would you find the character of Detective Virgil Tibbs? In The Heat Of The Night How is the mountain called Godwin Austen better known? K2 In computing, what does the letter `O` stand for in `MS-DOS`? Operating Which London art gallery is famous for it`s five Turner galleries? The Tate Gallery. Which vitamin improves the eye`s ability to see in the dark? Vitamin A How many stars make up Orion`s belt? 3 How many films did Marilyn Monroe make? 7, 15 or 30? 30 What is a flying fox? A bat, a fish or a lizard? A bat. Who was the first British King of the 19th century? George III What do the initials IBM stand for? International Business Machines Which New York bridge, completed in 1883, was designed by John Augustus Roebling? Brooklyn Bridge True or False: Taphephobia is the fear of losing your teeth? False Concord is the capital of which American state? New Hampshire On which river was Rome founded? Tiber Lentigines is the medical term for what? Birthmarks, freckles or fingernails. Freckles In 1999, what was the approximate population of Canada? 31 million, 63 million or 113 miilion? 31 million Who had top ten hits in the 1990s with `Goldfinger` and `Oh yeah`? Ash Which Spanish painter said `I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them`? Pablo Picasso Which 1974 number one with just one three letter word in the title was the the theme from the TV series `The Seven Faces Of Woman`? She In which year were Oscars first awarded for supporting actors and actresses? 1936, 1956 or 1976? 1936 Which of the following flags do not feature the colour red? Brazil, Vietnam or Luxembourg? Brazil In music, how is Harry Webb better known? Cliff Richard What type of bean is the ingredient for baked beans? Harricot What fairytale has been filmed the most? `Cinderalla` For how many days did the Great Fire of London last? 4 Which Sheffield band made the Top 10 twice with their hit single `Temptation`? Heaven 17 The Disney character Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was modified in 1928 to become who? Mickey Mouse Which artist`s `Les Desmoiselles d`Avignon` was an example of cubism? Pablo Picasso Who is the patron saint of Scotland? St Andrew The film `The Silence of the Lambs` was based on a novel by whom? Thomas Harris After John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963, on which date was Lee Harvey Oswald, who was alleged to have shot him, murdered? November 25th, 1963 What is name of the main female character, played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the film `The Matrix`? Trinity In which century was King Richard II of England born? 14th For most of history, two out of three people in the world have lived on what continent? Asia What was the nationality of the racing driver Keke Rosberg? Finnish Voyager 2 discovered 6 moons of which planet in August 1989? Neptune Which European country`s capital city changed it`s name from Christiana? Norway Which author made a surprise appearance during a U2 concert at Wembley in 1993? Salman Rushdie Which character is Arthur Conan Doyle most famous for creating? Sherlock Holmes Which 90`s song includes the line `Take a deep breath and get real high`? What`s Up In what decade was the FA Cup first held at Wembley? 1920s Who was Dr Richard Kimble accused of killing in the `The Fugitive`? His Wife How many stars appear on the flag of Australia? 6 What is the birthstone for the month of May? Emerald or Ruby? Emerald Which Spice Girl released a solo album called `A Girl Like Me`? Emma Bunton What is the world`s most popular musical instrument? Harmonica, Flute or Acoustic Guitar? Harmonica Who plays the detective `Columbo` on TV? Peter Falk What is another name for the mountain lion? Puma How many countries does the equator run through? 12, 16 or 21? 12 How many feet are in a furlong? 660 In the band Steps, one member is nicknamed `H`. What word does this letter stand for? Hyperactive In what year was Walt Disney born? 1901 Which famous Scandanavian pop group got their name by the members taking the first letter of each of their names? Abba Where might you come across a polar bear? At the north or south pole? North pole Is the bottom stripe on the USA flag red or white? Red What won `Best TV Comedy` at the British Comedy Awards in 2002? `The Office`, `Phoenix Nights` or `Eastenders`? The Office What is the longest river in China? The Yangtze Excluding jokers, how many cards are there in a standard pack? 52 In what year was the first atom bomb dropped? 1945 In what year did American President Richard Nixon resign from office? 1974 What is the collective noun for a group of whales? A school What type of dog is Ren in `The Ren and Stimpy Show`? Chihuahua In the TV series `Dr Who` what was the name of the character who created the Daleks? Davros Which 1961 war novel was written by Joseph Heller? `Catch-22` Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate last? Silver, Crystal or Ruby? Ruby By what nickname is criminal Albert De Salvo better known? The Boston Strangler The Victoria Falls waterfall lies on the boundary of which two African countries? Zimbabwe and Zambia In which film did the character of Marion Crane famously die? `Psycho` In what year was the first penalty scored in an FA Cup final? 1910 In which film does the main character befriend a dog he calls `two socks`? Dances With Wolves By what name is Graham McPherson better known as in the music world? Suggs What award was given to Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Martin Luther King in 1964 and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990? The Nobel Peace Prize In a round robin tournament with 5 teams, how many games in total would be played? 10 Guns `n` Roses had a hit with a cover version of which James Bond theme tune? `Live And Let Die` What was the approximate population of Mexico in 2000? 20 million, 50 million or 100 million? 100 million In what year did Hungarian Professor Rubik invent his famous cube? 1975 In which city are the remains of the ship the Mary Rose kept? Portsmouth At which sport did Mark Spitz win seven gold medals in 1972? Swimming The 2002 film `Death Watch` was centred around which war? World War I John Wayne won an Oscar for his performance in what 1969 film, which was based on a novel by Charles Portis? `True Grit` What is a Flemish giant? A rabbit At which film festival is the Palm d`Or awarded? Cannes Which actress played a mermaid in the film `Splash`? Daryl Hannah True or False: `copyrightable` is the longest word in the English language that can be written without repeating a letter? False Which London football team was formed from a company called `Thames Ironworks`? West Ham In Charles Dickens` `A Christmas Carol`, how many ghosts visited Scrooge? 4 What is the more common name for the condition of `otalgia`? Earache For how many years was Queen Victoria queen of the United Kingdom? 63, 73 or 83? 63 What name is given to the Southernmost point in South America? Cape Horn Which popular sport features in the NATO phonetic alphabet? Golf Who is the oldest member of U2? Adam Clayton Which of the following Bond films had a theme tune which was not sung by a female? Licence To Kill, From Russia With Love or Octopussy? From Russia With Love Which silent film star was known as America`s Sweetheart? Mary Pickford What is the colour of the bottom stripe of the US flag? Red Which female singer teamed up with the KLF for their hit `Justified and Ancient`? Tammy Wynette What yearly political event was broadcast live on British TV for the first time in March 1990? The Budget What is the name of the group of 1196 islands in the North Indian Ocean, none of which are bigger than 5 square miles? The Maldives According to the Collins Millenium Dictionary, in what year was the word `Allergy` introduced into the English language? 1907 What is the name given to a young whale? A calf What is a chuckwalla? A lizard, a turtle or an antelope? A lizard. Who played Mrs Robinson in the film `The Graduate`? Anne Bancroft What is the more common name for anthropophagy? Cannibalism Which D. D. wrote the book `Moll Flanders` in 1722? Daniel Defoe How many times is the f-word used in the film `Scarface`? 206 Which folk opera, in which all the cast were black, did George Gershwin write the music for? ``Porgy and Bess` In what year did Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister? 1979 Who has had hit albums called `Mutations` and `Midnite Vultures`? Beck In which country would you find the world`s biggest pyramid? Mexico What is the popular name for the antirrhinum? Snapdragon What was the name of the dog in Peter Pan? Nana What country celebrates a holiday in July in honour of an act in 1867 which unified the nation? China, Canada or Russia? Canada To which European country does Greenland belong? Denmark What was the name of the plane Lindbergh flew on the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic? The Spirit Of St Louis For what film were the best actress and supporting actress Oscars awarded in 1994? The Piano In what year were the world`s first test tube twins born? 1981 How many bronze lions would you find in Trafalgar Square in London? 4 How many rows of stars are there on an American flag? 9 Which Beatles single gave its name to the John Lennon memorial garden in Central Park? `Strawberry Fields Forever` In feet, how high is Ben Nevis? 4,406 From which country did King Zog flee in 1939? Albania Which famous artist painted the `Water Lilies`? Monet What name is given to the cooking of an egg without it`s shell by boiling it in water? Poaching What was the name of the tiger in the film `The Jungle Book`? Shere Khan What is an anenometer used to measure? Wind Speed What band provided the music for the musical `Tommy`? The Who What 1980 film featured the character of `Ming The Merciless`? `Flash Gordon` In which film did Al Pacino play the character of Tony Montana? `Scarface` Who wrote the novel `Lady Chatterly`s Lover`? D. H. Lawrence In October 2002, it was announced that which Big Brother 3 star was to join the cast of the musical `Boogie Nights`? Jonny In the Simpsons, what are the names of Marge`s two sisters? Patty and Selma Which cartoon character was `the fastest mouse in all Mehico`? Speedy Gonzales Which Elvis Presley song was based on the Italian folk song `O Sole Mio`? `It`s Now Or Never` How many times is the `F-word` used in the film `Goodfellas`? 246 How long is the Channel Tunnel? 31 miles, 49 miles or 77 miles? 31 miles How many sides has a heptagon? 7 Ginger ale and the pneumatic tyre were both invented in which European city? Belfast Who was the first actress to appear on a postage stamp? Grace Kelly Which of the following has the largest population? Canada, India or Brazil? India In April 2004, which singer did Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis demand an apology from? Justin Hawkins What replaced Calcutta as the capital of India in 1912? Delhi Who released the album `Wednesday Morning` in 1964? Simon and Garfunkel Which book is Douglas Adams most famous for? The Hitch Hiker`s Guide To The Galaxy Which French painter`s work included `The Pink Nude`? Matisse. Which pop song includes the lyrics `Don`t let your indecision take you from behind`? `Making Your Mind Up` Superman appeared for the first time in Issue of Action Comics. What was the year? 1938 What was the name of the horse in the film `Toy Story 2`? Bullseye Which song by Jackie Wilson was originally released in 1957, and reached number one in the UK when re-issued in 1986? `Reet Petite` In what year did India gain independence from the United Kingdom? 1947 Which animal represents the star sign Taurus? Bull What is the only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible? The cat What was an iron maiden used for? Torture Who represented Britain at ski-jumping in the 1988 Winter Olympics? Eddie Edwards Which countries national symbol is the `Fleur De Lys` or lily? France`s Triskadekaphobia is the fear of what number? 13 Steve, Larry and Jimmy were the first names of which 80`s pop group? Bronski Beat In which country did playing cards originate? China According to Oscar Wilde, what is `the name everyone gives to his mistakes? Experience Who was Queen Victoria`s grandfather? George III Which `M` is the capital of the American state of Vermont? Montpelier In Italian, what does the word Pizza mean? Pie Who painted `Vision Of A Night`? Raphael Whose ghost is said to haunt the White House? Abraham Lincolns Dinosaurs were the dominant land animal for approximately how many years? 130 million, 600 million or 2 billion? 130 million What is the name of Garlfield, the cartoon cat`s girlfriend? Arlene, Cheryl or Ma? Arlene Who directed the film `Natural Born Killers`? Oliver Stone In what year were electric christmas tree lights first used? 1895 How many minutes is a golfer allowed to search for his ball before it is considered lost? 5 What is the name given to a young goat? A kid Whose first hit single was `What Have You Done For Me Lately` which reached number 3 in 1986? Janet Jackson On which side of the road do the Japanese drive? The left Satay is a famous food from which country? Malaysia What name is given to the famous statue at the entrance to Copenhagen harbour? The Little Mermaid. In which century did Louis XIV begin ruling France? 17th In what year was the first women`s cricket World Cup held? 1988 Who played Batman in the 1997 film `Batman and Robin`? George Clooney Which Bob Dylan song was taken to number 1 in the UK in 1965 by The Byrds? `Mr Tambourine Man` Who wrote the song `All Along The Watchtower`, which was a hit for Jimi Hendrix? Bob Dylan What is the ancient Chinese book `I Ching` also known as? The Book Of Changes, The Book Of Chapters or The Book Of Children? Book of Changes Which football team won the FA Cup in 1997 and 2000? Chelsea Maoris are associated with which country? New Zealand. Which ocean surrounds Hawaii? Pacific Which famous British poet`s first names were Percy Bysshe? Shelley Which famous person in history did Mel Gibson play in the film `Braveheart`? William Wallace What would a Geiger counter be used to measure? Radiation Basil Rathbone was famous for playing which character in a series of 1940`s films? Sherlock Holmes What do the Welsh call Wales? Cymru How is the number 1000 represented in Roman numerals? M Blink 182 get there name from the number of times Al Pacino uses the `f word` in which film? Scarface What is the name of the quizmaster on the TV show `Fifteen to One`? William G Stewart What was Crocodile Dundee`s real first name? Mick For which river was Hernando de Soto famous for discovering? Mississippi In which city did the first recorded car accident occur? New York Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate first? Paper, Wood or Steel? Paper The River Danube flows into which sea? The Black Sea What was the title of New Order`s 1990 hit with the England football squad? `World In Motion` In Greek mythology, who was killed by a poisoned arrow in his heel? Achilles What nationality was the actor Errol Flynn? Australian Which `Ian` featured on the Madness song `Drip Fed Fred`? Ian Dury What 1986 film included the song `Take My Breath Away` by Berlin? `Top Gun` Martin Sheen had a heart-attack during the filming of which 1979 film? Apocalypse Now The Bahamas lie off the coast of which US state? Florida What historic event happened on Monday, December 9, 1980? John Lennon was killed. What was Marilyn Monroe`s real second name? Mortenson Which popular sport was once known as Sphairistike? Tennis Which of the following teams did not play against England in the 2002 World Cup finals? Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay? Uruguay Jodie Foster, Mel Brooks and Cindy Crawford have all lended their voices to phone callers on what TV sitcom? `Frasier` Which 90s number one included the line `You can brush me hair, undress me anywhere`? Barbie Girl What is Truman`s surname in the film `The Truman Show`? Burbank Which chancellor of the exchequer introduced the Tessa? John Major Which member of The Beatles is pictured barefoot on the front cover of the Abbey Road album? Paul McCartney Which famous authour has also written several books using the pseudonym Richard Bachman? Stephen King What is the only animal to have four knees? The elephant Which University is based in Milton Keynes? The Open University Which famous rock group were once called The High Numbers? The Who In the card game Gin Rummy, how many cards are dealt to each player? 10 How many league goals did Bobby Charlton score for Manchester United? 50, 99 or 199 199 What animal is used to represent the star sign Cancer? Crab In which year did the Queen visit the Vatican for the first time? 1980 Tenerife is part of which group of islands? Canary Islands What relation is Supergirl to Superman? Cousin The first ever film was shown in 1895 in which country? France Which singer provides the voice for Chef in South Park? Isaac Hayes How many stokes would you have to take in golf at a par 4 hole to get an albatross? 1 How many goals did Gary Lineker score for England in the 1986 World Cup finals? 6 What is the medical name for the small channel between your top lip and your nose? Philtrum What is the scientific name for the wind pipe? The trachea The drink Tequila originates from what country? Mexico Who wrote the Christmas story, `The Snowman`? Raymond Briggs Who captained the submarine in Stingray? Troy Tempest Which team did England beat in the 1966 World Cup final? West Germany What were Benjy and Laska, which were sent into space in 1958? Mice Which country has the international vehicle registration letter of `S`? Sweden Buggles `Video Killed the Radio Star` was the first video to be shown on MTV. In what year was this? 1981 Who were the first animated television couple to sleep in a double bed? Fred and Wilma Flintstone Approximately how many acres in size is a baseball field? 1, 2 or 4? 2 Who played Lois Lane in the 1978 film `Superman`? Margot Kidder What is England's most northerly county? Northumberland Which famous comedian and writer had a UK TV series in the 1990s called `The Man From Auntie`? Ben Elton In which famous novel was the official language of society called `Newspeak`? `1984` Which actress played a detective in the 1968 film `The Thomas Crown Affair` and played a psychologist in the 1999 remake? Faye Dunaway Which president of France from 1969 to 1974 had the first name Georges? Pompidou Which gas is often referred to as laughing gas? Nitrous Oxide In the TV show `The Simpsons`, who was kicked out of the group the Be-Sharpes and replaced by Barney? Chief Wiggum Which dance`s name is the Spanish word for sauce? Salsa How many legs does a spider have? 8 Which Scottish football team had the first top level all-seater stadium in British football? Aberdeen What subject was Rodney studying in `Only Fools And Horses`? Computing The Battle Of Agincourt features in which Shakespeare play? Henry V Who`s debut album was called `Left Of The Middle`? Natalie Imbruglia Which band has released albums called `His n Hers` and `Different Class`? Pulp What do the letters `U.S.S.R.` stand for? Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Which commonly used word literally means `adopted son` in Latin? Affiliate Which singer`s 1983 tour was called `The Serious Moonlight Tour`? David Bowie`s What was the name of the theatre where Abraham Lincoln was killed? Ford`s Theatre What is the only bird which hunts by the sense of smell? The kiwi. What sporting event was won by Antonio Pinto in 1997 and 2001 and by Dionicio Ceron in 1994 and 1995? The London Marathon Which city hosted the 2001 FA Cup Final? Cardiff What name is given to the young of a horse? Foal According to the film `It`s A Wonderful Life` how do you know when an angel has got his wings? A bell rings Which motor racing driver said `When a man holds you round the throat, I don`t think he has come to apologise` after a collision with Nigel Mansell in 1987? Ayrton Senna What was special about the FA Cup qualifying soccer match between Linfield and Cliftonville in 1888? It was the only FA Cup tie to be played on Christmas Day According to the TV series `Dr Who`, how many hearts does a Time Lord have? 2 Which TV presenter released their autobiography `Fools Rush In` in the year 2000? Anthea Turner Which Queen song is generally regarded as the first to be hit sold on TV by it`s video? `Bohemian Rhapsody` What type of animal is a sidewinder? A snake With which sport would you associate the Eisenhower trophy? Golf With which sport would associate the Sheffield Eagles? Rugby League Who was the first vocalist to actually appear in the credits sequence of a James Bond film? Sheena Easton What comes between Duke and Earl in the ranking of British peers? Marquess In mobile phone techonology, what does S.M.S. stand for? Short Message Service Which English county cricket team plays at the Oval? Surrey In which year did the first commercial radio broadcast take place? 1920 What are the names of the Duke Of York`s two children? Beatrice and Eugenie In what year did film star James Dean die? 1955, 1959 or 1964? 1955 `Sooner Or Later` and `You Must Love Me` were Oscar winning songs performed by which singer? Madonna Port of Spain is the capital city of which Carribean country? Trinidad and Tobago In mytholody, which of the following did Pegasus have that a normal horse wouldn`t? Wings, a Crown or three eyes? Wings Which actress won a lifetime acheivement award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001? Melanie Griffith In what year did Alanson Crane patent the fire extinguisher? 1863 In computing, what does the letter `B` stand for in the acronym BASIC? Beginners, Boolean or Basic? Beginners Which of the following did not star in the 1972 film `Deliverance`? Ned Beatty, Peter Coyote or Jon Voight? Peter Coyote Who`s play was adapted for the 1951 film `A Streetcar Named Desire`? Tennessee Williams` A deficiency of which vitamin causes the disease scurvy? Vitamin C What is the state capital of Massachusetts? Boston Who wrote the song `Who Wants to be a Millionaire`? Cole Porter At which British city was Gig In The Green held in 2002? Glasgow According to the nursery rhyme, who put pussy in the well? Little Johnny Green Which University has a rowing eight called Isis? Oxford Which of the following islands is smallest? Sumatra, Baffin Island or Borneo? Sumatra Which Premiership football teams ground is on Trinity Road? Aston Villa In which English county would you find Truro? Cornwall What is 73 miles long and stretches from Solway Firth to Wallsend on Tyne? Hadrian`s Wall Adapted to become a successful film, which James Ellroy novel was the third in a series which also included `The Black Dahlia`, `The Big Nowhere` and `White Jazz`? `L.A. Confidential` Called Tabula in medieval Europe, Tables in England, and Tric-Trac in France and Germany, by what name was this popular game now known? Backgammon What was the name of the first computer to defeat a World Chess Champion in a tournament? Deep Blue In which modern day country is the ancient city of Babylon? Iraq Who directed the 1991 film `JFK`? Oliver Stone Which famous London street was formerly known as Tyburn Way? Oxford Street Caedmon is regarded as the earliest English … what? Magician, Poet or Playwright? Poet Who wrote `Anna Karenina`? Leo Tolstoy What was the title of Steven Spielberg`s first full length movie? `Barricade`, `Duel` or `Nineteen Forty-One`? Duel Who was Prsident of the USA from 1974-1977? Gerald Ford From which film does the line `Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship` come? `Casablanca` In what year did the Queen talk about her `annus horriblis` in her Christmas speech? 1992 Who wrote `A Tale Of Two Cities`? Charles Dickens Isihara Plate tests are used to determine what? Colour Blindness What was the approximate population of the European country San Marino in 1999? 25,000, 75,000 or 150,000? 25,000 What is the largest country in the Caribbean? Cuba Whose first spoken words on screen were `Hot Dogs` in 1929? Mickey Mouse The Black Sea is off the north coast of which country? Turkey Which novel brought Charles Dickens to fame in 1837? Pickwick Papers Florence Nightingale was a nurse during which war ? The Crimean war What is the common name of a poker hand containing 3 of a kind and a pair? A full house Who was the first female to present of Points of View on a regular basis? Anne Robinson Which famous young pop star married Jason Alexander in Las Vegas in January 2004? Britney Spears In April 2004, which `Osbourne` entered drug rehabilitation clinic for addiction to painkillers? Kelly In which year was `Match Of The Day` first broadcast on BBC1? 1964 The novel `The Mystery Of Edwin Drood` was left unfinished in 1870 by which author? Charles Dickens What was the first country to issue postage stamps? Great Britain Who painted `Crucifixion` and `The Persistence Of Memory`? Salvador Dali In which year was the US space station Skylab launched? 1973 What are the periods of seven and a half minutes which form a game of polo called? Chuckas Who had a top ten hit in 1986 called `What`s The Colour Of Money`? Hollywood Beyond Who ruled England from 1910 to 1936? King George V Which female singer had the bestselling album in the UK in 1982 with `Love Songs`? Barbra Streisand What was the name of Dick Turpin`s horse? Black Bess What was the first English football club to have undersoil heating installed? Everton On which part of the body would you wear espadrilles? The feet Who bought the Castle of Mey in 1952? The Queen Mother Which country is also the title of a 1985 film by Terry Gilliam? Brazil What was the title of the last film in the `Omen` trilogy featuring the character of Damian? `The Final Conflict` From which country does the drink Pernod originate? France Who ordered the execution of John The Baptist? King Herod Based on the height above sea level, which South American city is the highest capital city in the world? La Paz Which canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans? The Panama Canal Approximately how many bricks are there in the Empire State Building? 1 million, 10 million or 100 million? 10 million Who played opposite Ewan McGregor as Nick Leeson`s wife in the film `Rogue Trader`? Anna Friel Who did actor David Arquette marry in 1999? Courtney Cox Created by author Ian Fleming, which James Bond villain had his heart on the right side of his body? Dr No On the Beaufort Scale of wind speed what comes after a fresh breeze? Strong Breeze Which of the following flags do not feature the colour red? Hong Kong, Algeria or Uruguay? Uruguay Approximately what percentage of the human body is water? 60%, 70% or 80% 80% What is the name of the three headed guard dog in Greek mythology? Cerberus The line `I can`t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life` comes from which Oscar winning film? `American Beauty` Which famous footballer left Tottenham in 1992 to join Japanese side Grampus Eight? Gary Lineker Who invented the television? John Logie Baird Which TV character named his son Mearth? Mork In the film `Citizen Kane`, what is dying word of Charles Foster Kane, which a reporter tries to investigate the significance of? Rosebud Which King defeated Harold at Hastings? William I With which controversial issue was Doctor Jack Kevorkian associated? Euthanasia Actress Kate Hudson is the daughter of which other actress? Goldie Hawn In which year was Prince Charles born? 1948 Which team won the first university boat race? Oxford Which English football team are nicknamed the `Hornets`? Watford How many verses make up the national anthem `God Save The Queen`? 3 In the 1998 version of `The Parent Trap`, the meddlesome twin sisters were both played by Lindsay Lohan. Who played them in the classic Walt Disney original? Hayley Mills Who played the nanny in the 1992 film `The Hand That Rocks The Cradle`? Rebecca De Mornay Who directed the 1971 film `The French Connection`? William Friedkin, Peter Weir or John Schlesinger? William Friedkin What was Princess Diana`s maiden name? Spencer In Grange Hill how did Danny Kendall die? Of a brain haemmorrhage Which single spent 16 weeks at number one in the UK music charts in 1991? `Everything I Do I Do It For You` What was the title of Beethoven`s only opera? `Fidelio` What three words was Uncle Sam depicted as saying while pointing his finger at the viewer on a World War I American army recruiting poster? `I want you` Who created the Peanuts comic strip? Charles M. Schultz In which English county is the Lake District? Cumbria In which country did chess originate in the 2nd century? India Which female singer recorded the 1993 album `The Red Shoes`? Kate Bush Which of the following countries` flags features the colours blue, yellow and red? Hungary, Belgium or Romania? Romania Who plays the Green Goblin in the 2002 film `Spider-Man`? Willem Dafoe What 1991 film stars Billy Crystal as a man plagued by mid-life crisis who goes on a cattle driving vacation? `City Slickers` Which TV show featured a dog called `Freeway`? `Hart To Hart` How old was Shirley Temple when she made her last film in 1949? 21, 31 or 41? 21 What is Scotland`s highest mountain? Ben Nevis What is tocophobia the fear of? Travelling by train, drowning or childbirth? Childbirth Who plays the title role in the TV series `A Touch Of Frost`? David Jason In music, which controversial star auctioned his Mustang car for almost $30,000 in July 2002? Eminem Which American state lies between Canada and Wyoming? Montana What is the name given to the system for categorising library books? Dewey Decimal System Who had a hit album in 1973 with `Don`t Shoot Me, I`m Only The Piano Player`? Elton John What is the atomic number of the element Californium? 98 What is the national flower of Wales? Daffodil During the making of which film did Brad Pitt chip his tooth, but refuse to have it capped as he felt it added to his character? Fight Club Scientist`s took the word `quark` from the work of which authour? James Joyce What is the second longest river in the world? The Amazon What dinosaur was an armoured plant-eater with a bony frill around its neck and three sharp horns on its head? Tricerotops Who`s 1981 debut album was called `Boy`? U2 How many operas did Beethoven write? 1 What do the English call the alcoholic drink which is called `Heavy` in Scotland? Bitter What legendary rock star`s real name was Johnny Allen? Jimi Hendrix Which song includes the line `My head`s spinning, boy I`m in a daze`? `Never Ever` Approximately how thick is the Earth`s crust under land? 2 miles, 20 miles or 200 miles? 20 miles In ten-pin bowling, what name is given to knocking down all ten pins with the two balls of a single frame? A spare What 1992 film had the tag line `A brutal murder. A brilliant killer. A cop who can`t resist the danger.`? Basic Instinct Which London play holds the record for the longest run of any show in the world? `The Mouse Trap` When is St Andrews day? 30th November Which American band had a top ten hit in 1976 called `26 Or 6 To 4`? Chicago How are the first five books of the bible known collectively? The Pentateuch By what scoreline did Manchester United beat Newcastle United in the 1999 FA Cup Final? 2-0 Who wrote the book `Swallows and Amazons`? Arthur Ransome What colour is Noddy`s hat? Blue Who directed the 1974 film `The Conversation`? Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese or Stanley Kubrick? Francis Ford Coppola Which film starring Julia Roberts had a working title of `$3,000`? `Pretty Woman` Peridot is the birthstone for which month? August What is Frank Spencer`s wife`s name in the TV comedy show `Some Mothers Do Have `Em`? Betty Who was the first Englishman to win the Formula 1 British Grand Prix? Stirling Moss What is the name of Snoopy`s little bird friend? Woodstock What type of transport was `The Flying Dutchman`? Ship Who was the Norse God of thunder? Thor Which word was used by Shakespeare in `Titus Andronicus` and was later developed into the word `hello`? `Hollo` How many players make up a volleyball team? 6 What is the highest possible number used in a standard Bingo game? 90 What style of painting has a name meaning `fresh` in Italian? Fresco Who invented the Centigrade scale of temperature? Anders Celcius What was the screen name of actor Lee Yuen Kim? Bruce Lee Which was the first product to ever have the bar code? Chewing Gum, Washing Up Liquid or Cigarettes? Chewing Gum Which of the following books of the Bible comes in the Old Testament? Daniel, Luke or Mark? Daniel Which American President founded the Peace Corps? John F Kennedy In which century did William Shakespeare die? 17th When Brazil won the 1994 soccer World Cup, to which famous sportsman did they dedicate it? Ayrton Senna Born in Paris in 1840, who was regarded as the leader of the 19th century impressionist art movement? Claude Monet What is the captial of the Isle of Man? Douglas By what name was authour Eric Blair better known? George Orwell In the film `Who Framed Roger Rabbit`, what is the first name of Roger`s wife? Jessica Which actor starred in `Snake Eyes`, `Peggy Sue Got Married` and `Moonstruck`? Nicolas Cage Under what name did Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov become better known? Lenin In which famous novel would you find the characters of Heathcliff and Mr Earnshaw? `Wuthering Heights` Where in England was Charles Dickens born? Portsmouth In what year did American Express introduce travellers cheques? 1891 What was the name of Audrey Hepburn`s character in the 1964 film `My Fair Lady`? Eliza Doolittle Which strait links the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean? Gibraltar Strait What type of sweet did Mars and Murrie develop in 1941? M & Ms Which of these periods came first? Jurassic, Palaeocene or Carboniferous? Palaeocene By what nickname was the 70s serial killer David Berkovitz better known? Son Of Sam Which country owns the Canary islands? Spain The Doggett`s Coat and Badge is contested in which sport? Rowing What type of dogs are commonly kept by Eskimos? Huskies On which Greek island was a famous sculpture with no arms found in 1820? Milos Which musical duo wrote the lyrics and music for the film `The Sound Of Music`? Rogers and Hammerstein Which character did Christopher Ryan play in the TV comedy series `The Young Ones`? Mike Who according to Shakespeare said `A horse, a horse. My kingdom for a horse`? Richard III Around which war is `The Dirty Dozen` set? World War 2 Which of Henry VIII`s wives was mother to Queen Mary? Catherine Of Aragon For what was Camille Pissarro best known? His paintings, his plays or his poems? His paintings. Who won the Eurovision song contest for Ireland singing `What`s Another Year`? Johnny Logan In 1933, what became the only film to have it`s sequel released in the same year? King Kong What is the title of Crowded House`s only UK top ten hit? `Weather With You` In what century was chocolate introduced to Britain? 17th What nationality was the inventor Thomas Edison? American Which flower does the spice saffron come from? Crocus What sport would you expect to see in a velodrome? Cycling Which country in Europe did the inventor of Lego come from? Denmark Which English football teams ground is on a road called Sir Tom Finney Way? Preston North End What type of headgear was named after a battle in the Crimean War? The Balaclava What was the capital of Norway in the 11th and 12th centuries? Oslo, Trondheim or Helsinborg? Trondheim What is the second longest river in the world? Amazon Which Stealers Wheel song is playing in `Reservoir Dogs` when Mr Blonde tortures a police officer? `Stuck In The Middle With You`. In the Bible, how many loaves did Jesus need to feed five thousand? Five On TV what is the real name of the `Naked Chef`? Jamie Oliver The 1997 Spanish film `Open Your Eyes` was remade into which American film starring Tom Cruise? `Vanilla Sky` How many cross bars are on a papal cross? 3 What is Victoria Beckham`s maiden name? Adams What is the only venomous snake in Britain? The adder. Which element has the chemical symbol S? Sulphur Which famous person in history was shot by John Wilkes Booth? Abraham Lincoln In which film did Al Pacino portray `60 minutes` producer Lowell Bergman? `The Insider` In the song `My Darling Clementine` how did Clementine die? Drowning What 16th century warship was raised from the sea bed in 1982? Mary Rose Which singer is known as the `Belfast Cowboy`? Van Morrison Which actress was nominated for a best actress Oscar for her performance in the 1995 film `Casino`? Sharon Stone In which film did Mel Gibson play a character who was frozen for 50 years? `Forever Young` Who duetted with Diana Ross on the hit single `Endless Love`? Lionel Richie In which year did Leonardo Da Vinci design the first parachute? 1480 In what year did the first postage stamp go on sale in Great Britain? 1840 Which piece of sporting equipment was once called a `battledore`? Badmington Racket How many wings does a normal bee have? 4 Which sign of the zodiac runs from December into January? Capricorn Tim Booth is the lead singer with which British band? James Who wrote the song `Jealous Guy`? John Lennon In `spam`, the internet term for sending unsolicited e-mail, what does the letter `p` stand for? Personl, People or Permission? People What drink is made from molasses? Rum In what year did Nicholas Hillyard become the first ever to be granted a patent, when he did so for engraving and printing the King`s head on documents? 1617 In the TV show, what kind of animal was `Gentle Ben`? A bear Which element has the highest melting point? Carbon In the song `the twelve days of christmas`, what did my true love send to me on the 9th day? 9 ladies dancing Whigfield, who had a hit single with `Saturday Night`, comes from which country? Denmark Who won the mens singles title at Wimbledon in 2000? Pete Sampras What is the name of the sorceror in the Disney film `Fantasia`? Yensid What was the name of Lulu's backing group? Luvvers In what year was the Polaroid camera invented? 1947 Which of the following books of the Bible does not come in the New Testament? Joel, Hebrews or Titus? Joel Which of the following elements has a chemical symbol which does not begin with `I`? Iodine, Iron or Iridium? Iron Who is the first character to speak in the film `Star Wars`? C3P0 `Your Song` in 1970 was the first American hit by which British artist? Elton John Which group had a UK number one hit single in 1977 with `So You Win Again`? Hot Chocolate What is the name of Sherlock Holmes` housekeeper? Mrs Hudson Which famous film director directed the second segment of the 1983 film `Twighlight Zone: The Movie`? Steven Spielberg Which 1967 film starred Sidney Poiter, and had a theme tune performed by Lulu? `To Sir With Love` In which 1995 film is the main character called Jim Lovell? Apollo 13 What is the name given to someone who studies plants? Botanist What is the name of the Christian festival that happens 12 days after Christmas? Epiphany In which country was Florence Nightingale born? Italy In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, if you add up the number of swans-a-swimming and geese-a-laying, what do you get? 13, 14 or 15? 13 Which number is referred to as `Doctor`s Orders` in Bingo? 9 In maths what name is given to the series of numbers where each number is the sum of the previous two? Fibonacci Series Who directed the films `Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!` and `Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls`? Russ Meyer What does the letter `S` stand for in `NASA`? Space, Science or Society? Space Which David Lynch film was based on the life of John Merrick? `The Elephant Man` What is the only English football team without a vowel in the first five letters of it`s name? Crystal Palace Which two months are covered by the star sign Aquarius? January and February Which football commentator was given an OBE in the Queen`s Birthday Honours list in 2001? John Motson Where is the Royal and Ancient Golf Club? St. Andrews What is the only bird that can swim but not fly? The penguin What is the longest river in the UK? The Severn In the title of a famous film, how is Uncas Chingacgook better known? The Last Of The Mohicans In Scrabble, how many points is the letter C worth? 3 What American film was released in France with a title which translated as `Life, Love, Cows`? City Slickers Which football league team was beaten 9-0 by Liverpool in 1992? Crystal Palace In which European city were the 1924 Olympics due to be held before being switched to Paris? Amsterdam In the series of children`s `Noddy` books, what is the name of the policeman? Mr Plod Which famous character was created by Michael Bond in a series of books for children? Paddington Bear What famous musical is also the name of an American state? Oklahoma Born in 1475, by what name was the painter and sculptor, Buonarroti, better known? Michaelangelo. What is the state capital of Florida? Tallahasse How many of Henry VIII`s wives were beheaded? 2 According to his fake ID, in `The Simpsons`, in feet and inches how tall is Bart Simpson? 4 foot, 2 inches What character was Henry Winkler best known for playing? Fonzie Which star or `The Goodies` also starred in `The Bubblegum Brigade`? Bill Oddie To the nearest whole number, how many metres is 20 feet? 6 In New Orleans, the Mardi Gras festival occurs each year in which month? February Who was backed by the Blackhearts in the early 1980s? Joan Jett What was the name of James Bond`s housekeeper? May In the film `The Matrix`, by what name is Keanu Reeve`s character Thomas A. Anderson commonly known? Neo Using a pseudonym, who wrote the song `Manic Monday` which was a hit for the Bangles? Prince Which actor has appeared in the films `Mrs Doubtfire`, `The Lawnmower Man` and `Mars Attacks`? Pierce Brosnan Which British actress played Ophelia in the 1996 film `Hamlet`? Kate Winslet In which century was the religion Buddhism formed? 6th century B.C, 2nd century A.D. or 9th century A.D.? 6th century B.C. What does the first `A` stand for in NASA? Aeronautics By what name is St. Stephens Day better known? Boxing Day Which artist was known as the `prince of shadows`? Rembrandt In which city in England is the National Railway Museum? York Which 1933 film is set on and around Skull Island? `King Kong` How much did the USA pay Russia for Alaskan territory in 1867? $7,200,000 In computing, what does CPU stand for? Central processing unit Who was the lead singer with the pop group Altered Images? Claire Grogan Which mammals have prehensile tails? Monkeys Which comedian played the leading role in the TV series `Sorry`? Ronnie Corbett By what stage name were the double act of Edward McGuinness and Cyril Mead better known, who had there own BBC TV show from 1978 to 1991? Little And Large What is the name of the cartoon character that chases after Roadrunner? Wile E. Coyote Waterloo, the scence of a famous battles involving Napoleon, is in what country? Belgium What 1970 film directed by Robert Altman, was later turned into a TV series? `MASH` Which musical film was the first to include the word `bloody`? `My Fair Lady` In what American state does most of the movie `White Christmas` take place? Vermont Who was Arthur Conan Doyle writing about when he said `He is the Napoleon of crime`? Professor Moriaty Which Scottish band had a hit album in 1999 with `The Man Who`? Travis What was the title of the Beatles` first single? `Love Me Do` What is the correct way to address an Earl or a Viscount? `Sir`, `Your Grace` or `My Lord`? `My Lord` What is the largest state in the USA? Alaska Which European capital city was known as Lutecia by the Romans? Paris The city of London stands on which of the following rivers? Thames, Severn or Tay? Thames Which musical composer wrote `Hungarian Rhapsodies`? Liszt In which quarter of the Australian flag does the Union Jack appear? Top left, top right, bottom left or bottom right? Top left Whose is the first birth to be recorded in the Bible? Cain Which major American city is known as the `Windy City`? Chicago In which country are Tivoli gardens? Denmark What is the Japanese art-form of paper folding called? Origami According to the Pulp song `Common People`, `she studied` what `at St. Martin`s college`? Sculpture Which female singer was once married to Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr and had a child with Ray Davies of The Kinks? Chrissie Hynde Tony Allcock won the men`s singles titles in 1986 and 1987 world championships of what indoor sport? Indoor Bowls Who sings the theme tune to the TV game show `Big Break`? Captain Sensible Which of the Channel Islands lies furthest south? Jersey What was the name of the killer in the film `Halloween`? Michael Myers Which of the following countries does not border Costa Rica? Peru, Panama or Nicaragua? Peru Who had a number one hit in 1998 with `Frozen`? Madonna As at Janurary 2000, which fictional character has been used in most films? Sherlock Holmes What was the name of Robert Altman`s 1992 film about Hollywood? The Player `The Unknown Stuntman` was the theme song for which TV action series? `The Fall Guy` What school did cartoon characters Pebbles and Bam Bam go to? Bedrock High Traditionally, what colour is Santa Claus` belt? Black Which actress co-produced and starred in the 1999 film `Never Been Kissed`? Drew Barrymore In what year did Bartolomeo Cristofori event the piano? 1710 How many members does a rowing eights crew have? 9 Who played Mel Gibson`s sidekick in the `Lethal Weapon` films? Danny Glover What is theophobia the fear of? God More commonly known for writing detective novels, who wrote romantic novels using the name Mary Westmascott? Agatha Christie Which of the following did not star in the 1976 film `Network`? Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall or Glenn Close? Glenn Close Which city became the capital of America in 1788? New York In which television show did Sherilyn Fenn play the character of Audrey Horne? `Twin Peaks` Which number is written 1010 in binary? 10 How many players in total get down in a normal rugby union scrum? 16 Which Beatle`s middle name is Winston? John Lennon What name is given to the home of an otter? A holt `Slave To The Vibe` was a top twenty hit in 1993 for which group which is also the name of an alcoholic drink? Aftershock Which American athlete won 4 gold medals at the 1984 Olympic games? Carl Lewis In Greek legend, which King turned everything he touched into gold? King Midas Mount Cook is the highest peak in which country? New Zealand Which actor played Alex in the TV show `Family Ties`? Michael J Fox What word is derived from a modern plural of the Latin for `the place where three roads meet`? Trivia In which year did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour? 1941 What film`s three main characters are Brody, Hooper and Quint? `Jaws` Which 1971 novel by William Blatty was later turned into a famous horror film? `The Exorcist` Honolulu is the capital of which American state? Hawaii Who did singer Edie Brickell marry in 1992? Paul Simon, Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen? Paul Simon With which sport would you associate Nelli Kim? Gymnastics Which French city was besieged by the English until the arrival of Joan of Arc? Orleans Who was the first Indian born author to win a Nobel Prize? Rudyard Kipling In the game of Monopoly, what colour is Coventry Street? Yellow Which radio DJ wrote the autobiography `My Tune`? Simon Bates In which year did London Zoo open? 1828 Which American state is sometimes called `The Last Frontier` and `The Land Of The Midnight Sun`? Alaska Who are Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse`s famous uncle? Mickey Mouse Who had a hit single in the 1980s with `Pass The Dutchie`? Musical Youth Who preceded Queen Victoria on the British throne? William IV Which element has the chemical symbol As? Arsenic In which English County can you find 4 towns with the suffix Regis? Dorset How many people does the Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger kill in the film `Terminator 2`? 0, 1 or 71? 0 Vienna is the capital of which country? Austria Out of all the animals which make up the Chinese horoscope, which comes first alphabetically? Boar Which famous film actor once played the detective David Addison on television? Bruce Willis Which of Santa Claus` reindeer would come first alphabetically? Blitzen What is the capital of the Canadian provence of Nova Scotia and also a town in England? Halifax In what year was Martin Luther King assassinated? 1968 What was Bullitt`s first name in the 1968 film `Bullitt`? Frank Which British band`s first album was called `Word Gets Around`? The Stereophonics Which of the following colours does not appear on the Brazilian flag? Green, Red or Yellow? Red If the cheetah is the fastest thing on four legs, what is the fastest on two legs? The Ostrich. Which band`s 1997 debut album was called `Good Feeling`? Travis From which Bond movie did Matt Monroe sing the theme song? `From Russia With Love` In which country was the sport of Korfball founded? Holland The name of which sport means `empty hand` in Japanese? Karate What is the largest rainforest in the world? Amazon What is the highest mountain in the world? Mount Everest Which element forms 80% of the Earth`s atmosphere? Nitrogen Which English football club play at Roots Hall? Southend United What is the capital of Canada? Ottawa Which famous artist painted `Guernica` about the Spanish Civil War? Pablo Picasso. Who wrote the book `Watership Down`? Richard Adams In the game of Monopoly, how much does each player pay you if it`s your birthday? 10 Who wrote `Pygmalion` and `Caesar and Cleopatra`? George Bernard Shaw In what year did the character of Mickey Mouse first appear? 1928 From which country does Edam cheese originate? Holland What is the only world language that has a word for association football that is not derived from the word `football`? Italian The condition Scriveners Palsy is more commonly known as what? Writers Cramp Which `A` is the birthstone for the month of March? Aquamarine Who played Frankenstein`s monster in the 1931 film `Frankenstein`? Boris Karloff Where in Europe is Nicosia the capital of? Cyprus Dhaka is the capital of which Asian country? Bangladesh Who did Margaret Thatcher replace as leader of the Conservative party? Edward Heath True or False: Slug`s don`t have noses? False How many strings does a ukulele have? None, four or six? Four Which famous composer was known as the `Waltz King`? Johann Strauss Which range of mountains separates France from Spain? Pyrenees What is the largest city in China, which is thought to be the most densely populated area in the world? Shanghai In 1986 which boxer beat Trevor Burbick to become the youngest ever heavyweight world champion? Mike Tyson In what year did Edmond Halley discover Halleys comet? 1682 What is the collective name for a group of insects? A swarm Whose autobiography was called `A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man`? James Joyce`s In both the Old and New testaments which book has the shortest title? Job How many squares are there on a chess board? 64 How many yards are there between each set of stumps in cricket? 22 Which cat would you associate with Dilbert? Pussbert, Catbert or Mogbert? Catbert Which popular novelist died at her home in Newcastle in 1998? Catherine Cookson In what country were the 1992 Olympics held? Spain Where is the one place that the American flag flies 24 hours a day, but is never raised or lowered and is never saluted? The moon. Who played the possessed child in the film `The Exorcist`? Linda Blair In which year was the Battle of the Somme? 1916 Which of the following countries does not share a border with Luxembourg? Germany, Holland or Belgium? Holland In Scrabble how many letters have a value of 2? 2 Who wrote the novel `Jurassic Park` on which the Steven Spielberg film of the same name was based? Michael Crichton Which member of the `A Team` was a pilot? Murdoch True or False: In space it is impossible to cry:? True What surname is common to the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974 and an ex-England football manager? Ramsey What is Scooby Doo`s favourite food? Scooby Snacks What was The Divine Comedy`s first top twenty hit? Something For The Weekend What is the common title of an Elvis Presley movie and a hit song for Motley Crue? `Girls, Girls, Girls` Which of the following musical notes does not exist? B sharp, C sharp or D sharp? B sharp What is the only vegetable that is also a flower? Brocolli What is the capital of the American state of Colorado? Denver What was the title of Talking Heads first UK top ten hit? `Road To Nowhere` Where in the human body is the labyrinth? The ear In which country is the soap opera `The High Road` set? Scotland In 1901, who became the only US President not be sworn in on a Bible? Theodore Roosevelt What year saw the first flying bombs drop on London? 1944 What was the name of the Captain who hunted Moby Dick? Captain Ahab What is the opposite of `nocturnal`? Diurnal Whose face is referred to in `The face that launched a thousand ships`? Helen Of Troy What was Fatboy Slim`s first UK number one single? `Praise You` Who played Patrick Bateman in the film `American Psycho`? Christian Bale What is the name of the official London residence of the Queen Mother? Clarence House Before going solo, Lionel Richie sang with which group? The Commodores Which island was awarded the George Cross in 1942? Malta In the famous Monty Python sketch, what type of dead parrot did John Cleese take back to the shop? Norwegian Blue What is the antonym of a word? Same meaning, Same sounding or Opposite meaning? Opposite meaning What was `Happy`, which was sold for £55,000 at Sotheby`s in 1989? A teddy bear, a pendant or a skeleton? Teddy Bear Which children`s television show featured the characters of George, Zippy and Bungle? `Rainbow` In which year did Austria join the European union? 1995 Which boy band released the 1999 album `By Request`? Boyzone On the 1st of January of what year did Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia? 1993 From 1982-1989 Elle MacPherson appeared in every issue of which popular womans magazine? Elle Under what name did Erich Weiss achieve fame? Harry Houdini Which television program ended with the line `Time for bed said Zebedee`? `The Magic Roundabout` In which European city would you find the statue of the Little Mermaid? Copenhagen What is a sculpture of the upper part of a person, usually including the head and shoulders called? A bust Whose first UK top ten 20 single was `Eyes Without A Face` in 1984? Billy Idol In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, which gifts represent the ten commandments? Lords-a-leaping Which metal is the best conductor of electricity? Silver What was the name of the peace treaty at the end of World War I? The Treaty of Versailles How many cellos are involved in a typical string quartet? 1 Which film about dancing featured the characters Frances `Baby` Houseman and Johnny Castle? `Dirty Dancing` Which comedy series is set on Craggy Island? `Father Ted` How many housing property squares are there on a Monopoly board? 22 In computing, what does MS-DOS stand for? Microsoft Disk-Operating System Lois Maxwell played which character in a number of James Bond films? Miss Moneypenny Which of the following is not a moon of the planet Jupiter? Elera, Mimas or Carme? Mimas Who was the highest earning actress in America for the year 2000? Julia Roberts According to `The Hitch Hiker`s Guide To The Galaxy`, what number was the answer to life, the universe and everything? 42 What is the name of Elvis Presley`s daughter? Lisa Marie The name of which commonly used house-hold object comes from the Latin word meaning `admire` or `to wonder at`? Mirror Olympic testing of athletes for anabolic steroids began in what year? 1976, 1984 or 1992? 1976 How many yards wide is a soccer goal? 8 Who wrote the plays `Death Of A Salesman` and `The Crucible`? Arthur Miller In literature, how are the duo Charles and Gerald better known? Mills and Boon Who won back-to-back best actor Oscars in the late 1930s? Spencer Tracy Which of the following comics was issued earliest? The Beano or The Dandy? The Dandy On TV, how was the character of Diana Prince better known? Wonder Woman Which country in the world has the highest population? China Vehicles from which country have the letter `B` to identify their nationality? Belgium Which authour`s real name was Charles Dodgson and was a mathematics instructor at Christ Church Oxford? Lewis Carroll What name is given to the score 111 in cricket? Nelson In which English city was Charles Dickens born? Portsmouth Which war was fought between 1936 and 1939? Spanish Civil War What is the American name for what the British call a `drawing pin`? Thumbtack What was George Michael`s first solo UK single to reach the top 40? `Careless Whisper` In the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, what are the 10 Lords-a-leaping said to symbolise? The Ten Commandments On the 1st of January of what year did Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia? 1989, 1991 or 1993? 1993 In 2002, a tv advert for which drink featured a cat called Tom going clubbing? Bicardi Breezer Who played Jim Phelps in the 1996 film `Mission: Impossible`? Jon Voigt The speed of light is approximately equal to how many miles per second? 186,000, 6.1 million or 310 million? 186,000 What was the name of the mission that involved the first manned lunar landing in 1969? Apollo XI In which English county would you find Aylesbury? Buckinghamshire Who sang with Craig McLachlan on the 1993 single `You`re The One That I Want`? Debbie Gibson In 1956, who became the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar posthumously? James Dean Which TV character did Matt Frewer invent from an idea he had from a road sign? Max Headroom Which of the following actresses appeared in the film `Top Gun`? Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer or Helen Hunt? Meg Ryan How many pieces does a Jenga set have? 54 What was an iron maiden used for? Dress making, Feeding horses or Torture? Torture The Latin translation of the phrase `Which was to be proved` provided what abbreviation? Q.E.D. Who were Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar? The Three Wise Men In what film does Clint Eastwood play a radio d.j. stalked by an ex-fan? `Play Misty For Me` In which year did the radio show `The Archers` begin? 1950 What was the name of author A. A. Milne`s son? Christopher Robin Which famous Christmas Carol, was originally written in 1857 for Thanksgiving? `Jingle Bells` Who was England`s top wicket taker during the 1992 Cricket World Cup? Ian Botham Which of the following appeared in both the films `Magnolia` and `Boogie Nights`? Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore or Tom Cruise? Julianne Moore Which of the following colours does not appear on the Argentinian flag? Red, White or Blue? Red Which playing card is sometimes referred to as the `black lady`? The Queen of Spades Which artist painted `Sunflowers`? Van Gogh Who directed the film `Death Wish`? Michael Winner Excluding the sun, what is the name of the nearest star to Earth? Proxima Centauri Richard Starkey is the real name of which famous musician? Ringo Starr Who`s motto is `Let not the deep swallow me up`? Royal National Lifeboat Institution Which of the four Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles would come first alphabetically? Donatello Which city is served by W A Mozart airport? Salzburg What is the capital city of the Seychelles? Victoria What job did Helen Hunt`s character do in the film `As Good As It Gets`? Waitress In 1785, Blanchard and Jeffries became the first to cross the English channel using which method of transport? Balloon On which racecourse is the St Leger run? Doncaster Who won the `Best International Male` award at the Brit awards of 2000? Beck In which country was the writer Rudyard Kipling born? India Who wrote the 1995 novel `Rose Madder`? Stephen King Which actor more famous for his roles in horror films played Sherlock Holmes in a 1968 TV series? Peter Cushing Which British Admiral defeated the French at Trafalgar, but was killed during the battle? Nelson The city of Dublin stands on which of the following rivers? Liffey, Shannon or Clyde? Liffey Is the tropic of Cancer north or south of the equator? North Who won the men`s gold medal for ice-figure skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics? Robin Cousins Which of the following rock stars worked as a gravedigger before starting his musical career? Rod Stewart, Freddie Mercury or Billy Joel? Rod Stewart With which British Rock group did Ozzy Osbourne make his name? Black Sabbath In the American postal system, `MN` is the abbreviation for which state? Minnesota What does the letter `N` stand for in `NATO`? North What is the plural of `opus`? Opera Who directed the 1984 film `The Killing Fields`? Norman Jewison, Roland Joffe or Oliver Stone? Roland Joffe Which tennis player was runner up in the mens singles final at Wimbledon in both 2000 and 2001? Pat Rafter Who won the 1500m gold medal for Great Britain at the 1980 Olympics? Sebastian Coe In January 2003, it was reported that Dave Glover had been thrown out of which band due to his relationship with convicted murderer Rosemary West? Slade The island of Gotland belongs to which country? Sweden In what year did the building of the Panama canal begin? 1870, 1880 or 1890? 1880 What was the title of David Bowie`s 1977 album, his first of three collaborations with Brian Eno? `Low` How many members were in the band All Saints? 4 Who`s life inspired the 1987 film `Personal Services`? Cynthia Payne A Griffin has the head of which type of bird? Eagle Which 1992 film was advertised with the slogan `Never let her out of your sight. Never let your guard down. Never fall in love.`? `The Bodyguard` What is Madonna`s maiden name? Ciccone In which Scottish city are the comics the Beano and the Dandy published? Dundee What was the number on the back of the soccer jersey that both Maradona and Pele said was lucky? 10 Which female singer had a number one hit with `Mi Chico Latino`? Geri Halliwell In which year is the 1982 film Blade Runner set? 2019 Who said `Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind`? Albert Einstein The Chinese and the Mississippi are the only two known species of which creature? Alligator What characted does Jack Nicholson play in the 1989 film `Batman`? The Joker, The Penguin or The Riddler? The Joker Madonna appeared in which play in London in 2002? Up For Grabs, Up For Offer or Up The Ante? Up For Grabs Which of the following groups were once called the Mugwumps? The Yardbirds, The Mamas And Papas or Mott The Hoople? The Mamas And Papas Which 1952 Agatha Christie play ran in London for over 35 years? The Mousetrap Which Colonel was the manager of Elvis Presely? Tom Parker Who was the folk singer and ex-busker from Cleveland who filled in for Stevie Wonder at the 1988 UK Nelson Mandella Concert? Tracey Chapman How long did the one hundred year war last? 66, 89, 100 or 116 years? 116 years Who at the 1984 Olympics, won the 100m, 200m, sprint relay and the long jump? Carl Lewis Which Beatle`s first girlfriend was called Thelma Pickles? John Lennon`s Which team were Manchester United playing, when Eric Cantona was sent off and kicked one of their supporters? Crystal Palace Which English King was defeated by Robert The Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn? Edward II Which king of England had a mother and a son who were beheaded? James I Who directed the films `The Usual Suspects` and `X-Men`? Bryan Singer What ancient Greek mathematician compiled 13 volumes on geometry called `The Elements`? Euclid Which 90s song includes the line `What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you`? `Wicked Game` What colour is the bottom stripe on the Croatian flag? Blue Which band reached number 2 in the UK charts in 1982 with the song `Private Investigations`? Dire Straits How is the medical condition of myopia better known as? Short-sightedness What were the surnames of `Bonnie And Clyde`? Parker and Barrow In which English country was Cheddar cheese first made? Somerset Which 1956 musical was based on the 1940 film `The Philadelphia Story`? `High Society` What was the name of Britain`s first nuclear powered submarine? HMS Dreadnought What is the correct way to address a bishop? `Sir`, `Your Grace` or `My Lord`? `My Lord` What is the least used letter in the English language? `Z` In which 1980 film did Jack Nicholson ad-lib the line `Here`s Johnny`? `The Shining` What was the codename for the German invasion of Russia in World War II? Barbarossa In `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory`, what was the name of the little people who worked for Willy Wonka and loved to sing? Oompa Loompas What is the capital of Bosnia? Sarajevo What type of creature is a taipan? Snake Who created the character Gunga Din? Rudyard Kipling Which movie actor has played characters including Jack Ryan and Dr Richard Kimble? Harrisson Ford From which country does the dish Enchilada come? Mexico In 1981, who took over from Tom Baker in the TV series `Doctor Who`? Peter Davison Which famous British ship`s name means `The Short Skirt`? The Cutty Sark Who won a Golden Globe for playing the character Satine in the 2001 film `Moulin Rouge`? Nicole Kidman How is the number 60 written in Roman numerals? LX Which element has the chemical symbol P? Phosphorus In what year did the Beatles officially split up? 1970 What is the most common street name in Britain? High Street Which famous cartoon bird appeared for the first time in 1937 on the Porky Pig show? Daffy Duck In 1889, what took over from the Great Pyramid as the tallest building in the world? Eiffel Tower Which TV detective has a sidekick called Seargent Lewis? Inspector Morse What single letter is the chemical symbol for the element Potassium? K What is the only American state with a name which has just one syllable? Maine In which European country is the Costa del Sol? Spain Which band released the album `Second Coming` in 1994, five years after their debut album? The Stone Roses What was Marilyn Monroe`s full real name? Norma-Jean Baker What is the name of the diminutive snake-killing hero described in a story by Rudyard Kipling? Rikki-Tikki-Tavi What distance is covered in one circuit of a modern outdoor running track? 400 metres Which famous inventor was born in Scotland in 1847 and became a US citizen 35 years later? Alexander Graham Bell When asked if he would be going to Marilyn Monroe`s funeral, who said `Why should I go? She won`t be there`? Arthur Miller, Joe Di Maggio or John F Kennedy? Arthur Miller Which TV detective had a dog called simply `Dog`? Columbo Into which sea does the Nile flow? Mediterranean What is the only mammal that can fly? The bat In 1978 who became the youngest man to win a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in `The Goodbye Girl`? Richard Dreyfuss In which Charles Dickens novel does the character of Smike appear? `Nicholas Nickleby` Who wrote `Our Mutual Friend`? Charles Dickens In the childrens TV series, what was the name of the girl who looked after Bagpuss? Emily In what year was the first American test-tube baby born? 1983 Which plant is the only one to have flowers, but no proper leaves? Cactus In the Tour De France, what colour jersey does the rider with the fastest cumulative time wear? Yellow Where did the Clangers live? On the moon Glossophobia is the fear of what? Failure, The Opposite Sex or Public Speaking? Public speaking What was the name of John Wayne`s final film? `The Shootist` In what year B.C. was Alexander the Great born? 356 BC If you were born on July 4th, what star sign would you be? Cancer In which country did the 2000 Olympic Games take place? Australia What was the name of the world`s first cloned sheep? Dolly How long is a 10-pin bowling lane? 60 feet, 80 feet or 100 feet? 60 feet Who played the female lead in the 1933 film `King Kong`? Fay Wray What was the name of the character that O J Simpson played in the `Naked Gun` films? Officer Nordberg What is the name of the one-legged sailor with a parrot on his shoulder, and who is the main character in the book `Treasure Island`? Long John Silver Alvin Stardust had a number one in 1974 called `Jealous ...` what? Mind Which of the following authors wrote most recently? Jonathon Swift, Rudyard Kipling or Daniel Defoe? Rudyard Kipling Seoul is the capital of which country? South Korea Which singer came third in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest with the song `Power To All Our Friends`? Cliff Richard Which American state first declared Labor Day a legal holiday? Colorado, Connecticut or California? Colorado In which Scottish city is the book `Trainspotting` based? Edinburgh Who was the first person to Captain and Manage a World Cup winning Football team? Franz Beckenbauer In which year did Arthur Conan Doyle publish the first of his `Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes`? 1891 In which South American country are the Glass waterfalls? Brazil Which Beatle was the youngest? John, Paul, George or Ringo? George Igor Sikorsky designed and flew the first practical version of what flying machine? The helicopter Which animals become the leaders in the novel `Animal Farm` by George Orwell? Pigs Which actress sang with Peter Sellers on the 1960 hit `Goodness Gracious Me`? Sophia Loren How many funnels did the Titanic have? 4 Which of the four main Balearic Islands is closest to Spain? Ibiza In which American city was the TV show `Cheers` set? Boston What was Ezra Pound famous for writing? Poems, Musicals or Biographies? Poems Which is older? Stonehenge in England or the Colosseum in Rome? Stonehenge Augusta is the capital of which American state? Maine What was the name of the boat in the TV show `The Love Boat`? The Pacific Princess If Monday`s child is fair of face then what is Wednesday`s child? Full of woe Which 1980 horror film which spawned a number of sequels was directed by Sean S Cunningham? `Friday The 13th` A paper anniversary is celebrated after how many years of marriage? 1 Masked, Hermit and Spider are all types of which animal? Crab Which motorway links Birmingham and Lancaster? M6 Which band did Nirvana`s bass player Dave Grohl join after Nirvana split in 1995? The Foo Fighters Who did Coventry beat in the 1987 FA Cup final? Tottenham Hotspur In what year did the London Underground begin operations? 1863 What song was the Christmas number one in the UK in both 1975 and 1991? `Bohemian Rhapsody` With which song did Sacha Distel enter the UK charts 5 times? `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head` In millimetres, what is the width of an A10 sheet of paper? 26 What is the largest country in Africa? Sudan In which century did Belgium become independent from the Netherlands? 19th Hana Mandikova, who became an Australian citizen in 1988, was born in which country? Czechoslovakia In the game of Monopoly, what colour is Euston Road? Blue In which book of the Bible are the Ten Commandments first mentioned? Exodus By what abbreviation is the International Criminal Police Organisation better known? Interpol Which famous rock star wrote the lines `It`s better to burn out than to fade away` in his suicide note? Kurt Cobain In which year did Channel 4 begin broadcasting? 1982 How many players are in an ice-hockey team? 6 In BBC`s 2002 100 Greatest Britons, which position was Robbie Williams? 77 In Monty Python`s Flying Circus, what type of animal was Dinsdale? A giant hedgehog Which 1987 film stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley? Beverly Hills Cop II Which cartoon character has three nephews called Huey, Dewey and Louis? Donald Duck Which actress starred in `Wild Things` and the `Scream` trilogy? Neve Campbell Who played Father Peter in the TV series `Ballykissangel`? Stephen Tompkinson On which Saturday morning TV show might you have seen the Phantom Flan Flinger? Tiswas Who directed the 1993 film `The Fugitive`? Peter Weir, Andrew Davis or Wolfgang Peterson? Andrew Davis In which sport is there a yorkround? Archery Nicknamed Charles the Fat, of which European country did Charles II rule between the years 884 and 887? France In the TV series `I`m Alan Partridge`, in which English town does Alan broadcast his radio show? Norwich Who hosted the TV quiz show `Ask The Family`? Robert Robinson Which English explorer introduced the potato and the tobacco plant to England? Sir Walter Raleigh How high is the highest board in competition diving? 2 metres, 6 metres or 10 metres? 10 metres What is the collective noun for a group of kangaroos? An army, a mob or a troop? A mob In what year was highwayman Dick Turpin hanged? 1739 What is the state capital of Georgia? Atlanta Who played Nora Batty in the TV series `Last Of The Summer Wine`? Kathy Staff Casey Kasem provided the voice of which character in Scooby Doo? Shaggy In 1995, which singer was put on 18 months probation for firing a gun at two noisy teenagers? Ozzy Osbourne, Nina Simone or Van Morrison? Nina Simone Which London football club was the first in England to install an artificial pitch? Queens Park Rangers Which Simply Red song includes the line `And I love the thought of coming home to you`? Fairground Which of the following elements has the atomic number 2? Carbon, Lithium or Helium? Helium Which famous cartoon character first appeared on-screen in the 1934 cartoon `The Wise Little Hen`? Donald Duck Which singer is famous for his `moonwalk` dance? Michael Jackson What is the capital city of Libya? Tripolli What nationality was the composer Beethoven? German Which cartoon character has an anchor tatooed on his arm? Popeye What nationality was the explorer Dr Livingstone? Scottish What name is given to a leading female singer in an Opera, and is also used to describe someone who is temperamental and hard to please? Prima Donna In which year of the twentieth century did the Spanish Civil War begin? 1936 The TV series `Planet Of The Apes` starring Roddy McDowell was set in what year? 3085 Which author created the fictional land of Narnia? C. S. Lewis Who were the beaten finalists in both the 1974 and 1978 soccer World Cup finals? Holland Who directed the 2001 film `Black Hawk Down`? Ridley Scott What is Indiana Jones looking for in the film `Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade`? The Holy Grail What does the term `brut` mean when applied to wine? Very dry In cricket, how many runs is a double nelson? 222 In which English city is the world`s largest chocolate factory? Birmingham What was the name of the British liner which exploded in 1962 killing over 200 people? Dara St Mary`s, St Martins and Tresco are main islands in which group? Scilly Isles By what name is the domesticated albino variety of polecat better known? Ferret The abbreviation RSVP is taken from what language? French How many characters are there in the Russian alphabet? 33 Peter Mayhew is best known for playing what Star Wars character? Chewbacca Equus is the latin name for what animal? Horse What was the first `Carry On` film called? `Carry On Sergeant` What is sold by a costermonger? Fruit What is the only mammal which can`t jump? The Elephant In the film `The Truman Show` what was the first name of the character played by Jim Carrey? Truman How was author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson better known? Lewis Carroll What was the title of Shut Up And Dance`s top ten hit of 1992? `Raving, I`m Raving` or `The Bouncer`? Raving, I`m Raving In what film does Alec Baldwin play the character of Jack Ryan? `The Hunt For Red October` The name of which type of people means `eaters of raw meat`? Eskimoes What is the full title to the sequel to the film `Home Alone`? `Home Alone 2: Lost In New York`. How many players are there in a Handball team? 7 What is the more common name for the disease `Rubella`? German Measles Which is the smallest of North America`s great lakes? Lake Ontario Who wrote `Black Beauty` in 1877? Anna Sewell What is the only animal which, for both genders, is born with horns on its forehead? Giraffe Which Oasis song includes the line `I know I think I recognise your face, but I haven`t seen you before`? `Roll With It` What is the second book of the Bible? Exodus What is Frigophobia the fear of? The cold Who played the studio executive Griffin Mill in the 1992 film `The Player`? Tim Robbins In what year was `Chain Reaction` a number one single for Diana Ross? 1986 Which European state became two separate states in January 1993? Czechoslovakia What is the first name of Julian Lennon`s mother? Cynthia Who was Britains entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 with the song `Congratulations`? Cliff Richard The band Steely Dan got their name from a book by which American author? William Burroughs The modern flushing toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper, but the soldiers of which war were first to use it? World War I Which two characters in `Friends` got married in Las Vegas? Ross and Rachel Diana is the Roman goddess of what? The moon Albany is the capital of which American state? New York Who is the only American President to have been seen wearing a NAZI uniform? Ronald Reagan What is the most populated city in America? New York Who played Peter Pan in Steven Spielberg`s film `Hook`? Robin Williams What is the only venomous mammal in the world? The duckbill platypus. What was the last album ever recorded by the Beatles? `Abbey Road` What 1992 film starring Kristy Swanson is also the name of a TV series? `Buffy The Vampire Slayer` What was James Dean`s last film? `Giant` Which of Shakespeare`s plays begins with the words `If music be the food of love, play on`? `Twelfth Night` In what year was the world`s first daily newspaper published? 1702 Which character was kidnapped by a UFO in `The Colbys`? Fallon Which Brazilian footballer scored a goal in every round of the 1970 World Cup finals? Jairzinho In which European city are the headquarters of the World Health Organisation? Geneva What is the British term for what Americans call `gasoline`? Petrol Who captained Brazil`s World Cup winning football team in 1970? Carlos Alberto Who won the best actor award for the film `Ben Hur`? Charlton Heston Which musical composer wrote `The Firebird`, `Petruska` and `The Rite Of Spring`? Stravinsky Which American state is nicknamed the Lone Star State? Texas Lanzarote is part of which island group? The Canary Islands Who wrote `Frankenstein`? Mary Shelley Which planet was discovered in 1930 and has only one known satellite called Charon? Pluto What 1983 film starred David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve? `The Hunger` How much is the gold bullion worth in `The Italian Job`? $4,000,000 In the stock exchange what animal is used as a nickname to describe someone who sells shares thinking that the price will fall? Bear Which actor provides the voice for Rocky in the film `Chicken Run`? Mel Gibson Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993, Louis J. Freeh became the director of which organisation? The FBI Which country traditionally provides Britain with a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square in London? Norway What is the name of the aeroplane that the American President rides in? Air Force One Which Scottish football team are nicknamed the Arabs because they used to play on a pitch which was very sandy? Dundee United What is the common term for the type of people who prefer to be called `Inuit` or `Yupik`? Eskimos In `Thunderbirds`, what colour was Lady Penelope`s Rolls Royce? Pink What is the capital city of Finland? Helsinki In what year did the Great Train Robbery take place? 1963 Which ex-West Ham football manager is the father in law of pop star Louise? Harry Redknapp If you were born on April Fools Day, what star sign would you be? Aries At which battle in World War I were tanks used for the first time? The Battle Of The Somme The TV comedy series `George And Mildred` was a spin-off from which other sitcom? `Man About The House` How many spots in total does a full standard set of dominos have? 168 What was the name of the spacecraft which burst into flames on it`s ground-test in 1967, killing all three astronauts on board? Apollo I Who became the youngest person to be crowned Mr Universe in 1967 and later became a famous Hollywood actor? Arnold Swarzenegger In which US state did the World Cup final take place in 1994? California Which US state is home to cartoon character Deputy Dawg? Mississippi Which actor suffered a fatal heart attack during the filming of `Gladiator`? Oliver Reed. The largest ever teddy bears picnic was held in Dublin in 1995. How many bears were there? 33,573 In which board game might you land on Free Parking or The Water Works? Monopoly Which American actor died at the age of 22 after collapsing outside a club in 1993? River Phoenix Which famous singer was born Thomas Woodward in 1940? Tom Jones How many eyes does a cyclops have? 1 Stuart Sutcliffe of the Beatles died in 1962 of what cause? Brain haemmoridge. Which actress from the TV show `Friends` began her acting career advertising Tampax? Courtney Cox Which English league football team play at Ashton Gate? Bristol City By what nickname, meaning little barrel, is the artist born Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi better known? Botticelli What nationality was Van Gogh? Dutch In the children`s TV show `The Magic Roundabout`, what was the name of the cow? Ermintrude A menorah is a candleholder used by people of which religion? Judaism What is Europe`s highest capital city? Madrid, Rome or Athens? Madrid Which male singer starred in a film version of the hit musical `The Wiz` in 1977? Michael Jackson, Roger Daltrey or Meatloaf? Michael Jackson The name `United States of America` was first officially used in what document? The Declaration Of Independence From which animal does Cashmere wool come from? Goat Who became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and returned to Space in 1997? John Glenn How many people signed the American Declaration Of Independence? 56 Which of the following letters does not feature in the chemical formula for water? C, H or O? C Which of the following animals have fingerprints that are very similar to human fingerprints? Chimpanzees, Koala Bears or Possums? Koala Bear What do the initials ASLEF stand for? Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen What was the name of song, written and performed by Harold Faltermeyer, on the soundtrack of the film `Beverly Hills Cop`? Axel F What nationality was the novelist Marcel Proust? French Who plays Sabrina in the television show `Sabrina the Teenage Witch`? Melissa Joan Hart Situated on an island in the Mediterranean, what is Europe`s largest active volcano called? Mount Etna In 1319, which country was Sweden united with under the rule Magnus VII? Norway What is the only anagram of the word `stationed`? Antidotes Who played the leading role in the 1986 film `The Golden Child`? Eddie Murphy Which pop group is an anagram of `Pen Ballad At Us`? Spandau Ballet In which century were the War of the Roses fought? 15th On a darts board, what number is directly opposite 1? 19 In the NATO phonetic alphabet, what word is used for `A`? Alpha Which American football team won the first ever Superbowl? Green Bay Packers In total, how many gold medals did Carl Lewis win in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics? 7 When Walt Disney`s seven dwarfs went off to work in the mines, what were they mining? Diamonds If you were born on 29th February, what star sign would you be? Pisces What was the name of the city where the Wizard of Oz lived? The Emerald City What was the original name of Wembley Stadium? Empire Stadium What was the title of Barbara Striesand`s first film? `Funny Girl` What number do the two numbers on the opposite side of dice always add up to? 7 What number is 10 to the power 15? One trillion, one quadrillion or one quintillion? One quadrillion Other than Great Britain, how many countries have stamps which do not feature the countries name? None Which of the following football teams won the World Cup before the other two? Brazil, West Germany or England? West Germany What American TV show had a spin-off called `Joanie and Chachi`? `Happy Days` How many carats are there in pure gold? 24 Which of the following animals is not part of the Chinese horoscope? A sheep, a bear or a hen? A bear In what year did Marilyn Monroe famously sing `Happy Birthday Mr President` to John F. Kennedy? 1962 How many zeros would you associate with the metric prefix `giga`? 9 What double act hold the record for the longest gap between number 1 records in the UK singles charts with hits in 1965 and 1990? The Righteous Brothers In Japan, what is a tsunami? Tidal wave What capital city stands on the Potomac river? Washington What is the official language of Brazil? Portuguese In September 2002, Johnny Vegas sold his wedding photos to which magazine for £1? Viz What is the name of the Manager played by Ricky Jervais in the comedy series `The Office`? David Brent In the Guinness British Hit Singles book, who is listed as the most popular chart star of all time? Elvis Presley What is the highest number on a roulette wheel? 36 What type of animal is a flying fox? A fish, a bat or a squirrel? Bat In what year was Steven Spielberg born? 1936, 1946 or 1956? 1946 In February 2000, which Scandanavian country elected it`s first female President? Finland What was the surname of the professor played by Rex Harrisson in the 1964 film `My Fair Lady`? Higgins How much does it cost to buy a station in the board game Monopoly? 200 In what year did the first recorded railroad accident occur? 1832 Muhammed Ali, Cher, Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan have all admitted to suffering from the fear of what? Flying Which of the following colours do not appear on the German flag? Green, Yellow or Red? Green What nationality was composer Franz Schubert? Austrian Which singer went solo after having success with the band the Commodores? Lionel Richie What was the first Australian city to host the Olympic games? Melbourne Who composed the opera `Turandot`? Wagner, Puccini or Verdi? Puccini In which 1993 film does Kevin Kline play a look-alike hired to impersonate the President? `Dave` What is the name given to an object with four sides, where all sides are of the same length, but none of the angles are right angles? A rhombus What type of creature is a kookaburra? Bird In football, in which year was the charity shield first contested for? 1908 How many prime numbers are there between 10 and 20? 4 What 1967 film had the tagline `Train them! Excite them! Arm them!...Then turn them loose on the Nazis!`? `The Dirty Dozen` Which 1986 film had the tag-line `Be afraid. Be very afraid.`? `The Fly` In computing, what does the letter `C` stand for in the acronymp BASIC? Code, Company or Computing? Code Which Welsh band released the album `The Holy Bible` in 1994? Manic Street Preachers What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Hydrus`? Water Snake Who played Janet in the 1975 film `The Rocky Horror Picture Show`? Susan Sarandon In what year was the first charity Christmas card produced? 1949 How many European Cups did Liverpool win with Alan Hansen playing in their defence? 3 Which football team were losing FA Cup finalists three times during the 1980`s? Everton What is the lighest weight category in boxing? Light Flyweight What medical term evolved as a result of a condition suffered by Chang and Eng Bunker? Siamese Twins Originally called 40/50, what did Rolls Royce`s 1907 car later become known as? Silver Ghost An unproduced play `Everybody Comes to Rick`s` was made into which famous film? `Casablanca` How many millions away from the Sun is the Earth? 93 million, 2 and a half billion, or 113 billion? 93 million How many minutes of play are there in an American football match? 60 Who was the first player from outside the UK to captain an FA Cup winning team at Wembley? Eric Cantona What was the first name of the cabin boy in `Captain Pugwash`? Tom What number on the Beaufort scale represents a storm? 10 What is the sum of the internal angles in a hexagon? 720 Which 1994 film featured Arnold Swarzenegger playing a pregnant man? `Junior` What does the letter `A` stand for in the disease `AIDS`? Acquired In which country did the religion of Taoism originate? China Which of the five Great Lakes in North America would come first alphabetically? Lake Erie What was the President of the USA between 1981 and 1989? Ronald Reagan In the famous Nintendo games, what is the name of Mario`s brother? Luigi In which film did a `Starling` capture a `Buffalo`? Silence Of The Lambs Where were the 1988 summer Olympics held? Seoul The 1985 film `The Color Purple` won no Oscars, but how many nominations did it receive? 11 How many degrees apart are two lines of longitude which determine a time zone? 15 Who orginally created the character of `Batman`? Bob Kane In the film `Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers` which character did Andy Serkis provide the voice for? Gollum What is the sum of the internal angles in a pentagon? 540 Who had a hit album in 2002 called `One Love`? Blue Which pop star died three days before Groucho Marx? Elvis Presley Which note do an orchestra normally tune to? A, C or G? A What nationality was the artist Rembrandt? Dutch. Who had a hit in 1997 with `Tubthumping`? Chumbawumba What is the capital of Syria? Damascus Where in the human body would you find the metatarsals? In the feet What is the name of Bart Simpson`s dog? Santa`s Little Helper Which footballer was England`s first black player? Viv Anderson Who directed the 1991 film `Cape Fear`? Martin Scorcese What do the letters `M` and `I` stand for in `MI5`? Military Intelligence In which country was the first ever golf course? Scotland What are the names of John Lennon`s two sons? Julian and Sean In which country was Mother Theresa born? Albania Who managed the first English soccer side to win the European Cup? Matt Busby In what city was John Lennon killed? New York City What colour is the cross on the greek flag? White In which capital city did Oscar Wilde die? Paris Who had a number one hit in 1993 with the song `Go West`? The Pet Shop Boys How old was Buddy Holly when he died in a plane crash in 1959? 22 Which famous person in history was born in 356 BC and had a horse called Bucephalus? Alexander the Great Who played Jimmy `Popeye` Doyle in `The French Connection`? Gene Hackman In which country was Albert Einstein born? Germany Rob Sering hosted the `Night Gallery`, but was more famous for hosting which other sci-fi series? `The Twilight Zone` In which English county would you find Carlisle? Cumbria The title of which Charles Dickens novel is also the name of a famous American magician? David Copperfield The song `Tomorrow` features in which musical? `Annie` The binary system of numbers uses which two numerical digits? 1 and 0 When was the first World Snooker Championship held? 1927, 1947 or 1961? 1927 What type of animals are the cartoon characters Chip and Dale? Chipmunks In which English county is Exeter? Devon Which actor had the real name of Bernard Schwartz? Tony Curtis Who wrote the book `A Brief History Of Time`? Stephen Hawking Which TV series featured a space-ship called `Jupiter 11`? `Lost In Space` Who had top ten hits in the 1980s with the singles `Complex`, `We Are Glass` and `She`s Got Claws`? Gary Numan How many of the Beatles` were left handed? 2 Who sang `Just A Little Bit`, Britain`s entry to the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest? Gina G Who is Amelia Fieldmouse`s famous cartoon brother? Mickey Mouse Which actress said `I always did like a man in uniform. And that one fits you grand. Why don`t you come up sometime and see me?` Mae West Which fictional charcter, created by Mary Shelley, had the first name of Viktor? Frankenstein What was the first name of Nelson, the British Admiral who defeated the French at the battle of Trafalgar? Horatio Who won an acting Oscar in 1999 for their performance in a film, which they appeared on screen for only 8 minutes? Judi Dench In which city is the world`s biggest and busiest McDonalds fast food restaurant? Moscow In which city were the 1912 Olympic games held? Oslo, Antwerp or Stockholm? Stockholm In Greek mythology, who hit Achilles in his heel with a poisoned arrow? Paris Who played Joey Boswell in Bread and later went on to direct the film `Sliding Doors`? Peter Howitt In 2002, which what was Britain`s only top ten entry in Forbes magazine`s list of richest fictional characters? Willy Wonka In which 1955 film does Frank Sinatra play Nathan Detroit? `Guys and Dolls` What 1946 film features the characters George Bailey and Clarence? `It`s a wonderful life` Which English King was publicly beheaded in front of his palace in 1649? Charles I In what year were the first Olympic Games held? 1896 What is the name given to a triangle with two sides the same length and two angles of equal size? Isosceles What is the name of the main street in the TV soap opera `Neighbours`? Ramsay Street In what country is Transylvania? Romania Which book has the dedication “For Esme with Love and Squalor”? The Catcher In The Rye Where is the world`s oldest motorcycle race held? The Isle Of Man In what year did the Bee Gees have a UK number one hit with `Tragedy`? 1979 Which of these was a 1948 Western starring John Wayne and directed by Howard Hawks? Red River, Yellow River or Moon River? Red River Where were the first pair of sunglasses invented? China, America or Italy? China In which of Shakespeare`s play does the title character die in the first half of the play? Julius Caesar As at the end of 2000, how many films has Harrison Ford appeared in which have earned over 100 million dollars worldwide? 16 Tequila used instead of vodka turns a Bloody Mary cocktail into what? A Bloody Maria What large plant-eating dinosaur has a name that means `thunder lizard`? Brontosaurus Who played Eliot Ness in the 1987 film `The Untouchables`? Kevin Costner In the line in `Casablanca` which is often misquoted as `Play it again, Sam`. What song is Sam asked to play? `As Time Goes By`. Who played a bisexual bank robber in the 1975 film `Dog Day Afternoon`? Al Pacino Who was the first female newsreader on `News at 10`? Anna Ford What is lexicology the study of? Words What is the square root of one quarter? One half In what year did the Great Fire of London occur? 1666 In 1972, who became the first woman to be named Sports Illustrated`s `Sportsperson of the Year`? Billie Jean King Which film ends with the words `It`s the stuff that dreams are made of`? The Maltese Falcon In which country did the first football World Cup take place? Uruguay In which American state was the film `The Blair Witch Project` set? Maryland Who wrote the book `Heidi`? Johanna Spyri What was the title of Kylie Minogue`s first UK top 10 single? `I should be so lucky` In which century did Henry VIII rule? 16th The film `Clueless` starring Alicia Silverstone was based on which Jane Austen novel? `Emma` In which year did Kurt Cobain commit suicide? 1994 The first Opium War was a conflict between which two nations? Great Britain and China Which major sporting event did Irishman Stephen Roche win in 1987? The Tour De France Who was the only England player sent of during the 1986 World Cup Finals? Ray Wilkins What was the first film that Alfred Hitchcock made in Hollywood and the only one that won a Best Picture Oscar? Rebecca In which British city is the 1997 film `Twin Town` set? Swansea How many children made up Enid Blyton`s `Famous Five`? 4 What song from the film `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` won an Oscar for best song? `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head` In what year did the attack on Pearl Harbour take place? 1941 Which football team won the World Cup in 1938? Italy What animals name is also the term given to three strikes in a row in ten-pin bowling? Turkey James Earl Ray was responsible for who`s death in 1968? Martin Luther King`s Is Saint Apolline the patron saint of earache, toothache or headaches? Toothache In which film did actress Hayley Mills first appear? `Tiger Bay` On what date and in what year did America declare it`s independence from Britain? 4th July, 1776 What is the name of the python in The Jungle book? Kaa In 1999, who had her first UK number one with `Genie In A Bottle`? Christina Aguilera What sport involves stones and a house? Curling Which character in the TV show `Sesame Street` lives in a trash can? Oscar Which actor famously said the line `Here`s looking at you, kid` in the film `Casablanca`? Humphrey Bogart Who wrote the play `Cat on a Hot Tin Roof`? Tennessee Williams Which rock band was the subject of a 1991 Oliver Stone film? The Doors Carrots are especially rich in which vitamin? Vitamin A Which famous person in history, when he died he left his property in his will to his two daughters, sister, three nephews and many friends, but left nothing to his wife Anne? William Shakespeare Who is the only artist, as at November 2000, to have had their first 10 singles reach the top 5 in the US charts? Mariah Carey What is the name of Sherlock Holmes` arch enemy? Professor Moriaty Which city in the American town of Massachusetts is nicknamed `Beantown` because it is famous for its baked beans? Boston With which instrument would you associate Caroline Corr? Drums Fun Lovin` Criminals` hit `Love Unlimited` is a tribute to which singer? Barry White Which of the following was not one of the famous Bronte sisters? Anne, Jane or Emily? Jane Which sign of the zodiac is represented by a lion? Leo Which famous TV and film actress got engaged to musician Kid Rock in April 2002? Pamela Anderson If you were born on 4th March, what star sign would you be? Pisces `Weir of Hermiston` is the unfinished work of which author? Robert Louis Stevenson What is the Decalogue better known as? The Ten Commandments Who played Mr Orange in `Reservoir Dogs`? Tim Roth Which book by George Orwell includes the line `Man is the only creature that consumes without producing`? `Animal Farm` In the TV comedy series `Red Dwarf`, what letter does Rimmer have on his forehead? `H` What was the name of Frank and Betty`s daughter in the TV comedy series `Some Mother`s Do Have Em`? Jessica What is the largest island in the Meditteraenean? Sicily Situated in Italy, what is Stromboli? An active volcano Which is the only planet in our Solar System that is not named after either a Greek or Roman God? Earth What is the second most common word in written English? `of` What was the name of Thomas Keneally`s book on which the film `Schindler`s List` was based? `Schindler`s Ark` What does the letter `N` stand for in `NASA`? National Who had a top ten hit in 1987 with `(Something Inside) So Strong`? Labi Siffre In the film `Jean De Florette`, what is Gerard Depardieu`s character looking for? Water, his twin brother, or the Holy Grail? Water As at March 2003, who is the most successful female chart act of all time in the UK? Madonna Which famous book begins with the line `Marley was dead, at least to begin with`? `A Christmas Carol` In which American state is Death Valley? California Who won a Golden Globe best actor award in 1999 for his performance in `The Truman Show`? Jim Carrey What would an American call a baby`s nappy? A diaper What classical composer wrote some of his greatest music after becoming deaf? Beethoven Who directed the 1980 film `The Elephant Man`? David Lynch Who`s piano was auctioned for 1.45 million pounds in October, 2000? John Lennon`s Approximately how much bigger is the land area of Greenland compared to Great Britain? 2 times, 10 times or 50 times? 10 times A painting by which artist was sold for some 5.1 million pounds in June 1996? Cezanne Which of the following didn`t appear in the film `Stand By Me`? Corey Haim, River Phoenix or Keifer Sutherland? Corey Haim What was the name of the spiv played by James Beck in Dad’s Army? Private Walker Which of these styles of painting is most recent? Realism, Surrealism or Impressionism Surrealism In 2001, which Welsh rugby union player became the first to have scored more than 1,000 points in international rugby? Neil Jenkins Who had hit singles in the 1990s including `A Change Would Do You Good` and `My Favourite Mistake`? Sheyl Crow Who sang the theme song for the Bond film `Goldfinger`? Shirley Bassey As at the year 2000, how many times have the summer Olympics been held in London? Twice In which British City is Temple Meads station? Bristol Who painted the `Rouen Cathedral` series? Claude Monet. Which city in Scotland is also known as `Auld Reekie`? Edinburgh What was the first Bond film to be based on one of Ian Fleming`s short stories and not on one of his novels? `For Your Eyes Only` What was the name of Marmalades only number one hit in the UK? `Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da` How many players made up a squad in the 1998 soccer world cup? 22 Who wrote `Moby Dick`? Herman Melville Which Dutchman won the men`s singles title at Wimbledon in 1996? Richard Krajicek In what country was the game of golf invented? Scotland Which band released their third album called `War` in 1983? U2 Broadcast in 1983 ,`Goodbye, Farewell and Amen` was the name of the last episode of which American TV series? `M*A*S*H` In which American city is the largest settlement of Chinese people outside of Asia? San Francisco How many toes do camels have on each foot? 2 How many bits are there in a byte? 8 Who painted `The Scourging Of Christ` and `The Disrobing Of Christ`? El Greco. Which group, who were founded in 1981 had members called Siobhan, Keren and Sarah? Bananarama What is the opposite of `diurnal`? Nocturnal Which Bond film featured a theme tune sung by Tom Jones? Thunderball What letter of the alphabet is the most common letter to come at the start of words? `S` In what year did white lines first appear on Britains roads? 1925 In which year did Jackie Stewart first win the Formula One World Drivers Championship? 1969 In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, which gifts represent the six days of creation? Geese-a-laying Which `Sex and the City` star is actor Matthew Broderick married to? Sarah Jessica Parker Which character from the Popeye cartoon liked eating hamburgers? Wimpy Which fictional detective lives in the village of St Mary Mead? Miss Marple In which country was the recent `Lord Of The Rings` movie filmed? New Zealand What nationality was the explorer Roald Amudsen? Norwegian Robert Van Winkle was the real name of what American rapper? Vanilla Ice In which century was the 1995 film `Judge Dredd` set? 22nd Which famous American family live at 742 Evergreen Terrace? `The Simpsons` Who gave the famous speech known as the `Gettysburg Address`? Abraham Lincoln Babara Millicent Roberts is better known by what name? Barbie Which musical term was first coined in William Burroughs` book `Naked Lunch`? Heavy Metal, New Wave or Pop? Heavy Metal Which of the following large lakes is not in North America? Michigan, Huron or Victoria? Victoria What is the northernmost American state? Alaska Which film has been nominated for the most Oscars in one year? All About Eve What is the plural of `dwarf`? Dwarfs In `The Lord Of The Rings`, what type of creature was Legolas? Elf Who wrote the book `The Commitments` which was later made into a film? Roddy Doyle FINA is the governing body of which sport? Swimming In computing, what does the letter `S` stand for in `ASCII`? Standard In which battle was Nelson killed? The Battle of Trafalgar In what year was the Davis Cup tennis competition first held? 1900 What country has the largest Christian population? America In mythology, who supported the heavens on his shoulders? Atlas The line `Get busy living, or get busy dying` is spoken by the actor Morgan Freeman in which film? `The Shawshank Redemption` Which of the Beatles was the first to be a grandfather? Ringo Starr In which city is the soap opera `Brookside` set? Liverpool What motorway connects Glasgow and Edinburgh? M8 Who played Batman in the 1989 film called `Batman`? Michael Keaton Which weekly BBC TV show was axed in January 2003 after nearly 40 years? `Tomorrow`s World` In what decade did the BBC begin television broadcasting? 1930s Which cartoon character sometimes had trouble controlling Musky and Vince? Deputy Dawg Which of the following countries` flags features the colours white and blue? Switzerland, Finland or Austria? Finland In which art gallery can the `Venus De Milo` be found? The Louvre Who had a number one hit single in the UK with `Being With You` in 1981? Smokey Robinson In what film does Jack Nicholson play the character of Randle Patrick McMurphy? `One flew over the cuckoo`s nest` The Chaco War of 1932 - 1935 was between which two South American countries? Bolivia and Paraguay Which novel by Irvine Welsh, was the basis for a 1996 film starring Ewan McGregor? `Trainspotting` How many points would you get for the word `Scrabble` in a game of Scrabble? 11 How many keys are on a standard piano? 88 Which Dutchman managed both Newcastle and Chelsea in the 1990s? Ruud Gullit Which small European country has the capital city of Vaduz? Liechtenstein What does a Herpetologist study? Reptiles What name is given to a triangle with 3 unequal sides? Scalene With which country are Mounties associated? Canada What was the title of the first Harry Potter book? `Harry Potter and the Philospher`s Stone` Which member of the band the Beatles wrote `Here Comes The Sun`? George Harrison What are Philadelphia`s American Football team called? Philadelphia Eagles Which English writers first novel was called `The Light That Failed`? Rudyard Kipling `Big Brother` was the title of the first episode of which long running TV comedy series? `Only Fools And Horses` Which heavyweight boxer is nicknamed `The Real Deal`? Evander Holyfield How many bones are in a human neck? 2, 7 or 31? 7 What is another name for a baby kangaroo? A joey What is the largest planet in the Solar System? Jupiter Which actress starred in the films `Scarface`, `One Fine Day` and `Batman Returns`? Michelle Pfeiffer Which male singer was backed by the `Heartbreakers`? Tom Petty Who wrote the opera `La Traviata`? Verdi In centimeters, what is the diameter of a standard CD? 12, 14 or 16? 12 Where is the lowest point in the United States? Death Valley Who was the first US President to appear on television? Franklin D. Roosevelt In what film did Oprah Winfrey make her big screen acting debut? `The Color Purple` In computing, if a byte is 8 bits, how many bits is a nibble? 4 In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, what were there eight of? Maids-a-milking What pop group got their name from a song by Bernard Cribbins? Right Said Fred Which 1974 sequel won the best picture award at the 1975 Oscars? The Godfather, Part II Which article of clothing would you associated with designer Patrick Cox? Shoes In which novel is the world divided into Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia? `1984` How many loaves are in a bakers dozen? 13 In which Scottish city would you find Holyrood Palace? Edinburgh What colour is the cross on the flag of Denmark? White What 1974 film features a character called Leatherface, who was based on real-life mass murderer Ed Gein? `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre` Which football team scored the first goal to be conceded by Fabian Barthez in the English Premiership? Ipswich In what 1984 film does `Gizmo` appear? `Gremlins` In which decade did The Faces have hits called `Stay With Me` and `Cindy Incidentally`? 1970s Who played the leading role in the film `The Man Who Wasn`t There`? Billy Bob Thornton What is the most densely populated continent in the world? Europe What father and daughter duo had a hit in 1967 with the song `Something Stupid`? Frank and Nancy Sinatra What do the letters in QANTAS, the Australian international airline, stand for? Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service Which American band released their first mini-LP `Chronic Town` in 1982? R.E.M. Which TV puppet has its own museum in Shipley in Yorkshire? Sooty In the children`s TV show `Tiswas`, what did the letters in the title stand for? Today Is Saturday Watch & Smile Who plays Jim Morrison in the film `The Doors`? Val Kilmer Titan and Pandora are moons of which planet? Saturn Do rattlesnakes lay eggs or have live babies? They have live babies In 1993, Kim Campbell became the first female Prime Minister of which country? Canada Who did Priscilla Anne Beaulieu marry in 1967? Elvis Presley In which country was actress Vivien Leigh born? India Who were the only football team to beat the Republic of Ireland in their qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup Finals? Iran According to surveys in the 1990s, what was the most common New Year resolution? To lose weight, get fit, or stop biting fingernails? Lose weight What nationality was the economist Adam Smith? Scottish When was Adolf Hitler born? 1879, 1889 or 1899? 1889 In what year was the first Miss World contest held? 1951 In 1982, the `Man Of The Year` in Time magazine was not human - who or what was it? Greenpeace, a computer or Charlie Brown? A computer In computing, what word comes from a contraction of the words `by eight`? Byte What war began on 10 October, 1899? The Boer War Which county cricket team play at Trent Bridge? Nottinghamshire Who was the first American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Theodore Roosevelt In Roman numerals, what is CC? 200 Who wrote `Winnie The Pooh`? A. A. Milne Which team beat Brazil 3-2 in the 1982 soccer World Cup finals? Italy Which song begins `When you`re weary, feeling small; when tears are in your eyes`? `Bridge over troubled water` Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts appear as love rivals in which 90’s romantic comedy? `My Best Friends Wedding` St. Anne`s lies to the south of which holiday resort? Blackpool In which English county is Plymouth? Devon Who was the female judge on the first of ITV`s `Pop Idol` series? Nicki Chapman Who in 1961 made the first space flight? Yuri Gagarin In which American city is the film `Minority Report` set? Washington D.C. In 1998, who did Bill Clinton agree to pay $850,000 to drop her sexual harrassment lawsuit? Paula Jones Who was the British king during World War I? George V In which city would you find the Happy Valley race course? Hong Kong What does the letter `A` stand for in `NICAM`? Audio Which footballer won the golden boot in the 1966 World Cup scoring 9 goals? Eusebio The 1949 film `The Third Man` was based on whose novel? Graham Greene`s Which bay has the longest shoreline in the world? Hudson Bay Which Abba song includes the line `Do you still recall that fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande`? Fernando In which month is St Swithin`s Day? July William Pratt is the real name of which actor, best known for his work in horror films? Boris Karloff In which county is Jodrell Bank? Cheshire In which US state was the TV show `Flipper` set? Florida Which football team were formed in 1867 from a cricket club and got their name because they could only play on one day of the week? Sheffield Wednesday What is the chemical symbol for the element Radon? Ra, Rd or Rn? Rn With which pop duo would you associate Theresa Bazaar and David Van Day? Dollar In which country is San Salvador? El Salvador The Jurassic and Triassic periods fall into which era? Caenozoic, Mesozoic or Palaezoic? Mesozoic What is the second largest country in Europe? Ukraine The Beatles` last live performance was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. In what year was this? 1966 Which of the Bronte sisters wrote `Jane Eyre` in 1847? Charlotte In 2002, which actress/singer released the album `This Is Me Then`? Jennifer Lopez At the 2002 `Top Of The Pops` awards, which singer won the best tour award for her `Fever` tour? Kylie Minogue Who sang `One Step Out Of Time` in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest? Michael Ball What colour jacket does a greyhound running from trap 3 wear? White In the year 2000, how much of a fine did Ann Widecombe propose for the possession of cannabis? £100 How many players are there in a rugby league team? 13 What type of fruit is a cantaloup? A melon In the music world, how is Norman Cook better known? Fatboy Slim Which city is 88 miles from Birmingham, 71 miles from York and 43 miles from Leeds? Manchester What is the county town of Essex? Chelmsford Who plays Inspector Morse on TV? John Thaw What famous book was published in 1816 by Mary Shelley? `Frankenstein` Whose assassination is said to have led to the outbreak of the first world war? Archduke Ferdinand`s The Elton John song `Empty Garden` was a tribute to who? John Lennon Out of all the animals in the Chinese horoscope, which comes last alphabetically? Tiger Who first crossed the English channel by aeroplane? Louis Bleriot Which Southern Hemisphere country was the first in the world to allow women to vote? New Zealand In the police force, what rank comes above Chief Inspector? Superintendent Which 1969 film features the song `Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head`? `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` Which stand-up comedian wrote the novel called `Stark`? Ben Elton Which of the following elements has an atomic number less than 10? Beryllium, Phosphorus or Titanium? Beryllium What is Postman Pat`s cat called? Jess For how many years is a French President elected? 7 On what childrens TV show would you find Spud the Scarecrow? Bob The Builder How many of the seven dwarfs had beards? 6 Who was British Prime Minister from 1955 to 1958? Anthony Eden Who were Jake and Elwood better known as in a 1980 film? The Blues Brothers Which continent can be credited with the invention of hot chocolate? Africa, South America or Europe? South America Who wrote the horror book `The Shining`? Stephen King Jan Sterling in 1956 and Suzanna Hamilton in 1984 both played the part of Julia in two different versions of what film? 1984 How old was Tiger Woods when he won the US Masters in 1997? 21 What appears at the centre of the flag of Cameroon? The sun, the moon or a star? A Star Shakespeare`s `The Tempest`, Milton`s `Paradise Lost` and Pope`s `The Rape Of The Lock` all feature a character of the same name. What is this name? Ariel Which wedding anniversary would you celebrate after 20 years? Crystal, China or Pearl? China Who had the first chart hit (apart from the Beatles) with a Lennon-McCartney hit and what was the song? Del Shannon What was David Bowie`s first top ten hit single and later became his first number one when it was re-released 6 years later? `Space Oddity` For what film did Tommy Lee Jones win the best supporting actor Oscar in 1994? The Fugitive Requiring 800,000 hours to generate all the images, what 1995 film was the first fully computer generated full length feature film? `Toy Story` How many husbands did Mary Queen of Scots have? 3 What is the birthstone for the month of June? Pearl Which actor starred as Dr Doolittle in the 1967 film of the same name? Rex Harrison In 2000, who stopped Victoria Beckham reaching number one in the singles chart with her first non-Spice Girls single? Spiller What was the name of the mouse that Dumbo the elephant made friends with in the Disney cartoon? Timothy Who was the lead singer with the American band `The Go-Go`s`? Belinda Carlisle Which British city has an underground railway system which is nicknamed `The Clockwork Orange`? Glasgow In the TV comedy series `Steptoe and Son`, what was the name of Steptoe`s horse? Hercules Tobermory is the only town on which Scottish island? Mull Who had a hit album in 1994 called `Monster`? R.E.M. On a London Underground map, what colour is the Circle Line? Yellow In which British city were the rock group Def Leppard formed? Sheffield Which TV medical drama was set in Oxbridge General Hospital and was originally entitled `Calling Nurse Roberts`? `Emergency Ward 10` How many nations competed in the first ever Olympic Games? 1 Which group sang the theme tune to the TV series `Brush Strokes`? Dexy`s Midnight Runners Who`s first solo album was released in 1979 and called `The Pleasure Principle`? Gary Numan Who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald? Jack Ruby In the nursery rhyme. what was old Mother Hubbard looking for in her cupboard? A bone Who had a hit in 1987 with the single `Tonight, Tonight, Tonight`? Genesis Who wrote the song `I Shot the Sheriff` which Eric Clapton had a hit single with? Bob Marley Claustrophobia is the fear of what? Confined Spaces In diving, what does the letter `C` stand for in `Scuba`? Core, Controlled or Contained? Contained Which famous speech began with the words `At long last, I am able to say a few words of my own`? The abdication speech of Edward VIII What does NATO stand for? North Atlantic Treaty Organization Who wrote `Jungle Book`? Rudyard Kipling How many tiles are used in a game of Scrabble? 100 What was the first Beatles number one on which neither John or Paul sang the lead vocal? `Yellow Submarine` Which famous singer is an anagram of `No I Decline`? Celine Dion Which film director`s real name was Terrence Nezman? Stanley Kubrick Which London football team won the FA Cup in 1988? Wimbledon Which famous literary character said he had an older and smarter brother called Mycroft?? Sherlock Holmes In what year did Stanley Baldwin first become Prime Minister? 1923 What is the Italian for `mixed fruits`, and is also the title of a famous song? `Tutti Frutti` Who was the last actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress for playing the title character of the film? Jessica Tandy In what year was the first television broadcast in the UK? 1930, 1933 or 1936? 1936 In which German city did the 1974 World Cup final take place? Munich How many points do you get for hitting the outer bull in a game of darts? 25 In World War II, what was the name of the German coding machine, which the British eventually managed to crack? Enigma What film won the best picture, best director and best actor Oscars in 1995? Forrest Gump Who wrote a famous diary between 1660 and 1669 which included detailed descriptions of the Plague and the Great Fire of London? Samuel Pepys Which vitamin is also known as tocopherol? Vitamin E Which English league football team are nicknamed the `Millers`? Rotherham What do edentulous mammals not have? Teeth What does VHS stand for as used in video tapes and recorders? Video Home System Which N. M. married Graca Machel on his 80th birthday? Nelson Mandela In which two months could you be born if your star sign was Libra? September or October Who was shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876 in the Number 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota? Wild Bill Hickok Who patented the sewing machine in 1851? Isaac Singer In which year did Dick Whittington become Mayor of London? 1397 What is the most Northern national capital in Europe? Helsinki What nationality is Pope John Paul II? Polish In 2001, which pop group turned on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street in London? S Club 7 Which theatre in London was originally called the Waldorf? The Strand What was John Napier famous for inventing? Logarithms What is the unofficial internet term for junk e-mail? Spam Who was the first footballer to be knighted? Stanley Matthews In which 1985 film did Harrison Ford play detective John Book? Witness What English football club was originally known as Newton Heath? Manchester United Who wears `The Fisherman`s Ring`? The Pope What is the capital of Barbados? Bridgetown What is the most popular surname in the world? Chang Who painted `The Haywain`? Constable Napier University is situated in which British city? Edinburgh In the late 1960s two bands called `The Garden Wall` and `The Anon` joined together to form which band? Genesis Which international soccer team is sometimes known as the `Azzurri`? Italy Who painted the Mona Lisa? Leonardo Da Vinci What is the only known substance that naturally exists on Earth in all three chemical states? Water Which star sign is represented by the Archer? Sagittarius In the book `Huckleberry Finn`, what was the first name of Huckleberry`s best friend? Tom True or False: Metathesiophobia is the fear of hairdressers? False What surname is common to the inventor of vulcanised rubber and an actress in `Coronation Street`? Goodyear What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Ursa Major`? Great Bear Which author wrote `The Dead Zone`, `Dolores Clairborne` and `Misery`? Stephen King Which spirit is used in a Bloody Mary? Vodka After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a tin wedding anniversary? 10 In Roman times, what was the tenth month of the year? December What is the scientific term for the process of water turning to steam? Evaporation Who played Tinkerbell in Steven Spielberg`s film `Hook`? Julia Roberts What is the farenheit equivalent of 20 degrees centigrade? 68 Who directed, produced and starred in the film `The Mirror Has Two Faces`? Barbra Streisand At the Academy Awards in 1999, `The Truman Show` was nominated in which of the following categories? Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress? Best Supporting Actor Which word originated in the English language from the Latin word for `sword`? `Gladiator` In which year did James Boyd patent the rubber fire hose? 1821 What is the largest sea in the world? South China sea In what year was Hong Kong returned to China? 1997 Who featured on Chicane`s number one hit `Don`t Give Up`? Danii Minogue, Bryan Adams or Iggy Pop? Bryan Adams What is the largest island in the world? Greenland Who wrote A Severed Head (1961) and The Sea, The Sea (1978)? Iris Murdoch How is the novel `Le Tour Du Monde En Quatre-Vingts Jours` better known in English? 80 Days Around The World How old was Orson Welles when he made `Citizen Kane`? 26, 36 or 46? 26 Who became the only racing driver to win the World Championship by driving his own car when he did so in 1966? Jack Brabham According to the Bible, whose hair did Delilah cut, taking his strength away from him? Samson In `Buffy The Vampire Slayer`, what is Buffy`s last name? Summers Who wrote `The Pied Piper Of Hamelin`? Hans Christian Anderson Which sign of the Zodiac means `archer` in Latin? Sagittarius According to the famous rhyme, what day of the week was Solomon Grundy married on? Wednesday Who was responsible for the introduction of the penny post in Britain in 1840? Sir Rowland Hill What are Sirius, Vega and Rigal? Stars, Comets or Galaxies? Stars From which film did the pop group Heaven 17 take their name? `A Clockwork Orange` If all the signs of the zodiac were listed alphabetically, which would come second? Aries In the film `Dirty Harry` what was Harry`s surname? Callahan For what team did Jimmy Greaves score 41 league goals in the 1960-61 season? Chelsea How many players made up a squad In the 1998 soccer world cup? 22 What was the title of the modern film version of `Cyrano de Bergerac` starring Steve Martin? `Roxanne` Which 1963 film won 3 Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress? `Tom Jones` How was pop star Priscilla Maria Veronica White better known? Cilla Black Who wrote `The Importance Of Being Earnest`? Oscar Wilde Which actress was only 10 years old when she won a best supporting actress Oscar for the film `Paper Moon`? Tatum O`Neal The film `10 things I hate about you` is based on which Shakespeare play? The Taming Of The Shrew In which was did the Battle of the Somme take place? World War I In which city did James Bond get married? Munich What sporting event which takes place annually in England was won by Hugh Jones in 1982? The London Marathon What is the national emblem that appears on the Canadian flag? The maple leaf What make of car does TV`s Mr Bean drive? Mini In `Star Wars`, what do the letters `TIE` stand for in `TIE Fighter`? Twin Ion Engine In which century did William Shakespeare write `Romeo And Juliet`? 16th What nation developed a secret coding device called the `Enigma` ? Germany Which of these countries has the most coastline? Greenland, Italy or Japan? Greenland Which John Lennon song did Roxy Music take to number one the year after his death? `Jealous Guy` In what year was Mensa founded? 1946 Which Australian city is the capital of the state of Victoria? Melbourne Better known as an actor, who directed the film `A Bronx Tale`? Robert De Niro Where in the body is the patella? The knee Who wrote a famous diary between 1660 and 1669 which included detailed descriptions of the Plague and the Great Fire of London? Samuel Pepys In the film Goldeneye, which British actor played agent 006? Sean Bean What is the normal colour of sulphur? Yellow When was Lewis Carroll`s book `Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland` written? 1865 What was the first in Krzysztof Kieslowski`s `Three Colours` trilogy of films called? Red, White or Blue? Blue In what year was the Berlin Wall knocked down? 1989 Which sport would you be playing if competing for the Ryder Cup? Golf In which country was Leon Trotsky killed? Mexico Which element is used in vulcanising rubber? Sulphur What number on the Beaufort scale represents a calm wind? 0 The songs `Aquarius`, `Good Morning Starshine` and `Let The Sunshine In` are associated with what musical? `Hair` What was the sequel to the 1987 film `Three Men and a Baby` called? `Three Men And A Little Lady` Who co-wrote `Fawlty Towers` with John Cleese? Connie Booth Which star of many comedy films died during the making of the 1994 film `Wagon`s East`? John Candy Which of the following is not a prime number? 319, 521 or 1033? 319 Which famous novel includes the words `light of my life, fire of my loins`? `Lolita` Which A. S. played Manuel in the TV show `Fawlty Towers`? Andrew Sachs In `The Simpsons`, what relation is Herb Powell to Homer Simpson? Brother Which group had a hit first with `Sweets for My Sweet`? The Searchers Which footballer scored 220 league goals for Tottenham Hotspur during the years 1961 and 1970? Jimmy Greaves Which country has the world`s oldest flag? Denmark What 70s pop group was fronted by Brian Connolly? The Sweet In what year was the first American test-tube baby born? 1983 What is Rambo`s first name? John As at 2004, who is the most successful female chart act of all time in the UK? Madonna What does a cryometer measure? Air speed, low temperatures or the age of trees? Low Temperatures Neil Hannon had 9 top 40 singles in the 1990s under what name? The Divine Comedy In which year was Benny Goodman born? 1909 What does AC/DC stand for? Alternating current / direct current What was Peter Beardsley`s first English league club? Carlisle United Which actor was Madonna married to between 1985 and 1989? Sean Penn In the title of an H. G. Wells book, how is Griffin better known? `The Invisible Man` How may balls are used in a game of Snooker (including the cue ball) ? 22 Which `Sesame Street` character is named after a taxi driver in `It`s A Wonderful Life`? Ernie How many counties share a border with Cornwall? One What colour in art is said to signify royalty? Purple. In what year did Pocahontas die? 1617 To the nearest whole number, what percentage of the world`s surface is land? 29% In which city were the 1920 Olympic games held? Oslo, Antwerp or Stockholm? Antwerp Which Shakespeare play was banned by some schools because it contains a girl dressing as a boy? `Twelfth Night` Which pair of twin puppet pigs first appeared on UK television in 1957? Pinky and Perky Which make of car was James Dean driving when he was killed in 1955? Porsche With which famous rock band did John Paul Jones play guitar? Led Zeppelin Boston is the capital of which American state? Massachusetts What condition did Karen Carpenter suffer from which eventually lead to her death? Of anorexia As well as the `Stars and Stripes` what other name is given to the flag of the USA? Old Glory Who played Butch Cassidy in the 1969 film `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`? Paul Newman In which sport might you adopt the `egg` position? Skiing On a typewriter, which word beginning with `l` and ending in `p` is the longest word that can be typed only using the right side of a typewriter? Lollipop What was the Beatles` first UK number one single? `From Me To You` In `Star Trek`, from which planet did Spock`s mother come? Earth Who wrote `The Ugly Duckling` and `The Emperor`s New Clothes`? Hans Christian Anderson Which British band has had members called 3D, Daddy G and Mushroom? Massive Attack Who directed, produced and starred in the 1977 film `High Anxiety`? Mel Brooks Which famous film director directed the 1956 film `The Killing`? Stanley Kubrick Who were the first band to have a number one hit single with the word `drugs` in it? The Verve Who starred with Jack Lemmon in `The Odd Couple`? Walter Matthau Montgomery is the capital of which American state? Alabama At which battle was King Harold killed by an arrow? Battle of Hastings What is the second highest mountain in the world? K2 What four words first appeared on American coins in 1864 and became the American national motto in 1956? `In God We Trust` In `A Christmas Carol`, on what date is Scrooge first visited by the ghost of Marley? 24th December In which month is the French national holiday, Bastille Day? July Before becoming Liverpool football team manager, Gerard Houllier once had another job in Liverpool. What was it? Teacher USA contains approximately what percentage of the worlds population? 1%, 5% or 10%? 5% How many stripes are there on an American flag? 13 Hamilton is the capital of which North American country? Bermuda Which Shakespearian character did Leonardo DiCaprio play in a 1996 film directed by Baz Luhrmann? Romeo As at January 2001, who is the only artist to have performed three James Bond title themes? Shirley Bassey Who was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe? Sir Francis Drake 10 to the power 0 is equal to what number? 1 As at the year 2001, who is the only film director to have won 4 Best Director awards at the Oscars? John Ford How was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu better known? Mother Theresa What is the smallest bird in the world? The Bee Hummingbird In October 2002, Fiona Banner, Liam Gillick, Keith Tyson and Catherine Yass were announced as the nominees for which prize? The Turner Prize With which 1980s TV show would you associate the character Terry McCann? `Minder` Where were the 1924 Olympics due to be held before being switched to Paris? Amsterdam, Oslo or Berlin? Amsterdam Who replaced Asquith as leader of a coalition government during World War I? David Lloyd George. What did the `F` in John F. Kennedy stand for? Fitzgerald Which British King wrote farming articles under the pseudonym Ralph Robinson? George III In what year was the first traffic light installed? 1868 Which of the following films wasn`t directed by David Lynch? The Straight Story, Existenz or Dune? Existenz How many gold medals did swimmer Mark Spitz win at the Munich Olympics in 1972? 7 Which precious stone is the birthstone for the month of April? Diamond What is the name given to a triangle where all sides are of different lengths and all angles of different size? Scalene In nature, what does a dendrologist study? Trees As at the year 2000, how many Queens have ruled France? None Who had a UK top ten hit in July, 1980 with `9 to 5`? Sheena Easton What was Jimi Hendrix`s first single to reach the UK top 40 called? `Hey Joe` From which football team did Chelsea sign England midfielder Frank Lampard? West Ham United Where in the human body is the femur bone? The leg, the arm or the head? Leg From `The Famous Five` who is missing from George, Anne, Dick and Timmy? Julian The words Czar and Kaiser are both derived from which famous person in history? Julius Caesar In the music world, which front man died of heart failure at the age of 27 in 1971? Jim Morrison Which All Saints song includes the line `My head`s spinning, boy I`m in a daze`? Never Ever Who was the first golfer to achieve a hole-in-one on British TV? Tony Jacklin What nationality is the footballer Marian Pahars? Latvian How many countries border San Marino? 1 Who wrote the poem `Venus and Adonis`? William Shakespeare Which 1982 film featured the line ``More human than human` is our motto.`? `Blade Runner` How many valves are there in the human heart? 4 What type of animal was Baloo in Walt Disney`s `The Jungle Book`? A bear Kim Campbell became the first female Prime Minister of which country in 1993? Canada In which country is Damascus, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world? Syria In which famous novel does Fagin appear? Oliver Twist How many claws does a domestic cat have? 18 In the film `Cujo` what type of dog was `Cujo`? A St Bernard In the TV show `Trumpton`, what was the profession of Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub? Firemen Who painted `The Laughing Cavalier`? Frans Hals. In which British city is Lime Street railway station? Liverpool What is musophobia the fear of? Mice Which author and poet famously wrote the line `The female of the species is more deadly than the male`? Rudyard Kipling For which film and television role is actor Leonard Nimoy best known? Spock What is the traditional Christmas flower? Poinsettia For which historical event did Benjamin Brittain compose the opera `Gloriana`? The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Who provided the voice for Woody in Toy Story? Tom Hanks If you are being lapidated, what is happening to you? You are being stoned to death In Greek mythology, who did Zeus punish by making him carry the heavens with his head and hands? Atlas Which current American state was called Franklin until 1796? Tennessee What was Roy Rogers` horse called? Trigger In what year was Elvis Presley born? 1935 Which horse in a story by Anna Sewell, began life called `Darkie` and later changed names as it changed owners? Black Beauty Which country has the longest coastline in the world? Canada What American singer released a 1999 album with a title 90 words long? Fiona Apple In Britain, in which month does the longest day occur? June What is the common title of hit singles for `David Bowie`, `Five` and `Chris Rea`? `Let`s Dance` Which member of the Beatles was the first to have a Number One hit after their break-up? George Harrison On which children`s game is the triple jump thought to have been based? Hopscotch Whose resignation eventually landed Sven Goran Ericsson the job as manager of the England football team? Kevin Keegan What now-common four-letter word was first heard on the screen in the film `Gone With The Wind`? `Damn` What is the capital of Northern Ireland? Belfast Which `M` is the country which has the capital city of Rabat? Morocco Who created havoc in 1938, when his radio broadcast of `The War Of The Worlds` was believed to be true? Orson Welles The film `10 things I hate about you` is based on which Shakespeare play? `The Taming Of The Shrew` In which century did Christopher Columbus die? 16th What is the name given to a poker hand where all cards are of the same suit, but not in running order? A flush Who performed the first human heart transplant? Dr Christiaan Barnard For what role is actor Buster Crabbe best known? Flash Gordon What English word comes from two French words meaning sour wine? Vinegar Which of the Rocky films was released in 1983? Rocky III Where was Napoleon Bonaparte`s place of exile? Corsica, St Helena or Jersey? St Helena What is the name given to someone who makes arrows? Fletcher In the TV series `Thunderbirds`, what was the registration number of Lady Penelope`s Rolls Royce? `FAB 1` In `The Wizard Of Oz`, what was the Scarecrow looking for? A brain In the line in `Casablanca` which is often misquoted as `Play it again, Sam`, what song is Sam asked to play? As Time Goes By Which famous model tried to embark on a career in music when she released the single `Oh Yeah` in 1999? Caprice Which British scientist originated the theory of evolution based on natural selection? Charles Darwin Which Blondie song includes the line `Go insane and out of your mind`? Maria Which 1999 film was the last to be directed by Stanley Kubrick? `Eyes Wide Shut` What is the main element found in steel? Tin, Iron or Lead? Iron `Island Of Lost Dreams` was part of the title to which 2002 movie sequel? Spy Kids 2 In what country was actress Greta Garbo born? Sweden Which British band released an album called `Treasure` on which all the song titles contain one word only? The Cocteau Twins Who was President of the USA from 1963 to 1969? Lyndon B Johnson In which sport are competitors not allowed to play left handed? Polo In which city were the Olympic Games held in 1964, the first time they were held in Asia? Tokyo How many islands make up the Maldives? 1196 In which book of the Bible is the birth of Moses? Exodus In Greek mythology, who was the daughter or Cronus and wife of Zeus? Hera On the set of what film did Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman fall in love and then got married later in the same year? `Days Of Thunder` Which chemical element is most abundant in the air that we breathe? Nitrogen In 1999, Lance Armstrong became only the second American to win which famous sporting event? Tour De France Which song was a UK number 2 hit for both Nat King Cole and Rick Astley? `When I Fall In Love` The film `Ben-Hur` was nominated for 12 awards at the 1960 Oscars. How many did it win? 11 How many of Henry VIII`s wives were called Catherine? 3 Which of Snow White`s seven dwarfs would come first alphabetically? Bashful. Which female singer performed the first song on Top Of The Pops? Dusty Springfield What was the first name of Wayne`s friend in `Wayne`s World`? Garth Which international football team, in 1953, became the first to beat England at Wembley? Hungary Which football team won the old English First Division in 1984-95, and 1986-87? Everton In what athletics event do you have to go backwards to win? Tug of war In which American state is the 2002 film `Insomnia`, starring Al Pacino set? Alaska Which American rock star was the first music artist to release a music album on CD? Bruce Springsteen As at March 2001, who holds the record for scoring the most league goals for the soccer team Arsenal? Ian Wright Which European football club is nicknamed as `La Vicchia Signora`, which translates as `the old lady`? Juventus Which of the following counties is not in East Anglia? Suffolk, Essex or Sussex? Sussex Which Premiership footballer has the real first name of Sulzeer? Sol Campbell If a month has a Friday the thirteenth then on what day of the week would that month begin? Sunday What French phrase meaning `from the menu` is often used in the English language? `A la carte` In which film would you first have come across a sorcerer called Yesnid? `Fantasia` From the Christmas Carol `Good King Wenceslas`, where was Good King Wenceslas the King of? Bohemia In the Bible, what is the fifth book of the Old Testament? Deutrronomy Described in the Book of Job, how many heads does a Leviathan have? 2 What was Morpheus the Greek god of? Sleep, Dreams or Time? Dreams In which board game might you land on Pall Mall or The Strand? Monopoly What football team does singer Robbie Williams support? Port Vale Which wood is traditionally used to make the black keys of a piano? Ebony At what sport does Jane Sixsmith represent England? Hockey Which ex-boxer completed the 2003 London Marathon in 6 days, 2 hours and 27 minutes? Michael Watson Spinderella is the female DJ for what rap group? Salt-n-pepa Who played Robert Wagner`s wife in the TV series `Hart to Hart`? Stephanie Powers On the London Underground, which line would you use to get to Heathrow Airport? The Picadilly Line What do the members of `Mensa` call themselves? Mensans Which actress provided the voices for Jane and Brooke Shields in the 1999 films `Tarzan` and `South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut`? Minnie Driver In computing, what does the acronym ROM stand for? Read Only Memory Who wrote the novel `Salem`s Lot`? Stephen King Which TV series had characters called Jack Rolfe, Ken Masters and Claude Du Pont? `Howard`s Way` In which decade was insulin first used to treat Diabetes? 1920s In which American state is the 1953 film `From Here To Eternity` set? Hawaii For what 1991 film did Robert De Niro pay a dentist $5,000 to make his teeth look bad, and then after filming paid $20,000 to get them fixed? `Cape Fear` If you asked for `Trojans` in America, what would you get? Cigarettes, Stamps or Condoms? Condoms In `The Simpsons`, what type of animal is Santa`s Little Helper? Dog Which of the following countries is smallest in area? San Marino, Malta or Monaco? Monaco What is the most popular natural attraction in Alaska? Mount McKinley Which English Cathedral has the tallest spire? Salisbury Cathedral Who captained Europe to victory in the 2002 Ryder Cup? Sam Torrance What did Henry Beck famously map out in 1932? The London Underground In what year did London`s last tram run? 1932, 1942 or 1952? 1952 What is the boiling point of water in degrees Fahrenheit? 212 What sport was the subject of the 1996 film `Tin Cup` starring Kevin Costner? Golf If you were born on April 29th, what star sign would you be? Taurus Which famous sportsman lit the torch at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games? Muhammed Ali Which of the following planets has no moons? Neptune, Venus or Pluto? Venus Which sport do the Chicago Bears play? American Football In which year was the Declaration Of Independence signed in America? 1776. At what age did Marilyn Monroe die? 36 What was the name of the cow in the childrens TV show `The Magic Roundabout`? Ermintrude Who had hits in the 80s with `It Must Be Love`, `Wings Of A Dove` and `Uncle Sam`? Madness In the book `Through The Looking Glass`, which chess piece does Alice start off as? Pawn What is the heaviest weight category in boxing? Super heavyweight What was the name of George Stephenson`s train which made its first journey in public passenger service in 1825? Locomotion No. 1 In which continent is Lake Superior? North America Who was the first person pictured on a British postage stamp? Queen Victoria In boxing what is the maximum allowed weight to enter the flyweight category? 8 stone, 9 stone 6 or 11 stone? 8 stone What is an `Anthropomorphic Mannequin` better known as? Crash test dummy What is the name of the 10 pin bowling player played by John Turturro in `The Big Lebowski`? Satan, Lucifer or Jesus? Jesus How many stars appear on the flag of New Zealand? 4 Who had a hit in 1988 with `The First Time`? Robin Beck Who was the subject of the Mel Brooks film subtitled `Men in Tights`? Robin Hood Which animal lives in a drey? A squirrel What is the most abundant metal in the earth`s crust? Aluminium What name is given to an area is Space where the pull of gravity is so strong that nothing can escape it? Black Hole. What company is said to be responsible for Santa Claus being dressed in the colours red & white? Coca-Cola John Huston directed a 1975 film called `The Man Who Would Be ____` what? King What is orology the study of? Mountains, Rivers or Precious Stones? Mountains At the time when dinosaurs existed on the Earth`s surface, how many continents were there? One How many kilometres long is the `walk` - the longest race in men`s athletics? 50 Who made his first appearance in Issue 27 of `Detective Comics`? Batman In which war was the Victoria Cross first awarded? Crimean In which film did Clint Eastwood first appear as the `Man with no name`? `A Fistful Of Dollars` The song `You`ve got to pick a pocket or two` featured in what 1968 film? `Oliver!` What is the colour of the ball that is worth 6 points in snooker? Pink In 2003, what did the pop group S Club Juniors change their name to? S Club 8 Which famous person has the first names of Orenthal James? O J Simpson What is Charlie`s surname in `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory`? Bucket What were Dirty Den`s first two words on his `Eastenders` comeback in 2003? Hello princess Who won a record 7 Grammy awards in 1984? Michael Jackson Sand consists of what two chemical elements? Oxygen and Silicon Which British 400 metre hurdler announced her retirement at the World Championships in Athens in 1997? Sally Gunnell In which James Bond film does the character of Solitaire appear? `Live and Let Die` Which actress plays the character of Tracy who marries James Bond in `On her majesty`s secret service`? Diana Rigg What were Charles De Gaulle`s last two words? `Not now`, `It hurts` or `Maybe later`? It hurts Which famous person from history opened the 1936 Olympic Games? Adolf Hitler Which famous person owns a racehorse called Rock of Gibraltar? Alex Ferguson Is Sirius, which is also known as the Dog Star, the biggest, the brightest or the hottest star in the sky? Brightest Who had a number one hit in 1994 with `Mmm mmm mmm mmm`? Crash Test Dummies How many stomachs does a cow have? None, Two or Four? Four Who hosted the TV show `The Krypton Factor`? Gordon Burns What is the capital of Switzerland? Bern The Greek gods were believed to reside on what mountain? Olympus Who was the first divorced man to become American President? Ronald Reagan In what year did Robert Rusticoat publish `The Wasp`, the first comic book ever to be published? 1802 In the board game Monopoly, how many houses must you buy on a property before you can buy a hotel? 4 Where in the human body would you find the malleus, incus and stapes? In the ear Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Scales? Libra Which 90s song includes the line `What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you`? Wicked Game As at January 2003, which of the following has been the most profitable movie series: James Bond, Indiana Jones or Star Wars? James Bond How many lines does a poem called a quatorzain have? 14 Which type of animal was Robin Hood in the Disney cartoon film `Robin Hood`? A fox What is the musical term for a note that equals half a crotchet? A quaver What was the first team sport to be publicly televised? Baseball In July 1998, who became the youngest solo act to top the UK charts with a debut single? Billie Piper Which 1999 film featured a sequence in which 7,900 rubber frogs were used? Magnolia What is the largest lake in the Lake District national park? Lake Windemere In `The Simpsons`, what was the name of the first cartoon Scratchy appeared in? `The Happy Cat`, `Scratchy Goes West` or `Steamboat Scratchy`? The Happy Cat Which film released in the year 2000, was advertised with the slogan `Escape or Die Frying`? `Chicken Run` The Bible is the best selling non-copywrited book in the world. What is the best selling copywrited book? `The Guinness Book Of Records` How many wheels does a hansom cab have? 2 The owl and the pussycat bought their wedding ring from which animal? A pig Who was the first female DJ on Radio 1? Annie Nightingale Bibliomania is an obsession with what? Books What is the only country which is crossed by both the equator and the tropic of capricorn? Brazil Where are you most likely to come across the dewey-decimal system? On a railway track, on a baseball field or in a library? In a library What is Paul McCartney`s middle name? Paul What is the last book in the Bible? Revelation What was the full title of Robert Louis Stevenson`s book which first featured `Jekyll and Hyde`? `The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde` At which distance did Sally Gunnell win her gold medal for hurdling at the 1992 Olympics? 400m Mickey Mouse have eyes which have pupils for the first time in which 1940 film? `Fantasia` In what year was Nelson Mandela imprisoned for life? 1964 Which cartoon character lives at 1313 Webfoot Walk? Donald Duck Which actress was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra? Meg Ryan In 1980 which electronics company demonstrated its latest invention, the compact disc? Philips Which Take That song includes the line `Just tell me the song and I`ll sing it`? Back For Good What nationality is Jean Marc Bosman, famous for the `Bosman Ruling` which affected footballers being transferred from one club to another? Belgian Which TV detective kept his gun in a biscuit jar? Jim Rockford How many teaspoons go into one tablespoon? 3 Which film featured Robin Williams playing an English teacher called John Keating? `Dead Poets Society` In what year did William Gillette invent the safety razor? 1895 Who shared a Nobel prize in 1945 for his discovery of the antibiotic penicillin? Alexander Fleming In which city is Tianamen Square where over 1,000 demonstraters were killed in 1989? Beijing What nationality was the composer Bela Bartok? Hungarian How is the year 1999 written in Roman Numerals? MCMXCIX Which famous person in history had a horse called Marengo? Napolean An ivory anniversary is celebrated after how many years of marriage? 14 Which sign of the Zodiac is represented by the goat? Capricorn Who played `The Elephant Man` in a David Lynch film? John Hurt In the TV comedy series `The Good Life`, what was the surname of the Good`s neighbours? Leadbetter In which town did Jesus grow up? Nazareth Waitangi Day on February 6th is the national day in which country? New Zealand. Attu Island is the most western point of which country? USA In what year was Income Tax introduced into the UK? 1799 In which year did the last public execution by guillotine take place in France? 1939 In which year was the first Eurovision Song Contest? 1956 Which sport would you practice if you were a toxophilite? Archery What American city was devastated by fire in 1871, allegedly as the result of a cow kicking over a lantern? Chicago Which jockey famously rode 7 winners at a race meeting in Ascot in 1996? Frankie Dettori In the French language, when is `le soir`? In the evening Which 1963 film had a budget of 44 million dollars which if adjusted for inflation would make it one of the most expensive films ever made? `Cleopatra` Who directed the film `Almost Famous` based on his own experiences as a rock reporter in the 70s for Led Zeppelin? Cameron Crowe According the the nursey rhyme, what was Little Miss Muffet eating? Curds and Whey Who played the title role in the 1965 film `The Cincinnati Kid`? Steve McQueen In the 1998 film `The Big Lebowski`, what is the dude`s favourite cocktail? White Russian Which of the following does not mean the fear of surgery? Ergasiphobia, Tomophobia or Rupophobia? Rupophobia What 1995 animated Disney film featured a raccoon called Meeko and a hummingbird called Flit? `Pocahontas` What is the emlem of Islam, which is displayed on a number of national flags? A crescent moon Which fashion model is nicknamed `the body`? Elle McPherson Who is the author of the `Harry Potter` books? J. K. Rowling What 19973 film starred Ron Howard, Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss? `American Graffiti` Located in New York City, what type of building is Sing Sing? A prison In which Scottish city would you find Dyce Airport? Aberdeen Which actress played Dorien in the TV sitcom `Birds of a Feather`? Lesley Joseph What is the name of the fault that causes the earthquakes around San Francisco? San Andreas Fault What type of creature is Indiana Jones scared of? Snakes, Spiders or Rats? Snakes What is Fred Flintstone`s wife called? Wilma By what name is the comic book character of Oswald Cobblepot better known? The Penguin What is one third divided by one half? Two thirds Which Madonna song includes the line `I have a taste for danger`? Beautiful Stranger Which food, not rationed during World War II was later rationed after it? Bread In which Italian city would you find the Uffizi Gallery? Florence Which major tennis tournament is played annually at the Roland Garros Stadium? French Open What is the chemical symbol for the element Gold? Au In the NATO phonetic alphabet, what word is used for `M`? Mike Which `P` is the book of the Bible comes after Job and before Proverbs? Psalms What kind of animal is a saki? Monkey Who, at 42 years old, was the youngest President of the United States of America? Theodore Roosevelt What license cost 37 pence when it was abolished in 1988? Dog Licence Which 1982 British film is thought to have had 300,000 extras appear in it? `Gandhi` Which controversial 1955 novel is Vladimir Nabokov`s best known? `Lolita` Which two throwing events in track and field require safety netting? Discus and Hammer Which Radio 1 DJ announced he was leaving the station in August 2002, after 15 years? Mark Goodier Sapphire is the birthstone for which month? September Which band had a UK number one hit single with `I`m A Believer` in 1967? The Monkees From which country did Paddington bear come? Peru In which 1993 film does the character Dr Richard Kimble appear? The Fugitive What is America`s equivalent of `University Challenge` called? `College Bowl` In which American city would you find Dodge City? Kansas `Whiskey-A-Go-Go` in Los Angeles was America`s first what? Discotheque What was the approximate population of Portugal in 2000? 10 million, 20 million or 30 million? 10 million What was Henry Moore`s `Reclining Figure`? A poem, a play or a sculpture? A sculpture. Who played Scaramanga in the James Bond film `The man with the golden gun`? Christopher Lee Who was the British Prime Minister at the outbreak of the Second World War? Neville Chamberlain What European country is home to the majority of Catalan speakers? Spain How old was Tiger Woods when he first won the British Open Golf Tournament? 24 Which country`s name originates from a line of Latitude? Equador Which sport is covered on television by Claire Balding and Willie Carson? Horse Racing In which year were bar codes first introduced into shops in America? 1974 Which English city was named Aquae Sulis by the Romans? Bath Which athlete broke the women`s 100m record in 1988 by recording a time of 10.49 seconds? Florence Griffith-Joyner How many holes does a 10-pin bowling ball have in it? Three Who was killed playing poker while holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights leading to expression `dead man`s hand`? Wild Bill Hickock What is the chemical symbol for the element Neon? Ne In which harbour did the Mary Rose sink in 1545? Portsmouth How many events were contested in the first ever Olympic Games? 43 Vulcan was the Roman God of what? Fire A dagger, lead piping, a revolver, rope and a candlestick - which murder weapon is missing from the game of Cluedo? Spanner Geri Halliwell`s single `It`s Raining Men` featured on the soundtrack to what film? `Bridget Jones` Diary` On what date is St Georges day? April 23rd Which band had a number one hit with `Barbie Girl`? Aqua What is the largest land mammal in the world? Elephant What name is given to a female horse aged four or under? Filly In the name of the electronics manufacturer JVC, what does the letter `J` stand for? Japanese Which British Prime Minister was assassinated in 1812? Spencer Perceval Who was the first man to reach the South Pole? Roald Amundsen What was A-Ha`s first number one single in the UK? The Sun Always Shines On TV In what 1977 film did John Travolta get his first starring role? `Saturday Night Fever` Which Beatles song has been recorded the most by other artists? `Yesterday` Who was the second son of Adam and Eve and was murdered by his brother? Abel What was the name of No Doubt`s hit single which included the line `Don`t tell me cos it hurts`? `Don`t speak` In what year did Elvis die? 1977 If you were born in October, and you weren`t a Scorpio, what star sign would you be? Libra Which British driver won the Formula One World Drivers Championship in 1992? Nigel Mansell Which of the following would be interested in collecting a `penny black`? A Conchologist, A Numismatist or a Philatalist? Philatalist Which country`s flag is red with a five pointed yellow star in the middle? Vietnam`s What is the normal colour of a black box used in aeroplanes? Orange In the film `The Curse Of The Pink Panther`, which actor plays Inspector Clouseau after having plastic surgery? Roger Moore The Panama Canal opened in the same year as a major war broke out. Which war? World War I In geography, what is Rapa Nui better known as? Easter Island In mathematics, what does the letter `L` stand for in the abbreviation `LCD`? Lowest Who directed the 1974 film `Blazing Saddles`? Mel Brooks In Dennis Potter`s TV series `The Singing Detective`, what was the name Michael Gambon`s character which was also the name of famous fictional detective? Philip Marlowe With which Edith Piaf song did Grace Jones have a hit in 1986? `La Vie En Rose` In which year was Napolean proclaimed emperor of France? 1804 In which country was Arnold Swarzenegger born? Austria How is singer Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou better known? George Michael Who was reigning in Britain at the start of the First World War? King George V When women first got the vote in Britain in 1918, how old did they have to be? 30 In boxing which weight category comes in between Flyweight and Featherweight? Bantamweight Which film character do the japanese call `Mr. Kissy Kissy Bang Bang`? James Bond Which country is bigger? North Korea or South Korea? North Korea In what year was the battle of Trafalgar? 1805 Which collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling includes the story `How The Leopard Got His Spots`? `The Just So Stories` In what year did the first parachute jump take place? 1783 In the title of a 1996 hit single The Divine Comedy was `Becoming More Like …` who? Alfie In what 1976 gangster film are the gangsters played by children? `Bugsy Malone` What was the name of Kylie Minogue`s debut album? `Kylie` Which goalkeeper has played both football and cricket at international level for Scotland? Andy Goram Ruby is the birthstone for which month? July In which city is Karl Marx buried? London Who had a number one album in 2002 called `Escapology`? Robbie Williams Which city is known as the `Eternal City`? Rome Which footballer won 88 caps for Northern Ireland and went on to manage Macclesfield Town? Sammy McIllroy In golf, who was the first European to win the US Masters? Seve Ballesteros How many strings are there on a normal a bass guitar? 4 Bahia was the capital city of which South American city between 1552 and 1763? Brazil In what year did J Fletcher-Dodd found the first holiday camp? 1906 In which decade was the TV series `Grange Hill` first broadcast - the 1970s or the 1980s? 1970s Who sang the theme tune to the TV series `Minder`? Denis Waterman Which country was once known as Constanstinople? Istanbul What metal is also known as quicksilver? Mercury What is the world`s largest man-made structure? The Great Wall of China Which Russian writer wrote `The Seagull` and `The Cherry Orchard`? Chekhov What acid is extracted from the juice of lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruit? Citric In the English and Scottish football leagues, which team has the longest name? Inverness Caledonian Thistle What nationality was Whigfield who had a number one hit in 1994 with `Saturday Night`? Danish In the film `Toy Story 2` what is the name of Buzz Lightyear`s arch enemy? Emperor Zurg Which English King was nicknamed `The Hammer of the Scots`? Edward I Which group had the bestselling album in the UK in 1981 with `Kings Of The Wild Frontier`? Adam And The Ants In which 1992 film does the character Catherine Tramell appear? Basic Instinct In which country is the Great Bear lake? Canada In a circus, what would a funambulist do? Walk the tightrope In Monopoly, what is the cost of Marylebone Station? 200 pounds Who was the first American President to be assassinated? Abraham Lincoln Which film was advertised with the line `In space, no-one can hear you scream`? Alien What nationality was the philosopher Confucious? Chinese What was the name of the blind Benedictine monk who invented Champagne? Dom Perignon Who wrote Das Kapital? Karl Marx In the medical world, what do the initials ENT stand for? Ear, Nose and Throat Which famous actor is the lead singer with the rock group 30 odd foot of grunts? Russell Crowe Which famous building is used for the election of a Pope? The Cisteen Chapel Which famous literary character lived at No.7 in Saville Row in London, before embarking on a famous journey? Phileas Fog Which famous duo began in a 1940 MGM short called `Puss Gets the Boot`? Tom and Jerry Which Canadian city was originally called York in 1793? Toronto What was actor David Niven`s final film? `Curse Of The Pink Panther` What is the minimum number of darts a person needs to throw to complete a leg from 501? 9 American Airlines Flight 587 was headed to what country when it crashed in New York shortly after take off on November 12, 2001? Dominican Republic Room 101 features in which George Orwell novel? `1984` On what day of the year is St Georges day held? 23rd April What colour is the bullseye on a standard dartboard? Red What is the name of Postman Pat`s pet cat? Jess Which breed of dog has breeds called Welsh, Scottish and Irish? Terrier What numeric term describes perfect eyesight and a form of cricket? 20/20 Who was known as the Maid of Orleans? Joan of Arc How many boxes are used in the UK version of Deal Or No Deal? 22 Which soccer club`s supporters are known as the Toon Army? Newcastle Utd What was Mohammad Ali`s birth name? Cassius Clay What is Doctor Who`s time box called? The Tardis How many dots are there in total on a pair of dice? 42 Who wrote the book The Hound Of The Baskervilles? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle How many wives did Henry VIII have? 6 In which city is the film Trainspotting set? Edinburgh In a game of chess, what is the only piece able to jump over other pieces? Knight Who is the presenter of the Weakest Link? Anne Robinson How many events are there in a decathlon? 10 What is the square root of 169? 13 According to the old proverb all roads lead to which capital city? Rome At which racecourse is the Derby and the Oaks traditionally run? Epsom Which children`s television show featured the characters of George, Zippy and Bungle? Rainbow What gas do all fuels need in order to burn? Oxygen When spoken by a police officer, what do the letters RTA stand for? Road Traffic Accident Formed in 1976, which famous band consists of Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr? U2 Who had a hit single with `Crocodile Rock` in 1972? Elton John Who played Basil Fawlty in `Fawlty Towers`? John Cleese Who is the author of the `Harry Potter` books? J K Rowling Steve McLaren was manager of which football club immediately before being appointed England manager? Middlesbrough What is the name of the clockwork device used by musicians to measure time? Metronome Which sport is played over four periods of 15 minutes where only two of the seven players can score? Netball `Question or Nominate` was a phrase commonly heard on which UK TV quiz show? Fifteen-to-one Which two colours are Dennis the Menace`s jumper? Red and Black In which film did Roy Scheider play a sheriff and Richard Dreyfus a marine biologist? Jaws The name of which football club is an anagram of `Red Admiral`? Real Madrid Which Football team overturned a 3-0 half-time score to win the Champions League final in 2005? Liverpool In the TV show `Fawlty Towers` from which city does the waiter Manuel hail? Barcelona By what name is singer Paul Hewson better known? Bono In 2004, Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Jason Hatch caused an embarrassing security breach at Buckingham Palace dressed as who? Batman What is the furthest planet from the sun? Pluto The Colosseum is located in the capital city of which country? Italy Michelle McManus found her fame on which TV show? Pop Idol In the cartoon world, who has a cousin called Slowpoke Rodriguez? Speedy Gonzales What is the chemical symbo for Hydrogen? H How many sides has an octagon? Eight With which football club would you associate the Toon Army? Newcastle United Who played Jerry in the film `Jerry McGuire`? Tom Cruise What is the most common surname in England? Smith Which football team won the World Cup in 2002? Brazil Who was the lead singer in The Police? Sting Which football team won the World Cup in 1986? Argentina What is the name of the coloured part of an eye? The iris Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Ram? Aries How many strings are on a violin? 4 In which famous film would first have come across the character of Dorothy Gale? The Wizard Of Oz Which part of the body would be treated by a chiropodist? Feet In which month of 1929 did the St Valentines Day massacre take place? February The word `cerebral` refers to which part of the body? The brain Which animal is associated with the beginning of an MGM film? A lion In which American city was the first Mardi Gras celebration held in 1827? New Orleans Which of the following is not a proper football team? Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace or Macclesfield Harriers? Macclesfield Harriers What nationality was the 1962 Formula One World Drivers Championship winner Graham Hill? British Which of the following is not a formation in football? 4-4-2, 4-5-3 or 3-5-2? 4-5-3 Which animal would you associate with the start of a film by the studio MGM? Lion What was the hunchback of Notre Dame`s name? Quasimodo Who is the animated star of the computer game Tomb Raider? Lara Croft Which famous person in history rode a horse called Black Bess? Dick Turpin What nationality was the writer Robert Louis Stevenson? Scottish Which actor played a character who was frozen for 50 years in the film `Forever Young`? Mel Gibson In what country does the story `The Pied Piper Of Hamelin` take place? Germany What is comic book hero Roy of the Rovers` surname? Race What is the plural of `axis`? Axes In Greek legend, who turned everything he touched into gold? Midas What vegetable is the national emblem of Wales? The leek What was Sarah, the Duchess of York`s maiden name? Ferguson At which event in the 1968 Olympics did Dick Fosbury win with a radical new technique? The High Jump Brothers Gary and Philip Neville have both represented England at what sport? Football How many kidneys does a normal human have? 2 What is the longest river in the world? The Nile In snooker, what colour is the ball that begins a game in the centre of the table? Blue How many legs does an insect have? Six What is the name of the city in which The Simpsons live? Springfield Which of the following stations does not feature on a standard Monopoly board? Charing Cross, Kings Cross or Fenchurch Street? Charing Cross Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Fishes? Pisces Which motorway circles London? M25 In what mountain range is Mount Everest? The Himalayas The film `All The President`s Men` is set around which political scandal? Watergate Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Virgin? Virgo How many red balls are used in a game of snooker? 15 What word is used to describe a group of ants? Colony Which of the following isn`t one of the famous Bronte sisters? Charlotte, Anne or Emma? Emma Exmoor, Welsh Mountain and Shetland are varieties of what type of animal? Pony Who starred in the film `Enter The Dragon`? Bruce Lee If you were riding in a Gondola which city are you most likely to be in? Venice Which of the following flags does not feature the colour blue? Greece, Uruguay or Japan? Japan In `The Simpsons`, what type of animal is Santa`s Little Helper? A Dog Which actress played the title role in the 1990 film `Pretty Woman`? Julia Roberts Who was Elton John`s `Candle in the Wind` originally written about? Marilyn Monroe What is the colour of the dragon on the Welsh flag? Red Which of the following is not a proper football team? Swansea Rovers, Swindon Town or Aston Villa? Swansea Rovers How many American cents make up a dime? 10 In 1997, what took over from `The Flintstones` as the longest running prime-time animated series? `The Simpsons` What is the name of the motel in which Janet Leigh`s character is killed in `Psycho`? The Bates Motel Which sport is played on a grass field whose maximum dimensions are 200 yards by 300 yards? Polo Which tennis player was stabbed in 1993 while playing against Magdaleena Maleeva in the Citizen Cup? Monica Seles How many arms does a starfish usually have? 5 What animal is used to represent the star sign Leo? Lion Which of the following countries is not in Europe? Luxembourg, Austria or Morocco? Morocco Which singer starred in the film `Desperately Seeking Susan`? Madonna In which Scottish city is Strathclyde University? Glasgow How many lines are there in a limerick? 5 Which golfer is nicknamed the `Great White Shark`? Greg Norman What is the chemical symbol for the element Hydrogen? H Who played the role of Dr. Malcom Crowe in the film `The Sixth Sense`? Bruce Willis What is the tallest mammal? The giraffe What country does Portugal border? Spain What was the first animal to be sent into space? A dog What do humans have 52 of in a lifetime, 20 of which are deciduous? Teeth Who invented the telephone? Alexander Graham Bell What continent is sometimes known as the `Dark Continent`? Africa In which film would you first have come across the character of Marty McFly? `Back To The Future` In athletics, how many times does the baton change hands within one team in a standard relay race? 3 In the Australian TV series, what type of animal was `Skippy`? Kangaroo In which year did the phrase `They think it`s all over… it is now` first become famous? 1966 In what film did George Lazenby play James Bond? `On her majesty`s secret service` What colour is the circle on the Japanese flag? Red What is the normal colour of the gem sapphire? Red, Green or Blue? Blue How many years are there in a millennium? 1000 In which Shakespeare play does the line `To be or not to be, that is the question` appear? Hamlet Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Twins? Gemini Does a record turntable revolve clockwise or anti-clockwise? Clockwise How many red balls are there in a game of snooker? 15 Which of the following flags does not feature the colour blue? Brazil, Germany or France Germany What is most expensive property in the board game Monopoly? Mayfair Who had a number one in 1960 called `Only The Lonely`? Roy Orbison After how many years of marriage is a gold wedding anniversary celebrated? 50 Which Dire Straits album was the bestselling album in the UK in the 1980s? `Brothers In Arms` Which of the following countries is not in Africa? Ecuador, Sudan or Egypt? Ecuador On the football field, how was Edson Arantes do Nascimento better known? Pele What is the name of the poker hand containing three of a kind and a pair? Full house What is the most common letter used in the English language? `E` Who played Rita`s tutor in the film `Educating Rita`? Michael Caine What colour spots does a common ladybird have? Black Which group had a hit album in 1977 with `Arrival`? Abba Who supplied the voice of the genie in the 1992 film `Aladdin`? Robin Williams Which cartoon show included characters called Thelma and Shaggy? Scooby Doo In which American city might you see a Broadway show? New York The Rio Grande borders Mexico and which other country? U.S.A. In which American city are Madison Square Gardens? New York What does a kleptomaniac compulsively do? Steal things Which canal joins the Red Sea and the Mediterranean? The Suez Canal What name is given to the fear of spiders? Arachnophobia Football team Benfica come from which country? Portugal Who had a number one hit in 1984 with `Hello`? Lionel Richie Which animal completes the phrase `blind as a …`? Bat How is the number one usually called in a game of Bingo? Kelly`s Eye What is the largest desert in the world? Sahara What sign of the zodiac is represented by the Crab? Cancer What type of ball did Nolan Ryan once throw at a record speed of 100.9 miles per hour? Baseball Where are the British Crown Jewels kept? The Tower Of London In Greek mythology, what was Medusa`s hair made of? Snakes What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet? Alpha Maverick, Goose, and Iceman are characters in which 1986 film? `Top Gun` After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a silver wedding anniversary? 25 In which country does the wild dog, the dingo, live? Australia. Which band released the album `Dark Side of the Moon`? Pink Floyd In the Bible, how is the Decalogue also known? Ten Commandments Who played the title role in the 1960 film `Spartacus`? Kirk Douglas What is Bugs Bunny`s catchphrase? `What`s Up Doc` In `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`, what were there two of? Turtle Doves Which of the following colours appears on the French flag? White, Black or Yellow? White Who is the patron saint of Wales? St David What name is given to the young of a deer? Fawn What type of animal was Stuart, in the 1999 film `Stuart Little`? Mouse What creature appears on the flag of Wales? A dragon Which country`s national rugby team are called the All Blacks? New Zealand First published in 1904, for which book is J. M. Barrie best known? `Peter Pan` Which of the following occurred most recently? The Iron Age or The Bronze Age? Iron Age Which country does Zinedine Zidane play for in international football? France What is the bestselling book in the world? The Bible Carbon, Oxygen and which other element makes up carbohydrates? Hydrogen What 1975 film features the characters of Riff Raff, Magenta and Doctor Frank-n-Furter? `The Rocky Horror Picture Show` What measurement is used to measure the size of horses? Hands How old is a quadragenarian? 40 What is a group of geese called? A gaggle On what part of the body would you wear a `sombrero`? The head In which European country would you find the city of Strasbourg? France In which country is Ayres Rock? Australia What two letters are worth the most in a game of Scrabble? Q and Z How many wheels are on a tricycle? 3 What is the name given to a young bear? A cub In the Bible, how is the Decalogue also known? The Ten Commandments What type of animals were the subject of the 2002 film `Eight Legged Freaks`? Spiders Which cartoon character was featured in the short film `Steamboat Willie`? Mickey Mouse What 1965 film included the songs `Do Re Mi`, `Climb Every Mountain` and `Edelweiss`? `The Sound Of Music` What colour jersey does the overall leader of the Tour de France? Yellow In ballet, a `pas de deux` is a dance for how many persons? Two Which chemical element can take the form of diamond or graphite? Carbon Which of the following colours appears on the flag of Italy? Green, Blue or Yellow? Green What is the longest river in the world? Nile Which element has the chemical symbol `N`? Nitrogen In which board game would you find the characters of Miss Scarlett and Professor Plum? Cluedo How much does it cost to buy a station in the board game Monopoly? £200 What is the first book of the Bible? Genesis Oxygen and which other element makes up water? Hydrogen How many sides does a dodecahedron have? 12 What is the nickname of the Australian rugby union team? Wallabies What type of animals are portrayed in the book `Watership Down`? Rabbits On which London street is Selfridges? Oxford Street Which country is sometimes known as the Emerald Isle? Ireland What is the largest country in the world? Russia Who sang for both `The Jam` and `The Style Council`? Paul Weller What type of animal was Bambi`s friend, Thumper? A rabbit. What is the average of the numbers 1, 10 and 100? 37 In 1991, Anthony Hopkins won the best actor Oscar for his performance in what film? `Silence Of The Lambs` What river is known in Hungary as the Duna? The River Danube The city of Cairo stands on which famous river? Nile What is ornithology the study of? Birds Which quiz show often featured the line `I`ve started so I`ll finish`? Mastermind How many lanes are there in an Olympic sized swimming pool? 8 In what 1984 film did Sean Connery return as James Bond? `Never Say Never Again` Which Alfred Hitchcock film features a wheelchair bound James Stewart convinced that a neighbour has committed murder? `Rear Window` What is the only continent which does not have any reptiles or snakes? Antarctica What colour are the spots on Mr Blobby? Yellow How many Presidents heads are sculpted on Mount Rushmore? 4 What animal is known as the ship of the desert? The camel Who won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic games in 1980 and 1984? Daley Thompson What chess piece does not move in a straight line? Knight How many lines are there in a limerick? 5 In which 2000 film would you find the character of General Maximus Decimus Meridus? Gladiator Which US President was forced to resign because of the Watergate scandal? Richard Nixon In music, which superstar was jailed in Tokyo in 1980 for drugs possession? Paul McCartney In which year was the phrase `They think it`s all over… it is now` first said? 1966 What is the highest mountain in Great Britain? Ben Nevis Which female singer sang with Take That on the hit song `Relight My Fire`? Lulu In what sport is the `Fosbury flop` technique used? High Jump Gorgonzola cheese comes from which country? Italy Chris Boardman is famous for what sport? Cycling A Sphinx has the body of which animal? Lion In the 1986 John Landis film, how many `Amigos` were there? Three In a standard game of Monopoly, what colour are the two cheapest properties? Brown What was the name of Anthony Perkins` character in the film `Psycho`? Norman Bates In which country was the BBC soap opera `Eldorado` set? Spain How many Presidents heads are sculpted on Mount Rushmore? 4 Which sportsman`s autobiography is called `You Cannot Be Serious`? John McEnroe Which comedian has the nickname `the big yin`? Billy Connolly Great Britain declared war on Germany after they invaded which country in 1939? Poland Which actress played Barbella in the film of the same name? Jane Fonda How many inches are in a yard? 36 Around which war is the 1986 film `Platoon` based? Vietnam What was the nickname of the first Spice Girl to go solo? Ginger Spice Whose last words were `Et tu, Brute`? Julius Caesar`s Excluding jokers, how many playing cards are there in a standard pack? 52 How is trinitrotoluene better known? TNT Which of the following colours does not appear on the Irish flag? White, Yellow or Orange? Yellow Which company produces `Minituare Heroes` chocolates? Cadburys What colour is an emerald? Green What is the average of the numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5? 3 Who had hits with `Hot In The City` and `White Wedding`? Billy Idol What film was advertised with the slogan `an adventure 65 million years in the making`? `Jurassic Park` What was the name of the characted played by Ray Park in `Star Wars Episode 1 : The Phantom Menace`? Darth Maul How many lines does a limerick have? 5 What is the chemical symbol for the element Oxygen? O How old was Adrian Mole when he wrote his `secret diary`? Thirteen and three quarters What is the collective noun for a group of lions? A pride The sale of which drink accounts for 10% of the income of the government in Russia? Vodka According to legend, what type of creature was slain by St George? Dragon Which Shakespeare play inspired the musical `West Side Story`? `Romeo And Juliet` Which country was once ruled by Tsars? Russia Which 1977 film was introduced by the words, `A long time ago in a galaxy far away...`? `Star Wars` In the medical world, what do the initials ENT stand for? Ear, Nose and Throat What is the minimum number of darts a person needs to throw to complete a leg from 501? 9 Which city is known as the `Eternal City`? Rome How many strings are there on a normal a bass guitar? 4 Which band had a number one hit with `Barbie Girl`? Aqua What is the normal colour of a black box used in aeroplanes? Orange How many holes does a 10-pin bowling ball have in it? Three Which band had a UK number one hit single with `I`m A Believer` in 1967? The Monkees Who is the author of the `Harry Potter` books? J. K. Rowling Geri Halliwell`s single `It`s Raining Men` featured on the soundtrack to what film? `Bridget Jones` Diary` Which sign of the Zodiac is represented by the goat? Capricorn In which town did Jesus grow up? Nazareth Where are you most likely to come across the dewey-decimal system? On a railway track, on a baseball field or in a library? In a library According the the nursey rhyme, what was Little Miss Muffet eating? Curds and Whey Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the Scales? Libra John Huston directed a 1975 film called `The Man Who Would Be ____` what? King What is the colour of the ball that is worth 6 points in snooker? Pink Which famous person has the first names of Orenthal James? O J Simpson What sport was the subject of the 1996 film `Tin Cup` starring Kevin Costner? Golf Which sport do the Chicago Bears play? American Football Who had hits in the 80s with `It Must Be Love`, `Wings Of A Dove` and `Uncle Sam`? Madness In which continent is Lake Superior? North America What French phrase meaning `from the menu` is often used in the English language? `A la carte` If a month has a Friday the thirteenth then on what day of the week would that month begin? Sunday In which board game might you land on Pall Mall or The Strand? Monopoly Whose resignation eventually landed Sven Goran Ericsson the job as manager of the England football team? Kevin Keegan What is the capital of Northern Ireland? Belfast For which film and television role is actor Leonard Nimoy best known? Spock (in `Star Trek`) In Britain, in which month does the longest day occur? June In the TV show `Trumpton`, what was the profession of Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub? Firemen Which sport would you be playing if competing for the Ryder Cup? Golf Which sign of the Zodiac means `archer` in Latin? Sagittarius What is the national emblem that appears on the Canadian flag? The maple leaf According to the Bible, whose hair did Delilah cut, taking his strength away from him? Samson Who painted `The Haywain`? Constable Who painted the Mona Lisa? Leonardo Da Vinci Which star sign is represented by the Archer? Sagittarius What is the English name for the constellation with the Latin name `Ursa Major`? Great Bear When Steve McClaren became Enland manager who replaced him at his Premiership club? Gareth Southgate (at Middlesbrough) In Britain, what is the only road sign to be on an inverted triangle? Give Way Which US rapper died on September 13th 1996 after being shot in a drive-by shooting after watchin Mike Tysons comeback fight 7 days earlier? Tupac Shakur What were lost by King John, melted down by Oliver Cromwell and almost stolen by Thomas Blood? The Crown Jewels Which of the Great Lakes touches Chicago? Lake Michigan What type of animal is at the centre of the film Racing Stripes? A zebra Which football team are nicknamed the Rams? Derby County With which sport would you associate Nick Skelton? Show Jumping What is the hardest natural substance? diamond How many different scoring areas are there on a standard dart board? 82 Who directed the 1976 film Taxi Driver? Martin Scorsese The film Trainspotting is from a novel by which author? Irvine Welsh The pop groups Ace Of Base and The Cardigans both hail from which country? Sweden `Woman Hitler` is an anagram of which relative? Mother-in-law What colour are the shorts that Bart Simpson normally wears? Blue In which art gallery is the Mona Lisa kept? The Louvre Which spider gets its name from when the female sometimes eats the male after mating? Black Widow Spider Which British female singer had a 2006 hit with `Rehab`? Amy Winehouse In which country would you find the Mojave Desert? USA In terms of land area, what was the largest empire of all time? The British Empire During the Great Plague, what was painted on the front doors of plague-ridden houses? Red crosses Which Barbadian singer stayed ten weeks at number 1 with `Umbrella`? Rihanna Genghis Khan founded which empire? Mongol empire According to the lyrics of the song by the Weather Girls, it will start raining men at just about what time? Half past ten What is a more common name for the Aurora Borealis? The Northern Lights What is the hardest natural substance? Diamond What is the name of the housing estate where the Trotters live in Only Fools And Horses? Nelson Mandela House What does the information technology term RAM stand for? Random Access Memory Who painted the famous painting The Scream? Edward Munch What is the third book of the Bible? Leviticus In cycling, what colour jersey is awarded to the leader in a stage race of the Tour de France? Yellow Cyril the Swan is the mascot for which football club? Swansea Who had a number one hit single in 1964 with `Little Red Rooster`? The Rolling Stones Which 1969 film was based on Barry Hines novel A Kestrel For A Knave? Kes What is the lightest chemical element? Hydrogen By what name is the Sodium Chloride more commonly known? Salt Who wrote War and Peace? Leo Tolstoy Which author created Elinor Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse and Catherine Morland? Jane Austen What was the name of the character played by Ronnie Barker in `Open All Hours`? Arkwright In horse racing, what betting odds are known as a `carpet`? 3-1 Which american state has a name that ends in three vowels? Hawaii George Bernard Shaw`s play `Pygmalion` was adapted to become which musical? My Fair Lady Common, Arctic and Sooty are all varieties of which type of bird? Tern Which band had hits with `Linger` and `Dreams`? The Cranberries The does the chemical symbol Pb stand for? Lead Which Carthaginian general led his army across the Alps with a contingent of elephants? Hannibal Which fictional character has been played by Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov and David Suchet? Hercule Poirot Who had a hit single in 1981 with `Romeo And Juliet`? Dire Straits Who had a hit with `La Bamba` in 1987? Los Lobos Who was the lead singer of The Four Seasons in the 1960s and 1970s? Frankie Valli Who had a hit with a cover version of Frankie Laine`s hit single `I Believe` in 1996? Robson And Jerome Which actor starred in `Rooster Cogburn`? John Wayne Who wrote the novel `Fantastic Mr. Fox`? Roald Dahl Which band had a hit with `Too Shy` in 1983? Kajagoogoo Who had a hit in 1982 with `Maneater`? Hall And Oates Who had a hit in 1985 with `One More Night`? Phil Collins Which band had a hit with `He Ain't Heavy, He`s My Brother` in both 1969 and 1988? The Hollies Who had a hit single in 1961 with `Runaway`? Del Shannon In which 1983 movie did Sean Connery return as James Bond? Never Say Never Again Which bird can run the fastest? Ostrich Which 1972 film features the song `Dueling Banjos`? Deliverance In "Only Fools and Horses", by what name did Trigger always call Rodney? Dave Who is Liza Minnelli`s famous actress mother? Judy Garland Who is actress Shirley Maclaine`s famous actor brother? Warren Beatty In what sport do players take long and short corners? Hockey Durham County Cricket Club and Middlesbrough Football Club both have stadiums called what? The Riverside if a picture is painted monochromatically how is it painted? In black and white What is the name of the highest mountain in England? Scafell Pike In May 2006, Belfast Airport officially changed its name in honour of which famous Irishman? George Best Who scored Arsenal`s goal in the 2-1 defeat by Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League Final? Sol Campbell Which artist painted the famous `Sunflowers`? Vincent Van Gogh What was the name of the horse, part owned by Alex Ferguson in 2004 when he got involved in a row about stud rights? Rock Of Gibraltar What name is given to a matador on horseback? Picador What is the correct term for the people commonly known as `Eskimos`? Inuit What starts with `T`, ends with `T` and has `T` in it? A Teapot From what stone is the Taj Mahal built? Marble Nutwood Cottage is the home of which children`s storybook character? Rupert Bear If a sow is a female pig, what is a male pig called? A boar On which subject does Monty Don write and broadcast? Gardening What is the only sign of the zodiac that contains none of the letters in the word `Bungee`? Scorpio In which famous novel would you find Ralph, Simon and Piggy? Lord of the Flies What is the only sign of the zodiac that contains none of the letters of the word `School`? Gemini In which decade was the film `Grease` set? 1950s If Superman works for the Daily Planet who works for the Daily Bugle? Spiderman Which jump in the Grand National shares its name with a piece of furniture? The Chair Which point in Cornwall is the most southerly point of mainland Britain? Lizard Point What was the character name of the `Saint`? Simon Templar Which Olympic sport needs a planting box? Pole Vault What word describes substances that can be broken down by biological action? Biodegradable What is the world`s largest lake? The Caspian Sea From what type of stone is the Taj Mahal built? Marble Who captained Jules Verne`s submarine `Nautilus`? Captain Nemo Which of Disney`s Seven Dwarfs wore glasses? Doc Who was the first member of the royal family to divorce? Henry VIII What was the name of the police officer in the cartoon Top Cat? Officer Dibble In which country is the town of Tequila? Mexico `Hakuna Matata` was a song from which 1994 Disney film? The Lion King Which famous fictional character lives at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging? Harry Potter What species is Gizmo in the `Gremlins` movies? Mogwai What train would you find on platform 9 and three quarters at Kings Cross? The Hogwarts Express What is the highest score a judge can award in figure skating? 6 What type of vehicle would you expect to find on the Cresta Run? A Bobsleigh What is the final word spoken in the 1939 film `The Wizard Of Oz`? Home As at November 2005, who was last British Prime Minister not to have a wife? Margaret Thatcher Which Snooker player was nicknamed the Romford Robot? Steve Davis Which product`s 1987 TV adverts were backed by the songs `Stand by me` and `When a man loves a woman`? Levis 501 Jeans In which English town was William Shakespeare born? Stratford-Upon-Avon What is the tallest grass in the world? Bamboo What is the only football team in the UK with the letter J in its name? St Johnstone Who sung the theme tune for the film `Goldeneye`? Tina Turner What would be your hobby if you were interested in a Stanley Gibbons album? Stamp Collecting Which cartoon characters name is Italian for `pine eye`? Pinocchio How many scoring zones are there on a conventional dart board? 82 With which sport would you most associate the commentator Ted Lowe? Snooker Which football team play at Goodison Park? Everton Justin Timberlake was formerly a vocalist for which band? N Sync In which country is the river Yangtze? China Which actor won an oscar for his portrail of Ray Charles in the 2004 film `Ray`? Jamie Foxx Who had a hit in 1984 with `99 Red Balloons`? Nena Which real-life Russian did Boney M sing about in 1978? Rasputin Who had a 1983 hit with `Too Shy`? Kajagoogoo Which football is nicknamed `The Baby Faced Assassin`? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Which fictional TV character runs a production company called Peartree Productions? Alan Partridge Is it possible for a man in Scotland to wed his widows sister? No In which famous race is the slowest man of the day given a red lantern? Tour de France Who played Luke Skywalker in `Star Wars`? Mark Hamill Who was known as the `Desert Fox`? Erwin Rommel How many grooves are on one side of an LP record? 1 In what film does Morgan Freeman play an inmate called Red? The Shawshank Redemption Which artist is responsible for `Self Portrait With Bandaged Ear`? Vincent Van Gogh What is the sum of all the numbers round a dartboard? 210 Lord David Sutch was the founder of which UK political party? Official Monster Raving Loony Party How many balls are on a snooker table at the start of a game? 22 What do the letters OC stand for in the programme The OC? Orange County Which chess piece always remains on the same coloured squares? Bishop Which Womble was named after a South American river? Orinoco Which famous footballer played for teams including Machester United, Hibernian and Los Angeles Aztecs? George Best Which of the following TV shows has a theme tune which doesn`t mention the show`s name in the song? Sesame Street, The Dukes Of Hazzard or Wonder Woman? The Dukes Of Hazzard What is the name of the holiday company that caters for the over 50s? Saga For what is Michael Eavis best known in the music world? The Glastonbury Festival Which film was subtitled 'How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb'? Dr Strangelove Which state did Arnold Schwarzenegger become Governor of in November 2003? California Which famous rock group played their first gig together at the Marquee Club in London on July 12th, 1962? The Rolling Stones Which two actors appeared together in the films `Meet The Parents`, `Zoolander`, `The Royal Tennenbaums` and `Cable Guy`? Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson What is Austin Powers middle name? Danger Who was Britains entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 with the song `Congratulations`? Cliff Richard In the board game monopoly, what colour is Bond Street? Green What is the common name for the chemical ethanol? Alcohol, Ammonia or Citric Acid? Alcohol Which pop group had their first number one in the UK with a cover version of A-Ha`s `Take On Me`? A1 In which month is poet Robert Burns birthday celebrated? January Which Spice Girl realeased the album `Schizophonic`? Geri Halliwell Who wrote the book `About A Boy` which was later turned into a successful film starring Hugh Grant? Nick Hornby Which King was known as William the Conqueror? William I, William II or William III? William I Which 1995 film starred Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer? Heat Who had hits in the seventies with `Everybody Dance` and `Good Times`? Chic Who won a Grammy in 2002 for her vocal on the song `I`m Like A Bird`? Nelly Furtardo In which battle was Horatio Nelson fatally wounded? Trafalgar The lyrics `There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don`t know how` come from which 1990s song? `Wonderwall` With which band is Fred Durst the lead singer? Limp Bizkit In which Scottish city are Partick Thistle football club based? Glasgow According to the Bible, who committed the first ever murder? Cain Which of the following books of the Bible comes in the New Testament? Matthew, Ruth or Jeremiah? Matthew What sport features in the Stella Artois tournament? Tennis Which 1997 film featured Batman and Robin battling against Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy? `Batman and Robin` Who invented the light bulb? Thomas Edison Who had hits in the sixties including `Something`s Happening`, `Silhouettes` and `I`m Into Something Good`? Herman`s Hermits What 1960 western was based on the film `The Seven Samurai`? `The Magnificent Seven` What Walt Disney film was the first to combine visual images with concert music? `Fantasia` What does a Gieger counter measure? Radioactivity How is the sport of tauromachy better known? Bull fighting What is the largest city in Scotland? Glasgow In which British city would you find Arthur`s Seat? Edinburgh Soul singer, Bobby Brown, married which successful female singer in 1992? Whitney Houston In which film did Arnold Swarzenegger say `I`ll be back` for the first time? `The Terminator` Who is said to have founded Rome after killing his brother? Romulus or Remus? Romulus Which comedian plays the character of Paul Calf on television? Steve Coogan Who had a hit in 1975 with `I`m Not In Love`? 10cc Who recorded the 1994 album `Return Of The Space Cowboy`? Jamiroquai Who plays the title role in the 2002 film `Mr Deeds`? Adam Sandler The Ivor Novello awards are presented in what field? Music, Art or Film-making? Music Who sang the title track for the Bond Film `For Your Eyes Only`? Sheena Easton In the cartoon series `Wacky Races`, who drove the `Compact Pussycat`? Penelope Pitstop Who wrote `A Brief History Of Time`? Stephen Hawking How many penalty strokes are added for a lost ball in golf? 1 Which football team did Alf Garnett support in the TV show `Till Death Do Us Part`? West Ham United Which solo artist had the second and third best-selling albums of the 1980s in the UK? Michael Jackson What are the three primary colours of light? Red, Blue and Green. Excluding the ball (which has a core made from cork), how many pieces of wooden equipment are necessary for a game of cricket? 12 In `The Simpsons`, who replaced Sideshow Bob? Sideshow Mel Where in your body would you find the anvil and the stirrup? The ear In literature, what was the surname of Jacob and Wilhelm who wrote many fairy tales together? Grimm Who`s demonstrations led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964? Martin Luther King`s In `The Flintstones`, what is Barney`s wife called? Betty Who played Pussy Galore in the James Bond film `Goldfinger`? Honor Blackman The film `Rogue Trader`, starring Ewan McGregor, is based around the life of which real life person? Nick Leeson Which of the following could you use to measure how far you had walked? A Pedometer, A Cryometer or a Micrometer? Pedometer Which sea separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and the Sudan? The Red Sea Which town was the scene of the Gunfight at the OK Corral? Tombstone What is the fastest animal on 2 legs, which can reach a speed of around 40 miles per hour? The ostrich What instrument was Louis Armstrong most famous for playing? The trumpet. If you were born on September 1st, what star sign would you be? Virgo Who had a Christmas number one in 1974 with `Lonely This Christmas`? Mud Which of the following actors does not appear in the film `The Royal Tenenbaums`? Gene Hackman, Ben Affleck or Ben Stiller? Ben Affleck In what year did the London Eye open? 2000 What was Muhammed Ali`s name before he changed it? Cassius Clay What was the sequel to the film `Saturday Night Fever` called? `Staying Alive` Who played the title role in the 1983 film `Scarface`? Al Pacino In 2002, who was the only musician to be voted in the top ten in BBC`s `Great Briton`s` poll? John Lennon What is the name of the local farmer who organises the Glastonbury music festival? Michael Eavis Which two months are named after Roman Emperors? July and August Which comedian wrote the book and the play called `Popcorn`? Ben Elton Who played Kavanagh QC on British television? John Thaw Who played the title role in the film `Edward Scissorhands`? Johnny Depp To what animal was Robert Burns referring in his poem with the lines `Wee, sleekit, cow`rin, tim`rous beastie`? A Mouse Who was Prime Minister for France in 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988 and became President of France in 1995? Jacques Chirac With which mountain range would you associate the Abonimable Snowman? Himalayas In what 1995 film did Sylvester Stallone play the title character, who was adapted from a comic book? `Judge Dredd` What word associated with Christmas could be illustratied by `ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ`? Noel In what film does Bill Murray play a character who keeps reliving the same day over and over again? `Groundhog Day` Who designed Elizabeth Hurley`s famous dress which she wore to the premiere of the film `Four Weddings And A Funeral`? Gianni Versace In which film did Tom Hanks play a prison guard called Paul Edgecomb? `The Green Mile` What was the Spice Girls` debut single called? `Wannabee` What was the name of film director George Lucas` dog which lended it`s name to a famous film character? Indiana What is the first prime number greater than 50? 53 What `rock` did Graham Greene write about? `Brighton Rock` In which 2000 film would you find the character of General Maximus Decimus Meridus? `Gladiator` Who played the villain Howard Payne in the film `Speed`? Dennis Hopper Which Shakespearian character famously said `to be or not to be, that is the question`? Hamlet Occuring once a year in Britain, what is the modern day equivalent of the ancient Roman festival of Hilaria? April Fool`s Day In which game does the word which indicates victory originate from Persian phrase `Shah-mat`? Chess Which actor played John Malkovich in the film `Being John Malkovich`? John Malkovich What day of the week provides the name of one of the children in `The Addams Family`? Wednesday In which country did the religion of Rastafarianism originate? Jamaica Which series of erotic films shot Sylvia Krystal to fame in the 70s? `Emmanuelle` What is the national dance of Brazil? The samba Which film was advertised with the slogans `Collide with destiny` and `Nothing on Earth could come between them`? `Titanic` At which sport did Johnny Weismuller, who played the character of Tarzan on screen, win 5 Olympic Gold medals? Swimming Which scientist was born in Germany in 1879, became a Swiss citizen in 1901 and later became a US citizen in 1940? Albert Einstein For which carnival is the American city of New Orleans famous? Mardi Gras Who was the lead singer with the band Thin Lizzy? Phil Lynott Which metal has the chemical symbol Ag? Silver Which superhero has a butler named Alfred? Batman Which sporting event did the Brit Ann Haydon Jones win in 1969? Wimbledon Who is reported to have said to his wife `Honey, I forgot to duck` after an assassination attempt in 1981? Ronald Reagan If you were born in December, and you weren`t a Capricorn, what star sign would you be? Sagittarius Which character in the television series `London`s Burning` was played by Richard Walsh? Sick note, Four eyes or Rent boy? Sick-note What trilogy did John Ronald Reuel write under a pseudonym? `Lord Of The Rings` In which film are Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson said to be smoking real marijauna on camera? `Easy Rider` How many times have the Olympic Games been cancelled due to war? Three In the game of draughts, how many men does a player start with? 12 In the TV show `The Simpsons`, who or what is Santa`s Little Helper? Their pet dog With which hobby would you associate `twitchers` ? Bird-watching What type of pastry is used in profiteroles? Choux What 1984 film starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver? `Ghostbusters` Thom Yorke is the lead singer with which band? Radiohead Which game was invented in the 1930s and originally called Lexiko? Scrabble In which Ocean are the group of islands called the Seychelles? The Indian Ocean What nationality was Adolf Hitler? Austrian With which sport was American Babe Ruth most commonly associated? Baseball Who solves the crime in `Death on the Nile`? Hercule Poirot In the cartoon series `The Simpsons`, what musical instrument does Lisa Simpson play? The saxophone What is the only common metal that is liquid at room temperature? Mercury What do the initials YMCA stand for? Young Mens Christian Association Which 1979 features characters called Ripley, Dallas, Brett and Lambert? Alien Who plays the main villain in `Die Hard: With A Vengeance`? Jeremy Irons What was the secret identity of the comic book character Babs Gordon? Batgirl Which group had a 2001 hit with a cover version of Billy Joel’s `Uptown Girl`? Westlife Which 1980`s film had the tag-line `He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home.`? `E.T.` With which group would you most associate singer Bobby Gillespie? Primal Scream In `Star Trek`, what is the nickname of Dr McCoy? Bones What was the Roman name for Scotland? Caledonia What was Bob Marley`s backing band called? The Whalers What would someone who was involved in pyrotechnics make? Fireworks In the Bible, are there more chapters in the Old Testament or in the New Testament? The Old Testament What was the surname of the family who employed Julie Andrews` character in the film `The Sound Of Music`? Von Trappe Who wrote `The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe`? C. S. Lewis Who`s 1978 debut single was called `Sultans Of Swing`? Dire Straits In which decade did the Eurovision Song contest begin? 1950s What does REM stand for? Rapid Eye Movement At what type of shop did the Great Fire Of London start in 1666? Bakers What 1976 film about a boxer won an Oscar for Best Picture? `Rocky` Which cricketer resigned as England captain in the winter of 1997/98 after having captained them in a record 54 test matches? Michael Atherton What sport features in the films `He Got Game` (1998), `Flubber` (1997) and `Celtic Pride` (1996)? Basketball Who won `Celebrity Big Brother` on Channel 4 in 2002? Mark Owen If you were born on December 1st, what star sign would you be? Sagittarius What is the maximum number of people that could be `beamed up` into the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek in one go? 3 In the 1996 Olympics, who was disqualified from the 100m final after two false starts? Linford Christie Which rock star did Joan Rivers describe as being `the only man with child-bearing lips`? Mick Jagger What was the last James Bond film in which Roger Moore starred? `A View To A Kill` After how many years of marriage would you celebrate a ruby wedding anniversary? 40 Who has had albums called `Blonde On Blonde`, `Blood On The Tracks` and `Highway 61 Revisited`? Bob Dylan What is the name of the theatre in Sheffield where the World Professional Snooker championships take place? The Crucible Which TV show is centred around the firm of Wernham Hogg? The Office Which element has the chemical symbol Br? Bromine During what century was Napoleon Bonaparte the emperor of France? 19th What was the name of the follow up to the film `Raiders Of The Lost Ark`? `Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom` If you were born on Halloween, what star sign would you be? Scorpio Which city did the Romans call Eboracum? York In which British TV show is there a pub called the Woolpack? `Emmerdale` What was the title of the Sex Pistol`s first British hit single? `Anarchy in the UK` Which 1961 film features the character of Holly Golightly? `Breakfast At Tiffany`s` What is the only mammal that can fly? Bat Who was President of the United States during the American Civil War? Abraham Lincoln What brand of beer does Homer Simpson drink? Duff Which city is 402 miles from Cardiff, 156 miles from Newcastle and 149 miles from Aberdeen? Glasgow For what invention is Earl Silas Tupper best known? Tupperware `C-notes` and `Benjamins` are slang terms for which denomination of U.S. currency? 100 dollar bills In music, which is the lowest male voice? Bass In which TV comedy might you see a horse called Hercules? `Steptoe And Son` What three continents lie on the tropic of Capricorn? Australia, Africa and South America. Who is the patron saint of lovers? St Valentines Which Cliff Richard single was at number one over Christmas in the UK in 1988? `Mistletoe and Wine` In which American state is San Quentin prison? California Which ice cream has been advertised on TV to the tune of `It`s Now Or Never`? Cornetto What is Cliff Richard`s real name? Harry Webb Who was the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917? Lenin Who created the police drama series `Prime Suspect`? Lynda La Plante What nationality is the racing driver Mikka Hakkinen? Finnish In the story of Jack and the Beanstalk what did Jack exchange for the beans from which the beanstalk grew? A cow What character did Alicia Silverstone play in the 1997 film `Batman and Robin`? Batgirl Maoris are associated with which country? New Zealand What type of animal is a mandrill? Monkey Who is generally referred to as being the first serial killer of all time? Jack The Ripper What is the sum of the internal angles in a hexagon? 720 degrees The Scandanavian pop group Aqua had a hit single about which doctor? `Dr Jones` What was the subject of the 1958 film `A Night To Remember`? The sinking of the ship Titanic Who played the character of `Ferris Bueller` in the film `Ferris Bueller`s Day Off`? Matther Broderick In which 1993 film does Bill Murray play Phil Connors? `Groundhog Day` Which pop group took its name from a character in the film `Barbarella`? Duran Duran Which Spice Girl had a number one single with `I Turn To You`? Melanie C Which actor turned singer had a UK number one hit single with `Ain`t No Doubt` in 1992? Jimmy Nail For what book is William Golding best known? Lord Of The Flies Who played `The Talented Mr Ripley` in a 1999 film? Matt Damon What was the name of the Greenpeace ship which was blown up in New Zealand? Rainbow Warrior Which of the Marx brothers was the silent one? Harpo The film `A.I.` was completed by director Steven Spielberg, but which director started the project? Stanley Kubrick In snooker, what is the lowest score that can be achieved by a player if he makes a full clearance in one visit to the table and only pots a maximum of one red with each shot? 72 Which American President appears on a one dollar bill? George Washington Which character from `Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland` often said `Off with his head`? The Queen of Hearts Who was the Roman God of War? Mars Which `S.P.` was invented by Walter Hunt in 1847? Safety Pin Between which two cities did the train `the Flying Scotsman` run? London and Edinburgh In which year was the first World Cup final to be decided on penalties? 1994 What was the name of The Who`s drummer, who died in 1978? Keith Moon In which country was Mel Gibson born? USA In which book would you read about Mr Toad of Toad Hall? `The Wind In The Willows` How many strings does a ukulele have? 4 What does the letter `Q` stand for in `I.Q. Test`? Quotient How many days were there in February in the year 2000? 29 Who played the Sundance Kid in the 1969 film `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`? Robert Redford What is the national bird of New Zealand? The Kiwi How many pieces are there in a standard set of dominoes? 28 Which actress starred in `Dial M For Murder`, `Rear Window` and `High Society`? Grace Kelly How many numbered compartments are there on a roulette wheel? 37 In the 1974 film `Zardoz`, Sean Connery discovers that the name in the title of the film comes from which famous book? The Wizard Of Oz Dr. Banner is the alter-ego of which comic book hero? The Incredible Hulk The second series of the TV comedy `Blackadder` is set during the reign of which monarch? Queen Elizabeth I The action at the end of the James Bond film `A View To A Kill` features around which famous bridge? Golden Gate Bridge `Not Known As Air` is an anagram of which comedy actor? Rowan Atkinson Which comedy duo had first names Bud and Lou? Abbott and Costello What is the subject of Robert Altman`s 1992 film `The Player`? Hollywood, Baseball or the Stock Exchange? Hollywood What country had the Roman name Hibernia? Ireland The Italian word for `scratched drawings` is used commonly in English. What is it? Graffiti Which American president gave the order to withdraw from the Vietnam War? Richard Nixon What is the name of the planet closest to the Sun? Mercury In music, how is Gordon Sumner better known? Sting What famous heavy metal band is named after a medieval torture device? Iron Maiden In 2002, who won BBC TVs `Fame Academy`? David Sneddon If it is 2 P.M. in London, what time would it be in Greece? 4 P.M. How many players make up a netball team? 7 In the game of chess, what type of piece is involved in the move `en passant`? Pawn The book `Man And Wife` by Tony Parsons was a sequel to which of his other books? `Man And Boy` Which knight of the Round Table fell in love with Queen Guinevere? Lancelot Which tourist attraction can be found at Anaheim, Orange County, California? Disneyland Which football team had a hit in 1975 with `I`m Forever Blowing Bubbles`? West Ham United What boxing weight falls between bantam-weight and light-weight? Feather-weight Who played Cat Ballou in the 1965 film of the same name? Jane Fonda In the solar system, what is the third planet from the sun called? Earth Where in London were Prince Charles and Princess Diana married? St Pauls Cathedral Which famous ballet is about a young girl`s broken Christmas present? The Nutcracker In music, who has sometimes been called the `thin white duke`? David Bowie What name is given to a young hare? A leveret Which element has the chemical symbol Fe? Iron If Monday`s child is fair of face then what is Tuesday`s child? Full of grace Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize? Marie Curie What Bond villian has been played by Telly Savalas, Charles Gray and Donald Pleasance? Blofeld What sport would you be playing if competing for the Harry Vardon trophy? Golf What musical gave Jason Donovan his first starring West End role? `Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat` Which football team won the World Cup in 1970? Brazil On whose life was Arthur Miller`s 1964 play `After The Fall` based? Marilyn Monroe Who or what was `The Pink Panther` in the 1964 film of the same name? A diamond What is France`s largest vehicle manufacturer? Renault Who played Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 film `The Fugitive`? Tommy Lee Jones What does the first letter stand for in `AC/DC`? Alternating Which actor played Private James Francis Ryan in the film `Saving Private Ryan`? Matt Damon In `The X-Files`, what is Agent Mulder`s first name? Fox Which World Wrestling champion appeared in the films `Rocky III`, `Mr. Nanny` and `Muppets From Space`? Hulk Hogan Which 1959 film made won 11 Oscars? Ben Hur `NCC 1701` is the registration number of which famous fictional vehicle? The Starship Enterprise By what name was the Allied operation against Iraq in the Gulf war of 1991 known? Desert Storm In the film `The Jungle Book` what type of animal was Bagheera? A panther Lester Burnham is a character in which 1999 film? American Beauty Which author wrote the novels `The Odessa File`, `The Fourth Protocol` and `The Fist Of God`? Frederick Forsyth In which sport do people compete for the America`s Cup? Yachting In which country is the Simpson desert? Australia Who played the character who was `Sleepless In Seattle`? Tom Hanks A quadricentennial event would take place once every how often? 400 years To the nearest million, what did Census 2001 reveal was the population of Northern Ireland? 2 million What name is given to word that is spelt the same backwards? Palindrome Into which sea does the Nile flow? The Mediterranean The film `Casablanca` is set around which war? World War II Which novel by Enid Bagnold is about a girl who races her horse in the Grand National? `National Velvet` What is the most popular sport in the world? Soccer Which 1942 film features the characters Rick, Isla and Laszlo? `Casablanca` In which of Shakespeare`s plays does the line `A horse! A horse ! My kingdom for a horse` appear? Richard III Which band had UK top ten singles with `Jump`, and `Why Can`t This Be Love`? Van Halen What would you use if you were practising ikebana? Flowers Which Arthur wrote `Death Of A Salesman`? Arthur Miller Which TV family live at 742 Evergreen Terrace? The Simpsons What number does the letter D represent in Roman numerals? 500 Which European country is also called the Hellenic Republic? Greece What type of music originated in Seattle in the early 1990s and brought commercial success for Nirvana? Grunge Robert Zimmerman is the real name of which famous person? Bob Dylan Which TV cast had a hit with `Hi-Fidelity`? `The Kids From Fame` In which 1993 film does the character Dr Richard Kimble appear? `The Fugitive` How did Eric the Eel make his name at the Sydney Olympics in 2000? By winning a swimming heat in a record slow time What was the first method of transport used to take people into the air? Hot Air Balloons Which American President once famously proclaimed `Ich bin ein Berliner`? John F. Kennedy How many times did Ivan Lendl win Wimbledon? 0 What was the name of the murder victim at the beginning of the TV series `Twin Peaks`? Laura Palmer Which synthetic material was named by combining the French words for velvet and hook? Velcro What would you use an `Endoscope` for? Looking inside peoples bodies In the highway code, what shape are signs which give orders? Circular What was John Milton`s follow up to `Paradise Lost` called? Paradise Regained At which racecourse is the Grand National held? Aintree How many stripes are there on an American flag? 13 Which country borders Sweden and Russia? Finland Which singer`s 1985 autobiography was called `Who`s Sorry Now`? Connie Francis` What nationality was Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics? American What colour is the maple leaf on the Canadian flag? Red What is the national sport of Japan? Sumo Wrestling What was the title of Greg Lake`s top ten Christmas hit of 1975? I Believe In Father Christmas In which film would you find Hatchet Harry and Barry The Baptist? Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels Which American singer has a backing band called `The E Street Band`? Bruce Springsteen Which British monarch was on the throne at the beginning of the 20th Century? Queen Victoria The eastern entrance to the Panama Canal is in which ocean? The Pacific `Steamboat Willy` introduces which character into TV and films? Mickey Mouse In degrees celcius, what is the normal body temperature? 37 What is xenophobia the fear of? Foreigners In which film did Pierce Brosnan play James Bond for the first time? `Goldeneye` In which film does Kevin Costner star as Jim Garrison? `J.F.K.` Who played Oskar Schindler in the film `Schindler`s List`? Liam Neeson The song `Moon River` appeared in what 1961 film? `Breakfast At Tiffany`s` What American state is Silicon Valley in? California How many gold medals did Jesse Owens win at the 1936 Berlin Olympics? 4 With which sport do you associate `Flushing Meadow`? Tennis Which of Henry VIII`s children reigned in England for 44 years? Elizabeth I Which company makes the chocolate biscuit Kit Kat? Rowntrees Which of these wedding anniversaries would you celebrate first? Golden, Emerald or Ruby? Ruby What does a numismatist collect? Coins In which 1999 film does the main character quit his job at Media Monthly Magazine to start work at fast food joint Mr. Smiley`s? `American Beauty` Who reached number 7 in the UK charts in 1972 with the single `Layla`? Derek And The Dominoes After which famous person in history was the teddy bear named? Theodore Roosevelt What does BAFTA stand for? British Academy of Film and Television Arts Which actress won three BAFTAs in the 1990s for playing a policewoman on TV? Helen Mirren What was the name given to the trials of 24 Nazi leaders for war crimes in 1945? The Nuremberg Trials Which band released the 1987 album `Appetite For Destruction`? Guns `n` Roses Who is the lead singer with the pop group Madness? Suggs The reference lines on a globe which circle the Earth parallel to the equator are lines of what? Longitude or Latitude? Latitude Which gangster said `I`ve been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War`? Al Capone. What was the approximate population of Mexico in July 1999? 10 million, 50 million or 100 million? 100 million The 1971 TV movie `Duel` was one of the first pieces of work by which famous film director? Steven Spielberg What is the name of a line on a map that joins places of equal height? Contour In computing, what does WYSIWYG stand for? What you see is what you get What name is given to the young of a lion? Cub Who wrote the 1976 novel `Interview With The Vampire`? Anne Rice Who plays Agent Scully in the X-Files? Gillian Anderson What was the name of Britney Spears` first hit single? `Baby One More Time` In 1997, which song by D-Ream did the Labour Party adopt as the theme tune to their General Election campaign? `Things Can Only Get Better` What western won the best picture Oscar in 1993? Unforgiven Who had a hit single in the seventies with `I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday`? Wizzard How many teaspoons go into one tablespoon? 3 Who was the first President of America? George Washington Who wrote `The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn`? Mark Twain Which `Benny` was known as the King of Swing? Benny Goodman Which part of the body is affected by conjunctivitis? The eyes Which of the following elements has a chemical symbol which does not begin with `A`? Silver, Gold or Tin? Tin As Dorothy taps her heels together 3 times and prepares to return to Kansas at the end of `The Wizard of Oz` what does she repeatedly say? `There`s no place like home` Which racehorse won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977? Red Rum What was the profession of Mastermind winner Fred Housego? Taxi Driver Which book made J. D. Salinger famous in 1951? The Catcher In The Rye What is the only gemstone to be composed of one single element? Diamond What is the name of the local pub in the TV series `Only Fools and Horses`? The Nag`s Head Which famous Chuck Berry song included the name of a classical composer in it`s title? `Roll Over Beethoven` How many people make up a basketball team? 5 What is the Spanish name for a Bullfighter? Matador Which film features the famous scene of Marilyn Monroe`s dress blowing as she stands over a subway grate? `The Seven Year Itch` In the film `Carlito`s Way`, who played Carlito? Al Pacino On a standard Monopoly board, what square lies diagonally opposite `Go`? Free Parking In which English city is Picadilly Railway Station? Manchester In 1996, what overtook Coca-Cola as being the most well known brand name in the world? McDonalds In Disney`s `The Incredible Journey` what type of animal was `Badger`? A dog What type of monsters are at the centre of the films `The Howling` and `Ginger Snaps`? Werewolves How many rows of stars are there on an American flag? 9 Fats Waller was famous for playing which instrument? Piano By what name was Norma Jean Baker better known? Marilyn Monroe What are the 5 coloured rings on the Olympic flag? Red, yellow, blue, black, and green Which bird is the state bird of New Mexico, and also the name of a cartoon character? Roadrunner Tim Allen provided the voice for which computer generated character in a 1995 film? `Buzz Lightyear` In the 1983 film `Christine`, who or what was Christine? A car Who was the Greek God of love? Eros Which actor is the narrator in the film `Blade Runner`? Harrison Ford The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 was the last battle of which series of wars? The Wars Of The Roses Who did Ringo Starr replace in the Beatles? Pete Best Which Travis song includes the line `Is it because I lied when I was seventeen`? Why Does It Always Rain On Me? Which of the following planets has no moons? Mars, Earth or Mercury? Mercury Which of the following teams did not play in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup finals? Sweden, France or Senegal? Sweden What would you measure with a protractor? Angles What name is given to a female swan? A pen On which scale would force 6 equal a strong breeze? Beaufort Collectively, by what name are Carole Richardson, Patrick Armstrong, Paul Hill and Gerard Conlon better known? The Guildford Four Which of these countries has the most coastline? Iceland, Norway or Portugal? Iceland Who played Catwoman in the 1992 film `Batman Returns`? Michelle Pfieffer Which insects account for most deaths? Mosquitos Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of which number? 13 In `Tales From Toytown` what type of animal was Larry? A lamb What was Raymond Chandler`s first novel, which was later made into a successful film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall? `The Big Sleep` Orly airport is situated in which European city? Paris Which Eastenders character married Cat Slater on Christmas day 2003? Alfie Moon How many species of elephant are there in the world? 2 What kind of animal is James Stewart`s invisible friend in the film `Harvey`? A rabbit. What is the capital city of New Zealand? Wellington Which song was a hit for both Freddie Mercury and The Platters? `The Great Pretender` Who recorded albums called `Dangerous` and `Bad`? Michael Jackson The name of which month of the year is derived from the Roman God of war? March (after Mars) Who produced, directed and starred in `Citizen Kane`? Orson Welles Which actor and actress played the leading roles in the TV series `Moonlighting`? Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepard In which American city is Sears Tower? Chicago What is the second largest country in South America? Argentina On a standard dart board, what is the lowest number that cannot be scored with a single dart? 23 In the sitcom `Are You Being Served`, what was the name of the character who had the catchphrase `I`m Free`? Mr Humphries Which female singer had the bestselling album in the UK in 1999 called `Come On Over`? Shania Twain Which Leicestershire town is famous for its pork pies? Melton Mobray Clarice Starling is a character in what 1991 film? `Silence of the lambs` Which of the following William Shakespeare plays would be classed as a tragedy? Henry V, Midsummer`s Night Dream or Hamlet? Hamlet What type of bird features on the seventh day of Christmas in the song `The Twelve Days Of Christmas`? Swan In what month of the year do the USA celebrate Thanksgiving? November The actor Brandon Lee died during an accident on the set of what film? `The Crow` In which film did the character Ellen Ripley first appear? Alien What film`s theme song did Ray Parker Junior sing in 1984? Ghostbusters John Weissmuller and Rowdy Gaines are associated with which Olympic sport? Swimming Who wrote `If Only They Could Talk` and `Let Sleeping Vets Lie`? James Herriott Which fictional park off the coast of Costa Rica did Michael Crichton write about? `Jurassic Park` In which Ocean are the group of islands called the Seychelles? Indian Which film won the best picture, best director, best actor and best actress Oscars in 1992? Silence of the lambs What river forms a large part of the boundary between Mexico and the USA? The Rio Grande What was the name of the novelty song that Spitting Image took to number one in 1986? `The Chicken Song` Where would you find budgerigars in their natural habitat? North Africa, The Far East or Australia? Australia. Which of the following elements has the lowest atomic number? Silver, Calcium or Nitrogen? Nitrogen What colour is the diamond on the Brazilian flag? Yellow What is a perfect score in ten-pin bowling? 300 What is deoxyribonucleic acid better known as? DNA In American football, how many points are awarded for a touchdown? 6 Thomas Chippendale was best known for making and designing what in the 18th century? Furniture In what film did Elizabeth Taylor shoot to fame as a child star in 1944? `National Velvet` Which famous female singer appeared as a fairy in the 2001 film `Moulin Rouge`? Kylie Minogue Nashville is the capital of which American state? Tennessee Which cartoon takes place in Greendale in Cumbria? Postman Pat Which 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film was based on a novel by John Buchan? `The 39 Steps` If you had one dime and two nickels, how many cents would you have in total? 20 By what name is the New Palace of Westminster in London better known? The Houses Of Parliament What organisation is also known as `La Cosa Nostra`? The Mafia If you were born on July 25th, what star sign would you be? Leo In the British Army, which of these ranks is the highest? Major, Captain or Colonel? Colonel In the TV comedy series `Frasier`, what is Frasier`s surname? Crane Which of the following countries` flags features the colours red, white and green? Hungary, Israel or Romania? Hungary Gwen Stefani is the lead singer with which band? No Doubt In which county is Reading? Berkshire Which author wrote about the characters Anne Elliot, Jane Fairfax and Emma Woodhouse? Jane Austen Who played Mary in the film `There`s Something About Mary`? Cameron Diaz Which band had top ten hits in the 1960s with `Don`t Let Me Be Misunderstood` and `We Gotta Get Out Of This Place`? The Animals Which 1995 film featuring talking animals is based on a book by Dick King-Smith? Babe Which element has the chemical symbol C? Carbon A centaur is a cross between which two creatures? Horse and Human Which band had a hit album called `Slippery When Wet`? Bon Jovi With which sport would you associate Lance Armstrong? Cycling In literature, which fictional character has parents called Lily and James? Harry Potter Which female scientist was the first to win 2 Nobel Science prizes? Marie Curie In which continent are the top ten highest active volcanoes in the world? South America Which band have had hits called `Waiting For A Girl Like You` and `I Want To Know What Love Is`? Foreigner When was the last Olympic games to be held before World War I? 1912 Which darts player is known as `The Power`? Phil Taylor In which continent is the Angel Falls waterfall? South America Who created the muppets? Jim Henson Jennifer Warnes had two number one hit singles with duets from which two films? `Dirty Dancing`, `An Officer And A Gentleman` As in the music shop, what do the letters HMV stand for? His Masters Voice Which actress played Princess Leia in the film `Star Wars`? Carrie Fisher Which famous musician narrated the adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine on British television? Ringo Starr What nationality was the racing driver Ayrton Senna? Brazilian Which famous fictional character kept his tobacco in the toe of a Persian slipper? Sherlock Holmes How many faces does the clock tower of Big Ben have? 4 What was Hitler`s title as the leader of Nazi Germany? Fuhrer, Muller or Kaiser? Fuhrer Mikado is a title given to emperors of which country? Japan Marlon Brando won best actor award for what 1954 film? `On the waterfront` What is the English translation of the film title `Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo`? The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Who does Alice follow into Wonderland? The white rabbit What is the currency of Holland? The Guilder What is the name of the lake in the middle of Hyde Park? The Serpentine Which common English word was derived fron the Greek for `dip` ,as in `dipping in water` and so on? Baptise Who scored the winning goal for Manchester United against Bayern Munich in the 1999 European Cup final? Ole Gunner Solskjaer What is the name of the dog in Enid Blyton`s `Famous Five`? Timmy Who invented penicillin in 1928? Sir Alexander Fleming Phoenix is the capital city of which US state? Arizona Who stars as Roy Neary in the film `Close Encounters Of The Third Kind`? Richard Dreyfuss What 1974 disaster movie starred Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Faye Dunaway? `The Towering Inferno` In the film `The Life Of Brian`, who played Brian? Graham Chapman Who played Che Guevera alongside Madonna in the film `Evita`? Antonia Banderas The BDO is the governing body of which sport? Darts Better known in the world of music, who played the leading role in the film `Buster`? Phil Collins How many points does a `Star of David` have? 6 Who played Philip Marlowe in the 1946 film `The Big Sleep`? Humphrey Bogart Which of the following would live in a formicary? Owls, bees or ants? Ants Which song includes the line `And I`m floating in the most peculiar way`? `Space Oddity` Who played the title role in the film `Gandhi`? Ben Kingsley Which element has the chemical symbol Cu? Copper What is the common name for decompression sickness, a condition experienced by divers? The bends What is `hi-fi` short for? High-fidelity In Greek mythology, what was unusual about Medusa`s hair? It was made of snakes. How many hurdles must a runner jump over in the 110m men’s hurdles race? 10 The Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest point in which ocean? The Atlantic Ocean What was the name of the hit single on which Frank and Nancy Sinatra duetted in 1967? `Something Stupid` How many lines does a poem called a quatorzain have? 14 What actress was the subject of the 1983 film `Mommie Dearest`? Joan Crawford Which line on the London Underground is represented by the colour yellow? The circle line With which BBC TV show would you associate the character of David Brent? `The Office` Who provided the voice of the title character in the 2001 film `Shrek``? Mike Myers Which district of London was named after a battle fought in 1815? Waterloo Which is longer, the Grand National or the University Boat Race? The Grand National Which fiction character from children`s books said `I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me`? Winnie The Pooh Who played Lex Luthor in the Superman films? Gene Hackman Death Cap, Shaggy Ink Cap and Stink Horn are all types of what? Toadstools Who played Norman Bates in the 1960 film `Psycho`? Anthony Perkins Parker and Barrow were the surnames of which famous couple? Bonnie and Clyde What type of animal was the first to be sent into space? A dog What is the element Uranium named after? The planet Uranus In which country is the film `Jean De Florette` set? France Which actor had the real name of Marion Morrison? John Wayne The city of Glasgow stands on which of the following rivers? Forth, Clyde or Tay? Clyde Who were the two main stars of the film `Nine and a half weeks`? Mickery Rourke and Kim Basinger From which country does beef stroganoff originate? Russia Montevideo is the capital of which South American country? Uruguay With which band was David Lee Roth lead vocalist in the 1980s? Van Halen What animals head did a Minotaur have? Bull Who played Barbara Good in `The Good Life` ? Felicity Kendall What does `E.S.P.` stand for? Extra-sensory perception. In `The Wizard Of Oz`, what was the Tin Man looking for? A heart In computing what does RAM stand for? Random Access Memory Which cartoon characters live at 39 Canyon Way? The Flintstones Which of these letters is used most frequently in the English language? H, U or W? H Which Czech novelist wrote `The Trial`? Kafka or Kapra? Kafka Who had a number one hit single in 2002 with `Round Round`? Sugarbabes Which author sometimes used the pseudonym Acton Bell which had the same initials as her real name? Anne Bronte Which pop star filed for divorce from her husband Cris Judd in July, 2002? Jennifer Lopez Which of the major tennis tournaments is played annually at the Roland Garros Stadium? The French Open Lanzarote is part of which island group? Canaries In which continent do most tornadoes occur? North America What type of dog was the cartoon character Snoopy? A beagle By what name was the Scottish outlaw Robert McGregor better known? Rob Roy What 1976 film featured Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Jodie Foster? `Taxi Driver` Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and Beyonce Knowles make up which band? Destiny`s Child Who wrote `Treasure Island`? Robert Louis Stevenson What is main language on the island of Anglesey? Welsh What is the acronym for the agency which provides co-operation between police forces worldwide? Interpol Which British TV series takes place in Sun Hill? `The Bill` Which synthetic fabric was first developed by Dupont in 1958 and is worn regularly in a variety of sports? Lycra Which J. C. won two of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments in 1992? Jim Courier What is the capital of Jamaica? Kingston In the film and TV series, what does the letter `A` stand for in `M*A*S*H`? Army In which European country would you find the cities of Kiev and Odesa? Ukraine What would William Shakespeares plays `Twelfth Night` and `Much Ado About Nothing` be classed as? Comedies, Histories or Tragedies? Comedies What is the lighest element? Hydrogen The Rio Grande separates which 2 countries? Mexico and the USA In which film would you find `the Knights who say Ni`? `Monty Python and the Holy Grail` Which international football team had a squad full of players in Euro 96 whose surnames all ended with the letter `v`? Bulgaria Who wrote `The Hobbit`? J. R. R. Tolkein What number do the Roman numerals XL represent? 40 Which British driver won the Formula One World Drivers Championship in 1996? Damon Hill Which of the following characters would you not associate with the Irvine Welsh novel `Trainspotting`? Home-boy, Rent-boy or Sick-boy? Home-boy What rank did the leader of the TV series `The A-Team` reach in the army? Colonel A prune is what type of fruit dried? Plum Which Eurovision song contest winner completed the 1981 Labour Party slogan `The Tories have a worse record than ...`? Bucks Fizz What two-letter abbreviation in the computer industry stands for 1,048,576 bytes? MB (for megabyte) In which game would you find Misty, a midriff-bearing teenager? Pokemon What surname is common to the infamous resident of Rillington Place and the 1992 men`s Olympic 100m champion? Christie In Greek mythology is the winged horse Pegasus male or female? Male The title of the French national anthem is derived from the name of which French city? Marseilles Which actress, also known for her singing, played the character Alexandra Medford in the film `The Witches of Eastwick`? Cher How are the employees of the Charles Townsend Associates private detective agency better known? `Charlie`s Angels` `A Kind Of Magic` and `Hammer To Fall` by Queen are songs on the soundtrack to which 1986 film? `Highlander` Which 1984 film about the life of a famous composer, won an Oscar for best film? `Amadeus` In which country was authour Isaac Asimov born? Russia Which 1974 sequel won six Oscars? `The Godfather: Part II` Who was nicknamed `The Ayrshire Poet`? Robert Burns What is the most contagious disease in the world? The common cold In what film does Tom Hanks star as a boy in a adult body? Big Which jazz musician had the nickname `Bird`? Charlie Parker What is the common name for sodium bicarbonate? Baking Soda Into which ocean does the river Amazon flow? Atlantic With what game would you associate Bobby Fischer? Chess What colour is the cross on the national flag of Switzerland? White Which famous raid did Guy Gibson lead in 1943? The Dambusters Who wrote `Pride And Prejudice`? Jane Austen In which decade was the film `The Exorcist` originally released? 1970s What was the name of the bank for which Nick Leeson worked? Barings What colour is the Ferrari emblem? Yellow In the 1950 movie `Harvey`, what type of animal was Harvey? Rabbit Which black American won 4 gold medals in 1936 Olympics in Berlin? Jesse Owens Where on the Greek flag does the cross appear? The top left of the top right? Top left Which actress starred in the films `Addicted To Love`, `City Of Angels` and `Courage Under Fire`? Meg Ryan What is Madonna`s real first name? Madonna What was the code name of the person who created James Bond`s gadgets in the novels by Ian Fleming? Q Which television show took place at Wentworth Detention Centre? `Prisoner: Cell Block H` What does `p.m.` stand for meaning `in the afternoon`? Post-meridian Which Quentin Tarantino film won the main prize at the 1994 Cannes film festival? `Pulp Fiction` 10 to the power 0 is equal to what number? 0, 1 or 10? 1 Which of the following composers has appeared in the title of a hit song for Chuck Berry? Mozart, Handel or Beethoven? Beethoven Which desert is found in South East Mongolia and Northern China? Gobi What British TV show is the equivalent ot the American `College Bowl`? `University Challenge` Which 1980s song includes the line `Please, Louise, pull me off`a my knees`? `Footloose` (by Kenny Loggins) In degrees Fahrenheit, what is the boiling point of water? 172, 212 or 252? 212 By what name is London Cathedral better known? St. Paul`s Cathedral What was the former name for Halloween? All Hallow`s Eve, All Saints Eve or All Souls Eve? All Hallow`s Eve Created by Mike Judge, which cartoon characters first appeared on MTV in 1993? Beavis and Butthead Which is bigger - Europe or Antarctica? Antarctica Which games company invented Pokemon? Nintendo What colour are the seats in the House of Lords? Red, Blue or Green? Red What does the Dewey Decimal System classify? Books What is Paddington Bear`s favourite type of sandwiches? Marmalade Which 1997 comedy starred Elizabeth Hurley and Mike Myers? `Austin Powers : Internation Man Of Mystery` What was the band The Animals` only UK number one hit single? `House Of The Rising Sun` Which instrument does the leader of an orchestra play? Violin Who said in 1963 `All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin`? John F. Kennedy (shortly followed by `ich bin ein Berliner`) In George Orwell`s novel `1984` which room was the `ultimate torture room`? Room 101 What colour is the number 10 on the door of 10 Downing Street? White In the board game Monopoly, how many houses must you buy on a property before you can buy a hotel? 4 Which famous artist`s career stretched from 1895 to his death in 1973? Pablo Picasso What is the capital of China? Beijing What is the name of the ficticious suburb where Coronation Street is set? Weatherfield Which politcal party did American President Bill Clinton represent? Democratic Party Which singer married model Christie Brinkley in 1985? Billy Joel What nationality was pop artist Andy Warhol? American Who was Britains entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with the song `Save All Your Kisses For Me`? Brotherhood Of Man Which British golfer was Europe`s leading money earner in 1997? Colin Montgomerie What is the name of the famous Chicago building that is 110 storeys high? Sears Tower What is the literal translation of the word `dinosaur`? Ancient Lizard, Great Lizard or Terrible Lizard? Terrible Lizard Which type of material was first manufactured in France at Nimes, from where it got its name? Denim What 1958 film features the songs `Some Enchanted Evening`, `There Is Nothing Like A Dame` and `Happy Talk`? `South Pacific` In what year did Adolf Hitler commit suicide? 1945 Which chocolate manufacturer makes Crunchie? Cadbury`s The burning of what substance produces most of the world`s electricity? Coal Through which city did Lady Godiva famously ride naked? Coventry Which artist, sculptor and architect designed the Dome of St Peter`s in Rome? Michaelangelo It was announced in 2002 that Edwina Currie had an affair with which former politician? John Major In which month does Spring offically begin? March Who sang the theme for the Bond film `The Spy Who Loved Me`? Carly Simon Which of the following events did Carl Lewis not win a gold medal for at the 1984 Olympics? Long Jump, 400m or 100m relay? 400m Who was the main villain in the cartoon `Wacky Races`? Dick Dastardly Which actor received 4 million dollars for his 10 minutes on screen in the film `Superman`? Marlon Brando Who ruled England from 1837 to 1901? Queen Victoria Who played James Bond in the film `You Only Live Twice`? Sean Connery What nationality was the racing driver Alberto Ascari? Italian What was the name of the 80s band of which Fatboy Slim was a member? The Housemartins Which element has the chemical symbol Zn? Zinc How long is an Olympic sized swimming pool? 50 metres Which organ of the human body does Hepatitis affect? Liver What are commonly referred to as shooting stars? Meteors Who played the character of Lord Flasheart who appeared in several episodes of the TV comedy series `Blackadder`? Rik Mayall What unusual physical characteristic does the Bond villain Scaramanga have in the film `The Man With The Golden Gun`? A third nipple On which corner of a motorway sign do junction exit numbers appear? Bottom left Which month`s name is derived from the ninth month of the old Roman calendar? November Which of the following are the first names of a married couple who acted in the 2000 film `Traffic`? Uma and Stephen, Catherine and Michael or Andie and Ethan? Michael and Catherine What was advertised with Eva Herzagovia using the slogan `hello boys`? The wonder-bra `All children, except one, grow up` is the opening line from which famous story? `Peter Pan` Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are associated with the three colours of what country`s flag? France`s What is pathophobia the fear of? Illness, Lying or Memory Loss? Illness Who has managed the football teams West Bromich Albion, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and Coventry? Ron Atkinson In which European country is the `Black Forest`? Germany Which comedian partnered Robert Powell in the TV comedy series `The Detectives`? Jasper Carrott What word represents `S` in the phonetic alphabet? Sierra Which of the following Shakespeare plays would be classed as a comedy? Titus Andronicus, Two Gentlemen Of Verona or Othello? Two Gentlemen Of Verona In which country is the river Yangtze located? China In 1978, who became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Mickey Mouse Which team knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup finals? Argentina Which football club did Kenny Dalglish leave in 1977 to join Liverpool? Celtic The Grand Canyon is located in which state? Arizona Which two singers duetted on the 1991 UK number one hit single `Don`t Let The Sun Go Down On Me`? George Michael and Elton John Which singer published his autobiography called `X-Ray` in 1995? Ray Davies How many minutes long is a rugby union match? 80 Which two comedians sang on the song `3 Lions` which became an anthem during Euro 96? Frank Skinner and David Baddiel Who is actress Jamie Lee Curtis` famous mother? Janet Leigh The film `Roxanne` starring Steve Martin is based on which classic French film? `Cyrano De Bergerac` What is the young of a deer called? A fawn What type of animal was Dougal in `The Magic Roundabout`? Dog How many stars make up Orion`s belt? 3 Which female singer had hits with `I Am What I Am` and `Never Can Say Goodbye`? Gloria Gaynor How is the number 500 represented in Roman numerals? D Which wedding anniversary would you celebrate after 40 years of marriage? Ruby Which baseball star did Marilyn Monroe marry in January, 1954? Joe DiMaggio What is the origin of the word `alphabet`? From the two Greek letters `alpha` and `beta` What was the profession at the centre of the film `Backdraft`? Firefighting Which Britney Spears song includes the line `I must confess I still believe`? Baby One More Time In what way is a Dutch auction different from a normal auction? The price starts high and comes down until a bid is made. What TV show connects Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavnar and Yeardley Smith? `The Simpsons` (they provide some of the character`s voices) Which famous film villain had David Prowse play it`s body, Sebastian Shaw play it`s face, and James Earl Jones provide it`s voice? Darth Vader Which actor links `Legends Of The Fall`, `Interview With The Vampire` and `Ocean`s Eleven`? Brad Pitt What animals head did a Minotaur have? A bull`s Which famous authour was married to Anne Hathaway? William Shakespeare Which band released the 1999 comeback single `Maria`? Blondie Which actor featured in the title of a Madness hit in 1984? Michael Caine According to Elvis Presley, where was Heartbreak Hotel situated? At the end of lonely street Which continent has the largest population? Asia Which 1985 film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and featured the characted Marty McFly? Back To The Future In which series of action films does the character of John McClane appear? `Die Hard` What was the sequel to the 1991 film the `Addams Family` called? Addams Family Values What was the first name of ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher`s husband? Denis Better known as a comedian, who sang the theme tune for the TV series `One Foot In The Grave`? Eric Idle What name is given to the art form of the twentieth century, which is said to `explore the sub-concious`? Surrealism. In Monopoly, what is the cost of Marylebone Station? 200 pounds Who was the first American President to be assassinated? Abraham Lincoln Which film was advertised with the line `In space, no-one can hear you scream`? Alien What nationality was the philosopher Confucious? Chinese Who wrote Das Kapital? Karl Marx Which famous building is used for the election of a Pope? The Cisteen Chapel Who sang the theme tune to the TV series `Minder`? Denis Waterman Which country was once known as Constanstinople? Istanbul What metal is also known as quicksilver? Mercury What is the world`s largest man-made structure? The Great Wall of China Which Russian writer wrote `The Seagull` and `The Cherry Orchard`? Chekhov What acid is extracted from the juice of lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruit? Citric In mathematics, what does the letter `L` stand for in the abbreviation `LCD`? Lowest Who directed the 1974 film `Blazing Saddles`? Mel Brooks Which film character do the japanese call `Mr. Kissy Kissy Bang Bang`? James Bond What is the largest land mammal in the world? Elephant What name is given to a female horse aged four or under? Filly Which Beatles song has been recorded the most by other artists? `Yesterday` Who was the second son of Adam and Eve and was murdered by his brother? Abel Who was the first man to reach the South Pole? Roald Amundsen If you were born in October, and you weren`t a Scorpio, what star sign would you be? Libra Which British driver won the Formula One World Drivers Championship in 1992? Nigel Mansell Which of the following would be interested in collecting a `penny black`? A Conchologist, A Numismatist or a Philatalist? Philatalist What European country is home to the majority of Catalan speakers? Spain Which sport is covered on television by Claire Balding and Willie Carson? Horse Racing What is the chemical symbol for the element Neon? Ne What is the chemical symbol for the element Gold? Au Which controversial 1955 novel is Vladimir Nabokov`s best known? `Lolita` Which two throwing events in track and field require safety netting? Discus and Hammer From which country did Paddington bear come? Peru What structure joins a bone to a muscle? A: Tendon. What is the shoulder blade called in a human? A: Scapula. What is the scientific name for a human kneecap? A: Patella. The Hypothalamus regulates what in the human body? A: Physiologic stability. Which part of the human digestive system is the most acidic? A: Stomach. What human organ is protected by the cranium? A: The human brain. The tube connecting the kidney to the bladder is called what? A: Ureter. Where in the human body can one find alveoli? A: The Lung. What is the muscle used for breathing called which separates the chest from the abdomen? A: Diaphragm. Where in the human body are red blood cells produced? A: In the bone marrow. Which finger has the fastest growing nail? A: Middle finger. Which sex is twice as likely to catch leprosy? A: The male. The most insect bitten part of the human body is what part? A: Foot. Cholecystitis affects what part of the human body? A: Gall bladder. When sneezing, what part of the body is it impossible to keep open? A: Eyes. Which bone is the hardest bone in the human body? A: Jaw bone. What is an erythrocyte? A: A red blood cell. How long is the small intestine in a human? A: 4 to 7 meters. What is the roughly 24-hour cycle in the physiological processes of living things called? A: Circadian rhythms. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs in what part of the human body? A: Hand or fingers. Where is one's gluteus maximus located? A: Your buttocks. Veins carry blood to what organ? A: Heart. What component is shared by hair, nails, and skin? A: Keratin. The tendon at the top of the human heel is called what? A: Achilles tendon. What bone is also called the tibia? A: The shin bone. Hepatitis affects which organ? A: Liver. How many teeth do humans have? A: 32. How many senses to human beings have? A: 5. In the human body, what is the longest bone? A: Femur. The major artery in the side of the neck is called what? A: Carotid. Where is ones uvula located in the body? A: At the back of the throat. What are the two bones in the forearm called? A: Ulna and radius. What disease does a tick bite spread? A: Lyme disease. Serborrheic dermatitis is more commonly called what term? A: Dandruff. A phlebotomist specializes in what? A: Drawing blood. What are the three parts of the backbone called? A: Lumbar, Cervical, and thoracic. The study of the skin is called the study of what? A: Dermatology. What is the term in medicine given to the deficiency of blood sugar which may occur after too large a dose of insulin has been given? A: Hypoglycemia. What does necrotizing fasciitis attack? A: Skin or flesh. The light sensitive membrane on the inner lining of the eyeball is called what? A: Retina. What is another name for the disease known as Varicella? A: Chickenpox. What is the term used for a breast X-ray? A: Mammogram. What instrument is used to measure blood pressure? A: Sphygmomanometer. What human organs are affected by glaucoma? A: Eyes. Which human bone is most often broken? A: Collar bone. What deficiency causes anemia? A: Red blood cells. What is another more common term for acetylsalicylic acid? A: Aspirin. Which is the lowest of the seven vertebrae? A: Coccyx. In the X Files what is Mulder's first name? A: Fox. Which of the Beatles was the first to be widowed? A: Paul McCartney. Which Menacing US sitcom was screened as Just Dennis in the UK? A: Dennis The Menace. In which country were the 1996 Olympic Games held? A: United States. In Mask Jim Carrey starred as someone working where? A: A bank. Who had a 70s No 1 with If You Leave Me Now? A: Chicago. What is the postal abbreviation for Indiana? A: IN. Which Jeff starred in The Fabulous Baker Boys? A: Bridges. IN 1998 actor James Brolin married which singer / actress? A: Barbra Streisand. Bill Clinton was Governor of which state when he became President? A: Arkansas. Wichita international airport is in which US state? A: Kansas. The Dalai Lama fled which country in the 50s? A: Tibet. In 1998 Celine Dion and R Kelly sang I'm Your what? A: Angel. In which decade did Boris Yeltsin come to power? A: 1990s. Woody Allen was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 30s. Which series with Ellen DeGeneres as originally called These Friends of Mine? A: Ellen. Which Spanish Salvador was a surrealist artist? A: Dali. Which country does golfer Ben Crenshaw come from? A: USA. Who had a 70sNo 1 hit with Stayin' Alive? A: The Bee Gees. What type of curtain divided eastern and western Europe during the cold war? A: Iron. Bandleader Edward Ellington was known by what nickname? A: Duke. Which state is called the Garden state? A: New Jersey. What did Cecil B de Mille make? A: Movies. Which star of Shakespeare in Love guest-edited the magazine Marie Claire? A: Gwyneth Paltrow. What was added to Stevie Wonder's name when he was a youngster? A: Little. Which character is the most famous creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs? A: Tarzan. Which state is called the Bear State? A: Arkansas. Who played Emma Peelinthe90s film version of The Avengers? A: Uma Thurman. Which Michael starred in Doc Hollywood? A: J Fox. What is the capital of the state of Louisiana? A: Baton Rouge. Which veteran pop singer has the first names Roderick David? A: Rod Stewart. What came after The Brady in the sitcom title? A: Bunch. What did teenager Anne Frank leave behind that was published after her death? A: Diary. Who had a 60s No 1 with Stop In the Name Of Love? A: Supremes. Who liked Richard Burton so much that she married him twice? A: Elizabeth Taylor. In which decade did people last get the chance to see Halley's comet? A: 1980s. At what time of year did Eddie Cochran get the blues? A: Summer time. In football, where do the 1990s Titans come from? A: Tennessee. Who was younger when they became President, Clinton or Kennedy? A: Kennedy. The novel Airport was a best seller for which author? A: Arthur Haily. Which female sang the Bond theme to Goldeneye? A: Tina Turner. Golfer Bernhard Langer comes from which country? A: Germany. The D Day landings took place in which country? A: France. Who was the first man to fly in space? A: Yuri Gagarin. In which decade of the 20th century was Chevy Chase born? A: 1940s. What is the postal abbreviation for Missouri? A: MO. Who was Bill Clinton's first Vice President? A: AL Gore. Which Box gave Mariah Carey a multi-million album success? A: Music. Which Bruce declared he was Born In The USA? A: Springsteen. Oakland international airport is in which state? A: California. What kind of animal is the emblem of the US republican political party? A: Elephant. Which type of animals have more teeth, reptiles or mammals? A: Mammals. A cow normally has how many teats? A: Four. What is the only venomous snake found in Britain? A: Adder. What type of leaves does a Koala use for food? A: Eucalyptus. What type of animal is the main source of food for a mole? A: Earthworms. What is another name for a Guinea Pig? A: Cavy. What kind of animals live in an apiary? A: Bees. What was Tarzan's Chimpanzee's name? A: Cheta. Celeste was the wife of which fictional animal? A: Babar the Elephant. What is the name for a collection of frogs? A: Army. What kind of animal was "Gentle Ben" on the TV show? A: A Bear. A female donkey is called a what? A: Jenny. On a common lady bug, what color are the spots?> A: Black. Which subhuman primate is the most intelligent? A: Chimpanzee. A mandrill is what type of creature? A: Monkey. The most Asian elephants to be found in their natural habitat can be found in what country? A: India. Which animal is the fastest, a hare, greyhound, or horse? A: Hare. What type of animal is a Tasmanian Devil? A: Marsupial. Which sense is the weakest sense in most primates? A: Sense of Smell. Sika, fallow, and Roe, are what types of animal? A: Deer. Animals living in what type of habitat are arboreal animals? A: In or amongst trees. What type of animal produces gossamer? A: Spider. What kind of animal is the source of mohair? A: Angora Goat. What land mammal other than man has the longest lifespan? A: Elephant. Lupus is the Latin name for what animal? A: Wolf. Who was the British TV personality that presented the show Animal Magic? A: Johnny Morris. Michael Bond created what famous bear? A: Paddington Bear. Walt Disney's famous deer was named what? A: Bambi. A horse named Black Bess was ridden by who? A: Dick Trupin. In the Lone Range, what was Tonto's horse's name? A: Scout. What kind of animals were Chi Chi and An An? A: Panda bears. In the Jungle Book, what kind of creature was Baloo? A: A bear. How do bees communicate with each other? A: Dancing. A stoat produces fur called what? A: Ermine. What type of insect eats its mate after mating? A: Preying Mantis. Coral and algae have what kind of relationship? A: Symbiotic. What kind of animals don't hunt or eat any meat? A: Herbivore. What is the name of the largest land animal? A: Elephant. When caterpillar changes into an adult butterfly what is the change called? A: Metamorphous. The study of animals is given the name of what? A: Zoology. What type of mammals fly using echolocation? A: Bats. The longest beetle in the world is how long? A: Six inches. Animals without backbones are called what? A: Invertebrates. An earthworm has how many hearts? A: 5. A fluke is what kind of animal? A: Worm. The spots on a plaice are what color? A: Orange. An abalone is what kind of animal? A: Marine snail. The study of birds eggs is called what? A: Oology. What is the offspring of a mare and a male ass called? A: A mule. On a rabbit where would you find a scut? A: The tail. In Thailand, what is the sacred animal? A: The white elephant. Alphabetically, what animal comes first in the Chinese horoscope? A: Boar. Alphabetically, what animal comes last in the Chinese horoscope? A: Tiger. What type of animal is the symbol of medicine? A: Snake. Which type of semi aquatic animal is a lutra-lutra? A: An Otter. What animals make a sound called nuzzing? A: Camels. What animal is the symbol of long life in Korea? A: The Deer. A Curry Comb is used on what type of creature? A: Horse. The llama belongs to what family to what family of animals? A: Camel. Eskimos call what kind of creature a nanook? A: Polar Bear. Which animal has the longest lifespan in captivity? A: Giant Tortoise. In Peru, what animal provides 50% of all the protein eatin? A: The Guinea Pig. What animal pollinates banana plants in the wild? A: Bats. A fennec is what type of animal? A: A Desert Fox. What kind of creature always gives birth to same sex twins? A: Armadillo. The Suidae family is made up of what animals? A: Pigs. A markhor is what type of animal? A: Wild goat. What type of insect has the best eyesight? A: Dragonfly. What form was the Egyptian god Sobek? A: Crocodile. A cow's stomach has how many chambers? A: 4. How many humps does an African camel have? A: One. Who are the queen bee's closest servants in a beehive? A: Drones. What is the animal with the Latin name "syncerus caffer"? A: Cape Buffalo. A Quagga is an extinct animal that was a distant cousin to which animal that exists today? A: Zebra. What does a carpophagus animal feed on? A: Fruit. Which animal has rectangular pupils? A: Goat. What kind of animal mates only once for 12 hours and can sleep for three years? A: Snail. Do mosquitoes have teeth? A: yes. A typical mayfly lives for how many days? A: One. What is a fox's den called? A: Earth. What is a castrated pig called? A: Barrow The correct name for a male Hawk or Falcon is what? A: A Tiercel The aardvark is the first animal in the dictionary, what is the second animal? A: Aardwolf A baby oyster is called a what? A: Spat What kind of animal is a bariroussa? A: A pig What are spraints? A: Otter droppings (manure) What family of animals does the Kinkajou belong? A: Raccoon What's the most popular name for a male pet cat? A: Tiger There are over 130,000 species of what type of insect? A: Butterflies In Georgia What can you not keep in your bathtub, in the State of Georgia? A: A donkey What color are a giraffes eyelashes? A: Black What animals cannot swim? A: Gorillas In Utah is it illegal to fish From where? A: Horseback What large animal has a name that translates as "water horse"? A: Hippopotamus What is a group of a Jellyfish called? A: A smuck What is the state bird of Wisconsin? A: The Robin 33 What type of bird turns it head upside down to eat? A: Flamingo The animal with the Latin name Cricetus-cricutus is more commonly known as a what? A: Hamster In North Africa a mouflon is a wild what? A: Sheep What animal sport is only legal in 16 States? A: Greyhound Racing A newborn bactrian camel has how many humps? A: None Cats are feline, cows are bovine, what are eagles? A: Aquiline Which animal has a name that comes from the Sanskrit "to steal"? A: The mouse What is the name for the length of a hawks legs from thigh to foot in falconry? A: It's an Arm What kind of an animal is a lurcher? A: A dog According to a popular fable, who sold a cow for five beans? A: Jack What types of animals are Grevys and Burchells ? A: Zebras What type of animal comes in both spotted and striped varieties? A: Skunk What was Bugs Bunnies original name? A: Happy Rabbit What kind of a snake builds a nest? A: King Cobra On the TV show Frazier, what was the dads dogs name? A: Eddie What part of a sleeping person do vampire bats prefer to bite? A: The toe What is a baby rabbit called? A: Kit or Kitten In the Bible what was an adamant? A: Diamond In which book of the Bible did Moses die? A: Deuteronomy Exodus and which Bible book list the ten commandments? A: Deuteronomy In the Bible David played the Kinnor. What is a Kinnor? A: Lyre Only one miracle is mentioned in all four gospels what is it? A: Feeding of 5000 In the Bible Cain built a city named after his son. What is the name? A: Enoch In what Bible book is "The love of money is the root of all evil" ? A: Timothy 6: 10 Who got Judas job as the twelfth apostle? A: Matthias In the Old Testament what is the first book of Moses? A: Genesis - first 5 all Moses books David kills Goliath in which book of the Bible? A: Samuel In the Bible John the Baptist lived on wild honey and what? A: Locusts Melita in the Bible where Paul was shipwrecked is where today? A: Malta In the Old Testament whose name means Gods with us? A: Emanuel What is the last book of the Bible? A: Revelations What kind of wood was Noah's Ark made from? A: Gopher wood In the bible - Leviticus - what was lapidation? A: Death by stoning What language was the first complete bible in US printed in? A: Algonquin Indian What animal is most often mentioned in the Bible? A: Sheep There are how many Bible Psalms? A: 150 Which Biblical heroes name meant splendid sun? A: Samson Who betrayed Jesus to the Romans? A: Judas What book of the Bible does not mention the name of God? A: Esther Who was the third and favorite son of David in Old Testament ? A: Absolom What does the word Matrix mean in the Bible? A: Womb What book In the Old Testament comes between Obadiah - Micah? A: Jonah Which of the Apostles is traditionally pictured with a purse? A: Matthew What was the name of the hill that Solomon built his temple on? A: Zion In the Bible, Who read the original writing on the wall? A: Daniel What was Paul the Apostles real name? A: Saul Which biblical prophet was sawn in half inside a hollow log? A: Isaiah Which of Jesus disciples was the treasurer? A: Judas Escariot In the Bible where was Jesus when he ascended into heaven? A: Bethany Who climbed Mount Nebo to see promised land? A: Moses What was the last item shown on British TV before World War II? A: Mickey Mouse What comic strip character is the most filmed? A: Zorro Olive Oyls boyfriend before Popeye was whom? A: Ham Gravy On the Flintstones, what kind of dinosaur was Dino? A: A snorkasaurus In Disney's 1973 animated Robin Hood what type of animal was Robin? A: A Fox If Speedy Gonzales was fastest mouse in all of Mexico, who was the slowest? A: Slowpoke Rodriquez In the cartoon series, the Flintstones, what was the Great Gazoo? A: An Alien In the Tom and Jerry cartoons what was the name of the other mouse? A: Nibbles or Tuffy Disney added what character to Winnie the Pooh that was not in book? A: Gopher Dino was Fred Flintstone's pet, but who was Barnie's pet? A: Hoppy + What was superhero Green Lantern vulnerable to? A: Anything Yellow On Scooby Doo what was Shaggys real name? A: Norville What is a feline according to Homer Simpson? A: An Elephant Who produced the Tom and Jerry cartoons until 1956? A: Fred Quimby Mr. Magoo, the short sighted cartoon character, had a nephew named what? A: Waldo What did Sylvester the Cat win? A: An Academy Award Bob, Wally, Alice and Asok can be found in which cartoon comic strip? A: Dilbert Rocky and Bullwinkle's enemies are Boris Badenov and whom? A: Natasha Fatale Crystal City in Texas put up a statue of what cartoon character Popeye? A: They grow spinach Who created Gomez, Mortia and Uncle Fester as a cartoon? A: Charles Adams Who was the original voice of the cartoon character Shaggy on Scooby Doo? A: Casey Kasem What superhero was the first Marvel Comics superhero? A: Human Torch What is Olive Oyls brother s name? A: Castor Oyl What was the cartoon character Mr. Magoos first name? A: Quincy What cartoon strip is known as Radishes in Denmark? A: Peanuts What is Warner Brothers oldest cartoon character? A: Porky Pig Homer Simpson's middle name is what? A: Jay On the Simpsons, Armand Tarmizan is the 'real' name of what cartoon character? A: Principle Skinner In the Flintstones what was Betty Rubbles maiden name? A: Betty Jean McBricker Where do Rocky and Bullwinkle live? A: In Frostbite falls Minnesota What does Lucy offer in her booth in the Snoopy cartoons? A: Psychiatric help In the Snoopy cartoons, how much does Lucy charge for psychiatric help in her booth? A: 5 cents In the roadrunner cartoons, what does the E stand for in Wiley E Coyote? A: Ethelbert Which cartoon character was originally called egghead? A: Elmer J Fudd Hanna-Barbera's first cartoon was what? A: Ruff and Reddy Oil can Henry is which cartoon character's enemy? A: Mighty Mouse What was the name of the dog in Peter Pan? A: Nana Pinto Colvig voiced what Disney character? A: Sleepy What is Dick Tracey's girlfriends name? A: Tess Trueheart Originally, what color was Tweety Bird? A: Pink What is Donald Ducks sister's name? A: Dumbella What comic strip character did Alex Raymond create in 1934? A: Flash Gorden The cartoon character Droopy was created by who? A: Tex Avery The Incredible Hulks girlfriend has what name? A: Betty Ross Woody Woodpecker was created by who? A: Walter Lantz Wile E. Coyote scenes were edited in the 1980s for being too what? A: Violent In the Simpsons what is the name of the Police Chief? A: Chester Wiggum Before spinach, what did Popeye eat for strength? A: Garlic What do Beavis and Butt-head have on their T shirts? A: Metallica - AC/ DC In Peanuts, where was Snoopy born? A: Daisy Hill Puppy Farm In Batman Forever, who rejected the role of Riddler? A: Robin Williams Winnie the Pooh lived where? A: Hundred Acre Wood In The Simpsons what is the name of the cat? A: Snowball What cartoon characters first name is Quincy? A: Mr. Magoo What is the name of the shrunken city in a bottle in the Superman comics? A: Kandor Which comic character was dynamited to death in issue 428? A: Robin What group of Marvel comic superheroes battle with Doctor Doom? A: The Fantastic Four What X man shoots laser beams from his eyes? A: Cyclops Where did Bunyon write "Pilgrims Progress"? A: Bedford Jail The nightclub called "The Ba Da Bing" is owned by which TV gangster? A: Tony Soprano In 1982, what famous actress was sent to jail for tax evasion? A: Sophia Loren In Massachusetts it's illegal to wear what without a license? A: Goatee In ancient Turkey you could be executed for drinking what? A: Coffee In the middle ages you could be fined four pence murdering who? A: Travelling Musician In 1978 a grocer in Paris was sent to jail for two years for stabbing his wife with a what? A: A wedge of hard cheese 52% of American citizens would prefer to spend a week in jail than be what? A: President Nelson Mandela spent 19 of 27 years in what prison? A: Robben Island In Atlanta Georgia, what is it illegal to tie a giraffe to? A: telephone pole What nation was the first to abolish capital punishment in 1826? A: Russia What fictitious murderer first appeared in" String of Pearls" in the 1840s? A: Sweeny Todd You could be jailed for doing what in public in 1919 in the United States? A: Sneezing In Little Rock Arkansas men and women can get 30 days in jail for what? A: Public Flirting It's illegal to run out of what in Youngstown Ohio ? A: Gasoline What did 24% of American adults admit to doing? A: Illegal Gambling What was the name of the gangster that escaped from jail using a wooden gun? A: John Dillinger What country did 182 people die in jail during 2005 and 2006? A: United States Which Nazi died in jail after being imprisoned for 46 years? A: Rudolf Hess. What is the first title word of Meat Loaf's big 90s No 1 hit? A: I'd. What was the first name of the fictional sleuth Kojak? A: Theo. Which word went with Britannia to describe the supposedly vibrant late 90s? A: Cool. In medicine, what does the D stand for in CJD? A: Disease. Sky Harbor international airport is in which US state? A: Arizona. Whose Navy was the subject of a sitcom with over 130 episodes? A: McHale's. What did the Mason Dixon line divide? A: North & South. The Way We Were was the first No 1 for which singer? A: Barbra Streisand. Who had a 60s No 1 hit with Groovin? A: The Young Rascals. In which film did Madonna play Breathless Mahoney? A: Dick Tracy. Which English Kate became the face of L'Oreal in 1998? A: Moss. What was developed in the 40s Manhattan Project? A: Atomic Bomb. Which group backed Bill Haley in the 50s? A: The Comets. Which Quincy produced the Michael Jackson album Bad? A: Jones. Who was the most famous blonde in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? A: Marilyn Monroe. How did Allen Steward Konigsberg become better known? A: Woody Allen. Who was Richard Nixon's first Vice President? A: Spiro T Agnew. Which actress did John McEnroe marry? A: Tatum O'Neal. In movies, how was Dominic Amici better known? A: Don Ameche. Croatia and Slovenia used to be part of which country? A: Yugoslavia. What is the main airport in Germany? A: Frankfurt. Michael Hutchence was lead singer with which group? A: INXS. In which city is O'Hare International airport? A: Chicago. Where was Elvis Presley Crying in 1965? A: In The Chapel. Drew Barrymore was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 70s. Which caped crusader operated in Gotham city? A Batman. By what descriptive word was 1950s singer Otis Dewey Whitman known? A: Slim. What role as a member of her staff did the father of Madonna's first child have? A: Fitness Trainer. Which group went to the Chapel Of Love? A: The Dixie Cups. Which bandleader Benny was "The King of Swing"? A: Goodman. In which country did Ho chi Minh come to power? A: Vietnam. Which sport in the Olympics includes pikes, tucks and twists? A: Diving. In which decade did Gorbachev lose power? A: 1990s. Which Richard starred in Petty Woman? A: Gere. Which Heart was reinstituted as an honor in 1932? A: Purple Heart. Which Tom starred in Three Men and a Little Lady? A: Selleck. Singer Nat King Cole was also very talented on which musical instrument? A: Piano. What is the postal abbreviation for Montana? A: MT. In which state was boardsailing or windsurfing invented? A California. Robbie Coltrane and Whoopi Goldberg have played in films where their characters disguise themselves as what? A: Nuns. Which famous Briton did Linda Eastman marry? A: Paul McCartney. Which spectral hound of the moors first appeared in a classic 1902 detective story? A: Hound Of The Baskervilles. In football, what position is LB. A: Linebacker. Which country hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics? A: Japan. Which controversial American sportsman had the first names Orenthal James? A: O J Simpson. In which 20th-century decade was Barbie's boyfriend Ken first made? A: 60s. In which decade was Madonna born? A: 50s. Which initials did rapper Hammer lose? A: M C. Who plays against the USA in golf's Walker Cup? A: Great Britain. Who had a huge 70s No 1 with Shadow Dancing? A: Andy Gibb. In Canada what is the NHL? A: National Hockey League. Marlon Brando was born in which decade of the century? A: 20s. Who did Elton John originally duet with on Don't Go Breaking My Heart? A: Kiki Dee. The cause of what color fever was discovered in 1900? A: Yellow. Which actor is the dad of Jamie Lee Curtis? A: Tony Curtis. In football, where do the Chargers come from? A: San Diego. What does the F stand for in FBI? A: Federal. Tony Curtis was in which of the armed services in WWII? A: Navy. Which state is called the volunteer State? A: Tennessee. How did Greta Gustafson become better known as an actress? A: Greta Garbo. Albertville and Lillehammer were two 90s venues for which event? A: Winter Olympics. The US declared war on which country after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? A: Japan. Where do the Super Bowl winning Cowboys come form? A: Dallas. Kirk Douglas was in which of the armed services in WWII? A: Navy. What sport is the winner of the Harry Vardon trophy playing? A: Golf. Which shoe company did Michael Jordan famously promote? A: Nike. Which musical instrument did Pablo Casals play? A: Cello. In horse racing, which triple Crown race is held on Long Island? A: Belmont. In which country was the AIDS virus first recognized? A: USA. Scott Hamilton won Olympic gold for the USA on what surface? A: Ice. How was Billie Jean Moffitt later known in the tennis world? A: Billie Jean King. Who won the Wimbledon singles in 1998 after twice losing in the final? A: Jana Novotna. In which decade did people last get the chance to see Halley's Comet? A: 1980s. Where does Greg Norman come from? A: Australia. In which Park was the New York marathon run until 14970? A: Central Park. The Walker Cup is competed for in which sport? A: Golf. In the charity AHA, what part of the body does H stand for? A: Heart. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man was a hit for which singer after his death? A: Buddy Holly. In which state did both Kennedy and Johnson die? A: Texas. The Fresh Prince of where was the subject of a sitcom of 140+ shows? A: Bel Air. Who is younger, Serena or Venus Williams? A: Serena. Which state is called the Golden state? A: California. What color is the M in McDonald's? A: Yellow. What was President Yeltsin's first name? A: Boris. In fiction, what is the last name of Dr. Hannibal--the Cannibal? A: Lecter. In which month does the Kentucky Derby take place? A: May. Rugby's man mountain Jonah Lomu plays for which country? A: New Zealand. Magician David Kotkin managed to change his name to what? A; David Copperfield. What is the postal abbreviation for Idaho? A: ID. San Antonio international airport is in which state? A: Texas. What is the Aloha State? A: Hawaii. Which record label did Michael Jackson first record on? A: Motown. Who recorded the album Dark Side Of the Moon? A: Pink Floyd. Which Bobby took Mack The Knife to No 1 in the charts? A: Darin. My Heart Will Go On came from which movie? A: Titanic. With which spot is Cedric Pioline associated? A: Tennis. What does the N stand for in NATO? A: North. Who played Rachel Green in Friends? A: Jennifer Aniston. Which instrument is Roberta Flack associated with? A: Piano. Who famously announced "heeeere's Johnny" on the Johnny Carson show from the early 60s? A: Ed McMahon. Dramatist Brendan Behan came from which county? A: Ireland. On which continent did the samba originate? A: America. Who sang the theme from the 70s movie Love Story? A: Andy Williams. Which talk-show hostess appeared in The Color Purple? A: Oprah Winfrey. Which Barney was the subject of a sitcom of over 160 episodes? A: Miller. Which state is called the cornhusker State? A: Nebraska. In baseball, where do the Blue Jays come from? A: Toronto. What followed Exhale in the 1995 Whitney Houston hit? A: Shoop Shoop. Which sitcom about an army hospital in Korea was transmitted in the UK without the canned laughter of the US version? A: M*A*S*H. The disastrous poison gas leak at Bhopal took place in which country? A: India. Which Sinatra song manages to rhyme a line with "shy way"? A: My Way. In which decade of the 20th century was Andie MacDowell born? A: 1950s. What sort of Nest was the subject of over 150 sitcoms? A: Empty. What type of cargo was carried by the stricken vessel the Torrey Canyon? A: Oil. What was Aretha Franklin's first No 1? A: Respect. What is the main color on the Chinese flag? A: Red. Dick Francis novels revolve around which sport? A: Horse racing. What does the C stand for in LCD? A: Crystal. In which country did Marilyn Monroe die? A: United States. Which Danny starred in Batman Returns? A: De Vito. In which state is Prince William Sound? A: Alaska. Playwright Arthur Miller was married to which famous blond actress? A: Marilyn Monroe. In football, where do the Broncos come from? A: Denver. Which actress married for the seventh time on Michael Jackson's ranch in 1991? A: Elizabeth Taylor. Hartsfield international airport is in which US state? A: Georgia. What sort of Acres were the subject of a sitcom of over 170 episodes? A: Green. On a computer keyboard what letter is between Q and E? A: W. In basketball, where do the Hawks come from? A: Atlanta. Which fictional bear thought he had "very little brain?" A: Winnie-the-Pooh. Lord Mountbatten was murdered off the coast of which country? A: Ireland. In which state was Isaac Hayes born? A: Tennessee. Black activist Steve Biko died in which country in the 70s? A: South Africa. What is the postal abbreviation for Main? A: ME. McCoy international airport is in which US State? A: Florida. Which Madeline became the first woman US Secretary of State? A: Albright. In which US state is the only major military academy founded this century? A: Colorado USAF. What is the postal abbreviation for California? A: CA. With which sport is Shaquille O'Neal associated? A: Basketball. Who declared, "The lady's not for turning"? A: Margaret Thatcher. Who had a 90s No 1 hit with Always Be My Baby? A: Mariah Carey. What was Georges that left a trail of destruction in Florida in 1998? A: Hurricane. What is the capital of the state of Connecticut? A: Hartford. Which machine's name comes from some letters in the words 'general purpose'? A: Jeep. A 1997 phenomenon, Hale-Bop was a type of what? A: Comet. The Louise Woodward affair was tried in which country? A: United States. Which John travelled in space over 35 years after his first flight? A: Glenn. Which Jane starred in Klute and Nine To Five? A: Fonda. How is Ann-Margret Olsson better known? A: Ann-Margret. In Notting Hill what does the Hugh Grant character deal in? A: Books. In the 90s film, who played G I Jane? A: Demi Moore. In which decade of the 20th century was Kevin Costner born? A: 1950s. Which Nilsson classic was Mariah Carey's first UK No 1? A: Without You. Henry Ford claimed that, "History is..." what? A: Bunk. What was Elvis Presley's daughter called? A: Lisa Marie. Circle of Life came from which film? A: The Lion King. In its early days, what was offered for sale" in any color as long as it's black"? A: Motor car. In a movie title Elvis Presley said Viva to where? A: Las Vegas. Who was In Charge in the title of the sitcom? A: Charles. Johnny Cash recorded a number of live albums at what unusual institutions? A: Prisons. Which Buzz appeared in Toy Story? A: Lightyear. What is the postal abbreviation for Minnesota? A: MN. In which 20th-century decade were Barbie dolls first made? A: 50s. In which country is Ciampino airport? A: Italy. Which world heavyweight boxing champion was jailed in the 90s? A: Mike Tyson. Rupert Murdoch comes from which country? A: Australia. Ursula Andrews was the Bond girl in which movie? A: Dr. No. The sale of what was prohibited in America during prohibition? A: Alcohol. Which Russian leader had a pronounced birth mark on his forehead? A: Gorbachev. What is the postal abbreviation for Tennessee? A: TN. Which Tim co-wrote the musical Chess? A: Rice. Which Landings were the subject of Saving Private Ryan? A: D Day. Chancellor Helmut Kohl led which country in the 80s and 90s? A: Germany. IN February 1996 the Princess of Wales agreed to Prince Charles' request for what? A: Divorce. Who or what was Piper Alpha? A: An oil rig. Which spinach-eating sailor has Robin Williams played on the film? A: Popeye. Which John was the tar of the film Grease? A: Travolta. In the 90s which European country had a King Albert? A: Belgium. What is the postal abbreviation for Iowa? A: IA. Which member of her staff did Celine Dion marry in 1994? A: Manager. Burt Lancaster enlisted in the American Fifth Army after which event? A: Pearl Harbor. What is the postal abbreviation for Mississippi? A: MS. Who sang I will Always Love You in her film, The Bodyguard? A: Whitney Houston. Which cartoon character says What's up, Doc? A: Bugs Bunny. Who had a 60s No 1 with It's Now Or Never? A: Elvis Presley. What followed the names of Rowan and Martin in the classic 60s comedy series? A: Laugh In. The deepwater port of Gdansk was developed in which country? A: Poland. Which girl was In Disguise (with Glasses)? A: Judy. Which country was racing's Niki Lauda born in? A: Austria. Who was born first, Arnold Schwarzenegger or John Travolta? A: Arnold Schwarzenegger. In which decade of the 20th century was Michal J Fox born? A: 1960s. Who had 60s No 1s with Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn Turn Turn? A: The Byrds. Who took the Miami Vice Theme to No 1 in the charts? A: Jan Hammer. Archbishop Makarios was president of which Mediterranean island? A: Cyprus. Which US state, which joined the Union in 1912, has New and the name of a country in its name? A: New Mexico. In which decade of the 20th century was Jane Fonda born? A: 1930s. In which decade of the 20th century did Elvis Presley shoot to fame? A: 50s. In which decade did Elvis Presley die? A: 70s. What did Abraham Saperstein start in January 1927? A: Harlem Globetrotters. Which Irving penned the song White Christmas? A: Berlin. What is the postal abbreviation for Wisconsin? A: WI. Which state is called the silver state? A: Nevada. Brian Mulrooney was Prime Minister of which country in the 80s and 90s? A: Canada. In which decade of the 20th century was Jodie Foster born? A: 1960s. Who or what were Gropius and Le Corbusier? A: Architects. Johnny Depp was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 60s. Who had a 70s No 1 with You've Got A Friend? A: James Taylor. In which country was Pablo Picasso born? A: Spain. What is the capital of the state of Ohio? A: Columbus. Peninsula international airport is in which US sate? A: California. Robert Menzies was Prime Minister of which country? A: Australia. What did Tony Bennett leave in San Francisco? A: His Heart. David Solberg became a famous actor / singer under which name? A: David Soul. What is the capitol of the state of Rhode Island? A: Providence. With which sport is Grant Hill associated? A: Basketball. In which state is the San Andreas fault? A: California. David Bowie was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 40s To which lady did Dolly Parton plead, "I'm beggin' of you please don't take my man? A: Jolene. Which is further north, Miami or Orlando? A: Orlando. What is the postal abbreviation for Washington? A: WA. On what type of vehicle did Rupert Murdoch remarry in 1999? A: Yacht. Who directed Apocalypse Now? A: Francis ford Coppola. Which Michelle starred in Batman Returns? A: Pfeiffer. Which American actor refused his Oscar awarded for The Godfather? A: Marlon Brando. Warren Beatty was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 30s. Which group backed Buddy Holly? A: The Crickets. Which Reba McIntyre song shares its name with the Little capital of Arkansas? A: Little Rock. Alicia Christian Foster is better known by which first name? A: Jodie. Which country has the most radio stations? A: USA. What type of tragedy blighted Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1998? A: Terrorist bomb. Which sport did Fred Perry take after becoming world champion at table tennis? A: Tennis. Glenn Frey and Don Henley were members of which band? A: The Eagles. Which state is called the Empire State? A: New York. What is the postal abbreviation for Kentucky? A: KY. In which ocean is the California current? A: Pacific. Logan international airport is in which US state? A: Massachusetts. Which Jack starred in The Odd Couple? A: Lemmon. Margarete Steiff made what kind of toy creature? A: Bears. In which country did The Flying Doctor usually do his rounds? A: Australia. What sort of creature appeared in Free Willy? A: Whale. In football, where do the Falcons come from? A: Atlanta. Which state is called the Coyote State? A: South Dakota. Which state is called the gem state? A: Idaho. What's the first name of Frank Sinatra's elder daughter? A: Nancy. Which Michael starred in Hannah and Her Sisters? A: Caine. In which state is the Mojave desert? A: Nevada. The New York Stock Exchange was established on which street? A: Wall Street. In which country did rap originate? A: USA. Suzanne Lenglen was a champion in which sport? A: Tennis. Who had a 60s No 1 with Honey? A: Bobby Goldsboro. Both father and daughter of the Bhutto family have been prime minister of which country? A: Pakistan. In which country is Archangel airport? A: Russia. Whose name followed Dirty in a 1980's No 1 for Michael Jackson? A: Diana. Which sage musical was set in the Paris Opera House? A: The Phantom of the Opera. Mount St. Helens is in which state? A: Washington. Which state is called the Gopher State? A: Minnesota. Mark Knopfler is associated with which musical instrument? A: Guitar. Which British band recorded Another Brick In the Wall? A: Pink Floyd. What is the postal abbreviation for Oklahoma? A: OK. Which horror movie actor was quite literally a Pratt from birth? A: Boris Karloff. Dian Fossey found fame working with which animals? A: Gorillas. Who made a 50s album called A Twist of Lemmon? A: Jack Lemmon. In 1970 Germaine Greer produced the feminist book The Female What? A: Eunuch. Chernobyl witnessed a disaster at what type of power station? A: Nuclear power. Who did Mariah Carey sing with on Endless Love? A: Luther Vandross. Which Ann starred in The Graduate? A: Bancroft. Which group had a 90s hit with How Do You Talk To An Angel? A: The Heights. What is the capitol of Wyoming? A: Cheyenne. What type of Love Songs did Wings sing about? A: Silly. In football, where do the Saints come from? A: New Orleans. Which cartoon character says "Dagnabit"? A: Deputy Dawg. What type of days went with Mondays for the carpenters? A: Rainy Days. Which parenting guru Doctor wrote Baby and Child Care? A: Spock. In which city is the Metropolitan Opera? A: New York. In 1987 the Russians and the Americans signed the Washington summit agreement to limit what? A: Nuclear Missiles. What does the G stand for in WYSIWYG? A: Get. Linda McCartney launched a range of what type of food? A: Vegetarian. Which Kevin starred in The Bodyguard? A: Costner. What completes the lines, "Cruising and playing the radio, With no particular place...? A: To go. What is the postal abbreviation for Florida? A: FL. In football, what position is QB? A: Quarterback. President John F. Kennedy international airport is in which US city? A: New York. Which association for magicians was founded in 1905? A: Magic Circle. John Travolta was born in which decade of the 20th century? A: 50s. Which type of aircraft was produced by Sigorsky in the US in 1942? A: Helicopter. The 1980 Olympics were boycotted because of the USSR's invasion of which country? A: Afghanistan. Who was In Disguise in Elvis Presley's 1963 hit? A: Devil. Which year is used as the title of a George Orwell Book? A: 1984. What is the postal abbreviation for Colorado? A: CO. What is the capitol of of the state of Mississippi? A: Jackson. Which word completes the name of the Tony Award-winning musical, Kiss of the Spider...? A: Woman. Euro Disney is on the outskirts of which city? A: Paris. The first artificial satellite was launched on the 40th anniversary of which county's Revolution? A: Russian. Charles de Gaulle was President of which European country? A: France. Who was the Prince of thieves in a 90s blockbuster movie title? A: Robin Hood. Who won the first Davis cup? A: USA. In which decade was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima? A: 40s. What went before Ties in the sitcom which had over 160 episodes? A: Family. For which 1990s movie did Sigourney Waver shaver her head? A: Alien. Which Raymond wrote the novel The Big Sleep? A: Chandler. Which film company merged with Time Inc in 1989 to make Time Warner? A: Warner Brothers. In which city was the music industry's Brill Building? A: New York City. How is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation better known? A: LASER. The deepwater port of Alicante was built in which country? A: Spain. Who did Michael Jackson marry in May 1994? A: Lisa Marie Presley. Which US colonel featured in the 'Irangate' court trials? A: North. James Baulmgarner changed his name slightly to become which actor? A: James Garner. In 1930 which comic duo made the film Another Fine Mess? A: Laurel & Hardy. Who did Neil Diamond duet with on the 70s No 1 You Don't Bring Me Flowers? A: Barbra Streisand. The 90s Good Friday Agreement sought peace in which country? A: N. Ireland. What followed Home in the title of the sitcom with over 160 episodes? A: Improvement. A Tony is an award for entertainment where? A: Theater. Which President was in office for most of the 1920s? A: Calvin Coolidge. Who became the world's first billionaire in 1916? A: John D Rockefeller. Which stage musical does the song Memory come from? A: Cats. Where did the Boeing 707 make its maiden flight form? A: Seattle. Which state is called the Green Mountain State? A: Vermont. In which country was Karl Marx born? A: Germany. With which sport is Herbie Hide associated? A: Boxing. In the rock'n'roll song, what is said before Miss Molly? A: Good Golly. Which company made the Lion King CD ROM? A: Disney. Which Irish name is Ryan O' Neal's real first name? A: Patrick. Which Yuri made the first human journey into space? A: Gagarin. Which state is called the Magnolia State? A: Mississippi. Which Michael had a No 1 with How Am I Supposed To Live Without You? A: Bolton. What was the name of Michael Jackson's famous chimpanzee companion? A: Bubbles. In the 60s, in which Asian country did a Cultural Revolution take place? A: China. Which state is called the Bluegrass State? A: Kentucky. In football what position is S? A: Safety. Which London theater takes its name from the Mermaid Tavern where writers met in Shakespeare's time? A: Mermaid. How is Shirley Beaty better known? A: Shirley Maclaine. What type of lover gave Mariah Carey a chart No 1 in 1993? A: Dreamlover. Which part of the brilliant Albert Einstein was preserved after his death? A: Brain. What was the favorite food of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? A: Pizza. According to Nancy Sinatra what are boots made for? A: Walkin'. Key West airport was built in which US state? A: Florida. Which Duck & Bunny were created by Tex Avery? A: Daffy & Bugs. In fiction and film what is the first name of female FBI agent Starling? A: Clarice. Which city has a team of bulls and a team of Bears? A: Chicago. What comes before "Rattle and roll in a Bill Haley hit title? A: Shake. The first modern cassette was produced in which decade? A: 40s. Which Mark starred in Star Wars? A: Hamill. Which playwright Noel, whose centenary was celebrated in 1999, wrote Hay Fever and Private Lives which were revived in London that year? A: Coward. San Diego is in which state? A: California. What's Love Got To Do With It? was a film about which female singer? A: Tina Turner. How was Argentinean revolutionary Ernesto Guevara de la Serna better known? A: Che Guevara. How is Radio Direction and Ranging better known? A: RADAR. What was the name of the musical about rock legend Buddy Holly? A: Buddy. What sort of Strangers were the subject of a sitcom of 150 + episodes? A: Perfect. In which city did Gone With The Wind have its premiere? A: Atlanta. Which Big named vocalist died with Buddy Holly? A: Bopper. In which state did skateboards originate as an alternative to surfing? A: California. Which Lillie was the mistress of Edward VII? A: Langtry. Who teamed up with Hanna to form a studio producing cartoon films? A: Barbera. Which item, essential for world travel, is made in Seattle? A: Jet planes. What entertainment consists of people singing to a backing tape? A: Karaoke. What color are the stars on the United States of America flag? A: White. What used to go round at thirty three and a third r.p.m.? A: Long-playing records. Who was Diana Prince able to change into? A: Wonder woman. Which Ford first mass-produced the car? A: Henry. Which anti-impotence treatment became the 90s fastest-selling prescription drug? A: Viagra. Lourdes Maria is what relation to Madonna? A: Daughter. Which Frankie sang about Venus in the 50s? A: Avalon. The Heisman Trophy is presented in which sport. A: Football. Which Christmas record was the world's most-bought single before Candle In the Wind 97? A: White Christmas. What was the name of flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur? A: Wright. What kind of codes did American supermarkets introduce in the mid 70s? A: Bar codes. Which solo singer with a single name accompanied Rod Stewart and Bryan Adams on All For Love? A: Sting. In which year did Bill and Hillary Clinton get married? A: 1975. Who had a 70s No 1 with Knock Three Times? Dawn. Who was born first, Kim Basinger or Melanie Griffith? A: Kim Basinger. Who had a 90s hit with The Shoop Shoop Song? A: Cher. In which city was Marco Polo airport built? A: Venice. EuroDisney was built in which country? A: France. In 1993 which op artist changed his name to a symbol? A: Prince. Yitzhak Rabin was Prime Minister of which country when he was assassinated in 1995? A: Israel. What sort of transport is a Kayak? A: Canoe. Which animal name was given to the terrorist Carlos who was tried in 1997? A: The Jackal. How did Frances Gumm become known on stage? A: Judy Garland. Who was President during WWI? A: Woodrow Wilson. Which Justin set the 98 British Open alight as an amateur? A: Rose. In 1990 Lithuania declared its independence from what? A: USSR. How are the Motion Picture Academy Awards also known? A: Oscars. What is the postal abbreviation for Vermont? A: VT. Who was Allied Supreme Commander in Europe in 1944? A: Dwight D Eisenhower. Thelonious Monk was associated with which musical instrument? A: Piano. What is the main color of the UN flag? A: Blue. Under what name did sharp-tongued Joan Molinksy become famous? A: Joan Rivers. Who was born first, Chevy Chase or Nicolas Cage? A: Chevy Chase. Was Abbott or Costello born in the 20th century? A: Costello. In which decade of the 20th century was Glenn Close born? A: 1940s. What type of cat introduced MGM movies? A: Lion. T. E. Lawrence's name is mostly associated with which country? A: Arabia. Who had a 50s No 1 with Poor Little Fool? A: Ricky Nelson. Which Janet had a 1990 NO 1 with Escapade? A: Jackson. Which military title did Elvis's manage Rom Parker assume? A: Colonel. In which branch of the arts did Dame Alicia Markova find fame? A: Ballet. P W Botha was prime minister of which country? A: South Africa. Which food was rationed after WWII ended, but not during the war? A: Bread 61 Rhapsody, Aromel, Tamella Cambridge favorite types of what? A: Strawberry Varieties Condensed Milk was invented by whom? A: Gail Borden A hen of the woods is what? A: A mushroom The most popular meal ordered in US restaurants is what? A: Fried Chicken Charlie Chaplin ate a boot in the movie "Gold Rush"... what was it made out of? A: Liquorice What kind of plant does the Colorado beetle attack? A: Potato What two ingredients make the dish 'angels on horseback '? A: Oysters and Bacon In Newark it's illegal to sell what after 6pm unless a Doctors note is shown? A: Ice Cream What was the first food consumed on the moon in the Apollo 11 moon mission? A: Turkey According to a survey, what is the U.S. top family food? A: Spaghetti How many cans of soda does the average American consumes in a year? A: 600 The top United States food consumption days are Xmas, Thanksgiving ,and what? A: Super Bowl Sunday What is the oldest soft drink in the US? A: Doctor Pepper Garbanzo beans also known as what? A: Chick peas What is the most often ordered seafood item in restaurants? A: Shrimp Lobster Newberg was invented at what famous American restaurant? A: Delmonicos What was invented in the 1800s and sold as a diarrhea cure? A: Tomato Ketchup What America food did Charles Jung invent? A: Fortune Cookies What are the two items that make up the dish "devils on horseback"? A: Bacon and Prunes Q: What food is the leading source of salmonella poisoning? A: Chicken. Q: What company first condensed soup in 1898? A: Campbell's. Q: What nutty legume accounts for one sixth of the world's vegetable oil production? A: The peanut. Q: What country saw the cultivation of the first potato, in 200 A.D.? A: South America. Q: What type of lettuce was called Crisphead until the 1920s? A: Iceberg lettuce. Q: What tree gives us prunes? A: The plum tree. Q: What type of chocolate was first developed for public consumption in Vevey, Switzerland in 1875? A: Milk Chocolate. Q: What added ingredient keeps confectioners' sugar from clumping? A: Corn starch. Q: What edible comes in crimmini, morel, oyster and wood ear varieties? A: Mushrooms. Q: What newly-imported substance caused the first major outbreak of tooth decay in Europe, in the1500's? A: Sugar. Q: What fat substitute got FDA approval for use in snack foods, despite reports of diarrhea and cramps? A: Olestra. Q: What ingredient in fresh milk is eventually devoured by bacteria, causing the sour taste? A: Lactose. Q: What uncooked meat is a trichina worm most likely to make a home in? A: Pork. Q: What baking ingredient, sprayed at high pressure, did the U.S. Air Force replace its toxic paint stripper with? A: Baking soda. Q: What staple is laced with up to 16 additives including plaster of paris, to stay fresh? A: Bread. Q: What falling fruit supposedly inspired Isaac Newton to write the laws of gravity? A: An Apple. Q: What method of preserving food did the Incas first use, on potatoes? A: Freeze-drying. Q: What drupaceous fruit were Hawaiian women once forbidden by law to eat? A: The coconut. Q: What hit the market alongside spinach as the first frozen veggies? A: Peas. Q: How many sizes of chicken eggs does the USDA recognize, including peewee? A: Six. Q: What are de-headed, de-veined an sorted by size in a laitram machine? A: Shrimp. Q: What's the only fish that produces real caviar, according to the FDA? A: Sturgeon. Q: What type of egg will yield 11 and one-half average-size omelettes? A: An Ostrich egg. Q: What's the groundnut better known as? A: The peanut. Q: What crystalline salt is frequently used to enhance the flavor to TV dinners? A: Monosodium glutamate. Q: What sticky sweetener was traditionally used as an antiseptic ointment for cuts and burns? A: Honey. Q: What should your diet be high in to lessen the chance of colon cancer, according to a 1990 study? A: Fiber. Q: What nut do two-thirds of its U. S. producers sell through Blue Diamond? A: The Almond. What type of oven will not brown foods? A: Microwave oven. What type of food did Linda McCartney launch? A: Vegetarian food. What type of tree leaves are the only food that a koala bear will eat? A: Eucalyptus. Which country in Europe consumes more spicy Mexican food than any other? A: Norway. The FDA approved what fat substitute for use in snack foods even though there were reports of side affects like cramps and diarrhea? A: Olestra. Federal labeling regulations require how much caffeine be removed from coffee for it to be called decaffeinated? A: Ninety seven percent. What famous Greek once advised: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food"? A: Hippocrates. Chicken is the leading cause of what food born illness? A: Salmonella poisoning. Who invented Margarine in 1868? A: Hyppolyte Merge-mouries. What group of people were the first to use freeze-drying on potatoes? A: The Incas. What was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles favorite food? A: Pizza. What food was considered the food of the Gods, and was said to bring eternal life to anyone who ate it? A: Ambrosia. When Birdseye first introduced its frozen foods in 1930, what was it called? A: Frosted Food. What was the convenience food that Joel Cheek developed? A: Instant Coffee. The song, Food, Glorious Food, was featured in which musical? A: Oliver. Of the Worlds food crops, what percentage is pollinated by insects? A: 80 percent. The Giant panda's favorite food is what? A: Bamboo shoots. Which entertainer on Conan O'Brien's show, choose NBC cafeteria chicken over his own brand in a blind taste test? A: Kenny Rogers. What drink was sold as Diastoid when first introduced? A: Malted milk. What type of micro organism makes up the base of marine and freshwater food chains? A: Plankton. What type of creature builds a lodge in which to store food, rear its young, and pass the winter? A: Beaver. What fruit or vegetable was dubbed the FlavrSavr and was the first genetically engineered food sold in the United States? A: The tomato. What fitness guru appeared as a dancing meatball in an Italian TV commercial as an art student? A: Richard Simmons. What Olympic athlete could not run the 200-meter final in the 92 Olympics because of food poisoning? A: Michael Johnson. What morning food has a name derived from the German word for stirrup? A: Bagel. In 1904, what food product was renamed Post Toasties cereal because the clergy objected to the original name? A: Elijah's Manna. What is Gohan? A: Japanese Rice In a formal Japanese meal, what is always served early? A: Sashimi In Chinese cookery, what is the most commonly used oil? A: Groundnut or Peanut What is the triangular shaped Indian pastry containing spiced meat? A: Samosa Which small animal provides 50% of all the protein eaten in Peru? A: Guinea Pigs What type of food is coulibac? A: Russian Fish Pie In Scotland, what is a spurtle? A: a spoon If you ordered unagi in a Japanese restaurant, what would you get? A: Eel What Lop cheong are Chinese what? A: Sausages The French call it pomplamouse, what do we call it? A: Grapefruit Miso a basic ingredient in Japanese cooking is made of what? A: Soybean paste What is the staple food of one third of the world's population? A: Rice What is the important ingredient in Chinese birds nest soup A: Bird Saliva If you were eating fragrant meat in Hong Kong, what kind of meat would you be eating? A: Dog meat. What kind of Italian stew translates as "Bone with a Hole"? A: Osso Bucco French fried potatoes were invented in what country? A: Belgium Japanese Soya noodles are made from what? A: Buckwheat What was the first country to recognize Mexico's independence, in 1836? A: The U.S. What encyclopedia's first edition, in 1771, described California as "a large country of the West Indies"? A: Encyclopedia Britannica's. Who was the only American to become vice president and president after resignations? A: Gerald Ford. There is one in Las Vegas for every how many inhabitants. A: Eight. What year did the Dow Jones Industrial Average break both the 4000 and 5000 marks? A: 1995. Who saw his crew dine on wormy biscuits and rats on his fourth voyage to the New World? A: Christopher Columbus. What disgraced vice president's high school yearbook quote read; "An ounce of wit is worth a pound of sorrow"? A: Spiro Agnew. Who was the youngest man to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff? A: Colin Powell. Which of Henry VIII's wives gave birth to Elizabeth I? A: Anne Boleyn. What 19th-century president erroneously noted: "The ballot is stronger than the bullet"? A: Abraham Lincoln. What country led all Arab nations in the number of troops participating in Operation Desert Storm? A: Saudi Arabia. Who did George Bush accuse of being "a card-carrying member" of the American Civil Liberties Union, in 1988? A: Michael Dukakis. What presidential election year saw Republicans dub Democrats the party of "Communism, Corruption and Korea"? A:1952. What position was Eileen Collins the first female to hold on a space shuttle mission? A: Captain. What were the Viet Minh called when they crossed into South Vietnam? A: The Viet Cong. What Russian cleric was poisoned, shot and finally drowned on December 30, 1916? A: Rasputin. Who led the Million Man March on Washington? A: Louis Farrakhan. What country suffered the worst two earthquakes in history, killing 830,000 in 1556 and 750,000 in 1976? A: China. What Eastern European city was the last city to be liberated in World War II? A: Prague. What country used the deadly nerve gas Sarin against its Kurdish minority in the 1990s? A: Iraq. What general did GI's nickname "Top Gun" in the Persian Gulf War? A: Colin Powell. What trade union was finally legalized in Poland in 1989? A: Solidarity. What symbol was first linked to the Democratic party in an 1870 cartoon by Thomas Nast? A: A donkey. What Harry Callahan line did Ronald Reagan invoke to "tax increasers"? A: "Go ahead, make my day". What explorer of North Carolina never got to finish his "History of the World" while banished to the Tower of London? A: Sir Walter Raleigh. Who was president of the U.S. when Uncle Sam first got a beard? A: Abraham Lincoln. Who did Adolf Hitler dictate Mein Kampf to while in prison? A: Rudolf Hess. What structure was 26.5 miles long until 1989? A: The Berlin Wall. What sport sparked a war between El Salvador and Honduras, after an unpopular referee's call in 1969? A: Soccer. What amendment in the U.S. Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, speech and the press? A: The First Amendment. Who was dubbed "Lenin's left leg" during the early stages of Russia's Marxist movement? A: Joseph Stalin. What doctor came to court dressed as Thomas Jefferson, who was also thought to favor helping the terminally ill commit suicide? A: Jack Kevorkian. What country was ruled from 827 until 860 by Egbert, Ethelwulf and Ethelbald? A: England. What did Elizabeth I have removed from her palaces when her hair thinned and her cheeks hollowed? A: Mirrors. What historic structure was saved from a real estate syndicate by a donation from a Texas cattle heiress? A: The Alamo. Who's letter to Ronald Reagan read: "I'm very sorry...I thank God no one died"? A: John Hinckley Jr. How many people were killed in 1979 at the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster? A: Zero. What British prime minister defined a fanatic as "one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject"? A: Winston Churchill. What Japanese war cry meant "May you live forever"? A: Banzai. Who distanced herself from politics by changing her last name to Davis at 22? A: Patti Reagan. Who piloted the first airplane to suffer a passenger fatality, in 1908? A: Orville Wright. What river was Hernando De Soto the first white man to see and be buried in? A: The Mississippi River. Who was known as "Tanya" after a 1974 San Francisco bank robbery? A: Patti Hearst. What seventh king of Israel shares his name with a Herman Melville literary character? A: Ahab. What U.S. president died 79 days after being shot? A: James Garfield. What outfit's National Intelligence Daily has a circulation of about 200? A: The Central Intelligence Agency's. What leader said in 1942: "Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much"? A: Franklin D. Roosevelt. What child name's plunge in U.S. popularity was attributed to a famous 1974 scandal? A: Richard's. What 1970 hit movie was banned on military bases for "reducing the conventions and paraphernalia of war to total idiocy? A: M*A*S*H What awards, founded in 1901, are funded wit the help of the Bank of Sweden? A: The Nobel Prizes. What country did 300,000 Chinese troops invade in February of 1979? A: Vietnam. What spa town headquartered the French who collaborated with the Nazis in World War II? A: Vichy. What seductive World War I spy had a daughter named Banda who was also a spy? A: Mata Hari. What color were the "black boxes" on TWA Flight 800? A: Orange. Where in Beijing did Chinese students build a Goddess of Democracy in May, 1989? A: Tiananmen Square. What author moved some 56 times in the six months after he was issued a death threat? A: Salman Rushdie. What Connecticut resident was the first woman in U.S. history to be elected a U.S. governor without inheriting the office from a hubbie? A: Ella Grasso. What secretary of defense admitted the Vietnam War was a "mistake" in 1995? A: Robert McNamara. What nation's 90-man army is the world's oldest, dating back to 1506? A: Vatican City's. What British royal spent over $26,000 on underwear in the 1980s? A: Princess Diana. What First Lady became the first wife of a sitting president to appear under subpoena before a grand jury? A: Hillary Rodham Clinton. What war was Lt. Hiroo Onoda ordered by his commanding officer to stop fighting, in 1974? A: World War II. What Beverly Hills 90210 star led the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1992 Republican convention? A: Shannen Doherty. Whose assassination resulted in the Lorraine Motel being named the National Civil Rights Museum? A: Martin Luther King Jr's. What Arab intoned: " I want a homeland even if the devil is the one to liberate it for me"? A: Yasir Arafat. What name was the last word uttered by Napoleon? A: Josephine. What nation bid adieu to the United Kingdom in 1921? A: Ireland. History trivia questions and answers. What Nazi propagandist said: "Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play"? A: Joseph Goebbels. What cleric addressed the U.N. in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese in 1995? A: Pope John Paul II. What mobster sighed: "I've been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War"? A: Al Capone. What was the first company in the world to post $1 billion in annual earnings, in 1995? A: General Motors. What Uganda city's airport saw an Israeli commando raid rescue 103 hostages in 1976? A: Entebbe's. What 20th-century conflict saw U.S. soldiers "die for a tie"? A: The Korean War. What increased in the U.S. from 1.5 million to seven million in 1930? A: Unemployment. What city had the first public school, college and newspaper in the thirteen British colonies? A: Boston. What scandal was the Tower Commission set up to investigate in 1986? A: The Iran-Contra affair. What Filipino was acquitted of fraud charges in the U.S. in 1990? A: Imelda Marcos. What were the Soviet Union's symbols for work in the factory and on the land? A: Hammer and sickle. Who expected to be paid 2,000 pounds for surrendering West Point to the British? A: Benedict Arnold. What did an official U.S. investigation call " the greatest military and naval disaster in our nation's history"? A: The attack on Pearl Harbor. Whose migraine headache vanished after he read Robert E. Lee's note of surrender? A: Ulysses S. Grant's. What did "loose lips" do, according to a popular rhyming World War II slogan? A: "Sink Ships". What city had North America's first medical school, bank and city-paid police force. A: Philadelphia. What Filipino was nicknamed the " iron butterfly". A: Imelda Marcos. What did Jack McCall fall off, seconds after he shot Wild Bill Hickok? A: His Horse. Who was the longest-serving president in French history? A: Francois Mitterrand. What country's rampant political corruption was probed by the Mani Pulite, or "Clean Hands," of the 1990s? A: Italy's. Who was it that ran through the streets naked crying Eureka? A: Archimedes What was the famous clown, Coco's real name? A: Nikioli Poliakoff The first Christmas stamp appeared in what country in 1898? A: Canada Rhodopsis, the original Egyptian Cinderella, had what job? A: Prostitute Mathias Rust landed his Cessna in 1987at what location? A: Red Square Moscow What is the literal meaning of Magna Carta? A: Great Charter What "temporary measure" was introduced to the UK in 1799? A: Income Tax Super Mario's original name was what? A: Jumperman In 1449, Thomas Brightfield built London's first what? A: Lavatory Jacques Garnerin made the first what in 1797? A: Parachute Jump Who designed the first Iron ship the Great Britain in 1845? A: I. Kingdom Brunel A Japanese artist copied the Mona Lisa in 1983 in what material? A: Toast What became legal in 1901 in the UK? A: Boxing Why did the Emperor Augustus ban his men from wearing silk? A: It was Effeminate What gem was Cleopatra's signet? A: The Amethyst In the ancient Roman Calendar, what was the eighth month? A: October What nation built the world’s first chemistry lab in 1650? A: Netherlands Alice Springs, an Australian town, used to be called what until 1925? A: Stuart What was Attila the Hun called? A: The Scourge of God Lady Chatterley's first name was what? A: Constance Methodism was founded in 1738 by who? A: John Wesley In 18th century England what was known as Old Tom? A: Gin Who was the Roman god of field boundaries? A: Terminus Sotheby's sold a 200 year old bit of Tibetan what for $ 1500 in 1993? A: Cheese Who sailed in the Golden Hind? A: Sir Francis Drake The mutineers of the Bounty settled on what islands? A: Pitcairn Islands In Monty Pythons Flying Circus, Dinsdale was a giant what? A: Hedgehog In the Falklands Islands area, what is the 10th of January? A: Margaret Thatcher day The oldest science is what? A: Astronomy Queen Victoria's first name was what? A: Alexandria Who owned and lived in the castle Joyous Guard? A: Lancelot The archaeologist Hiram Bingham discovered what lost city in 1911? A: Machu Picchu In 1797 3 pence could buy you a good what A: Wife Where was Napoleon born? A: Ajaccio - Corsican capitol As she got older Queen Elizabeth 1st, banned what? A: mirrors What sport was banned in England in 1849? A: Cockfighting In 1890 the first electric what opened in London? A: Underground railway Who once said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"? A: Sigmund Freud What brand of car was seen for the first time in 190? A: Mercedes Fritz Von Werra was the only German pilot in World War II to do what? A: Escape The first public supply of electricity in Britain came from what river in 1881? A: Wey What did Winston Churchill call his favorite poodle? A: Rufus 40 Who nickname was the Desert Fox ? A: Erwin Rommel Canadian Fran Philps was the first woman to reach what? A: The North Pole What breakthrough aid to archaeologists from 197 BC was found in Egypt in 1799? A: Rosetta Stone What was the tabularium in ancient Rome? A: Hall of Public Records The first Englishman to die in an air plane crash was who? A: Charles Rolls Who was the jeweler to the Russian Court famous for his decorated Easter eggs? A: Faberge What Athenian philosopher wrote nothing but was immortalized by Plato? A: Socrates Jesuit Bark was used in 1666 as a prevention against what disease? A: Malaria Hercules had to clean whose stables in one night? A: Aegean Stables In 1000 B.C., what did Israelites pay their taxes in? A: Raisins Which car company was founded by Sir William Lyons in 1922? A: Jaguar In 1720 what exploded ? A: The South Sea Bubble Noah's Ark had two of everything including what feature? A: Windows Ilich Ramirez Sanchez was better known as who? A: Carlos the Jackal What navel officer fought at the battles of Bastia, Calvi and Toulon? A: Horatio Nelson What is the oldest swimming stroke, dating from the 16th century? A: Breaststroke Augusto Pinochet ruled what country? A: Chile Which state lies to the south of Georgia? A: Florida. If it's noon in Boston, what time is it in New York? A: Noon. What is the postal abbreviation for New Hampshire? A: NH. What is the capital of the state of Mississippi? A: Jackson. Boris Karloff starred as which monster in one of the first horror movies? A: Frankenstein. Which company made the Lion King CD ROM? A: Disney. Which ocean is off the California coast? A: The Pacific ocean. San Diego is in which state? A: California. What was the last name of flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur? A: Wright. In 1993 Michael Jordan gave up basketball to try which sport? A: Baseball. What color are the stars on the United States of America Flag? A: White. What is the postal abbreviation for Vermont? A: VT. Which city is the home of Jazz? A: New Orleans. What state is called the Sioux State? A: North Dakota. In basketball where do the Suns come from? A: Phoenix. Which baseball team are Giants? A: San Francisco. What is the capital of Alabama? A: Montgomery. Which Gulf lies to the south of Florida? A: Mexico. Which Island is the smallest state of the Union? A: Rhode Island. Which city has an area called Haight-Ashbury? A: San Francisco. Who was the youngest US President to die in office? A: John F. Kennedy. The Sony company originated in which country? A: Japan. Which Bill formed Microsoft? A: Gates. Foods will not brown in what type of oven? A: Microwave. Which fruit gave its name to a desk top computer in 1984? A: Apple. What was the favorite food of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? A: Pizza. Who was the first ex-movie actor to become President of the United States? A: Ronald Reagan. In football, where do the Vikings come from? A: Minnesota. In sports, what is an MVP? A: Most Valuable Player. What is the postal abbreviation for Alaska? A: AK. What was the name of Michael Jackson's famous chimpanzee companion? A: Bubbles. Which state is called the Green Mountain State? A: Vermont. In baseball where do the Twins come from? A: Minnesota. Ottawa is which country's capital? A: Canada. Buckingham palace is in which English city? A: London. Which US state is famous for Disneyland and the film industry? A: California. What is the postal abbreviation for Nevada? A: NV. How many brothers were in the original Jackson family line up? A: Five. What was Elvis Presley's middle name? A: Aaron. Who was the ex-peanut farmer who became a US President? A: Jimmy Carter. Who declared he had ' a dream' where all Americans would live as equals? A: Marin Luther King. In baseball where do the Braves come from? A: Atlanta. Whose ancient tomb was discovered in Egypt in 1922? A: Tutankhamen. Who formulated the theory of relativity early in the century? A: Albert Einstein. What's the response to , "see you later, alligator"? A: After a while, crocodile. What type of animal was Babe in the film of the same name? A: Pig. What is Prince Harry's real first name? A: Henry. Fidel Castro led a communist revolution where? A: Cuba. Which state is called the Treasure State? A: Montana. What is the postal abbreviation for Texas? A: TX. Which Joe was nicknamed the Yankee Clipper? A: DiMaggio. William Henry Gates III amassed his fortune from which source? A: Computer Software. In Peter Pan, what sort of animal was Nana? A: Dog. In basketball, where do the Supersonics come from? A: Seattle. Which state is called the Pine Tree State? A: Maine. What is the postal abbreviation for Pennsylvania? A: PA. What is California's state capital? A: Sacramento. What is Ohio's largest city? A: Columbus. Which state lies due east of Alabama? A: Georgia. What is the largest of the Southern states? A: Georgia. Which river starts at Lake Itasca Minnesota and flows into the Gulf of Mexico? A: Mississippi. What type of creature was the star of the film Jaws? A: Shark. What was the name of the mansion where Elvis Presley died? A: Graceland. In which country was a 2000 year old, life size terracotta army discovered? A: China. Which was the 50th state to become part of the United States of America? A: Hawaii. Which state is called the Great Lake State? A: Michigan. What was the first name of the first man in space? A: Yuri. Where in America was the world's biggest rock festival staged? A: Woodstock. What was the world's biggest passenger ship when it was launched in 1912? A: Titanic. What is the capital of the state of Alaska? A: Juneau. In football, where do the Redskins come from? A: Washington. What does the B stand for in SCUBA diving? A: Breathing. What color is an Oscar? A: Gold. Which state is called the Bear State? A: Arkansas. Who was the 41st President of the USA? A: George H. Bush. Which Texan Governor was traveling with the Kennedys when JFK was shot? A: Connolly. Who was the first American to walk in space? A: Edward White. Who was the first man to set foot on the moon? A: Neil Armstrong. Which brothers made the first powered plane flight? A: Wright. Which state is called the Panhandle State? A: West Virginia. What was Michael Jackson's album follow-up to Thriller? A: Bad. What is the capital of the state of Virginia? A: Richmond. In Forrest Gump, his mom says, "Life is like a box of " what? A: Chocolates. Who became the first US President to resign in office? A: Richard Nixon. Where was the second Atom bomb dropped? A: Nagasaki. Who lost part of his ear to the teeth of Mike Tyson in 1997? A: Evander Holyfield. Where was a wall built to divide a city? A: Berlin. Which lake provides Chicago with 20 miles of lake shore? A: Michigan. What is Minneapolis's 'twin city'? A: St. Paul. Which part of Florida is famous for its alligators? A: Everglades. Which is the other northern Pacific state along with Washington? A: Oregon. What's the name of the bird that cartoon cat Sylvester chases in vain? A: Tweety Pie. What continent's macro zamia tree lives for 7,000 years? A: Australia's. What determines the sex of crocodile embryos--temperature, humidity, or genetics? A: Temperature. What do imbibers know as the most prevalent fruit crop in the world? A: Grapes. What color are a zebra's black stripes during the first six months of life? A: Brown. What mollusk was obliged to share its name with the first waterproof watch? A: The oyster. What animal's flesh, when sun-dried in the Andes, becomes a jerky called charqui? A: A Llama's. What can mutagens cause? A: Mutations. What drug did the University of Pennsylvania animal-behavior clinic prescribe for depressed dogs? A : Prozac. What amphibians do you raise if your run a ranarium? A: Frogs. What caused half of all deaths from natural disasters from 1945 to 1986? A :Earthquakes. What mineral accounts for 35 percent of the Earth's composition? A: Iron. What did the ancient Greeks believe to be a cross between a tiger and a horse? A: A zebra. What does the praying mantis store by the hundreds in oothecas? A: Eggs. What elemental event rejuvenates a prairie by causing more plants to grow taller, flower and produce seed? A: Fire. What simple creature is employed to turn organic garbage into "vermicompost"? A: Worms. What Greek announced in 420 B.C. that women suffer hysteria due t a "wandering uterus"? A: Hippocrates. How many days can an ant survive under water? A: Two. What's the term for an adult male pig? A: Boar. What creature's tongue weighs as much as a full grown elephant? A: The blue whale's. What amphibian did Pliny the Elder suggest be tied to the jaw, t make teeth firmer? A: A frog. What creature goes through a period where it gains 10 pounds an hour? A: A blue whale. What's the least expensive and most popular fruit? A: The banana. How many feet tall are most cattle at the shoulder? A: Five. What rodents, believed to have great teeth, did ancient Romans often place live on the gums of a toothache sufferer? A: Mice. What does a bee larva have no chance of becoming if it stops eating royal jelly after three days? A :A queen bee. What city's streets and sidewalks received 175 tons of daily et excrement deposits before a "Pooper scooper" law passed in 1978? A: New York City's. What people were the first to adopt a solar year, after noticing spring holidays were beginning to occur in winter? A :The Egyptians. What type of whale can dive over 2,000 feet? A: The sperm whale. What weather phenomenon is measured by the Beaufort scale? A: Wind. What European country accounts for most of the 30 percent of the world's prunes not produced in California? A: France. What's the most common trick a pet dog can perform? A: Sit. What organ's need for oxygen causes angina pectoris pain? A: The heart's. What tree-dwelling ape is known to Malaysians as the "person of the forest"? A :The orangutan. What organ of a buffalo did Plains Indians use to make yellow paint? A: The gallbladder. What characteristic of minerals is described by the Mohs Scale? A :Hardness. What Nation's treasures include the Sistine Chapel? A: Vatican City's. Which extends further North- Japan, North Korea or turkey? A: Japan. What country can an Afghani escape to on the Khyber Pass? A: Pakistan. What two countries sandwich the dead sea? A: Israel and Jordan. What U.S. state is said to have as many cows as people? A: Wisconsin. What continent boasts the most telephone lines? A: Europe. What future Soviet republic produced one-half of the world's oil in 1901? A: Azerbaijan. What African country is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique? A: South Africa. What's the only Central American country without a coastline on the Caribbean? A: El Salvador. What North American mountain range is an apt anagram for "o, man--ski country"? A: Rocky Mountains. What city is headquarters for Zero Population Growth and the Impotence Institution of America? A: Washington, DC. What city boasts a Board of Trade that buy and sells half the world's wheat and corn? A: Chicago. What island boasts Mount Fuji? A: Honshu. What European country's most common last name is De Vries? A: The Netherlands'. What desert do Botswana, Namibia and South Africa have in common? A: The Kalahari. What U.S. state has the highest percentage of residents born in other countries? A: California. How many U.S. states are named after a president>? A: One. What's the world's highest island mountain? A: Mauna Kea. What was the only country still building steam locomotives in 1990? A: China. Which two European countries lead the world n wine consumption pr capita? A: France and Italy. What was the world's highest man-made structure for 4,000 years before being passed by the central tower of Lincoln Cathedral? A: The Great Pyramid of Cheops. What western state is less than thrilled to be known as the "Vermin State"? A: New Mexico. What's the only South American country that has both a Pacific and a Caribbean coast? A: Colombia. What interstate highway connects Boston and Seattle? A: I-90. What state boasts all or part of the ten largest American Indian reservations? A: Arizona. What Canadian city's name means "muddy water"? A: Winnipeg's. What desert did David Livingstone have to cross to reach Lake Ngami? A: The Kalahari. What country sent out 15,000 census workers to count its homeless population, in 1990? A: The U.S. What do Americans call the Huang Ho, China's second-longest river? A: The Yellow River. What Russian republic has its capital in Grozny? A: Chechnya. What state made the U.S. the fourth largest country in land mass in 1959? A: Alaska. What state does the Yellowstone River rise in? A: Wyoming. What island has endured Mount Etna's wrath over 140 times? A: Sicily. How many months per year do residents of Tromso, Norway go without seeing a sunset? A: Three. What Memphis mansion was opened to the public in 1982? A: Graceland. What U.S. state gave the world Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton? A: Louisiana. What country is central to the books Out of Africa and The Green Hills of Africa? A: Kenya. What country boasts the world's highest paid national legislators? A: The U.S.. What southwestern U.S. state adopted the bola tie as its official state neckwear? A: Arizona. What $325 million chateau was finished for Louis XIV of France in 1682? A: Versailles. What southeastern state boasts the cities of Frog Jump, Only, and Sweet Lips? A: Tennessee. What Mississippi town name provides the answer to the Arizona town of Why? A: Why Not. What European country sells an amazing 550 million one-pound cans of Heinz Baked Beans, or ten per citizen, each year? A: Britain. What eastern town is home for a service academy and the U.S. Silver Depository? A: West Point. What ancient African country did the Greeks name for the "sun burnt faces" of its natives. A: Ethiopia. What's the only remaining European territory on the South American continent? A: French Guiana. What nation of over 7,000 islands has two-thirds of its population living on Luzon and Mindanao? A: The Philippines. What country receives 26 percent of all Saudi Exports? A: The U.S.. What Massachusetts spot is hyped as " America's Hometown"? A: Plymouth. What biblical place name means "pleasure"? A: Eden. What preceded Tokyo as the capital of Japan? A: Kyoto. What nation boasts the cities of Go Cong, Play Cu, Dong Ha and Ha Dong? A: Vietnam. What U.S. state was named after chaste Queen Elizabeth I? A: Virginia. What Southwestern state are you standing in if you ring a doorbell in Ding Dong? A: Texas. What continent is Greenland a part of? A: North America. What southern U.S. state boasts the town of Satellite Beach? A: Florida. What country was created in 1920 from the remains of the Hapsburg Empire? A: Austria. What do Southerners call ground hominy with the germ removed? A: Grits. What Arab nation has the highest percentage of Christians? A: Lebanon. What U.S. state gets raked by the most tornadoes annually? A: Texas. What city does the Bible call the City of David. A: Jerusalem. What two U.S. states went to court in 1996 over ownership of historic Ellis Island? A: New York and New Jersey. What ice cream factory is the number one tourist attraction in Vermont? A: Ben & Jerry's. What Nebraska city outlawed burping in churches? A: Omaha. Which city is farthest west - San Diego, Reno, or Los Angeles. A: Reno. What island calls itself the Republic of China? A: Taiwan. What's the only state whose official state song was composed for a Broadway musical? A: Oklahoma. What outfit is known as the Red Crescent in Muslim nations? A: The Red Cross. What Florida city's name translates to "mouth of the rat" because of it's toothy inlet? A: Boca Raton's. What Italian city had the Roman name Mediolanum? A: Milan. What New England state would be home if you laid down roots in Bald Head? A: Maine. What 4,588-mile dune-laden expanse did Choi Jong-yul say he walked across "because it was there"? A: The Sahara Desert. What country is bordered by Algeria, Niger, Chad, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia? A: Libya. What Asian country boasts the largest Muslim population in the world? A: Indonesia. What academy is sometimes dubbed "Canoe U."? A: The U.S. Naval Academy. What U.S. state has an official commonwealth folk song written by resident Arlo Guthrie? A: Massachusetts. What island was Abel Tasman the first European to land on, in 1642? A: Tasmania. What African country's name is from the Latin for "free"? A: Liberia's. What republic is sandwiched between Lithuania and Estonia? A: Latvia. What's the only U.S. state to share a border with one of Canada's Maritime Provinces? A: Maine. What Central American nation flies a flag with one blue and one red star? A: Panama. What 1994 U.S. event was tagged pas le Big One by French journalists? A: The Los Angeles earthquake. What Australian geological wonder has an aboriginal name that means "great pebble"? A: Ayers Rock. Which of the seven wonders of the ancient world was demolished by an earthquake in 224 B.C.? A: The Colossus of Rhodes. What country is home to 21 percent of the world's people? A: China. What are painted bright yellow and left out for public use on the streets of Portland, Oregon? A: Bicycles. What southern city did Andrew Jackson name for one on the Nile River? A: Memphis. What city, founded in 1550 by Sweden's King Gustav Vasa, was first called Helsingfors? A: Helsinki. What country's auto identification letters are KWT? A: Kuwait's. What strife-torn African nation boasts a world high of 8.3 births per female? A: Rwanda. What Asian county's women's magazine Non Non is its bestseller? A: Japan's. What's the world's largest desert, as determined by the least precipitation? A: The Antarctic. What's a German sign reading "Rauchen verboten" telling you not to do? A: Smoke. What U.S. state boasts a difference of 20,320 feet between its highest and lowest points? A: Alaska. What Boston green space, founded in 1634, is the oldest park in the U.S.? A: The Boston Common. What New Orleans soup has a name derived from the Bantu word for okra? A: Gumbo. What country is bordered by Austria, France, Slovenia and Switzerland? A: Italy. What city was the site of the last Moorish Kingdom in Spain? A: Granada. Ehat interstate highway connects Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, to San Francisco? A: I-80. What Pacific atoll got its name from its location between the Americas and Asia? A: The Midway Islands. What Tuscan city do Italians know as Firenze? A: Florence. What Canadian province got its name from the Iroquois word guilibek, meaning "place where waters narrow"? A: Quebec. Which U.S. president used some of his winnings from poker games to help launch his campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives? A: Richard Nixon What country's farthest southern and northern points are Land's End and John O' Groats, respectively? A: Britain's. What New York City landmark is the largest movie theater in the U.S.? A: Radio City Music Hall. What's the world's longest road, running from Texas to Valparaiso, Chile? A: The Pan-American Highway. What $7.2 million purchase did one senator call "an awful lot of ice for an awful lot of dollars," in 1867? A: Alaska. What European capital's Potsdamer Platz was busy enough to warrant the world's first traffic light? A: Berlin's. What was the most populous state in the U.S. for the last time in 1800? A: Virginia. What Nepalese city name means "wooden temples"? A: Katmandu. What Egyptian city was built up during the Middle Ages from limestone stripped off the exterior of the Great Pyramid? A: Cairo. What Yukon mining district was the site of the 1890s gold rush? A: The Klondike. What Texas city along Route 66 got its name from the Spanish word for yellow? A: Amarillo. What two republics make up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia? A: Montenegro and Serbia. What Scandinavian country last fought in a war in 1814? A: Sweden. What U.S. state's public golf courses have the highest average green fees? A: Hawaii's. What former Soviet republic joined Russia as one of the world's ten largest countries? A: Kazakhstan. What Arab country's national dish is a soup called fool? A: Egypt's. What continent are you on if you're lost in the eastern tip of Egypt? A: Asia. What continent has the fewest flowering plants? A: Antarctica. What country lies on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula? A: Portugal. What volatile nation was the first Caribbean country to gain independence? A: Haiti. What barnyard animal utterance is known in France as groin groin? A: Oink-Oink. What southern state capital got its name for being the terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad? A: Atlanta. What desert's name was inspired by the array of colors that erosion has exposed there? A: The Painted Desert's. What Berlin landmark had lost over 60 tons in shipments to the U.S. by 1990? A: The Berlin Wall. What was the biggest city in America until 1755? A: Boston. What U.S. city had three of the world's five tallest man-made structures in 1994? A: Chicago. What cave mammals inspired some folks to dub Nebraska the "Bug-eating State"? A: Bats. What Asian country has the world's lowest amount of urban green space per person? A: Japan. What country went metric to join the European Community, but kept the pint for use in pubs and for milk? A: Britain. What two cities are connected by the busiest international airline route? A: London and Paris. What Spanish port city was founded by Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca? A: Barcelona. What Bengal nation lost 300,000 people to a cyclone and a tidal wave in 1970? A: Bangladesh. What desert has an area larger than the continental U.S.? A: The Sahara. What river was designated the U.S.-Mexican border in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo? A: The Rio Grande. What city's garbage collectors are honored by a street called Avenue of the Strongest? A: New York City's. What wonder of the ancient world did Babylonians refer to as the "House of the Foundations of Heaven and Earth"? A: The Tower of Babel. What country was Berlin part of when it passed one million in population? A: Prussia. What's Rome's Piazza San Pietro known as in English? A: St. Peter's Square. What West African nation's name means "lion mountain"? A: Sierra Leone's. What U.S. state would you be in if you made the short trip from Citronelle to Tangerine? A: Florida. What state is home to a huge hunk of granite called The Dan Blocker Memorial Head? A: Texas. What's the world's second largest archipelago, after Indonesia? A: The Philippines. What's Canada's largest inland sea? A: Hudson Bay. What nation has had a monarchy the longest? A: Japan. What Great Lake state are you stuck in if your car has broken down in Hell? A: Michigan. What Italian city is considered "the fashion capital of the world"? A: Milan. What British town got its name from its proximity to the Cam River? A: Cambridge. What western state answers Pamplona's Running of the Bulls with its own annual Running of the Sheep? A: Montana. What's the southernmost country in Central America? A: Panama. What ocean are the Maldives in? A: The Indian Ocean. What body of water is approximately nine times saltier than ocean water? A: The Dead Sea. What U.S. state's official fish is the humuhumunukunukuapuaa? A: Hawaii's What island country is visited by the most cruise ships? A: The Bahamas. What capital has a name meaning "city of Islam"? A: Islamabad. What did Puritans dub "Rogues Island"? A: Rhode Island. What Alpine country's women got the right to vote in 1971? A: Switzerland's. What U.S. state legislated the pronunciation of its name in 1881, to accent the first and third syllables and quiet the final "s"? A: Arkansas. What U.S. state do Knickerbockers knock around in? A: New York. Which is further south - the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn or Cape Catastrophe? A: Cape Horn. What 120,000-square-mile African desert is almost completely covered by woods and grass? A: The Kalahari. What country managed to reduce its vodka consumption from 2.6 billion liters in 1984 to just 1.6 billion in 1990? A: The Soviet Union. What city did Sigmund Freud call home? A: Vienna. What bay do Royal Bengal tigers most often swim in? A: The Bay of Bengal. What Asian nation was not invaded by enemy forces between 1275 and 1944? A: Japan. What central African state boasts a big "R" in the middle of its flag? A: Rwanda. What's the most popular honeymoon destination outside the contiguous 48 states for U.S. couples, according to Modern Bride? A: Hawaii. What Kentucky tourist attraction's entrance was allegedly discovered by a hunter while tracking a wounded bear? A: Mammoth Cave's. What's the only U.S. state never to have banned prostitution? A: Nevada. What do Texas beef partisans call "wool on a stick"? A: Lamb. What mountain range's name is Sanskrit for "abode of snow"? A: The Himalayas'. What country boasts the world's oldest active brewery, dating back to 1040 A.D,.? A: Germany. What's the main mode of transport for the nomads who make up half of Somalia's population? A: Camel. What Western Hemisphere people spoke Nahuatl? A: The Aztecs. What U.S. state was once called West New Jersy? A: Pennsylvania. What city is home to the busiest stock exchange? A: Tokyo. What Central American country is bordered by Honduras and Costa Rica? A: Nicaragua. What Minnesota town boasts an annual celebration called Wrong Day? A: Wright. What two nations are alluded to in the first line of the Marine Hymn? A: Mexico, Libya. What's the only U.S. state to border Maine? A: New Hampshire. What peppery spice shares its name with the capital of French Guiana? A: Cayenne. What country in Eastern Europe has a name that means "people from Rome"? A: Romania. What South American country comes last alphabetically? A: Venezuela. What U.K. principality has its capital in Cardiff? A: Wales. What two countries are separated by the Tortilla Curtain? A: Mexico and the U.S. What Great Lake state has more shoreline than the entire U.S. Atlantic seaboard? A: Michigan. What mountains do the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus rivers begin in? A: The Himalayas. What nation will need an estimated 4,300 years to remove the 10 million land mines left there by the Soviet Army? A: Afghanistan. What U.S. state has the most unemployed dancers? A: Nevada. What was dedicated in 1982 when veteran Ian Scruggs said: "Thank you America...for finally remembering us"? A: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What nation boasts northern towns called Resolute, Eureka and Alert? A: Canada. What river do Mexicans call Rio Bravo? A: The Rio Grande. What was the city of Edo renamed in 1869? A: Tokyo. What European museum opened a controversial metal-and-glass pyramid entrance in 1989? A: The Louvre. What major city is close to the middle of the Iberian Peninsula? A: Madrid. What country is bordered on the west by Germany and on the est by Ukraine and Belarus? A: Poland. Which northwestern state borders only two other states? A: Washington. What European city decided new names were in order for Foul Lane, Stinking Lane and Bladder Street? A: London. What African republic's name was inspired by its thriving elephant tusk trade? A: Ivory Coast's. What country is second to South Africa in gold production? A: The U.S. What southern U.S. state has no telephones in 12 percent of its households.? A: Mississippi. What river provided water to nurture the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? A: The Euphrates. What European country boasts the cities of Kalamata, Katerinin and Kilkis? A: Greece. What meat will you eat after you point to reinsdyrkaker on an Oslo menu? A: Reindeer. Where in Massachusetts is the only island, county and town in the U.S. that share the same name? A: Nantucket. What favorite hangout of divers extends for 1,250 miles off Australia's northeast coast? A: The Great Barrier Reef. What river system drains water from 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces? A: The Mississippi River. What Asian people traditionally believe there to be a toad on the moon, instead of a man? A: The Chinese. What 200-block section of Miami is considered the best place to dance the merengue or dine on roast goat? A: Little Haiti. What English-speaking Caribbean island has a Spanish name meaning "Bearded"? A: Barbados. What Peruvian city was the capital of the Spanish empire in the New World until the 19th century? A: Lima. What country supplies three-quarters of the world's maple syrup? A: Canada. What Asian surname is shared by 104 million people? A: Chang. What nation in the Western Hemisphere is the world's largest exporter of forest products? A: Canada. What Arab city has a name derived from a word meaning "sanctuary"? A: Mecca. What San Francisco fixture is a favorite jumping-off point for an average of 14 people a year? A: The Golden Gate Bridge. What's the acronym for the South Western Townships near Johannesburg? A: Soweto. What state can you get tourist information on by dialing 1-800-BUCKEYE? A: Ohio. What country's holidays include Discovery Day, Natal Day and Fete Nationale? A: Canada's. What European city is served by Keflavik Airport? A: Reykjavik. What bridge did New York City's first subway system travel from 145th street to? A: The Brooklyn Bridge. What's the southernmost state capital among the 48 contiguous states? A: Austin. What Ohio city's thriving hog industry earned it the nickname "Porkopolis" in the 1830s? A: Cincinnati's. What Paris landmark did con man Victor Lustig sell to a metal dealer for $50,000? A: The Eiffel Tower. What country provides Cuba with most of its new cars and computers in exchange for sugar? A: Japan. What country boasts Great Glen, Glen Eagles and Glenfiddich? A: Scotland. What winter celebration calls for lighting red, green and black candles in the Kinara? A: Kwanza. What's Latvia's largest minority ethnic group? A: Russians. What country sends the highest percentage of 15- and 16-year-olds to the altar? A: The U.S. How many expressways did China's drivers have to choose from, in 1992? A: Zero. What southern city is famous for its "Beale Street Blues"? A: Memphis. What's the only U.S. state that serves all of its residents with water systems that have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act? A: New Jersey. What British Commonwealth nation has the most people driving on the right side of the road? A: Canada. What two African rivers did Henry Stanley prove were not connected? A: The Congo and the Nile. What infamous Beijing square has a name that ironically means "Gate of Heavenly Peace"? A: Tiananmen Square. How are you traveling in Africa if you've rented a rakumi? A: By camel. Which of the Great Lkes does not lap Canadian shores? A: Lake Michigan. What's the third-largest continent in square miles? A: North America. What European country uses its Latin name, Helvetia, on its stamps. A: Switzerland. What East African country's annual four percent population growth rate is the world's highest? A: Kenya's. What town name did Missouri's postmaster come up with when residents asked for something "sort of peculiar"? A: Peculiar. What South American country elected as its president Alberto Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, in 1990? A: Peru. What U.S. state had the first 7-Eleven stores? A: Texas. What sea laps the shores of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan? A: The Aral Sea. What Central American country has its capital in Tegucigalpa? A: Honduras. What country calls its expressways autostrada? A: Italy. What Great Plains state are you stuck in if you're out of gas in Gas? A : Kansas. What African country is serviced by Jan Smuts International Airport? A :South Africa. What Arizona city was so named because it rose from the ruins of a Native American town? A: Phoenix. How may years did Britain lease Hong Kong for? A: Ninety-nine. What country boasts the towns of Barnstaple, Fishguard and Holyhead? A: Britain. What U.S. state grabs the most money from domestic tourists, double that of Hawaii? A: Nevada. What eastern European country's name is a Slavonic word meaning "plain dwellers"? A: Poland's. What fish is called "finnan haddie" when smoked in Scotland? A: Haddock. What Southeast Asian city did the U.S. open an embassy in, in 1995? A: Hanoi. What mountains are home to the entertainment world's Borscht Belt? A: The Catskills. What's the southernmost nation on the Balkan Peninsula? A: Greece. What city has been the center of the U.S. oil industry since 1901? A: Houston. What country is only bordered by Spain? A: Portugal. What Frenchman designed the national flag of Italy? A: Napoleon. What valley separates East Africa from the remainder of the continent? A: The Great Rift Valley. What Milanese opera house has a name meaning "The Stairs" in Italian? A: La Scala. What continent is cut into two fairly equal halves by the Tropic of Capricorn? A: Australia. What nation has the longest school year? A: Japan. What storied Sudanese city's name means "elephant's trunk"? A: Khartoum's. What title would you hold in Germany if townsfolk addressed you as Burgermeister? A: Mayor. What Scandinavian country are you in if you're vacationing in Hell? A: Norway. What's squid cooked in if you order calamare en su tinta at a Spanish restaurant? A: Its ink. What U.S. state pays its governor the most money? A: New York. What state grew to become the second most populous in the U.S. , by 1994? A: Texas. What tourist state leads the U.S. in booze consumption per capita? A: Nevada. What city do Saudis cal Makkah? A: Mecca. What continent has the most countries represented in the U.N.? A: Africa. What do residents of Bunyol, Spain, throw at each other during the LA Tomatina Festival? A: Tomatoes. What Spanish islands are Gomera, Hierro and Lanzarote a part of? A: The Canary Islands. What nation has 1,000 permanent inhabitants and produces no export goods? A: Vatican City. What was the first city to be leveled by a plutonium-based atomic bomb? A: Nagasaki. What high-level computer language was named after a French mathematician and philosopher? A: PASCAL. What Mercury astronaut had a pulse rate of 170 at lift-off-John Glenn, Alan Shepard or Gus Grissom? A: Gus Grissom. What type of vessel was powered by a hand-cranked propeller when first used in combat in 1176? A: A submarine. What creature proved to be much faster than a horse in a 1927 race in Sydney, Australia? A: The Kangaroo. What radioactive element is extracted from carnotite and pitchblende? A: Uranium. What organ of a buffalo did Plains Indians use to make yellow paint? A: The gallbladder. What optical aids was nearsighted model Grace Robin the first to show off in 1930? A: Contact lenses. What sticky sweetener was traditionally used as an antiseptic ointment for cuts and burns? A: Honey. What computer was introduced in 1984 Super Bowl ads? A: The Macintosh. What male body part did Mademoiselle magazine find to be the favorite of most women? A: Eyes. What planet is named after the Greek god who personified the sky? A: Uranus. What fat substitute got FDA approval for use in snack foods, despite reports of diarrhea and cramps? A: Olestra. What plant's meltdown was dubbed "Russian Roulette" by nuclear power wags? A: Chernobyl's. What is a single unit of quanta called? A: A quantum. What will fall off of the Great Sphinx in 200 years due to pollution and erosion, according to scholar Chikaosa Tanimoto? A: It's head. What suntan lotion was developed by Dr. Ben Green in 1944 to protect pilots who bailed out over the Pacific? A: Coppertone. What was Friedrich Serturner the first to extract from opium and use as a pain reliever? A: Morphine. What substance nets recyclers the most money? A: Aluminum. What are you shopping for if you are sized up by a Brannock Device? A: Shoes. What animal travels at 25 mph under water but finds it easier to toboggan on its belly on land? A: The penguin. What's the itchy skin condition tinea pedis better known as? A: Athlete's foot. What uncooked meat is a trichina worm most likely to make a home in? A: Pork. How many of every 10 victims infected by the Ebola virus will die in two days? A: Nine. What computer company was named after a founder's memories of spending a summer in an Oregon orchard? A: Apple. What butterfly-shaped gland is located just in front of the windpipe? A: The Thyroid. What's short for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"? A: Laser. What planet is the brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon? A: Venus. What weapon did German gunsmith August Kotter unload on the world in 1520? A: The rifle. What type of machine did 19-year-old French genius Blaise Pascal invent to help his dad do taxes in 1642? A: An adding machine. What do leukemia sufferers have too many of? A: White blood cells, or leukocytes. What Benjamin Holt invention was good news to farmers in 1900? A: The tractor. What weather phenomenon is measured by the Beaufort scale? A: Wind. What do itchy people call the "rhus radicans" they were sorry they came into contact with? A: Poison Ivy. What drupaceous fruit were Hawaiian women once forbidden by law to eat? A: The coconut. What was the first planet to be discovered using the telescope, in 1781? A: Uranus. What V-word is defined as "the ability of a liquid to resist flowing". A: Viscosity. What unit of measure was originally designed to be one forty-millionth of the Earth's circumference? A: The meter. What's sometimes dubbed Biosphere I? A: Earth. What are "human incubation chambers" heated to before Gillette's odor judges test deodorants by smelling human armpits? A: 100 degrees Fahrenheit. What antidepressant is most often referred to by snide shrinks as "Slo Mo"? A: Valium. What gardeners' aid is identified by numbers indicating its percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium? A: Fertilizer. What facial features flank your glabella? A: The eyebrows. What organ of the body leads all others with 3,195 distinct genes? A: The brain. What Cool Whip ingredient outweighs all the others? A: Water. What does a kit-flying linonophobic fear? A: String. What's the common name for the eye inflammation doctors call conjunctivits? A: Pink eye. What country flew the first supersonic airliner in 1968 but saw it crash in 1973? A: The Soviet Union. What two-word term is defined as "the lowest possible temperature"? A: Absolute zero. What century did mathematicians first use plus and minus signs? A: The sixteenth. What handy mathematical instrument's days were numbered when the pocket calculator made the scene in the 1970s? A: The slide rule's. What boxcar-sized instrument was repaired by the crew of the shuttle Endeavor in 1993? A: The Hubble telescope. What name for a bone disease translates as "porous bone"? A: Osteoporosis. What earthenware ceramic was produced in ancient China from feldspar and china clay? A: Porcelain. What's the U.S. military acronym for liquid oxygen? A: LOX. What's one-tenth of a bel? A: A decibel. What type of vessel was powered by a hand-cranked propeller when first used in combat in 1776? A: A submarine. What type of machine do the French call a telecopie? A: A fax machine. What unit of measure was once defined as the length of three grains of barley laid end to end? A: The inch. What are the two main constituents of bronze. A: Copper and tin. What Greek was the first physician to record case histories of patients? A: Hippocrates. What four planets have a smaller diameter than Earth? A: Mars, Mercury, Pluto, Venus. What word was coined when a trapped moth caused an early computer to crash? A: Bug. What technological revolution was credited with the large increase in paper use in the 1980s and 1990s? A: The computer revolution. What name for an automaton came from the Czech word meaning "forced labor"? A: Robot. What delta-winged supersonic transport is the fastest passenger plane? A: The Concorde. What comet was first sighted by the Chinese in 240 B.C.? A: Halley's Comet. What does "SPF" mean on sunscreen containers? A: Sun Protection factor. What M-word is defined as "a device that changes sound into electric current"? A: Microphone. What brand became the first sugar-free sugar substitute, in 1957? A: Sweet'n Low. What colorless gas is essential in the production of fertilizers and light bulbs? A: Nitrogen. What weapon did German gunsmith August Kotter unload on the world in 1520? A: The rifle. What explosive jelly is combined with gasoline to make incendiary bombs? A: Napalm. What did Dr. Heinrich Dreser hype as a non addictive substitute for morphine in 1898? A: Heroin. What did the Nimbus-7 satellite monitor changes in the depth of? A: The ozone layer. What body part is low-density lipoprotein most likely to clog? A: Arteries. What's wire rope most often called? A: Cable. What was the short word for "Infantile Paralysis" on 1950s March of Dimes posters? A: Polio. What book did Christians often place on their foreheads to cure insomnia in medieval times? A: The Bible. What are you shopping for it you're sized up by a Brannock Device? A: Shoes. What's the most common automotive essential that is measured in terms of its viscosity? A: Oil. What did 18th-century chemist Antoine Lavoisier prove was a compound of hydrogen and oxygen? A: Water. What objects are studied in what enthusiasts call "ufology"? A: Unidentified flying objects. Who's known in the shrink biz as "Weird Beard"? A: Sigmund Freud. What's the unit of capacity for fuel wood? A: A cord. How many of every ten coffee beans in USDA approved coffee can be moldy, insect-infested or insect-damaged? A: One. What's the English title of Freud's book Traumdeutung? A: The Interpretation of Dreams. What celestial objects were once referred to as "hairy stars"? A: Comets. What piece of lumber's actual size is one-and-a-half by three-and-a-half inches when "surfaced"? A: A two-by-four. What tool did astronomer Rodger Thompson say is "fundamentally altering our view of the universe"? A: The Hubble telescope. What's the most common contributor to chronic bronchitis? A Smoking. What constellation points to the south celestial pole? A: The Southern Cross. What's the study of materials at very low temperatures? A: Cryogenics. What unit of length is derived from the Latin word uncia? A: The inch. What country launched Europe's first super-high-speed passenger train, in 1981? A: France. What's believed by many to be a satellite of Neptune that escaped its primary orbit? A: Pluto. What planet is circled by only two moons? A :Mars. What artillery weapon was launched upon the world in 400 B.C.? A: The catapult. What procedure is performed on an abscess if the dentist thinks the tooth can be saved? A :Root canal. What Greek advised: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine by your food"? A: Hippocrates. What does an anthropophagic census-taker fear? A: People. What "black metal" gave blacksmiths their name? A :Iron. What word describes the physical components of a computer? A: Hardware. What planet is the brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon? A: Venus. What does a bromidrosiphobic shoe salesman fear? A :Smelly feet. What planet needs 248 years to meander its way around the sun? A: Pluto. What did 18th-century astronomer Edmund Halley chart 24 of? A: Comets. What's a video cameraman doing when he "juices the brick"? A: Recharging the battery. What New York City hospital founded the first school for nursing in the U.S. , in 1872? A: Bellevue. What type of telephones did AT&T stop making in the mid-1980s? A: Rotary phones. What Entertainment Tonight star's voice did the New England Journal of Medicine claim triggered a woman's epileptic seizures? A :Mary Hart's. What planet is named after the Greek god who personified the sky? A :Uranus. What home appliance did the U.S. produce seven million of in 1953, up from 6,000 in 946? A: The television. What are you forbidden to do in a "snuff zone"? A: Smoke. What teenage year does an American first develop phobias in, on average? A: Thirteen. Who would send you an e-mail message with the return address "[email protected]"? A: Bill Gates. What innovation decreases the odds of hitting the car in front of you, but increases the odds of being hit by the car behind you? A: Anti-lock brakes. What red-blooded body organ are vitamins A, B, D, E, and K stored in? A: The Liver. What's the positively charged particle in the nucleus of an atom called? A: A proton. What cartoonist has had three insect species named after him? A :Gary Larson. What did William Stanley invent in 1885 to transfer the current of one circuit to another? A : The transformer. What is a siderodromophobic hobo afraid to hitch a ride on? A: Trains. What country was India ink developed in? A: China. What three-letter word denotes the residue of combustion or incineration? A: Ash. What fiber-optic instrument allows surgeons to see and repair damage within joints? A: An arthroscope. What photo company brags that with their products, "there really are no negatives"? A :Polaroid. What high-tech mogul appeared on a 1995 cover of Time headlined "Master of the Universe"? A: Bill Gates. What time period is sandwiched between the Cretaceous and Triassic? A: The Jurassic. What suntan lotion was developed by Dr. Ben Green in 1944 to protect pilots who bailed out over the Pacific? A: Coppertone. What colorless, odorless substance is the main constituent of natural gas? A: Methane. What was the first place name uttered by a man on the moon? A: Houston. What does an AutoCut VCR automatically cut from TV programs? A: Commercials. What early scientist, after being forced to declare the Earth was motionless, muttered: "Nevertheless, it does move"? A :Galileo. What typewriter brand was invented by a man whose father made a well-known flintlock rifle? A: Remington. What term for "bipolar disorder" has fallen out of general use? A: Manic depression. What planet has a storm system called the Great Red Spot? A: Jupiter. What will not be back to entice astronomers until 2061? A: Halley's Comet. Where did Bill Clinton urge U.S. scientists to look for more signs of life, in 1996? A: Mars. What office image transmitter did Bell Labs demonstrate as early as 1924? A: A fax machine. What direction did cartographers usually place at the top of maps when they believed the Earth was flat? A: East. What U.S. agency is considered by e-mail users to deliver "snail mail"? A: The U.S. Postal Service. What N-word describes a cloud of dust and gas in space. A: Nebula. What car model was developed in 1938 by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche? A: The Volkswagen Beetle. What plant's meltdown was dubbed "Russian Roulette" by nuclear power wags? A: Chernobyl's. What Internet search utility was named for the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where it was developed? A: Gopher. What type of power is defined as the generation of electricity from water? A: Hydroelectric power. What type of pills are known in the pharmacy biz as "pillows:? A: Sleeping pills. What organ was operated on in the first microsurgical procedure, in 1921? A :The ear. What transparent material is produced by heating lime, sand and soda? A: Glass. What does the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determine? A: Its Atomic number. What unit of time, when measured by an atomic clock, equals 9,192,631,770 energy changes of a cesium atom? A: One second. What heat-resistant element replaced cotton as the filament of choice in electric light bulbs in 1910? A: Tungsten. What now-extinct bird's gizzard, when stewed in milk, was once thought to cure gallstones? A: The passenger pigeon's. What unit of power did James Watt coin to help market his steam engines? A: Horsepower. What comes in Bibb, oak leaf and escarole varieties? A: Lettuce. What treatment for cavities was first recommended by a 10th-century physician name Rhazes? A: Fillings. What did the EPA once refer to as "poorly buffered precipitation"? A: Acid Rain. What car parts require alignment in toe, camber and caster? A: Wheels. What car of the 1940s featured a central "Cyclops-eye" headlight that turned with the wheels"? A: The Tucker. What could Harrison's chronometer accurately measure during 18th-century voyages? A: Longitude. What's short for "binary digit"? A: Bit. Who licensed the MS-DOS operating system to IBM in 1980? A: Bill Gates. How many 1990s cigarettes must you smoke to get the toxic effect of one 1950s cigarette.? A: Three. What oil was first used as a laxative by Egyptians in 1600 B.C.? A: Castor oil. Who was amazed to see the moons of Jupiter through a telescope on January 7, 1610? A: Galileo. What geographic term describes a hill with sharply sloping sides and a flat top? A: Butte. What serious underwater ailment was named after a Victorian notion of chic posture? A: The bends. What Mercury astronaut had a pulse rate of 170 at lift-off--John Glenn, Alan Shepard, or Gus Grissom? A :Gus Grissom. What U.S. coin weighs five grams? A: A nickel. Who spent more time in space than any woman or any U.S. astronaut, after NASA delayed her ride home by six weeks in 1996? A: Shannon Lucid. How many Russian cosmonauts have walked on the moon? A: Zero. What staple of Sigmund's profession lies in state at the Freud Museum in London? A: His couch. What wattage of incandescent light bulb typically produces 1,700 lumens? A: 100 watts. What 20th-century decade saw the introduction of the felt-tip pen? A: The 1960s. What needle-stickers use the word "Qi" to describe the energy that flows through the body's pathways? A: Acupuncturists. What continent has yielded the largest trove of meteorites? A: Antarctica. What letter did NASA decide to preface "Okay" with, due to radio stati problems? A : A. What L-word is the proprietary name of the tranquilizer chlordiazepoxide? A: Librium. What are "newbies," who tend to attract scorn from Internet flamers? A: Newcomers. What's the smallest time interval -- a microsecond, a nanosecond or a picosecond? A: A picosecond. What sterilization process can kill 99.9 percent of salmonella organisms in poultry? A :Irradiation. Which Smithsonian museum attracted a record 118,437 people on April 14,1984? A: The National Air and Space Museum. Who saw the dies used to stamp out bodies of his stainless-steel cars end up as anchors for salmon traps? A: John DeLorean. What's the largest and densest of the four rocky planets? A: Earth. What branch of biology deals with the nature of aging? A: Gerontology. What tropical disease were mental patients intentionally infected with in the early 1900s as a treatment for insanity? A: Malaria. What's a detective studying if he's staring at arches loops, whorls, islands and dots? A: Fingerprints. What unit of measurement has a fluid volume of three teaspoons? A: A tablespoon. What creature's heart kept Baby Fae alive for 21 of her 33 days in 1984? A: A baboon's. What country was home of 153 of the first 400 Nobel Prize-winning scientists? A: The U.S. What chemical compound comes from the Greek word for "primary"? A: Protein. What number, a one followed by 100 zeroes, was first used by nine-year-old Milton Sirotta in 1940? A: Googol. What's the most common computer acronym for a "Picture element"? A: Pixel. What's the most common cause of cirrhosis? A: Alcohol abuse. Which character is the most famous creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs? A: Tarzan. Which state is called the Bear State? A: Arkansas. Who played Emma Peelinthe90s film version of The Avengers? A: Uma Thurman. Which Michael starred in Doc Hollywood? A: J Fox. What is the capital of the state of Louisiana? A: Baton Rouge. Which veteran pop singer has the first names Roderick David? A: Rod Stewart. What came after The Brady in the sitcom title? A: Bunch. What did teenager Anne Frank leave behind that was published after her death? A: Diary. Who had a 60s No 1 with Stop In the Name Of Love? A: Supremes. Who liked Richard Burton so much that she married him twice? A: Elizabeth Taylor. In which decade did people last get the chance to see Halley's comet? A: 1980s. At what time of year did Eddie Cochran get the blues? A: Summer time. In football, where do the 1990s Titans come from? A: Tennessee. Who was younger when they became President, Clinton or Kennedy? A: Kennedy. The novel Airport was a best seller for which author? A: Arthur Haily. Which female sang the Bond theme to Goldeneye? A: Tina Turner. Golfer Bernhard Langer comes from which country? A: Germany. The D Day landings took place in which country? A: France. Who was the first man to fly in space? A: Yuri Gagarin. In which decade of the 20th century was Chevy Chase born? A: 1940s. What is the postal abbreviation for Missouri? A: MO. Who was Bill Clinton's first Vice President? A: AL Gore. Which Box gave Mariah Carey a multi-million album success? A: Music. Which Bruce declared he was Born In The USA? A: Springsteen. Oakland international airport is in which state? A: California. What was an official language in 87 nations and territories, by 1994? A: English. What's the third-largest continent in square miles? A: North America. What is the capital of Kuwait? A: Kuwait City. World trivia questions. "What town name did residents of a Florida retirement community switch to because they found Sunset Depressing? A: Sunrise. What's the second most populous continent? A: Europe. What finally went out of fashion in ancient Rome, prompting people to begin wearing short pants called feminalia? A: The Toga. What southwestern U.S. state has the highest percentage of non-English speakers? A: New Mexico. What M-word did Texas citizens choose as a town name that would "attract" folks? A: Magnet. What state leads the U.S. with 15 tons of solid waste per citizen each year? A: California. Which is further from the equator, Tasmania, Tanzania, or Transylvania? A: Transylvania. What eastern town is home for a service academy and the U.S. Sliver Depository? A: West Point. What's the University of Paris more commonly called? A: The Sorbonne. What religion has the most adherent, Buddhism, Christianity or Islam? A; Christianity. What U.S. state boasts a town called Captain Cook? A: Hawaii. What's the Greek name for hell? A: Hades. What European country does Aruba maintain the strongest ties to? A: The Netherlands. What do the Chinese call kwai-tsze, or "quick little fellows"? A: Chopsticks. What European country uses its Latin name, Helvetia, on its stamps? A: Switzerland. What British university boasts and endowment called the Jackie Mason Lectureship in Contemporary Judaism? A: Oxford. What country did Greek historian Herodotus dub "the gift of the Nile"? A: Egypt. What country is only bordered by Spain? A: Portugal. What's the flattest U.S. state? A: Florida. What U.S. state, after much debate, made the bizcochito the official state cookie? A: New Mexico. What Australian city boasts the largest Greek population in the world outside of Greece? A: Melbourne. What U.S. state boasts the towns of Gulf Stream, Lakebreeze and Frostproof? A: Florida. What country has bee the planet's largest aid donor since 1991? A: Japan. What island nation is a must for anyone wishing to see 40 species of lemours? A: Madagascar. What country is almost twice as large as either the U.S. or China? A: Russia. What South Asian city is the planet's biggest feature film producer? A: Bombay. How many Great Lakes do not border Michigan? A: One. What cowboy tune is the official song of Kansas? A: Home on the Range. What continent boasts the most telephone lines? A: Europe. What do Texas beef partisans call "wool on a stick"? A: Lamb. What South American country was home to the early human 'Patagnian giants"? A: Argentina. What Western Hemisphere people spoke Nahuatl? A: The Aztecs. What New Orleans soup has a name derived from the Bantu word for okra? A: Gumbo. What Pacific atoll got its name from its location between the Americas and Asia? A: The Midway Islands. What state volunteered to drop the moniker Hog and Hominy State? A: Tennessee. What regional accent did Americans deem sexiest, most liked and most recognizable? A: Southern. What interstate highway connects Boston and Seattle? A: I-90. What European country delights the Pope with the lowest divorce rate in the western world? A: Italy What Las Vegas hotel claims to display the world's largest hunk of gold? A: The Golden Nugget What's the only New England state without a seacoast? A: Vermont What foreign language do Norwegians study for seven years, beginning in the second grade? A: English What U.S. state has only 113 divorces for every 1,000 marriages? A: Nevada. What South American capital's name means "I saw the mountain"? A: Montevideo's What nation's culinary wizards gave the world Stuffed Calf's Eyes and Cow Brain Frittters? A: France's What's the largest country in the Commonwealth of Independent States? A: Russia What was the final destination of the first U.S. paddle wheel steamboat, which departed from Pittsburgh? A: New Orleans What southern city does Federal Express channel all its packages through? A: Memphis What country sends the most tourists to Australia? A: Japan What Spanish ethnic group do geneticists consider the most direct descendants of Cro-Magnons? A: Basques What U.S. state is the eighth largest economic power in the world? A: California What southeast Asian nation's shoppers began flashing new American Express cards in 1994? A: Vietnam's What bridge, celebrated in a Bobbie Gentry song, collapsed in 1972? A: The Tallahatchie Bridge. What do English-speaking tourists usually call France's Cote d' Azur? A: The Riviera What U.S. city is across the Rio Grande from Juarez? A: El Paso What European capital used to be called Lutetia? A: Paris What high-stakes city has the most unlisted phone numbers per capita in the U.S.? A: Las Vegas What South American archipelago has a name meaning "land of fire"? A: Terra del Fuego What country has the highest teen pregnancy rate of all the western industrial nations? A: The U.S. How many ngwee equal a kwacha when you're paying for gods in Zambia? A: One hundred What Jerusalem site is the only surviving part of the Second Temple? A: The Wailing Wall What city did environmental writer Edward Abbey call "the blob that ate Arizona"? A: Phoenix What nation in the Western Hemisphere is the world's largest exporter of forest products? A: Canada What sea laps shores of Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan? A: The Caspian The Punjab is an area of India, what does it mean? A: Five Rivers Who is supposed to be buried under Kings Cross station? A: Boadicea The world's oldest university, Fez, founded in 859 is located where? A: Morocco In what country are Bam Yat and Holon located? A: Israel What animal comes last alphabetically in the Chinese horoscope? A: Tiger What city was nicknamed "The Pearl of the Orient" ? A: Manila - Philippines In what country are the Choke mountains located? A: Ethiopia What is the name of the Greek national airline? A: Olympic Airways In Poland if you asked for a piwo what would you get A: A Beer What is the name of the capital city that is heated by volcanic springs? A: Reykjavik (Iceland) In which Irish county is the Blarney stone located? A: Cork In what country was the bayonet designed and developed? A: France What sport takes place at Montlhery France, and Zandvoort Holland? A: Motor car racing In London, what are the Whitechaple, Courtald and Heywood? A: Art Galleries Auld Reekie is the nickname for what European city? A: Edinburgh Which European country awards the Nobel peace prize? A: Norway Ouagodougou is the capitol of what country? A: Bakina Faso In Thailand it's illegal to step on what? A: Nation's Currency Bourse is the name of the Paris what? A: stock exchange What country calls itself Republika Shqiperise? A: Albania What nation's population, on the average, takes the most time to eat their meals? A: French In what city is Schipol airport? A: Amsterdam Scotland exports what to Saudi Arabia? A: Sand English ships carried limes to protect the crew against scurvy. What did US ships carry? A: Cranberries In the city of Paris, what are FD Roosevelt, Stalingrad and Louis Blanc? A: Metro Stations In June 1906, where was the world's first grand prix held? A: Le Mans in France Where did coffee originally from? A: Ethiopia For the first time, in 1986, what was used at Wimbledon? A: Yellow tennis balls Britain, Ireland, and what other country joined the EEC simultaneously? A: Denmark The Academie Francaise ensures the purity of what? A: The French language The people of which European country consume the most calories per capita? A: Ireland What country has the most daily newspapers in the world? A: India What Olympic event was dropped in 1920? A: Tug of War -1900 to 1920 The Dolomites are mountains in what country? A: Italy What country is Dacca the capital of? A: Bangladesh What's the name of the Irish writer who appeared on the Irish £ 10 note? A: James Joyce Ancient Carthage is located in what modern country? A: Tunisia Where could you find the Lutine Bell? A: Lloyds of London In what area of Africa do the Kung San people live? A: Kalahari Desert in Botswana What city is located on the Hooghly river? A: Calcutta A duffer is Australian slang for what? A: Cattle Thief In what country could you spend a Kwanza? A: Angola What's the world's most popular brand of malt whisky? A: Glenfiddich There is a temple in Sri-Lanka is dedicated to what body part? A: Buddha's tooth What is the longest river in France? A: Loire What South American country has no public toilets? A: Peru In Portugal, what dance means the snapping of a whip? A: Lambada What's the term for the geographical dividing line between North and South Korea? A: 38th Parallel How is the Olympic torch lit in Greece? A: By the sun Operation Dracula in World Warr II freed what city? A: Rangoon Burma do Brazil nuts come from what country? A: Bolivia What liqueur means cupid in Italian and love in Latin? A: Amaretto What nations national flag has the biggest animal emblem, a lion? A: Sri Lanka Where did the name "Europe" come from? A: Greek Mythology Victoria falls is the biggest tourist attraction in what country? A: Zambia All windmills turn counter clockwise except where? A: Ireland International car registration letters for what country is "IS"? A: Iceland Which country spends the largest percentage on social security? A: Uruguay In 1909, who was the first woman to get a Nobel Prize for Literature? A: Selma Lagerlof of Sweden What country in Europe is divided into areas called Cantons? A: Switzerland What is 6 inches taller in the summer than the winter in Paris? A: Eiffel tower What was the name of Canada's first prime minister? A: Sir John MacDonald Which African country gained independence in 1980? A: Zimbabwe The capitol of Nigeria was previously Lagos, but what is it now? A: Abouga What was the name of the family that was the last ruling house of Italy? A: Savoy Which modern country did the Franks come from? A: Germany An eagle and a snake appear on what countries flag? A: Mexico The rivers Lahn and Mosel are tributaries of what larger European river? A: The Rhine In which country was the film Midnight Express set? A: Turkey What cities gothic cathedral ,started in 1386 was completed in 1805? A: Milan Persia became Iran in 1935. What was it before that? A: Iran What city was known as Christiana until 1925? A: Oslo Fried fish, lettuce, and spinach is a traditional Christmas eve meal where? A: Armenia An unusual official sporting event in China is what? A: Grenade Throwing What is the second most commonly spoken language in Australia? A: Italian In what city can you find the Spanish steps? A: Rome What is the national sport of Finland? A: Motor Rallying What is the name of the Greek mountain consecrated to the muses? A: Helicon In which city is The Abbey theatre? A: Dublin The Capodichino airport serves what Italian city? A: Naples What is the capitol of Fiji? A: Suva In what country did doughnuts originate? A: Holland Bahina de los Cochinos is better known as what? A: Bay of Pigs Which European country consumes the most coffee per capita? A: Finland The Japanese dish that is made with Tofu Beef and vegetables is called what? A: Sukiyaki Santiago is the capitol of Chile. What does it mean? A: Saint James In China what color does the bride traditionally wear? A: Red Where are the Canary Islands situated? A: In the Atlantic Ocean In 1741 Robert Keeler was the first to commercially manufacture what food product? A: Marmalade The city of Adelaide, Australia stands on what river ? A: Torens In 1605, what did the Japanese Emperor make mandatory in schools? A: Learning swimming In Ireland what is a Gombeen Man? A: A moneylender India has the largest Hindu population. What country has second largest Hindu population? A: Nepal Japanese porcelain is called what? A: Kakiemon What is Irelands oldest licensed whiskey distillery? A: Bushmills The tradition of exchanging Christmas gifts began in what country? A: Italy The international car registration letters for what country are RA? A: Argentina What is the name of the river that flows through Baghdad? A: Tigris What sea is directly north of Poland? A: Baltic sea Antanananarivo is the capitol of what country? A: Madagascar What is the fastest growing religion in Ireland? A: Buddhism The glasshouse mountains are located where? A: Queensland Australia Crossair originated in what European country? A: Switzerland In what city would you find Giacomo Marconi airport? A: Bologna 300,000 Chinese troops invaded a country in February of 1979, what was the country? A: Vietnam. Worlds most remote weather station is located in what country? A: Canada. What European country was in an official state of emergency from 1933 until 1945? A: Germany. Which country lost over seventeen percent of its entire population in World War II? A: Poland. Which two countries share Victoria Falls? A: Zimbabwe and Zambia. Adolf Hitler was born in what country? A: Austria. In 1989, what country did the United States invade in what George Will dubbed "an act of hemispheric hygiene"? A: Panama. What country did Ion Iliescu take over after its previous president was arrested, tried and shot? A: Romania. What North American country enacted the War Powers Act to quell a separatist rebellion in 1970? A: Canada. Aruba maintains the strongest ties to what European country? A: Netherlands. Fireworks originated in what country? A: China. The Saturn V rocket was built by what country? A: USA. What European country uses its Latin Name, Helvetia, on its stamps? A: Switzerland. In which country was the World Wide Web invented? A: Switzerland. China has how many time zones? A: China has only one time zone. The government requires all clocks throughout the country be synchronized with Beijing. What is the name of the country that flew the first supersonic airliner in 1968 and had it crash in 1973? A: The Soviet Union. The Greek historian Herodotus dubbed what country "the gift of the Nile"? A: Egypt. In South America what is the largest country? A: Brazil. Japan sends the most what to Australia? A: Tourists. Which European country launched Europe's first super high speed passenger train in 1981? A: France. Portugal is bordered by only want country, what is it? A: Spain. India ink was developed in what country? A: China. What country did 153 of the first 400 Nobel Prize-winning scientists call home? A: The United States. A patent on polyester was patented first in what country? A: Briton. The worlds first mid air collision took place over what country? A: Austria. Eddy Grant comes from what country? A: Guyana. Roxette came from which European country? A: Sweden. Celine Deion was born in what North American Country? A: Canada. What floral symbol do the country of Peru and the state of Kansas have in common? A: The sunflower. What country has a volcano called Okinawa? A: Japan. Lesotho is a southern African Kingdom surround by which country? A: South Africa. In what country can one find 40 species of lemurs? A: Madagascar.
i don't know
On April 5th 2006, the discovery of which type of bird in Scotland having Avian Influenza sparked a major UK Bird Flu alert?
Avian Flu Watch: July 2006 Avian Flu Watch A pandemic, or worldwide outbreak of a new influenza virus, could overwhelm our health and medical capabilities, potentially resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of hospitalizations, and hundreds of billions of dollars in direct and indirect costs. This blog is intended to report on current worldwide preparedness and response activities to mitigate the impact of this pending pandemic. Monday, July 31, 2006 In Vietnam, a Gateway for Bird Flu Ignoring Chicken Import Ban, Smugglers Bring Virus Over Border From China By Alan Sipress Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, July 30, 2006; A23 DONG DANG, Vietnam -- The smugglers first appeared on the distant ridgeline and then, like ants, streamed down a dirt track carved from the lush, sculpted mountains that separate Vietnam from China. As the figures grew closer, their stooped posture became visible, backs heaving under bamboo cages crammed with live chickens. On the road below, two young men identified by local officials as lookouts buzzed past on red dirt bikes, slowing down to check out a reporter and his government escorts who had stopped to watch. One man produced a two-way radio and started speaking urgently. Though his words were inaudible to the visitors, within moments the figures on the hillside melted into the brush. These traffickers haul more than 1,000 contraband chickens a day into Lang Son, one of six Vietnamese provinces along the Chinese border, flouting a chicken import ban. In doing so, heath experts say, they have also repeatedly smuggled the highly lethal bird flu virus from its source in southern China into Vietnam, where the disease has taken a devastating toll on farm birds and killed at least 42 people since 2003. As bird flu continues to spread across the Eastern Hemisphere, international health experts warn that illegal trade in poultry, poultry products and other birds is often the primary cause. "Both between and within countries, commerce is an incredibly important factor," said Juan Lubroth, chief of infectious animal disease for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. "We try to press with governments that it has to be controlled or managed better. But like trafficking in humans, weapons and drugs, with poultry it's not any easier." The virus has already ravaged farm birds and wildfowl in more than 50 countries. At least 230 human cases have been recorded, and more than half have been fatal. Health officials fear that a new form of the virus that can jump easily from person to person will develop, bringing on a global epidemic among humans. Vietnamese veterinary officials disclosed in April that they had found bird flu in a sample taken from smuggled chickens confiscated in Lang Son during a bust on the border. Days later, officials in the remote, neighboring province of Cao Bang reported the virus in poultry samples taken from three farms on the Chinese border after dozens of chickens had started dying and smuggling was suspected. These two episodes were the first official cases of bird flu in Vietnam since December. In May 2005, researchers had already found evidence that smuggling was bringing in the bug: They isolated a strain of the H5N1 virus that was new to Vietnam but similar to one common in Guangxi, just over the mountains from Lang Son. Lang Son's jagged border with China runs for about 150 miles through angular, misty mountains with craggy cliffs that seem drawn from a stylized painting. The highest peak, which lends its name, Mau Son, to the local rice wine, rises nearly 4,500 feet. For centuries, the extended families straddling this border have navigated treacherous footpaths to run goods from one side to the other, in recent years including electronics, DVDs, exotic wildlife and all nature of clothes and shoes. The bootleg poultry business turned lucrative two years ago after Vietnam started slaughtering about 50 million chickens to contain its bird flu epidemic. The resulting shortage of chicken meat, a prime source of protein for the Vietnamese, sent prices soaring on their side of the border. Much of this trade takes place at night. But in the broad daylight of a recent afternoon, more than a dozen smugglers were descending a steep, dark earthen track outside the border village of Dong Dang. Even after the motorbike lookouts apparently sounded the alarm, more traffickers appeared over the ridge from China. Others were spotted walking down another, narrower path largely concealed by trees about 100 yards away. The local officials warned that the smugglers could turn violent, attacking outsiders with stones or firearms. According to Vietnamese press reports, chicken smugglers in Lang Son have battled soldiers trying to intercept them. In one instance, five soldiers were injured by stones, and their car was destroyed. Do Van Duoc, director of animal health in Lang Son, explained that the huge difference in prices on opposite sides of the border makes for a flourishing business despite the ban on poultry imports from China. Prices fluctuate, but on average, chicken that sells for 30 cents per pound or less in China can fetch a dollar or more in Vietnam. Duoc said the high cost of poultry in Vietnam also reflects the expense of importing vaccines and other medicine to combat bird flu. Chinese farmers are able to keep costs down because of the vast scale of their poultry industry and the inexpensive supply of feed and domestically produced vaccines, he said. Moreover, Duoc alleged that Chinese farmers unload chickens from areas struck by bird flu at bargain prices. In some cases, he said, the farmers tell Chinese authorities they have culled their flocks to earn government compensation and then peddle the birds to smugglers. "They try to get as much money as they can," he said. "They are selling sick chickens because of the outbreak." China's Agriculture Ministry confirmed that poultry was being illegally transported from Guangxi into Vietnam. In response to written questions, ministry officials said that an investigation by Guangxi animal health investigators had discovered smuggling from three areas close to Lang Son province but that there were no reports of this poultry being infected with bird flu. Chinese agriculture officials said government veterinarians were working with customs and border defense officers to stop the illicit trade. Chinese police have confiscated more than 23,000 chickens and 3,500 ducks this year, officials said. The syndicates running the smuggling rings pay local villagers about 30 cents a bird to haul the contraband along mountain trails that in some cases snake for more than 10 miles, said Nguyen Thang Loi, director of market inspections in Lang Son. Some smugglers, especially women and children, can carry only a few birds, but fit men haul as many as 20 at a time. Over the course of a week, the earnings can far outstrip the salaries of animal health officers, inspectors and others charged with stemming the trade. The traffickers are finding new ways to move even larger amounts. In recent weeks, Loi's inspectors captured a pair of makeshift wooden carts that were being used to transport up to a ton of chickens at a time along railroad tracks running through the mountains. Once the smugglers descend the slopes, their haul is often moved by motorbike to local farms that serve as stopover points, Loi reported. From there, the chickens are loaded onto trucks for transport, in many cases to the markets of Hanoi and points farther south, Loi and animal health experts said. An average of up to 1,500 birds are slipped over the mountains into Lang Son each day, Loi reported. Along the entire Vietnam-China border, the total could be thousands more, according to Vietnamese and international livestock experts. Worldwide, the trade in illegal poultry and other birds is extensive, said Lubroth of the U.N. agriculture agency, though the specific scope is unknown. This business includes large-scale commercial shipments of uninspected meat, often from China, to destinations as diverse as Europe, Africa and the United States. Last month, U.S. inspectors discovered 2,000 pounds of frozen chicken, duck and geese smuggled from China in a Detroit-area warehouse that supplies Chinese restaurants and Asian groceries in southeastern Michigan. Last year, Taiwanese officials reported their first case of the deadly bird flu virus among more than 1,000 birds that were being smuggled by ship from China. A pair of eagles confiscated two years ago at Brussels International Airport from the hand luggage of a Thai passenger were found to be carrying the disease. In Africa, commerce spread the virus from Egypt to Sudan and likely took it to other countries on the continent, Lubroth said. In Lang Son, Loi said he has only 22 inspectors at the border to stem the smuggling of everything from batteries to automobiles. Though joint efforts with police and soldiers have resulted in repeated arrests, he acknowledged that the organizers remain at large. "The real smugglers are behind the scenes, and even the people hired to carry don't know the names or have any information about them," Loi said. As long as high prices in Vietnam make the illicit chicken trade lucrative, it will continue, said Jeffrey Gilbert, an animal health specialist in the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's Vietnam office. "You can put helicopters up there, really mobilize the army and put all kinds of resources in, and it would still go on," he said. "It's like the Ho Chi Minh Trail." Researcher Vivian Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report. © 2006 The Washington Post Company Ads by Google Glaxo touts bird flu vaccine Manufacturers race to develop effective virus inoculation - Bernadette Tansey, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, July 27, 2006 GlaxoSmithKline said Wednesday that its experimental bird flu vaccine delivered the best results shown so far among the manufacturers who are racing to develop an effective inoculation against the deadly avian virus. Glaxo said an additive it included in the vaccine boosted its power, allowing the use of significantly lower doses while also producing a higher rate of response than the vaccine candidates of competitors whose data have already been reported. The lower the dose needed, the more shots a factory can produce. And the world's drug manufacturing plants might need to churn out vaccine quickly, because an avian flu pandemic could rapidly sweep the world population. The effectiveness of bird flu vaccines is evaluated by measuring by the level of antibodies produced by inoculated human subjects. Scientists predict that a sufficient level of antibodies will activate the immune system to attack the virus if the immunized person is exposed to it. But trial subjects are not exposed to the H5N1 virus, because that would be too dangerous. The H5N1 strain is primarily a disease of birds that doesn't infect humans easily. But of the 232 cases reported by the World Health Organization, 134 have died. Most are believed to have had close contact with infected birds. The fear among public health officials is that the virus will mutate into a pandemic form transmitted easily from person to person. Stockpiles of experimental H5N1 vaccines are on order by the United States and other governments. But it's not clear whether any vaccine manufactured in advance, based on H5N1 strains in circulation, will protect against a mutated variety that may eventually cause a pandemic. Glaxo is conducting studies to determine whether its vaccine will deliver cross-protection against different viral strains. The government has been fostering the study of additives, also called adjuvants, as a strategy for stretching limited supplies of vaccine, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "I'm totally delighted that GlaxoSmithKline has had this advance,'' said Fauci. "It's not the solution to the problem, but you can certainly say it's good news.'' Results had been disappointing for another manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis. In March, the French company reported that its bird flu vaccine induced a significant immune response in only 50 percent of trial subjects when two doses of 90 micrograms each were injected. With the addition of an adjuvant called alum, the results improved. But not enough, Fauci said. Two doses of 30 micrograms each were required to spur immune responses in 67 percent of subjects. With Glaxo's proprietary adjuvant, 80 percent of subjects responded when given two shots of 3.8 micrograms each. J.P. Garnier, GlaxoSmithKline's chief executive officer, said no other manufacturer has produced such a strong response at such a low dose of vaccine created from H5N1, the bird flu strain considered a leading contender to cause a pandemic. "These excellent clinical trial results represent a significant breakthrough in the development of our pandemic flu vaccine,'' said Garnier. Glaxo will seek regulatory approval for the vaccine in the coming months, he said. Fauci said he predicts similar results will be achieved by Novartis with an H5N1 vaccine developed by a Bay Area company it recently acquired, Chiron Corp. The Novartis vaccine includes an adjuvant similar to Glaxo's, he said. Sanofi, in a prepared statement, said it will continue to study formulations that include alum, because it is "the world's most widely used and proven adjuvant currently licensed for vaccines. We believe following this initial clinical path with a time-tested adjuvant is a fast way to attain a licensable vaccine with the safest profile possible. Future initiatives will look at alternative adjuvants.'' Glaxo did not give details about the composition of its proprietary adjuvant. The company would consider licensing it to other manufacturers in the event of a bird flu pandemic, said spokeswoman Patti Seif. Along with its bird flu vaccine news, Glaxo reported a 14 percent increase in second-quarter profit Wednesday. Glaxo shares dropped 87 cents, or 1.53 percent, to close at $56.04. E-mail Bernadette Tansey at [email protected]. Page C - 1 Thailand faces renewed avian flu fight Thailand faces renewed avian flu fight Jul 24, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Thailand is facing its first outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in birds in 8 months, along with flu-like illnesses in a number of people in areas with sick birds, according to news services. Thai agriculture officials said the virus was identified in a fighting cock from the northern province of Phichit, the Bangkok Post reported in a story published late today. The dead bird was from Bang Mun Nak district, where almost 300 birds were culled after the mysterious deaths of about 30 poultry 2 weeks ago, the story said. The confirmation came shortly after poultry farmers and a senator accused the agriculture ministry of covering up the re-emergence of the disease following "massive deaths of poultry in many provinces" starting early in July, the newspaper reported. Earlier today, the Thai newspaper The Nation said Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan confirmed that 20 samples of dead fighting birds from Phichit had tested positive for avian flu, according to a report today by The Nation. Agence France-Press (AFP) quoted him as saying the virus was an H5 strain, but it was not yet known if it was H5N1. Sudarat said the virus was detected in imported chickens, and he announced a ban on poultry imports, The Nation reported. To contain the outbreak, he said, officials have imposed quarantine near where the birds died and have prohibited the transport of birds. Two other provinces, Phitsanulok and Uttaradit, also are reporting suspicious poultry deaths, The Nation said. Meanwhile, a number of suspected human cases of avian flu have been reported. A United Press International report published 2 days ago said local news media were reporting that two sisters, aged 3 and 4, were in a Phichit hospital with suspected avian flu and that lab results were expected by July 27. Today The Nation reported that three other patients were hospitalized in Phichit: two men, aged 59 and 86, and a 7-year-old boy. All three were reported to have had contact with dead chickens. Also, a Reuters report said an 11-year-old girl with flu-like symptoms was being treated in a Phichit hospital after chickens died on her family's farm. In addition, a report yesterday in The Nation said two men, aged 67 and 35, were hospitalized in Uttaradit Provincial Hospital with avian flu–like symptoms that developed after they ate spotted doves. The report said blood samples were taken for testing at a nearby laboratory. Fifteen other patients, two of them from Phichit, had been on a watch list for suspected avian influenza but were removed after tests came back negative, The Nation reported today. But the disease has not been ruled out in a 5-year-old boy from Phitsanulok, and Uttaradit province has three patients with flu-like symptoms, the story said. Thailand has not had a confirmed human H5N1 case since last December. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country had 17 human cases with 12 deaths in 2004. Five more cases, two of them fatal, occurred in 2005. Sudarat, the Thai agriculture minister, had said on Jul 6 that he hoped the country would be entirely free of avian flu within 3 years. At that point there had been no outbreaks in 239 days, he said. In Indonesia, the lone survivor of the family cluster of H5N1 cases in North Sumatra left the hospital last week, according to an Associated Press report. The patient, 24-year-old Jones Ginting, had been hospitalized since May when he and seven other family members fell ill after a family gathering. Ginting told the AP that he couldn't remember much of his battle with the illness. He said he was afraid to go to the hospital because that was where his relatives died. During his hospital stay, he said, he constantly struggled to breathe, experienced pounding pain in his head and hips, and was exhausted by 2-hour coughing fits. Later, he developed a stiff neck and headaches, and his doctors discovered that he had brain abscesses. Ginting must return to the hospital for weekly checkups. He said he looks forward to living a healthy lifestyle, but will not avoid eating chicken. "I'm not afraid of chicken. I don't know why," he said. See also: WHO avian flu case count Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Academic Health Center -- University of Minnesota Copyright © 2006 Regents of the University of Minnesota Planning now for flu pandemic First published: Sunday, July 23, 2006 The projections are sobering. Hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units would be overwhelmed. Absenteeism in the workplace could range from 30 percent to 50 percent. Travel could be sharply curtailed, and basic necessities could soon be in short supply. State health and emergency management officials are making preparations for an influenza pandemic that some say is overdue. The likely culprit would be a new form, or mutant, of the H5N1 avian flu virus, which in its current form is not easily transmitted between humans. Humans who have caught avian flu have been in close and prolonged contact with infected poultry or other birds. What alarms health experts is the high death rate: Half those who contracted the virus died. A pandemic is a global outbreak of flu caused by a new strain of the influenza virus. It's easily transmitted between humans, and can strike people of any age, at any time of year, said Dr. Sarah Elmendorf, an epidemiologist at Albany Medical Center. Businesses have begun planning to reduce the potential impact of a pandemic. The state Public Service Commission last month held a workshop with utilities to review their business continuity plans. Banks and other financial institutions, meanwhile, are preparing ways to continue operating. "Having the key utilities functional during a pandemic is imperative," said Debbie Drew, a spokeswoman for National Grid, which serves much of the Capital Region. "We're working to that end." The utility has drawn up plans to continue functioning with as many as half its workers absent, she said. Its information technology department is increasing the capacity of its computers to permit large numbers of employees to work from home. Planning began last August, and since then the utility has stockpiled medical supplies, as well as masks, gloves and antiseptic wipes, she said. Verizon Communications Inc., the Capital Region's major provider of phone service, is preparing for a shift in data and voice traffic on its network from business centers to residential neighborhoods, as more employees telecommute to avoid catching the flu, said spokeswoman Heather Wilner. KeyBank N.A., with more than 50 Capital Region offices and 1,600 employees locally, is working on ways to keep automated teller machines stocked, and to keep branches staffed, said Charlene Whitcomb, manager of continuity and recovery. In a pandemic, the bank might consolidate several branches in a given area into one or two to reduce staffing needs, she said. The bank also is preparing for a surge in online and call center business, she added. And, like many businesses, it's identifying succession plans, not just for top executives, but for employees throughout the organization, to ensure workers with the necessary skills are in place. While KeyBank and other companies say that, internally, they're in control, it's the external factors that have them worried. Will the power continue to flow? Will deliveries be made? Will the water be safe to drink? Will the Internet service providers continue to function? With large numbers of workers telecommuting, said Whitcomb, "now, you're potentially competing for Internet resources, kids downloading music competing with" telecommuters, she said. That's because schools will likely shut down, and students will be at home. Business planners often draw parallels with 1918, when a pandemic killed between 20 million and 40 million people worldwide, including 675,000 in the United States. In some ways, we're better prepared, but in other ways, the risks we face are greater than in 1918, said Kim Baker, a registered nurse who is a certified infection control practitioner in Albany Medical Center's department of epidemiology. While international travel is far more prevalent today, worldwide surveillance systems to detect and report disease outbreaks also are more sophisticated, she said. Antibiotics to treat complications of the flu are readily available, households are smaller and we have more effective face masks and other protection. But society also is more interdependent, Baker said, with manufactured goods, raw materials and other items coming from such places as Asia. She said supplies of chlorine, used to treat water supplies, might be exhausted within a few weeks of a pandemic's onset. The practice of just-in-time deliveries to reduce inventory carrying costs could exacerbate the problem, Baker said. But Amy Fires, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Homeland Security, said the availability of such critical materials as chlorine for water treatment, while provided by the private sector, would be closely monitored by government officials. But Baker questioned how much assistance government would be able to provide. "Hurricane Katrina was just one area of the United States," she said. "This would hit everywhere." Awareness of the need to plan is apparently increasing among Capital Region businesses. A session in April sponsored by the Chamber of Schenectady County had to be canceled because of a lack of interest. More recently, though, the Saratoga County Public Health Department held an evening session that drew between 50 and 80 people, said Terry Stortz, the department's prevention team supervisor. And a meeting of the Capital Region chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners two weeks ago attracted several dozen people. Most agencies say they're prepared, but they'll depend on guidance from state and federal health officials. "We have teams that are set up on a nationwide basis that are set to respond to emergencies such as a pandemic," said Paul Varville, federal security director for the Transportation Security Administration at Albany International Airport. "We'd be mostly just helping out. Guidance would be from the health officials." Pandemic planning "is being worked on largely with the State Emergency Management Office and the Health Department, and we would take direction from them if there was an event that occurred," said Jennifer Post, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. The Health Department has expanded capabilities to test for influenza viruses at its Wadsworth Laboratories, and it has stockpiled medicines. Officials declined to permit a photographer to visit either location. Health care facilities could be overwhelmed by a pandemic, said Scott Heller, director of the Regional Resource Center for Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, based at Albany Medical Center. "It doesn't take much to see how stressed the health system is now in this country," he said. "What are some of the innovative ways we can expand capacity? We're working with 30 to 50 percent fewer employees." Baker, of Albany Med's department of epidemiology, said hospitals would postpone elective procedures to increase capacity. Nevertheless, hospitals could face bed and equipment shortages. Elmendorf, the Albany Med epidemiologist, told contingency planners at their meeting that pandemic patients would take up 63 percent of hospital bed capacity, 125 percent of intensive care unit capacity, and 65 percent of hospital ventilator capacity. Developing a vaccine would take four to eight months, she said, and only 5 million doses a week could be produced. "We don't know when it will come until it comes," she said. "When it gets here, it's going to take weeks to months for it to run its course." In the meantime, travel may be disrupted, quarantines may be put in place, and people will be encouraged to stay home and isolated from others. "One of the things we've been promoting is social distancing -- don't go out to the mall," said Stortz of the Saratoga County Public Health Department. Any large public gatherings, particularly indoors, might be discouraged, she and others said. In workplaces, employees might have to be separated and face-to-face contact limited, said Deborah Taylor of SunGard Availability Services, who also spoke at the contingency planners' meeting. The Wayne, Pa.-based company helps businesses keep their data networks and systems operating. What's not known is how the financial markets might react. "Large Wall Street investment and financial firms have been urged to have plans in place," Taylor told the planners. Depending on the pandemic's severity, the nation might see a decline in its gross domestic product of 1.5 percent to as much as 5 percent, or about $200 billion to $700 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The World Bank has estimated the global cost to the economy at about $800 billion, Taylor said. A separate study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta estimated total impact on the U.S. economy at $71.3 billion to $166.5 billion, excluding disruptions to commerce, and the number of deaths at 89,000 to 207,000. KeyBank's Whitcomb said pandemic preparations are reminiscent of some of the efforts bank officials made to prepare for Y2K, when worries about computer failures led to equipment upgrades and a host of contingency plans. Unlike Y2K, however, there's no point in time when we know the danger will have passed. "We don't know when the pandemic will start -- tomorrow, next year, 10 years," said Albany Med's Baker. "Preparations should be made, not because it's imminent, but because the cost of not preparing will be great." Anderson can be reached at 454-5323 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Pandemic's death toll Three influenza pandemics in the past century have claimed thousands of lives in the United States: 1918: 675,000 deaths 1957: 70,000 deaths 1968: 34,000 deaths Seasonal influenza strikes 5 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population annually, and kills about 30,000 people each year. Source: Albany Medical Center All Times Union materials copyright 1996-2006, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y. Super computer tackles bird flu Super computer tackles bird flu A super computer, considered one of the most powerful in Europe, has been given a boost in its brain power for the UK's fight against bird flu. Blue C, based at Swansea University, has been made 20% more powerful so it can work out more quickly the best way to tackle a possible disease outbreak. The flu's H5N1 strain has killed 133 people worldwide and the UK had one confirmed case in a swan in April. Blue C aims to predict where a UK outbreak would start. By modelling bird flight patterns, experts hope the machine will work out how best to confine the disease, through culls and quarantines, should more birds carrying the disease migrate to the UK in future. A spokeswoman for Swansea University said: "The data government scientists are looking for to underline their decision is there to be found, that's where Blue C is making the difference. "Because of its processing power, it allows us to run multiple models throughout the system and means we're waiting minutes or hours for the results." The project was funded by Defra, the rural affairs ministry, she added. IBM-made Blue C, the size of a tennis court, is derived from Deep Blue, the first computer to beat a reigning world chess champion. Energy bill According to the university, the technology upgrade means Blue C now has a processing power of more than two trillion calculations per second. Blue C is part of the university's £50m life sciences research centre, the research arm of the campus' School of Medicine. A spokesperson for Swansea University said the computer's upgrade has also cut the amount of power Blue C needs, making it a "greener" machine and cutting its energy bill by £50,000 year. Professor Julian Hopkin, head of the school of medicine, said: "The development of new medical breakthroughs demands vast computing power and Blue C has proved to be enormously important to our work here." Story from BBC NEWS: WHO confirms Indonesia’s 54th avian flu case WHO confirms Indonesia’s 54th avian flu case Jul 20, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory confirmed today that a 44-year-old man who died on Jul 12 near Jakarta had H5N1 avian influenza. The WHO announcement brings Indonesia’s official avian flu toll to 54 cases with 42 deaths. The country is now tied with Vietnam for the most deaths. The patient lived in East Jakarta and was hospitalized for high fever, coughing, and breathing difficulties 2 days before he died. The WHO said investigators have taken samples of poultry from around the man’s home. Health authorities are also investigating another potential source of infection: the local wet market the man regularly visited as part of his job as a food vendor. Previous reports said he sold fried chicken and freshwater catfish. All of Indonesia’s H5N1 avian flu cases have occurred within the past year, whereas Vietnam has had no human fatalities this year. An Indonesian health official said this week that he expects more human fatalities this year because the disease is so widespread among the country’s poultry populations (in 27 of 32 provinces) and because widespread culling would be too expensive. Meanwhile, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported today on Bulgaria’s apparent first case of avian flu in poultry. Agriculture minister Nihat Kabil told AFP the virus was detected at a barnyard in the southern village of Slantchogled. Kabil said he ordered that all poultry and poultry products in the region be destroyed. The report did not say what strain of virus was found, but it said the Sofia laboratory that detected the virus will give a definitive answer in 4 days on whether it is H5N1. Samples will also be sent to a European Union reference lab in Weybridge, England, for testing. In February, the deadly H5N1 virus was detected in four swans in northern Bulgaria, the story said. In other developments, a Connecticut congressman has criticized the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its handling of smuggled Chinese poultry parts found recently in Michigan, according to a report today in The Detroit News. In a letter to USDA Secretary Mike Johanns, Rep. Rosa DeLauro faulted the agency for not testing the poultry for the H5N1 virus before destroying it and for not alerting Michigan officials to a possible health risk. On Jun 5, the USDA seized 1,940 pounds of illegal Chinese frozen poultry from a Troy, Mich., warehouse. The agency destroyed the product without testing it. The USDA said testing the product would have served no food-safety purpose. The agency states that poultry cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees poses no threat. State officials did not find out about the USDA probe until June 22, according to previous reports. Michigan and USDA officials continue to track other poultry products from the same warehouse that were distributed to restaurants and grocery stores. A USDA spokeswoman told The Detroit News that officials were reviewing DeLauro's letter and looked forward to addressing her concerns. DeLauro, ranking member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, has criticized the USDA over avian flu before. On Jun 21 she raised concerns about the USDA’s plans for detecting avian flu and questioned how the agency could ensure the safety of imported Chinese poultry products. According to a press release on DeLauro’s Web site, she inserted language into the fiscal year 2007 agriculture appropriations bill to bar the USDA from implementing a rule allowing the importing of processed Chinese poultry products. See also: Jul 20 WHO update on Indonesian situation http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_07_20/en/index.html Jul 13 CIDRAP News story “Michigan officials track smuggled Chinese poultry” Jun 21 press release from Rep. Rosa DeLauro on Chinese poultry imports http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2006/June/poultry_imports_6_21_06.html Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Academic Health Center -- University of Minnesota Copyright © 2006 Regents of the University of Minnesota Get powers ready for bird flu, U.S. governors told 18 Jul 2006 19:52:51 GMT Source: Reuters WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Governors should make sure they have the legal powers they need to impose quarantines, close schools and keep utilities and transport running in case of a bird flu pandemic, according to new primer from the National Governor's Association published on Tuesday. They should also be working now on clear, simple public messages about the risks of bird flu and what preparations are being made as well as stocking up on food and medical supplies, the document advises. "Governors should consider creating a state legal team to review current laws and regulations and assess how they would be applied during a pandemic," reads the primer, posted on the Internet at http://www.nga.org. "For example, decisions on closure of schools, limits on use or practices on mass transit or public transport systems, restrictions on public gatherings, etc., must be determined by state and local officials and supported by local or state policies and law." The H5N1 avian influenza virus has not yet caused a human pandemic, but it has killed 132 people out of the 230 infected. It has infected birds in about 50 countries and is spreading faster than any other avian influenza ever has. Many experts believe it may pose the worst threat of an influenza pandemic in 30 years. "The effects of pandemic flu will be broad, deep and simultaneous," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told reporters by telephone from a National Governor's Association meeting in Charleston, South Carolina. "Medical response will be limited, restrained and potentially depleted during a pandemic," said Pawlenty, a Republican. Outbreaks in people or birds may have to be met with "a pretty aggressive form of containment" and public gatherings eliminated. CLOSED LIBRARIES Flu is highly contagious, but the the 1918 flu pandemic, in which between 40 million and 100 million people died, showed that closing big buildings may help. "Consequently, public facilities -- schools, government offices, transportation hubs, museums, libraries, and convention centers -- would be the first considered for closing," the primer advises. "Private facilities -- shopping malls, concert halls, skating rinks, gyms, restaurants, bars, theaters, and grocery stores -- may be closed under general emergency powers or special powers granted during times of public health emergencies." States would also have responsibility for making sure that utilities keep running when workers stay home either because they are sick, caring for relatives, or simply afraid to come out, the governors said. "What about the guys that go out and repair power lines? You have to think that you are going to have 40 percent absenteeism for a year or more," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, incoming chair of the Association and a Democrat. Governors should be identifying key personnel and making sure each of them has a trained backup in case they cannot come to work, she said. Telecommunications should be checked now, the document advises. "Many states or state agencies may find, for example, that they do not have sufficient bandwidth or server capacity to allow large-scale telecommuting of its workforce." States should "encourage and invest in increased food storage in pantries in government facilities such as schools, prisons, cafeterias, group homes, and state institutions," the primer says. Businesses and individuals should do the same. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 1998-2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Russia Expects to Have Prepared Bird-Flu Vaccine by September Russia Expects to Have Prepared Bird-Flu Vaccine by September July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Russia expects to have ready as many as 60 million doses of a vaccine against avian influenza in September, the country's health minister said today at the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg. Tests on a vaccine are being carried out with the help of 200 volunteers in Moscow and 156 from St. Petersburg, Russia's second-biggest city, Health Minister Mikhail Zurabov said. ``All the results of the clinical investigations will be presented to the ministry by Sept. 10,'' Zurabov said at a briefing today. Human fatalities from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza almost tripled in the first half of this year as the lethal virus spread across Asia, Europe and Africa. Governments and international health authorities are trying to stem outbreaks in birds, which create opportunities for human infection and raise the risk of the virus mutating into a pandemic form. A severe pandemic, such as the one that killed 50 million people in 1918, may take 70 million lives and cause global economic losses of as much as $2 trillion, the World Bank said last month. Pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi-Aventis SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, MedImmune Inc. and Vical Inc., are racing to produce treatments for use in a pandemic. Since late 2003, H5N1 is known to have infected at least 229 people, mainly in Asia, killing 131 of them, the Geneva-based WHO said on July 4. The United Nations health agency said last month that more human cases could be anticipated later this year or early next year, based on epidemiological patterns observed during the past few years. Russian Spending Russia plans to intensify its fight against infectious diseases by allocating $40 million to improve research facilities inside Russia and in central Asia, Zurabov said. The country also is spending $18 million to fight poliomyelitis, a viral disease that mostly infects children and can lead to paralysis. Since January, at least 55 people have died from the virus in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq and Turkey, according to the WHO. That compares with 19 fatalities in Vietnam and Cambodia in the first six months of 2005. Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or taking off feathers, according to the WHO. Thorough cooking of meat and eggs kills the virus. More than 209 million poultry have died or been culled worldwide since 2004 because of H5N1 outbreaks, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said on June 19. To contact the reporter on this story: Garfield Reynolds in St. Petersburg, Russia, at 7713 or [email protected]. Work on Pandemic Flu Vaccines Must Start Now, WHO Report Says July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Work on vaccines used to protect against a flu pandemic must start immediately, even though the effectiveness of the treatments might not be known until after a global outbreak ended, the World Health Organization said. Randomized trials of candidate pandemic vaccines will be important in gauging their safety and gaining regulatory approval, the Geneva-based WHO said in a report published yesterday in the Weekly Epidemiological Record. ``Internationally coordinated preparatory work for these trials should start immediately, as little time would be available for putting the needed infrastructure in place after the start of the pandemic,'' the report said. Pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi-Aventis SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, MedImmune Inc. and CSL Ltd. are racing to produce treatments for use in a pandemic amid concern over the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which has infected at least 230 people in 10 countries in Asia and the Middle East, killing 132. Yesterday, Indonesia confirmed its 41st fatality after tests confirmed the H5N1 virus killed a 3-year-old girl earlier this month. Governments and international health authorities are trying to stem the spread of H5N1 to reduce opportunities for the virus to mutate into a pandemic form. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will open a crisis management center in Rome later this month to help improve control of H5N1, which spread in domestic fowl and wild birds to at least 55 countries since late 2003. Crisis Center The center, to be run by the UN agency in collaboration with the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, will provide animal disease analysis and deploy international resources to prevent and contain dangerous animal diseases, the FAO said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. A pandemic can start when a novel influenza A-type virus, to which almost no one has natural immunity, emerges and begins spreading worldwide. Experts believe that a pandemic in 1918, which may have killed as many as 50 million people, began when a lethal avian flu virus jumped to people from birds. Shots produced each year for seasonal flu won't be effective in a pandemic because the vaccine needs to closely match the pandemic virus, the WHO said in a statement on its Web site. At least four strains of bird flu are capable of spawning the next pandemic, including the H5N1 virus, according to virologist Robert Webster, the Rosemary Thomas professor at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Vaccine Delays Although a vaccine against the H5N1 virus is under development in several countries, none is ready for commercial production and no vaccines are expected to be widely available until several months after the start of a pandemic, the WHO said. ``Effectiveness of pandemic vaccines will not be known before the pandemic and possibly only after it is over,'' the report in the Weekly Epidemiological Record said. ``In addition, unexpected adverse events, whether coincidental or vaccine- related, will occur that may lead to anxiety and may affect vaccine uptake.'' The UN health agency said it could play a critical role in assisting countries collect and review safety data on pandemic vaccines. ``WHO's role in gathering information on the safety profile of candidate pandemic vaccines from clinical trials should be enhanced,'' it said. The report follows a meeting in Geneva last month of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, an expert clinical and scientific advisory body. The committee reviewed possible measures to overcome obstacles relating to the use of newly formulated vaccines for emergency use, some of which will contain new adjuvants, or compounds that allow immunization doses to be diluted, giving more people access to the shots. Pregnancy Pregnant women are at special risk for influenza infection based on morbidity and mortality from previous pandemics and from intense flu seasons, the report said. The committee reviewed the use of inactivated seasonal flu vaccine in 2003 and concluded that the risk-benefit of immunization during all stages of pregnancy should be reconsidered, given the high risk to the mother and fetus of the disease itself, and the likely small risk to mother and fetus of the inactivated flu vaccine, the report said. It said there are no data on the safety profile of candidate pandemic flu vaccines when administered during pregnancy and reproductive toxicity studies using animal models should be conducted. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at [email protected] Last Updated: July 15, 2006 01:13 EDT Avian flu threatens fast-paced world Contingency panel warns of ways pandemic would challenge region By ERIC ANDERSON Deputy business editor Click byline for more stories by writer. First published: Friday, July 14, 2006 COLONIE -- The very things that keep the modern economy humming -- just-in-time deliveries, lean inventories, frequent international travel -- could deepen the impact of an avian flu pandemic, health care experts warned during a presentation Thursday morning. The 1-year-old Capital Region chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners gathered to see what needs to be done to prepare for a potential outbreak. "There's quite a bit of hype about this" in the media, said Dr. Sarah Elmendorf, an epidemiologist at Albany Medical Center. Still, the risk is real, although individuals can take steps to protect themselves. While Elmendorf described the different types of influenza and what it would take for avian flu to create a pandemic -- easy human-to-human transmission, which hasn't yet happened -- a colleague, Kim Baker, described the potential impact to businesses, and what people can do to protect themselves. Elmendorf said pandemic flu typically strikes three to four times a century and can come at any time of year, unlike seasonal influenza, which typically strikes in the fall and winter. Also, pandemic flu puts the entire population at risk because it's a new strain for which there's no resistance. One challenge will be hospital capacity. "The surge capacity in hospitals is limited," Elmendorf said. "Our hospitals are full. We don't have the beds right now." Basic economic functions could be challenged by the high rate of absenteeism that would result from a pandemic, Baker said. The state and federal governments likely won't be able to provide much assistance, she said, reminding the audience of how difficult it was to assist the areas struck by Hurricane Katrina. Businesses could slow the spread of disease by keeping people apart, Baker said, letting workers telecommute when possible. Businesses also could increase the cleaning and sanitizing of door knobs, keyboards, telephones and other commonly touched office surfaces. Employers should expect high rates of absenteeism and health care services that are overwhelmed, Baker said. Essential services could also be at risk, with supply lines disrupted. With lean inventories, everything from groceries to the chlorine that's needed to treat water could soon be in short supply. "Preparations should be made, not because it's imminent but because the cost of not preparing will be great," Baker said. Eric Anderson can be reached at 454-5323 or by e-mail at [email protected]. All Times Union materials copyright 1996-2006, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y. More Avian Influenza in Humans Confirmed in Indonesia More children die after exposure to diseased birds By Charlene Porter Washington File Staff Writer Photo Snapshot Children play with a chicken in Kedaung village, near Jakarta, Indonesia, June 3, 2006. Two children from the village are reported to have died from the H5N1 bird flu virus. (©AP/WWP) Children play with a chicken near Jakarta, Indonesia, June 3, 2006. (©AP/WWP)Washington – Avian influenza has killed another child in Indonesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed July 14. A 3-year-old child from a suburb of Jakarta died on July 6, about two weeks after she first became ill. Medical authorities have confirmed she was infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which now has killed a total of 132 people worldwide. Indonesia has reported more cases of the disease than any other nation so far in 2006 with a total of 36 cases causing 30 deaths. As of July 14, WHO reports a total of 230 human cases of H5N1 avian influenza in 10 nations. Health authorities warn that if this viral strain becomes contagious among humans a global influenza pandemic could develop, with a death toll potentially in the millions. In the first week of July, medical authorities reported the death of another Indonesian child, a 5-year-old boy from East Java who died in mid-June. He, too, had been exposed to ailing chickens at his family’s home in the weeks before his death. The deaths of children are tragic under any circumstances, but epidemiologists have not found any evidence that youngsters have a special biologic vulnerability to H5N1. Rather, studies suggest that their vulnerability lies in demographics. Nearly 29 percent of the population in Indonesia is under age 14, so odds are in favor of a seemingly high number of cases appearing in youngsters. Children’s habits and responsibilities in the households of the worst affected nations are another factor, studies show. Children frequently share the yard around the house with domestic poultry. They often are given the jobs of gathering eggs or of catching and de-feathering the birds when a family meal is being prepared. This activity gives them greater opportunity to be exposed to the birds, their feathers or feces, all of which can be a route of transmission for the virus. (See related article.) ANIMAL CASES Reports of H5N1 in domestic or wild bird populations have dropped significantly in June and July, after a rapid spread of the virus out of East Asia, across Central Asia into Europe, the Middle East and Africa during the first four months of 2006. Spain is the exception. One of the few European nations that did not spot a case during that rapid spread early in the year, Spain reported its first occurrence of H5N1 to the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) July 7. Spanish animal health authorities spotted the virus in a single great crested grebe – a water bird related to the loon – in a wetland located in the northern Basque region. Spanish authorities reported to the OIE that they had created a 10-kilometer surveillance zone around the outbreak in which the movement of poultry, other captive birds and their products is prohibited. A ban on gathering of live birds and hunting of wild game birds also has been imposed. Migration of wild birds has been suggested as a probable cause of the spread of H5N1 across broad geographic areas, but transportation of domestic birds and bird products in agricultural trade is also considered a likely means of travel for the virus. (See related article.) The United States is a key backer of the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, which involves about 90 other nations. With pledges of more than $334 million, the United States is involved a variety of activities to assist other nations in improving both animal and human health disease surveillance and containment to prevent a pandemic. (See related article.) For ongoing coverage, see Bird Flu (Avian Influenza). (The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=July&x=20060714144554cmretrop0.0554468 Goose Parts From Bird Flu-Ridden China Lost in U.S. (Update1) July 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. inspectors are probing the disappearance of four boxes of goose intestines smuggled from China, where bird flu is spreading. The Department of Agriculture had tagged about 100 pounds of goose guts, a delicacy used in some Chinese recipes, for destruction before they disappeared last week from a Troy, Michigan, warehouse, officials said today. Agency inspectors previously found about 2,000 pounds of frozen poultry shipped illegally from China at the same warehouse. Smuggling of poultry products poses a risk for avian influenza, which has infected 230 people in 10 countries in Asia and the Middle East, killing 132. Frozen products pose less risk because they aren't likely to spread virus to other birds, said Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, based in Rome. ``Nothing can be sure and everything can happen,'' Domenech said in a telephone interview late yesterday. ``This is smuggling and it's totally uncontrolled.'' People can be infected with H5N1 through close contact with infected live birds or by eating them, according to the World Health Organization in Geneva. Proper cooking kills the virus, and no cases of transmission from cooked food have been recorded, the health agency's Web site said. ``We have no evidence to lead us to believe this is of concern to consumers,'' said Lisa Wallenda-Picard, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department, in a telephone interview today. ``We have no reason to believe this was infected by avian influenza, and we have no reason to think this is on the average American's dinner plate. `Small Amount' ``We're talking about a small amount of product in question,'' Wallenda-Picard said. None of the seized meat was tested to see whether it was contaminated with H5N1, said Karen Eggert, a spokeswoman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in a telephone interview today. Michigan health and safety officials are now conducting a sweep of about 65 food import warehouses in the southeast part of the state to look for more smuggled imports. The discovery of the smuggled birds has prompted a debate over testing. Brad Deacon, emergency management coordinator for the Michigan Department of Health, said that if more Chinese bird parts are found, they should be tested for bird flu. Eggert said the agency is not convinced testing is necessary. `Know There's Disease' ``Our purpose in testing would be to determine whether or not there was disease in that country,'' Eggert said. ``We know there's disease in that country, and we've placed restrictions on that country.'' The USDA seized and destroyed more than 326,000 pounds of illegally shipped meat last year, Eggert said. ``That would require a lot of testing on each individual piece that we receive,'' she said. ``Unless there's some sort of scientific trigger to believe this meat needs to be tested for a reason, and that's rare, we're not going to test it.'' Thousands of domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks and geese, are shipped illegally in airports in Europe every year, and health officials have said they are also concerned about H5N1 bird flu in smuggled poultry in Africa, Domenech said. Restrictions and surveillance in the U.S. probably keep the risk lower, he said. The Michigan warehouse case shows why health officials say arrival of the virus in the U.S. is inevitable, said Steve Brozak, an analyst with WBB Securities Inc. in New Jersey. He previously worked as a military liaison to the United Nations. `Troubling Trend' ``It's a troubling trend when you're looking at the smuggling of any kind of livestock that might be vulnerable to H5N1,'' he said in a telephone interview today. ``This verifies that the arrival of H5N1 in America is a certainty. It's just a matter of time.'' Since 2003, H5N1 has spread in birds from Asia to Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Millions of birds in China have died of H5N1 or been culled to prevent its spread. Scientists also have found infected wild, migratory geese that may have carried the infection to other parts of Asia. Health officials are concerned about H5N1 because avian influenza strains have been known to gain the ability to spread quickly in people. A pandemic that killed as many as 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and 1919 is thought to have started spreading in birds. 2,000 Pounds The Michigan warehouse was targeted by an U.S. probe that on June 5 found almost 2,000 pounds of uncooked, frozen poultry that appeared, based on the markings on the boxes, to have been shipped from China, said the USDA's Wallenda-Picard. The U.S. bans importing uncooked poultry from China, and the meat was incinerated on June 9. USDA and Michigan health officials returned to the warehouse June 27 and found five boxes containing 150 pounds of smuggled goose intestines, and pieces of suckling pig. The boxes were bagged and tagged for destruction, Wallenda-Picard said. When they returned to the warehouse July 5, they found that the goose intestines had been replaced with chicken parts, she said. Michigan health officials are following up with at least 35 restaurants and other customers whose names were found in paperwork at the Tin Way warehouse to see if they bought smuggled meat, said Deacon, from the state's health department. Health officials are concerned about H5N1 because avian influenza strains have been known to gain the ability to spread quickly in people. A pandemic that killed as many as 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and 1919 is thought to have started spreading in birds. To contact the reporter on this story: John Lauerman in Boston at [email protected]. Last Updated: July 14, 2006 11:10 EDT Bird flu draws local scientists to Arctic shore By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent | July 13, 2006 Shorebird specialists from a Plymouth -based conservation science organization are heading for Alaska this month to look for signs of avian flu in migrating birds. Scientists will be on the lookout for the possibility that migratory shorebirds may take the dangerous pathogen from Asia to Alaska, where it would be transmitted to migratory birds that return to this region and other parts of the Americas. ``It's like the early-warning system for bird flu," said Trevor Lloyd-Evans , a bird scientist at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences . To date, no sign of bird flu has been found in the Western Hemisphere. Shorebirds -- golden plovers , red knots , buff-breasted sandpipers , phalaropes among them -- make some of the longest migratory flights of any species, flying thousands of miles to breed on the Alaskan coast during the brief Arctic summer. There they take advantage of rich food resources (think crustaceans and sea worms), a protected environment, and the polar region's 24-hour-long summer days. They then head south to winter on South Shore coastal areas and beyond, with some going as far as the tip of South America. Because of this long -distance migratory pattern, the possibility of spreading bird flu in the Americas through an Alaskan connection has to be considered, Lloyd-Evans said. Specialists say avian flu has spread in the Eastern Hemisphere, reaching areas in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Pacific islands, through the legal or illegal importation of domestic fowl. But some populations of wild birds have also caught the infection, Lloyd-Evans said. Last year , 10 percent of the world's population of bar head geese was wiped out in an infestation at a lake in western China . Three weeks ago, Russian authorities reported a deadly outbreak of bird flu in the Tuva region of Siberia, north of Mongolia . Scientists believe wild birds can transmit the infection for short distances only, Lloyd-Evans said. However, they are not sure how far that distance is. While bird flu has been disastrous for birds and local economies (millions of domestic fowl have been destroyed in Asia), it would pose a serious risk to human health if the deadly strain of avian flu (type AH5N1 ) mutates into a form that can be passed from person to person. ``We wouldn't be worried about chickens any more, we'd be worried about people," Lloyd-Evans said. Scientists do not know how likely it is that that kind of mutation will take place. The last time it is known to have happened produced the so-called Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 , which killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million people worldwide. This trip to Alaska is not the first for the Manomet scientists. They have spent summers before in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska's North Slope as part of an effort to study the status of shorebird populations in a coastal area where Congress has debated permitting drilling for oil. Lloyd-Evans will take part in a monitoring program led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service . Team members will capture birds with nets, weigh and swab them, and send the swab to a federal lab. Manomet has also been swabbing birds caught in its spring banding program at Plymouth. The difficult part, Lloyd-Evans said, is putting the nets in the right place. Manomet scientist Stephen Brown also has his work cut out for him this summer. He will spend six weeks in the Arctic Refuge, relying on an inflatable dinghy to help him survey the refuge's 100 -mile coastline and document the relative value of estuaries and lagoons for staging shorebirds. Brown's team will count shorebird populations at the sites. The effort is part of Manomet's ongoing program to evaluate which areas are most important for shorebirds and help protect areas critical for species like the golden plover, which are declining by 7 percent each year. Brown and two other scientists will disembark in coastal mudflats, carrying 60 -pound packs through waist -deep water to set up camp in tundra wetlands -- great habitat for the birds, Brown said, though tough on humans. But the scientists' summer camp out in Alaskan mudflats pales in comparison to ``the remarkable long -distance flying" of shorebirds, Brown said, some of which fly 20,000 miles a year. Robert Knox can be contacted at [email protected]. © Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company Saskatoon centre to run survey for avian flu in wild birds Last Updated: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 | 3:53 PM CT CBC News Canadian scientists are preparing to conduct a national survey for avian flu in migratory birds. The Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre, with headquarters at the University of Saskatchewan's Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, is co-ordinating the survey. It begins July 15 in most parts of Canada. In the survey, dead and living birds from Asia, Africa and Europe that have been found in Canada will be tested for the bird flu virus. Ted Leighton, director of the centre, said the plan is to test birds for avian flu as part of ongoing efforts to keep the flu away from domestic poultry stocks. The survey is also designed to promote early detection of bird flu across the country. This is the second year in a row that the centre is organizing the survey. In 2005, the survey focused on wild ducks. This year, it has been expanded to include all wild birds. Seeking public assistance The centre is appealing to the public for help in reporting dead birds, especially if several of the same species are discovered in the same spot. Leighton said the centre will test "particularly water birds and particularly birds that are dead in unusual numbers — you know, not just one duck but five ducks or three ducks" that are found dead together. "We want to know what sorts of influenza viruses those birds have," he said. The survey will also look at wild geese, including Arctic nesting geese and urban geese. He said the focus is "not because we think we will find nasty viruses in them, but we think we will find influenza viruses." If the virus is found, a containment plan will be activated. Leighton said the poultry industry "will be put on high alert to make sure they don't let any viruses in the door." Last year, a survey by the centre found that one-third of the wild ducks tested were carrying the bird flu virus. U.K. Seeks 10 Million Vaccine Doses to Mitigate Bird Flu Risk July 12 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. is seeking 10 million extra doses of vaccine that may be used to immunize poultry against bird flu after the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus was reported for the first time in Spain last week. The vaccine will protect fowl and other captive birds against H5 and H7 subtypes of avian influenza, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, known as Defra, said yesterday. The inoculations will be used only if a risk assessment and scientific evidence indicate they will help to prevent the spread of the disease, it said. ``This is part of sensible contingency planning in the light of uncertainties about the future spread and nature of the virus and the possibility of as yet unforeseen circumstances,'' Defra said in the statement posted on its Web site. Governments and international health authorities are trying to prevent the spread of H5N1, which has the potential to mutate into a pandemic form that may kill millions of people. Outbreaks among domestic fowl could also devastate the poultry industry in the U.K., Europe's second-largest, because of consumers' fears about the safety of the meat. Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or taking off feathers, according to the WHO. Thorough cooking of meat and eggs kills the virus. A flu outbreak killing 70 million people worldwide may cause global economic losses of as much as $2 trillion, the World Bank said last month. Since late 2003, H5N1 is known to have infected at least 229 people, mainly in Asia, killing 131 of them, the World Health Organization said on July 4. Infection in Spain The U.K. reported an initial H5N1 infection in a dead swan found in Scotland in April. Spain confirmed the infection July 7 in a great crested grebe found dead at Salburua Lake, near the city of Vitoria in the northern Basque country. No outbreaks among commercial poultry flocks have been reported in the U.K., which slaughtered more than 889 million fowl for meat production last year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. France slaughtered almost 998 million fowl in 2005, according to the FAO. The U.K. government sought to increase its supplies of poultry vaccine on the advice of the Chief Veterinary Officer, as a precaution, Defra said. Effective Defense It doesn't signal a change in policy and the Chief Veterinary Officer's advice remains that poultry shouldn't be vaccinated in advance of an avian influenza outbreak because of the ``well documented limitations of the vaccines currently available,'' the department said. ``These vaccines are not the most effective defense against avian influenza,'' it said. ``Early reporting, rapid action, biosecurity, culling and surveillance remain the most effective ways of controlling an avian influenza outbreak.'' Human H5N1 cases may be harder to detect in countries where the vaccination of poultry is poorly implemented, the influenza team at the European Centre for Disease Surveillance and Control in Stockholm said last month. Earlier this year, the U.K. bought 2.3 million doses of vaccine which are being stockpiled in the event zoo birds become at risk of infection. Last week, Defra said the risk of avian flu re-entering the U.K. will be higher between August and November, when wild fowl typically fly through the country during winter migration. In France, poultry producers hurt by a slump in demand reportedly lost 40 percent of their income in the first quarter of 2006, said Milan Brahmbhatt, a lead adviser for the World Bank in the East Asia region. Europe's $42 billion poultry feed industry has suffered a 40 percent drop in demand in some European Union countries, Brahmbhatt told a conference in Paris on June 29. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at [email protected] Last Updated: July 12, 2006 00:28 EDT Early detection best to control bird flu -report 11 Jul 2006 23:01:11 GMT Source: Reuters Bird flu More LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Immediate culling of infected birds and detecting the virus early are the best ways to control an outbreak of avian flu on farms, researchers said on Wednesday. The team of French and American scientists developed a mathematical model to assess the most effective methods to prevent the spread the lethal virus to poultry on other farms and people. "From the results of the mathematical model of avian influenza spread, we can say that the best methods, ranked by importance, are a) immediate culling of infected flocks...b) early detection of the disease in a flock," said Dr Arnaud Le Menach of the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. He added that increasing the radius in which surrounding farms are culled would also help in controlling the disease along with improved surveillance. The rapid spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus from Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa has sparked fears that it could mutate into a highly infectious strain that could cause a human influenza pandemic. Outbreaks in birds have been confirmed in 48 countries and territories, according to data from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Since late 2003 there have been 229 human infections of H5N1 and 131 deaths. The scientists, who used data from a Dutch avian influenza outbreak in 2003 in their model, reported their findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences journal. Vaccination was not taken into account in the model. "We simulated 1000 epidemics over a period of 100 days beginning with a unique index case in the Renswoude municipality where the epidemic began," Le Menach explained in the journal. During the Dutch outbreak three years ago 185 commercial farms were reported infected. The researchers said that for culling to be effective it must take place quickly after an outbreak is detected. Delays in culling increase the risk of further infection in birds and in humans. They also called for control measures to be used for both low and high pathogenic avian influenza viruses because a virus can acquire additional virulence. AlertNet news is provided by -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 1998-2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Mayor details plan to fight an outbreak of bird flu Tuesday, July 11, 2006 By HEIDI J. SHRAGER Responding to the deadly spread of bird flu that now spans 10 countries and three continents, Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday described what the city would do should the virus mutate into a human strain and hit American shores, creating a "potentially cataclysmic event." Speaking at the Health Department, Bloomberg said, "The fact that New York is a major gateway to the nation, and one of the world's most densely populated cities, means the possibility of pandemic flu -- however remote -- is one we must take extremely seriously." Experts have said that one of the biggest challenges facing the city is hospital beds, particularly on Staten Island, a borough with far fewer acute-care beds per capita than anywhere else in the city. "Right now our hospitals are reasonably full -- we'd have to do something in addition," Bloomberg said about the citywide plan to fight a potential bird flu outbreak. The bed crunch would be partly alleviated by the fact that first responders such as the Visiting Nurse Association would treat many people in their homes, the mayor said. In the event of a pandemic, hospitals would coordinate their response so that resources were managed regionally and supplies shifted to meet demand, said Susan Waltman, senior vice president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group that counts Staten Island University Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital among its members. EMERGENCY PROGRAM "Staten Islanders shouldn't feel like they're isolated," said Ms. Waltman, who heads the emergency preparedness program. For instance, Islanders might be transported to treatment centers off-Island, or certain Island facilities might be given extra capacity to handle more patients, she said. Since contagious patients should not be placed in close quarters together, makeshift facilities like high school gyms would not be practical -- as they would be in a natural disaster emergency, Bloomberg noted. Though light on details, the broadly defined city flu plan was organized in stages -- from early detection with high-tech tracking devices; to effective treatment of victims and halting the virus's spread; to uninterrupted health services for the general population. It also includes measures for updating the public as the emergency unfolds. As for a vaccine, the mayor acknowledged that one would not be available until six to nine months after the pandemic were detected. "Vaccine is a challenge," said Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden, in part because none can be produced until the exact strain is known. The vaccine for the current strain of bird flu is of a "limited effectiveness and limited quantity," said Frieden. The city would have to depend on the federal government, which would coordinate production should the virus arrive in the United States. "We would then obtain as much of it as we could," said Frieden. The limited supply would be distributed "based on federal guidelines, to health workers and first responders on the front lines, as well as to those most at risk of dying," said Bloomberg. Scientists fear Americans are due for another flu outbreak, and the H5N1 virus has loomed as a chief candidate. Having first emerged in 1997, the lethal strain so far has spread to Africa, Asia and Europe. It has left millions of dead birds in its wake, along with more than 200 stricken people who contracted it from infected birds. Bloomberg stressed there is no imminent threat of bird or any other flu pandemic, but added the deadly consequences must not be underestimated. Heidi J. Shrager covers City Hall for the Advance. She may be reached at [email protected]. © 2006 Staten Island Advance Migratory birds tested in Maine for avian flu July 10, 2006 BANGOR, Maine --Hundreds of Canada geese and other migratory birds are being captured and tested by Maine state biologists for avian flu. The testing of Canada geese, Arctic terns, common eiders and black guillemots by state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists is being done to check for early signs of the bird flu virus before it channels over to Maine's commercial bird flock. Biologists may end up testing hundreds if not thousands of birds before the program ends later this year. Last week, biologists went to a pond near Rockport that's home to 80 to 100 Canada geese. The visit was timed to coincide with a period when the birds are molting, meaning most are unable to fly and are easier to capture. Biologists in canoes corralled the geese toward a V-shaped pen set up at one end of Tolman Pond. Once the birds were removed to smaller cages, biologists collected fecal samples with long swab sticks. Samples are sent to a lab in Connecticut for testing, and the results are sent to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Canada geese are a favored choice of birds for testing because they often mingle with other species of migrating birds, said Michael Schummer, a game bird specialist who led last Friday's roundup in Rockport. "There's a fair number of them, they are easy to catch, they are statewide, so they are a good sentry bird," Schummer said. "If anything is going to pick (the bird flu) up, it seems likely to me and to other biologists that it would be the Canada goose." So far, no birds in Maine or anywhere else in the United States have tested positive for the H5N1 strain, which has devastated poultry flocks in Southeast Asia and appeared on two other continents. ------ U.S. Department of Agriculture, avian flu site: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/ Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/ ------ Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com © Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company Avian Flu May Have Spread to Spain by Wild Birds, Society Says July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Spain's outbreak of avian flu may have been introduced by wild birds that carried the virus from the Mediterranean, a U.K.-based conservation society said. The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the infection July 7 in a great crested grebe found dead at Salburua Lake, near the city of Vitoria in Spain's northern Basque country. It was the first time the H5N1 avian influenza virus was reported in Spain, Europe's biggest tourism destination by revenue. ``Perhaps the most likely explanation is that it was one of the scattering of wild birds killed by H5N1 this spring in Europe -- possibly a bird that wintered in an affected part of the Mediterranean,'' Richard Thomas, a spokesman for Cambridge-based BirdLife International, said in a July 7 statement. Governments and international health authorities are monitoring for the H5N1 virus, which has the potential to mutate into a pandemic form that may kill millions of people. This year, almost 40 countries reported initial outbreaks in domestic fowl and wild birds, including France, Italy, Egypt and Nigeria. Since late 2003, H5N1 is known to have infected at least 229 people, mainly in Asia, killing 131 of them, the World Health Organization said on July 4. Almost all human cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or plucking feathers, according to the Geneva-based WHO. The disease in birds creates more opportunity for human infection and increases the risk of the virus changing into a pandemic form. Bird Species Identifying the subspecies of Spain's infected grebe and its age will be essential in determining the source of the virus, BirdLife said. ``Birds from sub-Saharan Africa are subtly different from those found in Europe, and have never been recorded north of the Sahara,'' Thomas said in the statement, which was posted on the society's Web site. ``Even a North African origin is highly unlikely'' because only a handful of great crested grebes nest there, he said. If the grebe was hatched this year, it indicates a local source of infection because the bird is unlikely to have flown outside Spain, Thomas said. It's also possible that H5N1 was brought to Spain by imported poultry products, he said. In February, 21 metric tons of poultry meat illegally imported from China were confiscated in the eastern seaside city of Benidorm, BirdLife said. Illegal Imports ``Perhaps H5N1 arrived in Spain the same way it got into Africa -- in imported chicken products,'' Thomas said. ``But even if it was smuggled in, it's difficult to see how it could have ended up in a grebe. It would be useful to know the circumstances under which the bird was discovered.'' Spain's H5N1 outbreak occurred on June 30, Lucio Ignacio Carbajo Goni, deputy director general of animal health in Madrid, told the World Organization for Animal Health in a July 7 report. The H5N1 infection may hurt poultry sales in Spain, Europe's third-largest producer of the meat. In Romania, which has reported more than 100 H5N1 outbreaks in the past three months, domestic poultry sales have fallen by 80 percent, bringing many producers to the verge of bankruptcy, Milan Brahmbhatt, a lead adviser for the World Bank in the East Asia region, told a conference in Paris on June 29. French Producers In France, Europe's largest poultry supplier, producers hurt by a slump in demand reportedly lost 40 percent of their income in the first quarter of 2006, Brahmbhatt said. The $42 billion poultry feed industry in Europe has suffered a 40 percent drop in demand in some European Union countries, he said. There isn't any risk in eating poultry or eggs that are properly cooked because the virus is destroyed at temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit). The World Tourism Organization said it's safe to travel to countries that have reported avian flu as long as tourists avoid close contact with birds. Spain gets 46 billion euros ($59 billion) in revenue a year from foreign tourists and the industry makes up about a 10th of gross domestic product. Most tourists come from the U.K., Germany and France. Hotel companies such as Sol Melia SA and airlines including Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA depend on tourism for profit growth. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at [email protected] Last Updated: July 10, 2006 00:07 EDT Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Trademarks WEBBOLT® Global Business News, Research & Intelligence Baxter Initiates Clinical Study With Cell-Based Candidate H5N1 Pandemic Vaccine By CJ - Webbolt Newsroom July 06, 2006, 15:51 DEERFIELD, Ill., -- Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) announced that it has initiated a Phase I/II clinical trial to test the company's vero-cell based candidate H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine. The study is being conducted with several hundred healthy adults in Austria and Singapore using the fully inactivated wild-type H5N1 strain A/Vietnam/1203/2004. Four different antigen concentrations ranging from 3.75mcg to 30mcg are being tested in formulations with and without alum as adjuvant. "We look forward to receiving clinical results this fall on the safety and immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine for pandemic flu," said Noel Barrett, vice president of Global R&D for Baxter's vaccines business. "Our goal is to produce a safe and efficacious pandemic vaccine and demonstrate the advantages that vero-cell based production can offer for manufacturing influenza and other vaccines. The study will provide us with critical data concerning the vaccine dosage required to induce protective immune responses, and information about the ability of a vaccine, based on a single H5N1 strain, to induce protective immune response against a range of different H5N1 strains. Preclinical studies in animal models have shown very good cross-protection to date, and we are looking forward to confirming this with studies in humans." Baxter is developing both seasonal (or inter-pandemic) and pandemic influenza vaccines based on the company's proprietary vero-cell technology, which has the potential to significantly reduce production time compared to traditional vaccine production methods that use embryonated hens' eggs. The company is already licensed to produce vaccines at its commercial scale cell- culture vaccine manufacturing facility in Bohumil, Czech Republic, which is GMP approved and fully validated to Biosafety Level Three (BSL-3). Cell-based systems for production of vaccines offer a number of potential benefits over more traditional egg-based systems. Baxter's vero-cell technology is capable of producing high yields of influenza virus without the addition of any animal-derived serum. Through the company's research and development work, Baxter has been successful in growing wild-type virus at pilot and commercial scales using its unique vero-cell technology. This means the company is currently capable of manufacturing pandemic vaccine without having to wait for high-growth or attenuated virus reassortants normally used when vaccine is produced in eggs. The requirements for such reassortants may involve considerable delay in vaccine production in the event of a pandemic. In addition, Baxter is working with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in partnership with Fisher BioServices Inc., and with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with DVC LLC, a Computer Sciences Corporation Company, to develop vero-cell based H5N1 pandemic and seasonal influenza candidate vaccines. Both collaborations are the result of U.S. Government contract awards. Baxter and its partners will be providing the vero-cell based candidate vaccines to the agencies for further clinical testing in the United States, which is expected to begin later in 2006 and 2007. Baxter is currently in discussions with several other governments regarding its candidate pandemic vaccine, and has been awarded a contract to supply two million doses of cell-culture based candidate H5N1 vaccine to the U.K. government. Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with the treatment of complex medical conditions, including hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other conditions. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients' lives. © Copyright 2006 - Webbolt Company Limited All rights reserved. Janelle Miles July 10, 2006 AUSTRALIAN businesses are stockpiling anti-viral drugs and face masks as fears grow of an avian flu outbreak. Public companies such as Telstra and Bluescope Steel have pandemic risk committees meeting regularly and the Commonwealth Bank has appointed a pandemic planning project manager. Plans include expanded computer networks so staff can work from home. So far, fatal cases of bird flu in Asia and Europe have been a result of humans catching the disease from sick birds. But with the number of global deaths exceeding 100, experts fear it is likely the disease will pass from human to human, creating a pandemic. This year, 55 people have died from the H5N1 strain. There were 41 deaths reported in 2005. BHP Billiton, through its relationship with the medical support agency International SOS, has stockpiles of anti-viral drugs in regional offices considered at high risk. The Bank of Queensland is about to implement basic hygiene education for staff, a measure immunologists believe is vital to reducing the spread of disease if a pandemic develops. Some researchers fear the H5N1 virus could develop a seasonal pattern in line with flu seasons. In Australia, mid-June through to the end of August is the worst time for influenza, with up to six times the number of flu cases recorded than in other months of the year. Director of the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Zsuzsanna Jakab told a recent European news conference that it was quite likely H5N1 cases in birds would reoccur in Europe, despite peaking for now. "In birds, it has peaked for now but it is very likely it will come back," she said. "We have to get used to a seasonal pattern," Ms Jakab said. In Queensland, small businesses, such as the Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island, are developing their own avian flu plans. The resort, which employs 240 staff, has stockpiled 1000 masks and has evacuation plans in place if a pandemic strikes. The Federal Government has advised businesses to plan for up to half their staff being absent whether through illness, or caring for sick family members or children if schools are closed. Bank of Queensland group risk executive Bruce Auty said having measures in place to allow staff to work from home was critical to the preparations. Despite the focus on the cost to business of absenteeism, experts say a pandemic may actually turn the gaze on to a new risk which they have dubbed "presenteeism". Stoics who normally trudge into work while sick will be told firmly to stay at home to protect their well colleagues. "At the moment now, one of the serious problems in preparing for a pandemic is that the population really has very low levels of hand washing and staying at home if you've got a flu-like illness with a fever," said immunologist Ron Penny, who diagnosed Australia's first case of AIDS in the 1980s. "It's still accepted that they're allowed to come to work. There's no strong recommendation that people who have a seriously infectious disease should stay at home. "I think we need to educate people." Federal Government advisers warn that economically, Queensland would be the hardest hit of any Australian state, with even a "modest-level" pandemic forecast to wipe 7.1 per cent, or about $11 billion, off the Gross State Product (GSP) in the first year alone. International health experts predict bird flu has a 10 per cent chance of turning into a pandemic this financial year. Telstra's network services managing director Michael Lawrey said preparations for the likelihood of a pandemic were slightly higher in intensity than planning for other business risks such as fires, cyclones and floods. Nevertheless, economists and business risk consultants say spending so far has been nowhere near the estimated hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly billions, Australian companies forked out to protect them from the Y2K millennium bug. "People aren't spending that much money on a pandemic as they did with Y2K," said Deloitte business continuity management specialist, Kevin Nevrous. "With Y2K you had a business risk ... and its impact could be immediate. "With something like bird flu, I don't expect something like the whole country to be impacted on day one. "We're not comparing apples with apples." Sydney-based company Good Health Solutions, which advises business on how to maintain a healthy workplace, has estimated the cost of protecting a staff of 1000 against the possibility of a bird flu pandemic at about $92,000. That includes consultancy fees, training programs for staff and 90 days' supply of anti-viral drugs for critical employees as well as other supplies to reduce infection risk like masks, disinfectant wipes, antimicrobial handwash, tissues and thermometers. For businesses such as big retailers, whose staff have a high level of contact with the public, that figure could blow out to millions if they decided to stockpile enough face masks and other protective gear to protect staff for three months. On the other hand, Mr Nevrous, who has consulted in risk management for many years, said he had discussed with some companies the possibility of turning a pandemic into a business opportunity, not just a threat. For example, security companies may be in high demand if civil disobedience becomes an issue. "If thousands of people are knocking on hospital doors trying to get in, hospitals are probably going to be short staffed, as will the emergency services," Mr Nevrous said. INFLUENZA >> AVIAN INFLUENZA >> NEWS >> Spain reports first avian flu case in birds Jul 7, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – Spain today became the latest country to join the list of nations responding to outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza, as officials reported finding the virus in a wild bird. In a report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Spanish officials said highly pathogenic H5N1 strain had been confirmed in a sample taken from a great crested grebe that was found dead Jun 30 in the Salburua wetlands in Alava province. The diagnosis was established by the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Algete. To control the outbreak, a 3-kilometer protection zone around the site has been established, and surveillance will be conducted within 10 km. Authorities have banned movement of poultry and hunting of wild birds within the zone and are monitoring natural areas for any further bird deaths. Spain is the 14th European Union member to report H5N1 avian flu in birds, on the basis of information from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. An outbreak of avian influenza is a particular concern in Spain because, according to a Bloomberg News report today on the outbreak, Spain is Europe’s biggest tourist destination. In other avian flu developments this week: Canadian authorities reported that final virological tests on samples from a dead gosling were negative. The OIE announced that avian influenza had recurred among ostriches in South Africa. Thailand said it hoped to be free of avian influenza in 3 years. Canada ends testing of Prince Edward Island birds The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Jul 5 that further testing related to a suspected H5 avian flu outbreak in Prince Edward Island had revealed no evidence of the virus. Authorities had announced Jun 16 that preliminary tests had indicated an H5 virus in a gosling, one of four birds that had died in a backyard flock. The positive test led authorities to destroy the rest of the flock and raised concern about the threat of H5N1 spreading to North America. But officials reported on Jun 20 that further tests at Canada's avian flu reference laboratory in Winnipeg, Man., were negative. In the latest announcement, the CFIA said attempts to culture the virus from samples from the gosling had failed. The agency said testing was finished, and a quarantine on the affected site was lifted. South African ostriches have H5N2 virus An H5N2 strain of avian flu has been confirmed on an ostrich farm in South Africa, according to a report that officials filed with the OIE. The virus was identified Jul 1 in eight ostriches on the farm in Riversdale, Western Cape province. In his notice to the OIE, South Africa's senior manager of animal health, Bothe Modisane, said surveillance indicated that the outbreak was probably limited to the farm where the disease was detected. He reported that the farm was quarantined and that all 58 ostriches there were destroyed on Jul 1. Culling of all other poultry on the farm was completed on Jul 3. The source of the infection was not known. In 2004, a similar outbreak of H5N2 in ostriches stopped all poultry exports from South Africa. That outbreak killed 2,000 ostriches on two farms, and officials planned to destroy 6,000 remaining ostriches on the farms. Highly pathogenic strains of H5N2 virus have caused a number of past outbreaks in birds, though none in humans. H5N2 viruses were blamed for outbreaks in Pennsylvania (1983-85), Mexico (1994-95), Italy (1997), Texas (2004), and South Africa (2004), according to the World Health Organization. In addition, Japan had H5N2 outbreaks in poultry in 2005. Thai official offers optimistic projection Thailand’s agriculture minister said yesterday the country hopes too be completely free of avian influenza virus in 3 years. The Thai official, Sudarat Keyuraphan, told Agence France Presse (AFP) that the country has gone 239 days without an outbreak. "If we are able to control the virus for the rest of this year, we will have fewer worries next year, and I am confident that Thailand will be free from the bird flu virus within three years,” Keyuraphan told AFP. She said the 239-day outbreak-free stretch is notable, given that surrounding countries continue to report the disease. According to the AFP report, Thailand has recruited 900,000 volunteers to help with prevention efforts, including regularly spraying disinfectant around poultry farms. In May 2005, Thai officials declared the country free of the H5N1 virus, but more poultry outbreaks were reported the following July, and new human cases emerged in the fall. See also: Jul 7 OIE report on avian influenza in Spain http://www.oie.int/Messages/060707ESP.htm Jul 5 CFIA report on avian flu test results http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/avflu/situatione.shtml Jun 21 CIDRAP News article "Further tests show no avian flu in Canadian flock" Jul 3 OIE report on avian influenza in South Africa http://www.oie.int/Messages/060703ZAF.htm Aug 6, 2004, CIDRAP News article "Avian flu hits ostriches in South Africa" May 5, 2005, CIDRAP News article on Thailand’s avian flu battle http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/may0505avflu.html Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Academic Health Center -- University of Minnesota Copyright © 2006 Regents of the University of Minnesota
Swan (disambiguation)
What nationality is tennis player Karen Hantze Susman who won the 1962 Ladies Singles title at Wimbledon, beating Vera Sukova in the final?
Avian Flu: Historical Hysteria Giving Wing to Well-Designed Fear :: Dr. Rima Truth Reports By Administrator on July 26, 2008 No Comments July 26, 2008 Disclaimer: No one knows if the pandemic will be unleashed. Let us pray that it will not. However, we note with alarm that there are an increasing number of indicators suggesting that this Pandemic is being prepared to be used against us all using a variety of weaponized viruses. If our ringing of the alarm bells is successful, we will be spared – and we will have been wrong. Let us all devoutly hope that the Natural Solutions Foundation’s urgent and effective information dissemination is that successful. Please help to make the Pandemic secret so ineffective that the authors of this nightmare are backed off by our shared awareness. Disseminate this information to everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Our best weapon against the coming Pandemic is truth. Yours in health and freedom, Rima E. Laibow, MD www.NaturalSolutionsMarketPlace.org When there is enough air rushing by at a high enough speed under the wing of an airplane, the lift generated creates the highly improbably reality called “flight”. When there is enough propaganda and windy verbiage rushing by the population of a distracted and overwhelmed population’s mind, the psychological lift generated creates a mass perception called “fright”. Once people are frightened enough, like bison at the edge of a cliff, they can be stampeded in any direction the hunter wants to send them – including over it to their doom. If you have been following the Natural Solutions Foundation’s Health Freedom eAlerts lately, you know that we are deeply concerned, as you should be, about the weaponization of the Avian Flu vaccine by the weaving of its genome with the otherwise non pathogenic (non disease causing) H5N1 Virus, now almost universally discussed accompanied by the undeserved adjective “deadly”. This virus is deadly only when weaponized, in our opinion, and then it is very, very deadly, indeed. So one of the words of advice we have been giving to folks is to watch what is being bruited about in the media to figure out when the mis-called “inevitable” pandemic is due to be upon us. To that end, I have included a compendium of news items, most recent first, about the Avian flu from a site called “Flu Oddities” (http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html). The author has played it amost straight, but here and there you will see an editorial comment (such as crossing out “preventing” and substituting it with the word “fomenting”. Although it is not quite perfect journalistic neutrality, I find that I agree with his emendations, however. So here is the Flu Oddities compendium of news reports, especially compelling since, taken together and read carefully, the lack or logic of the whole “inevitable” pandemic and its flimsy science become readily apparent. Even more apparent is the real agenda underlying vaccination-compulsory vaccination, mind you, once the “inevitable” pandemic is declared. Secretary of Health And Human Services Mike Leavitt said on July 23, 2008 that it is the intent of the US Government to vaccinate every man, woman and child in the US against Avian flu, “starting with those who want it.” What about those who don’t? How about involuntary quarantine (incarceration)? Could it be that is what all those detention centers (over 600 in the US) might be for? You know, the ones you can see on the internet which are staffed, but empty. The ones with barbed wire fences pointing IN, not OUT, in order to keep people in, not prevent them from getting in. Not familiar with them? Take a look at this site, one of the few which has not disappeared from the internet on the topic: http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm . The site has some weaknesses, but it also has some rather interesting information. This kind of information can only be brought to you by the Natural Solutions Foundation because we have the funding to continue our broadly focused health freedom campaigns in the US and abroad. We rely solely on the donations, large or small, of our supporters, and on your efforts to disseminate our information. Please make as generous a recurring, tax deductible donation as you can by clicking here ( http://drrimatruthreports.com/index.php?page_id=189 ) AND sign up for (and disseminate) the free Health Freedom eAlerts by clicking here ( http://drrimatruthreports.com/index.php?page_id=187 ). Yours in health and freedom, Dr. Rima www.NaturalSolutionsMarketPlace.org Dead Cat to Be Examined for Bird Flu 24 Jul 2008 Quarantine authorities are examining a cat to discover whether it was infected with the highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza that swept South Korea in April. The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service said Thursday that a cat was found dead in April in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, right next to a farm where bird flu killed tens of thousands of chickens. Rockeby gets orders for bird flu tests 24 Jul 2008 Rockeby Biomed Ltd has received orders for its H5N1 bird flu tests on humans from several South East Asian, European, and North African countries, worth $242,000, the company says. Training drill targets bio-terrorism –Marines to serve as mock victims; military helicopters will land at hospital and dispatch two dozen law enforcement officers dressed in full decontamination gear 22 Jul 2008 (CA) Local, state and federal agencies are participating in a four-day training drill that focuses on how the groups respond to a mock bio-terrorism attack. The goal drill – dubbed Operation Golden Phoenix – began Monday. Today, Marine Corps will be at Brown Field Airport simulating a humanitarian relief response. On Wednesday, San Diego police will practice traffic and crowd control around UCSD Medical Center and Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla as hospital personnel do emergency medical response drills. Teams use airport to stage bird flu drill 23 Jul 2008 Local, state and federal workers and military and civilian health care personnel worked as a team in a bird flu drill yesterday at Honolulu Airport. The drill, Lightning Rescue ’08, simulated what would happen if an airliner from Asia arrived at Honolulu Airport bearing more than 300 passengers with some experiencing symptoms of avian influenza or “bird flu.” The coordinated response plan included personnel from the Hawaii Disaster Medical Assistance Team, federal Centers for Disease Control, airport paramedics, airport firefighters, medical personnel from neighbor island and Oahu hospitals, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, Joint Task Force-Homeland Defense and others. On Friday, Lightning Rescue ’08 will continue with a second simulation staged at the Naval Pacific Missile Range facility on Kauai. HHS and DHS Announce Guidance on Pandemic Vaccination Allocation 23 Jul 2008 The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS) released guidance on allocating and targeting pandemic influenza vaccine. The guidance’s vaccination structure defines four broad target groups: people who 1) maintain homeland and national security, 2) provide health care and community support services, 3) maintain critical infrastructure and 4) are in the general population. ‘Bird Flu Strain Can Be Transmitted to Mammals’ 22 Jul 2008 Quarantine authorities said Tuesday that the virus strain of avian influenza that swept South Korea in April could be transmitted to mammals, but not necessarily to humans. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sent samples from infected birds to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention for detailed analysis. The U.S. agency concluded the virus from the sample could be transmitted to mammals but that there was no proof it could infect humans, an official from the ministry said. Britain faces 75,000 deaths in bird flu pandemic, Lords report predicts 21 Jul 2008 Up to 75,000 Britons will in die in an “inevitable” flu pandemic that could kill as many as 50 million people worldwide, a parliamentary committee warns today. The committee report warns that surveillance of emerging disease threats around the world needs to be overhauled to provide early warning of potential pandemics. World warned over killer flu pandemic 21 Jul 2008 The world is failing to guard against the inevitable spread of a [US generated] devastating flu pandemic which could kill 50 million people and wreak massive disruption around the globe, the Government has warned. Ministers said that more was needed to be done to improve detection and surveillance for potential pandemics and called for urgent improvement in rapid-response strategies. Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesman, likened the threat from a pandemic to the threat of international terrorism. CDC: Offline generators caused germ lab outage 19 Jul 2008 A critical germ lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lost power last week because the agency had taken two backup generators out of service for upgrades, CDC officials said Friday… The backup power failure — the second in 13 months — is the type predicted years ago by some CDC engineers. And it has heightened concerns in Congress about lab safety at the Atlanta agency, which experiments on smallpox, Ebola, anthrax and other deadly germs. Last week’s incident began when a bird shorted out a Georgia Power transformer about 5:40 p.m., cutting off power to… Building 17. Building 17 houses infectious disease labs, where scientists work with the H5N1 avian flu virus and other dangerous germs. Without power, the labs can’t run negative airflow systems that help contain germs in Biosafety Level 3 labs, such as those in Building 17. Experts identify genes for bird flu replication 09 Jul 2008 Scientists have identified around 100 genes that the H5N1 bird flu virus needs in a host in order to replicate, and this finding may help in the hunt for ways to block foment its proliferation. In their study, the experts from Japan, Indonesia and the United States infected fruit fly cells with genetically altered H5N1 virus. The H5N1 virus needed slight modifications because fruit flies are normally not susceptible to influenza. Bird flu outbreak could kill 3,000 people a week 12 Jul 2008 A [US engineered] bird flu pandemic in Wales could result in an extra 3,000 people dying a week, it was claimed yesterday. The resilience co-ordinator for the Welsh Assembly Government told a conference in Cardiff that if avian flu becomes transferable between people, the number of weekly deaths in the country could jump from 600 to 3,600. Pandemic Mutations In Bird Flu Revealed 09 Jul 2008 Scientists have discovered how bird flu adapts in patients, offering a new way to monitor the disease and prevent trigger a pandemic, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of General Virology. Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus has spread through at least 45 countries in 3 continents. Despite its ability to spread, it cannot be transmitted efficiently from human to human. This indicates it is not fully adapted to its new host species, the human. However, this new research reveals mutations in the virus that may result in a pandemic. Hong Kong expert warns flu vaccine for chickens losing efficacy 08 Jul 2008 A vaccine used to stop outbreaks of the deadly bird flu virus in chickens in Hong Kong for the last seven years is losing its effectiveness, a leading microbiologist warned Tuesday. Professor Yuen Kwok-yung said the vaccine, which protects chicken from the H5 strain of the virus, is becoming less effective and the city risks further outbreaks because total failure is inevitable. The head of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong told the South China Morning Post the virus was mutating and shifting away from the Fujian strain of H5N2 for which it was developed. Penn. Lab Gets $1.6M to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine 07 Jul 2008 Workers at a small lab in Lackawanna County will soon start work on a vaccine to help in case of a [US Army-engineered] bird flu pandemic, with a $1.6 million grant. The federal funding was presented to Vital Probes of Mayfield Monday to develop a protective vaccine in case of an avian flu pandemic, one that officials said could threaten the homeland security of the United States. Indonesia seeks to shut Navy lab researching avian flu –Health Minister: Viruses Shared With U.S. Could Be Turned Into Biological Weapons. Politicians say the U.S. facility doesn’t benefit Indonesia and could be a cover for spying. 05 Jul 2008 Indonesia suspended negotiations with the United States over the fate of a U.S. Navy medical research lab here [Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2] last month after senior politicians said it didn’t benefit Indonesia and could be a cover for spying. The biomedical research lab opened in Jakarta in 1970 and is used to ‘study’ tropical diseases, including malaria, dengue fever and avian flu, according to an embassy fact sheet… After announcing a ban on virus-sharing in January 2007, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari published a book in which she warned that any viruses shared with other countries could be turned into biological weapons. She also recounted a meeting in Geneva with John E. Lange, the U.S. special representative for pandemic flu, in which she told him, “It is not impossible that there will be a group of people in developed countries insane enough to reengineer the viruses to create an outbreak in the Third World.” Homeless people die after bid flu vaccine trial in Poland 02 Jul 2008 Three Polish doctors and six nurses are facing criminal prosecution after a number of homeless people died following medical trials for a vaccine to the H5N1 bird-flu virus. The medical staff, from the northern town of Grudziadz, are being investigated over medical trials on as many as 350 homeless and poor people last year, which prosecutors say involved an untried vaccine to the highly-contagious virus. Authorities claim that the alleged victims received £1-2 to be tested with what they thought was a conventional flu vaccine but, according to investigators, was actually an anti bird-flu drug. Penn Study Pinpoints New DNA Weapon Against Bird Flu 02 Jul 2008 A new way to vaccinate against avian influenza that tricks the immune system into mounting a broad response against multiple strains of the disease, including strains to which the immune system was never exposed, has been devised by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. If proven in humans, the Penn research could lead the way to prepare against an outbreak of pandemic avian flu. Dr. Weiner sits on the scientific advisory board of VGX, and collaborates with Wyeth, Merck, BMS, Althea, and Virxsys, as well as other companies on DNA vaccine technologies. Mexico bans Arkansas poultry on bird flu exposure 25 Jun 2008 Mexico will ban all imports of poultry and poultry products from Arkansas after a small flock in that U.S. state had been exposed to a mild form of bird flu, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. Bird flu strain ‘highly pathogenic’ 04 Jun 2008 The strain of H7 bird flu found in chickens at a farm in Oxfordshire is the highly pathogenic type, officials said. The avian flu virus was found on Tuesday in laying hens at the farm in Banbury, and all birds on the site were slaughtered. Further tests are in progress to identify the exact type of the virus, while an investigation is under way to find where the disease came from. H7 strain has been found in Britain on several occasions before now, this is the first time it has been identified in the highly pathogenic, or deadly, form. Defra confirms H7 bird flu case in Oxfordshire 04 Jun 2008 Chickens in Oxfordshire have tested positive for the highly pathogenic H7 strain of bird flu, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed today. It is the first time a deadly form of the H7 virus has been identified in the UK, but Defra said the risk to humans was low. An investigation into the origin of the outbreak is under way. A temporary control zone was established around the premises when suspected bird flu was first identified yesterday. Tyson finds chickens with mild bird flu strain 03 Jun 2008 Tyson Foods Inc, the second largest U.S. chicken producer, said on Tuesday it will destroy about 15,000 chickens in Arkansas exposed to a mild strain of bird flu, and while there was no risk to human health the news sent its shares lower. The affected chickens… had antibodies of a mild or low pathogenic strain of bird flu called H7N3. It is the deadly high pathogenic H5N1 strain, which has never been found in the United States, that worries scientists because it has spread to and killed people around the world. 15,000 Ark. hens test positive for bird-flu exposure 03 Jun 2008 Tyson Foods Inc. has begun killing and burying the carcasses of 15,000 hens from a flock that tested positive for exposure to a strain of the bird flu in northwest Arkansas, state officials said Tuesday. Tyson said preliminary tests on the flock indicated the presence of antibodies for H7N3, a less virulent strain of the virus. Scientists make bird flu breakthrough 04 Jun 2008 A Hong Kong research team has successfully tested a new drug combination that could help tackle the deadly bird flu virus in humans, scientists said in a soon-to-be-published paper. The use of three drugs together dramatically increased the survival rate of mice who had been infected with the deadly H5N1 virus, the University of Hong Kong team said. Aethlon Medical Submits Biodefense Contract Proposal to U.S. Government 04 Jun 2008 Aethlon Medical, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a contract proposal to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitation entitled; “Application of Platform Technologies for the Development of Therapeutic Agents for Biodefense.” The solicitation represents a partnership between the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the recently established Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to award contracts that fund the development of innovative approaches to treat bioterror and emerging creating pandemic threats… Aethlon’s contract response includes supporting subcontractor commitments from… the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Battelle Biomedical Research Center (BMRC), The Renal Research Institute (RRI), Cato Research Institute, and The University of California Davis, School of veterinary medicine. ‘It’s like Lego.’ CDC mates H5N1 avian flu and H3N2 human flu viruses to see how pandemic is triggered –Study shows hybrids of bird flu and human flu viruses fit well, could occur 01 Jun 2008 An experiment mating H5N1 avian flu viruses and a strain of human flu in a laboratory produced a surprising number of hybrid viruses that were biologically fit, a new study reveals. And while none of the offspring viruses was as virulent as the original H5N1, about one in five were lethal to mice at low doses, showing they retained at least a portion of the power of their dangerous parent. The work suggests that under the right circumstances – and no one is clear what all of those are – the two types of flu viruses could swap genes in a way that might allow the H5N1 virus to acquire the capacity to trigger a pandemic. This work, done at the CDC, was conducted to study the reassortment potential of H5N1 and H3N2 viruses. H3N2 is one of two human influenza A viruses that cause disease during flu season. Bird Flu: More lethal than 10 hydrogen bombs: Thusoo –68 Vets and Para vets trained in control, containment ops 31 May 2008 Experts fear the nature of the disease [avian influenza] could be more lethal than ten hydrogen bombs after causing a pandemic. Earlier on Tuesday, Dr Bhupinder Singh Director, Animal Husbandry, Kashmir formally launched the training programme in which 68 vets and Para vets participated… They were also trained in mass vaccination operations in surveillance zones in the eventualities like outbreak of the disease. Scientists warn of bird flu epidemic 27 May 2008 A strain of bird flu has moved a step closer to developing the traits required to create an epidemic of the disease in humans, scientists warned on Monday. Researchers who analysed samples of recent avian flu viruses found that a strain of the virus called H7N2 had adapted slightly better to living in mammals. Scientists identify second H7 strain of bird flu that could cause pandemic 27 May 2008 The H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed 241 people is not the only one that could trigger a pandemic, according to research in America. A few H7 strains of the flu virus have started to evolve some of the traits they would need to infect people easily, scientists have discovered. North American bird flu viruses becoming more adapted to humans: study 26 May 2008 North American avian flu viruses of the H7 subtype – like the H7N3 viruses responsible for British Columbia’s massive poultry outbreak in 2004 – seem to have adapted to more easily invade the human respiratory tract, a new American study suggests. Bangladesh toddler ‘has bird flu’ 22 May 2008 The Bangladeshi health ministry says that a 16-month-old boy has been confirmed as the country’s first human case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. It said that the boy, who lives in the capital Dhaka, had recovered after treatment. Glaxo Wins Approval to Sell Pre-Pandemic Flu Vaccine 19 May 2008 GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Europe’s largest drugmaker, won European Union permission to sell its pre-pandemic [!?!] flu vaccine, the first approval in the region of a shot to prevent foment an outbreak sparked by the deadly bird flu virus. The vaccine, called Prepandrix, was cleared for sale in 29 countries to protect people against the virus before or at the beginning of a pandemic, London-based Glaxo said today in an e- mailed statement. The European regulator’s advisory panel recommended adopting the product in February. Bird Flu Not Forgotten By GlaxoSmithKline [Oh, I am sure it’s not.] 19 May 2008 The media pandemic may have died down, but GlaxoSmithKline is betting that the threat of an actual bird flu pandemic is still real enough for governments across Europe. The pharmaceutical company said on Monday it had secured European approval for the first pre-pandemic vaccine against the dreaded H5N1 virus, more commonly known as bird flu, which began to gain notoriety five years ago. A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline said that the company believed an eventual pandemic would involve a strain in the H5N1 family, and that a pre-pandemic treatment would save the four-to-six-month delay of having to react to an official pandemic announcement. “The U.K. government could buy it tomorrow and vaccinate us tomorrow,” she said. [Hopefully, ‘insurgents’ will find the production sites before Bush’s pharma-terrorists kill us all for fun and profit.] Government’s bird flu drugs strategy is ‘flawed’ 15 May 2008 The Government’s strategy to defend the nation against a bird flu pandemic has been called into question. The Department of Health has built up millions of doses of Tamiflu, an antiviral drug, in preparation for a [US Army-engendered] pandemic of the kind that killed 50 million people in 1918. However, a team at the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research in London warned that a mutation in the H5N1 strain of the virus could make it resistant to the vaccine. The researchers found that when mutation occurred in the H5N1 virus it became resistant to Tamiflu. Arizona State University Decision Theater Tests Pandemic Flu Plans 14 May 2008 This year, the pandemic flu committee created what is known to be the only tabletop exercise of its kind in the nation, says Allan Markus, ASU’s director of campus health services and co-chair of the pandemic flu committee. The exercise, which took place April 10 in ASU’s Decision Theater, involved the university’s pandemic flu planning committee and several senior administrators. Mary Tyszkiewicz, a senior analyst at the Homeland Security Institute, a think tank that supports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, seconded Markus’ observation. Bird Flu Medicine Toxic for Teens 13 May 2008 Concerns are rising over side effect of bird flu drug Tamiflu on teenagers. Tamiflu is Swiss-based Hoffman-La Roche’s antiviral for general influenza A and B but is also used to combat bird flu. However, worries have surfaced about the possibility of the medicine causing mental disorders among teenagers. Swan tests positive for bird flu 10 May 2008 Japanese officials are worried that the H5N1 bird flu virus may be spreading among wild birds in the north after the body of a swan tested positive for the disease, the third case in recent weeks. No poultry have been affected so far, said Shigeki Oda, a farm official in the northern island of Hokkaido. U.S. Naval medical lab ‘not transparent’ in its operations: Indonesia health minister –‘We don’t know what happened to the [bird flu] viruses that we sent.’ 07 May 2008 Indonesia is trying to defend the interests of poorer nations by refusing to share bird flu samples with the West and is locked in a cultural misunderstanding over the issue, Jakarta’s health minister said on Wednesday. Siti Fadillah Supari also said in an interview that a U.S. naval medical lab based in Indonesia for research into tropical diseases was barely benefiting its host country and was not being transparent in its operations… The minister said the U.S. U.S. naval lab in Jakarta had been receiving virus samples from across Indonesia, but that had been stopped. “We don’t know what happened to the viruses that we sent,” she said, adding the U.S. lab had also received samples from Indonesian soldiers deployed in Papua. Military, DHS document details who should live and die in pandemic –Nazi-style hospital blueprint lists those who will be left to die – elderly, sick, weakest 05 May 2008 An influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients who would be allowed to die during a [US-engendered] flu pandemic or other disaster. The suggested list was compiled by the military, Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, government agencies, prestigious universities, and medical groups. To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won’t get lifesaving care, the task force wrote. Jakarta, US at odds over ‘spy’ lab 03 May 2008 Negotiations over whether a controversial US military laboratory should remain in Indonesia have reached a knife-edge, as officials argue about biological [bird flu] sample-sharing and the diplomatic status of staff in the facility. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari may in fact be close to sacrificing her job, after a senior government source told The Weekend Australian that her bellicose [?!?] rhetoric, including comments on the bird flu epidemic in a rambling treatise entitled “Time for the world to change: the hand of God in bird flu” – had made life “awkward” for fellow ministers. US Navy infectious disease lab under microscope in Indonesia –US insists all American staff at disease lab be given diplomatic immunity 02 May 2008 The future of a major US Navy research laboratory in Indonesia is in doubt amid allegations, dismissed as “crazy” by US diplomats, of espionage and secret experiments. Negotiations between Washington and Jakarta over the renewal of the operating contract of US Naval Medical Research Unit-2, or Namru-2, have stalled over a range of issues including diplomatic immunity for its US staff. Established in Indonesia in 1970 and charged with researching infectious diseases of military importance [aka *bioterrorism*], the facility employs 19 Americans… and is based in Indonesian health ministry grounds. Parliamentary foreign affairs commissioner Mutamimul Ula called Thursday for an “investigation into allegations that Namru-2 staffers were involved in intelligence operations.” The controversy and the delays in the renewal of the contract appear to be causing a degree of angst among US officials in the departments of health and state, reflecting the importance Washington attaches to the facility. S. Korea confirms 25th outbreak of H5N1 strain of bird flu 19 Apr 2008 The South Korean government confirmed Saturday a new outbreak of H5N1 strain of bird flu, which becomes the 25th confirmed cases of the deadly epidemic in the country since late March. SKorea upgrades bird flu alert, troops on standby 16 Apr 2008 South Korea on Wednesday issued a nationwide bird flu alert, deployed troops and put firefighters on standby to try to contain the spread of the disease, officials said. The agriculture ministry said in a statement the “orange” vigilance level was extended to the whole country after previously covering only the badly hit southwest. S. Korea extends bird flu risk level to second highest nationwide 16 Apr 2008 South Korea has extended its avian influenza risk level to the second highest nationwide amid rising concerns bird flu could spread across the country following a series of outbreaks this month, quarantine officials said Wednesday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held a livestock quarantine meeting earlier in the day and decided to extend the risk level to “orange” nationwide. Japan may test bird flu vaccine on govt staff 16 Apr 2008 Japan may vaccinate thousands of government workers against bird flu in a large-scale test of the effectiveness of the vaccine. Under a plan being promoted by Japan’s Health Ministry, 6,000 medical workers and quarantine officers would be given the vaccine before March next year. Small company gets US go-ahead on bird flu patch 15 Apr 2008 A small biotechnology company trying to develop needle-free vaccines won a boost to its efforts on Tuesday with U.S. government approval to test a bird flu skin patch on more people. Bird Flu Crosses Species Barrier to Spread Among Dogs 02 Apr 2008 A bird flu virus that killed dogs in South Korea can spread from one dog to another, showing that the disease is capable of crossing species and causing widespread sickness in mammals, a study found. A cocker spaniel and a miniature schnauzer were among dozens of dogs in South Korea sickened by an H3N2 strain from birds, researchers said in a study published in the May issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases journal. Viruses taken from the sick canines were used in an experiment later to see if pathogens were capable of spreading from dog to dog. South Korea says probing suspected bird flu case 02 Apr 2008 South Korea is investigating a suspected bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm in the southwest of the country, the food and agriculture ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Two teenagers die of bird flu in Indonesia, toll hits 107 31 Mar 2008 A 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl have died of bird flu in recent days in Indonesia, bringing the total death toll from the H5N1 strain to 107, the Health Ministry said in a statement here Monday. Russian expert warns of bird flu pandemic 28 Mar 2008 A Russian scientist has said during an international bird flu conference that the virus would cause a global pandemic resulting in thousands of deaths, but did not say when it would happen. [Ask Bush’s bioterror team at Fort Detrick – I’m sure they’ll know.] Switzerland detects first bird flu case 27 Mar 2008 Switzerland on Thursday reported its first case of bird flu in two years, after diagnosing a wild duck with the H5N1 virus, said the Swiss federal veterinary department. Arizona man charged with TB exposure 25 Mar 2008 An Arizona man said his indictment for having tuberculosis is retaliation for a lawsuit he filed over his involuntary quarantine. Robert Daniels told the Arizona Republic that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio charged him with unlawfully exposing the public to a disease because Daniels had sued the county over his year-long quarantine in a Phoenix hospital. To facilitate Bush’s quarantines and to fill KBR’s detention centers: STMicroelectronics introduces flu detection laboratory on a chip 25 Mar 2008 The top European maker of semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, on Monday introduced a portable chip to detect influenza viruses, including avian flu, in humans. The device, which functions as a mini-laboratory on a chip, can screen and identify – in a single diagnostic and in two hours – multiple classes of pathogens and genes. Heads up! Market’s First Lab-on-Chip for Rapid Molecular Flu Detection at Point of Need 24 Mar 2008 Following the success of the evaluation trials conducted at the prestigious National University Hospital of Singapore, Veredus Laboratories and STMicroelectronics today announced the commercial availability of VereFlu(TM), a portable lab-on-chip application for rapid detection of all major influenza types at the point of need. Unlike existing diagnostic methods, VereFlu is a breakthrough molecular diagnostic test that can detect infection with high accuracy and sensitivity, within two hours providing genetic information of the infection that traditionally would take days to weeks to learn. With its high level of automation, users outside the traditional lab environment can easily perform the tests at the point of need. TB Patient Faces Felony Charges in Ariz. 25 Mar 2008 A man with a virulent form of tuberculosis who once was confined to a hospital jail ward for failing to wear a mask in public has been indicted on felony charges. Prosecutors said Monday there was no evidence that Robert Daniels had exposed anyone to his multiple drug-resistant TB before he was quarantined in 2006, but they still charged him with two counts of unlawful introduction of disease or parasite. County officials have been putting together a case to prove Daniels knowingly introduced a disease into the state, endangering others. “We took our time looking at the evidence to make sure the evidence fit the crime,” said Sally Wells of the Maricopa County attorney’s office. [LOL, just wait until Bush, Cheney, KBR and Blackwater host the bird flu pandemic party.] TB patient indicted on charges of exposing public to disease 24 Mar 2008 A tuberculosis patient who was involuntarily quarantined for a year in a Phoenix hospital jail ward has been indicted on charges that he unlawfully exposed the public to a disease. Robert Daniels, a Russian-born man with dual U.S. citizenship, fled to Moscow last year to escape possible prosecution and incarceration by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Indonesia limits sharing of bird flu samples 24 Mar 2008 Indonesia will not fully share bird flu virus samples with the World Health Organization until a new global mechanism is in place, a senior official said on Monday. Turkey quarantines village after bird flu confirmed 22 Mar 2008 Turkish authorities quarantined a village in northwestern Turkey and began culling poultry after test results showed that chicken deaths there had been caused by bird flu, state run Anatolian said on Saturday. The report did not specify the strain of the bird flu virus. Greek farms near Turkey on bird flu alert – report 21 Mar 2008 Authorities in northeastern Greece have been placed on alert after bird flu was detected among chickens in a Turkish border village, the Athens News Agency reported. Indonesia accuses U.S. of abusing bird flu virus 20 Mar 2008 Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadhilah Supari has accused the United States of abusing Indonesian bird flu virus for commercial purposes, Antara news agency reported on Thursday. “We sent the virus (to them) for the sake of humanity but they have turned it into vaccines sold everywhere on the pretext of keeping watch for pandemic,” Antara news agency Thursday quoted the minister as saying in Surabaya. On the pretext of keeping watch for pandemic, she said the U.S. and WHO had produced vaccines and sold them to third world countries for millions of dollars. “They made third world nations laboratories. They want us to be ill while at the same time selling the vaccines. Don’t let this continue,” she said. Brown unveils civil defence plan 19 Mar 2008 Members of the public will be able to join a new form of civil defence network to protect Britain ‘against’ natural disasters and terrorism. The organisations – likened to a new breed of “air raid precautions” or “ARP” wardens from the Second World War – will team up to build the country’s resilience in a catastrophe. As part of a new National Security Strategy, Prime Minister Gordon Brown also revealed that the Government will publish for the first time a list of the risks faced by Britain… For example, it said the highest threat currently faced is an influenza-type pandemic which the Government believes could kill up to 750,000 people in the UK. Flu pandemic is biggest threat to security, strategy says 19 Mar 2008 The biggest threat to Britain at the present time is a flu pandemic. An outbreak could cause the deaths of up to 750,000 people, according to the strategy. Officials had carried a modelling exercise last Autumn, called Operation Winter Willow, to gauge the effects of such a pandemic. Officials were applying the lessons from the Government’s approach to terrorism, the strategy says. Toronto bird flu lockdown misreported 19 Mar 2008 A Toronto hospital denied media reports Wednesday an elderly couple had been quarantined amid fears they had returned from Asia with avian flu. CITY-TV reported an elderly couple who had just returned from Bangladesh were admitted to Toronto East General Hospital Tuesday night, and workers were taking “extra steps to be safe including wearing masks and gloves.” Soon after, the hospital issued a statement saying it “has no reason to speculate that any patients in the hospital have avian flu.” Couple Isolated At Toronto Hospital Over Bird Flu Fears 19 Mar 2008 When an elderly couple who had just returned from Bangladesh showed up at Toronto East General Hospital suffering from bad flu-like symptoms, officials there took no chances. The patients were immediately isolated, staff members wore gowns, gloves and masks and no visitors were allowed in to the secure area. But on Wednesday, the hospital took great pains to assure there was no reason to fear the disease had made its way to Canada. UN warns bird flu fight failing in Indonesia 19 Mar 2008 Efforts to contain bird flu are failing, increasing the possibility that the virus may mutate into a deadlier form, the leading UN veterinary health body has warned. U.S. denies producing biological weapons from bird flu samples –Media: U.S. denies Indonesia’s allegation on bird flu virus 17 Mar 2008 The United States has flatly denied allegations it was producing biological weapons from bird flu samples sent by Indonesia to the World Health Organization, the English daily The Jakarta Post reported Monday. Michael H. Anderson, counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia, [has issued the denial]. However, Indonesian senior biodefense researcher Isro Samihardjo said the U.S. could use bird flu virus samples from Indonesia to develop weapons at the Los Alamos Laboratory. Isro was speaking at a meeting about Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari’s newly released book here Saturday. In her book “It’s Time for the World to Change, Divine Hands behind Bird Flu,” Siti writes of her suspicions about a conspiracy between the U.S. and the WHO. Bird flu covers 11 provinces 17 Mar 2008 At present, there are 11 provinces and localities with bird flu: Ninh Binh, Vinh Long, Phu Tho, Ha Nam, Tuyen Quang, Hanoi, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Lao Cai, Quang Binh and Ha Nam. State media reports outbreak of bird flu in China 16 Mar 2008 Bird flu has broken out in the south of China, killing more than 100 poultry, state media reported on Sunday, citing the agriculture ministry. The outbreak occurred in a market in Guangzhou, in Guangdong province on Thursday, and was a ”highly pathogenic” subtype of the H5N1 influenza virus, which can be deadly to humans, the report said. Jakarta ends stand-off on bird flu vaccines –Indonesia’s health minister accused the US of trying to use bird flu samples to create a biological weapon. 24 Feb 2008 Samples of bird flu virus are at the centre of an extraordinary political battle in Indonesia, as arguments rage over the profits from potentially life-saving vaccines. After receiving an assurance that Jakarta would have access to affordable vaccines, Indonesia finally sent 12 samples to a World Health Organisation (WHO) laboratory last Friday after hanging on to them since August. The situation worsened last week after it emerged that Siti Fadilah Supari, Indonesia’s health minister, had accused the United States in a new book she has written of trying to use the material to create a biological weapon. US involved in bird flu conspiracy: Indonesia 20 Feb 2008 (Transcript from AM, Australia’s ABC.) Peter Cave: Indonesia’s Health Minister has suggested that the United States may be involved in a conspiracy to use the bird flu virus to develop biological weapons. The extraordinary allegation is included in a new book, endorsed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which describes Indonesia’s fight to assert its ownership of its virulent strains of avian influenza. Concerns over that issue prompted Indonesia last year to stop sharing virus samples with the World Health Organization as Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson reports. Dr Supari expresses alarm at WHO laboratories sharing bird flu virus data with the United States national laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where nuclear weapons are developed. Indonesia accuses US of bird flu plot 20 Feb 2008 The Indonesian Health Minister has said the United States and the World Health Organisation are part of a global conspiracy to profit from the spread of bird flu and the US may use samples to produce biological weapons… In the book, Dr Supari writes that WHO laboratories forwarded influenza viruses to Western companies so they could profit by selling vaccines back to developing countries. Some Indonesian samples had been sent to a US Defence Department laboratory, Dr Supari says, adding that “some of our seed viruses had been in a laboratory known as a facility developing biological weapons in a superpower country”. Migratory birds not main source of bird flu: WWF 16 Feb 2008 Wild migratory birds may suffer from Avian Influenza (‘bird flu’), but they are not the main source of the disease’s outbreak in Pakistan, according to a study statement issued by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Lahore chapter on Friday. CDC says influenza B strain doesn’t match vaccine 08 Feb 2008 The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that most circulating influenza B viruses tested so far this season don’t match this year’s vaccine, signaling that two of the three vaccine components are off-target. ‘Mysterious’ bird flu baffles Indonesian scientists 06 Feb 2008 Indonesian scientists and officials said they were baffled by the “mysterious” behaviour of the [US Army] bird flu virus here, which has already claimed nine lives this year in the world’s worst-hit nation. Indonesia has reported 126 cases of H5N1 bird flu, 103 of them fatal, since 2005. Turkey detects bird flu virus in poultry 03 Feb 2008 Turkey detected bird flu virus in dead chickens found late last month in the northern part of the country after it had started culling poultry due to bird flu suspicions, the Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday. Top-secret Livermore germ lab opens –Scientists developing ‘countermeasures’ for bubonic plague, anthrax, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, tularemia, brucellosis or undulant fever; researching flu, tuberculosis and SARS 02 Feb 2008 A high-security laboratory where deadly microbes are being grown by scientists seeking defenses against terrorist attacks began operating in Livermore last week without public announcement, and opponents said Friday that they will go to federal court in an effort to close the facility down. The facility is known as a Biosafety-level 3 laboratory where… more than 40 potentially lethal disease-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi are stored inside. Bird flu spreads in Bangladesh, port city on alert 03 Feb 2008 Bird flu has spread to three more districts of Bangladesh, the livestock department said on Sunday, taking the number of affected districts to more than half of the country’s 64 districts. India isolates 26 people as bird flu spreads in Asia 01 Feb 2008 India has put 26 people in isolation with bird flu symptoms and hundreds more people are being monitored, officials said on Friday as Pakistan and Thailand reported outbreaks of bird flu in poultry. USDA Bird Flu Plan Needs Test [LOL, I’m sure they do! Halliburton, KBR, Monsanto, and Gilead Sciences want a dry run, so that they can secure their billion-dollar contracts in the aftermath of a bird flu outbreak or a Bush bioterror attack – for detention centers, quarantines and mandatory vaccines. The same players who ‘rebuilt’ New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina are still sitting at the table, poised for Bush’s pandemic party. –LRP] 01 Feb 2008 The Agriculture Department cannot ensure it will respond effectively to a bird flu outbreak because it has not tested many of the policies put in place as part of a national preparedness plan, an inspector general’s report said Friday… The federal government’s plan to prepare the country for avian influenza includes more than 300 tasks [!] for various federal departments. WHO reports Tamiflu-resistant flu in U.S. and Canada 01 Feb 2008 The main flu virus circulating [created] in the United States and Canada has shown “elevated resistance” to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, in line with findings in parts of Europe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. A number of governments have been stockpiling Tamiflu, made by Switzerland’s Roche Holding Ag and Gilead Sciences Inc of the United States, for use as a first line of ‘defense’ in case bird flu sparks a human influenza pandemic. Bird flu: Officials asked to collect random human samples 22 Jan 2008 Worried that the vast swathe of the bird flu virus across West Bengal puts human health at grave risk, the Union health ministry on Monday asked its officials camping in the affected districts to intensify door-to-door surveillance and test anyone showing symptoms of flu. India: Bird Flu Spread ‘Alarming’ 19 Jan 2008 India’s third outbreak of avian flu among poultry is the worst it has faced, the World Health Organization said. The chief minister of West Bengal State, which is trying to cull 400,000 birds, called the virus’s spread “alarming.” New outbreaks were also reported this week in Iran and Ukraine. Bird flu: Matter of grave concern, says Buddha 19 Jan 2008 Admitting that the bird flu situation in the state is a matter of grave concern, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday asked all district and sub-divisional hospitals to set up special isolation wards to monitor patients coming with symptoms of avian flu. Bird flu strain claims fifth swan 18 Jan 2008 A fifth swan at a sanctuary in Dorset has tested positive for the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, environment department Defra has said. The first case of avian influenza was found at the Abbotsbury Swannery, near Chesil Beach, on 10 January. Fourth swan tests positive for H5N1 bird flu in UK 16 Jan 2008 A fourth swan in southern England has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, Britain’s farm ministry said on Wednesday. Last week, the ministry confirmed that three wild swans at a bird sanctuary in Dorset had died from the virus. U.S. pandemic plans call for military quarantines, forced vaccinations: ACLU 14 Jan 2008 U.S. policy in preparing for a potential bird flu pandemic is veering dangerously toward a heavy-handed law-enforcement approach [police state], the American Civil Liberties Union said on Monday. The ACLU said it was worried that the plan called for military and police involvement in enforcing a quarantine. “Pandemic planning today tends to emphasize mandatory vaccination and forced treatment,” the ACLU’s Tania Simoncelli told a news conference. “It also means that sick people are being treated as criminals and enemies of the state rather than individuals in need of care.” [See: DoD to ‘augment civilian law’ during pandemic or bioterror attack –Is Bush is getting ready to play the Bioterror Card? 11 May 2007.] ACLU Report: Government Must Abandon Misguided Approach to Pandemic Preparedness (aclu.org) 14 Jan 2008 As fears of a flu pandemic have grown, the Bush administration has pursued a misguided approach to pandemic preparation that relies on a law enforcement/national security approach, rather than a public health approach to the problem, and which exposes Americans to unnecessary risk. That is the finding of an expert report being released today by the American Civil Liberties Union at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. French bird flu TV crew may face Niger death penalty -lawyer 22 Dec 2007 Authorities in Niger have charged two French journalists with colluding with armed groups in the country’s uranium-rich north, which could carry the death penalty if they are convicted, their lawyer said on Saturday. Thomas Dandois and Pierre Creisson are accused of violating the terms of their media accreditation to film a report about bird flu in the southern city of Maradi, instead travelling to film rebel fighters in the country’s Saharan north. [Gee, I wonder what they stumbled upon?] Poland reports fresh outbreak of H5N1 bird flu 22 Dec 2007 Laboratory tests have confirmed a fresh outbreak of deadly H5N1 avian flu in the same area of northern Poland where the virus was discovered earlier this month, PAP news agency said on Saturday. Common buzzard found dead in HK tests positive for H5N1 21 Dec 2007 The common buzzard that was found dead earlier on Hong Kong’s largest but thinly populated island tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said Friday. Pakistan and Myanmar report first human H5N1 infections as bird flu resurfaces in Asia 16 Dec 2007 Pakistan and Myanmar reported their first human cases of H5N1 bird flu as the virus continues to flare in Asia, including recent deaths in Indonesia and China. Six people were infected with the virus in northern Pakistan last month and at least one has died, the government said Saturday. Bird flu found on Polish farm birds 02 Dec 2007 Turkeys at two poultry farms in central Poland have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, authorities said. It is the country’s first reported case of the deadly virus in domestic livestock. Bird flu spreads to 60 countries, pandemic risk still high: UN 29 Nov 2007 Bird flu in poultry and wild birds spread to 60 countries but is entrenched only in six because of improved and faster responses, experts said. Despite those strides, the risk of a worldwide human-to-human pandemic remains as great today as it was when the hard-to-treat H5N1 flu strain first gained intense attention in mid-2005, said a new report by Dr. David Nabarro, the UN official co-ordinating the global fight against avian influenza, and World Bank officials. “We think it will happen sometime but we don’t know when or where,” Nabarro said Thursday. [Oh, that’s an easy one: The US, just before the 2008 ‘elections.’] Defra unable to identify bird flu source 30 Nov 2007 An initial report into the recent outbreak of deadly bird flu in Suffolk has been unable to identify the source of the disease, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today. [Right, check your local US Army lab for the source. See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice. Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic.] Bird flu confirmed in Saudi Arabia 22 Nov 2007 Saudi Arabia’s agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that more than three million birds have been culled or are in the process of being destroyed following an outbreak of bird flu. The ministry said new cases of bird flu had been detected in farms west and south of Riyadh. Birds slaughtered after bird flu suspected on new British farm 21 Nov 2007 Poultry were being slaughtered at another British farm after a suspected outbreak of bird flu, the government said Wednesday. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the site was within a surveillance zone set up after the disease was confirmed on a nearby farm earlier this month. Two outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu have been confirmed in eastern England. Bird flu scare lands plane in quarantine 13 Nov 2007 Health authorities briefly quarantined 223 people in a Korean Airlines plane at Auckland Airport today after a South Korean passenger displayed possible bird flu symptoms, officials said. Suffolk farm bird flu is infectious H5N1 strain 13 Nov 2007 The turkeys killed by bird flu at a farm in Suffolk had the highly infectious H5N1 strain of the disease, it was announced today. Bird flu outbreak is deadly strain 13 Nov 2007 An outbreak of bird flu on a Suffolk farm is the deadly H5N1 form of the virus, Defra confirmed today, while the government warned that the disease may have already spread. Bird flu confirmed on farm in east England 12 Nov 2007 An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed at a turkey farm in eastern England although the exact strain is not yet known, Britain’s farm ministry said on Monday. WHO Chief Warns Threat of Bird Flu Pandemic Still Real 02 Nov 2007 “The risk of an avian influenza pandemic is still with us,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan warned Friday, saying a pandemic is still possible. Flu Lab Set to Open for 1918 Pandemic Virus Reconstruction –Ebola research may resume, pending outcome of appeal 28 Oct 2007 UW-Madison ‘s $12.5 million Institute for Influenza Viral Research, nearing completion at University Research Park, will have a collection of safety and security features the university hasn’t seen before. Virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka plans to study several kinds of flu viruses in the institute — including H5N1, the bird flu virus circulating in Asia, and a reconstructed version of the 1918 flu virus, which killed some 50 million people when it spread worldwide. …Jan Klein, UW-Madison ‘s biological safety officer, said the university may appeal the NIH ‘s ruling halting the Ebola work. 650,000 would die from bird flu, says Govt. 28 Oct 2007 It is a grisly scenario: 650,000 deaths, with bodies piled up in shipping containers before being buried in mass graves all over the country. That is the nightmare envisaged by the Government in what it describes as the “very likely” event of a bird flu pandemic. The alarming prediction is contained in a confidential Home Office document drawn up to help councils and other organisations deal with a catastrophic outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus… Other proposals contained in the paper include suspending exhumation powers and coroner’s juries and cancelling inquests into deaths from natural causes in prisons. Bird Flu May Be on ‘Silent’ March in Europe, UN Agency Warns 25 Oct 2007 Avian influenza, the virus that has led to the deaths of millions of birds and more than 200 people since 2003, may be more prevalent than previously thought in Europe as it goes undetected in waterfowl. [Yes, bird flu is on a ‘silent march,’ and will reach its destination just in time for Bush to implement martial law for the 2008 ‘elections.’] DoD to carry out ‘military missions’ during pandemic, WMD attack By Lori Price 23 Oct 2007 On Thursday, the Bush administration issued a directive which ‘establishes a National Strategy for Public Health and Medical Preparedness (Strategy), which builds upon principles set forth in Biodefense for the 21st Century (April 2004) and will transform our national approach to protecting the health of the American people against [with] all disasters.’ HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-21 states that within one year of the directive’s date, ‘the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, shall establish an academic Joint Program for Disaster Medicine and Public Health housed at a National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences… Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense authorities will be used to carry out respective civilian and military missions within this joint program.’ Troops, key doctors to get first U.S. bird flu shots 23 Oct 2007 Deployed military troops, emergency workers, pregnant women and children will be among the first to get scarce vaccinations if a pandemic strain of flu breaks out, U.S. officials said. A long-awaited report to be issued on Tuesday lays out who would be first in line to get vaccinated against [with] H5N1 bird flu or any other strain of pandemic influenza. Key Viral Change Could Help Bird Flu Spread 04 Oct 2007 U.S. scientists say they’ve spotted [created] a crucial step the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus must take in order to spread easily in humans. So far, the virus has not developed the ability to spread easily among humans. Now, researchers led by University of Wisconsin-Madison virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka have ‘pinpointed’ a single change in a viral protein that helps H5N1 infect the cells of the upper respiratory system in mammals. U.S. labs mishandling deadly germs –Confidential reports submitted to federal regulators describe ‘accidents’ involving anthrax, bird flu virus, monkeypox and plague-causing bacteria at 44 labs in 24 states. 02 Oct 2007 American laboratories handling the world’s deadliest germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003, and the number is increasing steadily as more labs across the country are approved to do the work. The documented cases reflect poorly on procedures and oversight at high-security labs, some of which work with organisms and poisons so dangerous that illnesses they cause have no cure. Financial Institutions to Undergo Pandemic Flu Response Test 24 Sep 2007 Don’t be alarmed if your local bank teller is looking a bit sickly over the next three weeks. It is only a cyber-illness. Hundreds of banks and other financial institutions are participating in the largest test of its kind ever conducted to ensure the nation’s financial system can keep functioning in case of an outbreak of pandemic flu [Bush bioterrorism]. China confirms bird flu outbreak 18 Sep 2007 China has confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus among ducks in an outlying district of the southern city of Guangzhou. Bush Greases Skids For UN Pandemic Power Grab –Bestselling author [Jerome Corsi] “wouldn’t put it past” Globalists to release virus to capitalize on control By Paul Joseph Watson 02 Sep 2007 The World Health Organization and the U.N. have been handed complete control over response procedures in the event of a pandemic outbreak in the U.S. after an agreement was signed by President [sic] Bush at the recent SPP meeting that bypasses congressional approval. Bird flu shock 31 Aug 2007 Up to 650,000 people could die in the UK if there was a worldwide outbreak of human or avian flu. A Home Office report outlines emergency plans for mass burials and morgues in refrigerated trucks. Flu pandemic ‘could kill 650,000′ 31 Aug 2007 Up to 650,000 people could die in England and Wales if there were a flu pandemic, according to a Home Office document that outlines plans for dealing with an outbreak, including measures for mass burials and refrigerated storage of bodies Warning of new bird flu danger 31 Aug 2007 Bird flu has spread between several humans, according to a new study of deaths in Indonesia last year. [See: Making Killer Flu 12 Jun 2007 and Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004.] Bush’s SPP power grab sets stage for military to manage flu threats –U.S. under U.N. law in health emergency By Jerome R. Corsi 28 Aug 2007 The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit in Canada released a plan that establishes U.N. law along with regulations by the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization as supreme over U.S. law during a pandemic and sets the stage for militarizing the management of continental health emergencies. The “North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza” was finalized at the SPP summit last week in Montebello, Quebec. At the same time, the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, has created a webpage dedicated to avian flu and has been running exercises in preparation for the possible use of U.S. military forces in a continental domestic emergency involving avian flu or pandemic influenza. Combatting Avian Flu in North America: The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza 17 Aug 2007 The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza was announced by the Presidents of the United States and Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada on August 21, 2007 in Montebello, Canada, at the North American Leaders Summit. The Plan was developed as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The SPP is a trilateral effort launched in March 2005 to increase security and enhance prosperity in Canada, Mexico and the United States through greater cooperation and information sharing. NORTHCOM Prepares for Possible Pandemic 01 Feb 2006 U.S. Northern Command recently hosted representatives from more than 40 international, federal and state agencies for an exercise designed to provoke discussion and determine what governmental actions, including military support [martial law, KBR detention cetnres] , would be necessary in the event of an influenza pandemic in the United States… “NORTHCOM will not be running the show in the event of a pandemic,” said Dave Wilkins, the NORTHCOM exercise facilitator. “We will be taking guidance and requests from other agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, via the secretary of defense.” Person-to-person bird flu confirmed 31 Aug 2007 Bird flu has spread between humans on several occasions, a new study of deaths in Indonesia last year has found. Study confirms 2006 human-human spread of bird flu 28 Aug 2007 A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. They said they had developed a tool to run quick tests on disease outbreaks to see if dangerous epidemics or pandemics may be developing [in Bush’s labs]. “No-Evacuation Required During a Bird Flu Outbreak” –Chlorine Dioxide Gas to Be Used to Create ‘Virus-Free’ Areas –Experimental data and practical applications of chlorine dioxide ‘against’ pandemic influenza to be presented at international bird flu summit in the US. (New-Fields) 27 Aug 2007 At the 5th International Bird Flu Summit organized by New-Fields Exhibition Inc., Dr. Norio Ogata of the Japanese Taiko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is to present the company’s experimental data and practical applications of chlorine dioxide ‘against’ pandemic influenza. The product to be launched uses chlorine dioxide gas to create virus-free living spaces. Now, what’s interesting about New-Fields? (‘We find new-fields for you.’) New-Fields, uniting and marketing corpora-terrorists who are trying to start (and profit from) an avian flu pandemic, are also actually hosting the Iraqi Oil & Gas Technology Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, 5-6 September 2007. (New-Fields) It has been estimated that with its natural resources Iraq has the potential to earn between $10 billion and $15 billion over the next few years. The Iraqi oil industry faces three distinct phases of development… The immediate task is restoring historical capacity which could require an investment of $5-10 billion and take 18 to 24 months. This work could be carried out under the auspices of an occupation regime… The second phase is developing prospects already found, raising capacity significantly. Cost is estimated at $40-80 billion, with a lead-time of seven to 10 years, depending upon the scope of the program. This work would need a legitimate government to assign new contracts… The third phase would be new exploration… and that also would require a legitimate government to negotiate fresh exploration rights. Iraq also has a substantial natural gas potential that could be used for industrial and power generation purposes. [People need to question the possible links between those running/managing (mismanaging) and profiting from the Iraq war and those who are poised to run/manage (mismanage) and profit from an avian flu pandemic. –LRP] Germany to enforce buffer zone around bird flu farm 27 Aug 2007 The European Commission and Germany on Monday agreed to implement a 15-kilometre (10-mile) buffer zone around a Bavarian farm after the discovery of the highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu, an EU spokesman said. Deadly bird flu found in German poultry farm 25 Aug 2007 An outbreak of deadly bird flu [highly pathogenic H5N1 strain] has been identified in a southern German poultry farm, a spokeswoman for Bavaria’s environment ministry said on Saturday. Tests show Kibbutz Grofit chicken coop not contaminated with bird flu 24 Aug 2007 The chicken coop in Kibbutz Grofit is not contaminated with bird flu, the Agricultural Ministry announced Friday. Tests showed that the virus which was discovered in the blood of one of the chickens was not the dangerous strain. Authorities suspect Kibbutz Grofit chickens have bird flu 23 Aug 2007 Authorities suspect that chickens at Kibbutz Grofit in the Arava have been infected with bird flu. The entire kibbutz has been placed under veterinary quarantine pending test results. Study finds key markers for bird flu change 21 Aug 2007 Researchers have found some of the changes that a flu virus needs to become a deadly pandemic strain, and said on Tuesday the H5N1 avian influenza virus has so far made only a few of them. [No worries –the Bush bioterror team is *working hard* to get the avian flu pandemic party started! See: Making Killer Flu 12 Jun 2007 CDC scientists swap genes between bird flu and human strains to ‘plot the path of’ [*create*] a possible pandemic and Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004.] Roche Joins the 5th International Bird Flu Summit as a Sponsor –Joins three other elite companies as one of the Summit’s Platinum Sponsors (New-Fields) 21 Aug 2007 (Washington, DC) New-Fields Exhibitions announces the inclusion of F. Hoffman-La Roche, a leading healthcare [pharma-terrorism] company, among the platinum sponsors of the 5th International Bird Flu Summit (IBFS) to be held on September 27 and 28 this year in Nevada USA. The 2-day event will cover an integrated approach to the bird flu threat and will have discussions on pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery [corpora-terrorism, profiteering and martial law]. About New-Fields Exhibitions: New Fields Exhibitions, Inc. is a leading emerging markets and business information provider. With offices in Washington, DC and overseas, the company provides marketing services in the areas of construction, energy, oil & gas, telecommunications and health care. Bush poised to play the bioterror card; corpora-terrorists poised to make a *killing*: Government secures £155m bird flu vaccines 17 Aug 2007 Britain has moved to secure supplies of vaccines to counter a possible human influenza pandemic sparked by bird flu, by signing deals worth £155m in total with GlaxoSmithKline and Baxter International of the US. Under the four-year deals, GSK and Baxter International will together supply 120 million doses of their pandemic flu vaccines as soon as the strain is identified [?] and made available by the World Health Organisation. £155m flu vaccine deal signed 16 Aug 2007 The Government has agreed a £155.4 million contract for a flu vaccine in the event of a pandemic. The Department of Health, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Baxter Healthcare signed the four-year deal, which would see the firms supply a vaccine as soon as a pandemic strain was notified by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Pandemic Influenza Medical Surge Plan Exercise Set for July 24 20 Jul 2007 (AL) State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson said, “Preparing our state for the possibility of a global influenza pandemic is a huge responsibility, and it is one which depends on cooperation of everyone involved to be successful.” This one-day exercise will simulate a situation in which large numbers of citizens are becoming ill from influenza. U.S. will detain those suspected of harboring bird flu virus 18 Jul 2007 More than a year after President [sic] Bush unveiled a plan for coping with a pandemic flu outbreak, the federal government still has limited capacity to detect a disease outbreak and track its progress across the country… The government will try to limit the number of arriving people who might be infected with the virus and detain those suspected of harboring the virus, Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, special assistant to the president for biodefense, said. Implementation of the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (whitehouse.gov) 17 Jul 2007 In May 2006, the Administration issued the ‘National Strategy For Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan,’ which provides a roadmap to achieve the federal government’s pandemic preparedness and response Goals. Eighty-six percent of all actions due within 12 months under the Implementation Plan have been completed. We are confronting [fomenting] the threat of an influenza pandemic at its source. [See: Making Killer Flu 12 Jun 2007 CDC scientists swap genes between bird flu and human strains to ‘plot the path of’ [*create*] a possible pandemic and Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004.] Non-pathogenic strain of bird flu virus found, could turn pathogenic [by the Bush bioterror team] 17 Jul 2007 The existence of a non-pathogenic strain of the virus causing bird flu has been confirmed in the state according to knowledgeable sources, although state officials are tightlipped about the whole affair… The officials only said that no pathogenic strain of the virus has detected yet, but were mum about the presence of a non-pathogenic strain. Germany, France Raise Bird Flu Risk Level After New H5N1 Cases 06 Jul 2007 Germany has raised its bird flu risk assessment level after it was reported that 38 new cases of the deadly H5N1 strain were discovered in the country’s east. France also reported new cases and upped its own alert. Germany raises bird flu alert to “high” 06 Jul 2007 The German authorities on Thursday raised the alert for bird flu from “moderate” to “high” after 38 more wild birds were tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain in eastern Germany. The birds were among the 100 found dead on an artificial lane between the states of Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, German news agency dpa reported. France says H5N1 bird flu virus confirmed in swans 05 Jul 2007 Tests have confirmed that three swans found dead in eastern France were killed by the H5N1 bird flu virus, the French agriculture ministry said on Thursday, France’s first cases of the disease in over a year. USDA Official to Discuss Pandemic Plans at Bird Flu Summit –Chief veterinary officer to detail the actions the USDA is now taking to combat bird flu outbreaks in the poultry industry—and those it will apply when [not ‘if,’ but ‘when’] a [US Army-generated] pandemic breaks out. (New Fields) 03 Jul 2007 Dr. John Clifford, Deputy Administrator of the USDA-APHID Veterinary Services program will discuss how his department works with Homeland Security to prepare for, respond to, mitigate, and recover from, a pandemic. Dr. Clifford will speak at the 5th International Bird Flu Summit, to be held on September 27-28 at Las Vegas… Together with the DHS, it [the USDA] coordinates the execution of state and local pandemic response plans—only turning over the lead to the DHS when a pandemic breaks out. Gee, looky here! The same ‘people’ who are conducting bird flu summits are also holding Iraqi oil & gas summits! Iraqi Oil & Gas Technology Conference –8th ReBuilding Iraq Conference & Expo –Istanbul, Turkey 5-6 September 2007 (New Fields) 03 Apr 2007 The Iraqi oil industry faces three distinct phases of development. Restoration –The immediate task is restoring historical capacity which could require an investment of $5-10 billion and take 18 to 24 months. This work could be carried out under the auspices of an occupation regime. Developing Prospects –The second phase is developing prospects already found, raising capacity significantly. Cost is estimated at $40-80 billion… This work would need a legitimate government to assign new contracts. New Exploration –The third phase would be new exploration, for which Iraq immediately has little need, and that also would require a legitimate government to negotiate fresh exploration rights… There is a large potential for substituting gas for oil in power generation. Finally, there is also a refinery and petrochemical investment potential. Bird flu cases increase to six in Germany 26 Jun 2007 Germany confirmed the H5N1 bird flu virus in three more wild birds in the southern state of Bavaria on Monday, bringing the total infected cases to six since last weekend. New tests on bird flu drug after teenagers’ deaths –Trials will look at whether Tamiflu causes delusions 20 Jun 2007 The reputation of flu drug Tamiflu suffered a fresh blow yesterday when the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche and its Japanese partner announced new clinical trials to establish whether there is a possible link between the antiviral and dozens of deaths and injuries among Japanese teenagers. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] Bird Flu Fears Reignited 19 Jun 2007 While the threat of a bird flu pandemic continues to hang over the world, authorities in the United Kingdom now believe a second strain of avian flu — previously considered of little human risk — does indeed pose a real danger to people… When new hens began dying between May 1 and May 17, health authorities from both countries descended on the farm, testing the sick birds and determining that the birds had H7N2 disease. Making Killer Flu 12 Jun 2007 CDC scientists swap genes between bird flu and human strains to ‘plot the path of’ [*create*] a possible pandemic. Malaysia Quarantines Five Bird Flu Suspects 12 Jun 2007 At least five people have been quarantined in two Malaysian hospitals after displaying symptoms of the bird flu virus, the health minister said on Tuesday. Sixteen others who were also suspected of being infected with the virus were quarantined and had tested negative. Authorities seeking those on flight 29 May 2007 A man with a rare and exceptionally dangerous form of tuberculosis has been placed in quarantine by the U.S. government [!] after possibly exposing passengers and crew on two trans-Atlantic flights earlier this month, health officials said Tuesday. The infected man flew from Atlanta to Paris on May 12 aboard Air France Flight 385. He returned to North America on May 24 aboard Czech Air Flight 104 from Prague to Montreal. The man then drove into the United States. He cooperated with authorities after learning he had an unusually dangerous form of TB. He voluntarily went to a hospital and is not facing prosecution, officials said. [See: DoD to ‘augment civilian law’ during pandemic or bioterror attack By Lori Price 11 May 2007 Is Bush is getting ready to play the Bioterror Card?] U.S. Government Issues a Quarantine Order –CDC Order is First Since 1963 29 May 2007 A man with a rare and exceptionally dangerous form of tuberculosis has been placed in quarantine by the U.S. government after possibly exposing passengers and crew on two trans-Atlantic flights earlier this month, health officials said Tuesday. This marks the first time since 1963 that the government issued a quarantine order. The last such order was to quarantine a patient with smallpox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DoD to ‘augment civilian law’ during pandemic or bioterror attack By Lori Price 11 May 2007 Is Bush is getting ready to play the Bioterror Card? The GOP cannot steal an inevitable Democratic landslide in November 2008. Will the Bush regime continue its illegitimate rule and empire by implementing a full-blown police state, in the aftermath of an avian flu pandemic or (Bush-engendered) bioterror attack? ‘In some ways the war game resembled the hit U.S. TV show ’24.’ U.S. health agency stages bird flu war game 27 Apr 2007 A leading U.S. health agency staged a war game this week to test its response to one of the worst health emergencies it could imagine — an outbreak of avian flu on American soil. The exercise, which ended on Friday, was designed to simulate how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would marshal its resources, coordinate with other branches of government and, crucially, reassure the public [lie] while preparing it for a [US engendered] possible pandemic. In some ways the war game resembled the hit U.S. TV show [torture-fest] “24,” with health officials battling in real time to save the United States from imminent disaster, though of course minus the violence [!]. Like the Counter Terrorism Unit at the heart of “24,” the CDC used its Director’s Emergency Operations Center… In calculating whether to close the border,… These are the facts on the ground: do our theoretical constructs hold,” said Martin Cetron, CDC director of the division of global migration and quarantine. [Oh, during a (US Army created pandemic) the US is going to ‘close the borders?’ The US can’t close the borders *now,* but they’re going to close them in the middle of a bird flu pandemic? Closing the borders will keep *us in,* quarantined in KBR’s detention centers. –Lori Price] Bird Flu Pandemic Could Infect 1 Billion People 24 Apr 2007 The World Health Organization has come out and stated that if a bird flu pandemic takes place it would kill up to 7 million people and infect at least 1 billion people around the world. The fear is that the virus could mutate into a form that is very easily transferable from human to human making it easier to catch. [Count on it! See: Scientists Recreate 1918 Flu and See Parallels to Bird Flu 18 Jan 2007] Bird flu pandemic spells doomsday disaster 24 Apr 2007 A global bird flu pandemic could infect one billion people and kill between two and seven million of them, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. Bird Flu School Planning Summit Stresses Hands-On Training –The May 21 summit tests resources against the toughest scenarios. Washington, DC (New-Fields) 15 Apr 2007 The second Bird Flu School Planning Summit, which will be launched on May 21 at the Hilton Garden Inn Raritan Center in New Jersey, is meant to engage school administrators, teachers, parents, and students in an intensive, hands-on training on how to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from a possible [DoD-engendered] bird flu pandemic. Organized by New-Fields Exhibitions, the summit aims to encourage all community members to engage in the fight against [sic] bird flu and to prepare for a looming flu pandemic. [Here’s where Bush’s quarantines, mandatory deadly vaccines and KBR-built detention centers are gonna’ come in handy –just before the 2008 ‘elections.’ –LRP] Grants to Fund Bird Flu Battle 02 Apr 2007 The government’s work to ‘prevent’ [foment] an influenza pandemic took on a more academic look Monday when it selected six universities and medical centers to help lead research efforts. U of M Awarded $22.5 Million NIH Contract to Study Avian Influenza 02 Apr 2007 The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today named the University of Minnesota as one of six sites across the country that will establish a Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. Huge U.S. economic losses forecast in flu pandemic 22 Mar 2007 An influenza pandemic on the scale of the 1918 “Spanish Flu” would inflict $700 billion in economic losses in the United States and a 5.5 percent GDP drop in a year, according to a report released on Thursday. Such a pandemic could trigger the second-deepest U.S. economic recession since World War Two, the report from the advocacy group Trust for America’s Health found. [Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater USA, however, will make a *killing.* Count on it! The Bush regime is already taking steps to get the pandemic party started. –LRP] Health alert over Tamiflu 21 Mar 2007 Japanese health officials issued an alert over giving flu drug Tamiflu to teenagers on Wednesday as Myanmar reported a further outbreak of bird flu in poultry. Tamiflu is regarded as one of the main drugs effective against a bird flu pandemic, but a series of cases, including teen suicides in Japan, have fuelled concern the drug could induce psychiatric symptoms. [Oops! There goes Rumsfeld’s stock portfolio! See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] H5N1 kills rare eagle near Japan bird flu sites 19 Mar 2007 The H5N1 bird flu virus killed a rare species of eagle, captured within 75 km (47 miles) of sites of three Japanese outbreaks of the virus among poultry earlier this year, the environment ministry said on Monday. Vaccines are used to spread (not ‘prevent’) viruses: Bird flu detected in vaccinated Egypt flocks – source 13 Mar 2007 Egypt has detected bird flu in chickens and ducks from reportedly vaccinated flocks, an animal health official said on Tuesday. The official, who closely follows bird flu in Egypt, said chickens and ducks from vaccinated household flocks and on poultry farms had tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus this year in 12 locations, and eight of the infections were detected this month. Hold on to your hats! From the ‘people’ who brought you the response to Hurricane Katrina’s blown levees: Homeland Security Official Presents National Pandemic Plan This Week –Associate Chief Medical Officer for Medical Readiness with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at the US Department of Homeland Security outlines current national pandemic planning efforts this week at the 4th International Bird Flu Summit in Washington, DC. (New-Fields) 12 Mar 2007 Dr. Tilman Jolly, an emergency medicine specialist with the US Department of Homeland Security, will present a talk on the current status of America’s national pandemic plan at the 4th International Bird Flu Summit in Washington on March 14-15. ‘I’m almost using the flu pandemic as an excuse to prepare for a disaster.’ Bird flu drill held at senior center 11 Mar 2007 (MA) Last November, 635 elderly people filed into the Worcester Senior Center to get their annual flu shots. They were done in less than four hours. They didn’t know they were part of a simulation of what would happen during a flu pandemic at one of Worcester’s nine emergency dispensing sites. Bird flu confirmed in 6 more areas of Afghanistan 10 Mar 2007 The virulent H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in six additional areas in eastern Afghanistan and Kabul, the United Nations said. CSIRO bird flu lockdown 08 Mar 2007 Two Geelong lab technicians exposed to bird flu will sit out the incubation danger period in virtual solitude away from family and friends. Infectious disease specialists have told them to stay isolated in home quarantine while a Department of Human Services doctor monitors their health. Four investigations were launched into the incident yesterday after the Geelong Advertiser reported that workers were exposed to bird flu virus at CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Moolap. Bird flu scientists isolated –Two scientists exposed to bird flu after sharing a faulty lab-suit are being monitored while another has been given the all-clear. 08 Mar 2007 (Geelong, AU) The trio had been involved in an experiment [!?!] on ducks infected with a South-East Asian strain of the avian flu when it was discovered on Monday that an air filter in one of the protective suits was missing. Bird flu lab bungle ‘no cause for alarm’ 07 Mar 2007 Victoria’s chief health officer has moved to quell concerns over any potential bird flu outbreak after three laboratory workers were exposed to the deadly disease. Experts urge big effort to make pandemic vaccines 05 Mar 2007 Top virologists called on Monday for a greater effort in developing effective vaccines against [with] a potential flu pandemic and warned that all contingency plans would be in vain without them. Scientists to exhume diplomat’s corpse for bird flu clues 05 Mar 2007 Scientists plan to exhume within the next five months the body of a British diplomat who died in 1919 of the Spanish flu, in a move they hope will provide vital clues on how to fight [foment] any future pandemic. Experts see strong parallels between the H5N1 bird flu virus of today and the H1N1 virus of 1918/1919 which sparked the Spanish flu that killed more than 50 million people. “We’re after an intact body.” Scientists want to exhume corpse from 1919 Spanish flu pandemic [to start a *new* pandemic] 28 Feb 2007 Scientists want to exhume the body of a British diplomat [Sir Mark Sykes] who died of Spanish flu during the 1919 pandemic in hopes of discovering clues to fight [start] a possible future global outbreak sparked by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. Body in lead coffin may hold key to fighting pandemic –Go-ahead for exhumation of politician and diplomat who died in 1918-19 epidemic 28 Feb 2007 A celebrated politician and diplomat [Sir Mark Sykes] who played a key role in the carve-up of the Middle East after the first world war is to be called on to perform a final service which could reap incalculable benefits for ‘global health’ [the pharma-terrorists and KBR’s detention centers]. Bird Flu Spreads in Asia as Laos Reports Human Case 27 Feb 2007 Bird flu spread in Asia as Laos reported its first-ever human case of the virus, following an outbreak in poultry. Kuwait confirms 12 new bird flu cases 27 Feb 2007 Kuwait confirmed on Tuesday 12 cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in turkeys and chicken on Tuesday, but said the birds did not belong to poultry farms. Kuwait on alert after bird flu detected 25 Feb 2007 Kuwait announced on Sunday that it had detected the deadly strain of avian influenza in poultry and birds and had shut the nation’s only zoo, AFP reported. The twenty cases of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza was detected in birds, mainly falcons. H5N1 bird flu confirmed in Afghanistan 24 Feb 2007 The presence of the deadly strain of bird flu in eastern Nangarhar province has been confirmed by Afghanistan’s Health Ministry. [Now there are two plagues in Afghanistan: bird flu and US terrorists.] What does a bird flu pandemic and Iraq’s electricity have in common? They’re both New-Fields exhibition topics in March. Posted by Lori R. Price 20 Feb 2007 Now in Moscow, bird flu continues extending its reach 20 Feb 2007 The outbreaks of avian flu that shut down farms and markets in the suburbs of Moscow over the weekend are a sign that the virus is moving westward along migratory bird routes, as it did last winter. The Russian authorities confirmed Sunday that the H5N1 avian influenza virus had been found on at least six farms within 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, of the capital. Thousands Get Tested For Bird Flu In Moscow 20 Feb 2007 Thousands of Russians are now being tested after an outbreak of bird flu took place on the outskirts of Moscow. Bird flu outbreak near Moscow might be act of bio-terrorism – veterinary official 18 Feb 2007 Bio-terrorism must not be discarded as a cause of an outbreak of bird flu at Moscow’s poultry market, but this should be tackled by the Federal Security Service and other law enforcement services,” chief veterinary official of the Moscow region, Valery Sitnikov, told Interfax on Sunday. Bird flu outbreaks blamed on rats [Right, US Army lab rats.] 19 Feb 2007 Japanese scientists fear that rats were responsible for carrying avian flu into four poultry farms over the past month, in an alarming development that suggests the virus could spread more quickly than realised. [See also: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004.] Tests confirm H5N1 bird flu strain in 2 suburban Moscow districts 17 Feb 2007 Tests have confirmed the presence of the H5N1 bird flu strain in poultry found dead in two suburban Moscow districts, an agriculture official said Saturday, in the first such outbreak to be recorded so close to the Russian capital. Bird flu company sales fall 40% 15 Feb 2007 The poultry company [Bernard Matthews] at the centre of a bird flu crisis in Suffolk and Hungary has seen its sales fall by up to 40%. UK and Hungarian bird flu “essentially identical” 13 Feb 2007 Tests on H5N1 bird flu viruses found in Britain and Hungary showed they are “essentially identical” and the most likely transmission route was from poultry to poultry, Britain said on Tuesday. No evidence Hungary the source of H5N1 13 Feb 2007 Hungary’s animal health authorities have found no evidence that could show poultry or poultry products from Hungary could have transmitted the H5N1 bird flu virus to Britain, Chief Veterinarian Miklos Suth said. “According to our knowledge today there is no such evidence,” Suth said on Tuesday. “It can almost be ruled out.” [Right, it was likely from a US Army lab.] Bernard Matthews firm could face prosecution over bird flu outbreak 12 Feb 2007 Lorry-loads of poultry products could have been transported out of the British farm which suffered a major outbreak of bird flu, the Government has admitted. An exclusion zone was put in place around the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton when the deadly strain of H5N1 was identified last week. But a diplomatic row was brewing last night between London and Budapest after Hungary said that tons of meat had been sent from Holton to the central European country since the restrictions were imposed. Bird flu farm continued exports 12 Feb 2007 Cooked turkey products were exported from the Suffolk farm where bird flu was found after the virus broke out. Some of that food was exported to Hungary – where it is thought the UK outbreak could have originated. US HHS Official to Speak at International Bird Flu Summit (email) 10 Feb 2007 New Fields is proud to welcome Dr Robin A. Robinson, Senior Project Officer Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (OPHEP), Office of Research & Development Coordination (ORDC), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) As a Speaker For the 4th International Bird Flu Summit. Bird Flu Reported in Pakistan Capital 10 Feb 2007 The deadly H5N1 stain of bird flu has been confirmed at a home in the Pakistani capital, the third such case in about a week. [See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice.] Bird flu tests for ill vet who helped tackle outbreak at turkey farm 07 Feb 2007 A vet who helped to tackle Britain’s most serious bird flu outbreak was admitted to hospital last night suffering from a respiratory illness. It was confirmed the State Veterinary Service employee would be tested for H5N1 avian flu. The vet fell ill after working at the Bernard Matthews farm where the outbreak occurred in Suffolk. Ministers forced to defend handling of flu outbreak 06 Feb 2007 The Government has defended its handling of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak in Suffolk as scientists continue to investigate how the deadly virus penetrated the supposedly bio-secure facility on a Bernard Matthews turkey farm. Mystery deepens over cause of Suffolk bird flu outbreak –Concern over delay in identifying H5N1 05 Feb 2007 The government was last night investigating possible links between the discovery of H5N1 avian bird flu at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk and recent outbreaks of the disease in Hungary. Government defends bird flu response 05 Feb 2007 The environment secretary, David Miliband, today said he was satisfied that the response to the Suffolk bird flu outbreak had been “rapid, well co-ordinated and appropriate”. World braced for huge surge in bird flu cases 04 Feb 2007 The number of cases of the deadly bird flu virus is increasing around the world as scientists struggle to combat the disease that is now threatening to jump species and infect humans. The news comes as Britain confirmed its first ever case of H5N1 in a farm in Suffolk. H5N1: The deadly strain of bird flu is here. But we’re told: Don’t panic –160,000 turkeys to be gassed; exclusion zone set up; virus likely to spread 04 Feb 2007 The first major outbreak of bird flu to hit Britain was confirmed yesterday, sparking fears that the virus will spread throughout the country and prompting a cull of 160,000 possibly infected birds. Fatal bird flu virus confirmed in Britain 03 Feb 2007 Tests have confirmed that 2,600 turkeys at a Suffolk farm died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu that can be fatal to humans. A restricted access zone of 3km and a 10km surveillance zone will now be set up at the Bernard Matthews-owned farm near Lowestoft, with the farm’s remaining 160,000 turkeys to be culled. Bird flu outbreak on English farm is H5N1 03 Feb 2007 An outbreak of bird flu on a farm run by Europe’s biggest turkey manufacturer Bernard Matthews is the highly pathogenic H5N1 version of the virus which can kill humans, the European Commission said on Saturday. ‘We have to be prepared for a Category 5 pandemic.’ U.S. Issues Guidelines in Case of Flu Pandemic 01 Feb 2007 The federal government today issued new pandemic flu guidelines to states and cities. “We have to be prepared [build] for a Category 5 pandemic,” said Dr. Martin Cetron, director of global migration and quarantine for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in releasing the guidelines. The guidelines did not suggest using the military to enforce quarantines, as Dictator Bush said he might do when he first mentioned avian flu in 2005. In outbreak drill, CDC readies for the ‘Big One’ 01 Feb 2007 (Atlanta) A flu pandemic drill involved close to 300 CDC employees and was designed to run over a 24-hour period, from Wednesday to Thursday. Most of the action was at CDC’s emergency operations center. The drill was designed and run by MPRI, an Atlanta consulting company led by retired military officers. The CDC is paying the company $7 million for its work on the drill, future exercises and some planning work. [Bush will likely ‘go live’ with the actual pandemic in 2008, before the ‘elections.’] New bird-flu plan advises when to close schools 01 Feb 2007 Future disease pandemics will be scored in the United States much like hurricanes, with the most severe triggering school closings and changes in the workplace, under federal guidelines issued on Thursday. They are the first detailed advice for what states and communities should do before a vaccine is available to control [foment] a flu pandemic, which global health authorities fear could come at any time [Yeah, but most likely October 2008, when Bush will declare martial law, stuff protesters in KBR detention centres and postpone ‘elections.’ –LRP] “Isolations, quarantines and other ‘Draconian public health measures'” Feds’ new flu plan to raise fear factor 31 Jan 2007 The federal government will announce two new initiatives tomorrow aimed at warning the public on a potential [US-engineered] flu pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created multiple television ads encouraging Americans to learn exactly what a massive flu outbreak would entail. It also has established new guidelines for public health measures should millions of Americans contract influenza, which will include isolations, quarantines and other “Draconian public health measures,” warned Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. [See: Scientists Recreate 1918 Flu and See Parallels to Bird Flu 18 Jan 2007 In 2005, U.S. Army scientists reconstructed Spanish flu virus by extracting genetic fragments from the bodies of victims exhumed from the Alaskan permafrost.] Indonesia May Declare Bird Flu a National Disaster 31 Jan 2007 Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may declare bird flu a national disaster, enabling the government to set aside money from its budget to combat the virus that has killed at least 63 Indonesians. Nigeria reports its first cases of bird flu in humans 31 Jan 2007 Bird flu has claimed its first human victim in Africa’s most-populous nation, killing a young Nigerian woman due to graduate from university and be married this year, officials and the victim’s fiance said Wednesday. Now Joining 4th International Bird Flu Summit 30 Jan 2007 The 4th International Bird Flu Summit will take place in Washington, DC, 14 -15 March 2007. The purpose of the summit is to prepare the World to fight [foment] this potentially infectious disease. New Fields is proud to welcome VIASYS as an exhibitor for the 4th International Bird Flu Summit. Other presenters: Douglas Himberger, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton; Jeffrey Riggs, President and COO, Biowarn LLC; Michael Martens, Chief of Plans and Operations, US Army Garrison Alaska; Dr. Thomas Monath, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Russian scientists ‘alarmed’ as millions of birds begin falling from world’s skies 26 Jan 2007 An alarming series of reports from the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Influenza Research Institute are reporting today that millions of avian species have succumbed, while in flight, to a rapidly evolving virus linked to the deadly H5N1 Bird Flu variant. Doctor Scientist Oleg Kiselyov, the head of the Influenza Research Institute, states in these reports that a nematode parasite belonging to the ‘Superfamily Subuluroidea’ has now become a carrier of a ‘mutated’ H5N1 Bird Flu Virus with ‘sub strains’ never seen before. Russia finds H5N1 bird flu strain in southern yards 29 Jan 2007 Russia has recorded its first cases this year of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu in dead domestic birds, the country’s animal and plant health agency said on Monday. Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement the virus was detected in dead birds found in three domestic yards in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia. Lockheed to Support CDC Terrorism-Response Effort 29 Jan 2007 Lockheed Martin of Bethesda won a five-year, $135 million contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the agency’s office for coordinating terrorism preparation [They’re preparing it, alright!] and emergency response. Lockheed Martin also will provide communications, training, planning, logistics, administrative, operations and IT support for the Emergency Operations Center, which is the agency’s focus when responding to public health emergencies, disease outbreaks and investigations. Scientists tighten security over germ terror threat –MI5 issues warning to universities and labs 25 Jan 2007 Britain’s laboratories have been ordered to strengthen security on stocks of more than 100 deadly viruses and bacteria after an MI5 warning that ‘Islamic terrorists’ [US bioterrorists] are training in germ warfare. The biological agents include polio, rabies, tuberculosis and avian flu. Scientists and laboratory staff in universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies who deal with agents will have to be vetted by police, and their laboratories will be checked by government safety inspectors… The crackdown comes after MI5 privately warned the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that ‘al-Qaeda’ was actively recruiting scientists. [But as we know, and as the CLG has been documenting for two years, it is the US Army that is reconstructing the deadly 1918 flu, to foment bioterror. The U.S. is going to engineer and unleash the pandemic and then blame ‘al-Qaeda.’ –LRP] Bush preparing to play the bioterror card and declare martial law in time for the 2008 ‘elections:’ U.S. not scared enough of bird flu, Senate told 24 Jan 2007 Bird flu poses as big a threat to the world as ever, and people need to worry about it more, U.S. senators and health leaders agreed on Wednesday. The H5N1 avian flu virus could cause a human pandemic at any time, killing perhaps millions, yet preparations are slow, they told a Senate hearing. [See: Scientists Recreate 1918 Flu and See Parallels to Bird Flu –In 2005, U.S. Army scientists reconstructed Spanish flu virus by extracting genetic fragments from the bodies of victims exhumed from the Alaskan permafrost. 18 Jan 2007] Bird Flu Reappears in EU 25 Jan 2007 Bird flu has reappeared in the EU as the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday (24 January) that dead geese in Hungary were contaminated with the highly virulent H5 strain. U.N.: Bird flu outbreak alert 23 Jan 2007 The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is warning nations, particularly in East Asia and Africa, to be vigilant for outbreaks of bird flu. New cases of the avian flu virus have been ‘found’ in China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Concern as revived 1918 flu virus kills monkeys –Questions raised over safety of revived microbe. 17 Jan 2007 The 1918 influenza virus, which killed some 50 million people worldwide, has proved fatal to macaques infected in a laboratory. The study follows Nature’s controversial publication of the virus’s sequence in 2005, alongside a paper in Science that described the recreation of the virus from a corpse and its potency in mice… “The pathogenesis is interesting,” Michael Gale, a virologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, says. “But the key question is: how was it spread so efficiently?” [LOL, Bush is poised to play the bioterror card, declare martial law, and have the GOP steal the 2008 ‘elections.’] Scientists Recreate 1918 Flu and See Parallels to Bird Flu –In 2005, U.S. Army scientists reconstructed Spanish flu virus by extracting genetic fragments from the bodies of victims exhumed from the Alaskan permafrost. 18 Jan 2007 Scientists infected monkeys with a virus that caused the 1918-19 influenza pandemic and said in the Jan. 18 issue of the journal Nature that it caused an illness like that suffered by patients with the bird flu now spreading in Asia. Scientists recreate 1918 flu virus [Why?] 17 Jan 2007 The virus that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic triggered an overwhelming immune response that swamped the lungs of macaque monkeys — the first primates deliberately infected with the Spanish flu virus, Canadian and American scientists reported Wednesday. The research, published in the journal Nature, involved an ambitious project to painstakingly recreate the 1918 virus — only the second time this feat has been achieved. In 2005 scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control made history by becoming the first team to recreate the virus. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a leading influenza scientist working at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, built each of the virus’s eight genes from scratch, using genetic blueprints housed in a public access database… The recreated virus was then used to infect seven macaques housed in a Level 4 laboratory in Winnipeg — the highest level of biosecurity available. [Bush is poised to play the bioterror card, impose martial law, stuff any dissenters into KBR detention centres and invade any oil-bearing countries for Cheney Halliburton, unmolested. –LRP] Bird Flu Takes Flight 18 Jan 2007 Winter in the Northern Hemisphere means one chilling prospect for global health officials: it’s bird-flu season. Nine countries have announced outbreaks in recent weeks, and a replay of 2006–when H5N1 killed 80 people and spread to the Middle East and Africa–could well be on the way. Europe must remain on high bird flu alert -expert 18 Jan 2007 New outbreaks of bird flu in Asia mean Europe must remain alert to the threat posed by the disease, an animal health expert said on Thursday. Bird flu in Egypt moderately Tamiflu-resistant–WHO 18 Jan 2007 Two people who died of bird flu in Egypt last month had a strain of the H5N1 virus which has shown “moderate” resistance to the frontline antiviral Tamiflu, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday. HK confirms dead bird carried H5N1 avian flu virus 17 Jan 2007 Hong Kong confirmed on Wednesday that a bird of prey found in the city carried the H5N1 virus, the second such case this month. Bird flu detected in Japan identified as H5N1 16 Jan 2007 Tests have confirmed that bird flu detected in chickens in southern Japan was the virulent H5N1 strain that has been blamed for more than 160 human deaths worldwide, the Japanese Agricultural Ministry said Tuesday. New Bird Flu Cluster May Signal Change in H5N1 Virus 15 Jan 2007 A new cluster of bird flu infections involving at least two members of a family in Indonesia may indicate a change in the virus’s ability to sicken people, researchers studying the disease said. Bird flu feared at western Japan poultry farm 11 Jan 2007 Approximately 750 chickens have died at a western Japan poultry farm [in the town of Kiyotake in western Miyazaki prefecture (state)] in what authorities fear may be a bird flu outbreak, national and local authorities said late Thursday. China confirms human bird flu case 10 Jan 2007 A Chinese farmer has contracted the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the country’s first human case in months, leading to questions about whether the virus is circulating undetected among poultry. Cold weather in Europe “could bring bird flu to UK,” says vet official 08 Jan 2007 A cold spell could increase the risk of bird flu coming to the UK this year, Britains deputy chief veterinary officer warned Monday. Bird flu drug carries a lethal threat –Scientists warn that Tamiflu use could devastate wildlife and trigger a second, deadlier pandemic 07 Jan 2007 Britain faces an ecological catastrophe that could wreak havoc on wildlife populations when the first outbreak of Asian flu hits the country. Scientists say they fear that tons of the anti-viral agent Tamiflu – taken by Britons trying to combat the disease – would be flushed down sewers into rivers and lakes. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] Bird flu raging in Vietnam’s Mekong delta 02 Jan 2007 Nguyen Hien Trung, head of Hau Giang’s animal health department, said a new site had been identified in Vi Thuy district yesterday after a dead bird had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus strain. A total of three communes in two districts had bird flu, he said. Vietnam Reporting First Cases of Suspected Bird Flu In Humans In 2006 31 Dec 2006 Vietnam has reported its first case of bird flu. Four members of the same family were admitted to a hospital in southern Vietnam suffering with symptoms consistent with avian flu, a doctor said on Saturday. Human Bird Flu Deaths in 2006 28 Dec 2006 Bird flu killed three members of a family in Egypt, pushing the number of fatalities worldwide this year to 79, more than reported in the previous three years combined. Bird Flu Spreads In Egypt As Tenth Person Dies 27 Dec 2006 Authorities have confirmed that a tenth person has died of H5N1 bird flu infection in Egypt. Bird flu kills second Egyptian in two days 27 Dec 2006 A deadly strain of bird flu has killed an Egyptian girl, the second such death in two days and one that brought the number of deaths in the country this year to nine. Bird flu bill passed unanimously 14 Dec 2006 (New Zealand) A bill that gives the Government sweeping powers to suspend almost all laws to control a bird flu outbreak has passed with unanimous support – but the rules on triggering it have been tightened. The Law Reform (Epidemic Preparedness) Bill grants sweeping powers – including the ability to ban public gatherings, requisition buildings, vehicles and medicines and allowing police to detain people for medical tests. The bill also allows the quarantine of people suspected of having bird flu or other pandemic diseases. “We’ve never seen anything like this — ever.” Thousands of ducks mysteriously dying in Idaho 13 Dec 2006 Officials scrambled on Wednesday to determine what has caused the deaths of thousands of mallard ducks in south-central Idaho near the Utah border. Wildlife experts have sent samples to government labs to test for the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, among other pathogens. Officials with the federal Bureau of Homeland Security [?!?] have been also called in to help with the probe. Forced vaccines and quarantines are being signed into law as we ‘debate’ the solution to Bush’s war in Iraq: Senate approves Burr’s bioterrorism bill –Critics warn about the effects of ‘secret vaccine production’ 06 Dec 2006 The Senate passed a bill last night [S.3678] sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., that would create a new federal agency to combat [foment] bioterrorism. The bill to establish the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, commonly referred to as BARDA, passed by unanimous consent. Barbara Loe Fisher, the president of the National Vaccine Information Center, has been an outspoken critic of the bill. She was unaware that the bill had been passed by the Senate last night but said she’s worried about the effects “secret vaccine production” could have on the American public. “This is an extremely dangerous precedent that is being set,” she said. [Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate)[S.3678.ES] –The Library of Congress, THOMAS] The House vote to approve BARDA could take place before Friday, 08 Dec. (National Vaccine Information Center) 06 Dec 2006 In the future, when the Secretary of Health and Human Services declares a public health “emergency” under Bioshield and other federal and state legislation passed since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans could be quarantined and forced to use experimental drugs and vaccines and have no recourse to the civil justice system if they are injured by them. Congress has already given complete liability protection to drug companies and those who order citizens to take drugs and vaccines during a declared public health “emergency.” [Call the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 to express your views on BARDA; visit www.house.gov to locate your Congresscritters.] US CDC awards $11.4 million for new bird flu tests 04 Dec 2006 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday it had awarded $11.4 million for developing new, quick tests for influenza to four U.S. companies. From the ‘people’ who brought you the Hurricane Katrina response: NRC Releases Plan For Continued “Mission-Essential” Operations During an Avian Flu Pandemic 01 Dec 2006 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released its 90-page plan outlining how the agency would maintain mission-essential and supporting functions during a possible flu pandemic that may cause staff absenteeism of 40 percent or more. The plan says the NRC would systematically “shed” lower priority work [!?!] and take certain action ahead of time to better support staff during a pandemic… The federal government planning assumptions for the pandemic include absenteeism as high as 40 percent for periods of weeks in the course of a 12- to 18-month period. IT Caught Off Guard by Flu Pandemic Warning –Call to make quarantine preparations a priority is ‘eye-opener’ for execs 04 Dec 2006 Gartner Inc. is recommending that businesses complete planning by the second quarter of next year for a possible avian influenza pandemic and in particular stock up on supplies that would be needed by data center workers who might be quarantined together. Stockpiling suggested for possible bird flu 06 Nov 2006 US citizens in Hong Kong have been advised to build a three-month stockpile of food, medicine and water in their homes in case of a bird flu pandemic, a news report said Tuesday. An advisory has been sent out to all 60,000 registered US citizens in the former British colony… which suggests stockpiling 4.5 litres of water per person per day and to prepare water purification equipment in case of “complete infrastructure breakdown,” the South China Morning Post reported. [You can be sure Halliburton, Blackwater USA, Bechtel and the entire Bush regime is *banking* on it.] Scientists collar bird flu’s ‘killer’ gene 06 Nov 2006 Scientists in China report that they have identified the gene which determines the virulence of the H5N1, or bird flu, virus in poultry. The breakthrough could pave the way for new [deadly] vaccines, the scientists claim. Some strains of H5N1 kill more than half those they infect, while others leave virtually all their victims standing [?!?]. [Wow, let’s hope Bush or this other Nazi doesn’t get hold of this virus: Israeli official wants homogenous nation 05 Nov 2006 Israel’s new deputy prime minister on Sunday called for a near-total separation between Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land, sparking a wave of condemnation less than a week after the far-right politician joined the Cabinet.] WHO issues bird flu warning, warns on Tamiflu research 03 Nov 2006 The World Health Organisation has warned that there is no guarantee that a pandemic strain of the H5N1 virus will be less deadly to people. The report, published this week, also cautioned against regarding the anti-viral drug Tamiflu as a magic bullet, highlighting that some H5N1 viruses seem to already be naturally resistant to the effects of the drug. The report comes less than two weeks after the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) in the UK issued a warning about the possible environmental effects of large scale use of Tamiflu. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] Vaccine-Resistant Bird Flu Spreading in Asia 30 Oct 2006 A new strain of vaccine-resistant H5N1 bird flu virus has emerged in China and is spreading through southeast Asia, Hong Kong researchers report. Seventh Egyptian dies of bird flu – agency 30 Oct 2006 An Egyptian woman died of bird flu on Monday, bringing the total number of human deaths in Egypt to seven, the state news agency MENA said. Australia Tests Bird Flu Defenses 19 Oct 2006 One-thousand people in Australia have conducted a four-day bird flu exercise that simulated the arrival of a planeload of flu-stricken passengers at Brisbane’s international airport. The drill included customs officers, the police, and health workers. A series of drills tested the readiness of customs officers, who separated the “sick” passengers at the airport… [And sent them where, a KBR detention centre?] Egypt detects new human H5N1 bird flu case 10 Oct 2006 Egypt has detected its first human case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus since May in an Egyptian woman who raised ducks from her home, a World Health Organisation official said on Tuesday. Vehicles From Sudan to Be Sprayed Against Bird Flu 10 Oct 2006 Vehicles from Sudan entering Uganda through Koboko and Arua districts are to be ‘disinfected,’ reports Frank Mugabi. All vehicles will be subjected to drive through a disinfection [sic – infection] wheel well to be sunk at Oraba border post in Koboko district while passengers will be required to disinfect their shoes. The workshop also agreed that a check-point be set up at Oraba to check for smuggled fowl. Bird flu found in pigs in Indonesia’s Bali 09 Oct 2006 The H5N1 bird flu virus has infected pigs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, a senior agriculture ministry official said on Monday. Official says U.S. bird flu plans near “state of the art” 05 Oct 2006 U.S. preparations against a possible outbreak of the deadly form of the H5N1 avian flu virus are solid, but other countries may not be as ready, a U.S. health safety official warned on Thursday. “We’re … close to the state-of-the-art in the United States with preparations and strong biosecurity measures,” said Ambassador John Lange, the State Department’s special representative on avian and pandemic influenza. [See: KBR Awarded U.S. Department of Homeland Security Contingency Support for Emergency Support Services 24 Jan 2006 (halliburton.com) “The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities… to support the rapid development of new programs.”] Scientists infect mice with reconstructed version of deadly 1918 flu virus 28 Sep 2006 The 1918 Spanish flu that killed up to 50 million people worldwide caused a severe immune response which may help to explain why it was so deadly, American scientists said on Wednesday. By infecting mice with a reconstructed version of the 1918 virus and monitoring their response, a team of scientists believe they have found some clues to solve the puzzle as well as a possible new way to fight [foment] pandemic flu. Suspected bird flu case in Sydney 27 Sep 2006 An international traveller is being tested for bird flu after landing at Sydney Airport from Vietnam today. WHO ranks bird flu as top health threat 22 Sep 2006 Bird flu remains the number one danger facing global public health, the World Health Organisation warned as a five-day conference on issues facing the western Pacific region wrapped up today. City of London to have bird flu drill 14 Sep 2006 The City of London financial services sector will next month test out how it would cope with a bird flu pandemic in an exercise run by finance industry regulators. The Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury will organise the bird flu simulation event, which will run from October 13 to November 24. City exercise will test its ability to cope with ‘flu pandemic’ 15 Sep 2006 The City of London’s ability to cope with a flu pandemic will be tested next month when UK financial authorities conduct a six-week exercise to gauge the financial service sector’s preparedness for such a threat. Ominously, the simulation will start on Friday the 13th. Exodus, morale shake CDC 10 Sep 2006 An exodus of key leaders and scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has raised “great concern” among five of the six former directors who led the agency over the past 40 years. Their concerns, expressed in a rare joint letter to current CDC Director Julie Gerberding, come amid growing staff complaints about whether her strategic shifts in the agency’s focus are putting public health at risk, according to interviews with current and former CDC officials and documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Senate Finance Committee, prompted by a CDC whistleblower, is probing CDC’s oversight of a $3.8 billion bioterrorism grant program. Bird flu virus found in blood of human victims 11 Sep 2006 The H5N1 bird flu virus replicates far more aggressively in people than common human flu viruses A study of patients in Vietnam also found the virus in the blood stream of many of the human victims, which means it may have spread to other parts of the body, it was reported in Nature Medicine. Avian flu kills in similar manner to 1918 flu: study [Of course, as designed. See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004. Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice. Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic.] 10 Sep 2006 Avian flu kills in much the same way the 1918 flu did, by drowning victims in fluid produced in their own lungs, a new study has found. Low-risk H5N1 bird flu found in Pennsylvania ducks 02 Sep 2006 Mallard ducks in Pennsylvania have tested positive for a low-pathogenic strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus, the U.S. Agriculture [Agribusiness] and Interior departments said on Saturday, adding to cases detected recently in Maryland and Michigan. Bird flu ‘endemic, on the move’ 18 Aug 2006 Bird flu is “endemic” in parts of Asia and is spreading from country to country, the United Nation warned today. Bird flu virus found in 2 wild Michigan swans –Type isn’t deadly, early tests show 15 Aug 2006 Two wild, mute swans that lived in the Pointe Mouillee State Game Area on the shores of Lake Erie in Monroe County had a non-threatening strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior said Monday. Bush poised to play the bioterror card: White House: Type of Bird Flu Possibly in U.S. 14 Aug 2006 Scientists have discovered the possible presence of bird flu in wild mute swans in Michigan – but it does not appear to be the worrisome, highly pathogenic strain, the White House announced Monday. Bird Flu confirmed in the Netherlands 13 Aug 2006 The Dutch government has confirmed its first H5N1 bird flu case in the country. The case was found in 2 dead young owls in a zoo in Rotterdam. Bird Flu Monitoring Expands Nationally 09 Aug 2006 The government on Wednesday expanded its monitoring of wild migratory birds for a deadly bird flu virus to cover the entire nation and U.S. territories in the Pacific. Cats infected with bird flu in Iraq -report 07 Aug 2006 Cats that died during an outbreak of bird flu in Iraq [!?!] last February were infected with the H5N1 virus, U.S. naval medical researchers reported. [Cui bono? See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] US begins building treaty-breaching germ war defence centre 31 Jul 2006 Construction work has begun near Washington on a vast germ warfare laboratory intended to help protect the US against an attack with biological weapon, but critics say the laboratory’s work will violate international law and its extreme secrecy will exacerbate a biological arms race. The centre will have to produce and stockpile the world’s most lethal bacteria and viruses, which is forbidden by the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. U.S. biodefense lab raises concerns 30 Jul 2006 The Bush regime is building a massive biodefense laboratory in Maryland that will simulate [stimulate?] calamitous bioterrorism attacks, it was reported Sunday. But much of what the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in Fort Detrick, Md., does may never be publicly known because the White House intends to operate the facility largely in secret, the Washington Post reported. In an unusual arrangement, the building itself will be classified as “highly restricted space,” the newspaper said. Not even nuclear labs operate with such secrecy. The Secretive Fight Against [For] Bioterror –The government is building a highly classified facility to research biological weapons, but its closed-door approach has raised concerns. 30 Jul 2006 On the grounds of a military base an hour’s drive from the capital, the Bush regime is building a massive biodefense laboratory unlike any seen since biological weapons were banned 34 years ago. Rumsfeld poised to make (another) *killing:* US firms are stocking up on bird flu drug 14 Jul 2006 More than 100 companies of all sizes have contacted Roche AG, the manufacturer of the influenza drug Tamiflu, about getting supplies for their employees in case of a [DoD-engendered] bird-flu pandemic, the company says. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing… Rumsfeld served as Gilead’s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.] U.K. Seeks 10 Million Vaccine Doses to Mitigate [Spread] Bird Flu Risk 12 Jul 2006 The U.K. is seeking 10 million extra doses of vaccine that may be used to immunize poultry against [with] bird flu after the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus was reported for the first time in Spain last week. “The operative phrase is ‘not if but when.'” Red Cross: Prepare for bird flu [Yes, prepare to *resist* rather than be hauled off to a KBR detention center for forced, deadly vaccinations. See: KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006.] Organization advises to stock up on water, food; central Illinois could see virus as early as September [Right, just in time for ‘elections.’] 09 Jul 2006 Avian flu pandemic could hit central Illinois as early as September with migratory birds flying down the Illinois River waterway, and health officials are recommending households have two to three weeks of supplies in the event of widespread quarantines. [Count on it. Even Diebold can’t save the GOP in the 2006-2008 ‘elections.’ Bush is poised to play the bioterror card. –LRP] Pick a Crisis – Any Crisis By Nancy Levant 07 Jul 2006 “The ‘pandemic’ is looming, so we are told day and night with TV, movies, wildlife and medical experts, etc., and we now have legislation passed to deal specifically with this pandemic. Strange how they know for a fact that it’s coming, and also have some sense of how many people are going to die, though they don’t know how (or if) ‘the virus’ will mutate. It’s strange how this pandemic coincides with the globalists’ desire for massive global depopulation by 2050.” Spain Confirms Its First Case of Bird Flu 07 Jul 2006 Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday. The deadly strain was found in a water fowl in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria. Deadly bird flu strain found in Nigeria 02 Jul 2006 The most lethal strain of bird flu has been detected in the eastern Nigerian state of Taraba, bringing to 15 the number of states, out of a total of 36, to be affected by the virus, a state official said Saturday. Bird flu most deadly in teens and young adults, eerie echo of 1918 pandemic 30 Jun 2006 The H5N1 avian flu virus has exacted an alarmingly high death toll among adolescents and young adults, – an eerie echo of the infamous Spanish flu, a new analysis of cumulative cases by the World Health Organization confirms. “The differences in the age-related case-fatality distribution among H5N1 cases are reminiscent of those observed during previous pandemics, particularly in 1918, where case-fatality rates were higher among young adults,” the review said. [That’s because Bush’s bioterrorists have been busy little bees, resurrecting the 1918 virus. See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 UK Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice. Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic. See: Reigniting Spanish flu 05 Oct 2005 The influenza strain that killed up to 50 million people in the 1918 pandemic has been recreated by scientists.] WHO: Bird flu virus mutated 26 Jun 2006 WHO officials said the transmission of the bird flu virus between human beings has been confirmed in Indonesia. Canada Probes Bird Flu-Infected Gosling for Lethal H5N1 Virus 17 Jun 2006 Canadian officials are investigating a gosling infected with bird flu on a farm on Prince Edward Island to determine whether it might represent the country’s first outbreak of the lethal H5N1 strain. US officials test for bird flu in arctic Alaska 08 Jun 2006 In a coastal marsh near the frozen Arctic Ocean, a swab of eider dropping is one of 50,000 such field samples from wild birds that federal and local agencies aim to collect in America this year and test for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Officials also want another 75,000 to 100,000 samples directly from live or dead birds. Agribusiness fomenting bird flu pandemic: Bird-Flu Trail Leads Medical Detectives Back to Poultry Farms 30 May 2006 Officials looking to contain the avian influenza virus that may spark a human pandemic are downplaying the importance of migrating wild birds as the source of infections among domestic poultry. Farms and poultry traders are the more likely cause of the spread of the flu, which has killed 48 people so far this year, more than all of 2005… “The disease is spreading more through commercial husbandry and the humans that are moving poultry around,” said Juan Lubroth, head of infectious diseases at the animal-health service of the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Indonesia announces epidemic law 29 May 2006 The Indonesian government Friday reactivated the 1984 epidemic law in its latest effort to fight against bird flu, which so far has killed 36 people. Under the law, those convicted of blocking government’s way to eradicating [sic] the disease are punishable by one-year jail term. Community of Nations Discusses Military Homeland Defense Role (DoD) 26 May 2006 Twenty-nine nations of the trans-Atlantic community took a first step toward hammering out an understanding of when and how to use military forces to secure the homeland during a conference held here May 22-24… The event was organized by the Marshall Center in cooperation with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College. “We’ve looked at things like, what’s the role of the military in managing bird flu?” said conference moderator, Jack Clarke. New England states may hold joint bird flu drills 26 May 2006 Health and emergency officials in New Hampshire and five other Northeast U.S. states may hold a region-wide bird flu pandemic emergency drill, New Hampshire officials said on Friday. Bird flu team ‘too late’ for answers [Gee, what a surprise.] 26 May 2006 Delays in the investigation of the world’s largest outbreak of bird flu may prevent health officials from ever knowing if human-to-human transmission of the disease killed six members of the same family in Indonesia. A team of the world’s leading avian flu experts has arrived in the remote village of Kubu Sembelang in North Sumatra to investigate the deaths, which occurred during the past three weeks. However, the director of the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne, Ian Gust, said most of the evidence would already have been destroyed. Bird flu kills seven family members 26 May 2006 Seven Indonesian family members who died of bird flu may have infected each other, the World Health Organisation said. Health experts were tracing anyone who had contact with them, but to date there was no sign of the virus spreading among villagers, the WHO said. Plame investigation heating up, ergo: Hunt is on in Alaska for deadly bird flu virus 25 May 2006 From the recently thawed tidal flats that edge Anchorage to the tundra of western Alaska, the hunt for deadly avian influenza virus is on. Biologists and rural hunters have begun testing wild birds to search for signs of the H5N1 virus that has infected birds in Asia, Africa and Europe and caused more than 120 deaths on those continents. [And you can be sure, on the day the next *big political crisis* emerges for the Bush regime, bird flu ‘will have arrived’ on US shores. Only bioterror panic and/or bioterror can ‘save’ Bush now.] Bird Flu Could Arrive In U.S. On Wings of a Swan, Expert Says [On the wings of a Plame-related indictment] 24 May 2006 A federal wildlife expert says swans winging along the Pacific flyway are the wild birds most likely to bring a deadly flu strain to the U.S. Never use police, army, US pandemic expert says 23 May 2006 Dr. D.A. Henderson, who helped wipe out smallpox around the world, has advice for governments fighting bird flu — don’t use the military or police to enforce public health. Henderson is critical of parts of the U.S. national pandemic plan that call for the use of quarantine and other imposed types of enforcement [such as KBR’s detention centres] should influenza or any other infectious disease bring on a pandemic. Bird Flu Case May Be First Double Jump 24 May 2006 Reacting to the death on Monday of an Indonesian man, the World Health Organization said yesterday that the case appeared to be the first example of the avian flu jumping from human to human to human. Homeland Security Medical Officer: States Unprepared for Bird Flu 19 May 2006 Bird flu will hit the United States _ it’s only a matter of time _ and not all states are ready to respond to the deadly virus, the Homeland Security Department’s top doctor warns. Dr. Jeffrey Runge, homeland security’s chief medical officer, said “it’s not a matter of if, but when” bird flu enters the country. [How does he know?] EU countries urged to appoint bird flu “czars” 16 May 2006 EU governments should each appoint a “bird flu czar” to make sure they could cope with a flu pandemic and put preparations on a par with countries like the United States, a top EU official said on Tuesday. From the same people who brought you the Hurricane Katrina aftermath: How the Bush-Mengele bunch plans to solve the problem of having raided the Social Security Trust Fund to continue to give the top 1% tax cuts: Flu Vaccine Priorities Test Pandemic Planning 12 May 2006 In the event of a global flu pandemic, federal officials have said they intend to give vaccine first to health-care workers, followed by the oldest, sickest patients, a policy aimed at saving the most lives. But one of the government’s top medical ethicists [Nazi] is challenging that approach, arguing it is more appropriate to give young adults priority because they are at higher risk of dying in a flu pandemic and still have many productive years left [?!?]. …Some panel members believe that… “If you save a 65-year-old, you may have only saved 15 years of quality life.” Two-week U.S. Northern Command exercises for pandemic flu outbreak (DoD) 10 May 2006 More than 5,000 U.S. and Canadian servicemembers are working with authorities in five U.S. states and two Canadian provinces to test their response capabilities to crises ranging from a major hurricane to a terrorist attack to a pandemic flu outbreak. Ardent Sentry 2006, a two-week U.S. Northern Command exercise, kicked off May 8 to test military support to federal, provincial, state and local authorities while continuing to support the Defense Department’s homeland defense mission, according to Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, a NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman. [Why is *NORTHCOM* involved with bird flu, a ‘medical’ issue? See: Research teams have reconstructed deadly 1918 flu virus 06 May 2006 Trekking into the permafrost region of Alaska to unearth the remains of an Inuit Indian woman who died of the so-called Spanish flu, researchers in 1997 gathered tissue to retrieve fragments of the killer virus. The sample was compared with those preserved by the U.S. military from World War I soldiers who died of the infection. Such protein snippets provided enough biological information for scientists to genetically engineer the pathogen in the lab, resurrecting a killer that mysteriously rose in September 1918.] Research teams have reconstructed deadly 1918 flu virus [Why?!?] 06 May 2006 Trekking into the permafrost region of Alaska to unearth the remains of an Inuit Indian woman who died of the so-called Spanish flu, researchers in 1997 gathered tissue to retrieve fragments of the killer virus. The sample was compared with those preserved by the U.S. military from World War I soldiers who died of the infection. Such protein snippets provided enough biological information for scientists to genetically engineer the pathogen in the lab, resurrecting a killer that mysteriously rose in September 1918… Dr. Christopher Basler, assistant professor of microbiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan, and colleagues, used the samples’ blueprint to begin re-creating the pathogen that infected one in four in the United States and killed about 550,000 nationwide. Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger, chief of molecular pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in suburban Washington, began the quest for the 1918 killer. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. Rumsfeld served as Gilead’s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld. See: Vaccine makers helped write Frist-backed shield law –E-mails reveal private meetings 08 May 2006 Vaccine industry officials helped shape legislation behind the scenes that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist secretly amended into a bill to shield them from lawsuits, according to e-mails obtained by a public advocacy group.] Vaccine makers helped write Frist-backed shield law –E-mails reveal private meetings 08 May 2006 Vaccine industry officials helped shape legislation behind the scenes that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist secretly amended into a bill to shield them from lawsuits, according to e-mails obtained by a public advocacy group. E-mails and documents written by a trade group for the vaccine-makers show the organization met privately with Frist’s staff and the White House about measures that would give the industry protection from lawsuits filed by people hurt [or killed] by the vaccines. Public Citizen’s study follows a February story in The Tennessean that Frist, along with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., ordered the vaccine liability language inserted in a defense spending bill in December without debate and in violation of usual Senate practice. U.S. European, Northern, and Pacific Commands sponsored pandemic response exercises: DoD 03 May 2006 If a flu pandemic hit the United States, the Defense Department’s top priority would be to protect the military’s operational readiness so it can play a supporting role to the Homeland Security and State departments, as outlined in a national response plan released today by the White House… Military forces might be asked to provide security as pharmaceuticals are transported and distributed. National Guard troops would likely help keep the peace. U.S. European Command, U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Pacific Command have already sponsored pandemic influence response exercises, Air Force Col. Richard Chavez said. U.S. outlines $7.1 billion flu pandemic plan –‘Road map’ outlines which government agency is responsible for more than 300 tasks [?!?] in pandemic flu 03 May 2006 The United States government plans to stockpile vaccines, limit international and domestic flights, quarantine those who become ill and bring in the military to maintain order if a flu pandemic strikes the country. The $7.1 billion plan, released Wednesday, lists more than 300 recommendations including: “Infected people should voluntarily quarantine themselves, and quarantine would be mandatory in the most extreme cases” National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza: Implementation Plan (whitehouse.gov) Statement by George W. Bush 03 May 2006 Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza –Report by the Homeland Security Council May 2006 (.pdf) MSNBC poll: Government’s Bird Flu Response: Does it make you feel safe? 5699 responses Yes 9.9%; No 90% [Poll snapshot: 14:34 DST 03 May 2006] In U.S. Pandemic Draft, Federal Troops, National Guard to Maintain Order –Military activated to enforce travel restrictions and deliver [!?!] vaccines and medicines 02 May 2006 According to a 228-page draft of the government’s pandemic flu plan obtained by The Associated Press, an outbreak could lead to a variety of restrictions on movement in and around the country, including limiting the number of international flights and quarantining exposed travelers… The report envisions possible breakdowns in public order and says governors might deploy National Guard troops or request federal troops to maintain order. The military also could be activated to enforce travel restrictions and deliver vaccines and medicines, the report says. [See: The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.] Rapid Containment Key to Preventing Bird Flu Pandemic 02 May 2006 The WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, Shigeru Omi, says once there are signs the H5N1 bird-flu virus is spreading among people, there will only be two or three weeks to prevent or at least slow down [foment] a global pandemic. Omi says those measure include giving large numbers of people anti-viral drugs, restricting travel, quarantining infected areas and closing schools. Flight curbs ‘won’t halt bird flu’ 02 May 2006 British experts say closing international airports will do little to halt a bird flu outbreak. Their prediction follows another computer simulation that shows the folly of travel restrictions in the face of a pandemic. Egypt finds 13th case of human bird flu 02 May 2006 A 27-year-old Egyptian woman is being treated in hospital for bird flu, the country’s 13th human infection with the feared virus, a spokesman from the health ministry said on Tuesday. Mild form of avian flu found in New Jersey 01 May 2006 Authorities have discovered a mild form of avian influenza at a live bird market in New Jersey, but it is not the deadly H5N1 strain governments around the world are trying to contain, the state’s agriculture department said. Internet shut-down in two to four days during flu pandemic: Booz Allen Telephone and Internet services could be overwhelmed and shut down in the early stages of a bird flu pandemic, according to a report released on Thursday. Businesses need to think of other ways to keep going as governments close schools and direct people to stay home, management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton reported… “Telecommunications (phone and Internet) will likely be overwhelmed early in a pandemic, with experts predicting shut-downs in two to four days, meaning that telecommuting will not be viable and alternative communications need to be explored,” the report read. “Governments will likely direct the general population to stay in their homes, and minimize social contact,” it added. [‘Overwhelmed?’ No. The Bush dictatorship is going to *shut it down.*] Bird flu one of many pandemic threats 27 Apr 2006 Birds are not the only source of viruses that could become the next flu pandemic, say two Australian virus experts, who argue the 1918 Spanish flu virus came from mammals, not birds, as recently suggested… In October 2005, a team led by Dr Jeffrey Taubenberger of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in the US, reported in Nature that the Spanish flu virus, which killed millions around the world in 1918-1919, was a bird virus that leapt the species barrier into humans. 35,000 birds to be culled in new avian flu outbreak 27 Apr 2006 Government officials last night ordered the immediate slaughter of 35,000 chickens on a poultry farm in Norfolk – the centre of Britain’s poultry industry – after dead birds were found to be infected with an avian flu virus. “What they’re proposing is nonsensical.” CDC proposal to detain, quarantine passengers opposed 24 Apr 2006 Health experts, airlines and civil libertarians are demanding that the government reconsider proposed quarantine rules that would battle an avian flu pandemic by detaining sick airline and ship passengers. The rules would require airlines and cruise ship operators to collect personal information from all passengers and report sick ones to the government. Critics say the plan is difficult, costly and in violation of passengers’ rights. Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union says the CDC should drop the proposal. He says it would give the government a “free pass” to detain people. “We couldn’t do this to a criminal,” he says. Why is Booz Allen Hamilton sending a speaker to a Bird Flu Summit? New-Fields 2nd Bird Flu Summit Washington, DC, June 28-29, 2006. By Lori Price “The purpose of the summit is to prepare the US and the world to fight [profit from] this potentially infectious disease.” Confirmed speakers: Douglas E. Himberger, vice president and member of the board of directors at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., USA; Michael S. Cochran, Engelhard Company, USA. [Source: e-mail obtained by Citizens For Legitimate Government, 24 Apr 2006. See also: New Fields to Assist Companies in Networking for Iraq Opportunities Washington, DC, June 08, 2005. See: Wargaming and Strategic Simulation “Recognized worldwide as a leader in wargaming and strategic competitive simulations, Booz Allen Hamilton has created and facilitated wargames for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, military services, and numerous other government organizations.”] Groups question US plan to detain, quarantine sick travelers 21 Apr 2006 Infectious disease experts and the American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns on Friday about an agreement that would allow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and customs agents to detain anyone who looked sick with bird flu. “CDC is authorized to isolate and/or quarantine arriving persons reasonably believed to be infected with or exposed to specified quarantinable diseases and to detain carriers and cargo infected with a communicable disease,” it reads. It also provides for Customs or Border Patrol agents to forcibly detain, if necessary, anyone coming in who appears to be sick while the CDC is contacted. [See: KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006 [See: KBR Awarded U.S. Department of Homeland Security Contingency Support for Emergency Support Services 24 Jan 2006 (halliburton.com) “The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities… to support the rapid development of new programs.”] WHO confirms 12 human cases of bird flu in Egypt 21 Apr 2006 The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Friday that there have been 12 human cases of bird flu in Egypt, four of them fatal. Bush expected to approve dramatic pandemic flu response plan 17 Apr 2006 U.S. President [sic] George W. Bush is expected to approve within days a national pandemic influenza response plan under which the government would expand the Internet and possibly permit foreign countries to print U.S. currency during a flu pandemic. [Not to mention, National Guard troops could be dispatched to cities facing possible “insurrection.” See: U.S. Plan For Flu Pandemic Revealed 16 Apr 2006] I knew the Bush regime would drop a bombshell on Easter Sunday, when everyone is busy hunting for Easter eggs! Buried in this PentaPost article is this nugget from Homeland Suckyourity’s chief medical officer: National Guard troops could be dispatched to cities facing possible “insurrection.” U.S. Plan For Flu Pandemic Revealed –Multi-Agency Proposal Awaits Bush’s Approval 16 Apr 2006 Dictator Bush is expected to approve soon a national pandemic influenza response plan that identifies more than 300 specific tasks for federal agencies… the Bush administration would tap into its secure stash of medications [?!?], cancel large gatherings… National Guard troops could be dispatched to cities facing possible “insurrection,” said Jeffrey W. Runge, chief medical officer at the Department of Homeland Security. [See: The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.] Swan with bird flu came from outside UK 12 Apr 2006 A dead swan which tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu came from outside the UK, government scientists have confirmed. Schools will shut in 100,000 flu death fear 09 Apr 2006 Ministers are drawing up plans for widespread closure of schools to halve a potential 100,000 deaths among children in the event of an avian-flu pandemic. Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, has advised the government that 50,000 deaths could be prevented by such a shutdown. Myanmar fighting over 100 bird flu outbreaks – UN 10 Apr 2006 Bird flu is spreading fast in secretive, military-ruled Myanmar, which is now battling more than 100 outbreaks in poultry since the virus was first reported a month ago, U.N. agriculture officials said on Monday. Revealed: the secret No 10 plan to tackle bird flu food shortages –Confidential papers seen by the Sunday Telegraph 09 Apr 2006 Emergency plans to tackle widespread food shortages in the event of a bird flu pandemic are being drawn up by ministers, according to secret Cabinet documents… The Government papers, which have been discussed by the “Cabinet Committee on Influenza Pandemic Planning”, include a blueprint for “managing the response” to a pandemic. Whitehall would go into what officials call a full-scale “battle rhythm” with Tony Blair lined up to take personal charge at an as yet unspecified stage… A Government paper revealed last week suggested that families might have to wait up to four weeks to bury their dead. Bird flu testing keeps labs open 08 Apr 2006 All eight of Scotland’s laboratories testing for bird flu are to open over the weekend to help meet the rise in referrals of dead birds. Simulation tests readiness for bird flu 06 Apr 2006 Officials are putting their bird flu plans to the test this week during a real-time simulation [Exercise Hawthorn] of an outbreak of the disease in Britain. Run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the exercise involves foreign governments as well as the MoD, police, farmers, veterinarians and sports organisations. Scottish swan killed by H5 strain of avian flu 06 Apr 2006 A three kilometre exclusion zone was thrown round an area of central Scotland last night after tests confirmed a dead swan discovered in Fife was carrying a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu. Dead swan sparks UK bird flu alert –Emergency committee meets today after Scottish farms quarantined 06 Apr 2006 Scientists and vets were conducting urgent tests last night on a dead swan infected with bird flu that was discovered in Scotland. The Scottish Executive confirmed that the bird, found in a village in Fife yesterday afternoon, was carrying the “highly pathogenic H5 avian flu” virus. Egypt Reports 9th Human Case of Bird Flu 05 Apr 2006 An Egyptian toddler has been infected with the virulent strain of bird flu, bringing the number of human cases in the country to nine, the Health Ministry said Wednesday. Israel suspects journalists of spreading bird flu 31 Mar 2006 Israel suspects journalists, particularly press photographers, of being behind the spread of deadly bird flu in the Jewish state, an agriculture ministry official told Agence France-Presse. Bird flu: the secret Cabinet document –Army could be “too stretched to help” due to international commitments –More than 700,000 could die in worst-case bird flu scenario –The figures were disclosed in a Cabinet Office briefing paper 03 Apr 2006 The death toll from a bird flu pandemic in Britain could be more than 700,000, according to a confidential government report seen by The Scotsman. The figure – far higher than previously stated – is contained in a Cabinet Office briefing paper prepared for emergency planning officials, which warns that the virus could strike the country in multiple “waves”. It also says the armed forces may not be available to help in an emergency because of Britain’s extensive international military deployments. Secret UK report: Human bird flu victims face end in ‘plague pits’ 02 Apr 2006 Families may have to wait for four months to bury their dead in the event of an avian flu pandemic, stirring up folk memories of the burial pits of the great plague of 1665, writes David Cracknell. A confidential Home Office report says as many as 320,000 people could die from the H5N1 strain of the virus if it mutates into a form that can readily be passed between humans. [See: U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic.] Gene From 1918 Virus Proves Key to Virulent Influenza (University of Wisconsin Press Release) 06 Oct 2004 “Using a gene resurrected from the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, recorded history’s most lethal outbreak of infectious disease, scientists have found that a single gene may have been responsible for the devastating virulence of the virus. Writing Oct. 7 in the journal Nature, virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tokyo, describes experiments in which engineered viruses were made more potent by the addition of a single gene. Bush Authorizes Use of Quarantine Powers in Cases of Bird Flu 02 Apr 2005 President [sic] Bush signed an executive order on Friday authorizing the government to impose a quarantine to deal with any outbreak of avian influenza now found in Southeast Asia. Jordan reports first human case of bird flu in Egyptian laborer 31 Mar 2006 Jordan reported its first human case of bird flu on Friday in an Egyptian laborer who was believed to have become infected while on a holiday in his hometown in Egypt, health officials said. Cairo confirms two more human bird flu cases 03 Apr 2006 Two cases of bird flu have been confirmed in northern Egypt, raising the total number of Egyptian human cases to eight, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali announced on Sunday. Bird flu expected on U.S. West Coast by summer 01 Apr 2006 California officials expect bird flu to arrive on the U.S. West Coast this summer in what could be the first sign in the United States of the deadly virus, which has already swept from Asia across Europe and down to Africa. “The H5N1 virus in birds is expected in the next couple of months in the United States,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe told reporters on Thursday at a state bird flu pandemic preparedness meeting. [See: U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic. See: KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006 KBR, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Co., said Tuesday it has been awarded a contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to support its Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the event of an emergency [Gee, what ‘emergency’ could that be?] See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005] Bird-Flu Pandemic Would Likely Start in California [How do they *know?*] 30 Mar 2006 If a bird-flu pandemic does hit the United States, it may well start in California and spread across the country in just two to four weeks. That’s the scenario drawn from results of a computer model created by researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center. Flu ‘Oddities’ Breaking News Archives ***** FLU ‘ODDITIES’ HOT ARTICLES Warning over ‘unique’ spread of avian flu 22 Oct 2005 The avian flu – recently arrived in the UK – which is causing chaos around the world is “unique” because of the simultaneous way in which it is spreading, a veterinary expert has warned. [LOL, ‘unique.’ Looks like the Bush bioterror team is a busy little bee, poised to start the mandatory vaccines with no legal liablity for the pharma-terrorists.] Russian MP Calls Bird Flu “American Provocation” 21 Oct 2005 A deputy of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic faction of the Russian State Duma, Aleksei Mitrofanov, has said in a parliamentary speech that bird flu was invented by Americans who wanted to dominate the world’s poultry markets. Congress Set to Pass Law Eliminating Liability For Vaccine Injuries 19 Oct 2005 The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is calling the “Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005″ (S. 1873), which passed out of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee one day after it was introduced “a drug company stockholder’s dream and a consumer’s worst nightmare.” …The bill establishes the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA), as the single point of authority within the government for the advanced research and development of drugs and vaccines in response to bioterrorism and natural disease outbreaks such as the flu. BARDA will operate in secret, exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, insuring that no evidence of injuries or deaths caused by drugs and vaccines labeled as “countermeasures” will become public. Rare Germ Found in D.C. on Sept. 24, 25 (DC Protest Days) Tularemia Is Highly Infectious; Can Cause Pneumonia and Systemic Infection 30 Sep 2005 A relatively rare biological agent has been detected in air filters serving Washington D.C. in recent weeks, ABC News has learned — but current evidence does not show any indication whatsoever of terrorism [?!?]. The federal government found six air filters around the nation’s capital checked on Sept. 24 and 25 contained “trace amounts” of tularemia, a type of bacteria. No additional traces have been detected since Sept. 24 and 25. [Gee, how blatant can they get? We need to start fighting back. Tolerating their terrorism is becoming the greater crime. –Lori Price.] UK flu pandemic contingency plan (pdf) March 2005 Bush Authorizes Use of Quarantine Powers in Cases of Bird Flu 02 Apr 2005 President [sic] Bush signed an executive order on Friday authorizing the government to impose a quarantine to deal with any outbreak of avian influenza now found in Southeast Asia. Bush Order Allows Isolation of Those with Bird Flu 01 Apr 2005 Dictator Bush issued a directive on Friday allowing authorities to detain or isolate any passenger suspected of having avian flu when arriving in the United States aboard an international flight. The Bush order added pandemic influenza to the list of diseases for which quarantine is authorized. Under the directive, the Health and Human Services Department is given legal authority to detain or isolate any passenger suspected of having the avian flu. U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic. The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulate the mixing and matching of genes from the H5N1 avian flu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human flu virus that public-health experts fear could turn avian flu into a pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory [?!?] have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks. Gene From 1918 Virus Proves Key to Virulent Influenza (University of Wisconsin Press Release) 06 Oct 2004 “Using a gene resurrected from the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, recorded history’s most lethal outbreak of infectious disease, scientists have found that a single gene may have been responsible for the devastating virulence of the virus. Writing Oct. 7 in the journal Nature, virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tokyo, describes experiments in which engineered viruses were made more potent by the addition of a single gene. The work is evidence that a slight genetic tweak is all that is required to transform mild strains of the flu virus into forms far more pathogenic and, possibly, more transmissible… Using a comparatively mild form of influenza A virus as a template, Kawaoka’s team added the two 1918 genes that code for hemagglutinin and neuraminidase and infected mice with the engineered viruses.” Kofi Annan expresses hope of “containing the spread of new infectious diseases, whether natural or man-made” –Transcript of Press Conference by Secretary-General Kofi Annan At United Nations Headquarters, 21 Mar 2005 “…[I]f governments take the decisions that I am suggesting in this report, I believe we will have a much better chance of turning the tide against HIV/AIDS and malaria in the next 10 years; a much better chance of containing the spread of new infectious diseases, whether natural or man-made; … — through a strengthened Security Council and a new and authoritative human rights council, both working closely with regional organizations — to put a stop to major crimes against innocent people, such as those we are witnessing in Darfur.” Birdflu pandemic may mean some stay home to die 11 Mar 2005 New Zealand medical authorities may tell some people likely to die from a birdflu pandemic to stay home and not clog up hospitals. Research published today in the latest New Zealand Medical Journal predicts up to 3700 deaths in New Zealand from a first wave of pandemic influenza and up to a million people infected. “It is likely that some difficult decisions will be required in limiting hospital care to those where it would most likely affect final health outcomes,” the researchers said. Military intelligence warns that avian flu could be used as weapon: report 08 Mar 2005 The military’s intelligence arm has warned the federal government that avian influenza could be used as a weapon of bioterrorism, a heavily censored report suggests. It also reveals that military planners believe a naturally occurring flu pandemic may be imminent. The report, entitled Recent Human Outbreaks of Avian Influenza and Potential Biological Warfare Implications, was obtained under the Access to Information Act by The Canadian Press. It was prepared by the J2 Directorate of Strategic Intelligence, a secretive branch of National Defence charged with producing intelligence for the government. Coroner Wants to Shrink-Wrap Bodies –Coroner Wants to Shrink-Wrap Bodies in the Case of a Natural Disaster or Terrorist Attack 19 Feb 2005 In the case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, some emergency officials in Western Washington plan to be prepared with a large, shrink wrap machine. The Thurston County Coroner’s Office recently won approval to purchase a machine able to shrink-wrap human remains. The process would make it easier to transport a large number of bodies. The coroner’s office has already started a bidding process to find a company to build the machine. A Homeland Security grant will pay for the machine, which will cost an estimated $50,000. Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 UK Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice. Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic. 1918 killer flu secrets revealed 05 Feb 2004 Scientists have worked out how the virus which caused the world’s worst flu epidemic infected man. They believe the virus, which claimed the lives of up to 50m people around the world, jumped from birds to humans. The breakthrough, published in Science, should help doctors identify which future bird viruses pose a threat to man at an earlier stage. Flu victim exhumed after 85 years 30 Jan 2004 Scientists are preparing to exhume the body of a woman who died of flu 85 years ago to find out how the virus killed millions across Europe. Phyllis Burn died aged 20 in 1918, a victim of the 20th Century’s worst flu epidemic, which killed more than 50 million people. She was buried in a lead coffin, thought to be virtually airtight, in Twickenham, south-west London. Scientists wearing protective clothing will remove lung samples from the body. ***** Bird Flu Defies Control Efforts 27 Mar 2006 The spread of avian influenza to at least 29 new countries in the last seven weeks — one of the biggest outbreaks of the virus since it emerged nine years ago — is prompting a sobering reassessment of the strategy that has guided efforts to contain the disease. Bear Stearns warns against airline stocks due to ‘imminent’ bird flu 21 Mar 2006 Investment bank Bear Stearns has advised investors to start dumping airline and retail stocks in favour of blue-chip utilities as a hedge against bird flu, warning that a full human pandemic of the H5N1 virus could set off the worst global stock market crash since the 1930s. Bird flu virus ‘now in two forms’ 21 Mar 2006 The H5N1 virus responsible for the current virulent strain of bird flu has evolved into two genetically distinct strains, US scientists have confirmed. [See: Killer flu recreated in the lab 07 Oct 2004 UK Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice. Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic.] Bird flu mutation ‘adds to threat of human pandemic’ 21 Mar 2006 The virus that causes bird flu has split into two distinct genetic subgroups, widening the gene pool from which a form that could trigger a human pandemic might evolve. [Military intelligence warns that avian flu could be used as weapon: report 08 Mar 2005 The military’s intelligence arm has warned the federal government that avian influenza could be used as a weapon of bioterrorism, a heavily censored report suggests. It also reveals that military planners believe a naturally occurring flu pandemic may be imminent. The report, entitled Recent Human Outbreaks of Avian Influenza and Potential Biological Warfare Implications, was obtained under the Access to Information Act by The Canadian Press. It was prepared by the J2 Directorate of Strategic Intelligence, a secretive branch of National Defence charged with producing intelligence for the government. Note: this article has been pulled.] OIE says some China bird flu vaccines ineffective 21 Mar 2006 China may be using some substandard poultry vaccines to fight bird flu that could allow birds to keep spreading the virus despite not showing symptoms, a top animal health expert said on Tuesday. [The deadly vaccines (The Bush regime has removed all liability for the pharma-terrorists) are Bush’s ticket to get the dissenters into FEMA camps and KBR detention centres.] Allowing the Drug Companies to Poison Our Children By Lewis Seiler & Dan Hamburg “Top Republican so-called leaders—Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL)—recently sold the future of our children to Big Pharma for a paltry $4 bucks a pop. That’s the additional cost to produce a safe vaccine, a vaccine minus the mercury-based preservative thimerosal… At the end of last year, President [sic] Bush signed the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREPA), granting blanket immunity to pharmaceutical companies for vaccine-induced injuries. The measure is a carte blanche for industry, allowing it even to reintroduce mercury in vaccines that are currently clean, and under the behest of the World Health Organization, to continue shipping tainted vaccine to the ‘developing world.'” Here come the quarantines: Schools urged to prepare for bird flu –How will students be taught if classes are shut down during pandemic? 22 Mar 2006 Who coordinates decisions on closing schools or quarantining kids? [Halliburton!] If classes shut down for weeks, how will a district keep kids from falling behind? Who will keep the payroll running, or ease the fear of parents [They need to fear Bush’s Waffen-SS, who will come to haul Leftists away], or provide food to children who count on school meals? [Halliburton to the rescue! You can be sure, Cheney Halliburton is coordinating the quarantines, FEMA camps and KBR detention centres, even as we speak.] Bird flu virus confirmed in central Stockholm 21 Mar 2006 Two wild swans found in central Stockholm last week died of the highly pathogenic strain of H5 bird flu. Bird flu kills five in Azerbaijan 22 Mar 2006 The bird flu deaths of five people in Azerbaijan have pushed the world total human deaths from H5N1 past 100, the World Health Organization said yesterday. Genetic differences of H5N1 strains viewed 20 Mar 2006 Analyses of H5N1 Southeast Asian bird flu samples shows the two strains causing human disease are related and belong to two distinct genetic subgroups. “As the virus continues its geographic expansion, it is also undergoing genetic diversity expansion,” said Rebecca Garten, a researcher on the study. “Back in 2003 we only had one genetically distinct population of H5N1 with the potential to cause a human pandemic. Now we have two.” [See: U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic. The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulate the mixing and matching of genes from the H5N1 avian flu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human flu virus that public-health experts fear could turn avian flu into a pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory [?!?] have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks.] Bird flu likely in US this year: gov’t 20 Mar 2006 Bush regime officials said on Monday it was “increasingly likely” that bird flu would be detected in the United States as early as this year but added it would not mean the start of a human pandemic. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005] Bird flu spreads to two more Israel communities 20 Mar 2006 On Monday morning veterinarians from the Agriculture Ministry reported that bird flu had in all likelihood spread to two more Israeli communities in the western Negev. Second Human Bird Flu Case Found in Egypt 19 Mar 2006 Egypt reported its second human case of avian flu Sunday, and Israel continued its slaughter of hundreds of thousands of birds while waiting to learn if the disease had spread to poultry. Bird flu plan ‘may spread virus’ –British measures to deal with an outbreak have been attacked as likely to promote wider infection 18 Mar 2006 Farmers will be free to move birds out of areas hit by avian flu, with permission from a vet, under British plans to deal with an outbreak of the disease. Russia says bird flu may hit US in autumn, mutate 16 Mar 2006 The deadly bird flu virus, which has hit Asia, Europe and Africa, may spread to the United States late this year and risks mutating dangerously there, Russia’s top animal and plant health inspector said on Thursday. [Just in time for pre-‘election’ quarantines, FEMA camps and KBR detention centres!] Five more nations confirm bird flu outbreak 18 Mar 2006 Four Asian nations and Denmark have confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu. Israel confirms first bird flu cases in poultry 16 Mar 2006 Israel said that initial tests showed bird flu had killed hundreds of poultry at a southern farm in the country’s first outbreak. Russian leader sees U.S. behind bird flu outbreak 14 Mar 2006 Russian Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov has blamed the United States for the spread of avian influenza, or bird flu, in a number of European countries, including Russia. “The forms of warfare are changing. It’s strange that not a single duck has yet died in America – they are all dying in Russia and European countries. This makes one seriously wonder why,” Zyuganov said at a press conference at the Interfax main office on Tuesday. [See: U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic. The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulate the mixing and matching of genes from the H5N1 avian flu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human flu virus that public-health experts fear could turn avian flu into a pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory [?!?] have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks.] Bird Flu Hits Sweden; Afghans Suspect It 15 Mar 2006 Sweden recorded its first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain on Wednesday, saying European laboratory tests confirm two wild birds found dead in the southeast were infected with the virus. Afghan authorities, meanwhile, said preliminary test results from a U.N. lab left them “99 percent certain” that the country’s first bird flu outbreak was the deadly H5N1 strain. Denmark detects first case of H5 bird flu 15 Mar 2006 Denmark has detected its first case of highly pathogenic H5 bird flu in a wild bird, the Danish family and consumer affairs ministry announced today. Switzerland confirms bird flu in wild ducks 15 Mar 2006 Swiss authorities said on Tuesday that they had discovered two new cases of the broad H5 bird flu virus family in wild ducks. U.S. bird flu pandemic (“final”) solution – in addition to FEMA camps and KBR’S detention centres: Store canned tuna and powdered milk under your bed. 13 Mar 2006 In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States. Bird flu outbreak in U.S. could usher in 12-hour workdays 13 Mar 2006 Employers are planning for a few possible back-up scenarios… Well employees might also be required to work longer shifts. Instead of a typical eight-hour shift, demands due to shortages in manpower would mean an extension to 10- or 12-hour shifts. Bird flu spreads to Myanmar, likely in Afghanistan 13 Mar 2006 Myanmar has reported what is believed to be the secretive country’s first case of bird flu, while Afghanistan was checking on Monday to see if it is the latest country to be infected by the deadly disease. Bird flu spreads to Cameroon, possibly Myanmar 12 Mar 2006 Cameroon became the fourth African country to report an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on Sunday, and authorities in Myanmar tested scores of dead birds for the virus. Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m killing on bird flu drug 12 Mar 2006 Donald Rumsfeld has made a killing out of bird flu. The US Defence Secretary has made more than $5m (£2.9m) in capital gains from selling shares in the biotechnology firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by Governments to treat [sic] a possible human pandemic of the disease. Tamiflu found ineffective in bird flu treatment 21 Dec 2005 The drug most of the world is counting on to prevent an avian flu pandemic may not be a failsafe defence, according to a New England Journal of Medicine report. The authors say they have found evidence the H5N1 virus can mutate into a form unaffected by Tamiflu — rendering the world’s ever-growing stockpiles of the drug ineffective if the mutated strain were to spread. Doctor says bird flu drug is ‘useless’ 04 Dec 2005 A Vietnamese doctor who has treated dozens of victims of avian flu claims the drug being stockpiled around the world to combat a pandemic is “useless” against the virus. “Tamiflu is really only meant for treating ordinary type A flu. It was not designed to combat H5N1 . . . (Tamiflu) is useless,” Dr Nguyen Tuong Van, who runs the intensive care unit at the Centre for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, said. Chertoff: Bird flu possible in U.S. within months 11 Mar 2006 Migratory birds could carry the avian flu virus to U.S. shores in the next few months, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned Thursday. See: U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic. The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulate the mixing and matching of genes from the H5N1 avian flu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human flu virus that public-health experts fear could turn avian flu into a pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory [?!?] have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks.] Experts Say Medical Ventilators Are in Short Supply in Event of Bird Flu Pandemic 12 Mar 2006 If an avian flu pandemic were to cause widespread illness in the United States, public health experts and officials agree on one thing: the nation’s hospitals would not have enough ventilators, the machines that pump oxygen into sick patients’ lungs. [Oh, but KBR’s detention centres won’t be in short supply!] Bird Flu Found in Weasel-Like Animal 09 Mar 2006 A German lab has found the H5N1 bird flu virus in a weasel-like [Bush-like] animal called a stone marten, officials said Thursday, marking the disease’s spread to another mammal species beyond cats. Bird flu ‘heading for America’ 09 Mar 2006 Bird flu could reach the Americas in six to 12 months or even sooner following its rapid expansion through Asia, Europe and Africa, the UN bird flu chief said yesterday. [KBR is ready for it!] Bird flu could hit Americas within a year: UN 08 Mar 2006 Bird flu, already spreading across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is expected to jump across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas within a year, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday. [Or even sooner – if Bush plays the bioterror card prior to his impeachment/treason trial. FEMA’s camps and KBR’s detention centres will be filled with those who defy the quarantines and refuse the pharma-terrorists deadly vaccines; Rudy Giuliani will make a *killing* (literally) off of the clampdown (as he did during Bush bin Laden’s 9/11 attacks) and the Bush regime will seize further dictatorial powers. –LRP] Bird-flu cats reject virus 07 Mar 2006 Three cats were at one point carriers of the H5N1 bird flu virus in the southern Austrian province of Styria, but two of them have since rejected the virus, says a health official. Bird Flu Spreads in Nigeria, Reaches Oil-Producing Delta Region 08 Mar 2006 Bird flu spread to three more Nigerian states, reaching the oil-producing Delta region where attacks by gunmen on pipelines and export terminals and kidnappings of workers in the past two months disrupted supply. [LOL, looks like the terrorists running Exxon Mobil are poised to blame *bird flu* for their next round of windfall profiteering!] H5N1 bird flu reaches Poland, experts fear pandemic 06 Mar 2006 Mar 06 The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu swept into Poland, a laboratory confirmed, as world health experts prepared for a feared mutation of the virus that could kill millions. For First Time, Flu Spreads From Birds 06 Mar 2006 Three cats have tested positive for the deadly strain of bird flu in Austria’s first reported case of the disease spreading to an animal other than a bird, state authorities said Monday. H5N1 bird flu infects cats in Austria, feeding pandemic fears 06 Mon 2006 The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in several cats in Austria, as world health experts prepared for a feared mutation of the disease capable of jumping from human to human. Industry caused the flu; why blame wild birds? By Ashok B Sharma 06 Mar 2006 “Not just in India, industrial poultry is the cause of the spread of the bird flu outbreak worldwide. Several studies show that transnational poultry industry is the root cause of the problem. The spread of industrial poultry production and trade networks have created ideal conditions for the emergence and transmission of lethal viruses like the H5N1 strains of bird flu.” DoD Officials Prepare for Possible Pandemic 01 Mar 2006 Defense Department officials are working to create a pandemic influenza plan [Yeah, KBR’s detention centres] in time for the Department of Homeland Defense’s end-of-March deadline, a DoD medical official said Feb. 27. [Just cut the word ‘plan.’ They are working to create an influenza pandemic, period. See: U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation 24 Mar 2005 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu virus could result in a human pandemic. The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulate the mixing and matching of genes from the H5N1 avian flu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human flu virus that public-health experts fear could turn avian flu into a pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory [?!?] have started swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most recent human flu outbreaks.] Calls for bird flu military labs 02 Mar 2006 A military-style approach is needed to counter the worldwide threat of H5N1 bird flu, it has been claimed. US experts want to see a network of rapid-response laboratories set up based on an existing military model established after the Second World War. Reigniting Spanish flu 05 Oct 2005 The influenza strain that killed up to 50 million people in the 1918 pandemic has been recreated by scientists. …Other research shows close similarities between the 1918 Spanish Flu virus and the H5N1 bird flu strain that is threatening the world with a new pandemic. Researchers in the United States described how they used a “reverse engineering” technique to re-construct Spanish Flu. Gene From 1918 Virus Proves Key to Virulent Influenza (University of Wisconsin Press Release) 06 Oct 2004 “Using a gene resurrected from the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, recorded history’s most lethal outbreak of infectious disease, scientists have found that a single gene may have been responsible for the devastating virulence of the virus. Writing Oct. 7 in the journal Nature, virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tokyo, describes experiments in which engineered viruses were made more potent by the addition of a single gene. The work is evidence that a slight genetic tweak is all that is required to transform mild strains of the flu virus into forms far more pathogenic and, possibly, more transmissible… Using a comparatively mild form of influenza A virus as a template, Kawaoka’s team added the two 1918 genes that code for hemagglutinin and neuraminidase and infected mice with the engineered viruses.” Kofi Annan expresses hope of “containing the spread of new infectious diseases, whether natural or man-made” Transcript of Press Conference by Secretary-General Kofi Annan At United Nations Headquarters, 21 Mar 2005 “…[I]f governments take the decisions that I am suggesting in this report, I believe we will have a much better chance of turning the tide against HIV/AIDS and malaria in the next 10 years; a much better chance of containing the spread of new infectious diseases, whether natural or man-made; … — through a strengthened Security Council and a new and authoritative human rights council, both working closely with regional organizations — to put a stop to major crimes against innocent people, such as those we are witnessing in Darfur.” Democrats seek to repeal US vaccine liability law [passed in secret by the GOP] 15 Feb 2006 Congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would repeal a law that gives vaccine, drug and medical device makers broad protection against lawsuits in a public health or bioterror emergency. Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy and 20 other House and Senate Democrats wrote a letter to Republican leaders saying, “The provision included in the bill is not limited to vaccines for pandemic flu or other major threats to the nation’s health, but could instead be used to allow manufacturers of virtually any drug or vaccine to escape responsibility for gross negligence or even criminal acts.” When the avian flu pandemic arrives, the corpora-terrorists will pressure the Bush regime to make a vaccine mandatory, and there will be no recourse. Do you really trust the people who brought you the response to Hurricane Katrina (thousands dead) to handle a response to avian flu? Bush said in October 2005 that he would consider using the military to “effect a quarantine” in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza in the United States. In January 2006, KBR was awarded a Homeland Security contract worth up to $385M with four 1-year options to expand existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency. KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006 KBR, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Co., said Tuesday it has been awarded a contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to support its Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in the event of an emergency. The maximum total value of the contract is $385 million and consists of a 1-year base period with four 1-year options. The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to expand existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities… The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency [?!?], as well as the development of a plan to react to a [Bush-created] national emergency, the company said. Canada tightens borders to halt bird flu –Travellers from Europe queried –Airport dogs join security efforts 01 Mar 2006 Canadian customs officials have beefed up inspections at entry points for travellers arriving from Europe, especially France, to keep the highly lethal H5N1 bird flu strain from entering the country. FIFA chief warns of bird flu threat to World Cup finals 02 Mar 2006 World Cup might be cancelled because of bird flu, football’s top official warned yesterday. Factory farms blamed for spread of bird flu 26 Feb 2006 Factory farming and the international poultry trade are largely responsible for the spread of bird flu, and wild birds are being unfairly blamed for the disease, a new report says. No country safe from bird flu, vets say 28 Feb 2006 No country should consider itself safe from lethal avian flu, veterinary chiefs meeting in Paris said Tuesday, adding that it is “highly likely” that the disease will continue its spread in poultry stocks in Europe and beyond. Germany put on alert as cat dies of bird flu 01 Mar 2006 German officials warned cat owners yesterday not to sleep accompanied by their pets, and to keep them indoors, following confirmation that a cat has died of the H5N1 avian flu virus. Flamingo Deaths Spark Bird Flu Probe in Bahamas 01 Mar 2006 Health experts were dispatched on Tuesday to the southern Bahamas island of Inagua to find out if an unexplained spate of bird deaths was linked to a deadly bird flu virus… Over the past two days, 15 of the island’s famed flamingos, five roseate spoonbills and one cormorant have been found dead with no external injuries on the island just north of Haiti, officials said. Bird Flu, Spreading in Africa, May Touch Off Pandemic 28 Feb 2006 Feathers littered on sandy soil and poultry coops filled with empty wire are the few remaining signs of the 28,000 chickens Abdullahi Saidu lost in a week to bird flu on his Nigerian farm last month. Niger confirms bird flu cases 27 Feb 2006 Niger has become the third African country to confirm cases of the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, a lab official said today. Bird Flu Raises Concerns in France and Nigeria 26 Feb 2006 The announcement on Saturday that the deadly strain of bird flu was discovered in domesticated turkeys in France has disrupted the country’s $7 billion poultry market and raised fears among the French that they could be vulnerable to the disease. Bird flu: ‘don’t panic’, UK told –Experts seek to reassure the public after restaurant takes wild fowl off its menu and McDonald’s admits ‘contingency plan’ 26 Feb 2006 Britain’s health industry has launched a concerted effort to reassure the public about the safety of poultry and eggs after the first restaurant in the country announced it was taking wild fowl off the menu because of fears about bird flu… The McDonald’s chain also admitted it had emergency contingency plans in place to replace all chicken products on its menus with alternative items if avian flu reached Britain. EU approves bird flu vaccinations 23 February 2006 A European Union veterinary expert panel has approved limited preventative [?!?] bird flu vaccination plans presented by France and the Netherlands. Bird flu scare: Navapur to be sealed off 23 Feb 2006 (India) Officials will begin sealing off the entire town of Navapur, ground zero for the outbreak of bird flu. No one will be allowed in or out of Navapur, which has a population of nearly 30,000. Bird flu moving freely from Asia to Europe and Africa 23 Feb 2006 Indonesia said a 27-year-old woman died of bird flu as it prepared to scour the capital for infected poultry, while Malaysia and India expanded the slaughter of chickens to try to contain the H5N1 virus. ‘Europe has no hope of eradicating bird flu’ 23 Feb 2006 Europe has “no hope of eradicating” the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in the foreseeable future, now that there are infected wild birds across the European Union, a senior bird flu expert said yesterday. Second duck in France found to have H5N1 bird flu 23 Feb 2006 France, the European Union’s biggest poultry producer, has confirmed that a second wild duck on its territory has been found to have the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Deadly Bird Flu Hits Seventh EU Nation 21 Feb 2006 Tests confirmed H5N1 in three birds found dead in Hungary, making the country the seventh EU nation with an outbreak of the deadly strain of bird flu, officials said Tuesday. Germany fears bird flu is getting out of control 21 Feb 2006 Germany today reported 22 new cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, as politicians gave warning that the virus was getting out of control. EU weighs immediate flu jab programme 21 Feb 2006 European veterinary experts have met in Brussels to decide whether to grant controversial requests from France and the Netherlands to begin an immediate programme of “preventive vaccination” against avian flu. Tower Ravens Caged Over Bird Flu Threat 21 Feb 2006 The ravens at the Tower of London have been moved indoors to protect them from the threat of bird flu, the man in charge of the birds said Monday. According to legend, if the ravens leave the 11th century fortress on the River Thames, its White Tower will crumble and the Kingdom of England will fall. Deadly viruses mutating to infect humans at rate never seen before 21 Feb 2006 At least one new disease is jumping the species barrier from animals to human beings every year, exposing people to emerging germs at a rate that may be unprecedented. [The Bush bioterror team is working *overtime.*] India quarantines six as bird flu spreads faster 20 Feb 2006 India quarantined six people in hospital on Monday and began a door-to-door search for anyone with fever as authorities scrambled to contain the country’s first outbreak of bird flu. Study: Containment can’t stop flu pandemic 20 Feb 2006 Scientists say they’ve concluded containment might buy time, but is not enough to stop a flu pandemic. Through mathematical modeling, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and Seattle’s University of Washington show flu outbreaks are likely to emerge in multiple locations and containment of all outbreaks is improbable. Washington, D.C. Hosting Bird Flu Summit for Businesses 19 Feb 2006 Email from New Fields, detailing their plans to host Washington, D.C.’s first ‘Bird Flu Summit’ to be held February 27-28, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City near Reagan National Airport, obtained by Citizens For Legitimate Government. See: New Fields CEO Joins Bechtel, Halliburton on Highly Anticipated SBA Expo ’04 Panel (New Fields) 06 May 2004 “New Fields Exhibitions is the organizer of the successful Rebuilding Iraq series, which has brought together business leaders from over thirty countries for networking opportunities with key Iraqi entrepreneurs and government officials.” Bird flu ‘likely to reach Britain’ 18 Feb 2006 The Government has confirmed that bird flu is “likely” to reach UK shores following confirmation that a duck in France died of the disease. Dead duck found in France had H5N1 virus-ministry 18 Feb 2006 A dead duck found in France had the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday, confirming the first case of the virus in France. Killer H5N1 virus spreads 19 Feb 2006 The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was identified today in India and Iran, continued to spread in Europe and claimed another victim in Indonesia, though Nigeria claimed to be bringing it under control. Bird Flu Spreads to India; Iraq Reports Second Death 18 Feb 2006 Bird flu spread to India, affecting dozens of poultry farms in the western part of the country, while Iraq reported a second human fatality from avian influenza, pushing the monthly global death tally to a two-year high. Bird flu could hit Florida first 17 Feb 2006 Gov. Jeb Bush expects Florida to be among the first bird flu cases if a pandemic spreads to the United States. In a visit to Florida, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt warned Thursday that bird flu could reach the nation within 30 days – once it starts passing widely from person to person. Bush predicts Florida would get the first wave… Quarantines [!?!] are the start of the logistical challenges during a pandemic outbreak. [Jeb Bush will be the first to get the police state party started, and fill the FEMA camps and KBR’s detention centers. I saw this one marching down Broadway a mile away. Out of the ashes of Jeb’s police state and genocide of the sick and poor (à la New Orleans) will arise a Reichwing clamor for him to run for president in 2008, unless his brother has will have already declared himself ‘president’ for life. –LRP] Reigniting Spanish flu 05 Oct 2005 The influenza strain that killed up to 50 million people in the 1918 pandemic has been recreated by scientists. …Other research shows close similarities between the 1918 Spanish Flu virus and the H5N1 bird flu strain that is threatening the world with a new pandemic. Researchers in the United States described how they used a “reverse engineering” technique to re-construct Spanish Flu. [Keep that sentence in mind when you start to see KBR’s detention centers filling up with avian flu victims who refuse Bush’s mandatory vaccines.] Bird flu epidemic could kill 142 mln, cost 4.4 trln usd – Australian academics 16 Feb 2006 A global bird flu pandemic could kill as many as 142 mln people and wipe some 4.4 trln usd from economic output, according to a worst-case scenario published by Australian academics. Dead swans litter German island as bird flu spreads 17 Feb 2006 The German Baltic island of Ruegen is littered with the corpses of at least 100 swans just 24 hours after the authorities discovered three dead birds with H5N1 virus on its shores. Two more countries report bird flu 16 Feb 2006 A deadly strain of bird flu spreading across Europe was reported to have infected birds in two more countries – Romania and Slovenia -Thursday. Risk to Britain increasing from EU spread of bird flu 17 Feb 2006 Britain is increasingly likely to be hit by bird flu, the government warned yesterday. Russia Has New Bird-Flu Outbreak; Turkey Finds Suspected Cases 17 Feb 2006 Russian authorities killed more than 270,000 chickens in the country’s southwestern-most corner to contain a new wave of lethal bird flu, a day after Turkey reported suspected outbreaks in almost a third of its provinces. Indonesia considers response to pandemic as fears of bird flu rise 17 Feb 2006 A possible pandemic is looming and the world is on high alert after new cases of avian influenza in poultry were found in Europe and Africa this week. Iraq: Health alert in south warns of bird flu 16 Feb 2006 The Iraqi government has raised a health alert in a southern governorate after local laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus in dozens of birds in the area. Niger: Dead birds raise fears of bird flu 16 Feb 2006 The death of at least 400 chickens, turkeys and geese in Niger – which shares a 1,500-kilometre border with bird-flu-infected Nigeria – has government officials scurrying to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. Bird flu pandemic would ‘kill millions, shut down economy’ 16 Feb 2006 Modelling of the consequences of a global outbreak of bird flu has predicted a worldwide recession and a massive death toll. Two papers have been released showing the likely impact of a pandemic. Bird flu could kill 214,000 Aussies 16 Feb 2006 A serious worldwide outbreak of avian flu could kill up to 214,000 Australians, according to new projections by experts. The research shows the world death toll from a disastrous bird flu pandemic could be as high as 142 million, or 2.2 per cent of the earth’s population, Fairfax newspapers report. Hastert, Frist said to rig bill for drug firms 09 Feb 2006 Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert engineered a backroom legislative maneuver to protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits, say witnesses to the pre-Christmas power play. The language was tucked into a Defense Department appropriations bill at the last minute without the approval of members of a House-Senate conference committee, say several witnesses, including a top Republican staff member. Beyond the issue of vaccine liability protection, some say going around the longstanding practice of bipartisan House-Senate conference committees’ working out compromises on legislation is a dangerous power grab by Republican congressional leaders that subverts democracy. Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (Defense Department FY2006 Appropriations bill) The new law providing vaccine makers with protection against lawsuits –Among its key provisions are: It allows the secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a declaration that a “disease or other health condition or other threat to health constitutes a public health emergency.” The secretary may also issue a declaration if there is a “credible risk” that there may be such a problem in the future. Excludes any state or federal court from reviewing the secretary’s decisions under the law. Democrats seek to repeal US vaccine liability law [passed in secret by the GOP] 15 Feb 2006 Congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would repeal a law that gives vaccine, drug and medical device makers broad protection against lawsuits in a public health or bioterror emergency. Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy and 20 other House and Senate Democrats wrote a letter to Republican leaders saying, “The provision included in the bill is not limited to vaccines for pandemic flu or other major threats to the nation’s health, but could instead be used to allow manufacturers of virtually any drug or vaccine to escape responsibility for gross negligence or even criminal acts.” [When the avian flu pandemic arrives, the corpora-terrorists will pressue the Bush regime to make a vaccine mandatory, and there will be no recourse. Do you really trust the people who brought you the reponse to Hurricane Katrina (thousands dead) to handle a response to avian flu? Bush said in October 2005 that he would consider using the military to “effect a quarantine” in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza in the United States. In January 2006, KBR was awarded a Homeland Security contract worth up to $385M with four 1-year options to expand existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency.] Mass. says Wal-Mart must stock morning-after pill 14 Feb 2006 A Massachusetts regulatory board voted on Tuesday to require Wal-Mart stores to stock morning-after contraceptives, two weeks after three women in the state sued Wal-Mart for refusing to fill orders for the pills. Bird flu spreading across Europe 15 Feb 2006 Two swans found dead in northern Germany have the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus, officials say, marking the first such cases in the country. Germany says first cases of H5N1 bird flu found in swans 14 Feb 2006 The German government said that preliminary tests on two dead swans showed they were apparently infected by the H5N1 strain of bird flu. U.S. agency pushes electronic biosurveillance project 13 Feb 2006 The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology is launching four new “breakthrough projects” designed to help spur the adoption of electronic health records (EHR)… The biosurveillance project will include the launch of a nationwide public health monitoring network to be used during a pandemic or [Bush-engendered] bioterrorist attack to send lab results electronically from emergency departments to public health agencies within 24 hours. [Bush wants to be able to round up dissenters, the poor, and the sick ASAP for FEMA’s camps and KBR’s detention centers.] Bird flu spreads to Western Europe 13 Feb 2006 The dreaded H5N1 bird flu virus has been detected in wild birds in Western Europe, the first time its presence has been detected in the European Union, and further cases have been reported in Indonesia and Nigeria. Bird flu spread by fleeing swans –Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Bulgaria have taken emergency measures after deadly strain was found 13 Feb 2006 The deadly strain of H5N1 bird flu has been detected in four European countries, carried by swans driven south by freezing weather in northern Europe. Get ready for military-enforced quarantines, KBR’s detention centers, and Bush’s full-blown police state: 08 Feb 2006 Dallas Co. Approved to Test For Bird Flu Dallas County health officials say they have received approval to conduct testing for the Bird Flu. As far as medical officials know, the virus has not reached the United States, but local health officials outlined how a possible Bird Flu pandemic could quickly spread. Bird Flu Detected in Swans in Italy, Greece and Bulgaria 12 Feb 2006 The dreaded A(H5N1) bird flu virus has been detected in wild birds in Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, European officials announced yesterday, the first time its presence has been detected in the European Union. Bird flu hits Italy 11 Feb 2006 The highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu has been detected in wild swans in Italy. According to Italian health minister Francesco Storace, H5N1 was found in two dead swans in Sicily on Saturday. Several wild birds killed by H5N1 flu in Italy 11 Feb 2006 Several wild swans died of H5N1 in southern Italy, Health Minister Francesco Storace said on Saturday, confirming the arrival in the European Union of the strain of the bird flu virus that can be deadly for humans. Spread of Bird Flu Boosts Pandemic Chances 11 Feb 2006 The spread of bird flu from Asia to eastern Europe and now west Africa has increased the chance the virus will mutate and set off a pandemic, the U.N. bird flu chief said. ‘Now Joining the Bird Flu Summit…’ 09 Feb 2006 Lt Col Kimberly Robinson, Department of Defense; Taha A. Kass-Hout, MD, MS, Northrop Grumman CDC Programs [?!?]; and Lauren C. Thompson, The MTIRE Corporation. Bird Flu Summit, 27-28 February – Washington, D.C. –New Fields’ Bird Flu Summit, 1050 Seventeenth Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 536-5000 [Note: The Bird Flu Summit agenda has not yet listed the above participants on their website. Citizens For Legitimate Government has obtained this information. *Why* is the Department of Defense, Northrop Gumman (‘Battle Management’ specialists), and The MITRE Corporation (‘Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I)s’ for the Department of Defense) attending a *Bird Flu Summit?* The Bird Flu Summit is presented by New Fields. See: New Fields CEO Joins Bechtel, Halliburton on Highly Anticipated SBA Expo ’04 Panel (New Fields) 06 May 2004 “New Fields Exhibitions is the organizer of the successful Rebuilding Iraq series, which has brought together business leaders from over thirty countries for networking opportunities with key Iraqi entrepreneurs and government officials.” See also: Homeland Security Expo, Washington, Jun. ’05 (New Fields) 20 Feb 2005 “Bringing together experts representing all regions of the globe and a variety of industries to share new ideas is the goal of New Fields’ Homeland and World Security Expo.”] ‘Highly pathogenic’ bird flu found in Nigeria 08 Feb 2006 A “highly pathogenic” strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus has been ‘found’ [put?] in poultry stocks in Nigeria? the first reported case of the disease in Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health said Wednesday. Iraq Finds 7 Possible Bird Flu Cases as Virus Spreads 08 Feb 2006 Iraq is treating seven people for suspected bird flu in the country, where a possible third fatality indicates the lethal virus may have spread to the south. Researchers Uncover 4 Different Genetic Bird-Flu Strains 06 Feb 2006 Researchers have identified several different genetic strains of the avian flu virus, H5N1, in different bird populations in Southeast Asia — any one of which could trigger a pandemic. Iraq confirms second bird flu death 07 Feb 2006 A second Iraqi Kurd has been confirmed to have died from the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain as international teams scrambled to combat the spread of the virus in the country’s north. WHO sends Tamiflu to Iraq after bird flu confirmed 03 Feb 2006 The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that it was sending several thousand courses of influenza drug Tamiflu to Iraq to help ‘treat’ any further cases of deadly bird flu in humans. Tamiflu found ineffective in bird flu treatment 21 Dec 2005 The drug most of the world is counting on to prevent an avian flu pandemic may not be a failsafe defence, according to a New England Journal of Medicine report. The authors say they have found evidence the H5N1 virus can mutate into a form unaffected by Tamiflu — rendering the world’s ever-growing stockpiles of the drug ineffective if the mutated strain were to spread. Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu –Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. 31 Oct 2005 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it’s proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that’s now the most-sought after drug in the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)’s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld. NORTHCOM Prepares for Possible Pandemic 01 Feb 2006 U.S. Northern Command recently hosted representatives from more than 40 international, federal and state agencies for an exercise designed to provoke discussion and determine what governmental actions, including military support, would be necessary in the event of an influenza pandemic in the United States. “NORTHCOM will not be running the show in the event of a pandemic,” said Dave Wilkins, the NORTHCOM exercise facilitator. “We will be taking guidance and requests from other agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, via the secretary of defense.” “We have to have more detention space.” –George W. Bush, Nashville, TN 01 Feb 2006 [And, Halliburton/KBR is happy to oblige! See: KBR awarded $385M Homeland Security contract for U.S. detention centers 24 Jan 2006 BTW, during the speech, Bush had trouble with the word ‘implement.’ He tried to say it three times, then resorted to the word ‘put.’ LOL!] Iraq says treating 12 possible human bird flu cases 31 Jan 2006 Officials in northern Iraq said on Tuesday they were treating 12 patients suspected of having bird flu as a World Health Organization (WHO) team prepared to travel to the area to give urgent ‘assistance.’ Call for drills to test bird flu readiness 01 Feb 2006 A plan prepared by the UAE Armed Forces for intervention in case of an outbreak of bird flu pandemic in the country was presented at the fourth meeting of the Secretariat of the National Committee for Emergency Response to Bird Flu. Britain ready to deploy CO2 to combat bird flu 31 Jan 2006 Britain will allow poultry [and what/who else?] to be poisoned with carbon dioxide as a measure to combat any bird flu outbreak, the farm ministry said on Tuesday. I saw *this one* marching down Broadway a mile away. Mandatory vaccines and quarantines will soon commence, against the backdrop of Bush’s full-blown police state in Iraq, with absolutly NO media to report U.S. acts of corpora-terrorism: Deadly bird flu in Iraq 30 Jan 2006 A United Nations official confirmed today that an Iraqi girl who died earlier this month in Kurdistan was a bird flu victim. The official, who refused to be named… said the girl was a victim of the deadly H5N1 strain. Officials Confirm Bird Flu Death of Iraqi 30 Jan 2006 Iraqi and U.N. health officials said Monday a 15-year-old girl who died this month was a victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the first confirmed case of the disease in the Middle East. UN may use ‘flu-casters’ if pandemic hits 28 Jan 2006 The United Nations is considering using “flu-casters,” modeled on television weather forecasters, to publicize vital information if a global flu pandemic strikes. WHO denies exaggerating bird flu threat 24 Jan 2006 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has denied it is exaggerating the risk of a human influenza pandemic, while China reports a 10th person has been diagnosed with the potentially fatal bird flu virus. Flu drugs ‘will not work’ if pandemic strikes –No evidence Tamiflu will be effective, say experts –Relying on medicines alone ‘would be suicidal’ 19 Jan 2006 There is no evidence that Tamiflu, the drug being stockpiled by Britain, the United States and Europe, will work if a flu pandemic takes off in humans, according to a review published today by the Lancet medical journal. France investigates possible human bird flu case 22 Jan 2006 France is investigating a possible case of bird flu in a woman who recently visited Turkey, the French health ministry has said. STMicro to market chip to detect bird flu in humans 18 Jan 2006 STMicroelectronics said on Wednesday it planned to market a disposable laboratory microchip that can confirm within about an hour a human case of bird flu at a limited cost. [This chip can enable the Bush regime to implement a full-blown police state, as the government will forcibly quarantine those who have avian flu.] Time of essence in bird flu fight, experts warn 17 Jan 2006 Bird flu experts meeting in Beijing warned on Tuesday that time was of the essence in battling a disease that has killed almost 80 people since 2003 and has now arrived at the gates of Europe and the Middle East. Europe urged to increase checks of airline passengers to prevent spread of bird flu 17 Jan 2006 With outbreaks of bird flu continuing in Turkey, European countries should adopt policies such as increased checks of airline passengers and their belongings to prevent the disease from spreading across the Continent, a UN agriculture official recommended here Monday. British firms form bird flu plans 15 Jan 2006 A survey of dozens of British companies found more than 80 percent had made emergency plans in the event bird flu mutates and spreads from human to human. WHO warns army may be needed to fight bird flu 13 Jan 2006 The World Health Organisation yesterday predicted authorities might need to use the army and police to quarantine about 120,000 people to contain aninitial pandemic flu outbreak of just 19 cases. [If you think the illegal NSA spying was a breach of civil liberties, wait until the bird flu pandemic arrives at the Bush dictatorship’s doorstep.] Bird flu ‘spiralling out of control’ 12 Jan 2006 The deadly bird flu virus may be getting more effective at infecting humans, the World Health Organisation believes, as experts warned that the disease was spiralling out of control among poultry in Turkey and posed “a serious threat” to neighbouring countries. Outbreaks of bird flu gather speed 10 Jan 2006 Bird flu is relentlessly heading for Britain, experts warned yesterday, as five more children in Turkey were found to have the disease. ‘High chance’ of bird flu reaching Britain 10 Jan 2006 Bird flu took another step towards Britain last night as three more people tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain in Turkey. The virus has already claimed the lives of three people in the city of Ankara and scientists say it is inevitable that it will eventually spread to Britain. New Turkish bird flu infection confirmed 10 Jan 2006 Another person in Turkey today tested positive for the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, a health ministry official said. It brings the number of people to have contracted the disease in the country to 15. Lock them up to die – prison bird flu plan 08 Jan 2006 Government planning documents reveal that the ‘most dangerous’ prisoners would be locked away and left to take their chances and the dead buried in mass graves, if an Asian bird flu epidemic hits New Zealand’s prison population. Entire prisons would be sealed – nobody would be allowed in or out for up to six weeks – and mass graves would be dug in prison compounds to dispose of bodies. The proposals, details of which were obtained by the Sunday Star-Times, are part of Corrections Department contingency plans to deal with an Asian bird flu pandemic hitting New Zealand and its 7500 prison population. [What is Bush’s prison bird flu plan?] Bird flu plan for prisons draws civil liberty concerns 08 Jan 2006 A reported proposal that the ‘most dangerous’ prisoners [?!?] should remain locked away and left to take their chances if an Asian bird flu pandemic hit New Zealand has been attacked by civil libertarians. HHS Advises Stocking Up On Supplies for Avian Flu Pandemic 07 Jan 2006 There is no vaccine and drugs are in short supply, but Americans may be able to ride out any pandemic of bird flu if they stock up on supplies and keep their children clean [?!?], the government said yesterday. [Americans should worry about keeping their guns clean. Arming the Left: Is the time now? –by Charles Southwell] Human bird flu cases reach Turkish capital 08 Jan 2006 Three Turks tested positive for a deadly strain of bird flu in the capital Ankara on Sunday, a new stage in the westward sweep of the disease from its east Asian origins toward major economic centres in Turkey and Europe. Deadly bird flu outbreak spreads 08 Jan 2006 Bird flu in humans appears to be spreading in Turkey, with preliminary tests for the deadly H5N1 strain returned positive in three people in Ankara, the first suspected cases outside the eastern city of Van, where at least two siblings have died in the past week. WHO confirms Turkish teens died of bird flu, first cases outside East Asia 05 Jan 2006 The World Health Organization confirmed Thursday that two Turkish teenagers who died after exposure to infected poultry were victims of the H5N1 virus, making them the first known human cases outside of the nexus of the avian flu outbreak in East Asia. Turkey’s Bird-Flu Deaths Bring Virus Nearer to Europe 05 Jan 2006 Turkey said a second teenager infected with avian flu died, indicating the virus that’s killed at least 74 people since 2003 has moved outside East Asia to the threshold of Europe. UK told not to panic over bird flu 05 Jan 2006 A leading microbiologist urged the British public not to panic as bird flu crept closer towards central Europe with two people dying in Turkey from the virus. Bad vaccines may trigger bird flu: expert 29 Dec 2005 China is most likely using substandard poultry vaccine or not enough good vaccine, which would explain recent outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry, a prominent virologist said on Thursday. Dr Robert Webster, of St Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, said the problem of substandard vaccines was not exclusive to China. [And, that is Bush’s main reason behind making the deadly vaccines mandatory and removing all manufacturer liability. When the bird flu pandemic arrives, Bush will invoke police-state measures and quarantines, while he pursues further dictatorial power.] From the people who brought you FEMA: US uses live bird flu viruses in vaccine experiment 18 Dec 2005 In an isolation ward of a Baltimore hospital, up to 30 ‘volunteers’ will participate this April in a bold experiment: A vaccine made with a live version of the most notorious bird flu will be sprayed into their noses. [The Bush bioterror team is in a hurry to get the pandemic party started, in order to implement a full-blown police state. Dictator Bush needs to justify his warrantless eavesdropping and to insure re-authorization of the Patriot Act.] U.S. [Bioterror] Team Will Test Live-Virus 18 Dec 2005 Bird Flu Vaccine Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health will soon recruit 30 human volunteers to test the effectiveness of a vaccine containing a live but weakened form of the H5N1 bird flu virus. U.S. House approves $3.8 billion for avian flu [for pharma-terrorists] 19 Dec 2005 The U.S. House of Representatives early on Monday approved $3.78 billion to begin preparations for a possible [Bush-engendered] avian flu epidemic. The bill would also shield manufacturers of vaccines and drugs from lawsuits during an epidemic. The legislation, wrapped into an unrelated defense bill, still faces an uncertain fate in the Senate later this week. House OKs Liability Protections for Drug Makers 19 Dec 2005 Drug manufacturers are a step closer toward winning the liability protections they say they need before investing in medicines to combat a bird flu pandemic. Opponents described the protections, approved early Monday by the House, as a “massive Christmas bonus to the drug companies.” Consumers seeking damages on claims they were harmed by a vaccine would have to prove willful misconduct on the part of the drug manufacturers. Bird-Flu Bill Slammed as Loophole for Drugmakers 19 Dec 2005 Bird flu preparedness legislation headed for a final vote in the Senate this week would create loopholes allowing vaccine makers to avoid legal liability even if a patient is harmed by negligence, critics said today. Ruffled feathers –UF professor says bird flu is not a threat in the U.S. 18 Dec 2005 Researchers and health agencies continue to sound the alarm about avian flu, and Dr. Gary Butcher, an expert on poultry medicine and disease at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine thinks he knows why. “The agenda here is pretty obvious,” he said. “People want grant money. This is a bonanza.” White House holds bird flu drill with military leaders 10 Dec 2005 Warning an outbreak may be inevitable, the White House on Saturday conducted a test of its readiness for a feared bird flu pandemic and said federal agencies fared “quite well” [Yes, they did so well with Hurricane Katrina, I can hardly wait for their response to a bird flu pandemic.] without offering any details. Cabinet secretaries, military leaders and other top officials took part in the four-hour tabletop drill, which officials said was designed to assess the level of federal preparedness for a possible outbreak of bird flu or another deadly virus. “This is about being ready for what inevitably will come,” Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said. [How does Leavitt know that a pandemic is ‘inevitable?’ Apparently, the Bush bioterror team is ready to attack, and a full-blown police state is surely on the way.] Britain could grind to a halt in a bird flu pandemic, experts fear [We know the civil liberties sure will!] 11 Dec 2005 Britain is not as prepared for bird flu as it should be, an influential Lords committee will say this week, because thousands of companies have not investigated how they would keep going during a pandemic that could last four months and affect a quarter of their employees. Reports detail bird flu effects on U.S. 09 Dec 2005 A pandemic of bird flu could cause a serious recession of the U.S. economy, with immediate costs of between $500 billion and $675 billion, according to two estimates released on Thursday. U.S. Urges States to Prepare for Bird Flu 06 Dec 2005 Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt urged each state on Monday to prepare for the possibility of a [Bush-engendered] deadly bird flu pandemic by holding its own planning summit within the next four months. Secretive agency proposed to develop vaccines, drugs [to facilitate Bush bioterror attacks] 03 Dec 2005 The proposed Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency, or BARDA, would be exempt from long-standing open records and meetings laws that apply to most government departments, according to legislation approved Oct. 18 by the Senate health committee. The agency would be exempt from the Freedom of Information and Federal Advisory Committee acts, both considered crucial for monitoring government accountability. Doctor says bird flu drug is ‘useless’ 04 Dec 2005 A Vietnamese doctor who has treated dozens of victims of avian flu claims the drug being stockpiled around the world to combat a pandemic is “useless” against the virus. “Tamiflu is really only meant for treating ordinary type A flu. It was not designed to combat H5N1 . . . (Tamiflu) is useless,” Dr Nguyen Tuong Van, who runs the intensive care unit at the Centre for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, said. [LOL!! See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. The prospect of a bird flu outbreak… is proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that’s now the most-sought after (*useless!*) drug in the world.] U.S. Builds Stockpile of Vaccine for Flu Pandemic 30 Nov 2005 The government expects to stockpile nearly 8 million doses of an experimental vaccine ‘against’ [to start] pandemic influenza by February, and studies are underway that could stretch that supply to cover more than a third of the population, federal health experts said yesterday. Australia to Test Response to Bird Flu in Simulated Exercise 28 Nov 2005 Australia will this week test its ability to respond to an outbreak of avian influenza in a simulated outbreak of the disease. Virus spreads ‘all over’ Jakarta 26 Nov 2005 Bird flu has been detected throughout the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, with the country’s Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono admitting: “It’s very serious. Based on our research, the virus has spread all over the city.” 35 wild birds with H5 avian flu virus found in eastern Canada 25 Nov 2005 Canada has discovered the H5 avian influenza virus in 35 wild ducks and one case of the H7 virus in its eastern provinces, officials announced. CDC Updates Rules, Outlines Gov’t Procedures to Quarantine People 22 Nov 2005 Travelers entering the U.S. with fever and other flu-like symptoms would be reported by the airline or ship that brought them, under new rules proposed today, a U.S. public-health official said. When “compatible symptoms are noticed in a passenger on a flight or ship, there will be a requirement for the captain to report it to the quarantine station that has jurisdiction over that port of entry” for medical personnel to assess them, Martin Cetron, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine [?!?], said today. The proposal also outlines procedures for government orders to quarantine people, and for how a person may appeal an order. CDC Seeks Authority During Quarantines, Easy Access to Passenger Lists 22 Nov 2005 Federal health officials are seeking to update quarantine and contact-tracing regulations… The proposed changes, announced Tuesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include easier CDC access to airline and ship passenger lists, a clearer appeals process for people [think Jose Padilla] subjected to quarantines, and explicit authority to offer [force?] vaccinations and medical treatment to quarantined people. U.S. Bans Imports of Some Canadian Poultry 22 Nov 2005 Federal agriculture officials banned poultry imports from mainland British Columbia on Monday after Canadian officials reported finding a duck at a poultry farm that was infected with the flu. U.N. to set up bird flu early warning system 18 Nov 2005 The United Nations is to set up a bird flu early warning system to alert countries of incoming migratory birds which could be carrying the deadly virus, a U.N. official said on Friday. Vaccine Funding Tied to Liability –Trial Lawyers Say Move Would Hurt Consumers 17 Nov 2005 Legislation that would pour billions of dollars into the production of vaccines against avian flu and other pandemic diseases is threatened by the trial lawyers’ lobby, which objects to proposed limits on lawsuits against drug manufacturers… “The Republican leadership in Congress is trying to do another special favor for drug companies by slipping a provision into a massive spending bill to absolve the pharmaceutical industry of any responsibility to patients injured by dangerous drugs or vaccines,” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said. FDA probes deaths of Tamiflu patients 17 Nov 2005 U.S. regulators have asked Roche AG for more information about the deaths of 12 children who took the flu-fighting drug Tamiflu, saying in a report released on Thursday that the cause of the deaths was “extremely difficult to interpret.” [Oops! There goes Rumsfeld’s stock portfolio! See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] Deaths Among Roche Tamiflu Users Get U.S. FDA Review 17 Nov 2005 U.S. regulators will review the deaths of 12 Japanese children who took Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu influenza medicine, being stockpiled worldwide as the best likely treatment for bird flu. Four were due to “sudden death, an unusual phenomenon in otherwise healthy” people 16 and under, the Food and Drug Administration said in a report posted today on its Web site. China Reports Three Human Bird-Flu Cases 16 Nov 2005 China confirmed its first two human cases of bird flu on the mainland Wednesday, including at least one fatality, as the government raced to vaccinate billions of chickens, ducks and other poultry in a massive effort to stop the spread of the virus. Suicides linked to Tamiflu – so is only weapon against bird flu safe? 15 Nov 2005 European medicines regulators have ordered a safety check on Tamiflu after reports that two teenage boys died in Japan in apparent suicides after taking the anti-flu drug. The deaths have raised safety fears about the only treatment against a threatened pandemic of avian flu. [See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu –Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. 31 Oct 2005] 50 birds died at quarantine centre 15 Nov 2005 The Government was criticised today for “confusion” surrounding its handling of the bird flu outbreak at a quarantine centre in Essex. More than 50 birds died at the facility where H5N1 was found, a report published by Defra says. Bird flu spreads to 10 provinces of Vietnam 14 Nov 2005 Bird flu outbreaks among poultry have spread to 10 of Vietnam’s 64 provinces and cities, officials said, after the country’s prime minister described the fight against avian influenza as urgent. Tamiflu linked to deaths of 2 teens 12 Nov 2005 (Japan) Two teenage boys who took the antiviral drug Tamiflu exhibited abnormal behavior that led to their deaths, with one jumping in front of an oncoming truck last year and the other falling from the ninth floor of a building earlier this year, health ministry and other sources said Saturday. The drug in Japan carries a note listing impaired consciousness, abnormal behaviors, hallucination and other psychological and neurological symptoms as possible serious side effects. The ministry is considering making a fresh warning about them, following its decision to increase the stockpile of the drug amid growing fears about a possible pandemic of a new type of influenza as bird flu deaths rise across Asia. Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu –Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. 31 Oct 2005 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak is proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that’s now the most-sought after drug in the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead’s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush regime in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld. Did U.S. government lie about deadly virus? (World Science) 09 Nov 2005 “U.S. officials seem to have quietly reversed an assurance they gave publicly last month—that a deadly virus, which scientists recently recreated, would not leave a secure government facility. Now, authorities acknowledge they may mail copies of the germ, which killed an estimated 50 million people in 1918, to qualified laboratories that apply for it.” US health officials can detain or isolate any airline passengers 11 Nov 2005 U.S. airlines could be on the front lines in a bird flu outbreak and federal health officials are streamlining procedures for the possible quarantine of sick passengers. Federal health officials have authority to detain or isolate any airline passenger suspected of harboring the avian flu virus, which scientists fear could mutate to leap from person to person and quickly spread globally. Bird Flu hits the Middle East 11 Nov 2005 A flamingo found on a beach in Kuwait had the strain of bird flu that has killed more than 60 people and devastated poultry stocks in Asia — the first known case of the deadly avian flu in the Arab world. [Possibly, the only thing more *un*welcome than the US invaders, although I can see it being a ‘tie.’ At least the avian flu virus has a sunset gene programmed into it – Halliburton and Bush do not. –Lori Price] Deadly flu strain in Kuwait flamingo 11 Nov 2005 A migrating flamingo, one of two birds found infected with bird flu in Kuwait, is confirmed to have been carrying the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. WHO tips bird flu will spawn new deadly virus that will spread to Japan 12 Nov 2005 The bird flu epidemic across Southeast Asia is bound to lead to the development of a deadly virus that is expected to spread to Japan, a World Health Organization (WHO) executive said. CDC may ship killer virus to U.S. labs –Millions around the world died from Spanish flu in 1918 09 Nov 2005 Federal scientists say they will consider requests to ship the recently recreated 1918 killer flu virus to select U.S. research labs. Last month, U.S. scientists announced they had created — from scratch — the 1918 virus. It was the first time an infectious agent behind a historic global epidemic had ever been reconstructed. CDC Will Allow 1918 Killer Flu Off Campus 09 Nov 2005 Federal scientists say they will consider requests to ship the recently recreated 1918 killer flu virus to select U.S. research labs. There are 300 non-government research labs registered to work with deadly germs like the Spanish flu, which killed millions of people worldwide. World Bank seeks $1 billion war chest for bird flu 09 Nov 2005 Health and veterinary officials from across the world hope to clinch a global plan for tackling bird flu, funded by a $1 billion World Bank war chest, at a conference on Wednesday. WHO warns pandemic could cost $800B, kill millions 08 Nov 2005 Countries around the world need to start rehearsing plans for tackling a human flu pandemic to identify hidden obstacles and ensure the best response once the virus arrives, the World Health Organization said yesterday. Bird flu capable of causing ‘incalculable’ misery –100-nation meeting focuses on plans to contain outbreak 08 Nov 2005 Delegates from 100 nations meeting at the World Health Organization headquarters here were urged Monday to prepare against the avian flu or risk a human pandemic that scientists fear could kill millions and cause up to $800 billion in economic damage worldwide. Flu pandemic now just a matter of time, conference told 07 Nov 2005 A three-day council of war on avian influenza opened here to warnings that a flu pandemic was inevitable, could kill millions and inflict up to 800 billion dollars in economic damage if the world failed to defend itself. DoD’s Pandemic Flu Web Site Goes Live 07 Nov 2005 In partnership with other federal agencies, the Defense Department’s Deployment Health Support Directorate went ‘live’ today with a Web site to help meet the objectives outlined in Dictator Bush’s national ‘strategy’ for pandemic influenza. Rummy’s bird flu bonanza/Blair backer’s smallpox bonanza (gmwatch.org) 06 Nov 2005 “…It appears that the defense secretary is quite an accomplished hand at getting the government to buy vaccines from companies in which he has a direct financial interest. …Rumsfeld at that time [just after 9/11] ordered members of the armed forces to be inoculated against smallpox, an inoculation with horrendous side effects. The package also included injection with a drug named Vistide, to treat side-effects of smallpox infection should it occur. Vistide was also a product of Gilead Sciences… [Rumsfeld holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to his federal financial disclosures.]” Watch That Pea: What the administration is doing while you’re watching Scooter & Sammy By John M. Kelley 04 Nov 2005 “Given this administrations willingness to ignore public opinion and forge on in spite of its mistakes, exposed lies and corruption it is not a far stretch to imagine what kind of power it might try and seize in case of a national emergency like a flu pandemic. If you think the last two elections have been a farce, what about no election because of a pandemic, what about the suspension of congress and the prohibition of any public gathering enforced by the military. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but then again maybe anybody who believes this administration is on the run hasn’t been reading past the headlines.” Long-Predicted Flu Finally Tops National Agenda 07 Nov 2005 The Pandemic influenza threat has taken a tortuous route to a place occupied by few health issues. Last month, scientists completed a 10-year project in which they reconstructed the 1918 virus from the frozen and chemically preserved tissue of three victims. [WHY isn’t anyone asking WHY this deadly virus was reconstructed? See: Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu 31 Oct 2005 Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.] Flu Plan Counts on Public Cooperation –Strategies Include Inoculations for High-Risk Groups, Isolating [Quarantining] People at Home 03 Nov 2005 The federal government unveiled a massive pandemic influenza plan yesterday that would fight an outbreak with tools including surveillance of air travelers, rationing antiviral drugs, imposing community-wide “snow days” to keep people at home and aggressively controlling rumors to prevent panic. [Translation: censoring journalists that dare to tell the truth. Earth to Bush: We are not going to accept any ‘bird flu clampdown.’] Governors Balk at Bigger Role for Military 06 Nov 2005 Several governors have been critical of a Bush administration suggestion that the active-duty military take a greater role in disaster response, calling it an attempt to usurp state authority over National Guard units. Governors in Washington, Mississippi, Michigan, Arkansas, West Virginia, Delaware and Alabama are among those who have panned the idea, questioning whether it would even be constitutional. [Look for Bush’s bioterror team to first strike Washington, Mississippi, Michigan, Arkansas, West Virginia, Delaware and Alabama.] Frist urges germ spies –Bill would cloak war on bioterror 05 Nov 2005 A bill moving rapidly through the Senate would create a secretive national research center to respond to bioterrorism threats and natural [manmade] disease outbreaks. The bill, co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Bioterrorist-Tenn.), would shift the main responsibility for developing bioterrorism countermeasures out of the Department of Homeland Security and into a new Biological Advanced Research and Development Agency in the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency, commonly referred to as BARDA, would be given a first-year budget of $1 billion and some unusually strong powers. It would have authority to shield drug manufacturers from liability lawsuits in the event a drug used to counteract a bioterrorism event or disease outbreak caused death or injury. It also would be granted a blanket exemption from the federal Freedom of Information Act. CLG Action!! List of Senators pushing for Senate Bill 1873 –Write and Call now! Please take action and forward this action to other listserves. http://www.legitgov.org/action_biodefense_pandemic_vaccine_act_201005.html Sentries in U.S. Seek Early Signs of the Avian Flu 06 Nov 2005 With the country waiting nervously for avian flu to arrive, catching wild birds is no hobby. Hundreds of ornithologists, veterinarians, amateur bird-watchers, park rangers and others being recruited by the National Wildlife Health Center to join a surveillance effort along the major American migratory flyways… FluWrap: Three new Asian outbreaks 04 Nov 2005 Avian influenza affected three Asian countries Friday, with confirmed outbreaks in China and Vietnam and indications of an outbreak in Japan. Britain to head European flu pandemic exercise 04 Nov 2005 Britain will stage a surprise exercise involving 28 European countries to test their ability to cope with a human influenza pandemic, the project’s director said on Friday. The two-day drill will take place before the end of the year but health services will not know the precise dates in advance in order to make it as realistic as possible. [Will the ‘exercise’ happen to coincide with an actual bioterror event? ‘Anti-‘terror exercises took place prior to the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks.] Singapore’s bird park turns chickens into flu police 05 Nov 2005 As Asian governments keep a lookout for new cases of bird flu, Singapore is deploying some unlikely “flu police” at the world’s largest bird park: chickens. Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park has put 19 chickens, known as “sentinel chickens”, in all its aviaries to help detect the presence of any infectious disease. “These chickens are bred without any immunity. So they will be the first ones to fall ill if there is an outbreak of bird flu or other infectious diseases at the park,” Wong Hon Mun, executive director of Jurong Bird Park, told Reuters. [Can we get FEMA’s Mike Brown to be bred for that task here in the U.S.?] Recession alert over bird flu 04 Nov 2005 New bird flu outbreaks have been reported as the Asian Development Bank warns that a global flu pandemic could kill up to 3 million people in Asia and plunge the world into recession. Vietnam confirms bird flu outbreaks in three northern villages 04 Nov 2005 Vietnam on Friday confirmed bird flu outbreaks among poultry in three northern villages, despite increased efforts to fight the disease, an official said. China reports fourth bird flu outbreak in a month 04 Nov 2005 China reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in its northeast province of Liaoning on Friday, the fourth to hit the country in a month. Pandemic Is Inevitable, Govt. Officials Say –Doctors Believe our Health Care System ‘Will Collapse’ When It [Bush’s excuse to end all domestic programs] Comes 02 Nov 2005 It’s inevitable, say government officials: a pandemic will strike the United States and the impact will be profound… A Jerry Bruckheimer film? Not according to information released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Pandemics happen,” said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in a teleconference today. “They happened before, and they’ll happen again. If it isn’t the H5N1 [bird flu] virus, it’ll be another virus.” [How does he know? Well, I am sure the 78 dead microbiologists were working on *something.*] Pandemic response plan includes travel restrictions, rationing 02 Nov 2005 Issuing its long-awaited pandemic response plan Wednesday, the Bush regime made clear that a flu pandemic could make it necessary to impose travel restrictions, shut down schools and businesses, quarantine cities and ban public gatherings. Experts dismiss scare over bird flu 02 Nov 2005 Gary Butcher, Ph.D., said that although there is a potential that the virus could mutate, as it exists, it could not become an important disease in humans. “For it to become dangerous to humans, it has to go through a pretty significant genetic change. If you put this in perspective, it’s not going to happen. For a person to be infected now, it appears that the exposure level has to be astronomical,” Butcher said. Bush’s avian flu ‘protection’ plans are for the birds: MSNBC Question of the Day “Do you trust the [US] government to protect you from the bird flu?” 12018 responses Yes 13% No 87% [Poll snapshot: 23:16 EST 01 Nov 2005] Bush asks Congress for $70m for flu vaccine 01 Nov 2005 US Dictator George Bush today outlined a 5.9bn strategy today to prepare for the danger of a pandemic influenza outbreak, saying he wanted to stockpile enough vaccine to protect [sic] 20 million Americans against an illness caused by the current strain of bird flu. Bush: $7.1B to Thwart Bird Flu –Dictator Bush unveils a plan to prepare for a flu pandemic by strengthening the U.S. vaccine industry. 01 Nove 2005 Dictator George W. Bush on Tuesday proposed a $7.1-billion campaign to thwart [foment] a possible pandemic of avian flu by producing 20 million doses of vaccine, stockpiling treatments, and shielding manufacturers from liability. Rumsfeld’s growing stake in Tamiflu –Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. 31 Oct 2005 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak is proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that’s now the most-sought after drug in the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead’s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush regime in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld. The forms don’t reveal the exact number of shares Rumsfeld owns, but in the past six months fears of a pandemic and the ensuing scramble for Tamiflu have sent Gilead’s stock from $35 to $47. Mild Version of Avian Flu Has Already Hit Conn. 30 Oct 2005 Mild versions of the avian virus have appeared off and on in the United States for years, including a strain that infected thousands of laying hens at the largest egg farm in Connecticut two years ago. Government to Unveil Super-Flu Strategy 29 Oct 2005 The Bush regime’s long-awaited plan on how to fight [foment] the next super-flu will likely include beefed-up attempts to spot human infections early, both here and abroad. Expect recommendations on how to ‘isolate the sick’ [i.e., invoke martial law, suspend Posse Comitatus, enforce quarantines and fill FEMA’s concentration camps with those who don’t want the mandatory, deadly vaccines.] “If it isn’t the current H5N1 virus that leads to an influenza pandemic, at some point in our nation’s future another virus will,” Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said last week. Bird flu ‘could stop air travel’ 30 Oct 2005 International air travel would virtually stop if bird flu triggered a lethal human pandemic in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s health minister has said. Mega Barf Alert of 2005: Scientists aim to beat flu with genetically modified chickens 29 Oct 2005 The long-term threat of an avian flu pandemic could be greatly reduced by a project to produce genetically modified chickens that can resist lethal strains of the virus. British scientists are genetically engineering chickens to protect them against the H5N1 virus, with a view to replacing stocks with birds that are not susceptible to influenza. Army alert on bird flu 30 Oct 2005 Australian army engineers and emergency services teams could be drafted in to dispose of bodies in mass graves if the death toll from a bird flu epidemic soars. Australian health authorities are also considering introducing communal burials and mandatory cremations. Bird flu to hit Africa within weeks: UN expert (AM Transcript) 29 Oct 2005 “ELIZABETH JACKSON: The United Nations top expert on bird flu says the fatal virus will hit Africa within weeks, and it could be the most dangerous development yet in the spread of the fatal disease. Dr Joseph Domenech from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is warning that Africa might not be able to contain the outbreak quickly, which could create a greater chance for the virus to jump from birds to humans.” Vietnam has two new suspected bird flu deaths – doctor 29 Oct 2005 Vietnam, where the bird flu virus has killed more than 40 people, has two new suspected human deaths from the disease, a hospital official said on Saturday. Senate OKs $8 bln for Rumsfeld’s vaccine company to ‘fight’ avian flu 27 Oct 2005 The U.S. Senate, increasingly concerned with the possibility of a deadly influenza pandemic, on Thursday approved nearly $8 billion to help the government stockpile vaccines and other drugs to fight [foment] the disease. Tamiflu Gilead Chair Was … Rummy (FreeMarketNews.com) 21 Oct 2005 “…Donald Rumsfeld, until he resigned and joined the Bush Administration, was the chairman of something called Gilead which just happened to make something called Tamiflu. Now anyone who hasn’t been on Mars for the last month or two, knows that there were only two things that were going to stop the human version of bird flu. One was a bird flu vaccine (which probably would work better if you were a bird) and the other was something called Tamiflu.” Borders would close to stop bird flu: Abbott 28 Oct 2005 Health Minister Tony Abbott says Australia would be prepared to close its borders if bird flu caused a global pandemic. UK says two parrots had lethal flu 26 Oct 2005 The UK Government is to bring forward new regulations to combat the threat of a bird flu pandemic after it was revealed that a second parrot in quarantine probably died from the lethal strain of the disease. Traveller may have H5N1 bird flu 26 Oct 2005 Preliminary tests conducted on a 43-year-old man who returned to the French island of Reunion after a trip to Thailand have indicated he may have the H5N1 bird flu virus, authorities have said. Bird Flu Scam to Cost Us Plenty By John Hanchette 25 Oct 2005 “…[P]roposed legislation will strip Americans of the right to a trial by jury if they are harmed by either an experimental or licensed drug or vaccine they are forced by the government to take whenever federal health officials declare a public health emergency… “This proposed legislation,” said NVIC’s Fisher [Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center], “like the power and money grab by federal health officials and industry in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Project Bioshield Act of 2004, is an unconstitutional attempt by some in Congress to give a taxpayer-funded handout to pharmaceutical companies for drugs and vaccines.” Further, Fisher points out, the government, under this bill, “could force all citizens to use these drugs and vaccines while absolving everyone connected from any responsibility for injuries and deaths which occur” in their wake. Urgent CLG Action!! By Pamela “Here is the list of politicians pushing for us to face forced vaccines and forced drugging with untested/experimental drugs and vaccines giving freedom from liability to drug companies. Contact them ALL. Keep this list of these traitors for your voting records. They ALL need to go! This bill is called ‘The Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005.’ You will find the wording under Senate Bill 1873 [S. 1873].” Bird flu could hit U.S. next year 25 Oct 2005 Could bird flu reach North America through migrating birds? Biologists in Alaska and Canada are keeping an eye out and say it’s possible by next year. Ministers consider bird imports ban after avian flu hits Germany 26 Oct 2005 A ban on the import of all captive birds from around the world plus a ban on all bird fairs, exhibitions and shows to protect Britain and Europe from the deadly avian flu virus is to be in place within 24 hours. Bird flu may have been brought into UK earlier than thought 25 Oct 2005 The possibility that bird flu could already be present in Britain is being studied by Government vets who are investigating whether the potentially lethal strain contaminated a quarantine “facility” in Essex much earlier than thought. Taiwanese slam British vets 24 Oct 2005 A top Taiwanese health official on Monday called British veterinary experts irresponsible for saying a South American parrot infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu picked up the virus from Taiwanese birds in British quarantine. Dead parrot did have killer strain of bird flu 24 Oct 2005 The first case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has already killed 61 people in the Far East, has been identified in Britain. Dead parrot bird flu is H5N1 strain 23 Oct 2005 The parrot which died in quarantine in the UK has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said. Warning over ‘unique’ spread of avian flu 22 Oct 2005 The avian flu – recently arrived in the UK – which is causing chaos around the world is “unique” because of the simultaneous way in which it is spreading, a veterinary expert has warned. [LOL, ‘unique.’ Looks like the Bush bioterror team is a busy little bee, poised to start the mandatory vaccines with no legal liablity for the pharma-terrorists.] Bird flu reaches Britain 22 Oct 2005 The first case of bird flu has been found in Britain, the Government said last night. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said that a parrot has died from bird flu in quarantine. Britain reports its first case of bird flu 22 Oct 2005 Britain reported its first case of bird flu on Friday night in an imported parrot being held in quarantine. The clock ticks on economic collapse –A pandemic is a case of ‘when, not if’, says the WHO, and global recession could follow. 22 Oct 2005 In Washington, the US government is hurriedly upgrading its estimate of the likely damage, concluding that a full avian flu outbreak could kill 1.9m Americans and cost the US economy $450billion. Russian MP Calls Bird Flu “American Provocation” 21 Oct 2005 A deputy of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic faction of the Russian State Duma, Aleksei Mitrofanov, has said in a parliamentary speech that bird flu was invented by Americans who wanted to dominate the world’s poultry markets. Congress Set to Pass Law Eliminating Liability For Vaccine Injuries 19 Oct 2005 The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is calling the “Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005″ (S. 1873), which passed out of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee one day after it was introduced “a drug company stockholder’s dream and a consumer’s worst nightmare.” …The bill establishes the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA), as the single point of authority within the government for the advanced research and development of drugs and vaccines in response to bioterrorism and natural disease outbreaks such as the flu. BARDA will operate in secret, exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, insuring that no evidence of injuries or deaths caused by drugs and vaccines labeled as “countermeasures” will become public. Urgent CLG Action!! By Pamela “Here is the list of politicians pushing for us to face forced vaccines and forced drugging with untested/experimental drugs and vaccines giving freedom from liability to drug companies. Contact them ALL. Keep this list of these traitors for your voting records. They ALL need to go! This bill is called ‘The Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005.’ You will find the wording under Senate Bill 1873 [S. 1873].” Bird flu: HK ‘may seal border’ 21 Oct 2005 One of Asia’s busiest borders might be sealed if the deadly H5N1 bird flu starts spreading from human to human, according to a media report. Pigeons test positive to bird flu exposure 21 Oct 2005 One hundred and two pigeons exposed to the bird flu virus have been seized by Australian quarantine inspectors. UK population to be vaccinated against pandemic flu 19 Oct 2005 Plans to vaccinate everyone in the UK against [?!?] pandemic flu once a potentially-fatal strain emerges were announced by the British government today. [How is the government *so certain* that a ‘potentially-fatal strain’ will emerge?] Russia finds deadly strain of bird flu 19 Oct 2005 Preliminary tests on fowl from a region south of Moscow where hundreds of birds died suddenly detected a deadly strain of bird flu, Russia said Wednesday, bolstering signs that the dreaded virus might be spreading across Siberia to the Mediterranean. EU says bird flu is ‘global threat’ 18 Oct 2005 The European Union has declared the spread of bird flu from Asia into the EU a “global threat” requiring international co-operation, saying western Europe was ill prepared to deal with an influenza emergency. Experts say threat from virus is unprecedented 18 Oct 2005 The bird flu virus that has arrived in Europe poses an unprecedented threat, with experts warning that the number of human infections reported in Asia could be just a small proportion of the actual figure. Bird flu reaches EU as Greece finds virus 17 Oct 2005 Greece said on Monday it had detected one turkey with bird flu on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, becoming the first EU country where the virus has spread to. Administration mobilizes to prepare U.S. for possible pandemic 16 Oct 2005 The Bush regime is scrambling to prepare the nation for a possible global rampage by a new [synthesized] flu germ that it fears could kill nearly 2 million Americans, sicken tens of millions more and shatter the economy. The Fear Contagion –A Flu Quarantine? No, Sir By Wendy Orent 16 Oct 2005 “A few scientists have suggested ‘priming’ people with a dose of the new vaccine against H5N1 before we even know whether a pandemic is coming… Earlier this month, he [Bush] suggested using the military to enforce a quarantine…This is an example of a cure that is as frightening as the disease. It is hard to imagine how the military would oversee a quarantined area. If a health worker, drug addict or teenager attempted to break the quarantine, what would soldiers do? Shoot on sight? …Suppose that a government official today decided to round up exposed people and move them to a space like the Superdome in New Orleans. …[D]epending on how densely packed people were, you could expect the flu strain trapped among them to increase in virulence. You’d be breeding a deadlier flu.” Bird flu pandemic ‘will hit UK’ 16 Oct 2005 A bird flu pandemic will hit Britain – but not necessarily this winter, the chief medical officer has said. Sir Liam Donaldson said a deadly outbreak would come when a strain of bird flu mutated with human flu. Virulent strain of bird flu ‘could kill 750,000′ 17 Oct 2005 At least 50,000 British citizens will die in the event of an avian flu pandemic, according to Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government’s chief medical officer. He also made clear yesterday that the total deaths could reach 750,000 if the strain of the flu were virulent. Pharmas Seek Flu Vaccine Suit Shield 15 Oct 2005 In Europe, Asia, South and North America governments clamor for bird flu vaccines – and they may have them so long as the pharmaceutical companies are indemnified against lawsuits. The U.S. Senate has already approved an amendment adding $3.9 billion to a military appropriation for preparations for the expected [generated] outbreak. That money is earmarked for stockpiling medications to combat the virus, if it does occur, and also, reportedly for “immunity from lawsuits if a vaccination causes harm,” according to an article in the Washington insider publication, The Hill. Why an exotic fruit is the world’s only weapon against bird flu 15 Oct 2005 Star anise, the unusual fruit of a small oriental tree, is sold in supermarkets in the UK to consumers seeking its pungent, liquorice-like flavour. But the herb has a vital function as the source of shikimic acid from which the drug Tamiflu is made, the only defence the world currently has against the threatened flu pandemic. Schools to close and sport banned if bird flu hits 16 Oct 2005 The Government believes that a pandemic could kill some 700,000 people in Britain, and that it would be impossible to stop it once it reached the country. The new plans are designed merely to mitigate its worst effects and to try to stop a total breakdown of services and public order. [Can you *envision* enduring a (US-generated) bird flu pandemic, trapped in the Bush-Rumsfeld police state? The New Orleans Superdome was FEMA’s little experiment. Wait until the armed terrorists from Blackwater USA start patrolling neighborhoods in tandem with federal troops to enforce the quarantines and deportations to FEMA’s concentration camps… Lock & Load. –LRP.] A Flu Hope, Or Horror? By Charles Krauthammer 14 Oct 2005 “…[R]elatively unnoticed was perhaps the most momentous event of our lifetime — what is left of it, as I shall explain. It was announced last week that U.S. scientists have just created a living, killing copy of the 1918 ‘Spanish’ flu. [Ok, everybody at once now… WHY???] …Why try to steal loose nukes in Russia? A nuke can only destroy a city. The flu virus, properly evolved, is potentially a destroyer of civilizations. We might have just given it to our enemies.” Dire forecast for bird flu –Top U.S. health official: Nearly impossible to stop global [engineered] outbreak 15 Oct 2005 After wandering amid cages of birds and rabbits at an open-air market in Hanoi… and after visiting a Haiphong family sickened by bird flu, the United States’ top health official came to a grim conclusion: Preventing the start of a global flu outbreak is just about impossible. WHO expert warns of bird flu pandemic 16 Oct 2005 The outbreak of bird flu that has now reached Europe could mutate into a human pandemic claiming millions of lives worldwide, a top influenza expert at the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. Tests Confirm Deadly Bird Flu in Romania 15 Oct 2005 Tests have confirmed a link between the bird flu found in Romania and the deadly virus that has devastated flocks in Asia and turned up in Turkey, the European Commission said Saturday. Romanian Bird Flu Virus Is H5N1 Type, Minister Says 15 Oct 2005 The bird flu virus found in dead poultry in eastern Romania is the H5N1 strain responsible for human deaths in Asia, Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said today. Bird Flu Virus Resistant to Tamiflu 14 Oct 2005 Bird flu virus found in a Vietnamese girl was resistant to the main drug that’s being stockpiled in case of a pandemic, a sign that it’s important to keep a second drug on hand as well, a researcher said Friday. Reconstructed 1918 killer flu similar to H5N1 strain 14 Oct 2005 The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus is hitting bird populations at Europe’s easternmost borders just as new research suggests that the virus could jump to humans more easily than was first thought. A reconstruction of the strain that caused the influenza pandemic of 1918, which killed around 50 million people, shows that it shares several characteristics with H5N1. [Right, that’s because the Bush bioiterror teams reconstructed it. *Duh.*] H5N1: Killer Bird Flu Here –Killer strain of bird flu virus has reached Europe and is in danger of infecting Britain 14 Oct 2005 The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has hit Europe and could soon reach Britain, raising fears of a killer epidemic. Deadly strain of Asian bird flu arrives on Europe’s doorstep 14 Oct 2005 A lethal strain of bird flu that has killed 60 people in south-east Asia has appeared on the doorstep of Europe. British scientists confirmed yesterday that an outbreak of bird flu on a poultry farm in Turkey was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of influenza. Turkey tests 9 for bird flu as experts meet 14 Oct 2005 Turkish medical staff on Friday tested nine people for possible bird flu a day after European health officials confirmed what many had long feared — the arrival of the deadly H5N1 strain on Europe’s doorstep. Flu Strain Isolated in Vietnamese Girl Is Resistant to Drug, Scientists Report 15 Oct 2005 Strains of avian influenza virus that are resistant to the antiflu drug Tamiflu have been isolated from a patient in Vietnam, scientists reported yesterday. No effective vaccine for humans until first cases found 14 Oct 2005 As the experts were quick to point out yesterday, now that avian flu has arrived in Europe it is only a matter of time before bird flocks in Britain contract the virus. And yet: Call to vaccinate a million UK children against bird flu 14 Oct 2005 Health chiefs say more than a million children in Britain must be vaccinated against [with] flu as fears grow that a deadly avian form of the disease will arrive here within weeks. UK on alert for deadly virus 13 Oct 2005 Contingency plans have been put in place in the UK if the deadly avian flu virus spreads to the UK, the country’s chief veterinary officer said. Bird flu warning: give jabs to those at risk 14 Oct 2005 European Union governments were urged yesterday to stockpile anti-viral drugs and offer the winter [useless] “flu shot” to as many vulnerable people as possible, after the discovery of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Turkey was confirmed. Bird flu reaches fringes of Europe 13 Oct 2005 The Federal Veterinary Office on Thursday reiterated that the necessary precautions were in place to prevent the spread of bird flu in Switzerland. Bird flu in Turkey is deadly strain 13 Oct 2005 The bird flu virus discovered in Turkish poultry is the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain that scientists worry could mutate into a human virus and spark a global flu pandemic likely to kill millions, EU authorities confirmed today. 16th H5N1 Fatality Transferred 20 Minutes Before Death (Recombinomics Commentary) 12 Oct 2005 “…In the above case, holding the patient three days at the primary facility led to his death 20 minutes after transfer. The testing procedures in Indonesia are poorly conceived for identification of H5N1 patients. The procedures are very effective at generating false negatives.” US mulls federal troops for bird flu quarantine 12 Oct 2005 The Pentagon is looking at the possibility of using federal troops to enforce a quarantine in the event of an outbreak of pandemic bird flu in the United States, a senior official said on Wednesday. Dictator George W. Bush said last week he would consider using the military to “effect a quarantine” in response to any outbreak of avian influenza, but provided few details. [Others mull *insurrection.* We’re not going to FEMA’s concentration camps, folks.] Experts call for creating US bird flu czar 12 Oct 2005 The United States needs a top official, backed by authority and cash, to prepare for a possible bird flu pandemic, experts said on Wednesday. Scientists warn of possibility of drug-resistant avian flu 11 Oct 2005 US scientists warn that a drug-resistant Avian flu strain could arise with unrestrained and improper use of available drugs. The warning came as governments around the world are stockpiling [useless] antiviral drugs and the H5N1 avian flu strain threatens to break out into a flu pandemic. U.S. airlines on guard for bird flu 12 Oct 2005 The airline industry is monitoring the burgeoning threat of bird flu but plans to wait before instituting any special precautions to guard against the spread of the disease. Bird flu could be used as a weapon 12 Oct 2005 Counter-terrorism authorities have drawn up plans to defend Australia against terrorists spreading avian influenza. The National Counter Terrorism Committee has included the use of bird flu strain H5N1 as a weapon in possible terrorism attack scenarios, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock’s office confirmed. Australia joins the US and Canada in treating bird flu as a possible “agri-terrorism” weapon against the West. [The *US* was/is experimenting with the bird flu virus, digging up corpses from the 1918 flu virus and manipulating the virus.] Goodbye, Posse Comitatus: Military May Propose an Active-Duty Force for Relief Efforts 11 Oct 2005 The military’s Northern Command is developing a proposal to organize a specially trained and equipped active-duty force that could respond quickly to assist ‘relief’ efforts in the event of overwhelming natural [or, more than likely, Bush-created] disasters. The force under consideration would keep hundreds of soldiers standing by on short notice to assist National Guard soldiers. Homeland Security to take over during flu pandemic 11 Oct 2005 If an avian flu pandemic emerges, it will fall to the Department of the Homeland Security, not the medical establishment, to manage [foment] the crisis, according to federal documents and interviews with government officials… Extreme measures jumped into the spotlight last week when Dictator Bush suggested that federal military troops — not just the National Guard — may have to be called in to enforce a quarantine. DHS officials privately acknowledge that any such forced quarantine could swiftly turn violent, with people rioting to get away from a perceived diseased area. [You can be sure of that. *NO ONE* is accepting incarceration in FEMA’s concentration camps. We all witnessed Dictator Bush’s Superdome experiment, which took place when the levees mysteriously gave way AFTER the brunt of Hurricane Katrina had passed. –LRP.] Bird flu vaccines no guarantee in pandemic: WHO 11 Oct 2005 News Vaccine stockpiles may prove useless against an outbreak of the human form of bird flu, a UN official warned Tuesday. Current vaccines may not work against whichever mutant strain triggers the pandemic that UN officials view as inevitable, said David Nabarro, the United Nations co-ordinator for avian and human influenza. [Right, but Bush’s pharma-terrorists will make a *killing,* regardless, by spreading the disease via the deadly vaccines, loaded with mercury.] Colombia detects 1st suspected bird flu case 12 Oct 2005 Colombian authorities said Monday they had detected the first suspected cases of bird flu in the South American country, but insisted the strain was not harmful to humans. MSNBC Poll: Do you have confidence in the government’s response if there were to be a bird flu outbreak? *10415 responses – Yes 13% – No 87% [Poll snapshot: 02:10 EST 12 Oct 2005] U.S Health Secretary Warns of Flu Pandemic 10 Oct 2005 The likelihood of a human flu pandemic is very high, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt warned Monday as he sought Southeast Asian cooperation to combat the spread of bird flu. [As a key operative of the Bush bioterror team, he would know. Bird flu ‘will have arrived’ on US shores the day Rove is indicted in the Plame investigation.] “Bird Flu” Similar to Deadly 1918 Flu, Gene Study Finds 05 Oct 2005 Scientists have reconstructed the genetic code of the deadly 1918 “Spanish flu,” which swept the globe and killed an estimated 20 to 40 million people. Among their findings: The 1918 virus strain developed in birds and was similar to the “bird flu” that today has spurred fears of another worldwide epidemic. By studying the once deadly 1918 virus’s genetic information, scientists may become better able to [start] predict future pandemics, or widespread epidemics. Resurrecting the 1918 Flu Virus –The recreation of the deadly strain of Spanish influenza is an astonishing scientific feat. 10 Oct 2005 It took a lot of digging to bring back to life the Spanish influenza virus of 1918. Some was done with invisible molecular primers in a PCR machine in Rockville. Some was done with pick and shovel in the frozen ground of Alaska… Experiments with the reborn virus [?!?] began in August at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and have already answered some questions, which may lead to better vaccines and drugs. [No, the *experiments* will lead to Bush killing off a large percentage of the US population, invoking a full-blown police state, and grabbing (further) totalitarian powers.] Europe on high alert over avian flu 10 Oct 2005 Europe was on high alert yesterday over a possible bird flu epidemic after fears of an outbreak of the disease in Romania and Turkey. Authorities in Germany said that they were preparing emergency measures to stop the disease from spreading, following its apparent arrival from Asia at the borders of the EU. Indonesia says bird flu found in boy 09 Oct 2005 A 4-year-old boy has tested positive for bird flu in Indonesia, a case which if confirmed would be the sixth in the world’s fourth-most populous country, the health ministry said on Sunday. Bush Wants Legal Documents Drafted to Justify Quarantining Thousands 08 Oct 2005 A 381-page plan developed by the Bush regime to deal with any possible outbreak of pandemic flu calls for quarantine and travel restrictions… The plan’s 10 supplements suggest specific ways that local and state governments, and hospitals and healthcare workers should prepare now for an eventual pandemic by, for instance, drafting legal documents now that would justify quarantining thousands. The plan details the responsibilities of top health officials in each phase of a spreading pandemic, starting with planning and surveillance efforts and ending with coordination with the Department of Defense. [Note: Bush’s media whores at the New York Times have already changed the article. CLG summarized the earlier version.] Bush seizes on flu threat to press for martial law power By Bill Van Auken 07 Oct 2005 “[George W.] Bush suggested that large numbers of troops could be needed to ‘effect a quarantine,’ essentially sealing off whole cities or regions of the country in the event of an [avian flu] outbreak… Referring to the danger of a flu pandemic, Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, warned that the US government ‘is phenomenally not prepared for this.’ Describing Bush’s proposal as ‘extraordinarily draconian,’ Dr. Redlener added, ‘The translation of this is martial law in the United States.'” First deadly bird flu cases suspected in Europe –H591 virus may have caused deaths of ducks in Romania, officials say 07 Oct 2005 Three domestic ducks have died of bird flu in eastern Romania, but authorities said Friday they had not confirmed whether the birds were infected by the H5N1 strain that experts are tracking for fear it could mutate and spawn a human flu pandemic. Bird flu drugs are taking on second lives [Not to mention, a taxpayer-funded corporate-welfare boondoggle that will go unquestioned.] 07 Oct 2005 Growing fears of a global bird flu pandemic are revitalizing drugs like peramivir, a flu treatment that BioCryst Pharmaceuticals gave up on three years ago… A Japanese company, Sankyo, has developed an advanced version of Relenza that did not go beyond early clinical trials but that now, with money from Washington, was being studied as a possible avian flu treatment. FedEx Plane Carrying Flu Virus Crashes In Winnipeg –Cessna 208 was carrying frozen influenza and herpes viruses 07 Oct 2005 A cargo plane crashed on railway tracks not far from Winnipeg’s city centre Thursday, killing the pilot but missing buildings and vehicles in the area, police said… In its cargo were six half-millilitre vials of virus samples – frozen influenza and herpes viruses – being sent to Thunder Bay for research, FedEx spokeswoman Karen Cooper said from Toronto. Although the samples were labelled dangerous goods, they were not considered hazardous at the crash site since all the cargo was destroyed in the blaze, she said [we hope]. [Federal Express. When your herpes virus absolutely, positively, has to get there overnight. –LRP] Security fears as flu virus that killed 50 million is recreated 06 Oct 2005 Scientists have recreated the 1918 Spanish flu virus, one of the deadliest ever to emerge, to the alarm of many researchers who fear it presents a serious security risk. Undisclosed quantities of the virus are being held in a high-security government laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia, after a nine-year effort to rebuild the agent that swept the globe in record time and claimed the lives of an estimated 50 million people. [Will Bush announce that bird flu has ‘arrived on US soil’ (actually, it’s already sitting in a US bio-weapons lab) on the day the Plame investigation concludes? I predicted this on 5 July. –LRP] Scientists resurrected 1918 flu, brought virus back to life 05 Oct 2005 Scientists who resurrected the 1918 “Spanish flu” virus that killed as many as 50 million people said on Wednesday they are beginning to understand why it caused such a deadly pandemic and say it could happen again… “We felt we had to recreate the virus and run these experiments to understand the biological properties that made the 1918 virus so exceptionally deadly,” said Terrence Tumpey of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta… The experiment, in which the virus was recreated employing a process called reverse genetics using preserved samples of the 1918 virus, allowed the researchers to test it in the laboratory and in several animals. It will help answer important questions, said Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, Maryland. Taubenberger’s team used pieces of virus taken from preserved samples from 1918 victims, as well as from the corpse of a victim dug up from a frozen grave in Alaska in 1998. They used these pieces to make a replica of the 1918 virus, and brought it back to “life” — viruses are not truly alive like other microbes — by combining it with modern influenza virus pieces and growing it in bacteria. [OMFG, how blatant can they get?] From frozen Alaska to the lab: a virus 39,000 times more virulent than flu –Tight security to prevent ‘select agent’ escaping –Publication of its genetic code raises fears of misuse [*Duh.*] 06 Oct 2005 Only a handful of scientists have security clearance to access the laboratory at 1600 Clifton Road in Atlanta, Georgia, home to the US government’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Before entering, they must pull on a protective hood, don breathing apparatus and pass through electronic fingerprint and retina scanners to prove their identity. Inside the lab lies a batch of a virus, designated a “select agent”, that more than justifies the extreme level of security. Resurrected nearly 90 years after it spread around the globe, leaving an estimated 50 million people dead, it is a replica of the 1918 Spanish flu virus. 1918 pandemic caused by bird flu, experts say –Reconstruction of the lethal virus shows it jumped directly to humans 06 Oct 2005 The 1918 influenza virus, the cause of one of history’s most deadly epidemics, has been reconstructed and found to be a bird flu that jumped directly to humans, two teams of federal and university scientists announced yesterday. Bird flu virus ‘similar to great killer of 1918′ 06 Oct 2005 The bird flu virus sweeping South-east Asia has chilling similarities to the one that caused one of the world’s most deadly disease outbreaks, scientists revealed yesterday. Bush Wants Army to Combat Bird Flu 06 Oct 2005 The US military might have to quarantine areas of the United States if there was a serious outbreak of the deadly avian flu, George Bush has said. The pResident said he would ask Congress to consider giving him powers to use the army if bird flu struck. Bush wants right to use military if bird flu hits 04 Oct 2005 Dictator George W. Bush asked Congress on Tuesday to consider giving him powers to use the military to enforce quarantines in case of an avian influenza epidemic. [This is why CLG has been busy as a bee, working on this page: http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html. Pay particular attention to the article which reveals that researchers went to the UK in 2004 to exhume a body from the 1918 flu pandemic. And, no one asked ‘Why.’] Bush proposes using military to enforce quarantines where avian flu breaks out 04 Oct 2005 Dictator George W. Bush said Tuesday that any part of the country where the avian flu breaks out could likely be quarantined, and he’s considering using the military to enforce it. [Right. New Orleans and the FEMA camps were the ‘dry run.’ They are going full-court press soon, the day the Plame investigation concludes.] N.H. officials training for possible flu pandemic 04 Oct 2005 In New Hampshire, public health officials begin training sessions Wednesday on the roles and responsibilities of police, the courts, prisons and public health in handling an outbreak, and any quarantine that might be imposed. Public Health spokesman Greg Moore said so many jurisdictions would be involved because public health would have to issue a quarantine order, which could be appealed to the courts. Those who don’t comply could be jailed. [Oh, the courts. Yeah, the ‘courts’ are sure going to help. LOL! Bush just installed Damien Thorn as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and a silent sicko is warming up in the bullpen. Do you really think Bush’s *personal lawyer* – with twenty years of loyal service to (and obsession with) Bush – is going to rule against *any* of his edicts? Gag me with a chainsaw! Everybody needs to start worshipping Amendment #2. And I mean *everybody* and I mean *now* – while we still can. –Lori Price] Tularemia agent found in DC air 03 Oct 2005 In a Sep 30 message to health agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said environmental air monitors in the Capitol Mall [Sep 24, 25] “signaled the low level presence of Francisella tularensis,” the bacterium that causes tularemia. The microbe is one of the six agents considered most likely to be used by [Bush’s] terrorists as a biological weapon. Did Bush administration attack peace movement with military grade biological bacteria? By Bob Fitrakis 04 Oct 2005 “What do we make of the Saturday, October 1 Washington Post headline ‘Poison Found in Air During Anti-War Protest’? …Coincidence theorists. You gotta love ‘em and their great faith in believing in the statistically improbable occurrence of events, rather than an alternative hypothesis: that friends of Bush (FOBs) planted the tularemia bacteria, just as most likely sent anthrax to Democratic senators and the media.” CDC locks up flu data 03 Oct 2005 Amid growing concerns that avian influenza will develop into a deadly pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is under fire by some in the scientific community for hoarding data crucial for vaccine development. The allegations come as CDC has issued new and controversial rules on what data, documents and other information it will — and will not — share with the public. Open government advocates are critical of the CDC’s “Information Security” manual, the 34-page document that gives officials 19 categories to shield data from public scrutiny without obtaining a “secret” classification. Concern grows over secrecy at CDC 03 Oct 2005 Scientists are accusing the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of hoarding crucial data that could help vaccinations at a time when there is growing concern about a possible influenza pandemic. The nation’s disease control center is also under fire from open-government advocates for recently issuing a guide on how to keep data, documents and information from public inspection. Bird flu jumps transmission barrier in humans 01 Oct 2005 Bird flu has broken the transmission barrier and jumped from human to human, according to the World Health Organisation. Most cases have been bird to human but transmission between people increases fears of a global pandemic. Colo. prairie dogs hit with bubonic plague 29 Sep 2005 Health officials have issued a warning concerning bubonic plague-infected prairie dogs in the Boulder, Colo., area. Rare Germ Found in D.C. on Sept. 24, 25 (DC Protest Days) Tularemia Is Highly Infectious; Can Cause Pneumonia and Systemic Infection 30 Sep 2005 A relatively rare biological agent has been detected in air filters serving Washington D.C. in recent weeks, ABC News has learned — but current evidence does not show any indication whatsoever of terrorism [?!?]. The federal government found six air filters around the nation’s capital checked on Sept. 24 and 25 contained “trace amounts” of tularemia, a type of bacteria. No additional traces have been detected since Sept. 24 and 25. [Gee, how blatant can they get? We need to start fighting back. Tolerating their terrorism is becoming the greater crime. –Lori Price.] Biohazard Sensors Triggered 01 Oct 2005 Biohazard sensors showed the presence of small amounts of potentially dangerous tularemia bacteria in the Mall area last weekend as huge crowds assembled there, but health officials said they believed the levels were too low to be a threat. Health authorities in the Washington area were notified yesterday that the bacteria were found in and near the area between the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, where crowds gathered Saturday for an antiwar rally and a book festival. Pandemic ‘could kill 150m people’ 30 Sep 2005 A leading United Nations official has warned there could be a new influenza outbreak at any time which could kill up to 150 million people. 50 Indonesia bird flu cases suspected 29 Sep 2005 Indonesia faces more than 50 suspected cases of deadly bird flu, Indonesian health ministry officials said on Thursday, while lowering their figure on deaths from the disease to five from an earlier estimate of six. Senate approves $4 bln to fight bird flu 29 Sep 2005 The Senate passed legislation on Thursday to add $4 billion to the U.S. fight ‘against’ deadly avian flu by stocking up on anti-viral drugs and increasing global surveillance of the disease. 50 Indonesia bird flu cases suspected 29 Sep 2005 Indonesia faces more than 50 suspected cases of deadly bird flu, Indonesian health ministry officials said on Thursday, while lowering their figure on deaths from the disease to five from an earlier estimate of six. Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Infection in Humans –The Writing Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) Consultation on Human Influenza A/H5 (The New England Journal of Medicine) 29 Sep 2005 “An unprecedented epizootic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus that is highly pathogenic has crossed the species barrier in Asia to cause many human fatalities and poses an increasing pandemic threat.” Unease over bird flu pecking order 29 Sep 2005 (AU) The Federal Government should roll back the “culture of secrecy” surrounding how life-saving drugs will be rationed in the event of a bird flu pandemic, Labor says. Bird flu: 54 Indonesians ill 28 Sep 2005 At least 54 people were being treated on Wednesday for suspected bird flu in Indonesia, where the disease had already claimed six lives, said officials. Fifth Indonesian dies of bird flu – hospital official 26 Sep 2005 A fifth Indonesian has died of bird flu, a hospital official said, one week after the country declared it was facing an ‘extraordinary’ outbreak of the virus. Growing bird flu fear sparks alert 24 Sep 2005 The Torres Strait and Cape York have been put on high alert for deadly bird flu ahead of widespread testing of migratory birds in the region. Tourists warned about bird flu deaths 24 Sep 2005 Health officials in Indonesia have warned that the country could face a bird flu epidemic after the deaths this week of two girls suspected of contracting the disease. A New Deadly, Contagious Dog Flu Virus Is Detected in 7 States 22 Sep 2005 A new, highly contagious and sometimes deadly canine flu is spreading in kennels and at dog tracks around the country, veterinarians said yesterday. Indonesia says 16 under observation for bird flu 23 Sep 2005 The number of Indonesians under observation for bird flu symptoms has risen to 16, the Health Ministry said on Friday, but added that tests confirmed a five-year-old girl who died this week did not have the virus. Indonesia Braces for Bird Flu Epidemic –Health Minister Issues Warning as Two More Suspected Cases End in Death 22 Sep 2005 Indonesia’s health minister warned Wednesday that the country could face a bird flu epidemic if the number of suspected cases of the virus continued to mount. Ten under bird flu watch in Indonesia hospital 22 Sep 2005 Indonesian doctors are observing 10 patients with bird flu-like symptoms, a senior health official said on Thursday, amid fears a deadly avian influenza outbreak is spreading. Deaths spark epidemic fears 22 Sep 2005 The suspected bird flu deaths of two young girls in Jakarta has set off a flurry of political activity. Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari called the re-emergence of bird flu “a sporadic epidemic”, adding to concerns that the virus could mutate into a deadly human-to-human form. World has slim chance to stop flu pandemic 20 Sep 2005 The initial outbreak of what could explode into a bird flu pandemic may affect only a few people, but the world will have just weeks to contain the deadly virus before it spreads and kills millions. Bird flu epidemic could kill millions worldwide: experts 18 Sep 2005 Millions of people could die around the world if bird flu spreads out of control, and most countries are totally unprepared for such an event, the UN’s World Health Organisation says. [No worries – FEMA will take care of us. *NOT.*] Two more human bird flu cases suspected in Indonesia as Jakarta closes zoo 18 Sep 2005 Two more Indonesian children are suspected of having been infected with bird flu as authorities closed the Jakarta zoo after 19 birds there were found to be carrying the deadly virus, officials said. Bird flu’s human transmission high on agenda at WHO meeting 18 Sep 2005 Stemming a possible deadly outbreak of bird flu in humans will be high on the agenda during a World Health Organization meeting this week in the South Pacific nation of New Caledonia. Avian Flu: Is the Government Ready for an Epidemic? 16 Sep 2005 Already, officials in London are quietly looking for extra morgue space to house the victims of the H5N1 virus, a never-before-seen strain of flu. Scientists say this virus could pose a far greater threat than smallpox, AIDS or anthrax. Oops! Mice infected with deadly plague are missing in N.J. 15 Sep 2005 Authorities are searching for three mice infected with bubonic plague that disappeared from a research laboratory about two weeks ago. The mice went missing from the lab of the Public Health Research Institute, which is located on the UMDNJ campus and conducts bioterrorism research for the federal government. [Oh, I’m sure they’ll emerge in a Blue state pretty soon.] Australia joins global fight against bird flu 16 Sep 2005 Australia has joined a new international partnership set up by the United States to try to ‘prevent’ [foment] an avian flu pandemic. U.S. Buys $100 Million of Bird Flu Vaccine 15 Sep 2005 Mass production of a new vaccine that promises to protect against bird flu is poised to begin, as the government on Thursday agreed to stockpile $100 million worth of inoculations. The new contract with French vaccine maker Sanofi-Pasteur marks a major scale-up in U.S. preparation for the possibility that the virus could spark an influenza pandemic. Indonesia Reports 4th Human Bird Flu Death 15 Sep 2005 Indonesia on Friday confirmed its fourth human death from the bird flu virus, and warned that more cases in the sprawling country were inevitable. Warnings on bird flu pandemic 14 Sep 2005 A bird flu pandemic in Australia could be more deadly for the nation than almost any sort of terrorist attack, Health Minister Tony Abbott has warned. Europe races to shore up bird flu defences 12 Sep 2005 Europe is racing to bolster its defences against bird flu, fearing it could be winging its way to the continent with migrating wildfowl via countries too poor to check its spread. First bird flu death in Jakarta 13 Sep 2005 An Indonesian woman is almost certainly the first known bird flu fatality in densely populated Jakarta… Police focus on bird flu and disasters 12 Sep 2005 Being prepared to manage a crisis such as bird flu or natural disasters are areas police must see they have proper skills for, says (Fiji) Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes. The conference will see the adoption of a Pacific framework for natural disasters where police form a regional network where help can be procured when any big natural [or Bush-engendered] disaster strikes anywhere in the region. Indonesian authorities suspect bird flu outbreak 12 Sep 2005 Health officials in Jakarta suspect there has been another deadly outbreak of bird flu in the Indonesian capital. Preliminary tests show a woman who died in hospital overnight was infected by the H5N1 virus which killed three others in the city two months ago. “Very strange bird flu” or is bird flu – American bio-weapon? By Vladimir Ivanov 22 Aug 2005 “In view of all this the fact of unexpected even for US allies refusal in 2001 by the administration of George Bush to sign the draft of new multilateral agreement on toughening the prohibition of bacteriological weapons, already signed by 140 countries, must not be ignored. And in 2002 the group of prominent scientists-microbiologists of the USA and England publicly accused authorities of the USA of development of the new generation bacteriological weapons, in particular special cluster bombs which represents a gross violation of international agreements.” Bird flu pandemic inevitable, says WHO 08 Sep 2005 The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday warned that a pandemic of the bird flu strain lethal to humans is inevitable, and would likely kill between one and seven million people worldwide, Reuters reports. [We really need to eliminate the Bush regime before bird flu ‘mysteriously’ arrives, as a Weapon of Mass Distraction for Bush’s Katrina and Iraq. Outside of forced quarantines and utilizing FEMA’s concentration camps on a grand scale, I really can’t foresee any other actions that Bush and Halliburton will take during the pandemic. –Lori Price] Bird flu pandemic a question of when, not if -WHO 07 Sep 2005 The world is going to face a pandemic of the bird flu strain lethal to humans and Thailand is the only nation in South and Southeast Asia ready to deal with it, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday. Europe races to shore up bird flu defences 06 Sep 2005 Europe is racing to bolster its defences against bird flu, fearing it could be winging its way to the continent with migrating wildfowl via countries too poor to check its spread. Bird flu confirmed in 45 Russian villages — report 05 Sep 2005 The bird flu virus has been confirmed in 45 Russian villages, and 80 villages are still being tested for the virus as of September 5, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection reported Monday. Bird flu risks spreading to Europe 05 Sep 2005 The bird flu virus that had leapt to Russia and Kazakhstan after causing deaths and huge economic losses in Asia risked spreading further, borne by migratory birds criss-crossing the globe, experts said today. Wild birds are widely credited with spreading avian influenza far beyond its epicentre in the backyard farms of Asia, where the mingling of species gives virologists nightmares about the risk of mutation into a far deadlier form. Nations on alert as bird flu likely to spread around globe 01 Sep 2005 The bird flu virus that has hit several Asian countries is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the U.N. food agency warned on Wednesday, urging nations at risk to step up surveillance and prepare emergency plans. U.N. warns deadly bird flu is likely to migrate west 01 Sep 2005 The bird flu virus that has hit several Asian countries is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned Wednesday, urging nations at risk to step up surveillance and prepare national emergency plans. ***** France reinforces defences against bird flu 30 Aug 2005 France said on Tuesday it would toughen defences against the potential arrival of bird flu in the country, reinforcing checks at airports and building stockpiles of vaccines in the event of a human pandemic. Ministers leave ‘2m lives at risk from bird flu’ –University professor accuses government of creating ‘new BSE’ in bird flu –Professor dismisses government claims that bird flu threat to UK is remote — 29 Aug 2005 Government complacency over the risk of the Asian bird flu epidemic reaching Britain is endangering the lives of up to two million people, according to Professor Hugh Pennington. The emeritus professor of microbiology at Aberdeen University, who is Britain’s leading expert on the H5N1 sub-virus, yesterday accused health officials of creating “the new BSE”. Suspected bird flu hits Finnish gulls 28 Aug 2005 Finland reported Friday its first case of bird flu, found in gulls in the northwest of the country, but said the strain did not carry any risks for humans. Britain’s elite get pills to survive bird flu 28 Aug 2005 Members of Britain’s elite have been selected as priority cases to receive scarce pills and vaccinations at the taxpayers’ expense if the country is hit by a deadly bird flu outbreak. Workers at the BBC and prominent politicians — such as cabinet ministers — would be offered protection from the virus. Deadly flu: ‘The only question is when’ –Avian’s arrival called inevitable Experts fear global pandemic –Not if, but when for outbreak of disease: Experts Avian flu virus is possible candidate for global infection 27 Aug 2005 The deadly avian flu virus is slowly but surely making its way around the world. Possible Case of Bird Flu First in Finland 26 Aug 2005 Finnish authorities said Friday they had found a suspected case of bird flu in the north of the country. An Agriculture Ministry official said it was unlikely to be a case of the H5N1 strain, which scientists fear might spark a human pandemic. Bird Flu: Intensified Checks At Fiumicino 27 Aug 2005 The morning after the urgent order signed by Health Minister, Francesco Storace, checks on passengers and baggage have been intensified at Fiumicino for passengers coming from (China, Russia, and now also Finland), for bird flu, HSN1. Bird Flu Spreads to New Species 26 Aug 2005 Bird flu has killed three rare civets born in captivity at a national park in Vietnam, marking the first time the virus has been reported in the species, officials said Friday. Bird Flu Discovered in Vietnamese Civet Cats 27 Aug 2005 Bird flu has killed three rare civet cats at a national park in Vietnam, officials said Friday, the first time the virus has been reported in the species. The Owston civets died in late June at Cuc Phuong National Park, about 75 miles south of Hanoi. Fears grow over arrival of bird flu in UK 26 Aug 2005 Britain’s public health experts are losing sleep over the threat posed by bird flu to Britain’s health and economy, one of them revealed yesterday. Spread of bird flu virus is a ‘national emergency’ 25 Aug 2005 Veterinary experts from across Europe are meeting today to develop a strategy to stop the spread of a deadly strain of avian flu, which one British scientist has declared a national emergency. Avian flu “undoubtedly” will hit UK 25 Aug 2005 Avian flu will “undoubtedly” be carried to Britain by migrating birds, the president of the British Veterinary Association warned today. Britain on alert as bird flu heads towards Europe 25 Aug 2005 Britain is to begin testing wild birds for avian flu as EU officials meet today to discuss the growing health threat from a deadly strain of the virus. Scientists fear that a lethal form of bird flu that can infect humans may be brought into the country this autumn by migrating waterfowl. Bird Flu Again Detected in Japan Poultry –Bird Flu Again Detected in Japanese Poultry, Agriculture Ministry Says 22 Aug 2005 Authorities have detected another outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm near Tokyo, the Agriculture Ministry said Monday. Flu measures urged for UK 22 Aug 2005 The government is under pressure to bring in emergency measures to protect poultry in this country from bird flu. Lock Up Your Chickens [LOL!!] 23 Aug 2005 Warning as bird flu spreads west –Britain’s chickens should be kept indoors to stop them catching bird flu, it was claimed yesterday. The warning came as Holland told farmers to move their flocks inside – with Germany set to follow next month. A strain of the H5N1 virus – which infects poultry and has been linked to the deaths of 57 people – has spread into Russia and could soon reach Europe. Airport guards against bird flu 20 Aug 2005 The Rome-Fiumicino international airport has begun implementing precautionary measures involving passengers and merchandise originating from regions affected by bird flu, the airport said on Saturday. Passengers travelling to the Rome airport from China or Russia may be immediately hospitalised in an infectious diseases clinic if they shows signs of respiratory problems, airport authorities said in a statement. Flight H5N1 is approaching Britain. Brace for impact 21 Aug 2005 Some scientists are already drawing parallels with the so-called Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, in which another bird flu virus – code-named H1N1 – hit the right genetic combination needed to trigger human-to-human transmission. The resulting pandemic led to at least 20 million deaths, double the number of people killed in the First World War. “The population is higher now, so we could be talking about 100 million deaths or more,” says Prof Neil Ferguson, an expert on virus epidemics at Imperial College, London. “The 1918 scenario is within what people should be planning for.” Migrating birds could bring deadly flu to UK this winter 21 Aug 2005 Migratory ducks and waders could bring bird flu to Britain this winter, experts have warned, after the disease was found in wild flocks in Russia. Bird Flu Suspected at Big Russian Farm –Presence of Deadly Virus, if Verified, Would Be the Nation’s Biggest Outbreak 21 Aug 2005 Russian officials have quarantined a large poultry farm in Siberia because of a suspected outbreak of bird flu, news reports said Saturday. If confirmed, it would be the first major occurrence of the lethal virus among birds in Russia, and international health officials expressed concern that the disease had spread closer to Western Europe. Bird flu virus: A crisis waiting to explode It is spreading fast and nations are stockpiling antidotes 20 Aug 2005 Health experts claim bird flu is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Initially, it was seen as a few isolated cases in South-East Asia, may now be the beginnings of a global pandemic. ‘Bird flu may cause global economic mayhem’ [We’ve got Bush already doing that] 19 Aug 2005 Canadian financial analysts predicted that an avian flu pandemic would have dire consequences on the global economy, its impact comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Progress of bird flu across Russia tracked by European scientists 19 Aug 2005 A highly infectious form of bird flu which appears to be moving westwards across Russia towards Europe is being tracked by teams of scientists in Germany and the Netherlands. Germany considering measures to prevent bird flu 18 Aug 2005 Germany is considering special measures to prevent bird flu entering the country, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Renate Kuenast said on Thursday. Bird flu case detected at chicken farm in east Japan 18 Aug 2005 Chickens at a farm in Konosu, Tokyo’s neighboring Saitama Prefecture in east Japan, have tested positive for bird flu virus, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Thursday. Russia: Bird flu deadly to humans 16 Aug 2005 Russia says an outbreak of bird flu in Chelyabinsk is dangerous to humans, as teams of sanitary workers destroy birds in Siberia in an attempt to prevent the westward spread of the deadly virus. Dutch told to keep birds indoors over fear of flu 16 Aug 2005 Dutch farmers are being ordered to keep poultry indoors in the toughest measures yet imposed by a European Union country against bird flu. Deadly bird flu virus is closing in on Europe 16 Aug 2005 An outbreak of avian flu among wild and domestic birds in Russia is spreading west and starting to approach Europe, public health officials said yesterday. World on alert as bird flu reaches the Urals 16 Aug 2005 Russia warned the world yesterday that migrating birds could export the bird flu virus to Europe and the Middle East within months. Russia says bird flu may spread to Europe 15 Aug 2005 Russia, which is scrambling to contain a bird flu outbreak in Siberia, warned the world on Monday that migrating birds may export the deadly virus to Europe and the Middle East in coming months. Bird flu may spread to southern Russia – physician 15 Aug 2005 Bird flu may spread to the Astrakhan, Rostov and Volgograd regions, Stavropol and Krasnodar territories in southern Russia this fall, the country’s chief sanitary doctor said Monday. Bird-flu pandemic just ‘plane ride away’ –Officials watch state for signs of outbreak 14 Aug 2005 Though avian flu has been confined to Asia so far, public health officials in Washington state are taking the threat seriously. They’re preparing for the worst even as the Bush regime has proposed cuts in federal funding for agencies already cash-strapped because of ‘bioterrorism responsibilities’ in the wake of Sept. 11. Asian doctors attack western hoarding of key bird flu vaccine 12 Aug 2005 Doctors in Asia fear western countries will grab the lion’s share of vaccines and other drugs needed to fight an avian flu pandemic. WHO Warns Global Bird Flu Pandemic 11 Aug 2005 A World Health Organisation official warned of a possible global bird flu pandemic on Thursday, and urged governments and health workers around the world to prepare for a possible worst-case scenario. Deadly bird flu strain spreads in Kazakhstan 11 Aug 2005 A deadly strain of avian influenza that can infect humans has spread to three more Kazakh villages, a senior official at the Central Asian state’s Agriculture Ministry told Reuters on Thursday. Bird flu virus found in Kazakhstan could kill humans 11 Aug 2005 The recent bird flu outbreak found close to Kazakhstan’s northern border with Russia was caused by the deadly H5N1 strain that can be transmitted to humans, a statement by Kazakhstan’s Agricultural Ministry read on Thursday. Britain prepares for bird flu death toll of thousands 07 Aug 2005 The government is to mount an exercise to help emergency services prepare for any potential bird flu pandemic that could kill thousands of people in Britain. Estimates of deaths in the first six weeks of the outbreak range from 20,000 up to 710,000, after which the disease would begin to subside… Officials are looking for sites for mass mortuaries. A Successful Vaccine Alone Is Not Enough to Prevent Avian Flu Epidemic 07 Aug 2005 Health officials, who over the weekend announced success in an initial test of a human vaccine against avian influenza, cautioned Sunday that the existence of a vaccine in itself would not be enough to avert a worldwide pandemic. [Dictator Bush will *still* give billions to the pharma-terrorists.] U.S. to order millions of bird flu vaccine doses –Government says mass distribution of drug could start by mid-September 08 Aug 2005 The government is optimistic about a new vaccine to protect against [sic – *foment*] an outbreak of potentially deadly avian flu, and distribution could start as soon as mid-September, a senior federal health official says. Europeans warned as bird flu heads west 06 Aug 2005 Russian authorities, struggling to contain an outbreak of avian flu that has killed thousands of birds in Siberia, have admitted that a spread of the virus into Europe seems inevitable. Russia finds more bird flu cases 06 Aug 2005 Russian authorities say they have found evidence of the bird flu virus in two more regions of the country. The disease has been confirmed in wildfowl in the regions of Kurgan and Omsk. Bird Flu Spreads to Another Russian Region 02 Aug 2005 Russian veterinary officials said Tuesday that an outbreak of an avian flu strain that can infect humans has spread to another region in Siberia, while authorities were struggling to contain the virus. Man hospitalized with bird flu symptoms in Kazakhstan 31 Jul 2005 A 20-year-old man showing bird flu symptoms has been hospitalized in Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar region, where 600 domestic geese died between July 20 and July 30 as a result of an outbreak of the disease in the area. Bird flu moves towards Europe –Migratory birds may have caused outbreaks in Russia and Kazakhstan. 01 Aug 2005 The H5NI avian influenza virus has broken out in poultry flocks in Russia and in Kazakhstan, where a suspected human case is also being investigated. ***** WHO baffled as pig-disease toll rises –The World Health Organization suggested that the rarely seen bacterium may have mutated if it was indeed responsible for the death toll in China, now up to 31 29 Jul 2005 A mysterious pig-borne disease has spread to six more towns in southwest China and the number of people killed has risen to 31, the Chinese government said yesterday as it scrambled to reassure the public. Russia: Outbreak of Bird Flu Confirmed In Siberia 27 Jul 2005 Russia’s chief epidemiologist, Gennadii Onishchenko, confirmed at a Moscow news conference on 25 July what had been suspected for several days: the first cases of bird flu ever recorded have now hit Russia… Authorities say the virus was probably brought to Russia by migratory birds from Asia. After bird flu, pig bug human toll rises to 24 27 Jul 2005 The death toll from infection with a bacteria commonly found in pigs has reportedly risen to at least 24, with 21 people in critical condition and nearly 40 new cases in south western China’s Sichuan province. Killer flu linked to bird feces 26 Jul 2005 Three family members who died of bird flu earlier this month were infected by chicken droppings that contained the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, Indonesia’s agriculture ministry has said. Health experts still bracing for deadlier bird flu strain 26 Jul 2005 Medical experts are bracing for a new and deadlier virus mutating from bird flu and the common human influenza, according to a top official of the Department of Health. Mystery Chinese disease toll now 17 25 Jul 2005 death toll from an unidentified disease has risen to 17 with 41 other people affected in southwest China’s Sichuan province, state media said overnight. Bird Flu Deaths Sow Panic In Wealthy Jakarta Suburb –Officials Have Not Found Source of Outbreak 25 Jul 2005 When Iwan Siswara Rafei, a government auditor, and his two young daughters died suddenly this month, there was panic in their middle-class suburb along with reports that they were Indonesia’s first casualties of bird flu. Unknown Illness Kills Nine Chinese Farmers –Deaths Could Be Linked to Outbreaks of Bird Flu in Nine Asian Countries 24 Jul 2005 An unidentified disease has killed nine farmers and sickened 11 others in a rural part of China’s western Sichuan province, prompting the government to dispatch an emergency team of researchers to investigate whether the deaths are related to bird flu, a Health Ministry spokesman said Saturday. Massive flu outbreak could happen at any moment, WHO warns 22 Jul 2005 The world could at any time be faced with a massive flu outbreak like those in 1918 or 1968 that killed tens of millions of people, the World Health Organization warned, urging countries to be prepared. Signs point to global influenza outbreak–WHO warning 22 Jul 2005 Indonesia’s first human bird flu case, coupled with more birds dying elsewhere including Russia, are signs a long-dreaded global influenza pandemic may be approaching, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. Indonesia on alert after bird flu deaths 22 Jul 2005 Indonesia is preparing 44 hospitals across the archipelago for treatment and detection of bird flu after the country recorded its first deaths from the virus. Evolving Catastrophic H5N1 Bird Flu Pandemic in 2005 (Recombinomics Commentary) 17 Jul 2005 “The latest boxun report describes 10 strains of H5N1 circulating in China. Eight of the ten have some evidence for human infections, but there is no direct independent confirmation of the data. The data suggest that the 2005 pandemic is well underway and a wide range of catastrophic events will continue to make news. The report also suggests H5N1 in China is diverse and evolving, expanding a trend that will likely culminate in an event that may make the 1918 flu pandemic look tame.” Bird flu a national security issue, Rudd says 16 Jul Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd (AU) says avian influenza represents a national security challenge. He says he agrees with world health experts who say the bird flu will cause a pandemic if it mutates, allowing human to human transmission. Fresh fears over spread of bird flu 16 Jul 2005 A man and his two daughters have died of suspected bird flu in Indonesia, and initial investigations showed they had no contact with poultry, raising concerns of possible human-to-human transmission. ‘No defence against bird flu’ 14 Jul 2005 Assurances from South Africa’s Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang that South Africa has well advanced plans to contain a bird flu outbreak are not backed up by the facts, says official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson Diane Kohler-Barnard. Vietnam bird flu toll hits 40, more infected 14 Jul 2005 Bird flu has killed another Vietnamese and infected three more, taking the country’s toll to 40 — half of them killed since the H5N1 virus returned in December, the media reported on Thursday. Defense Logistics Agency Spends $58m on Tamiflu 12 Jul 2005 –Roche Laboratories Inc., Nutley, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $58,000,000 firm fixed price contract for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps for Oseltamivir Phosphate Capsules [Tamiflu, which is used to treat Avian flu]. This is a requirements contract with a base year and one option period. Performance completion date is Feb. 28, 2006. Killer bird flu virus erupts again in Thailand 11 Jul 2005 The deadly bird flu virus which has killed 55 Asians has erupted again in Thailand despite a major campaign to eradicate it, the government said on Monday. Japan finds fresh case of bird flu 11 Jul 2005 A fresh case of bird flu has been confirmed on a chicken farm neighbouring earlier outbreaks discovered in eastern Japan late last month, a local government official said on Monday. Bird flu could spread to Europe, say scientists 09 Jul 2005 A virulent outbreak of avian flu among migrating geese at a wildlife refuge in China has raised fears that the disease could spread to India and Europe, according to studies published this week by the journals Science and Nature. Flu virus confirmed in migratory birds 07 Jul 2005 China has confirmed the deadly avian flu virus was found for the first time in migratory birds, raising fears the disease could spread to other regions. Bird flu ‘global threat’ 08 Jul 2005 Asia’s bird flu may be poised to spread through migrating birds to India, Australia, New Zealand and eventually on to Europe, scientists warned yesterday. Bird flu: World is on the edge 05 Jul 2005 Asia’s bird flu outbreak is at a critical stage where it could easily become a human pandemic, health experts warned yesterday, urging mass poultry vaccinations to prevent a crisis. Bird flu pandemic ‘just a matter of time'; nations must be better prepared-WHO 06 Jul 2005 A World Health Organization (WHO) scientist said it is ‘probably just a matter of time’ before a bird flu pandemic breaks out among humans. Health Experts at Bird Flu Summit Call for Urgent Measures 04 Jul 2005 Health and animal experts Monday called for the mass vaccination of poultry in Asia to stop the spread of the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus, which has claimed dozens of human lives in the region. Experts to plan bird flu strategy 04 Jul 2005 Health, food and animal experts plan to hammer out a strategy this week to ensure that the bird flu virus does not spread from humans to humans — a possibility that has raised fears of an influenza. U.S. bird flu effort lags, Congress told 01 Jul 2005 Although avian flu may be only “a few mutations away” from becoming a pandemic that could kill 500,000 Americans, the United States lags behind other countries in planning for the disease, health officials told Congress on Thursday. Japan detects new bird flu outbreak 01 Jul 2005 Another outbreak of bird flu, H5N2 strain, has been found near a farm proven infected earlier this week, the Ibaraki prefecture authorities announced on July 1. ***** Vietnam confirms 60 bird flu patients 28 Jun 2005 Vietnam Health Ministry on Monday confirmed 60 human bird flu cases in the country in the latest outbreak since late December 2004, including 18 fatalities, local Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. Bird Flu Outbreak in Japan 27 Jun 2005 Bird flu has been detected in chickens at a farm in north-eastern Japan, and restrictions have been imposed on shipments of poultry and eggs from the area, the government said yesterday. Bird flu virus detected in Japan 27 Jun 2005 The H5N2-type avian influenza virus has been detected in chickens at a poultry farm in Mitsukaido, east Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture. Bird flu ‘as grave a threat as terrorism’ 26 Jun 2005 Bird flu is now as much of a danger to Britain as terrorism, ministers have been told by the Government’s official emergency body. Plans are being made to close schools and cancel sporting fixtures in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, and official advice on how to try to avoid being infected will be ready for publication this summer. [Looks like the deaths of the forty-plus microbiologists (since 9/11) are about to pay off big-time for the Bush junta: the quarantines and the tag-along full-blown police state, all managed by Vice President Bill Frist. Bush’s approval rating for the Iraq war just hit 28% in California… even Rove and Diebold can’t pull this one out of the sewer. When the (‘expected’) avian flu pandemic hits, do you think we will all be sitting around, discussing the Downing Street Memo? Bush now needs his bioterror chickens to come home to roost. Remember, you read it here first. –Lori Price] Chance of bird flu between humans increases-Vietnam 25 Jun 2005 Vietnam’s agriculture ministry was quoted as saying on Saturday that the mutation of a bird flu virus was increasing the infection possibility between humans. State-run media cited a ministry report as saying laboratory test results overseas and at home showed the antigen structure of the virus is changing. Flu pandemic could kill half million in U.S.-report 24 Jun 2005 Half a million Americans could die and more than 2 million could end up in the hospital with serious complications if an even moderately severe strain of a pandemic flu hits, a report predicted on Friday. Pandemic could create serious and sustained food shortages, expert warns 20 Jun 2005 An influenza pandemic would dramatically disrupt the processing and distribution of food supplies across the world, emptying grocery store shelves and creating crippling shortages for months, an expert warned Thursday. Indonesia says has 50 polio cases, one bird flu 20 Jun 2005 Indonesia has found 50 polio cases since the disease re-emerged in the country last month [right along with the presence of the US], and one human carrier of the bird flu virus after an outbreak hit the nation’s fowl in March, the health minister said on Monday. Oops! It’s dead scientist #78… Russian Investigators Probe Biological Weapons Link to Hepatitis Outbreak 09 Jun 2005 An investigation is checking whether the mass outbreak of hepatitis A in the Tver region near Moscow could be linked to the biological weapons sector. At the moment 363 people are in hospital, NewsRu.Com reported Thursday. Some newspapers have linked the outbreak to the recent murder of Russia’s leading specialist in bio weapons. Some sources link Wednesday’s murder of Anti-Microbe Therapy Institute director Leonid Strachunsky, who specialized in creating microbes resistant to biological weapons, to the hepatitis outbreak, NewsRu.Com added. [See: Steve Quayle’s List of Dead Scientists.] Bird Flu Drug Rendered Useless 18 Jun 2005 Chinese farmers, acting with the approval and encouragement of government officials, have tried to suppress major bird flu outbreaks among chickens with an antiviral drug meant for humans, animal health experts said. International researchers now conclude that this is why the drug will no longer protect people in case of a worldwide bird flu epidemic. Where they’ll bury us if bird flu hits Bay 18 Jun 2005 Burial grounds have been earmarked in Hawke’s Bay (NZ) for a deadly flu epidemic that could kill thousands of the region’s people. The nightmare scenario is part of health authorities’ planning for an event they say is “a matter of when – not if”. The first suspected case of human-to-human transmission of bird flu was reported in Vietnam two weeks ago. Vietnamese bird flu doctor has bird flu 17 Jun 2005 A Vietnamese doctor who treated bird flu patients has contracted the disease himself, a state newspaper reported on Friday. How pigs could be launchpad for bird flu pandemic 18 Jun 2005 A virologist from Hong Kong has warned that pigs could provide a launchpad for bird flu, even if birds carrying the virus, which is causing havoc in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, failed to do so. WHO confirms new bird flu cases in Vietnam 15 June 2005 The World Health Organisation (WHO) says three more cases of bird flu have been recorded in Vietnam. Indonesia Reports Human Bird Flu Case 15 Jun 2005 A farm worker in eastern Indonesia has tested positive for bird flu, marking the country’s first human case of the virus that has already killed at least 54 people elsewhere in Southeast Asia, health officials in Indonesia said Wednesday. New Asian Flu Outbreaks in China Raise Fears of a Mutant Virus 11 Jun 2005 Two reported new outbreaks of avian flu among birds in western China have raised fears that the virus is being spread widely by migrating birds and mutating rapidly. [Avian flu will finish mutating and become a full-blown pandemic the day the hearings begin on the ‘Downing Street Minutes’ (i.e., the beginning of the end of the Bush regime). Forty-plus microbiologists dead since 9/11 . . . cui bono?] As the ‘Downing Street Memo’ heats up: WHO urges bird flu vigilance, warns virus unstable 10 Jun 2005 The World Health Organisation urged vigilance against a deadly strain of bird flu on Friday, warning that the disease scientists say could cause a global pandemic was moving in new and unpredictable ways. [Gee, it sure looks like the mysterious deaths of over forty-plus microbiologists since 9-11 is about to pay off *big time* for the Bush regime.] Three more contract bird flu in Vietnam 09 Jun 2005 Vietnam has reported three new human cases of bird flu, bringing the total number of cases in the country since late 2003 to 79. Marburg virus has claimed more than 350 lives 08 Jun 2005 The death toll in the Marburg outbreak in Angola has climbed past 350 since it broke out last October, with a dramatic rise since March, the health ministry and the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. Bird flu: we’re all going to die –by Charles Arthur 02 Jun 2005 “But if – when – a flu pandemic comes, and millions of people die around the world over a period of months, the reality will be one of two alternatives… Or else governments will impose a police state that will make all the ID cards and airport checks look like a tea party. You’d not be allowed to move anywhere without showing off a vaccination certificate. (Sure, you’d get those on the black market, and they’d cost more than £300, but would you really want them? If you’re not vaccinated would you really want to travel among people who might be carriers?)” [a must read] National exercise prepares for bird flu 03 Jun 2005 –Australia’s preparedness for a bird flu outbreak will be tested in a national exercise between 29 November 29 and 01 December, 2005. Agriculture Minister Warren Truss and Health Minister Tony Abbott announced that Exercise Eleusis will involve a hypothetical scenario [we hope] to test how well agriculture and health departments can work together to identify, contain and ‘eradicate’ an animal disease which can be transferred to humans. ***** Bird flu endemic in Indonesia, says World Health Organization 31 May 2005 While the Indonesian government talks about eradicating bird (avian) flu by the year 2007, WHO has stated that bird flu is endemic in the country. New Mexico preparing plan for potential flu pandemic 31 May 2005 The state Department of Health is devising a plan to deal with any potential flu pandemic. State epidemiologist Mack Sewell says the plan probably should be in place by late this summer. Vietnam Pledges Not to Pursue Human Vaccine for Bird Flu on Its Own 28 May 2005 Vietnam has promised it will not unilaterally develop a human vaccine for bird flu, abandoning plans that international health experts had complained were hazardous and could themselves trigger an epidemic, the World Health Organization said Friday. China’s bird flu outbreak worse than thought 28 May 2005 New figures from authorities in China show that an outbreak of the deadly bird flu in the west of the country is five times bigger than originally thought. Chinese officials say more than 1,000 migratory birds have been found dead from the H5N1 virus in a remote area of Qinghai province, which is on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. U.S. Criticized Over Bird Flu Plans 26 May 2005 U.S. efforts to counter a possible influenza pandemic, including an outbreak of bird flu, are moving slowly and may be inadequate in an emergency, several witnesses told lawmakers Thursday. Medium level flu pandemic could kill up to 207,000 in USA, says CDC Director 27 May 2005 Julie Gerberding, CDC Director, said a mere medium-sized flu pandemic could kill up to 207,000 people in the USA and place nearly three-quarters of a million people in hospital. Experts fear we may be sitting on a flu-pandemic time bomb. The culprit – the bird flu H5N1 virus. US braces for flu pandemic 27 May 2005 US health authorities are taking urgent precautions against a ‘flu pandemic’ that experts warned could erupt at any time and claim tens of thousands of lives. Bird flu virus ‘close to pandemic’ 26 May 2005 Expert warns estimate of 7.5m global deaths is optimistic –A leading scientist warned yesterday that the avian flu virus is on the point of mutating into a pandemic disease and says that current estimates that such a pandemic could cause 7.5m deaths may understate the threat. Flu pandemic looms, experts warn world –Many millions will die if Southeast Asian bird virus mutates to lethal form, spreads 26 May 2005 A lineup of leading infectious disease experts warned Wednesday that the world is unprepared for the health and economic consequences of an outbreak of pandemic influenza that could spring from a lethal strain of bird flu now ravaging poultry flocks in Southeast Asia. Bird flu threat urgent, medical journal says 26 May 2005 –In an attempt to draw attention to what it believes is an underappreciated threat, the scientific journal Nature is devoting most of today’s issue to the likelihood that the avian influenza circulating in Southeast Asia could spawn an international epidemic that would kill millions. Flu pandemic ‘could hit 20% of world’s population’ 25 May 2005 –A global taskforce should be urgently formed to tackle a potential influenza pandemic that could affect 20% of the world’s population, trigger economic disaster and kill millions, experts warned today. Bird flu plan calls for airport screening –Hawaii officials want to test people arriving at Honolulu Airport 25 May 2005 –As nations prepare for a possible avian flu virus pandemic, state and federal health officials are working on a proposal to screen travelers who arrive at Honolulu Airport with influenza-like illness. The state Health Department began developing the proposal a few months ago with the federal quarantine office [?!?] at the airport, said Dr. Paul Effler, state epidemiologist. Bird-flu crisis plan –City sees lethal bug’s arrival as inevitable 22 May 2005 –Convinced it’s only a matter of time before a new flu strain capable of killing millions reaches New York, city health officials have started drawing up a crisis plan, the Daily News has learned. Infectious-disease experts at the Health Department have been meeting every two weeks to prepare a strategy for protecting the city against diseases such as the Asian bird flu, or H5N1. Vietnam Bird Flu Death Toll Reaches 53 20 May 2005 –Bird flu has killed another person in Vietnam bringing the regional death toll to 53, the World Health Organization said as it continued to warn of a potential pandemic. Bird flu death toll up to 37 20 May 2005 –Vietnam’s death toll from bird flu since January 2004 has risen by one to 37, bringing to 17 the number who have died since a surge in mid-December, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Biologists Advocate Study On Marburg Origin [Uh, Fort Detrick?] 20 May 2005 –The Association of Biologists of Angola today in Luanda defended the need to carry out a thorough study to find out the agents which favour the appearance of the haemorrhagic fever by the Marburg virus in the country, which already claimed 311 deaths in a universe of 337 cases registered. Bird flu early warning system planned 19 May 2005 –The European Union will tomorrow take another step towards creating an early warning system to prevent, or at least to limit, an influenza pandemic by the launch of a new continent-wide monitoring system. Bird Flu Could Be Capable of Human-to-Human Transmission 19 May 2005 –Bird flu may be capable of human-to-human transmission, the World Health Organization is warning. A strain of bird flu in Southeast Asia is blamed for more than 50 deaths, and so far the virus has only jumped from animals to humans, but the health agency says “the viruses are continuing to evolve and pose a continuing and potentially growing pandemic threat.” Bird flu virus mutating, posing bigger threat -WHO 19 May 2005 –The spate of human bird flu cases in Vietnam this year suggests the deadly virus may be mutating in ways that are making it more capable of being passed between humans, the World Health Organisation said. WHO report charts disturbing changes in avian flu virus, urges preparations 18 May 2005 –The World Health Organization urged countries to make full haste with pandemic influenza preparations Wednesday as it released a report outlining disturbing changes to the H5N1 virus circulating in Asia. Health chiefs fear flu may kill millions 19 May 2005 –Health chiefs warn they may be unable to detect and tackle a more deadly flu strain before it causes millions of deaths worldwide. Vietnam Bird-Flu Pattern Suggests Virus Is Evolving, WHO Says 18 May 2005 –The pattern of human bird flu infections in Vietnam, the nation hit hardest by the disease, suggests the H5N1 virus that causes the illness is evolving in ways that make it more contagious, according to the World Health Organization. Marburg milestone shocks Angolans 18 May 2005 –The world’s worst outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus has claimed 311 lives in Angola, a joint statement by Angola’s health ministry and the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday. Threat of Bird Flu Pandemic Dominates World Health Assembly 17 May 2005 –Avian influenza is the most serious known health threat the world is facing, World Health Organization Director-General Lee Jong-wook told opening of the 58th World Health Assembly on Monday. Indonesia tests more pigs for bird flu virus 16 May 2005 –Indonesia is testing pigs in several regions for bird flu after discovering the virus in swine on densely populated Java island, an official said on Monday. Vietnam reports 2 more bird flu patients 17 May 2005 –Two men from Vietnam’s northern region have fallen victim of bird flu virus strain H5N1, Vietnam News on Tuesday quoted a doctor at the Institute of Tropical Diseases as saying. Angola: Marburg outbreak not under control 16 May 2005 –As the death toll from the Marburg virus in Angola creeps up to the 300 mark, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern at the current situation and is warning that the outbreak is not yet over. Bush’s bioterrorists running amok: US scientists push for go-ahead to genetically modify smallpox virus 16 May 2005 –US scientists are awaiting World Health Assembly approval to begin experiments to genetically modify the smallpox virus, one of the most lethal organisms the planet has known. Indonesia Finds Bird Flu in Pigs 14 May 2005 Indonesian researchers have found a strain of bird flu in pigs on the densely populated island of Java, raising fears the virus could more easily spread to humans, the government and scientists said Saturday. Vietnam reports its second bird flu patient in two days 15 May 2005 Doctors have confirmed a case of the deadly avian flu in a man, the second human case reported in the last two days in northern Vietnam, hospital officials said yesterday. New Outbreak of Deadly Ebola Virus Is Feared in Congo Republic 16 May 2005 Nine people have died in the Congo Republic since late April from what appears to be an outbreak of the Ebola virus, the second episode of a deadly hemorrhagic fever to strike the region this year, a spokesman for the World Health Organization said Friday. Vietnamese man tests positive to bird flu 13 May 2005 Initial tests by doctors from the Institute of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi have found that a man in northern Vietnam has the H5N1 virus, the first human case in more than three weeks. RPT-Cambodian bird flu suspect hospitalised in Vietnam 13 May 2005 A young Cambodian woman has been hospitalised in Vietnam after showing symptoms of the bird flu virus that has killed 52 people in Asia since 2003, a doctor said on Friday. Tamil Nadu orders probe into bird flu virus report 12 May 2005 The Tamil Nadu government has ordered an inquiry into reports that a strain of bird flu was found [planted?] in this south Indian state by an American laboratory. A media report said two days ago that the Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed that it found the H5N1 bird flu virus in samples sent by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) when the disease was raging in many Asian countries last year. Number of cases of deadly Marburg virus in Angola climbs to 316 12 May 2005 The number of cases from an outbreak of the rare Marburg virus in the northern province of Uige, Angola, has climbed to 316, the World Health Organization said. Bird flu strain found in three Chennai poultry workers 11 May 2005 Scientists from a partner laboratory of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have found the first signs of an Avian influenza virus in three workers from a poultry farm near Chennai. Only specific protein signatures of the “highly pathogenic” H5N1 strain were spotted at ICMR’s influenza referral laboratory in Chennai’s King Institute of Preventive Medicine-the disease itself has not been detected. Marburg outbreak now devastating all age groups 10 May 2005 The outbreak of the deadly Marburg haemorrhagic fever sweeping across northern Angola is now devastating all age groups – and no longer predominantly young children – say epidemiologists on the ground. Marburg Toll in Angola Rises to 327 (Recombinomics Commentary) 09 May 2005 The Marburg toll in Angola rose to 327 on Friday when 8 new cases were recorded in the Ministry of Health’s daily report. Virus fear over smuggled bushmeat 08 May 2005 Diseases that pose a threat to humans, such as Ebola, may be entering UK through the illegal food trade –Seizures of illegal meat smuggled into the UK from ‘high-risk’ countries where infectious animal diseases can pose a risk to human health have spiralled by almost 20 per cent, according to new figures. Bird flu tests out-of-date, may have missed cases 08 May 2005 A diagnostic test designed by Canadian researchers and used in Vietnam to detect H5N1 avian flu is out of date, scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory admit — raising the possibility some human cases may have been dismissed in error. Less lethal bird flu more likely to become pandemic 08 May 2005 Vietnamese doctors are reporting that the mortality rate from avian influenza in their country has dropped substantially. But while this is good news for survivors, it could mean the outbreak of bird flu in Southeast Asia is taking an ominous turn. If a disease quickly kills almost everyone it infects, it has little chance of spreading very far, according to international health experts. The less lethal bird flu becomes, they say, the more likely it is to develop into the global pandemic they fear, potentially killing tens of millions of people. Zimbabweans get Marburg warning 08 May 2005 Zimbabwe is warning its citizens against travelling to Angola following the outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus which has claimed 280 lives, the health minister said on Sunday. Canada sends 3rd team to help combat Marburg outbreak, readies 4th rotation 06 May 2005 Canada has sent a third team of scientists to Angola to help contain the worst outbreak of Marburg fever on record and is readying a fourth team to go later in the month if needed. Bird flu virus in Vietnam has not mutated yet: newspaper 06 May 2005 Bird flu virus strain H5N1 has yet to change into a new form that allows human-to-human transmission, but there is still a risk of mutation, according to local newspaper Saigon Liberation on Friday. Action needed over avian flu threat 05 May 2005 Governments around the world must stop burying their heads in the sand as the threat of a global avian flu outbreak grows, GP Nigel Higson, writing in the British Medical Journal, said today. Indonesia to vaccinate 5 million children against polio outbreak 06 May 2005 Indonesia was yesterday struggling to contain its first polio outbreak in a decade. …The latest reports came as the government announced plans for a mass immunisation programme in which about 5.2 million children will be vaccinated against [sic] the virus in a single day. Cambodia confirms fourth bird flu death 04 May 2005 Cambodia’s health ministry on Wednesday officially confirmed that the woman died in Vietnam last month was killed by bird flu. Indonesia finds second polio case, more suspected 04 May 2005 Indonesian health officials said on Wednesday they had found a second case of polio and feared more would be uncovered on Java island, amid fears of an outbreak of the deadly disease. Polio alarm as virus spreads to Indonesia 04 May 2005 Outbreak a blow for global eradication programme [But, a financial windfall to Bush’s pharma-terrorists – and more deadly vaccines paid for by U.S. taxpayers] –The battle to eradicate polio from the globe received another serious setback yesterday with news that the disease has spread to Indonesia as well as Yemen, both of which had been polio-free for nearly 10 years. [Yeah, until the U.S. showed up to ‘help’ after the tsunami.] Marburg virus has fatality rate of 89%, officials say 03 May 2005 The rare Marburg virus has killed 280 people in Angola over the past six months, at a fatality rate of 89 per cent, authorities said. Marburg kills 280 03 May 2005 The death toll from the outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Angola has reached 280, most of whom succumbed to the disease in the northern Uige province, the health ministry and the World Health Organisation said late on Monday. Polio Detected in Indonesia, Indicating It Crossed an Ocean 02 May 2005 A case of polio has been detected in Indonesia [Gee, right after the U.S. military showed up to ‘help,’ in the aftermath of the tsunami. Holy coincidence, Batman! (But, not at all unexpected…)], World Health Organization officials said today. The virus, found in a village in Java, is most closely related to a strain that was found in Saudi Arabia in December, they said, and the most likely explanation is that it was brought back either by an Indonesian working there or by a pilgrim [?!?] who went to Mecca in January. [Yeah, the pilgrim from Fort Detrick.] Mutated virus raises bird-flu danger level 03 May 2005 Deadly bird flu is mutating to spread from person to person, bringing a disastrous global pandemic closer, experts fear. The bird flu virus – codenamed H5NI – has crossed the first two barriers, and experts fear it is now about to breach the third. Avian flu pandemic could be massive disaster – and few are noticing 01 May 2005 by Tom Saler “Experts are unsure if the bird flu virus will mutate enough to facilitate easy person-to-person transmission. …According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even a ‘medium-level’ pandemic in the United States could infect about one-third of the population and cause up to 200,000 deaths. If that same infection rate were applied globally, roughly 2 billion people would fall ill; assuming a mortality rate of just 1% (down from the current 67%), that translates to 20 million fatalities.” Nation ‘prepared’ for flu pandemic 02 May 2005 Preparations for any potential flu pandemic were not perfect but the federal government was doing all it could, Health Minister Tony Abbott said today. Speaking at an Communicable Diseases Control Conference in Sydney, Mr Abbott said the next flu pandemic could be a “worldwide biological version of the Indian Ocean tsunami”. Bird flu mutates and now more infectious 01 May 2005 Deadly bird flu is mutating to spread from person to person, bringing a disastrous global pandemic closer, experts fear. Evidence from South-east Asia suggests that the virus, which could kill tens of millions of people worldwide, is becoming less virulent, but at the same time more infectious to people. ***** Bird flu may spread in Samarinda 30 Apr 2005 Samarinda, East Kalimantan: Poultry breeders have to be more vigilant over possible outbreaks of bird flu, a senior official has warned. The warning was issued after 30 chickens were found dead recently in Sidomulya subdistrict, Samarinda. Marburg virus death toll climbs to 257 in Angola 30 Apr 2005 The death toll from an outbreak of the rare Marburg virus in Angola has climbed from 244 to 257, Angola’s deputy health minister said. Outbreak of Viral Haemorrhagic Fever: Marburg Virus 29 Apr 2005 The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is monitoring an outbreak of Marburg, a viral haemorrhagic fever disease, in Angola. … A suspected case of Marburg virus in a patient in the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently under investigation. Vietnam expert warns bird flu may break out again 28 Apr 2005 There was likely to be another full-blown outbreak of bird flu this year in Vietnam, where 36 people have died from the disease since late 2003, a health expert warned in state media Thursday. Experts: Smallpox could be sent in mail 26 Apr 2005 The anthrax letter attacks in 2001 are not the first time an infectious agent has been spread through the mail. A recent article in a scientific journal describes two outbreaks of smallpox in 1901 that were attributed to infected letters, and bioweapon experts said it is possible terrorists could spread the deadly disease in this manner today. Holy Fox guarding the henhouse, Batman! U.S. Company Wants to Help Fight Deadly Marburg Virus 26 Apr 2005 Luanda – A United States of America firm, GenoMed, expressed today its interest in helping Angola to fight [spread?] the heamorrhagic fever of Marburg virus, mostly hitting the northern Uige province, the company’s chairman said today. Bird flu looking more like a pandemic 23 Apr 2005 Public health officials in Vietnam fear the South Asian outbreak of bird flu is becoming less virulent and, thus, more likely to spawn a pandemic. In Vietnam, A Dark Side To Good News On Bird Flu 23 Apr 2005 More than a year after avian influenza emerged in East Asia, killing more than two-thirds of the people with confirmed cases, Vietnamese doctors are reporting that the mortality rate in their country has dropped substantially. This news could mean the outbreak of bird flu in Southeast Asia is taking an ominous turn. The less lethal bird flu becomes, international health experts say, the more likely it is to develop into the global pandemic they fear, potentially killing tens of millions of people. Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Angola, 266 cases, 244 deaths 23 Apr 2005 As of 20 April, the Ministry of Health in Angola has reported 266 cases of Marburg haemorrhagic fever. Of these cases, 244 were fatal. Angola at Critical Stage in Marburg Battle -WHO 23 Apr 2005 Angola is at a critical stage in its fight against an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus and must step up its drive to bring the disease under control, the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday. All samples of killer flu virus outside USA are now found [What about the samples *inside* the US? We have a stark-raving serial terrorist (Bush) running amok – we need to find and destroy the US samples before the Bush regime spreads bioterror, as they did in October 2001 with the Fort Detrick anthrax!] 20 Apr 2005 All samples of the killer influenza virus sent outside the United States have been destroyed except for one in Lebanon, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday. The sample that had gone missing in Beirut “was found at the airport,” [?!? LOL!] said Maria Cheng, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization. Bird flu kills Cambodian woman 20 Apr 2005 A Cambodian woman suspected of contracting bird flu has died in a hospital in southern Vietnam, a doctor says. More bird flu cases in Vietnam, H5N1 strain 18 Apr 2005 Vietnamese authorities say that a 21-year-old woman and two other patients from northern Vietnam are infected with bird flu (H5N1). The H5N1 strain is the more deadly one. Experts still baffled by bird flu 18 Apr 2005 The bird flu virus which has killed 36 people in Vietnam may not be contained until 2007 because the way it is spreading still baffles experts, officials said on Monday. Marburg toll up to 235 17 Apr 2005 Luanda – The death toll from the Marburg virus epidemic in Angola rose to 235 on Sunday with about 500 people under surveillance after coming in contact with the Ebola-like virus, the health ministry and the World Health Organisation said. Mutated avian flu may kill millions 17 April 2005 –The threat of a killer flu pandemic is greater than ever because of the spread of the bird flu virus in south-east Asia, the World Health Organisation has warned. The WHO said avian influenza was still spreading across south-east Asia despite efforts to block it, and there was more than a 50 per cent probability it would become a global pandemic that could kill millions of people. Saudi Arabia, Israel, U.S. Have Missing Vials of Pandemic Flu 16 Apr 2005 Most of the samples of a deadly flu virus sent to laboratories around the world by Meridian Bioscience have been destroyed, health officials said yesterday. Bermuda, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Lebanon, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan confirmed that they had neutralized all their samples, along with a newly identified U.S. military lab in Britain, WHO said… Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United States were the only countries still tracing samples, said Klaus Stohr of the World Health Organization. Deadly flu virus unaccounted for in Lebanon 16 Apr 2005 Beirut: Samples of a deadly flu virus sent by the College of American Pathologists to more than 3,700 laboratories around the world appear to have gone missing on their way to Lebanon and Mexico, according to the World Health Organization on Friday. Samples of pandemic flu virus sent to Lebanon, Mexico and Chile missing: WHO 15 Apr 2005 Three of the vials of pandemic flu never reached their destinations and are still missing, a UN official says. Klaus Stohr, influenza chief for the World Health Organization, said late Friday that vials of H2N2 virus shipped to certain labs in Lebanon, Mexico and Chile could not be accounted for. [Note: The Washington Post reported on 16 April “Officials also determined that samples sent to labs in Lebanon, Chile and Mexico that never arrived had either been secured or already destroyed.”] Bird flu outbreak leads to fears of pandemic 16 Apr 2005 The threat of a killer flu pandemic is greater than ever because of the spread of the bird flu virus in south-east Asia, the World Health Organisation said yesterday. New Plague Vaccine Agreement Signed 15 Apr 2005 A joint, multi-nation project arrangement between the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of National Defence of Canada, and the Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was announced today for the cooperative development of a vaccine to protect against plague. Under this agreement, the three nations will work together to develop and produce a plague vaccine that will ultimately be licensed for human use. Feds at Loss on How Flu Strain Got to Labs 14 Apr 2005 Federal officials are still at a loss to explain how a potentially deadly strain of influenza could be sent to more than 4,000 labs around the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is operating under the presumption that the H2N2 strain was purposefully included in the panels designed to test the labs’ proficiency in identifying viruses. [Only a gullible *twit* with narrow vision and a brain the size of a lima bean would, by now, when all the pieces of the puzzle are nearly assembled, all the Neo-conmen’s ducks are in a row – would *not* suspect the US government’s complicity in fomenting bioterror! Every piece of legislation spewed by the GOP-controlled congress and Hitler-incarnate himself (that would be *Bush*) have buried in bills submerged in Orwellian monikers, deep in crevices that the Penta-Post dare not cover – full authority to commence quarantines, force inoculations, imprison citizens in internment camps, etc. Hell, the Bush regime is *dying* for it. 70 million+ deaths solves all of the Bush regime’s problems (just like their 9/11 attacks paved the way for the illegal invasion of Iraq); they can then seize the last of the world’s resources and divvy it up between themselves. In the meanwhile, the Halliburton whores can continue to get rich by building more prisons and internment camps, to house future malcontents. As for me… “We want either a hammer or a fire, to break the spell or dissolve the ice.” — artisan radical freethinker, George Jacob Holyoake, Reasoner V (1848): 2. –Lori Price] Asian Lab Worker Opened Flu Vial: Report 14 Apr 2005 Hong Kong media is reporting a lab worker in that city opened vials containing a fatal flu strain before health experts worldwide were warned to destroy the sample. Killer flu samples shipped via FedEx, DHL 14 Apr 2005 Every day, deadly germs are shipped across the country and around the globe, right alongside the books, gourmet foods and birthday presents sent through FedEx and similar couriers. Flu Strain Samples Remain at Large –Health Officials Race to Tighten Rules [Oops! I think the horse has left the barn on that one.] 14 Apr 2005 At least four countries and more than 1,500 U.S. laboratories reported they had destroyed all their samples of a dangerous flu virus that had been shipped around the world, but thousands of others remained unaccounted for yesterday as health authorities in 18 countries intensified efforts to prevent a deadly outbreak. [$5.6 billion was allocated in May 2004 for Project BioShield . . . useless is as useless does. –Lori Price] U.S. Seeks Cause of Flu Virus Mix-up 14 Apr 2005 U.S. health officials were still trying to determine Thursday how a lethal flu virus had been ‘mistakenly’ [LOL!] shipped to thousands of laboratories around the world. Meanwhile, health officials in 18 countries continued to destroy the virus, which had fueled a 1957-58 pandemic that killed between 1 million and 4 million people worldwide, including 70,000 people in the United States. Local Hospitals Receive A Deadly Flu Virus 14 Apr 2005 At least four hospitals, including the Ohio Valley Medical Center and Wheeling Hospital, accidentally received a deadly flu virus from 1957. The Hospitals were among nearly five thousand labs in 18 countries to get the mistaken shipments. FDA Had Slammed Company That Shipped Flu 14 Apr 2005 A company that shipped samples of a deadly flu virus to thousands of labs in testing kits was criticized by the government in 2001 for alleged lax controls that led to a product recall. Flu alert as killer strain is sent to labs by mistake 14 Apr 2005 Public health agencies around the world have been put on alert for an outbreak of lethal influenza after samples of the deadly virus were sent out ‘mistakenly’ in testing kits. Killer flu ‘unwisely’ shipped to labs 14 Apr 2005 Scientists are frantically trying to locate and destroy a deadly strain of flu “unwisely” shipped to 3,700 laboratories worldwide. The Washington Post said the problem arose when Meridian Bioscience Inc. of Cincinnati sent a panel of H2N2 virus samples to about 3,700 laboratories, to be tested as part of routine quality-control certification conducted by the College of American Pathologists. [‘Unwisely.’ Does that imply an element of ‘decision-making,’ in the decision to ship the flu pandemic to the labs?] Several Minnesota labs received 1957 pandemic flu strain 13 Apr 2005 Ten labs in Minnesota were among the thousands of sites that received a potentially dangerous flu virus that was mistakenly inserted in routine testing kits, state officials said today. Labs Urged to Destroy Pandemic Flu Strain 12 Apr 2005 Thousands of scientists were scrambling Tuesday at the urging of global health authorities to destroy vials of a pandemic flu strain sent to labs in 18 countries as part of routine testing. The rush, urged by the World Health Organization, was sparked by a slim, but real, risk that the samples, could spark a global flu epidemic. The vials of virus sent by a U.S. company went to nearly 5,000 labs, mostly in the United States, officials said. Company Thought Flu Virus Was ‘Innocuous’ –The company at the center of distress over its shipment of samples of a killer flu virus to thousands of labs apparently wasn’t even aware it had sent such a deadly virus. The College of American Pathologists, which helps labs do proficiency testing, had asked Meridian Bioscience Inc. in suburban Cincinnati to send test kits of germs to about 4,700 labs – mostly in the United States, but also in 17 other countries. [Insert *bleeping morons* comment here.] How “Socialist” Medical Lab in Canada Saved the World from a New Flu Pandemic –A Sickening Error –by Dave Lindorff “It’s enough to make you sick isn’t it? Some $40 billion spent on ‘Homeland Security’ in 2004 and another $50 billion going into the same sinkhole in 2005, with billions of those dollars specifically targeting ‘bio terror,’ and a mistake (or stupid decision) by a biological lab made last fall had a deadly flu virus capable of creating a global pandemic getting mailed out to several thousand unsuspecting testing labs… And how was this accidental terror ‘device’ detected? Not by the alert folks at Tom Ridge’s or Mike Chertoff’s Homeland Security Department, but by an alert technician working for the ‘socialist health care system’ in Manitoba, Canada, who tested the virus in the kit and determined that it was the same strain of flu virus that caused a worldwide flu pandemic in 1957 and who immediately alerted the World Health Organization and the U.S. Center for Disease Control.” 71% of ducks in southern Vietnam infected with bird flu 13 Apr 2005 Initial testing showed that 71 percent of ducks and 21.4 percent of chickens in Vietnam’s 11 southern localities in the Mekong Delta are infected with bird flu virus strain H5. Up to 80 percent of 2,000 samples taken from ducks raised in Can Tho city alone, which is home to some 1.5 million poultry, were tested positive to H5… citing results by the country’s Regional Veterinarian Centeras. Legislators hear about possibility of a major flu outbreak 12 Apr 2005 It is not a question of whether a major flu pandemic like the three that killed millions of people in the 1900s will surface, but when it will strike, public health experts warned at a State House forum (Boston) yesterday. Nobel scientist warns on bird flu 13 Apr 2005 Avian flu – caught directly from birds, and which kills in seven cases out of 10 – could suddenly sweep through the human population, killing 70 million people according to World Health Organisation estimates, a Nobel laureate warned yesterday. EU mulls bird flu pandemic fund 13 Apr 2005 The European Union should be able to dip into a 1 billion euro (680,000 million pound) disaster fund to buy emergency vaccines and anti-viral drugs if there were bird flu pandemic, the EU executive Commission says. Indonesia detects bird flu virus in pigs 11 Apr 2005 The Compas newspaper in Indonesia on April 10 reported that the country has detected the bird flu virus in pigs. This is a new development concerning bird flu in Indonesia as the avian virus has traditionally been found only in poultry. Fear bio-terrorists may spread plague –Diplomats pull out of Angola, ravaged by Ebola-like Marburg 11 Apr 2005 While the death toll continues to rise in Angola from an outbreak of the deadly Ebola-like Marburg disease, there are intelligence reports that ‘Islamic terrorists’ [Bush terrorists] might deliberately infect themselves to spread the plague to the West, according to a report in the premium, online, intelligence newsletter Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. Information collected on the disease is behind a decision by a number of diplomatic delegations to pull out of the country, according to G2 Bulletin. Toll from Marburg virus nears 200 11 Apr 2005 The death toll in Angola from the world’s deadliest outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus has inched towards the 200 mark with nine more deaths, according to the health ministry and the UN World Health Organisation. “As of noon, the total number of cases nationwide is 218 and 193 people have died,” a joint statement said. Teams Back In Panicked Virus Zone 10 Apr 2005 The World Health Organization has resumed operations in a western Angolan province hit by a deadly Ebola-like virus, after suspending work last week when residents attacked its teams, the WHO said Sunday. Residents in Uige province had feared the WHO teams were spreading — instead of helping contain — the rare Marburg virus, which has killed 184 people out of a total 200 people infected, WHO’s spokesman in Angola said. Marburg team assaulted in Angola, WHO halts campaign 10 Apr 2005 Members of the World Health Organization were assaulted in Uige, Angola by residents. The residents feared the team may be spreading the Marburg virus. Marburg virus was first recognized in 1967, when outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever occurred simultaneously in [US bioterror?] laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Angola Med-Aid Workers Attacked 10 Apr 2005 The World Health Organization has halted a campaign against a Marburg virus outbreak in Angola after residents assaulted its teams in apparent fear that they could be spreading the deadly infection. The medical team’s vehicles were set upon Thursday in the Uige district of northwestern Angola, the outbreak’s epicenter, the WHO said on its Web site. Cambodia confirms third bird flu death 10 Apr 2005 Cambodia has confirmed its third fatality from the deadly bird flu virus, with an eight-year-old girl becoming the latest victim to die in the kingdom. Attacks briefly halt WHO campaign in Angola 10 Apr 2005 World Health Organisation (WHO) teams fighting [fomenting?] an outbreak of Marburg virus in Angola were forced to temporarily suspend work in one area after scared residents stoned their vehicles, officials say. To Contain Virus in Angola, Group Wants Hospital Closed 10 Apr 2005 An international medical charity battling a hemorrhagic fever that so far has killed 181 Angolans has urged the government to close the regional hospital here, at the center of the outbreak, saying the medical center itself is a source of the deadly infection. Doctors Without Borders, the global relief organization that runs an isolation ward at the hospital for victims of the deadly fever, Marburg virus, told Angolan officials on Friday that the hospital should be closed if the rapidly spreading epidemic was to be contained. Marburg virus death toll hits 180 08 Apr 2005 2005 cases have been reported — The World Health Organization is investigating an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in northwestern Angola, it said Friday. Marburg spreads as death toll hits 174 08 Apr 2005 The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday called for stepping up measures in Angola to halt the further spread of the deadly Marburg virus, which has killed 174 people mainly in the north of the country. CDC Moving to Double Quarantine Stations 07 Apr 2005 CDC officials told lawmakers Wednesday that they are moving to more than double the number of quarantine stations used to evaluate and detain travelers from overseas who enter the country ill with potentially dangerous contagious illnesses. The agency currently operates 11 of the stations near major ports of entry but expects to have 18 operational by the end of 2005 and eventually expand the number to 25, they said. Delta Handing Over Passenger Lists to CDC 07 Apr 2005 Although privacy experts worry about the government gathering personal information on airline travelers, Delta Airlines (DAL) is handing over electronic lists of passengers from some flights to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [sic]. Delta giving passenger lists to government to prevent spread of diseases 06 Apr 2005 Delta Air Lines agreed to give the government electronic lists of passengers on some flights – not to help track down terrorists, but to try to head off the spread of deadly infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [sic] told a congressional panel Wednesday that the lists will allow health officials to more quickly notify and advise travellers who might have been exposed to illnesses such as dengue, flu, plague, SARS or biological agents. [?!?] …Last week Dictator George W. Bush signed an executive order authorizing the government to quarantine people to deal with any outbreak of new strains of flu, including bird flu. WHO Expert: Bird Flu Strains Could Combine 06 Apr 2005 Two strains of bird flu in Asia may combine to create a highly lethal and easily transmissible virus, a U.N. health official warned Wednesday, amid widespread fears that the disease could cause the next human pandemic. Bird flu claims 50th Asian victim, officials say 06 Apr 2005 Asia’s death toll from bird flu rose to 50 on Wednesday when health officials and a hospital doctor confirmed two additional deaths in Vietnam. Vietnamese doctor dies of unidentified disease 05 Apr 2005 A doctor from Vietnam’s northern Quang Ninh province has died from acute pneumonia caused by an unidentified disease, although several treatment procedures including those for bird flu and SARS patients were used. Doctors investigate ‘flu-like symptoms’ in “TOPOFF 3″ terror drill –Biggest ever terror drill in United States begins 05 Apr 2005 The largest anti-terror drill ever undertaken in the United States started on Monday with police officers investigating a fake car accident on a college campus and health officials on the lookout for a mock biological attack. Reporters, briefed by officials as though a real attack were happening, were told that a phone tip led officers to a motor vehicle accident where car registrations did not match the vehicles. Meanwhile, doctors were expected to try to connect the incident to a fake patient who had been admitted to a hospital Sunday night with “flu-like symptoms.” The $16 million, weeklong drill is named “TOPOFF 3″ for top state and national officials. In addition to the New Jersey attack, it is to include a fake [we hope] chemical weapons attack in New London, Connecticut, starting later Monday. Two States Are ‘Attacked’ in a Major Terrorism Drill 05 Apr 2005 Hundreds of actors writhed in simulated pain in Connecticut after staged terrorist attacks on Monday, and thousands more went to New Jersey hospitals complaining of mysterious flulike symptoms, as the Department of Homeland Security began the largest terrorism drill ever conducted in the United States. North Korean bird flu outbreak not the feared strain 05 Apr 2005 An outbreak of bird flu on three large poultry farms in North Korea has been tentatively identified as the H7 strain of the virus – not the H5N1 strain that has been killing people and poultry across east Asia for more than a year. But UN officials have revealed to New Scientist that the evidence for this is only indirect. N Korean bird flu ‘different’ 05 Apr 2005 A strain of bird flu infecting poultry in North Korea is different from that which killed scores of people in other parts of Asia, a UN expert has said. Hans Wagner, an official for the Food and Agriculture Organization, said the birds were infected with the H7 strain. Bird flu strain detected in North Korea “first for Asia” 05 Apr 2005 A strain of bird flu previously undetected in Asia has been found in North Korea, a top U.N. expert said on Tuesday. Hans Wagner, a senior official with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), told Reuters Television in Beijing after a week-long visit to North Korea the strain was H7. Two Bird Flu Suspects in Hospital in Vietnam 05 Apr 2005 Two more Vietnamese, a 12-year-old girl and a woman, are in hospital with suspected bird flu, the official Vietnam News Agency said on Tuesday. New bird flu case reported in Vietnam 04 Apr 2005 Vietnamese authorities on Monday confirmed another human bird flu case, but said the patient in central Vietnam was recovering from the disease which has killed at least 48 people in the region. Angola Marburg death toll climbs 03 Apr 2005 The death toll in Angola from an outbreak of the rare Marburg virus has risen sharply to 146 people, the country’s health ministry has said. The outbreak, which began last October in Uige province, is the most serious ever recorded of the virus, a fast-spreading haemorrhagic fever. Is Marburg Virus in Angola a Recombinant?* 02 Apr 2005 (Recombinomics) “Comments by WHO on the recent Marburg outbreak in Angola, cited some historical information of Marburg that does not match the current data from Angola. The Marburg virus is acting much more like Ebola than with Marburg associated characteristics seen in prior outbreaks. Although both viruses are closely related Filovirdae, they are readily distinguishable. Initial data on the isolates from Angola indicated that they were not Ebola. This was confirmed by sequence data showing that the Marburg was in the samples from Angola.” [*Recombinant DNA is DNA that has been created artificially. DNA from two or more sources is incorporated into a single recombinant molecule.] Flu Pandemic Coming, U.S. Not Prepared 01 Apr 2005 Immediate action is needed to prepare the United States for a deadly pandemic of influenza, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is telling policymakers. Hong Kong Stadium may be used as clinic if bird flu hits 01 Apr 2005 Hong Kong Stadium could be turned into a huge outpatient clinic in the event of a major outbreak of bird flu, health authorities said. The 40,000-seat stadium in Causeway Bay is an option because it could house hundreds of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in one location. ***** Bird flu could put Britain in quarantine, warns scientist 27 Mar 2005 Offices and schools across Britain could be closed to protect workers if bird flu arrives, the Ministry of Defence’s chief scientist has warned. Professor Roy Anderson, a leading infectious diseases expert, said politicians will face difficult decisions about how far to close down Britain if it is struck by a highly contagious form of the disease. Cirebon city locked down over bird flu outbreak 31 Mar 2005 Following the uncontrolled spread of bird flu, West Java authorities have stopped all poultry traffic into the area to prevent the problem from getting worse after the disease hit poultry farms in the province, an official said on Wednesday. The isolation of Cirebon, which has been declared an epidemic area of bird flu in West Java, is expected to prevent a further spread of the disease, which has also hit several other regencies in Central Java. Bird flu spreading fast in Asia 30 Mar 2005 South Korea has sent a message to rival North Korea offering to help it contain its first acknowledged outbreak of bird flu. The South’s Yonhap news agency said North Korean authorities were struggling to control the outbreak, and the disease was spreading quickly to provinces without adequate quarantine controls. Four More Vietnamese Suspected to Have Bird Flu 29 Mar 2005 Vietnam has four more suspected human cases of the bird flu which has killed 49 people in Asia since the end of 2003, medical officials and a doctor said on Wednesday. 5 in Vietnamese family infected with bird flu 29 Mar 2005 A five-person family from Vietnam’s northern Hai Phong city have been infected with bird flu virus strain H5N1, local newspaper Labor reported Tuesday. CDC sending team to Angola virus outbreak 29 Mar 2005 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to send a team to the Republic of Angola to help control [spread?] what appears to be one of the worst outbreaks of the Marburg virus ever reported, United Press International has learned. Ebola-like virus kills 122 in Angola 29 Mar 2005 The toll from the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Angola rose with the death of a baby to 122, just one fatality short of the most serious outbreak recorded anywhere, a health ministry spokesman said yesterday. Emergency services plan for 750,000 deaths in flu pandemic 27 Mar 2005 Mortuaries and emergency services are to be put on alert and told to prepare for up to three-quarters of a million deaths from a bird flu pandemic, The Independent on Sunday can reveal. Emergency planners have begun to look for sites for special mortuaries, each capable of storing 1,000 bodies, and the Home Office is to hold an exercise this summer to practise coping with mass fatalities. The instruction, to go out from the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the Cabinet Office body in charge of emergencies, explodes the Government’s public position that the pandemic could be expected to kill only “around 50,000″ people in Britain. Killer flu hits North Korea 28 Mar 2005 North Korea yesterday acknowledged an outbreak of bird flu for the first time, saying hundreds of thousands of chickens were killed to prevent its spread, and that the disease wasn’t passed on to humans. One killed by avian flu 26 Mar 2005 HANOI —Three more cases of avian flu were reported yesterday including one fatality in the northern and central regions. Ebola-like virus deaths rise in Angola, travel warning issued 27 Mar 2005 Another young woman died of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Angola, officials said, as the death toll in the deadly outbreak rose to almost equal the most serious outbreak ever recorded. Some 121 people died since the haemorrhagic virus first broke out in the northern town of Uige in October, while five more people have been hospitalised, bringing the toll of sick to 132. Ebola-like virus death toll rises 27 Mar 2005 People have been warned against travel to Angola after the death toll from the Ebola-like Marburg bug rose to 121. Cda sends unique lab to test for fatal virus in Angola; more than 100 dead 26 Mar 2005 Canada is sending a one-of-a-kind portable laboratory to Angola to help contain an Ebola-like fever that has killed more than 100 people since October. SARS may spread in air, new studies warn 25 Mar 2005 New research suggests the SARS virus, which killed 800 people after emerging in China in 2003, may spread through the air, and not just through human contact, making it more dangerous than previously thought. Ebola-Like Virus Death Toll Up in Angola 25 Mar 2005 The death toll from an Ebola-like fever in Angola rose to 112 on Friday, with three deaths reported in Lusaka for the first time. Cambodia confirms village bird flu outbreak 26 Mar 2005 Cambodia on Saturday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu at a village near the Vietnamese border but cleared one suspected human case of the deadly disease. Two New Bird Flu Cases Found in Vietnam, One Dead 25 Mar 2005 Two more Vietnamese have caught bird flu, one of whom who has died, local health officials said, as the World Health Organization met with the government to discuss reports of a flu-like illness in central Vietnam. US starts bird flu vaccine test in humans 23 Mar 2005 The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said Wednesday it has started human tests of a vaccine against H5N1 bird flu in efforts to prepare to respond to [create?] a possible bird flu pandemic. Vietnam Flu Outbreak Sparks Fresh Concerns 24 Mar 2005 Health experts are rushing to investigate reports of a widespread flu outbreak in central Vietnam. The reports come just two weeks after a five-year-old boy in the same area was found to have avian flu. Influenza vaccine uses insect cells to speed development 21 Mar 2005 Using a strategy involving a genetically modified baculovirus and caterpillar cells scientists from Protein Sciences Corporation have been able to speed up a key step in the development of an experimental cell-based influenza vaccine. They report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting. Vietnam Flu Outbreak Sparks Fresh Concerns 24 Mar 2005 Health experts are rushing to investigate reports of a widespread flu outbreak in central Vietnam. The reports come just two weeks after a five-year-old boy in the same area was found to have avian flu. Bird flu kills 48th victim 24 Mar 2005 Bird flu had killed a 28-year-old Cambodian man, officials said today, the 48th Asian victim of a virus experts fear could unleash a global influenza pandemic capable of killing millions of people. Bird flu spreading in Makassar, C. Java 24 Mar 2005 In the Central Java town of Boyolali, thousands of quails have reportedly died in Klego district over the last 10 days due to a suspected outbreak of bird flu. Spread of Deadly Flu Virus Imminent? 23 Mar 2005 Clouds of uncertainty are gathering over whether this coming winter will bring with it the deadly Avian Flu Virus which could claim lives if serious preventative measures are not taken. Myanmar Asked to Check Bird Flu Report – FAO 23 Mar 2005 The United Nations food agency has asked Myanmar authorities to check a report of a possible outbreak of Asia’s deadly bird flu in the military-ruled country, a U.N. official said on Wednesday. Angola: Health officials identify Marburg virus, 96 dead 23 Mar 2005 A deadly hemorrhagic fever which has claimed the lives of 96 people, mainly children, in Angola’s northern Uige province has been identified as the rare Marburg virus, officials from the Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) said late on Tuesday. The illness was first spotted in Uige and is from the same family as the deadly Ebola virus. Rare virus blamed for 96 deaths 23 Mar 2005 An illness that had killed nearly 100 people in northern Angola was identified today as the rare Marburg virus, which is from the same family as the deadly Ebola disease, state and UN officials said. Described as “very virulent” and “very contagious” and transmitted through bodily fluids, the haemorrhagic fever threatens to spread from the northern Uige province to other parts of the country. Bird Flu Pandemic Coming, U.S. Not Prepared, Infectious Diseases Society of America 23 Mar 2005 Immediate action is needed to prepare the United States for a deadly pandemic of influenza, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is telling policymakers. Bird flu epidemic could kill as many as 750,000 in Britain: estimate 22 Mar 2005 Hundreds of thousands of people may die and one quarter of the work force could be absent if Britain were hit by a bird flu pandemic, a senior government official said. “It may be somewhere between 20,000 and 750,000 extra deaths and it may be 25 percent of the population off work,” the government official, speaking on a non-attributable basis, told a conference in London. Vietnamese man suspected to contract bird flu 23 Mar 2005 A middle-aged man from Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province has been hospitalized for being suspected of contracting bird flu virus strain H5N1, according to local newspaper Youth on Wednesday. Vietnamese commune under scrutiny over suspected flu epidemic 22 Mar 2005 A Vietnamese commune where a five-year-old boy tested positive to avian flu last week is under scrutiny after local inhabitants reported a flu epidemic, doctors said. Health authorities were investigating after a local newspaper said 200 people had flu symptoms at the Chau Hoa commune in central Quang Binh province, 400 kilometers south of Hanoi. Expert: Asia flu cases may be undercounted 21 Mar 2005 The incidence of a particularly lethal variation of influenza in Southeast Asia is probably greater than has been reported so far, a flu expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Death of Vietnamese girl attributed to bird flu 21 Mar 2005 A 13-year-old girl from Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province, who died on March 9, has just been found to contract bird flu virus strain H5N1, local newspaper Young People reported Monday. Bird flu a big security challenge: Rudd 20 Mar 2005 Bird flu was emerging as a large scale security concern for Australia, opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said. …Health officials are concerned that avian influenza strain H5N1 could spark a deadly global pandemic if the virus mutates into a form that spreads easily from person to person. Mr Rudd, who heads off on a visit to South-East Asia later on Sunday, said he would be discussing the issue with officials in Thailand and Cambodia and canvassing the effectiveness of quarantine and border controls. Bird flu hits central province, 195 locals show symptoms 20 Mar 2005 A commune in central Vietnam has been severely hit by the bird flu, with 195 patients showing symptoms and two children testing positive with the virus, reported a top provincial official. EU official warns of deadly flu pandemic 19 Mar 2005 EU officials are already preparing for the possibility that a global flu epidemic, which could cause up to 30 million deaths, might break out in the next few years, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou said during a press conference in Athens yesterday. Angola: Death toll from mystery fever rises to 77 18 Mar 2005 The number of people killed by a mystery illness in Angola’s northern Uige province has risen to 77, health officials said on Friday. The cause of the outbreak, characterised by fever, coughing and vomiting, sometimes with blood, is still unknown. But the government is so concerned it has sent blood samples to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, the officials said. Acute Hemorrhagic Fever in Angola and Bird Flu Similarities 18 Mar 2005 (Recombinomics) “There are a number of parallels between the mystery Ebola/dengue hemorrhagic fever-like disease in Angola and bird flu. Like the hemorrhagic fever disease in Angola, H5N1 in Vietnam began as a mysterious disease primarily infecting children…” Vietnam detects new bird flu patient 18 Mar 2005 Specimens from a five-year-old boy from Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province has just been tested positive to bird flu virus strain H5N1, raising the total number of infection in the country to 25 since mid-December 2004, the newspaper Saigon Liberation reported Friday. US plans for plague, flu and nuclear bomb attack 17 Mar 2005 A nuclear bomb in a big city, plague released into an airport washroom and food stocks laced with anthrax are three of fifteen doomsday scenarios inadvertently published by American security chiefs yesterday. One of the most deadly of the 15 scenarios is a flu pandemic, which begins in southern China and spreads within months to four leading American cities, claiming the lives of 87,000 and putting 300,000 in hospital, the plans estimate. Vietnam detects one more suspected bird flu case 17 Mar 2005 A person from Vietnam’s northern Bac Ninh province has just been hospitalized for being suspected of contracting bird flu virus strain H5N1, according to local newspaper Pioneer on Thursday. Bird flu may have hit N Korea 16 Mar 2005 The World Health Organisation (WHO) was investigating on Wednesday reports of a bird flu outbreak last month in North Korea that may have killed thousands of chickens, a news report said. South Korean scientists say kimchi could cure bird flu 15 Mar 2005 An extract of South Korea’s famed spicy fermented cabbage dish known as kimchi could cure bird flu and other chicken diseases, scientists said. Researchers at Seoul National University said chickens infected with the deadly bird flu virus began recovering a week after they were fed with fermented bacilli extracted from kimchi. WHO fears bird flu will be the next pandemic 15 Mar 2005 (ABC Radio, PM) Reporter: David Mark “MARK COLVIN: The Great Flu epidemic of 1918 killed more people than had died in the entire four years of the First World War. No other statistic can convey so starkly why health authorities now are so worried about the potential of avian influenza, or bird flu. H5N1 is its scientific name, and the World Health Organisation says it could be the next great pandemic. The virus has killed 46 people in South East Asia in the past year, but WHO believes it could kill 100-million.” Doctors Suspect Bird Flu Killed Vietnamese Man 15 Mar 2005 A Vietnamese man who died at the weekend may have been killed by the bird flu virus that has claimed the lives of 46 people in Asia since 2003, a doctor said Tuesday. WHO warns of human bird flu mutation 04 Mar 2005 The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the bird flu virus may be changing into a form that humans can pass on. The WHO is worried that bird flu, which has killed 47 people in Asia, could mutate into an easily spread form that sparks the next influenza pandemic. Bird Flu Clusters May Signal Virus Change – WHO 14 Mar 1005 A cluster of human bird flu cases among relatives and possibly health workers in Vietnam may show the virus is changing into a form that can be passed on by humans, the World Health Organization said. The WHO is worried that bird flu, which has killed 47 people in Asia, could mutate into an easily spread form that sparks the next influenza pandemic, killing millions. Flu bigger threat than 9/11 13 Mar 2005 Britain’s capital city is “more at risk” from bird flu than a terrorist atrocity on the scale of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York, London mayor Ken Livingstone said on Sunday. “We’re more at risk of dying from bird flu that we are of being blown up by a terrorist,” he told BBC television. Bird flu greater risk than terrorists, says Livingstone 13 Mar 2005 Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, has hit out at the new anti-terror laws, saying people were at more risk from bird flu than al-Qa’eda. Scientists slams UK bird flu plans 13 Mar 2005 A leading scientist has attacked the government’s preparations to deal with a potential human bird flu pandemic. Bird flu could kill 2 million Britons 13 Mar 2005 Two million Britons could die in the bird flu pandemic that experts warn is both imminent and inevitable, one of the country’s leading authorities has told The Independent on Sunday. Scientist attacks UK bird flu preparation 13 Mar 2005 A leading scientist has attacked the government over its contingency plans to deal with a human bird flu pandemic, saying over two million Britons could die. Professor Hugh Pennington, president of the Society for General Microbiology, told the Independent on Sunday a pandemic was both imminent and inevitable. Anger at MSPs’ priority for life-saving flu drug 13 Mar 2005 Scottish ministers and their civil servants are set to be issued with the antiviral drug that will be used to combat the impending flu pandemic – ahead of children, pregnant women and the elderly. The Sunday Herald can reveal that Jack McConnell’s colleagues in the Executive will be among the first workers providing “essential” services to be protected from a health threat that could kill up to 50,000 Scots. News of the special treatment has angered opposition MSPs who believe that politicians should not be jumping the queue for vital treatments. Pandemic fear as bird flu infects nurses 13 Mar 2005 Health experts are watching the spread of deadly bird flu among humans with increasing concern after doctors reported a second suspected case yesterday among medical staff treating a victim. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given a warning that the flu, which has killed 47 people in Asia, could mutate into a form that spreads quickly between humans and trigger a global pandemic. Bird flu epidemic a matter of time, CDC says 12 Mar 2005 Fear-Mongering? After making predictions using computer models, the Center for Disease Control warned that an outbreak of bird flu is not a matter of if but when. Amid rising fears of a spread of bird flu to humans, the Center for Disease Control yesterday fleshed out plans to battle a potential flu epidemic that could hospitalize as many as 75,000 people, according to some estimates. Bird flu infections in north Vietnam prompt new concerns over virus 12 Mar 2005 A string of bird flu infections in northern Vietnam involving several families has raised troubling questions over whether the deadly virus that has killed 46 people in Asia may be changing, health experts said Thursday. Vietnam provides new numbers on avian flu cases, breaking information logjam 11 Mar 2005 The Vietnamese government reported 10 human cases of avian influenza to the World Health Organization on Friday, breaking a five-week silence on the human toll the strain known as H5N1 has taken in that country. Vietnam detects new bird flu patient 09 Mar 2005 A healthy 81-year-old man from Vietnam’s northern Thai Binh province, maternal grandfather of two bird flu patients, has just been confirmed to contract H5N1, while the World Health Organization (WHO) found the virus in samples from seven local people, according to local newspaper Youth Wednesday. WHO: 7 Vietnamese Patients Have Bird Flu 08 Mar 2005 The World Health Organization said Tuesday that seven Vietnamese patients who initially tested negative for bird flu have been found to be carrying the virus after their samples were retested. 4 New Human Cases of Avian Flu Are Reported in Vietnam 08 Mar 2005 Vietnam has reported four new cases of human avian influenza, including those of a 21-year-old man and his 14-year-old sister, the World Health Organization said yesterday. Author airs conspiracy theory on Im’s death –Someone stabbed 72-year-old retired research Professor Jeong Im multiple times in the Maryland Avenue parking garage at the University of Missouri-Columbia, put him in the trunk of his Honda and set the car on fire. A national radio talk-show guest has theorized the killing was part of a plot to kill off key microbiologists in the world before unleashing “the ultimate epidemic.” Steve Quayle, a self-published author and newsletter writer from Bozeman, Mont., told listeners of “Coast to Coast AM” that Im was the 40th microbiologist to die under suspicious circumstances in four years and was perhaps among those specializing in vaccines and bio-weapons research. Simulated smallpox terror attack conducted in Washington –Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former French health minister Bernard Kouchner were among the dignitaries playing the role of president of their respective countries in an exercise conducted here to explore how governments around the Atlantic would react to a biological terrorist attack in the region. An unknown group called the “New Jihad” [Actually, it will be the Bush-Rove terror team that attacks. Let us now discuss the… ? 19 dead microbiologists since the (Fort Detrick-generated anthrax) murders in 2001. What *were-are* they working on???] was scripted as claiming responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for the West’s oppression of Muslim countries… The scenario continued with stock markets collapsing, and thousands trying to flee cities where the outbreaks were being reported. UK ‘Societal Disruption’ doc: ‘mass casualties, maintenance of public order, role of police and armed forces’ Emergency warning as global flu epidemic fears grow –Planning advice warns of disastrous effects –UK emergency services have been put on alert as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that a potentially deadly from of bird flu that affects humans could spark a global epidemic this winter. An emergency planning document spelling out the disastrous likely consequences of such an epidemic has already been distributed to government agencies. …The UK government believes high levels of death and illness could lead to public disorder. Quarantine, travel restrictions and the issuing of face masks are all being considered as protective measures. Under the heading “Societal Disruption” the document says the government “needs to consider maintenance of essential services such as … utilities [and] communication; management of mass casualties; maintenance of public order; the role of police and armed forces”. Microbiologist Death Toll Mounts As Connections To Dyncorp, Hadron, Promis Software & Disease Research Emerge –A Career In Microbiology Can Be Harmful to Your Health (Revised/Updated) by Michael Davidson and Michael C. Ruppert 03 Mar 2002 In the four-month period from Nov. 12 through Feb. 11, seven world-class microbiologists in different parts of the world were reported dead. Six died of ‘unnatural’ causes, while the cause of the seventh’s death is questionable. Also on Nov. 12, DynCorp, a major government contractor for data processing, military operations and intelligence work, was awarded a $322 million contract to develop, produce and store vaccines for the Department of Defense. DynCorp and Hadron, both defense contractors connected to classified research programs on communicable diseases, have also been linked to a software program known as PROMIS, which may have helped identify and target the victims. In the six weeks prior to Nov. 12, two additional foreign microbiologists were reported dead. Some believe there were as many as five more microbiologists killed during the period, bringing the total as high as 14. These two to seven additional deaths, however, are not the focus of this story. This same period also saw the deaths of three persons involved in medical research or public health.” Scientists’ deaths are under the microscope by Alanna Mitchell, Simon Cooper and Carolyn Abraham – compiled by Alanna Mitchell 04 May 2002 “It’s a tale only the best conspiracy theorist could dream up. Eleven microbiologists mysteriously dead over the span of just five months. Some of them world leaders in developing weapons-grade biological plagues. Others the best in figuring out how to stop millions from dying because of biological weapons. Still others, experts in the theory of bioterrorism… Suspicious deaths –The sudden and suspicious deaths of 11 of the world’s leading microbiologists [list].” The Very Mysterious Deaths of Five Microbiologists by Ian Gurney 20 Dec 2001 “It is a story worthy of a major conspiracy theory, the script for a Mel Gibson ‘Who dunnit?’ action movie, or a blueprint for a contrived and unbelievable episode of ‘The X Files’. …Over the past few weeks several world-acclaimed scientific researchers specializing in infectious diseases and biological agents such as Anthrax, as well as DNA sequencing, have been found dead or have gone missing.” http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html
i don't know
Which American author wrote the book The Catcher In The Rye in 1951 ?
The 100 best novels: No 72 – The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951) | Books | The Guardian The 100 best novels The 100 best novels: No 72 – The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951) JD Salinger’s study of teenage rebellion remains one of the most controversial and best-loved American novels of the 20th century JD Salinger in New York, November 1952. He was soon to move to Cornish, New Hampshire, where he became ever more reclusive. Photograph: San Diego Historical Society/Getty Images Share on Messenger Close JD Salinger’s Holden Caulfield is to the 20th century what Huckleberry Finn is to the 19th: the unforgettably haunting voice of the adolescent at odds with a troubling world. Holden, the opposite of Huck, is an unhappy rich boy who has done a bunk from his posh secondary school, Pencey Prep, in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. He begins his first-person narrative in words that echo the famous opening of Twain’s novel ( No 23 in this series ), a frank disavowal of “all that David Copperfield kind of crap”. Holden declares that he isn’t going to tell us “about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down”. Actually, that’s just what he does, writing (apparently in retrospect from California) about three days in December 1949 when, having been chastised by his school “for not applying myself”, he plays truant over a long and memorable weekend in Manhattan. Holden is tortured by the battle to come to terms with himself, with his little sister Phoebe, and their dead brother Allie. Like many adolescents, he feels that the world is an alien, hostile and comfortless place run by “phonies”. One of the many remarkable things about Salinger’s portrayal of Holden Caulfield is that he seems to be fully inside the head of this troubled 16-year-old when the author himself was almost twice that age. Salinger had fought in Europe as an infantryman, after landing at Utah Beach on D-day, and later saw action at the Battle of the Bulge. Quite a lot of the downtown action in The Catcher in the Rye (a night out in a fancy hotel; a date with an old girlfriend; an encounter with a prostitute, and a mugging by her pimp) might almost as well describe a young soldier’s nightmare experience of R&R. That’s just one reading. Salinger’s masterpiece (he published comparatively little after its appearance) has also influenced later writers with angry protagonists, from Martin Amis’s Charles Highway to Philip Roth’s Portnoy and many others besides. The Catcher in the Rye remains the crazy, and often very funny, distorting mirror in which generations of British and American teenagers will examine themselves. At the same time, it instructs them to give nothing away to “the phonies” who ruin all our lives. “Don’t ever tell anybody anything,” says Holden Caulfield, echoing Huck Finn again. “If you do, you start missing everybody.” A note on the text (and its afterlife) The Catcher in the Rye had some difficulty finding a publisher. One editor judged its protagonist simply “crazy”. The New Yorker, which had favoured Salinger’s stories, stalled with indecision. Eventually, it was published on 16 July 1951, by Little, Brown in Boston, with a famous, award-winning cover designed by E Michael Mitchell. Salinger had been working towards his masterpiece, in sketches and drafts, for a decade and more. Some of his earliest short stories, written as a student, contain characters reminiscent of those in The Catcher in the Rye. Indeed, while still at Columbia, Salinger wrote a story, The Young Folks, that included a character described as a prototype of Sally Hayes (Holden’s old flame). In November 1941, Salinger also sold a story (Slight Rebellion Off Madison), featuring a disaffected teenager with “prewar jitters” named Holden Caulfield, to the New Yorker. After the outbreak of war, in which Salinger served as an infantryman, the piece was considered unpatriotic and did not get published until December 1946. Meanwhile, another story entitled I’m Crazy, containing material that was later used in The Catcher in the Rye, appeared in Collier’s magazine on 22 December 1945. Another long story about Holden Caulfield was accepted by the New Yorker for publication, although it never appeared. The Catcher in the Rye continues to hold its place as the defining novel of teenage angst and alienation. My friend, the critic Adam Gopnik, says it is one of the “three perfect books” in American literature (the others are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby , Nos 23 and 51 in this series). Gopnik says that “no book has ever captured a city better than The Catcher in the Rye captured New York in the 50s”. Book and author quickly acquired a mystique, partly abetted by Salinger, who cultivated his obscurity to the point of mania, becoming as secretive and self-obsessed as Holden Caulfield, in the words of the New York Times, “the Garbo of letters”. Apart from this novel, Salinger published just one collection of stories and two short books about the Glass family (see below), which some readers prefer. However, between 1961 and 1982, The Catcher in the Rye became more studied in the high schools and libraries of the United States than any other novel. By 1981, it was the second most taught book in the United States. Teenagers especially loved the book for what is taken as Holden Caulfield’s sponsorship of rebellion, combined with his promotion of drinking, smoking and sex. More seriously, there is the grimmer association of The Catcher in the Rye with the murder of John Lennon by Mark Chapman, and John Hinckley’s failed assassination of Ronald Reagan. Salinger himself remained sequestered from the world in New Hampshire. “There is a marvellous peace in not publishing,” he said, some 20 years after he first fell silent. Three more from JD Salinger Nine Stories (1953); Franny and Zooey (1961); Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963).
J. D. Salinger
Which children's animated character, a young boy first seen in 2005, was transformed when he found a mysterious device called 'The Omnitrix'?
The Role of Women in 'The Catcher in the Rye' By Esther Lombardi Updated February 17, 2016. Question: 'The Catcher in the Rye' - What is the role of women (and girls) in the novel? What is the role of women in the text? Is love relevant? Are relationships meaningful? Is Holden able to make any real (and lasting) connections with any other female character--young or older? Answer: Holden is a 16-year-old boy--in a coming-of-age novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. So, his viewpoint is colored by adolescent angst and awakening. So, who are the women/girls in his life? Mother: She is a presence in his life (but not a very nurturing force). She appears to have issues of her own to deal with (Holden says that she never got over his younger brother's death from leukemia). We can picture her sitting there--"nervous as hell," as he describes her. Neither she nor his father seem to attempt a connection with their son; instead, they ship him off to one boarding school after another, and remain emotionally and physically distant/removed. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World Phoebe: Holden's sister is a grounding force in his life. She's a smart 10-year-old kid, who hasn't lost her innocence yet (and he'd like to keep it that way). Holden describes her thus: "You'd like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the hell you're talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it's a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty good movie, she knows it's a pretty good movie." It appears that the events in her life have caused her to grow up too quickly, but she still retains some of her wonderful, kid-like charm. She truly cares for Holden, something he does not seem to experience from any of the others in his life. She offers a real connection. Jane Gallagher: Holden seems to think a great deal of this girl. He says that she reads "really good books." She also appears to be strategic: "wouldn't take her kings out of the back row." She's a tough girl, but still sensitive (wiping away the tear). She still has an innocence about her, which would be attractive to Holden. But, when he reaches out to her, she's not there. Sally Hayes: Holden calls her "one of those little skirts." She refuses to run away with him, saying: "You can't just do something like that." And, as she also points out: they're "practically children." Mrs. Morrow: He meets her on his train ride into New York City, but he lies to her. Study Guide
i don't know
Which popular animated characters, first seen in 1996 include many different characters including ones called Ash Ketchum, Tracy Sketchit and Gar Oak?
List of references to Pokémon in popular culture - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia Please remember to follow the manual of style and code of conduct at all times. Check BNN and Bulbanews for up-to-date Pokémon news and discuss it on the forums or in the Bulbagarden Discord server . List of references to Pokémon in popular culture From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia. Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it. This page contains material that may not be suitable for young readers. Viewer discretion is advised. This article contains fan speculation. There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article. References to the Pokémon franchise are often made in other media. While Pikachu is a common target due to its prominence as the mascot of the franchise, other Pokémon, characters, and elements of the various Pokémon series are often lampooned. Contents References in television broadcasts, movies, and radio Series/Movie 100 Greatest 100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross In 100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross, Pokémon was featured as the 37th greatest toy, with emphasis being on the TCG , and the problems it created for schools dealing with the theft of cards. Stride of Pride Pokémon is a recurring theme in this episode with one of Jack 's girlfriends. When referring to Jack's polygamy, she said that it was like Pokémon the way Jack had "gotta catch 'em all". Jack pluralizes Pokémon as "Pokémons" only to have her correct him. Jack brings up Pokémon numerous times throughout the episode in reference to his girlfriend, including referring to a text message he got as being "Pokémon'd". At the end of the episode, Liz writes a letter on her laptop, and also refers to "Pokémons" and her life as "little creatures running around". 97.3 Forth One N/A In an airing on 14 December 2011, the Pokémon Theme was briefly played, as the hosts mentioned that Pokémon was the top Christmas present at the height of its popularity. — Adventure Time Joshua and Margaret Investigations In one scene in the episode, Margaret is shown entering a weapons room. Among the weapons on the right wall is a small Poké Ball . Buck, Wild In the first act, Steve is upset about being seated at the kids' table, pointing out that the kids are playing with Pokémon cards and they are not very good. He yells at one of the kids for "wasting his Charizard ". — Animation Domination High-Def Scientifically Accurate: Pokémon Pokémon is spoofed in this series of ADHD shorts. References to kids being thrown into the wilderness alone, as well as some of the kinds of Pokémon such as "a pile of gears" (presumably a Klink ) and "a [EXPLETIVE] ice cream cone" (presumably Vanillite ). Pikachu Gets Pokémon Rabies A short features Ash and Misty walking when he runs into a man and his dog. Thinking it's a Pokémon, Ash orders Pikachu to attack the dog, who in turn bites Pikachu. Oak tells Ash that Pikachu has "PokéRabies" (a possible take on Pokérus ) and tells Ash he must put down Pikachu. Ash ties Pikachu to a tree and shoots him with a gun, citing that the first shot "wasn't very effective" and continues to fire at Pikachu until he dies. Ash sees Pikachu's spirit dragged to hell, to which Oak replies, "All Pokémon go to hell!" The short ends with Ash encountering another Pikachu. Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day Menma the Hero Tetsudō suggests that the wish Menma might want granted was to have a rare monster from a video game called "Nokezori Monsters" ("Nokémon" for short), which Jinta buys from the game shop Anaru works at. Some other games that were referenced were Gold, Opal, and Emerald. Austin Powers in Goldmember N/A The movie features people in costumes of Charmander and Pikachu among those running from "not Godzilla" in the Tokyo scene. The deleted scenes also feature background appearances of Meowth and Celebi costumes, the Pikachu car and a Dragonite plushie. Arthur Arthur Loses his Marbles Muffy says that she has fifty-four Dopeyman cards in a pack, in resemblance to Pokémon cards, and with one card a take on a Pikachu called "Stinkachu". Are We There Yet? The Bad Dream Episode After Nick says "You can't make a sequel for everything", Kevin says "They should've told that to the Pokémon people thirteen movies ago!" and then names all Pokémon movies up to M13 , including Mewtwo Returns . — One child asks "Santa" for Pokémon. — Barter Kings Tazed and Confused During interviews for a new employee, one of the interviewees cites his history as a collector of Pokémon cards as relevant work experience. — Ben 10: Omniverse Rook Tales Max Tennyson and Sheriff Wat-Senn are competitively fishing and catch two fish that look like Magikarp and Gyarados The Big Bang Theory The Cooper/Kripke Inversion Even after being taken off his joint checking account with his wife until he learned the value of money, Howard Wolowitz still spent his lunch's allowance on Pokémon cards . — The Indecision Amalgamation When Sheldon and Amy are at an electronics store and Sheldon is trying to decide between buying a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One, advertisements for Pokémon X and Y are seen. The Perspiration Implementation When Sheldon asks a woman out at a bar, he says "I choose you," which he claims Ash Ketchum did to Pikachu . He specifically mentions that he is referencing Pokémon. — The Chase UK 06/09/2016 During the Cash-Builder round, Bradley Walsh asked the contestant "The Pokémon character: Bunnelby is based on what real-world animal?". The contestant was unable to answer and passed the question. — Codename: Kids Next Door Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E. A character that can be seen in the audience looks similar to Ash in his original series clothes. Digital Estate Planning Hilda's long list of conversation topics includes " old man Trainer ", " fly on a bird", " cinnamon island ", and " seal along the shore", a reference to the Old man glitch . Also when Gilbert is escaping from Cornelius he changes into MissingNo. for a split-second. A character said, "What's up with you, Pikachu?" — Detective Conan Unknown Ash , Misty , and Brock make a cameo appearance as kids staying in a train station. However, the distinct facial features each possess, such as their hairstyles and Brock's eyes, were slightly altered and switched between them. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Absolutely the Worst! Nendou's Father Near the end of the episode, in order to stop Nendou's deceased father's spirit from following him, Kusuo Saiki detaches his soul from his body. He then proceeds to talk to the audience, saying "Now, boys and girls watching at home. Here's a question for you. I went from being a psychic to a ghost. Do you know what happens when a ghost-type fights a ghost-type in that world-famous video game? The answer is..." He then stops and performs an uppercut on Nendou's father, sending him into the sky, and then finishes his sentence by saying "...it's super effective!" — The Doctor and Nardole arrive at the Tokyo branch of Harmony Shoals. Nardole comments that it is empty The Doctor replies "Yes, I created a distraction. I flooded downstairs with Pokémon". — Drawn Together N/A One of the main characters, Ling-Ling , is a direct parody of Pikachu . He mentions that one of his pastimes is giving children seizures . Drunk History Boston After the retelling of the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft, a man says he knows how they must feel because he had $100 worth of Pokémon cards stolen as a kid including holographic Charizard (Base Set 4) , Blastoise (Base Set 2) , and Professor Oak (Base Set 88) . — Dustin in Fowl Play N/A When Dustin the Turkey was wondering what new job he should get, Socky asks "are we going to become Pokémon Trainers ?" — EastEnders N/A Doctor Anthony Trueman explains Yin and Yang to his ex Kat Slater , who then replied "Yin? Yang? You're not letting Pokémon characters take over your life?" — N/A As three characters discuss a recent incident at the local school in which a student stabbed and killed one of his fellow classmates, Babe Smith blames video games for the child's behaviour, saying that "one minute they're inside stealing cars , the next they're out chasing Pokémon!", in reference to Pokémon GO . — Emmerdale N/A Sandy Thomas plays an orange DSi, a sound effect from a Pokémon Ranger game is heard and he cries out in annoyance "Every time I get to the big boss Raikou on level 3, I need Gabby , only a child can work this wretched thing", much to his son Ashley 's annoyance. However, the music that is heard from the game is the initial encounter theme, which is inconsistent with what Sandy had stated to have happened. — A patient says "I am the chosen one , come to be known as Lugia ." — Evil Con Carne Search and Estroy In a parody of both Pokémon and Digimon , General Skarr and Major Dr. Ghastly create the "Poké-Digi Tank." Everybody Loves Raymond Hackidu The episode focuses "Hackidu", which is a spoof of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! . Ray's daughter Ally makes a trade with a boy, giving him a sizable stack of cards for just one of hers, called "Scramisaur." Ray thinks the trade is unfair, so he talks to the boy's father and the trade is reversed. Ray then learns that he should not have reversed the trade, and attempts to get the card back. Hackidu is also watched on TV during the episode. Fillmore! Test of the Tested A cheerleading coach says that her team, while in a human pyramid, is "as strong as a Geodude using its Harden attack". — Gabriel Iglesias N/A His friends have given him the nickname "Pikachu" and this is often referenced during his stand-up performances, occasionally mimicking Pikachu's voice. — George Lopez Unknown When George and Benny discuss ways to make money, the George suggests that the Benny pretend to be a Pikachu in Mexico. — Akane-san of the Broadcasting Room!! Voice of the Dead The Pokémon anime is referenced when Leo states that the broadcast begins right after Pokémon. — Good Luck Charlie A L.A.R.P. in the Park The episode features a card game called "Pokeo", based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Yu-Gi-Oh! . Type advantages are mentioned (" Grass power is no match for volcano power") and the chicken character "Chikapu" is a parody of Pikachu . A creature named "Slugmar" is also mentioned, presumably a portmanteau of Slugma and Magmar . Unknown Good Vibes The Grass is Always Greener When Mondo sees Woody's room for the first time, he comments on all the awards for competitions he has. Woody admits that many of them were purchased on ebay by his parents. Mondo then asks how much they spent on the "lame Pokémon tournament participant ribbon", a gold ribbon with a Pikachu on it, to which Woody claims that he won on his own. Grojband Super Zeroes In this episode, the lead guitarist Corey tries to come up with a gimmick for their band, and is seen in a purple Pikachu costume. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san Like a Close Encounter of the Third Kind and Great Conspiracy X Nyaruko summons her pets Shanta and Nephren-Car from a Poké Ball -esque object, during which she says 「君に決めた！」 Kimi ni kimeta! ("I choose you!") [1] [2] Hayate the Combat Butler Many episodes Pikachu has made background cameos; the pet tiger has referenced Pikachu when assuming himself to be the mascot character and in one episode the cast travel on a plane based on ANA Flights. In the sixth episode, a framed image of a blue Pikachu can be seen near the beginning of the episode. The image was based on one of Pikachu 's anime art. In some episodes, various sound effects and background music make a reference to Pokémon. Hiro Nakamura was called Pikachu once in each of those two episodes. — Hetalia: Axis Powers (dub) Episode 18 During a battle against the Axis Powers, America chooses China to fight and says, "China, I choose you!" After beating and capturing the Axis Powers, America then says, "Yeah, we caught them all!" — Himouto! Umaru-chan N/A During the opening of the series, a few video games are referenced, including what appears to be a cross between Pokémon and EarthBound . In it, Umaru appears on the stairs of a bedroom akin to the bedrooms of the protagonists of the franchise, walks to a table that has her signature hoodie and three Poké Balls, and interacts with the hoodie, causing a menu with a somewhat similar appearance to EarthBound's menu to appear. She then puts the hoodie on and goes to lay down on her bed, before flailing around. Hollyoaks Episode 4505 As Jude Cunningham leaves Nightingale's, Tony Hutchinson asks where she's going and Jude responds "To catch Pokémon", referring to Pokémon Go . — Perils of Paranoia While having a discussion with his diagnostic team, House says, "Which is why Arceus created a universe with three states of matter and 300 solid or liquid poisons that could cause his symptoms", upon which Taub asks, "Arceus?" House then suggests he look it up. — Highschool DxD I Get a Familiar! The familiar master, Zatouji (parody of Satoshi) is a parody of Ash Ketchum. He uses the phrase "Gotta catch 'em all" many times. — Infinite Stratos 2 Open Your Heart Tatenashi grabs Houki's breasts while saying Houki-chan getto da ze! ("Houki, caught you!"), a reference to the Japanese slogan of the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon getto da ze!. [3] — A 6-year-old Amy interviews states that the anime is one of his favorite TV shows. — Jackie Chan Adventures Tough Break A franchise called "Gnomekop" appears in an episode, which is Pokémon spelled backwards plus a "G". It also uses the slogan "Gotta collect 'em all", similar to Pokémon's Gotta catch 'em all! Johnny Bravo 20,000 Leagues Over My Head Clam-League 9000 is a show which Johnny Bravo watches and enjoys. Due to his addiction with the show, Johnny goes to great lengths to secure all of the Clam-League 9000 toys, but unfortunately goes about it by deep-sea diving for actual clams. The Clam-League 9000 is somewhat of a lampoon fusion of both Dragonball Z and Pokémon. The main rival characters of the show bear resemblance to Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo, the latter two being combined into one green skinned antagonist. Johnny Test Johnny'mon and The Return of Johnny'mon Two episodes featured Tinymon, with a Tinydex , Tiny Cubes that contain creatures, a character named Blast Ketchup , and the slogan "Gotta snatch 'em all!". The episodes feature a legendary Tinymon known as "Screechereen", which greatly resembles Shadow Lugia . Blast Ketchup's Tinymon, Kadoomerang, also slightly resembles Squirtle . Evolution and attacks are also featured. For example, Screechereen evolves from Cuddlebuns, who is said to be the weakest Tinymon. It turned out that it needs love in order for it to evolve into the legendary Tinymon. Something similar to link cables are also featured. In the plot, Johnny and his sisters get stuck in a Tinymon game and need to trade with a cable in order to get out. However, a battle must first be won in order to access that function. A victim was last seen on his way to a store to buy Pokémon cards. — The father of the victim's boyfriend stated that his son still has his Pokémon cards. — Let's Go Quintuplets! Make Up for Mother's Day There is a scene in which Krystal runs past a shop which has a Pikachu-esque plush in the window. Lucky Star Base of the Sun Kagami asks Konata if she has any talents besides making faces. Konata replies by stating that she can name every Pok***n. — The Famous Shooter The characters go to a festival, and Kagami has trouble catching fish as they just swim away from her. When she finally catches one, she shouts "get da ze!", which is " Gotta catch 'em all! " in Japanese. — Pandora's Box Konata states that Kinkaku-ji is gold, but Ginkaku-ji isn't silver, referencing both the Bell and Brass Towers , and Pokémon Gold and Silver . She also wonders if they're like Po*émon, and "if they have a Sapphire and Ruby or something". — MAD 2012 Dalmatians / Grey's in Anime In the " Grey's In Anime" skit, Derek Shepherd (who wears a hat similar to Ash's) throws a Poké Ball and summons a Pikachu lookalike, known as "Checkaflu", who shocks the patient and defibrillates him. Cliffordfield / Big Time Rushmore The episode features a skit about rejected Pokémon. Among these is Punchachu, a punching mouse with huge arms and small feet, whose Trainer looks like Max . Ironically, its special attack is kicking. Another rejected Pokémon is Glasstar, a bear-like creature made out of glass. Its special attack is "frailty". Another reject Pokémon is Buzzkill, an owl-based Pokémon that looks similar to Hoothoot , whose special attack is indifference. When told how it loves battles, all it said was, "meh" while shrugging its shoulders. The last reject Pokémon is Uncle Hank (who was just an old man). His special attack is Confusion ; all he does is get confused about what was going on. Pokémon Park / WWER The episode that features the skit "Pokémon Park", a spoof of Jurassic Park . An unknown Professor invites Ash (who has curly hair and glasses), Misty (who holds a Nintendo DS and has blond hair), Jessie (with blue hair) and James (with green hair). It features the Pokémon Charmander , Charizard , Magikarp , Gyarados , Pikachu , Pidgey , and Bulbasaur . "Yu-Gi-Oh! Island" and "Digimon Island" are mentioned too. The Straight A-Team / Gaming's Next Top Princess Misty is among the eliminated contestants in "Gaming's Next Top Princess", among the likes of Amy Rose , Felicia , Tifa Lockhart , Lara Croft , and Birdo . Pooh Grit / Not-A-Fan-A-Montana One skit features a brand of gum called "Big League Pika-Chew" (a take on Big League Chew ), made of real shredded Pikachu, and it helps people in baseball by giving the ball a shock when they hit it with a bat. Kung Fu Blander / Destroy, Bob the Builder, Destroy The "Kung Fu Blander" skit has Po, the main character of the Kung Fu Panda movie series, fighting the main villain of the second Kung Fu Panda movie, Shen. When he learns that only a hero in "black and white" can defeat Shen and that it isn't him, he resorts to pulling several items and characters matching the description to use against Shen. One of the objects Po pulls out is Reshiram and Zekrom . Twilight: Staking Dawn / Cookie Blue One skit shows "PokéHarmony", which spoofs the dating website eHarmony . It starts with a Geodude who can't get a date with a boulder, and then shows a female Hitmonchan paired up with a Machamp, a Bulbasaur who decided a Venusaur was right for her despite Venusaur being "evolved enough to be her father", Mewtwo, who didn't need anyone, and a Pikachu paired with a Jolteon. Ash Ketchum hosted the fake commercial. Men in Black to the Future / Pokémon of Interest The "Pokémon of Interest" segment was a crossover between Pokémon and Person of Interest . John Reese was assigned to capture a Psyduck and bring it to Harold Finch. When using Poké Balls didn't work, he hits it with a shovel. Harold then turns to Ash and asks "What have you been doing for 14 seasons?!", referencing how many seasons the anime was up to at this point. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus / The Adjustment Burro The "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus" skit was a crossover between the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Kid Icarus . In the skit, Pikachu is shown to be part of the gang that harasses Pit , and Ms. Pac-Man uses a Squirtle to extinguish a fire in the science lab. Pokémonsters, Inc. / Bane and Kate This skit was a crossover between Pokémon and Monsters, Inc. In this skit, Ash Ketchum ends up in the world of Monsters, Inc. and goes crazy, attempting to catch all of the monsters. His Pignite and Krookodile are featured as well (but have different body styles/colors) throughout the skit, along with his Pikachu who appeared briefly at the end, deciding to let his Trainer stay trapped inside a Poké Ball as some sort of revenge, although in the anime, Pikachu is always outside of it's Poké Ball. Les the Miz / The Lex Factor This episode featured a skit parodying The More You Know titled "The Less You Know". In this skit, the announcer claimed that Poké Balls were able to hold Pokémon because they're airtight, with a Trainer resembling Misty expressing disgust at the stench left behind after sending out her Squirtle . Jaws the Great and Powerful / Off Their Spockers This episode featured a spoof of Psych called Psyduck , with the tagline "They'll pretty much let anything be a cop these days". The Dullverine / Under the Dumb In the first sketch, a Japanese girl who tells Wolverine that they have to go to Japan to film The Wolverine is shown carrying a Pikachu umbrella. MADtv Season 5, Episode 16 In the "Reality Check" sketch, Belma Button mentions that she took her kids to Pokémon: The First Movie , chasting the Japanese for sending it to America. Tovah says, "Who drew it? Stevie Wonder?" and Belma says it sounds like the name of a homosexual Jamaican adult film. — Company Picnic (Part 1) Dewey is sitting at a picnic table with a boy and both Pokémon cards in their hand, and can be seen making a trade. There are also cards laid on the table. The boy then offers Dewey some candy, which he is not supposed to be eating due to hyperactivity. After eating it, Dewey freaks out and throws some of the cards in the air. Endless Eight ( part two ) Two Pikachu masks, a purple Turtwig mask, a yellow Chimchar mask, and an orange Piplup mask can be seen on display. Monte, Lily's classmate, said his hobby is collecting Pokémon. — Friday Night Frights When the ghost of Coach ED ( Clé Bennett ) haunts Ethan Morgan ( Matthew Knight ), threatening him that he'd ruin his life if he didn't win a trophy for their school, the young boy gets into a wrestling match with Kurt the Hurt ( William Greenblatt ). When it becomes clear that he cannot win, Ethan exclaims that he has "never won a fight" to which his friend Benny Weir ( Atticus Mitchell ) replies, "False; remember that time in grade 2 when I took your Pokémon lunchbox?" — Pain in the Class After finding out that his mother Susan Harper ( Zoë Wanamaker ) has invited the parents of his school bully round to solve his bullying problem, Michael ( Gabriel Thomson ) says 'goodbye' to some of his possessions, including his Pokémon cards, commenting that he only had 212 left to collect*. Christmas When Ultronian superhero Thermoman , aka. George Sunday ( Ardal O'Hanlon ) is visiting his cousin Arnie ( Lou Hirsch ) in Las Vegas to ask him about the human holiday of Christmas, he says that he doesn't understand Christmas as although it is the season of goodwill, he says he was in Manchester the previous day to stop a pitched battle. Arnie asks if it was between rival gangs, but George says it was "three mums wanting the last Pokémon". — The Norm Show Artie Comes to Town The first scene is a parody of Pokémon, as a boy named Tommy thought he was Ash. The skit featured actors dressed as Squirtle , Pikachu , Butterfree , Charmander , and Meowth . It features a Pokémon battle between Norm and Tommy. Oblivious N/A During a speed round in a sushi bar, Regan Burns asks the contestants, " Pikachu is a character in what cartoon?" Another one of the contestants answered the $20 worth question correctly, the answer being Pokémon . — Osmosis Jones N/A When Ozzy tries to stop Drix from leaving Frank's body, one of the germs carries a Pikachu, as a joke on allergies. Paper Towns N/A In the scene where Quentin, Ben, and Radar are scared in an abandoned gas station looking for clues to where Margo can be they wonder what they should do to calm themselfs down. Quentin suggest that they sing a song, the first one that comes into their head. Ben then starts to sing the Pokémon Theme , Radar and Quentin join him as they together conquer their fear. — Pinky Dinky Doo N/A In several episodes, Tyler is shown talking about or playing with action figures called "Moo-Moo Miggy Monsters", which is based on Pokémon. In one episode, Tyler plays a video game with a style very similar to Pokémon. Portlandia Alexandra In a sketch depicting a pair of Japanese toy specialists assisting a worker at the fictional Jewel Case Inc. in becoming more noticeable, a Victini figure, among many other toys, is placed on the worker's desk as a conversational piece. Ranma 1/2 And the Challenger is... A Girl?! The dub inserts multiple references to Pokémon airing on television. It should be noted that these are dub only, as the original Japanese episode was written and aired several years before Pokémon Red and Green were even released. — Recess The Game The addictive card game featured in the episode, named "Ajimbo", appears to be a a parody of the Trading Card Game . Robot Chicken Cracked China A skit titled "Pikachu Secret" in the episode parodies the anime. In its running time of 62 seconds, things happen such as Ash wondering when Misty is going to "shut up and make dinner", Gary calling Ash "ass", and Ash's Pikachu grinding another while inside its Poké Ball. Junk in the Trunk A skit titled "Bloopers!", which runs for 5 minutes and 13 seconds, has 26 seconds which is devoted to parodying the anime. Pikachu and Squirtle are having a conversation in Pokémon speak. Eventually, Squirtle breaks custom and starts speaking with profanity-riddled dialogue in human tongue, claiming the Pokémon speech makes no sense at all. Pikachu asks "Earl" to say the line or he'll get the gas with skunk spray, to which Squirtle asks the kids to "go read a book or something". Chirlaxx In the beginning of one skit, George W. Bush is seen playing a Pokémon game on his Game Boy and says "Taste Poké-flame, Chirlaxx!" Caffeine-Induced Aneurysm A skit involves some children playing with Pokémon figurines and an old man exclaims that back in his day there were only 150 Pokémon , and his wife informs him there were actually 151 . He exclaims that she is a nerd, and then dies of a heart attack. Saddened, she then proclaims "That's how he would have wanted to go". Walking Dead Lobster A skit simultaneously parodying the Pokémon games and the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting ring case involved Michael Vick challenging Red (named Ash in this) to battle with a Rottweiler. Pikachu uses Thunder Shock , lowering it to one HP, which leads to Vick torturing the dog to death. He is then arrested and eventually goes back to the NFL, with money raining down on him and "Vick Wins" in the text box, leaving Ash confused. The Hobbit: There and Bennigan's Ash and Misty are shown playing tennis, and Misty questions why they're playing with a Poké Ball. Ash says it's because Pikachu peed on his rug, and Pikachu then comes out of the Poké Ball and vomits from motion sickness. Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals I'm Going to Teach Konohamaru Kempo While Rock Lee is letting Neji use a transformation jutsu, Neji is seen wearing a Pikachu costume with a large set of two teeth Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Love Means Having to Say You're Sorry Clarence drops the Pokémon cards he was holding while running away from Harvey, prompting Harvey to shout out "Wait, Clarence! You dropped your Pokémon cards." Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Not Losing to Elbows, Not Losing to Knees When Abiru says Nozomu would look good with a tail, he was pictured with various tails including those that resemble the tails of Pikachu and Glameow . Saturday Night Live Jennifer Aniston / Sting In the "Pokémon Parents" skit, a boy trades his holographic Charizard for weaker cards like Metapod and Diglett . Mewtwo and the first movie are also mentioned. John McCain / The White Stripes In a "Hardball" sketch, Harry Belefonte makes many references to the unfair treatment of blacks. One of his references is "Pokémon is a slave trade, Pikachu is the slave master!" — Robert De Niro / Diddy-Dirty Money In "The Abacus Conundrum" skit, one of the fake books listed is called "The Pokémon Directive", and has a Pikachu on the cover. See Spot Run N/A James tells Gordon Smith that he had a nightmare of a Charizard trying to burn him, in resemblance to Ash's Charizard . James also tells him what a Pokémon is, as some people may not understand. — Servant × Service Don't Panic, Make a Scene, or Throw Away Your Job Hasebe joins a discussion on anime with his coworkers accompanied by a montage of games he has played, including "Pokimon", a distorted Pikachu and Bulbasaur , and a Poké Ball sound effect. Sex and the City Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl... While looking at pictures at Charlotte's gallery, Samantha says, "You know, women dressing like men is very popular right now", to which Carrie replies, "And here I thought it was Pokémon". — The episode's title is based on the word "Pokémon". — The family are watching an episode of Kids Say the Darndest Things when the host, Bill Cosby , is interviewing a guest: Cosby: What do you like to play? Child: Pok-ee-mon! Cosby: Pok-ee-mon?! With the Pok-ee and the mon and the thing where the guy comes out of the thing... — Postcards from the Wedge Bart watches the Pokémon anime on TV, with Ash in his Diamond and Pearl attire and his Pikachu ; and Bart questions how did the series "stay so fresh", as a possible reference to how both the Pokémon anime and The Simpsons have been on the air for over a decade. This episode aired on the same day as the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver in the United States. Pokémon Now? At July 16 2016 a Simpsons short was uploaded on Fox animations official youtube account titled THE SIMPSONS: Pokémon Now? . The short is a parody of Pokémon GO with Homer , Bart , and Lisa going to the Springfield Zoo , there, Homer is playing Pokémon GO and catches Mankey , Diglett , Grimer , Rattata , Sandshrew , and a Drowzee . Smosh: The Movie N/A The plot of the movie revolves around Anthony and Ian going inside YouTube and changing an embarrassing video of Anthony singing a parodied version of the Pokémon Theme while failing to do a backflip. Additionally, numerous references to a series called "Magic Pocket Slave Monsters" are seen throughout the movie, including an arcade machine that features a parodied version of Ash Ketchum whipping a parodied version of Pikachu , albeit with circular ears, scars, and an eyepatch. The machine also parodies Poké Balls with cube-shaped versions. The point of "Magic Pocket Slave Monsters" pays homage to Smosh's incredibly successful YouTube video where they lip-sync the Pokémon Theme , which was taken down due to copyright reasons. Chinpokomon The episode parodies Pokémon and fad culture in general. The line of toys have additionally made cameos in many subsequent episodes. Near the end of the episode Kenny McCormick dies of an epileptic seizure as a reference to the banned episode Electric Soldier Porygon . The episode additionally heavily parodies the anime and video games to a lesser extent. Ash Ketchum and James are both parodied. Some of the "Chinpokomon" seen closely resemble Pikachu , Meowth and Charmander . A figure in Steven's room looks like a Pikachu merged with a Moogle . Rose's Room Steven is seen playing the "Golf Quest Mini" videogame, which includes references to several Pokémon elements such as the character "Prof. Sandtraps", the professor's laboratory, the line "We're gonna sink 'em all", the battle trigger system, an NPC that looks like Brock , and the seven-character limit for the player's name. The game also has references to The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy, among others. Steven enters an illusion version of his hometown, created by his mother's magical room. The illusion's erratic recreation of the actual town resembles usual video game bugs, with the background music playing during the sequence being called "Glitch City" in reference to the fan term used by Pokémon players . Keep Beach City Weird One of Ronaldo's posters scattered throughout the lighthouse in the background shows the paranormal sighting of a "psychic duck", a reference to Psyduck . Strip Mall Unknown In several episodes, an adult movie parody called Pokememon is used as an on-going plot device. The lead actress of the film is seen dressed similar to Misty's original design, and her role's name is Fisty, a further play on the character. The Switch N/A One of the channels Sebastian flips through randomly shows the cameo of Lucas in Giratina and the Sky Warrior . Teen Titans Go! Man Person Cyborg and Robin high-five after catching all of Beast Boy's escaped body parts. The caption: "Caught 'em All" is shown in this scene, referencing the Pokémon logo and motto. Pokémon has been mentioned multiple times in the series. — The Apprentice: You're Fired! Series 12: 8. London Landmarks As host, Rhod Gilbert, signed off the lead into the next episode, which would have the candidates creating a virtual reality game, and asked ""Who will be Pokémons and who will be Pokémoffs?" — Toradora! No Matter What Minori Kushieda finds Ryūji Takasu thinking and says 「ため息ゲットだぜ！」 Tameiki getto da ze! ("I caught your sigh!"), a shout out to the Japanese slogan of the Pokémon franchise, 「ポケモンゲットだぜ！」Pokémon getto da ze!. She also referenced other popular franchises, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! . — Transformers Animated (Japanese dub) Garbage In, Garbage Out The episode's Japanese broadcast eyecatch is an homage to Who's That Pokémon? , with Wreck-Gar being the silhouetted character. [5] TV Funhouse Mexicans Day In this short, the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company has agreed to stop using Joe Camel to advertise cigarettes to children and will instead make him a character in a tobacco-free cartoon called "Jokámel". This parody of the Pokémon anime stars a Pikachu -like Jokámel, near-exact copies of Ash , Brock , Misty , Jessie , and James , and sexual parodies of Pikachu, Meowth , and Geodude . Throughout the show, the audience is told to buy Jokámel merchandise and given subliminal messages to buy Camel cigarettes. Ultraman Tiga (English dub) Attack of the Crow-Men As the Crow-Men threaten to shrink and distribute the GUTS gang, they say that they'll be bigger than Pokémon. — Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US) N/A A question for $500,000 was Which of the following characters is not considered a "Pokémon"?, with the possible answers being A) Jigglypuff , B) Frodo ; C) Squirtle ; and D) Pikachu . After the 50/50 lifeline was used, the two remaining answers left were A and B. The contestant then took the money, leaving with $250,000. [6] N/A A question for $8,000 was As any Pokémon-loving kid could tell you, Pikachu is primarily what color?, with the possible answers being A) Red, B) Yellow; C) Green; and D) Blue. After the Ask the Expert lifeline was used, the contestant correctly answered B. [7] Whose Line is it Anyway? Season 2 , Episode 32; Show No. 235 Pokémon was one of the audience's suggestions used in a playing of " Film, TV & Theatre Styles ", which was played out by series regulars, Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie , and the episode's fourth chair, Karen Maruyama . When Pokémon was used as a style for the scene, Karen says in a purposefully bad Asian-style accent, "Harro, [sic] I am Ichi!" She stiffly walks up to Ryan and says to him, "Please don't go!" to which he responds, "Oh, you're making my tail catch on fire!" and pretends to spew a flame from a tail, most likely referring to Charmander . As Karen turns to Colin and walks up to him, Colin spreads his arms apart and shouts, " Jigglypuff !" Karen pretends to shoot beams from her eyes, and she and Colin both jump and walk around on stage. Ryan then walks up to them and yells in a high-pitched, drawn-out voice, "Pikachu!" After Karen bobs over in front of Ryan like a drinking bird for a moment, host Drew Carey sounds the buzzer to freeze the players and change the style. Pokémon was also suggested by another audience member in a later episode's playing of the same game, but it was not used. — Season 3 , Episode 34; Show No. 343 However, Pokémon was used again for a different playing of the same game, even though no audience members were intelligibly heard making that suggestion. (Though on the other hand, anime was an audience suggestion.) Kathy Greenwood is the fourth chair for this episode, joining Colin and Ryan in "Film, TV, & Theatre Styles". This was a different portraying of a Pokémon "style" in comparison to the playing in show #235. When Pokémon was used as the last style for this playing's scene, Colin shouts out, "Pikachu!" in a high-pitched voice this time instead of Ryan, causing the audience to burst out in laughter as he started walking around the stage. He then pretends to shock Ryan, who yells, "Ow!" in response and does his Charmander pose used in show #235. Colin turns around, shouts "Pikachu!" again, and walks to the other side of the small stage. He then turns back to Kathy and Ryan and sends more " shocks " towards them, causing Kathy to hop a bit on every "shock" sent towards her. (It had no effect on "Charmander Ryan", who was looking away and continuing to do his pose.) Kathy maintained her scene's character throughout the style, pretending to point a handgun at Colin. Drew sounds the buzzer several times afterwards to end the game, sending the cast members back to their seats. He also awards 1,000 extra "points" to Colin for his "Pikadoo" act (getting Colin to say, "Pikachu", once more to correct Drew, which also causes Ryan to say, "Bless you",) and says to him, "Oh, I'd love to see you and your wife going at it, man". — One of the contestants in this episode, Mika Mori, was given the nickname "Mikachu" in the episode. At one point during the episode, show co-host John Henson said that Mika was Jigglypuff 'd about the height of the hurdles. — Yin Yang Yo! Smoke and Mirrors Smoke catches Yang in Prison Prism ( Poké Ball spoof), while later Mirrors catches Yin with it. They later force them to fight against each other in a tournament. Yo-kai Watch Yo-kai Watch Episode 69 When Gnomey reads a book about the information about ghosts while hiding from Whisper, Jibanyan, and Hidabat, thinking they were monsters, the picture on a page he's reading resembles three ghosts that resembles the bodies of Gastly , Haunter , and Gengar . Yo-Kai Watch Episode 83 While Nate is reading a Corocoro magazine, an ad can be seen in the page to the left with a character who slightly resembles Ash in his XY attire and a dark-pink figure resembling a Pikachu. Philippines, Season 1, Week 9 When contestant Jay R selected Billy Crawford on the Iconizer, he sings part of the Pokémon theme. — Yowamushi Pedal Ride.2 To Recruit More Members Sakamichi asks Shunsuke about his favorite anime, to which he confusingly replies "Nekoemon", a possible reference to Pokémon. — References in non-Pokémon video games Game Animal Crossing Villagers may sometimes accidentally leave belongings with another villager and either the villager that it was left with or the one that lost it may request that it be returned; one of the possible items that can end up lost is a Pokémon Pikachu , but it is actually a Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS . However, the player can't get one of their own. Note that this is only in the Nintendo GameCube game, with later games having items the player can actually obtain (such as clothing and furniture) as possible lost items. Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator In the fifth game (which takes place in Japan), turning on the television in the player's hotel room shows a program with flashing colours and a Pikachu -like character. Looking at the screen causes the game to remark "Don't stare at it too long, or you're likely to have a seizure!", a likely reference to Electric Soldier Porygon . The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth There are two items in the game which were inspired by Pokémon. One is called " Missingno. ", which will randomize all items picked up at the start of every floor. The other is called a "Friendly Ball", which will be thrown when used, capture an enemy which will then fight other enemies when sent out. Conker's Bad Fur Day Dummied data for the scene where Conker meets with Don Weaso had a deleted portion where Don Weaso attempted to bludgeon Pikachu when it arrived at his area with a baseball bat while he was meeting with Conker, as well as his afterwards making a dark reference to the tagline " Gotta Catch 'Em All! ". According to Chris Seavor, the scene ended up cut because Nintendo "weren't too keen on having their baby bashed." [9] [10] Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth In Chapter 4, a researcher named Akemi Suedou asks the protagonists to investigate an "Eater," a digital creature that consumes data. Arata Sanada asks Suedou if he has any "secret weapons" at his disposal such as a " camera watch that can detect hidden objects " or a " ball that captured creatures can be stuffed into ." Suedou states that Arata's examples are "oddly specific." The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind This RPG has several Pokémon references, which include Marowak 's Spine in Illunibi or the body of Peke Utchoo (whose name is parody of Pikachu ). In Arkngthand, there is a Weepingbell Hall while in the Urshilaku Burial Caverns, there is a section known as Kakuna Burial. [11] Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas In the city of Los Santos, San Andreas, there is a gift shop featuring signage of Ash Ketchum , Pikachu and Squirtle . It is inaccessible, plays no role in the storyline and exists solely as scenery. It's inclusion is an anachronism as San Andreas is set in 1992, while the characters featured were not released until 1996. Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 At the beginning of Chapter 8 of the True End route, Rom and Ram (twin sisters who personify the Nintendo DS ) mention playing the "Pocketed Monstrosities" games: Ram: Lowee's best games are easily the ones in the "Pocketed Monstrosities" franchise. Players catch and raise 1,510,376 monsters. Rom: Oh, yeah. I was playing it earlier and I captured the Eebee monster. Ram: No way! I really want that one! Gimme. Rom: I'll give you its parents later. They're both fourth generation , so you'll probably get one from them. There is a villainous mouse named "Pirachu", a pun on both "Pikachu" and, given the general motif of the Neptunia franchise's villains, " piracy ". In Lowee, a nation that represents the Wii and Nintendo, the group has an exchange with guards that references Pokémon in various ways: Lowee Guard: Go! Dragon, I choose you! Compa: Go! Nep-Nep, I choose you! Neptune: Pika ! IF: Oh! All right then! Go! Lady Vert, I choose you! Lowee Guard: Through rigorous training, people and monsters can become stronger! I've lived 'n trained with my fighting monster! And that will never change! — Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3 In Lowee, a boy named Mr. Akai wears a Pikachu-like messenger bag and a hat backwards. Like Red , he rarely speaks, at least until he finally receives his copy of "Pocketed Monstrosities". When the child IF challenges the Alternate Dimension Vert to a game of cards, Nepgear mentions how the Vert of her world was unbeatable at "Pocket Monstrosities" against the twins Rom and Ram. — After players defeat the Kraken as part of Dyntos 's Three Trials , Pit calls the Kraken a "Tentafool", possibly a reference to Tentacool . — As an easter egg, if the splashes.txt file is deleted but not the META-INF folder from the game's files, the only splash text to be shown is " missingno ". Monster Legends Pocket Mortys Rick has his Mortys battle other Mortys in a turn-based RPG within the multiverse. There are even badges to be collected by defeating other Ricks in a Morty battle. A Morty Manipulator Chip functions similarly to a Poké Ball, which will cause that Morty to join the player if its HP is low enough. Even the name is based off "Pocket Monsters", and Rick automatically engages in battle if he walks in the sight of an NPC, and the Mortys follow Rick just like Pikachu in Yellow . Strong Bad asks Max if he's a Pokémon (pronounced as Poke-mon). — The Simpsons Game The game features " Sparklemon " in the level " Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game ". Homer and Lisa must travel to three temples where they fight the Sparklemon in turn-based battles before they can collect them in " capturing balls ". The first two Sparklemon are based on Pikachu and Squirtle . One of the Sparklemon also uses a strike called " Scratch Attack". Type matchups is also presented in the form of moves' super-effectiveness, resistance, and immunity. If the player wins a match without taking damage, the announcer says "It's super effective!" — Peacock's lines reference various anime. When facing Filia, she says "Wild schoolgirl appears!" She may also say "I choose you!" when using her j.HK. — A minor character named Molly has a story mode portrait that references Wobbuffet , including its salute. The character Double has an alternate costume based on Ditto , as both are able to Transform into opponents and use their moves. — Marie: Chargers are the very best, like no gun ever was ! In commemoration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary , a Splatfest was held on February 20, 2016 at 6:00 AM UTC, pitting players who prefer Pokémon Red against players who prefer Pokémon Blue */ Pokémon Green *. When the results of the Splatfest were tallied by game region, Red lost to Blue and Green in all three regions. Steven sometimes says "Item, I Choose You!" when using an item. — Super Mario Maker A set of Mystery Mushroom Costumes themed after the playable Pokémon in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U can be unlocked by scanning their respective amiibo . The player also has a random chance of unlocking one after completing a 100 Mario Challenge. Unlike most amiibo costumes, however, the Pokémon costumes do not feature custom sounds or music. In commemoration of Pokémon's 20th Anniversary , an Event Course entitled I Choose You! was uploaded on February 11, 2016. When the player completes this course, they will unlock a Bulbasaur , Charmander , or Squirtle costume. Completing the course three times will unlock all three. Unlike the Super Smash Bros. Pokémon costumes, these costumes have a full set of custom sound effects and music taken from Red and Green . Tomodachi Life An item named the Trucker Hat is sold in the Hat Shop for Miis to wear. Its description says, "This hat is the best. In fact it's the very best. Why? Slip it on and find out!" This hat resembles one worn by Red in Generations I and II . The stages Stage 2-3 and Stage 2-4 are made out entirely out of newspaper clippings, and the text Pikachu, among others, is seen. References in tabletop games A Spell card released on January 15, 2015, titled "A Wild Monster Appears!" allows the player to freely Special Summon a monster if no monsters are on their side and the opponent is controlling at least one monster. References in books, comics, and manga In the Love Hina manga, Keitaro Urashima can be seen with a Pikachu photo sticker while he checks his photo album of himself. Mangaka Ume Aoki frequently represents herself in her works as "Ume-sensei", a crude chibi representation of herself dressed as a Metapod . Ume-sensei most notably appears in Aoki's famed manga Hidamari Sketch . There is a story called An Anime Among Us! , in which Bart has a dream containing numerous references to Japanese traditional and popular culture, including anime such as Sailor Moon and Pokémon . The most prominent references to Pokémon are Bart dressed like Ash Ketchum , a "Pocket Goblins" (Pockegob) Trainer, and Santa's Little Helper becoming a reference to Pikachu (Santa-choo). Bart fights against a trio from " Team Sprocket ", with Jessica Lovejoy appearing as Jessie , Nelson Muntz as James , and Martin Prince in a Meowth costume ( Cat Scratch-eth ). This story is available in Bart Simpson Comics issue #12 as well as the collection book Big Bratty Book of Bart Simpson . In the story Mr. Sparkle: Destroy All Manga! , many references to various manga and anime are made, including Dragon Ball , Sailor Moon , and Pokémon . A series called " Porkymen " features many Pokémon-like creatures, including " Pikkanoze ", a creature which shares striking resemblance with Pikachu . Creatures similar to Venusaur , Onix , Blastoise , Geodude and Gengar are also shown. When Porkymen are chasing Mr. Sparkle , Pikkanoze says, "Catch Mr. Sparkle, my Porkymen comrades! Catch him all!!! " When Mr. Sparkle encases Porkymen in soap bubbles, Pikkanoze says that it's " somewhat familiar ". This story is available in Simpsons Comics issue #45 as well as the collection book Simpsons Comics Unchained . In the story All's Veldt That Ends Veldt! , Maggie watches the aforementioned "Porkeymen", which is shown to use a Pokémon-like slogan "Gotta pitch 'em all!". When Maggie watches the show, Pikkanose's eyes release rapidly flashing light, causing Maggie to become hypnotized. This is a reference to the infamous " seizure episode ". This story is available in Bart Simpson Comics issue #7 as well as the collection book Big Bad Book of Bart Simpson . In the story Day of the Nerd , Comic Book Guy dresses up like an anime character, using contact lenses to make his eyes seem like anime eyes, black laser lights to give himself speed lines whenever he moves quickly, and a yellow cat he calls "Comicachu", a reference to Pikachu . This story is available in Simpsons Comics issue #73 as well as the collection book Simpsons Comics Beach Blanket Bongo . In the tenth book in the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries series, The Case of the Ghostwriter, Stringbean hires Jigsaw to take the case by offering him bubblegum, a Darth Maul pencil eraser, a rubber band ball, $0.36, and a Diglett card. Jigsaw calls Diglett too common, so Stringbean instead offers a First Edition Gloom card, which he accepts. Page 88 of the novella Coraline shows an illustration of a Pikachu head among several other toys. In the novel Mad Dogs , Pokemon (sic) was mentioned as one of the fads that had passed around CHERUB campus. In Volume 5, Chapter 1 of of the Sword Art Online light novel series, when discussing possible ways for someone to shoot a bullet in virtual reality and kill someone else in real life, Kirito mentions an instance in which animation effects in an episode of a certain anime caused children across Japan to become sick. This reference was not retained in Episode 1 of the anime adaptation's second season, which directly adapts the chapter. In the book Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon, Pikachu is one of the many "people" seen watching an interview. It is later assumed that the same Pikachu was one of the two thousand "people" to buy Babymouse's cupcakes, as referenced by the narrator asking Babymouse how she was going to get her cupcakes to Japan. In the webcomic Homestuck , Tavros Nitram is shown playing a Pokémon-like game called "Fiduspawn". A FoxTrot comic strip from April 3, 2011 has Jason and Peter playing catch. After he tossed, Jason shouted "I choose you, Gigalith !" He later mentioned he had played a lot of Pokémon recently as Peter questions why the ball was shaking. This strip was released weeks after the release of Pokémon Black and White . In chapter 6 of the Touhou Project manga series Wild and Horned Hermit, main characters Reimu and Marisa are poisoned by an electric creature while trying to tame it. After the situation is explained to their friend Sanae, she wonders if the poison was caused by an eel or a catfish, or an "electric rat," and is shown thinking of Pikachu. Upon later discovering the poisoning was caused by a Raijū , she thinks of Pikachu again, but with its face crossed out. In Rick Riordan 's book The Mark of Athena , war-crazed Coach Hedge is sailing a ship while singing the Pokémon Theme , replacing the Gotta catch 'em all! catchphrase with "Gotta Kill 'Em All". In another Rick Riordan book, The Throne of Fire , the protagonist Carter wakes up in an hotel room wearing Pokémon pajamas featuring Pikachu. A Mother Goose and Grimm comic strip from May 31, 2014 featured a pair of Pikachu. It portrayed how the species got its name in a satirical manner. In the volume #1 of Silk while the titular heroine is fighting Dragonclaw, she asks if that is a Pokémon name, and if they are "still a thing." She also owns a Staryu plush doll. In a Zits comic from May 22, 2015 , Jeremy asks his mother if she has seen his Pokémon cards and freaks out when she said she threw them out years ago. He tells her in the last panel that he and Pierce planned to ignite them. In an episode of Hatsumei Boy Kanipan , some children bully a young boy in front of a pink machine . Three of the children (including the young boy) resemble Ash, Misty, and Brock. In the final issue of Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Annie May Parker proclaims she is not "some collectable" like a Pokémon. Other references Real world Zbtb7 , a gene discovered by a geneticist from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City, was originally named "Pokemon", stands for "POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor". In 2008, Japanese researchers discovered a new protein which helps carry electrical impulses from the eyes to the brain and named it Pikachurin . According to the researchers, the decision was based on both Pokémon and protein possessing "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects". In an interview with CultBox, Hollyoaks actor Andrew Still, who portrays Joel Dexter in the series, was asked what TV show reminded him of his childhood, to which he replied: "Definitely Pokémon. I remember going to a childminder when I was around 5 and me and all the other kids there would sit religiously around the TV and watch it". [13] In July 2011, Stentorceps weedlei, a species of wasps, received scientific classification, with the name being in reference to the Pokémon Weedle . Both Weedle and Stentorceps weedlei exhibit the distinctive feature of having a spine in the middle of the organism's head. [14] During a Republican debate for the 2012 United States presidential election , candidate Herman Cain quotes a "poet" saying "Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line". These are actually the beginning lines of The Power of One , the theme song for the movie of the same name . During his withdrawal speech, he reused the line but with proper attribution. The Prosecutor General of Crimea Natalia Poklonskaya became the focus of international media attention due to her appearance after a video of her at a press conference on her appointment of Prosecutor General of Crimea on 11 March 2014 was uploaded to YouTube. Upon learning of her popularity, she was unhappy with the media attention being focused on her looks rather than her career, stating "I am a lawyer, not a Pokémon or something." [15] In April 2014, the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program and CNN 's Change the List project held a poll to name a pangolin rescued from traffickers as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the endangered mammal. Of the top five choices from CNN comments, the name " Sandshrew " won the official Facebook poll . Sandshrew the pangolin now lives in a Vietnamese national park. In October 2014, the extinct pterosaur Pterodactylus scolopaciceps was renamed Aerodactylus scolopaciceps due to a newly-discovered taxonomic separation. It is named after Aerodactyl , a Pokémon based on various pterosaur species, because it "seemed a pertinent name for a genus which has been synonymous with Pterodatylus for so long due to a combination of features". [16] In May 2016, Charizard became the inspiration for the naming of Chilicola charizard, a species of stem-nesting bees. [17] To promote their 2016 King of Trios tournament, professional wrestling company CHIKARA used several allusions to Pokémon, including using the "Who's That Pokémon?" feature to reveal competitors, a parody of the Pokémon Theme , and even Director of Fun Mike Quackenbush dressing as Ash Ketchum . [18] Music A song from Bow Wow 's album Wanted , "B.O.W.", has the lyrics "Get up out the stores like Pokémon did". A song from Lil' Kim 's album The Naked Truth (Lil' Kim album) , "Get Yours", makes a reference to the common mispronunciation of "Pokéman". [19] Parts of the insert song in part three of the popular flash cartoon series Charlie the Unicorn bear resemblance to the original Pokérap . A song from The Lonely Island album Turtleneck & Chain , "Japan", mentions dumping Pokémon in the river. Scottish band Alestorm released a T-Shirt with a Snorlax -like monster on it. The band's name is printed in the same style as the Pokémon logo, and the text under it reads "Gotta drink 'em all". The Azealia Banks song "Bitch Is Ill" makes a lewd comparison involving the electricity of a Pikachu. [20] The song "Mama Bird" by Flynt Flossy (Turquoise Jeep) makes reference to Pokemon, saying "Like Ash, baby, yo I gotta catch 'em all". [21] The song "Rip Your Heart Out" from Hopsin 's album Knock Madness features the lyrics "Motherfucker I got balls like I'm Ash Ketchum ". South African Rap group "Die Antwoord" made several references to Pikachu : In their music video to "Baby's on fire", Yolandi Visser is wearing Pikachu-styled plush slippers In the video "Umshini Wam" and some promotional photos, Ninja is wearing a Pikachu-hoodie. [22] Their song "Banana Brain" features the line "You're so cute, like Pikachu" The Nintendocore-band "Oak's parcel" is named after Professor Oak and has several Pokémon-themed songs. The music group Starbomb features many songs that parody other video game franchises, but two in particular parody Pokémon. The first song, I Choose You to Die , tells the story of Ash Ketchum being sent to jail for beating up his Pokémon out of pleasure after defeating the Elite Four , before being shot in the groin by Pikachu after Pikachu posted Ash's bail; the followup song, The NEW Pokérap!! , features Brock describing to Ash all the new Pokémon that were discovered during his time in the hospital after the events of the first song. In the music video for Море пенится More penitsya by the Russian group Потап и его команда Potap i yego komanda a person can be seen wearing a Pokémon shirt with Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander. [23] Websites The coloring game on children's author Dav Pilkey 's website was once called "Pilkeymon's Paintbox" [24] and featured a Pikachu -like boy as its menu icon. [25] After the site's 2013 redesign, the game was renamed "Pilkey Painter" and the menu icons were removed. Homestar Runner has made a number of references to the series, usually playing on Pikachu's similar appearance to the character of The Cheat . [26] In particular, Pikachu appears on screen during " The Cheat Theme Song ", when the lyrics are "Who's the man that looks like The Cheat?" On the virtual pet site Neopets , a Pikachu can be seen on the Gallery of Evil page. [27] During the Hetalia: Axis Powers 2011 Christmas event, Ladonia was passing the time playing Pokémon on his Game Boy and stated his favorite Pokémon was Stunfisk in his rushed introduction to Denmark. [28] On The Annoying Orange , in "Marshmallow's Christmas Sock (12 Days Of Christmas)", 3 Pokémon were one of Marshmallow's gifts. [29] One of the screensavers included in XScreenSaver is called "JigglyPuff" (sic). [30] Cyanide and Happiness has referenced Pokémon in a few comics. One comic made a joke about Ash catching all the STDs. A second comic had two people playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with one declaring "Bulbasaur beats everything". A third comic had Ash releasing a dead Pikachu from a Poké Ball because he forgot to make air holes. A fourth comic had two people saying they were a fan of Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda. A fifth comic has Ash try to catch a dog before the dog takes the Poké Ball and catches Ash instead. In the third installment of SamBakZa's There She Is!! series, the character Doki chases and tries various methods of capturing a fleeing Nabi. When all of her attempts fail, she uses a Poké Ball , throwing it at Nabi's head and knocking him down. The virtual pet site Subeta contains several references to Pokémon, including an item which heavily resembles a Poké Ball called Spherical Self-Contained Capture and Storage Unit [31] and two items that parody Pokémon Red and Blue . [32] [33] Death Battle has three battles featuring Pokémon: The first was Ash's Pikachu vs. Blanka . Blanka was declared the winner due to his self-taught survival skills, electric resistance, and his greater strength and size compared to Pikachu giving him an edge over Pikachu's Electric typing and reliance on a Trainer. [34] The second was a three-way free-for-all between a wild Venusaur , Charizard and Blastoise . Blastoise was found to win 48% of over 7,000 simulated Pokémon battles between the three Pokémon using game mechanics and was thus declared the winner of the battle. [35] The third was a battle between Red and Charizard against Tai and Agumon of Digimon fame; the battle ended in Tai's favor, due to the superior bond between Tai and Agumon as opposed to Red and Charizard. [36] Additionally, in the Vegeta vs. Shadow the Hedgehog battle, when Shadow sends Vegeta to the Moon, a recolored Ducklett wearing a space helmet can be seen. Beginning on February 18, 2015 the official Robot Chicken Twitter account was "taken over" by Meowth of Team Rocket and renamed MEOWTHbot Chicken. [37] . It was later changed to Robot Charmander before being renamed yet again to Robot Pikachiken. The Twitter account has since reverted back to normal. Kongregate.com , a gaming website, releases a "Kongpanion" every week. One of them is a fire-breathing chair called "Chairizard", which is likely a reference to Charizard. See also
Pokémon
Which king of England, Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden who died on November 12th 1035 is buried at Winchester Cathedral?
List of Pokémon anime characters - Wikipedia, Photos and Videos List of Pokémon anime characters NEXT GO TO RESULTS [51 .. 100] WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE This is a list of Pokémon anime characters. Contents Voiced by: Rica Matsumoto (Japanese), Sarah Natochenny (TPCI, English), Veronica Taylor ( 4Kids Entertainment , English), Kayzie Rogers ( The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon broadcast version, English) Ash Ketchum is the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime . A 10-year-old Pokémon trainer (11 in the Sun and Moon anime), his dream is to become the greatest Pokémon Master in the world. There are also incarnations of him in a plethora of manga adaptations , of which include The Electric Tale of Pikachu , and Ash & Pikachu . Loosely based on Red , the protagonist of the games Pokémon Red and Blue . The family name "Ketchum" is a pun on the franchise's former tagline and slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all!". Ash always has Pikachu on his team and currently with Rowlet. Currently at Professor Oak's care: Bulbasaur, Kingler, Muk, 30 Tauros, Snorlax, Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, a shiny Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Torkoal, Glalie, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor, Gible, Unfezant, Scraggy, Leavanny, Palpitoad, Boldore, Krookodile, Oshawott, Pignite, Snivy, Charizard, Talonflame, Hawlucha and Noivern. Ash has a Squirtle and Primeape in private training. He once owned an Aipom, which he traded to Dawn, for her Buizel. Also, Ash once owned a Butterfree, Pidgeot, Lapras, Goodra and Greninja (with whom he could synchronize with and activate its special form: Ash-Greninja); all of which have been released into the wild to live with their own kind. Ash has collected all the badges for and competed in the Pokémon Leagues in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos. So far Ash's best campaign was in the Kalos league, where he went all the way to the final match, but lost the title to Alain. Ash is currently on a journey through the Alola Region alongside his Pikachu. Voiced by: Mayumi Iizuka (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (4Kids, English), Michele Knotz (TPCI, English) Ash's first traveling friend, Misty is a 10-year-old Pokémon trainer who journeys with him throughout the first five seasons. She is revealed as one of the four gym leaders of Cerulean City along with her three older sisters. Her dream is to be the world's greatest "Water Pokémon Master," but her means of accomplishing this are never made clear. She has made several friends and rivals over the course of her journeys and claims she is a better Pokémon trainer than Ash. She does truly care about him and is one of his closest friends. When she was young, as well as during the beginning of the series, she was constantly belittled by her older sisters though she appears to have made amends with them. At the end of the original series, she takes over the Cerulean Gym, however, she still contacts Ash from time to time and receives help from Tracey on a daily basis. Misty is a primary character in the seasons of the original series, with guest appearances in the Advanced Challenge, Advanced Battle, and Battle Frontier seasons. She owns a Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen, Psyduck, Politoed, Corsola, Azurill, Luvdisc, Horsea and a Gyarados (despite Gyarados once being the only water-type Pokémon she previously claimed to dislike). It is assumed she uses these Pokémon in her Gym Battles. She also once owned a Togepi, which she released once it evolved into a Togetic to help protect some other Togepi in danger of capture. Voiced by: Yūji Ueda (Japanese), Eric Stuart (4Kids Entertainment, English), Bill Rogers (TPCI, English) Brock is a 15-year-old Pokémon Breeder and the former Pewter Gym leader. Brock has dreams of being the world's best Pokémon breeder. He is Ash's longest lasting traveling partner, having appeared in every season (as a guest in Season 2) up to Season 13. There is a running-gag in the series where Brock falls in love with a girl and is either pulled away by the ear by Misty or Max, or is hit with Croagunk's Poison Jab, temporarily knocking him unconscious. Brock leaves the main cast at the end of the Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors season to take his dream to the next level and become a Pokémon Doctor. Throughout the series, Brock has traveled with his Onix (now Steelix), Geodude, Crobat, Forretress, Ludicolo, Marshtomp, Sudowoodo, Croagunk and Chansey. He also once owned a Vulpix, originally owned by Suzy, during the original series, but decided to give Suzy back her Vulpix when she and Brock met up again near the end of the original series. Tracey Sketchit ( ケンジ , Kenji ? ) Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Ted Lewis (4Kids, English), Craig Blair (TPCI, English) One of Ash's traveling friends through Season 2, set in the Orange Islands. He is a Pokémon watcher, and is currently Professor Oak’s assistant. [1] His last name in the English dub is a pun because he sketches Pokémon. Tracey may also be a pun, based on the word " trace ". He has a Marill , Venonat , and Scyther on his team. Tracey replaces Brock as a primary character in Adventures in the Orange Islands , with guest appearances in seasons 5, 8, and 9. Voiced by: Kaori Suzuki (Japanese), Veronica Taylor (4Kids, English), Michele Knotz (TPCI, English), May is the 10-year-old daughter of the Petalburg City Gym Leader, Norman , and sister of Max . She meets Ash Ketchum in Hoenn and starts traveling with him after obtaining her first Pokémon, Torchic . She originally dislikes Pokémon, but soon takes interest in Pokémon Contests. May tends to add only beautiful and cute Pokémon to her team, making sure they meet her standards to enter them in contests. She raises Beautifly , her first capture, from a little Wurmple she finds on her journey. She also likes cute Pokémon such as her Skitty. After entering contests she soon develops rivalries with other contest participants, Drew (her main rival who often assists her and gives helpful advice even while having a tendency to be somewhat insulting), Harley, and Jessie of Team Rocket , and goes on to win many contests. May travels through Hoenn and Kanto with Ash and Brock whilst Ash is competing in the Hoenn League and Battle Frontier, respectively. While Ash and Brock choose to travel to Sinnoh , May decides to follow her rivals to Johto instead. However, she visits Ash, Brock, and Dawn in Sinnoh sometime later to participate in the Wallace Cup. She is known as the "Princess of Hoenn", an alias by which Dawn refers her when the two first meet. May replaces Misty as a primary character in the Advanced Generation seasons, and makes a guest appearance in Battle Dimension. Her team consists of Blaziken, Beautifly, Skitty, Venusaur, Munchlax, Wartortle and Glaceon. She also befriended a Manaphy in the ninth film Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea before deciding to release it to the sea at the end of the film. Voiced by: Fushigi Yamada (Japanese), Amy Birnbaum (4Kids, English), Kayzie Rogers (TPCI, English) Max is the 8-year-old son of the Petalburg City Gym Leader, Norman , and the brother of May . He joins the group of Ash, May and Pokémon breeder Brock . Max is a budding Pokémon trainer , but is too young to receive a Pokémon. [2] He is a bookworm who has read just about everything written about Pokémon. [1] In Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker , he befriends Jirachi and eventually leaves it. This is an idea from Pokémon 4Ever from when Ash leaves Sam . He remains simply a Pokémon enthusiast until he and May leave Ash and Brock in the final Advanced Generation episode, in which he returns to Hoenn to help take care of the Petalburg Gym. He is again seen as a flashback in DP Battle Dimension. Max has received just two cameos since his departure, triggered by May's brief return for the Wallace Cup arc. He takes on what had once been Misty's role in restraining Brock from pretty women with the ear-pull. Max appears as a primary character alongside May in the Advanced Generation seasons, with non-speaking cameos in Battle Dimension. Max has befriended a Ralts and has promised to return for it when he becomes a Pokémon Trainer. Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Grey DeLisle (English) Dawn is a 10-year-old Pokémon Coordinator who travels with Ash and Brock and replaces May during Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl . Following in her mother's footsteps as a Coordinator, she chooses Piplup , who she had already befriended at an earlier point, and sets out with the goal of winning the Grand Festival. As a native of Sinnoh, she often explains certain aspects of the region unfamiliar to both Ash and Brock, and keeps up to date with popular trends like the Pokétch. As she participates and win in more Contests, Dawn gradually becomes more confident in her skills as a Coordinator and regularly trains with her Pokémon before every contest. When her Swinub evolves twice into Mamoswine, it begins to disobey her but starts listening to her after she saves it. Her catchphrase is "No need to worry!", but she usually says this when there actually is a need to worry. Although she originally planned to participate in the Kanto contests, she decides to remain in Sinnoh when her Buneary is offered to model for a Pokémon magazine. Dawn is very saddened to leave Ash and Brock, but she and Piplup cheer up and wave goodbye as they return to Kanto. She later decides to travel to Hoenn to take part in the contests there. After obtaining all five of her Hoenn contest ribbons, Dawn travels to Eastern Unova to train for the Grand Festival and helps Ash prepare for the Unova League. Dawn has appeared in Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl, and returns for an arc in Best Wishes! Season 2. Dawn's Pokémon team consists of Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Quilava and Togekiss. She also once owned a Buizel, who was later traded to Ash for his Aipom, which then evolved into Ambipom and was left in private training. Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese), [3] Eileen Stevens (English) Hailing from a village where there are many Dragon-type Pokémon, Iris is a wild girl who swings from vines and likes to eat berries. She first meets Ash when he mistakes her for a Pokémon, and has since been traveling with Ash on his journey in the Unova Region. She tends to call Ash a kid, usually when Ash makes a mistake or acts particularly naïve. She has the Dragon-Type Pokémon Axew as her companion, as well as an Excadrill that initially does not obey her commands but later has a change of heart, and a flirtatious Emolga. She later captures an aggressive Dragonite after helping clear its name when it was being blamed for a town's power outage. In the Black and White video games, Iris is one of the two Gym Leaders of Opelucid City (she acts as Gym Leader only in Pokémon White Version), and the Unova Champion in Pokémon Black and White 2 . Her relation to those positions have not yet been mentioned in the anime. The other Gym Leader Drayden has been featured (a battle with him being the reason that Iris's Excadrill stopped obeying her), but Iris's relationship with him has also not been revealed. However, when Ash briefly decides to visit Opelucid City to battle for his 8th Unova Gym Badge, she seems hesitant and relieved when he is forced to change his mind. She later battles Dawn with her Dragonite against Dawn's Mamoswine and manages to win despite a type disadvantage. Cilan ( デント , Dento ? , Dent) Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese), [3] Jason Griffith (English) Cilan is an A-Class Pokémon Connoisseur who has the ability to determine the compatibility between Pokémon and their trainers. He is travelling with Ash in the Unova Region. He is also one of the first Gym Leaders of the Unova League, a position he shares with his brothers Chili and Cress, but he leaves his post to join Ash and Iris on their journey. He has numerous hobbies seen throughout the series such as fishing, cinema, and subway trains. He considers himself a good detective and is very skeptical about anything that there isn't an immediate logical explanation for. He has the Grass-Type Pokémon Pansage as his partner, and he later acquires a Dwebble which later evolves into a Crustle and a Stunfisk . He's very much like Brock too. [4] [5] Voiced by: Mayuki Makiguchi (Japanese); Haven Burton-Paschall (English) Serena is a Pokémon trainer and Ash's childhood friend. She remembers Ash from their childhood when the two of them attended the Oak summer camp in Pallet Town. During this time, Serena had fallen and injured her leg; Ash then helped her with her injury, causing Serena to gain a crush on him. After learning that Ash is on Kalos, and still having feelings for him, she decides to leave home to reunite with him, and upon doing so, comes along with him on his journey despite having no specified goal. After experiencing numerous events like the Sycamore summer camp, she learns about Pokémon Showcases from Shauna, and decides to become a Pokémon Performer. She owns a Fennekin which then evolved into a Braixen, a Pancham, and an Eevee which evolved into a Sylveon, which all accompany her in her performances. Following a heartbreaking loss in her debut Showcase, as a sign of her new resolve, she cut her hair and began wearing a new outfit. After obtaining three Princess Keys, she competes in the Gloire City Master Class Showcase, ultimately going one-on-one with Kalos Queen Aria, whom she was unsuccessful in defeating. However, not deterred by her loss, she vowed to keep on working hard, just like Ash inspired her to do. Serena leaves Ash's side when she decides to set for Hoenn to continue her training, but before that she kisses him in the occasion before they part ways again. Clemont ( シトロン , Shitoron ? , Citron) Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese); Michael Liscio, Jr. (English) Clemont is a Gym Leader from the Lumiose City Gym. He is a young inventor and always has a large backpack which contains numerous strange gadgets, most of which explode. He is also one of Ash's best friends. He, along with his sister Bonnie, continue Brock's running gag, only he drags Bonnie off with his Aipom Arm when she asks some girl (except for Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny) to marry him out of embarrassment, instead of the other way around. His Pokémon team outside of being a Gym Leader consists of Chespin, Bunnelby, and Luxray. Out of intense admiration for Ash, he began travelling with him in order to become a better Gym Leader. This would culminate when Ash challenged and successfully defeated Clemont at the Lumiose Gym, acquiring his 5th badge in Kalos. Bonnie ( ユリーカ , Yurīka ? , Eureka) Voiced by: Mariya Ise (EP803-887, 903-present, Japanese), Mika Kanai (EP888-902, Japanese), Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (English) Bonnie is a Pokémon trainer-to-be and Clemont's 7-year-old sister. She is more mature than Clemont and always tries to stop his bizarre behavior. Due to being underage, her Pokémon nominally belong to Clemont for now. She, along with her brother, continue Brock's running gag, only she asks pretty girls (except Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny) the gang encounters to marry her brother, and is removed by him, instead of the other way around. Bonnie is often seen with a Dedenne, which technically belongs to Clemont for the time being but which will become Bonnie's when she is old enough to start training Pokémon. Following an accidental encounter with a Zygarde Core, she began taking care of it, nicknaming it "Squishy", and promising to protect it from Team Flare. Lana (スイレン, Suiren ? ) Voiced by: Hitomi Kikuchi (Japanese) Lana is one of the students at the Pokémon School of Melemele Island who befriends Ash. She is a master in fishing and her main Pokémon is a Popplio, while she also has a Lapras she rides across the seas of Alola. Mallow (マオ, Mao ? ) Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Japanese) Mallow is one of the students at the Pokémon School of Melemele Island who befriends Ash. She likes to cook and owns a Bounsweet. Lillie (リーリエ, Rīrie ? ) Voiced by: Kei Shindō (Japanese) Lillie is one of the students at the Pokémon School of Melemele Island who befriends Ash. She loves to study and usually helps the other students with their researches, but somehow has an inherent fear of touching any kind of Pokémon. Sophocles (マーマネ, Māmane ? ) Voiced by: Fumiko Takekuma (Japanese) Sophocles is one of the students at the Pokémon School of Melemele Island who befriends Ash. He owns a Togedemaru. Kiawe (カキ, Kaki ? ) Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese) Among the students at the Pokémon School of Melemele Island who befriend Ash, Kiawe is the oldest and most experienced, being the only among them to have cleared the trials to obtain a Z-Ring, unlike Ash, who received his directly from Tapu Koko. Also unlike Ash, he can perform a Z-Move properly without breaking the Z-Crystal required to power it. Specialized in fire Pokémon, he owns a Charizard he also uses as a means of transportation and a Turtonator, with whom he can unleash his Z-Move, Inferno Overdrive. Voiced by: Yuko Kobayashi (Japanese), Jimmy Zoppi (English) Gary Oak is Ash's very first rival. He is based on the character Blue from the Pokémon video game series. Like his counterpart Blue, Gary hails from Pallet Town and is the grandson of renowned Pokémon researcher Professor Oak. Like Ash, Gary collected Gym badges and competed in Pokémon League tournaments; Kanto and Johto. At first, Gary was arrogant, always traveling with cheerleaders who called out his name and constantly teased Ash's group whenever they met. After losing to a more powerful opponent in the Indigo League, Gary dispenses with the cheerleaders and then becomes more open-minded. At the end of season 2 (Orange Islands), Ash and Gary have their first Pokémon battle in which Gary's Eevee beats Ash's Pikachu. When the battle is over, Gary starts on a new journey to Johto and this subsequently influences Ash to follow him there. After losing to Ash in the Johto League, Gary decides to pursue a career in Pokémon research, impeding his rivalry with Ash. Until his loss to Ash, Gary had always thought of Ash as a poor trainer but he eventually comes to accept him as his equal. After Ash defeats the Battle Frontier and comes back to Pallet Town, Gary and Ash have a battle between Gary's Sinnoh Pokémon, Electivire, and Ash's Pikachu. Electivire easily beats Pikachu, which inspires Ash to travel to Sinnoh. While in Sinnoh, Gary becomes a Pokémon researcher working with Professor Rowan . By this time, Ash and Gary have become more of friends than rivals and they even team up to protect Pokémon from Pokémon Hunter J. After working together to protect a group of Shieldon from Pokémon Hunter J, they both agree to remain "friends until the end." Gary appears in seasons 1-5 (where it was only revealed that he started off with a Squirtle in season 5, while battling with a Blastoise ) [6] and 9-12. Gary's Japanese name, Shigeru Okido ( オーキド シゲル , Ōkido Shigeru ? ), is a reference to Shigeru Miyamoto , who mentored Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri . Ritchie (ヒロシ, Hiroshi ? ) Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Tara Jayne (English) Ritchie is a traveling Pokémon trainer from Frodomar City. Ritchie first appears during the Indigo League Saga, where he meets and forms a friendship with Ash Ketchum. As rivals, Ritchie and Ash are much alike. For example, both trainers own a Pikachu and have caught many of the same Pokémon. After the Indigo League tournament, Ritchie is ranked in the top eight of the competition after defeating Ash (due to a technicality), but then loses his next match. Afterward, Ash and Ritchie part ways but pledge an oath to become Pokémon Masters. Ritchie re-appears in the Whirl Islands near the beginning of the fifth season, Pokémon: Master Quest , and is one of the protagonists of Pokémon Chronicles . Harrison (ハヅキ, Hazuki ? ) Voiced by: Katsumi Toriumi (Japanese), Wayne Grayson (English) Harrison is a traveling Pokémon trainer from Hoenn who competes in the Silver Conference. Ash and the gang first met him in "Pop Goes the Sneasel" when he tried to ward off a wild Sneasel that was guarding the sacred Ho-Oh flame. During the Silver Conference, Ash battles him in a full six-on-six battle. He defeats Ash but loses to his next opponent, finishing at the top four of the Johto League competition. After the Johto League Silver Conference, Harrison convinces Ash to go to the Hoenn region. Afterwards, Harrison goes to Kanto to participate in the Indigo League. Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), Pete Zarustica (as Oliver Wyman ; 4Kids, English), Bill Rogers (TPCI, English) Drew is an experienced Pokémon Coordinator, a confident, critical, but popular boy. He is May's first, and most powerful, rival. Because he sees similarities between new Coordinator May and himself when he first started out, he taunts her for her inexperience. Though his comments and attitude may have angered May, he still provides a helping hand whenever she needs it. Drew's skills have been a continuing inspiration for May to better herself as a Coordinator. Voiced by: Jun'ichi Kanemaru (Japanese), Andrew Rannells (4Kids, English), Billy Regan (as Bill Timoney ; TPCI, English) Arrogant, flamboyant, and proud, Harley is a Pokémon Coordinator and May's rival. During their first meeting, Harley takes May's unwitting comments as insults to his abilities and he takes an instant dislike to her. Since then, Harley takes every opportunity to sabotage May before her contests and frequently takes advantage of her forgiving nature in order to trick her into believing he has changed his ways. He is frequently seen dressed in a Cacturne costume. Morrison (マサムネ, Masamune ? ) Voiced by: Masako Nozawa (Japanese), Sean Schemmel (English) Morrison is Ash's rival in the Ever Grande Conference, a spirited person who likes to challenge other people to almost everything and never gives up in battle. Due to this, he always challenges Ash to various events such as Pokémon battles or even a food eating contest. Ash and the gang first met him in "Less is Morrison", where he soon becomes a friend and rival to Ash. When he appears again, he is a Ash's first opponent in the Ever Grande Conference; because of his conflicting feelings, he refuses to battle his friend until Ash encourages him to try his best. Morrison is able to battle with all his spirit, losing to Ash only when both of them are down to one Pokémon. Tyson (テツヤ, Tetsuya ? ) Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese), Marc Diraison (English) Tyson is a trainer originally from Mauville City. He first appeared in Episode 399: Like a Meowth to a Flame, where he helped Ash and his friends defeat Team Rocket, using his Metagross. Meowth is his main Pokémon, seen dressed with a cowboy hat and boots. He later battled Ash in the Hoenn League and won. Tyson's team consists of: Meowth, Metagross, Donphan, Shiftry, Hariyama, and Sceptile. Voiced by: Kiyotaka Furushima (Japanese), Julián Rebolledo (English) Paul is a roaming Pokémon trainer from Veilstone City, Sinnoh . As a Pokémon trainer, Paul is experienced and has traveled across the regional areas of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, much like Ash. During Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl , he begins to travel through Sinnoh, where he meets and develops a rivalry with Ash Ketchum. Unlike Ash's previous rivals, Paul is a grumpy and serious trainer whose only concern towards Pokémon is their ability to act in battle and who believes that forming bonds with Pokémon dilutes their potential, making them slackers. As such, he regards Ash's compassion towards his Pokémon as a sign of weakness, which frequently provokes Ash's anger. His harsh training style, competitive behavior, and desire to be strong derives from his resentment toward his older brother, Reggie, who had been an accomplished trainer until he lost to Pyramid King Brandon, causing him to quit Pokémon training to become a breeder. Paul is determined to make sure he doesn't meet that same fate, so he plans to surpass not just any trainer, but his own brother as well, although he is clearly unlikable to many. In Japan, he is named after Shinji Mikami , the creator of the Resident Evil series. He has a Torterra (evolved from a Turtwig ), an Electivire which is revealed to have evolved in Pokémon DP 184, a Honchkrow , a Weavile , a Magmortar and an Ursaring . His brother currently looks after his Gliscor, Hariyama, Nidoking and Lairon which is seen to have evolved into Aggron when Ash battles Paul in the Sinnoh League in Pokémon DP 186, 187 and DP 188 (this is the longest battle in the series yet). He also is revealed to use a Froslass, a Gastrodon, a Drapion and his Ninjask in the Sinnoh League against Ash, but ultimately loses the battle. Afterwards, he finds a bit of respect for Ash, and heads out to battle with Brandon, The Pyramid King, as Brandon told Paul he would battle him again once he managed to control his emotions. Ash and Paul depart on a good note. Ash wishes him luck, which Paul returns. Just as Paul is about to leave Ash calls out that they should battle again, real soon. Paul comes to a sudden halt, looking stunned. Then he smiles, finally accepting him. As he waves good-bye, he walks away, into the sunset. Cynthia stated that she would like to see the day Paul and Ash compete in the Champion League. Paul is also seen again in the next episode, watching Ash's battle with Tobias on television. When Ash is defeated, Paul looks disappointed and walks away. Paul is designed to be Silver of Gold, Silver, Crystal, Heartgold and Soulsilver because Paul trained his Pokémon through harsh training opposed to forming a trusting relationship with his Pokémon. Also, Paul's official art shows him in the same pose as Silver. Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Japanese), Jamie McGonnigal (English) Barry is Ash's newest rival in Sinnoh, an impatient and overconfident boy who, while competent and skilled, tends to lose most of his battles against Ash. He is an admirer of Paul, and uses the same technique though he cares for his Pokémon. He dreams of being the strongest Pokémon trainer in the world. Barry is best friends with Kenny and the son of Palmer, the Tower Tycoon of Sinnoh's Frontier Brains. He is based on the rival in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. He originally owns an Empoleon , a Staraptor , a Roserade and a Heracross and later gains a Hitmonlee and a Skarmory. Nando (ナオシ, Naoshi ? ) Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Billy Regan (English) A talented Pokémon trainer and wandering minstrel , Nando is a calm young man deeply conflicted as to whether he should challenge gyms or become a Pokémon Coordinator. After battling both Ash and Dawn, he chooses to pursue both paths, regardless of the difficulty. By the time of the Sinnoh Grand Festival, he has acquired seven Gym Badges and five Contest Ribbons. In the Grand Festival, he is able to reach the Top 4, losing to Zoey. After the Grand Festival, he obtains the necessary badges to compete in the Sinnoh League; he is Ash's first opponent but is eliminated after putting up a good battle. Nando make his debut appearance in Dawn of a New Era!. He owns a Roserade (evolved from his Budew), a Sunflora , a Kricketune , an Altaria , a Kricketot , an Armaldo, and a Lopunny . He is usually seen playing his golden Mew harp. The harp has often been shown to attract large groups of wild Pokémon, although it is unknown if Nando is aware of this. Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (Japanese), Elisabeth Morinelli (a/k/a Emily Williams; English) Zoey is an experienced Pokémon coordinator from Snowpoint City and Dawn's main rival. Unlike most rivals, she often gives out helpful advice, and helps out in certain situations instead of fighting and taunting Dawn all the time. Zoey is initially disdainful of those who participate in both Gym battles and contests because she believes that trainers who divide their efforts do not full-heartedly compete in both disciplines. However, she changes her outlook as she meets trainers who are able to successfully manage both while respecting the hard work required. Zoey first appears in the episode of "Mounting a Coordinator Assault". The Pokémon she has with her are Glameow , Mismagius , Gastrodon , Lumineon , Gallade , and Leafeon . In "A Grand Fight for Winning", she defeats Dawn in the final stage of the Grand Festival and wins the Ribbon Cup. Kenny (ケンゴ, Kengo ? ) Voiced by: Yūko Mita (Japanese), Rhonda Krempa (Season 10-12, English), Bella Hudson (Season 13, English) Kenny is one of Dawn's childhood friends and a rival coordinator. He frequently calls her by her nickname, 'Dee Dee' and is best friends with Barry. Kenny makes his debut in Getting the Pre-Contest Titters and Settling a Not-So-Old Score, where he and Dawn enter the Floaroma Pokémon Contest. Eventually, he is able to qualify for the Sinnoh Grand Festival, but misses the cut of 32 in the Grand Festival, causing him to leave Lake Valor to improve his training. Kenny is revealed to have romantic feelings towards Dawn and eventually challenges Ash to a battle with the outcome determining who Dawn would travel with. Though he wins the battle, Dawn leaves him a note stating that she wishes to remain with Ash. Ursula (ウララ, Urara ? ) Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Melisa Schroenburg [7] (English) One of Dawn's rivals, Ursula is a Coordinator from the Sinnoh region who enters the Chocovine Contest at the same time as Dawn. They meet just outside the Contest Hall when her Gabite gets into a confrontation with Dawn's Pachirisu. Her attitude toward Dawn is similar to Harley's attitude toward May. During the Sinnoh Grand Festival, she loses to Dawn and is eliminated from the contest, unable to make it into the Top 16. She currently owns a Gabite , a Wormadam , a Plusle and a Minun , a Jigglypuff , a Flareon and a Vaporeon (evolved from her two Eevee during the appeals round of Sinnoh Grand Festival). Trip (シューティー, Shūtī ? , Shooty) Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Jamie McGonnigal (English) Trip [8] is a male trainer taking the Unova League challenge who appears in the Black and White series and whose ultimate ambition is to compete in the Champion League and defeat Alder, the Unova champion. In addition to being a Pokémon Trainer, he is also an amateur Pokémon photographer. Upon his first meeting and battle with Ash, he tends to somewhat display a discriminatory attitude toward him as being part of the "boonies" because Ash is from the Kanto region, along with his Pikachu, which happens to be extremely rare in the Unova region. He takes a Snivy from Professor Juniper, which later evolves into a Servine and then eventually into a Serperior. He also has a Tranquill, a Frillish, a Lampent, a Vanillite, and a Timburr, that soon evolved into a Gurdurr, then to a Conkeldurr. Trip participates in the Club Battle, Clubsplosion, Junior Cup, and Unova League tournaments. With the exception of the Junior Cup, which he wins, he loses in the first round of each competition. After his battle with Ash in the Unova League, Trip appears to have ended his rivalry with Ash. Bianca (ベル, Beru ? , Bel) Voiced by: Shizuka Itō (Japanese), Bella Hudson (English) Bianca is a female trainer who appears in the Black and White series. She encounters Ash and his companions several times throughout the series which usually ends with a battle between herself and Ash. She is also shown to be very excitable and clumsy. Bianca joins Ash, Iris, and Cilan to participate in the Club Battle, Clubsplosion, and Unova League tournaments. Her main Pokémon are Emboar , Minccino , and Escavalier . Burgundy (カベルネ, Kaberune ? , Cabernet) Voiced by: Ikumi Hayama (Japanese), Suzy Myers (English) Burgundy is a female Pokémon Connoisseur who at one point challenged Cilan and lost, and Cilan said that her Oshawott was not compatible with her (Cilan however, doesn't remember this, but he does remember their gym battle). When Ash, Iris, and Cilan meet up with her once more, after she says that none of Ash's Pokémon are good for him, she reveals she challenged the Striaton Gym and got the Trio Badge, but still feels she needs to fight Cilan. Cilan defeats her again, even with her Dewott and Sawsbuck , but she exclaims she will fight him again someday and win. She later participates in the Club Battle, Clubsplosion, and Junior Cup tournaments with the group, held in Nimbasa Town, Ambiga Town, and Lacunosa Town respectively, but lost in round one in all of them. Her Pokémon consist of Dewott, Sawsbuck, Stoutland, and Darmanitan. Georgia (ラングレー, Rangurē ? , Langley) Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Brittney Lee Hamilton (English) Georgia is a female trainer who calls herself a Dragon Buster, someone who specializes in defeating Dragon-Type Pokémon. Incensed, Iris challenges her, and the fight between Georgia's Beartic and Iris's Excadrill where Excadrill loses allows Iris to make Excadrill feel better about their loss to Drayden several years earlier. Georgia ties with Iris in a second battle, as Excadrill learned Focus Blast and gained trust in Iris. Georgia participates in the Club Battle, Clubsplosion, and Junior Cup tournaments with Ash, Iris, and Cilan. Her Pokémon are Beartic, a Pawniard that evolved into a Bisharp, and Vanilluxe. Stephan (ケニヤン, Keniyan ? , Kenyan) Voiced by: Tomohiro Waki (Japanese), Darren Dunstan (English) Stephan is a male trainer whom Ash meets on the way to Nimbasa City. At that point in time he is known to have a Blitzle (which later evolves into Zebstrika), and is later shown to have a Sawk and a Liepard. He and Ash have a battle, but it gets postponed when Oshawott loses his Scalchop. Once Oshawott trains with a fake shell made of rock, he defeats Stephan's Blitzle. Stephan participates in the Club Battle and Clubsplosion tournaments with the gang, the latter in which he and his Sawk win. He also participates in the Unova League, where he makes it to the Top 16. Here, he and Ash have an intense three-on-three battle in which Ash defeats him. There is a running gag in the anime that people always mispronounce his name (similar to Butch), but everyone begins pronouncing his name right by the time the Unova League begins. Cameron (コテツ, Kotetsu ? ) Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese), Rory Max Kaplan (English) Cameron is a new trainer and rival for Ash. He debuts after the Junior Cup, as he meant to compete, but didn't arrive in time. Cameron temporarily joins the group when he goes to earn his 8th Gym Badge from Marlon in Humilau City, and upon obtaining it, he leaves. Cameron returns to compete in the Unova League tournament alongside Ash, Trip, Stephan, Bianca, and Virgil. His Pokémon are Samurott, Ferrothorn, Hydreigon, Swanna, and his main Pokémon is Riolu (who evolves into Lucario during his battle with Ash); he also has a Watchog, seen only as a blackened silhoette. In the Vertress Conference, he defeats Bianca (leaving her in the Top 64), and during the Top 8 manages to defeat Ash despite being one Pokémon short, but is subsequently defeated by Virgil in the Top 4. He seems to be unorganized as he had misinterpreted pretty much everything, such as thinking he needed seven gym badges to compete in a Pokémon league instead of eight. Virgil (バージル, Bājiru ? ) Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese), Tom Wayland (English) Virgil is a rescue worker with his father Jeff and his brother Davey. He saved Ash and his group when they fell off a bunch of rocks while they were trying to climb up to get to Vertress City where Ash had participated in the Vertress Conference. After solving things at the dam, Virgil reveals he also entering the Unova Leage, making him one of Ash's rivals. He eventually won the Unova League. He owns an Eevee and seven of its "Eeveelutions": Umbreon, Espeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Leafeon and Glaceon. It was revealed that as a young boy, he once got lost in the forest with his first Eevee, when it suddenly evolved into an Umbreon and was thus able to lead him out. This event made him fascinated with the Eevee species and led to him becoming an Eevee trainer. Virgil is the only one of Ash's rivals with whom he has not battled. Shauna (サナ, Sana ? ) Voiced by: Yurie Kobori (Japanese), Grey DeLisle (English) Shauna is energetic and loves making Pokévision videos with her Pokémon. She and her friends became fans of Serena after seeing the Pokévision video she made. She dreams of becoming a famous Pokémon Performer and ultimately Kalos Queen. Tierno (ティエルノ, Tierno ? ) Voiced by: Anri Katsu (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English) Tierno is a Pokémon Trainer who loves to dance. This is also reflected in his party as he tends to catch Pokémon with special dance skills such as Hitmontop and Ludicolo. Despite being a rookie Trainer, he can cope well when battling more experienced opponents thanks to his skills, teaching dance moves to his Pokémon so they can evade attacks with ease. Tierno is very friendly and is always encouraging his friends to do their best. He is very supportive of Shauna and often watches her Showcase performances. He has feelings for Serena, which he demonstrates every time they meet. He was responsible for introducing Shauna to Serena. Trevor (トロバ, Trova ? ) Voiced by: Minami Fujii (Japanese), Michael Lockwood Crouch (English) Trevor is a Pokémon Trainer and photographer, his goal as a Trainer is to meet every Pokémon in the Pokédex. Throughout his journey, Trevor aims to take pictures of all the Pokémon he encounters. He is mostly interested in ones with differences in their features, however slight. Miette (ミルフィ, Millefeui ? ) Voiced by: Kei Shindō (Japanese), Maggie McDowell (English) Miette is Serena's rival. She met Ash and his friends when her Slurpuff had eaten one of Serena's PokePuffs and when she revealed they weren't very good, she and Serena soon started a rivalry with each other. In order to prove who is the better baker, she and Serena entered a baking competition and though they made it to the final round, neither of them won. She and Serena eventually settled their dispute and now have a more friendly rivalry. During her time with the group, Miette soon realized Serena's true feelings for Ash and warned her that if she doesn't confess her feelings, than she will admit her own feelings and take Ash for herself. Miette soon met up with Serena and the group again as she had decided to become a Pokémon Performer and was revealed to be entering the same Showcase as Serena with Slurpuff and her newly obtained Meowstic. Miette put on a dazzling performance, but Serena won and earned her first Princess Key. Miette would later participate in the Master Class Showcase, but would be defeated by Serena once more. Sawyer (ショータ, Shōta ? ) Voiced by: Ikue Ohtani (Japanese), Robby Duncan Sharpe (English) Hailing from the Hoenn region, Sawyer is a new Pokémon trainer who chose Treecko as his starter Pokémon from Professor Birch. After meeting Ash, he sets his sights on surpassing Ash as a trainer. His Treecko developed a rivalry with Ash's Frogadier, even evolving in their second battle. Following the evolution of Grovyle into Sceptile, and Ash's Frogadier into Greninja, their rivalry becomes even fiercer, though in the third battle between the two trainers, Sceptile was defeated by Greninja's new "Ash-Greninja" form. In the fourth battle between the two, Sawyer managed to defeat Ash, and then witnessed Ash's defeat at the hands of Snowbelle City Gym Leader Wulfric, mentally saying that the person he admired wouldn't have lost, and that the two would settle things at the Kalos League. At the Kalos League, Sawyer managed to advance all the way to the semi-finals, squaring off against Ash in a 6-on-6 battle, but ultimately lost, despite his Sceptile Mega Evolving. After the Kalos League, he helps fend off Team Flare and aids the civilian survivors in Lumiose City. When he later bids farewell to Ash after the Team Flare crisis, he reveals that his idol Steven Stone had given Sawyer a Key Stone to allow his Sceptile to Mega Evolve, and that he wants to repay the favor by becoming Steven's assistant; he is last seen working alongside Steven at the ruins of Lysandre Labs. His team is composed of Sceptile, Salamence, Slurpuff, Aegislash, Clawitzer, and Slaking. Alain (アラン, Alan ? ) Voiced by: Kenshō Ono (Japanese), Jonathan Silver (English) Alain is a calm, silent-type figure, who shows little emotion and focuses his attention towards battling. Deep down, however, he does not wish to see ones closest to him to suffer or get them in danger. Alain also obeys Lysandre's orders without much hesitation, since Lysandre was the one that equipped him with the Mega Ring and gave him the Mega Stone Charizardite X. In addition, Alain despises losing (at the time of being defeated against Siebold), hence why he did ask Lysandre to battle 10 Mega Evolution trainers to become stronger. Alain worked with Steven Stone while in Hoenn to uncover the secrets of Mega Evolution's origins, ultimately battling Mega Rayquaza, Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre for control of a giant rock which has a connection to Mega Evolution, which would be obtained by Lysandre and Team Flare. Alain's character takes a massive dark turn after his travel-companion Mairin's partner Chespie falls into an unexplainable coma, with his goal shifting to acquiring strength and helping Lysandre so that Chespie's health would be restored. He formally worked as a part of Team Flare, assisting them in capturing the blue Zygarde Core. In addition, he also becomes a rival to Ash after witnessing Ash's Greninja's unique transformation, even entering the Kalos League solely to battle against him. He defeats Ash and wins the Kalos Legaue. But when some members of Team Flare come to capture Ash, he starts to question what Lysandre wants. Eventually, he learned he was betrayed and that Lysandre's actually plan was to control Ash and Greninja. However, Ash helps him forget about his past. Alain thanks Ash for helping him open his eyes and sends Charizard to rescue Pikachu and the rest of Ash's pokemon. As of this, Alain and Ash fight against Lysandre. Alain's team consists of Charizard, Bisharp, Metagross, Weavile, Unfezant, and Tyranitar. Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese), Stuart Zagnit (credited as Richard McGonagle - 4Kids, English) and Carter Cathcart (as Billy Beach; TPCi, English), Keiko Toda (child, Japanese), Tara Sands (child, English) Professor Oak is a Pokémon researcher and the grandfather of Gary Oak . He was once a competitive Trainer, [1] and is generally considered the best in his field. As such, his role in the Pokémon games and anime is that of a mentor to young Pokémon Trainers , a source of information and an occasional plot device . Amongst other things, he is credited with inventing the Pokédex . [1] He also hands out a Bulbasaur , Charmander or Squirtle to beginning trainers (depending on which Pokémon the trainer chooses) to start their adventure in the Kanto Region and owns a Pidgey, a Dragonite and a Rotom. Although he is an expert on all matters relating to Pokémon, Professor Oak specializes in Pokémon behavioural science. Oak's first name is revealed to be Samuel in "The Power of One", the main Feature of Pokémon: The Movie 2000 . Additionally, it is apparent after Pokémon 3: The Movie that he has known Delia Ketchum since she was a child. In the Pokémon 4Ever , Ash meets a boy called Samuel who has been brought to the future by the time-travelling Celebi. At the end of the movie, Sam returns back to his time, with Ash upset to leave his new close friend. It is then revealed that the boy Ash, Misty, and Brock befriended grew up to be Professor Oak, meaning that Professor Oak was best friends with Ash when he was a boy. He also creates poems centered around Pokémon and is known as the rhyming professor by Dawn . He is named after the oak tree in the English version of the game, while he is named after the orchid in the original Japanese version. Professor Ivy (ウチキド博士, Uchikido-hakase ? , Professor Uchikido) Voiced by: Keiko Han (Japanese), Kayzie Rogers (English) Professor Ivy is the resident Pokémon professor of the Orange Islands , south of the region of Kanto . Professor Ivy is first introduced in the second season of the Pokémon anime. Ash and his friends, Misty and Brock make their way to Valencia Island and meet the Professor. The unusual Pokéball that Professor Ivy discovered is dubbed the GS Ball. [1] It serves as a plot device that leads Ash to the region of Johto . During the second season, Brock decides to stay with Ivy to study Pokémon breeding, but later returns to Ash's group. [1] Misty implies that Brock left Ivy because he has been "dumped". She also appears in the animated film Pokémon: The Movie 2000 . [1] Her English name is a reference to the ivy . Her first name is Felina. Professor Elm (ウツギ博士, Utsugi-hakase ? , Professor Utsugi) Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Paul Frank (English) Professor Elm is in charge of giving novice trainers their first Pokémon ( Chikorita , Cyndaquil , or Totodile ) in the video games Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal . He was a student of Professor Oak and moved to New Bark Town in the region of Johto where he conducts his research on Pokémon breeding. His English name refers to the elm tree, while his Japanese name refers to Deutzia . Professor Elm dresses quite casually, with a shirt that has a stripe across it slightly covered by his lab coat. He wears khaki slacks and sometimes wears night slippers or moccasins . He is stereotypically depicted as a professor that has a tendency to be absent-minded, due to his immersion in his work. His forgetfulness was shown in an episode of the Pokémon anime where Team Rocket visit his laboratory , and the professor carelessly assumes them to be Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center without looking up, and tells them to take the Pokémon, which they do. When the real Joy arrives, Elm discovers that one of his Pokémon, Totodile, has been stolen. With the help of Officer Jenny and the local Police Department, the Pokémon is recovered from Team Rocket. Professor Elm has also been described as the top student of Professor Oak, and seems to have a desire to surpass Professor Oak's accomplishments. He has a Corsola. Professor Birch (オダマキ博士, Odamaki-hakase ? , Professor Odamaki) Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese), Dan Green (English) Professor Birch is considered the "Pokémon Professor" in the Hoenn region. Unlike other Pokémon scientists, he is known for his field work, rather than, in his own words, remaining "cooped up in his lab all day." He is an expert in the field of Pokémon habitual distribution . He is also responsible for giving new Pokémon Trainers one of the three Hoenn starter Pokémon: Treecko , Torchic , or Mudkip . These Pokémon are found in Pokémon games Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald . His English name refers to the birch tree, while his Japanese name refers to the Columbine flower . In the anime, Professor Birch appears at the start of the Hoenn Saga. When Ash arrives in the Hoenn region, his Pikachu is ill from an overexposure to magnetism, and needs treatment immediately. Birch himself takes Ash and Pikachu back to his lab. Birch gives May her first Pokémon, a Torchic , a Pokédex , and some Poké Balls. He later appears when Ash, May, Brock, and Max return to Littleroot to help save the Starter Pokémon from Team Rocket, and also helps to solve the mystery of Clamperl's evolutions. Professor Rowan (ナナカマド博士, Nanakamado-hakase ? , Professor Nanakamado) Voiced by: Iemasa Kayumi (Japanese), Sean Reyes (English) Professor Rowan is the authority on Pokémon in the region of Sinnoh , the setting of the Pokémon video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and Pokémon Platinum . Professor Rowan's name derives from the rowan tree, continuing the trend of the names of Pokémon professors deriving from the names of trees, while his Japanese name refers to Sorbus commixta , the Japanese Rowan tree. Rowan's laboratory is located in Sandgem Town, making him the first professor in the Pokémon series not to live in the protagonist's town. He specializes in the research of Pokémon evolution and is considered a senior researcher to Professor Oak, whom he is old friends with. He gives the player a Pokédex , and allows him or her and the rival to keep one of the three Sinnoh Starter Pokémon ( Turtwig , Chimchar and Piplup ) each after they are attacked by Starly while searching for a rare Pokémon, having seen a red Gyarados on TV appearing at Lake Verity (a reference to Pokémon Gold and Silver ). Professor Rowan appears in the first episode of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, "Following a Maiden's Voyage!" He meets Dawn and later gives her Piplup . He owns a Starly and a Staraptor. He runs a Pokémon Summer Academy; he is shown to be serious in nature as is exhibited by his breaking up Ash and Angie's constant fights and surprising them when they are late arriving to the Summer Academy. Professor Aurea Juniper (アララギ博士, Araragi-Hakase ? , Professor Araragi) Voiced by: Naomi Shindō (Japanese), Khristine Hvam (English) Professor Juniper is the authority on Pokémon in the region of Unova , the setting of the Pokémon video games , Pokémon Black and White . Professor Juniper's name derives from the juniper tree, continuing the trend of the names of Pokémon professors deriving from the names of trees, while her Japanese name derives from a name for the Japanese Yew . Juniper's laboratory is located in Nuvema Town. In the anime, she is a friend of Professor Oak. As a present, she gives the player and the player's rivals Cheren and Bianca, the Starter Pokémon of Unova: Snivy , Tepig and Oshawott . Professor Juniper appears in the first episode of Pokémon: Best Wishes! titled "In The Shadow of Zekrom!". She meets Trip and later gives him Snivy and when her Oshawott runs away and follows Ash, she allows Ash to keep the Pokémon. Professor Augustine Sycamore (プラターヌ博士, Platane ? , Professor Platane) Voiced by: Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese), Jake Paque (English) Professor Augustine Sycamore is the authority on Pokémon in the region of Kalos , the setting of the Pokémon video games , Pokémon X and Y . Professor Sycamore's name derives from the sycamore tree, continuing the trend of the names of Pokémon professors deriving from the names of trees, while his Japanese name derives from the French word for Plane Tree . Sycamore's laboratory is located in Lumiose City. He is the first Professor in the video games who the player is able to battle. To start the player on their journey he will give them a choice of Starter Pokémon of Kalos: Chespin , Fennekin , Froakie . He is also shown to have a connection with Alain. Professor Kukui (ククイ博士, Kukui ? , Professor Kukui) Professor Kukui appears in the Alola region. He teaches students at a school that Ash currently attends with Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Sophocles and Kiawe. Kukui gives Ash a Rotom as the operating PokéDex. Main article: Team Rocket (anime) § Team Rocket trio A recurring trio of bumbling (for the first three series) thieves who constantly follow Ash Ketchum around in order to capture his Pikachu, which they consider exceptionally strong and are apparently obsessed over. While they are usually antagonistic towards Ash and his friends, they have shown that they are good-hearted at times and willing to put their differences aside when it is beneficial and then fail at an attempt to steal Pikachu. They are shown to have set up the first Team Rocket base in the Sinnoh region. Despite the frequent loses by the hands of Ash and his friends, the trio briefly teamed up with Ash and his friends to defeat more dangerous threats to the world, even helping out in taking down rivaling crime syndicates (such as Team Plasma and Team Galactic) and reporting their "successes" back to their boss Giovanni. Starting with the Best Wishes! series, the trio has been more serious about their jobs and have accomplished many missions. They are based on the famous villain trio in the Time Bokan series. Butch (コサブロウ, Kosaburō ? ) and Cassidy (ヤマト, Yamato ? ) voiced by Greg Ellis (English) Cassidy Megan Hollingshead (also English) They are the rivals of Jessie, James, and Meowth; unlike the trio, they are successful members of Team Rocket and are looked upon favorably by Giovanni . Their plans are on a larger scale, with the goal of capturing many Pokémon at once; for example, in their first appearance they ran a breeding center to steal others' Pokémon. As a running gag, other characters usually mispronounce Butch's name (e.g. Biff, Botch, Buzz, Bob, Chuck, Bill, Buffy, Butcher, Hutch, etc.), and when they do get his name right, he corrects them out of habit, usually with misspronouncing his own name in the process. The duo sometimes recites a less poetic, more arrogant version of the motto used by Jessie, James, and Meowth. However, just like the trio, Cassidy and Butch can be quite bumbling as shown in the Pokémon Chronicles spinoff, where they failed to capture Pokémon and end up blasting off, much to their embarrassment. Cassidy is voiced by Megan Hollingshead and Andy Whaley (4Kids), Elizabeth Morinelli (TPCI) in English while Yamato is voiced by Masako Katsuki in Japanese. Eric Stuart and Greg Ellis (4Kids) and Jimmy Zoppi (TPCI) voices Butch in English while Takehito Koyasu does Kosaburō's Japanese voice. Pierce (フリント, Furinto ? , Flint) Pierce is a member of Team Rocket who is Jessie, James, and Meowth's contact in the Unova Region. Sent by Giovanni, he directs the trio to perform a series of crimes involving research on a meteorite that fell on Unova hundreds of years in the past. He is voiced by Jin Yamanoi , and is voiced by Dan Green in the English version. Voiced by Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese), Marc Thompson (English) He is the leader of Team Magma. Maxie wants to wipe out the sea in order to create more land by using a volcano and Groudon . He is more misguided than truly evil, as he believes that his actions will benefit others. Maxie met Ash in the episode "Gaining Groudon", and told him of his plans. He also told Ash about the Blue Orb, which could control Groudon, and with it in his hands, he could make life better for himself. Suddenly, Pikachu got possessed by the Blue Orb. It controlled Groudon, and a cataclysmic battle began, resulting in Groudon's victory. Afterwards, Maxie thanks Ash, realizing that the land of Hoenn was perfect the way it is. Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Sean Schemmel (English) He is the leader of Team Galactic. His goal is to "create a new world" in his own image, with himself as the God of that world. In his first appearance, it was shown that he is a rich businessman who has made most of the buildings and libraries throughout Sinnoh. However, Ash and the others do not know that he is also the Team Galactic leader. Since then, he has appeared many times as the Team Galactic leader. In the end he has his dimension created, and enters it shortly before it is destroyed by Dialga and Palkia. Voiced by Hideaki Tezuka (Japanese) H.D. Quinn (English) Lysandre is the leader of Team Flare, and the creator of Lysandre Labs, the creators of the Holo Caster. Lysandre is a calm, respected man, who works together with the scientists of his own laboratory, the Lysandre Labs, in order to craft many products to create a better future. Despite his somewhat friendly behavior, deep down lies a dark man working with Team Flare to capture Zygarde with a red core, who escaped from his lab, and with the blue core, who is reported to be seen at Terminus Cave. Malva, who works with Lysandre, is somewhat intrigued he managed to get a hold of Alain, who is obeying his every command. He is able to take control of blue-core Zygarde and launches a full-out attack on Lumiose City, devastating it. Alain and Ash team up and defeat him and Bonnie and Clemont are able to free the controlled Zygarde. He retreats and makes use of a third Zygarde, this one of a giant rock, which has a connection to Mega Evolution. The blue-core and red-core Zygarde join forms into 100% form and destroy the fossil and, in a first for the series, kill the team leader. Voiced by: Masami Toyoshima (Japanese), Veronica Taylor (4Kids, English), Sarah Natochenny (TPCI, English) She is Ash's mother. Delia is very caring toward her son, always reminding him to do his best. She is very talented, having won a beauty pageant and cooked a dish so popular that elite chefs at the Indigo Plateau have asked for its recipe. It is not known who is the father of Ash, but it isn't clear that Ash's parents have separated, although she has contacted him at least once since Ash left. She has a Mr. Mime housekeeper who helps her with chores and is also rather adept in battle. In the Japanese version, the name of Satoshi's mother was, for a long time, unrevealed (with her referring to herself as Satoshi no haha or referred as Mama-san, although the role was credited as Hanako). The name Hanako (and its English counterpart, Delia) was revealed during the second Pokémon movie . She is also constantly reminding Ash to change his underwear. Nurse Joy (ジョーイ, Jōi ? ) Voiced by: Ayako Shiraishi (EP002-EP229, Japanese), Yuriko Yamaguchi (EP245-EP488; EP517-EP656, Japanese), Kikuko Inoue (Temp. Replacement from EP491-EP516, Japanese), Chika Fujimura (EP659-EP795, Japanese), Chinatsu Akasaki (EP802-present, Japanese), Megan Hollingshead (Season 1-6, English), Bella Hudson (Season 7-8, Season 16, English), Michele Knotz (Season 9-13, English), Alyson Rosenfeld (Season 14-16, English) Kate Bristol (Season 17-present, English) "Joy" is the shared last name of the Joy family, in which most members are nurses. They mainly work in Pokémon Centers , but they also work in other locations. They are also often accompanied by a Chansey or Blissey (throughout Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh) or Audino (throughout Unova), or Wigglytuff (through Kalos). Like Chansey, Blissey, Audino, and Wigglytuff, all Nurse Joys are mostly hospitable, especially towards Pokémon. Brock, who claims to be able to tell the Joys just by minor appearance details (different-colored crosses on their hats; hair is slightly shorter; smile is wider; etc.), is infatuated with every Nurse Joy he meets, and often has to be restrained by a traveling companion. Although all of them look almost identical to each other, some do have different personalities, and a few even other occupations besides nursing. There is a Nurse Joy who is a body builder, a contest judge and even one who is scared of water Pokémon. In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl series, there was also a Nurse Joy who is married and has two daughters who both have the name "Joy" at the end of their names and looks exactly like their mother rather than their father. [9] Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga author Toshihiro Ono cited her as one of his favorite characters to draw for the series, stating the reason as "because she's a girl". [10] Officer Jenny (ジュンサー, Junsā ? , Junsar) Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (EP002-EP632, Japanese), Chiaki Takahashi (EP663-EP795, Japanese), Chiemi Ishimatsu (EP801-present, Japanese) Lee Quick (Season 1-7, English), Jamie Davyous Owens (Season 8, English), Elisabeth Morinelli (Season 9-13, English), Emily Bauer (Season 14-16, English), Saskia Maarleveld (Season 17 present ,English) "Jenny" is the shared last name of the Jenny family, in which most members are police officers and maintain the law and order in the Pokémon world and often oppose members of Team Rocket . The Japanese name, junsaa, means "police officer". Officer Jennies are often accompanied by Growlithe or a particular Pokémon that is of importance in a town or a personal preference to that Jenny, such as a Wobbuffet , Spinarak or even a Chatot . There are also many with trademark items to differentiate some, but are just as few as the Joys. The only differences are the symbols on their hats and their uniforms (which are different depending on their region.) Raoul Contesta (コンテスタ, Contesuta ? ) Voiced by: Koichi Sakaguchi (Japanese) Mike Pollock (Season 6-8, Season 13, English) Craig Blair (Season 9-12, English) Mr. Contesta is main judge of the three contest judges of Pokémon Contests. He is usually the first one to comment on the Pokémon, and the one who offers advice to the Coordinators. He is critical, but fair in his judgments. Mr. Sukizo (スキゾー, Sukizou-san ? ) Voiced by: Yoshinori Sonobe (Japanese) Darren Dunstan (Season 6-8, English) Craig Blair (Season 9-12, English) Billy Beach (Season 13, English) Mr. Sukizo is one of the three judges for Pokémon contests, alongside Mr. Contesta and Nurse Joy. His appearance resembles that of a male PokéFan, which may have served as inspiration for his design. Sukizo is a man of few words as the only thing he ever seems to say is "I like it" (好きですね). In the English adaptation of the series, his phrase is "remarkable". Lyra (コトネ, Kotone ? ) Voiced by: Megumi Nakajima (Japanese), Eileen Stevens (English) Lyra is a female trainer from Johto who joins Ash and friends for a couple of episodes (from "An Egg Scramble! to "Bagged Then Tagged!"). Lyra is based on the female player character of the same name in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver . In "A Rivalry To Gible On", Lyra tried to make Dawn and Khoury a couple, but realized that she had feelings for Khoury. Khoury (カズナリ, Kazunari ? ) Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese), Christopher Niosi (English) He is a male trainer from Johto who joins Ash and friends for a couple of episodes (from "An Egg Scramble! to "Bagged Then Tagged!"). He, like Brock, wants to become a breeder someday. Don George (ドン・ジョージ, Don Jōji ? ) Voiced by: Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Marc Thompson (English) "Don George" is the name of the owners of Pokémon Battle Clubs (ポケモンバトルクラブ, Pokemon Batoru Kurabu ? ) throughout Unova. Like the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys, there are many Don Georges that are all identical, but having different colored collars and wrist bands. Luke (ルーク, Rūku ? ) Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Billy Bob Thompson (English) Luke is a young Pokémon trainer and amateur filmmaker Ash, Iris, and Cilan meet with when they reach Nimbasa City. He uses his Zorua, Golett, and Leavanny to make films, and has Ash, Cilan, and Iris help him finish his latest film. He later joins them in signing up for the Don Battle tournament, using his Larvesta to reach the semi-finals. Cynthia (シロナ, Shirona ? ) Voiced by: Tomo Sakurai (Japanese), Emily Jenness (English) Cynthia is the reigning Champion of the Sinnoh League. Her side interests are in studying the archaeology and legends of the Sinnoh Region. She appears many times throughout the Diamond & Pearl series where helps Ash and his friends try to stop Team Galactic from reaching their ultimate goal. Successful, she later appears at the Sinnoh League tournament where she observes the battles as the league's Champion. She reappears in Best Wishes! Season 2 and reunites with Ash, as she has arranged to enter Unova's Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup for a demonstration match against a member of Unova's Elite 4. For the first few episodes of the Season, Ash and his friends (along with Dawn) stay at her villa in Undella Town. N (エヌ, N ? ) Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Nicholas DiMichele (English) Unlike the games, N is not a villain, but an ally to Ash and his friends. Like his game counterpart, N can hear the inner voices of Pokemon and believes that humans are using them for their own gain. However, he is not part of Team Plasma, but rather a defected member; Ghetsis raised him along with Anthea and Concordia, making them believe Pokemon cannot be equals with humans unless they are released from Poké Balls. A short time before the present, N was about to be crowned King of Team Plasma in Ghetsis' plan to use N's pure-hearted desire to save Pokemon to summon Reshiram and enslave it. However, the attempt backfired, and left Team Plasma's castle destroyed by Fusion Flare. N, along with Anthea and Concordia fled to a secluded abandoned castle, where they spent their time tending to mistreated Pokémon (in other words he is a Pokémon version of an Animal rights activist ).
i don't know
Which basalt tablet was famously rediscovered in 1799 by French Captain Pierre Francois Bouchard, bearing parallel inscriptions in Greek, Egyptian Hieroglyphic and demotic characters?
Ancient Egypt | Auricmedia – Blogman's Wonderland Auricmedia – Blogman's Wonderland Search for: Tag Archives: Ancient Egypt >> http://www.donaldmarshallrevolution.com/ Donald Marshall: Vril lizard agenda Marshall claims that there is a secret that has been kept by members of the Illuminati for more than 70 years, a secret of such great importance, as to effect the lives of every man, woman and child on the face of the planet. Marshall states that his mission in life is to share this secret with the world, so that all can know the truth and plan for the future. In order to fully understand this secret, it will be necessary to return to the events of Postwar Germany, following the end of World War I, where, in 1923, Hitler was named the leader of the new Nazi party. Following a failed attempt to overthrow the federal government, Hitler was arrested for treason. While awaiting trial in Landsberg prison, he read Bulwer-Lytton’s 1871 novel: Vril: The Power of the Coming Race about a master-race of beings who call themselves the Vril-ya. They claim to be the descendants of the inhabitants of ancient Atlantis, with access to an extraordinary force called Vril, an unlimited source of energy that supplies all their needs and can be controlled at will. Hitler believed the novel to be true and once made Chancellor of Germany, he would send teams of spelunkers into caves and mines all over Europe searching for the Vril-ya. He dispatched regular expeditions to Asia, especially Tibet, where Nazi explorers made significant connections with influential Tibetan lamas, who had expert knowledge about the underground tunnel and cavern systems around the world. Legend was these Tibetan lamas guarded a secret entrance to the Inner World, known as the Red Door, hidden within the Potala palace in the mountain city of Lhasa. Once a Nazi-Tibetan alliance was formed, the lamas agreed to share with them that for centuries, they had been helping to hide an indigenous race of lizard living deep within the planet since prehistoric times, known as Vril lizards. It seems that these lizards knew the location of an abandoned military base dating back from the time of Atlantis, filled with ancient aircraft, weaponry and technology hidden within the tunnels and caverns of Antarctica. The lizards had no use for the tech, but they were willing to trade for something else they wanted. The lizards were carnivorous and preferred to consume fresh human flesh. And so, a deal was made. The Nazis got the ancient Atlantean tech and sold out the human race. But according to Marshall, this is not the first time Vril lizards have interacted with humans. He claims that for centuries, royalty, powerful heads of state and trusted religious leaders around the world have kept a secret pact with the malevolent lizards. World leaders would receive valuable resources buried deep within the planet, such as gemstones, gold and other minerals and, in exchange, these leaders would conceal all evidence of the Vril from the surface population, so no one would learn of their existence. In addition to helping them hide, Vril lizards required that they be provided with a steady supply of humans to consume. However, Marshall says that keeping the Secret of Vril not only refers to hiding the lizards and denying their existence, but also refers to an even bigger secret. Being a parasitic race, Vril lizards have the unique biological ability to invade the human body, take over the brain, and by accessing their memories, they can look, act and seem human in every way. After a period of recovery, the human is able to return to its normal activities, except the brain is now under the complete control of the Vril parasite. Much like the 1956 scifi classic The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which the inhabitants of a small California town are replaced, one by one, with identical copies of themselves, Marshall warns us that we’ve already been invaded, we just don’t know it. Marshall explains that Vril lizards are essentially parasites, and like all parasites, have a biological drive to invade, dominate and take over. Marshall refers to this biological takeover as “bodysnatching” and explains that the human victim dies once the Vril lizard takes over. Marshall says that with the help of the Illuminati, bodysnatching Vril lizards have infiltrated all levels of society and hold positions of power all over the world. This is done in order to remove key people and replace them with Vril hosts. Marshall states that Vril hosts can be found everywhere, in all levels of government, business, banking, military, law enforcement, journalism, media and entertainment. Just how is this bodysnatching process accomplished? According to Marshall, Vril lizards have a natural proboscis at the top of their head, from which they eject a type of thick cerebrospinal fluid. When this fluid enters the human, usually through the eye and from there, to the brain, a chemical transformation immediately begins to take place. The victim essentially dies, leaving the lizard parasite in complete control of all brain function. After a period of recovery, the Vril host can return to its’ regular activities, looking, acting and seeming completely normal. Marshall reports that the Illuminati even hold a special bodysnatching ceremony to celebrate this Vril lizard takeover. Guests watch as the victim, conscious, though usually bound, is restrained and forced to sit still, until the lizard transfer is complete. Marshall claims to have seen this sick bodysnatching ceremony many times. Marshall claims that the Illuminati bodysnatch many people, in every country, all over the world. They sometimes choose victims from incarcerated prisoners or longterm patients in hospitals and medical facilities; anywhere they have easy access to people, they will bodysnatch and replace them with a Vril host. Anyone can be bodysnatched and, according to Marshall, he’s even seen this done to young children. Furthermore, Marshall claims that all loyal families within the Illuminati are expected to offer one of their children to be replaced by a Vril host. They comply since there is the unspoken threat that should they prove to be difficult, they can be bodysnatched at any time. Marshall says he has even seen bodysnatching done with just a couple of guys holding someone down while the victim is screaming, no ceremony required. According to Marshall, the Illuminati utilize this unique parasitic ability of the lizards to further their own dark agenda. They are able to remove those resistant to their goals without anyone even noticing, and with Vril bodysnatching, the troublesome person is now replaced with an Illuminati spy, infinitely loyal and willing to report back everything they see and hear. It is crucial to understand Vril lizard psychology, since Marshall maintains that all Vril lizards want to be human. They admire human intelligence and the beautiful human form. They want to crawl out from deep underground into the light and walk unnoticed among humanity. However, they are not human and have no capacity to feel human emotions. In fact, as malevolent lizards, they enjoy causing pain and suffering. Marshall reveals that Vril hosts are responsible for much of the senseless crimes and spree killings that occur. However, Vril hosts are excellent mimics and make convincing humans. And since there is no way to detect the presence of a Vril host, except with an MRI scan of the brain, most members of the Illuminati pretend to like the lizards and are friendly to Vril hosts, since no one is ever certain if they are talking to a host or human. According to Marshall, prehistoric Vril lizards have been bodysnatching humans throughout history, even during ancient times. He claims that they are, in part, responsible for the destruction of the island of Atlantis, where legend tells lived an advanced civilization that existed in the Atlantic ocean. Marshall reports that Vril hosts had bodysnatched and infiltrated their way into positions of power throughout Atlantean culture, where they destroyed themselves with advanced weaponry, causing cataclysmic flooding and earthquakes. Marshall asserts that Vril lizards often infiltrate human societies, by targeting individuals in the ruling class, royalty or priesthood. Once they are in positions of power, Vril lizards attempt to convince the humans to worship them as either gods or demons; something to be feared and obeyed without question. As gods, Vril lizards would demand human sacrifices as a show of loyalty and devotion. In these cultures, it was considered an honor to be bodysnatched and chosen to become a god. The people didn’t understand the biological nature of the takeover of the brain, and thought it was some kind of mystical or magical transformation. As demons, Vril lizards were deeply feared. Old legends warn travelers against going into certain haunted caves and mountains, and to beware when darkness falls as this was the time when demons would creep about, stealing babies and livestock. When Vril lizards would bodysnatch a victim, the person was later said to be demon possessed and various means would be attempted to drive the demons out. Many cultures around the world attempted to limit Vril lizard infestation, and Marshall says most, at some point, “start sharpening pointy sticks”. For example, The Hopi Indian culture successfully drove off Vril lizards, while the ancient Anasazi Indians of New Mexico, were forced to leave behind their elaborate cliff dwellings in order to relocate far away from nearby Vril infested caves. Throughout history, the lizards stayed hidden underground, in dark caves and tunnels, trying to avoid discovery. Some royal families kept Vril lizards as pets, and used them to instill fear in those not showing the proper loyalty to the crown. Some world religious leaders also knew of the lizards, had secret alliances with them, and agreed to help them. In the 1940’s, a secret pact was forged between the Nazis and the lizards making them mutual allies. Conditions of the pact required directing tremendous resources to assist the Vril lizards, including the building of deep, underground military bases worldwide. This would allow the lizards a way to interact directly with humans which, in turn, would permit the massive, government sponsored bodysnatching so prevalent around the world today. If we can assume that all this is true, that bodysnatching malevolent lizards have infiltrated human society and are replacing us, one by one, without raising any alarm, one might ask: Wouldn’t someone try to tell people and save humanity? According to Marshall, President Ronald Reagan tried to warn the public on numerous occasions from 1985 to1988. In an important speech to the United Nation General Assembly on September 21st, 1987, at the height of the Star Wars space race with Russia, Reagan mused, “In our obsession with the antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside of this world. And yet I ask: is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our people then war and the threat of war?” Marshall states that the Illuminati forgave Reagan’s comments at first, but when he continued to talk about aliens living among us, they “blew his mind and called it Alzheimer’s”. Marshall encourages us to remember the ultimate Vril lizard agenda, which he claims has remained unchanged for centuries: to infiltrate human society and take over the planet. Marshall warns us to act quickly to spread the news, as anyone can be bodysnatched. As the ending from “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” warns us: They’re already here. You’re next. Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me and especially the Spinx. Is there an ancient library of gold tablet or what under it? They have found a chamber underneath it so something is definitely there… The Sphinx There has never been a satisfactory answer to what the Sphinx actually is or was. Anyone who goes to Giza can see for himself or herself that there is something ‘wrong’ with the Sphinx. It only takes an instant. The body is gigantic and the head is just a pimple. The Egyptians never did anything like that, they were always meticulous about proportions in their art. So how is it that we have this monster with a tiny head sitting there in the sand, then? There are several other things wrong with the Sphinx. They are: The back is flat. Who ever saw a lion with a flat back, no big chest, and no mane? The Sphinx is sitting in a deep hole in the ground. Why is that? Why is it not sitting somewhere high up so that it can show off? There is a ruined temple right in front of the Sphinx, with a wall practically up against its nose, and no door in that wall. Why obstruct the view of the Sphinx from the front like that? And if the temple was for worshipping the Sphinx, why is there no access from the temple to the Sphinx, so that you can’t even get to it? The pit in which the Sphinx sits seems to be deeply eroded, as if by flows of water. What caused all that? It looks as if water has poured down the sides. On the other hand, there are no such vertical erosion patterns on the Sphinx itself, which instead has clear horizontal erosion patterns. How can these two different patterns at right angles to each other be reconciled? And what could possibly have caused either of them? None of this makes any sense if you think about it. Of course, many people don’t think. They just gawp and move on, their brains in neutral. But when my wife and I first saw the Sphinx many years ago, we just stood there in astonishment and both agreed that the whole thing was wrong, wrong, wrong. So now after many years of work, we think we have found some answers. Naturally, any new idea about anything that ‘everybody knows’ makes conventionally thinking people enraged, and makes anti-establishment people delighted. No prizes for guessing which side I’m on. Let me first declare my position on what has become something of an entrenched notion amongst my fellow anti-Establishmentarians. I do not believe that the Sphinx is 12,500 years old. Nor do I believe in ‘ancient rain’. I do believe that the Sphinx is older than conventionally believed. But I do not believe it is thousands of years older, or anything of that kind. I do believe there is water erosion at the Sphinx site, but I do not believe it had anything to do with ‘ancient rain’, nor do I believe there was anything there to be eroded at the time any ‘ancient rain’ fell. So what is the answer, then? The water of the Nile in those days, at the time of inundation once a year (which no longer happens because of the Aswan dam), came right up to the edge of the Sphinx Temple, where there are even quays in front. So what I believe happened was that the water of the Nile was let into the Sphinx Pit, which I now call the Sphinx Moat, by some simple water-raising devices, led along the narrow channel between the Sphinx Temple and the Valley Temple (the two structures in front of the Sphinx), and its flow was controlled by a series of sluices and water gates. The signs of these sluices and gates, with their many bolt holes and so forth, no longer exist, because new stones and cement have been laid over them. But not to worry! I took plenty of photographs of them before they disappeared, and those are all reproduced in our book. Everyone can then see it all very clearly. The reason why the temple wall is in front of the Sphinx is to act as the fourth barrier to the water. The reason why there is no door in the wall is that it would have let the water out. The horizontal erosion on the side of the Sphinx (where it is not covered by ‘restoration stones’) is because the Sphinx was sitting in the middle of a moat filled with water. The vertical erosion on the sides of the pit, especially the south side, is because of the continual dredging of the Moat due to the windblown sand accumulating there. Every time the Moat was dredged, water poured down in torrents onto the sides, leading to vertical erosion, accentuated by the natural cavities in the limestone bedrock. So I think the Sphinx was, amongst other things, an island! This immediately solves the puzzle of the evidence recorded by the fifth century BCE Greek historian Herodotus, who said that King Cheops let water in from the Nile to surround an island at Giza. Here it is! Whose Head is on the Sphinx? So we have got an island. Now what do we do with it? And why is King Cheops’s head the size of a pimple on the front of this large flat-backed lion, surrounded by water? What’s going on? But wait! Who says that is King Cheops’s head? Some say it is King Chephren’s head, but if you have ever seen Chephren’s head on that huge statue in the Cairo Museum, you know they look nothing alike at all, since Chephren has a long face and the Sphinx has a round face, just for starters, and there’s plenty else that’s not the same too. At this point of my wonderings, I began to feel really uncomfortable. I generally know when something doesn’t fit. I may not know what does fit, but I more often know what does not. And that face is neither Cheops (not that we know what he really looked like anyway, as the only likeness of him that survives is a three inch-high ivory statuette, which could be your Uncle Tony or even your Auntie Madge for that matter) nor old Chephren Long-Face. So who is it? It was at this point that I discovered one of those forgotten sources which keep falling into my lap, and in this case it was an article written by a German archaeologist named Ludwig Borchardt long before the Sphinx was excavated, when only its head and neck were sticking above the sand. Borchardt used to go and stand there and look at it. In those days, you could look the Sphinx in the eye and he wouldn’t even flinch, in fact he smiled back. Nowadays, he’s very stuck up, with his head high above us if we stand at his feet, so you can’t make out the details of his head all that well. Borchardt got to thinking. He noticed that the Sphinx was wearing eye-paint stripes (no comment, pharaohs have the right to do what they like as consenting adults in the privacy of their own Sphinx Pits), and he knew that those were not worn in the period known as the Old Kingdom, when Cheops and Chephren lived. He noticed the details of the stripe patterns in the strange headdress worn by the Sphinx. The face had to be that of a pharaoh, since this headdress was the sacred religious headdress of the pharaoh known as a nemes. But Borchardt, who was head of the German Institute at Cairo and therefore knew a thing or two, realised that those stripe patterns were also not used in the Old Kingdom. He started to do some research on nemes headdresses, and he discovered that those particular stripe patterns were only used in the Middle Kingdom period, hundreds of years later than Cheops and Chephren. He wrote this all up in technical form and published it in a distinguished scholarly periodical (in German of course, but I have translated it and it appears as an appendix to our book), and concluded that the Sphinx had been carved in the Middle Kingdom Period, not in the Old Kingdom period. But everybody laughed at poor old Borchardt. Who ever heard of such a thing? The Middle Kingdom! Borchardt must have gone crazy! And then the Sphinx was excavated in 1926, and finally completely excavated in 1936, and it was perfectly clear to everyone that the Sphinx was much older than the Middle Kingdom. But everybody forgot that Borchardt had never seen the Sphinx’s body at the time he wrote the article, he was only talking about the head. So I have reopened the case and concluded that the head was recarved in the Middle Kingdom, just as Borchardt said, and what is more, I believe I can even identify precisely which pharaoh’s face that is. Of course, to find that out, you really need to see the book. However, it is all very well identifying the face on the Sphinx. Some people might be satisfied just doing that. But no, it’s like watching a film noir without knowing the ending. Even if you know whodunnit, you still want to know the motive. “Everybody knows” Herd Mentality So what was the Sphinx before it had that guy’s face carved on it? Well, to figure that one out you have to try to figure out what the Sphinx was before that pharaoh got his chisels on it. This draws one’s attention to the flat back. “Everybody knows” that the Sphinx has the body of a lion. As soon as I hear that “everybody knows” something, I know that it must be wrong. I have a pathologically anti-herd mentality. All you have to do is tell me “everybody knows” something, and I will instantly disbelieve it. That is because crowds are always wrong. Crowds have about as much sense as a mollusc. I started from the premise that the Sphinx was not a lion at all. Millions of people see it every year, from all over the world, and they all “know” that it is a lion. So that means that it cannot possibly be one. They “know” it is a lion because they have been told that it is a lion. The Germans were told that Hitler was their saviour and so they “knew” it, the Russians all “knew” that Stalin was like a gentle father, who would look after them. Yes, everybody, or at least everybody they knew, “knew” these things. And people also all once “knew” that the Earth was flat, and that the Sun went round the Earth. Those things were all “known.” But were they true? If it wasn’t a lion, what was it? Well, it had to be an animal with a straight back, with no huge chest, and no mane. It also had to be an animal that crouched like that with its legs stuck out in front of it. (There is no use looking too closely at the paws, as they are completely covered in restoration stones, and have been shaped to look like “what everybody knows,” in order to re-confirm the consensus falsehood which everybody has agreed to believe in.) Anubis – Guardian of the Necropolis The Sphinx is crouching there at the entrance to the Necropolis like a guardian. Well, there it is! It is a guard dog! The ancient Egyptians had a god called Anubis, who was a crouching wild dog, generally referred to as a jackal (although strictly speaking there were no jackals in Egypt, and Anubis was really a wild dog species which is now extinct). Anubis was the guardian of the Necropolis, the guardian of the dead, and he was often depicted in the precise position of the Sphinx – and famously in a statue found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun as well – so that his image is familiar to almost anyone who has ever had an interest in ancient Egypt. In the comments i have posted a picture which shows how the recarved head of the Sphinx was carved out of the neck stump which remained on the Sphinx after the original statue was mutilated by the rampaging mobs who smashed up everything they could on the Giza Plateau during the period of chaos known as the First Intermediate Period, between 2200 and 2000 BCE. It was the easiest thing in the world to knock the ears and nose off the Sphinx when the Sphinx was Anubis. You couldn’t put them back because the Sphinx was carved out of the solid bedrock, and the pieces must have been smashed to bits anyway. So the later exhibitionist pharaoh could even tell himself he was doing a pious act and ‘restoring’ the statue by flaunting himself, just as, say, Madonna helps the world, doesn’t she? Tom Cruise is also saving the world, remember? Yes, we all know that all celebrities are getting their pictures in the papers only for noble causes, and it has nothing to do with wanting people to look at them, or with such a low thing as vanity. Speaking of movie stars, the Sphinx is now so botoxed and has had so much plastic surgery from crazy ‘restoration’ (which is all shown in great detail in our book) that he could easily get a lead part in a blockbuster. But his ‘nose job’ didn’t go so well, as it is still missing. It was hacked off in the 13th century by a fanatical imam named Sheikh Mohammed, who wished to purge Egypt of non-Islamic influences. He got as far as the nose, at least. (The story that the nose was shot off by Napoleon’s soldiers is false.) So now we have a crouching Anubis as an island, surrounded by a little lake. And at last we have something which students of the ancient texts can suddenly recognise. For the most ancient surviving Egyptian texts, known as the Pyramid Texts, often speak of a sacred place associated with the Giza Necropolis called Jackal Lake. And here it is! Now we are getting somewhere. It is all beginning to make sense. In our book we gather together the many ancient texts which refer to Anubis guarding the Necropolis, situated at Giza, being beside a causeway, and being very large. We also reproduce Fourth Dynasty Giza tomb reliefs showing a giant Anubis, which may be intended as actual depictions of the Sphinx. Secret Chamber Beneath the Sphinx Most people who are intrigued by Egyptian mysteries have been wondering for a long time whether there might be any secret chamber beneath the Sphinx. I have crawled around inside the Sphinx, and I describe the tunnel which exists in the rear portion of the Sphinx’s body, as well as the vertical tunnel carved out of the bedrock beneath the Sphinx’s rump, and reproduce photos of these. Then an amazing thing happened. I came across a passage in one of the old books which I collect, in this case one published in 1715, which described a chamber beneath the Sphinx and gave an eyewitness account of it! I was astounded. The book referred to earlier accounts of this chamber, but neglected to say who had written them or when they had been published. Slight problem! How was I to find these books? If you went into the British Library and told a librarian you needed a book published before 1715 which described a chamber beneath the Sphinx, you would be told to come back when you had the author’s name or the title of the book. All I had to go on was ‘a book mentioning the Sphinx before 1715’, so how did I do it? That is where my special abilities come in… I was eventually able to find 281 years’ worth of published eyewitness accounts of the chamber beneath the Sphinx, including detailed information about exactly where it was, its size, and the fact that it contained the remains of a wooden coffin. Because the chamber was described as having hieroglyphics on the walls, I am certain that it was what archaeologists call ‘an intruded burial’, but it must have been a royal one, as a shaft was carefully constructed and a chamber cut in one of the most important monuments in Egypt, within the sacred precincts of the royal Necropolis. The shaft was sealed with cement by Émile Baraize in 1926. A century earlier, Henry Salt also sealed some openings and passages elsewhere at the Sphinx, and was sharply criticised for it by the French Count de Forbin. All of this is described in full detail in our book. So, yes, there is a ‘secret chamber’ beneath the Sphinx. And the information in our book proves this beyond all possibility of doubt. But no, it is not original and does not date from the time of the Sphinx’s carving. Also, it is empty, so there is no gold or treasure. But if we could just read what it says on the walls! Another thing I was able to demonstrate is that the Sphinx and the three Giza pyramids were part of a single unified design concept of the Giza Plateau. The position and size of the Sphinx is determined precisely in relation to the three pyramids, in a manner never before noticed. This is shown and explained at great length in the book, and it is not really possible to summarise that material, as it is too lengthy and detailed for a brief description. I can say, however, that it was part of a resurrection cult. In the process of explaining this in detail, I even have occasion to explain the true nature of those bizarre reliefs in a crypt at Denderah which have excited a great deal of speculation, the ones with the ‘lightbulbs’, although they are 2,500 years more recent, and their only connection is through the symbolism. I hope everybody will get a lot out of looking through our book, and, who knows, maybe even reading it. Stranger things have happened. Oh yes, I almost forgot: ‘Woof! Woof!’ Award winning documentary on the sphinx. Blogman Leave a comment Ancient egypt has a strong connection towards Sirius and old relics they have found in South-America has relation to Sirius. So could it be, that humankind has a connection to that star? Maybe some ancient civilization came from there and built the pyramids and other old monuments, you decide… Since ancient times and across multiple civilizations, Sirius, the dog star, has been surrounded with a mysterious lore. Esoteric teachings of all ages have invariably attributed to Sirius a special status and the star’s importance in occult symbolism is an attestation of that fact. Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major – also known as the Big Dog – and is therefore known as the “dog star”. It is over twenty times brighter than our sun and is twice as massive. At night time, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and its blue-white glare never failed to amaze star gazers since the dawn of time. No wonder Sirius has been revered by practically all civilizations. But is there more to Sirius than meets the eye? Artifacts of ancient civilizations have revealed that Sirius was of a great importance in astronomy, mythology and occultism. Mystery schools consider it to be “sun behind the sun” and, therefore, the true source of our sun’s potency. If our sun’s warmth keeps the physical world alive, Sirius is considered to keep the spiritual world alive. It is the “real light” shining in the East, the spiritual light, where as the sun illuminates the physical world, which is considered to be a grand illusion. Associating Sirius with the divine and even considering it as the home of humanity’s “great teachers” is not only embedded in the mythology of a few primitive civilizations: It is a widespread belief that has survived (and even intensified) to this day. We will look at the importance of Sirius in ancient times, analyze its prominence in secret societies and we will examine these esoteric concepts as they are translated in popular culture. In Ancient Egypt, Sirius was regarded as the most important star in the sky. In fact, it was astronomically the foundation of the Egyptians’ entire religious system. It was revered as Sothis and was associated with Isis, the mother goddess of Egyptian mythology. Isis is the female aspect of the trinity formed by herself, Osiris and their son Horus. Ancient Egyptians held Sirius in such a high regard that most of their deities were associated, in some way or another, with the star. Anubis, the dog-headed god of death, had an obvious connection with the dog star and Thoth-Hermes, the great teacher of humanity, was also esoterically connected with the star. The Egyptian calendar system was based on the heliacal rising of Sirius that occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile during summer. The star’s celestial movement was also observed and revered by ancient Greeks, Sumerians, Babylonians and countless other civilizations. The star was therefore considered sacred and its apparition in the sky was accompanied with feasts and celebrations. The dog star heralded the coming of the hot and dry days of July and August, hence the popular term “the dog days of summer”. Several occult researchers have claimed that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in perfect alignment with the stars, especially Sirius. The light from these stars were said to be used in ceremonies of Egyptian Mysteries. “This ancient people (Egyptians) knew that once every year the Parent Sun is in line with the Dog Star. Therefore, the Great Pyramid was so constructed that, at this sacred moment, the light of the Dog Star fell upon the square “Stone of God” at the upper end of the Great Gallery, descending upon the head of the high priest, who received the Super Solar Force and sought through his own perfected Solar Body to transmit to other Initiates this added stimulation for the evolution of their Godhood. This then was the purpose of the “`Stone of God,’ whereon in the Ritual, Osiris sits to bestow upon him (the illuminate) the Atf crown or celestial light.” “North and South of that crown is love,” proclaims an Egyptian hymn. “And thus throughout the teaching of Egypt the visible light was but the shadow of the invisible Light; and in the wisdom of the ancient country the measures of Truth were the years of the Most High. Recent scientific discoveries relating to the Great Pyramid and its mysterious “air shafts” have lead researchers to further confirm the importance of Sirius within the pyramid. Star alignment with the Great Pyramid of Giza. Orion (associated with the god Osiris) is aligned with the King’s Chamber while Sirius (associated with the goddess Isis) is aligned with the Queen’s Chamber. A fascinating aspect of Sirius is the consistency of the symbolism and meanings attached to it. Several great civilizations have indeed associated Sirius with a dog-like figure and viewed the star as either the source or the destination of a mysterious force. In Chinese and Japanese astronomy, Sirius is known as the “star of the celestial wolf”. Several aboriginal tribes of North America referred to the star in canine terms: the Seri and Tohono O’odham tribes of the southwest describe the Sirius as a “dog that follows mountain sheep”, while the Blackfoot call it “Dog-face”. The Cherokee paired Sirius with Antares as a dog-star guardian of the “Path of Souls”. The Wolf (Skidi) tribe of Nebraska knew it as the “Wolf Star”, while other branches of knew it as the “Coyote Star”. Further north, the Alaskan Inuit of the Bering Strait called it “Moon Dog”. 2 In 1971, the American author Robert Temple published a controversial book entitled The Sirius Mystery where he claimed that the Dogons (an ancient African tribe from Mali) knew details about Sirius that would be impossible to be know without the use of telescopes. According to him, the Dogon understood the binary nature of Sirius, which is, in fact, composed of two stars named Sirius A and Sirius B. This lead Robert Temple to believe that the Dogons had “direct” connections with beings from Sirius. While some might say “you can’t be Sirius” (sorry), a great number of secret societies (who have historically held within their ranks some of the world’s most influential people) and belief systems teach about a mystic connection between Sirius and humanity. In Dogon mythology, humanity is said to be born from the Nommo, a race of amphibians who were inhabitants of a planet circling Sirius. They are said to have “descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder” and imparted to humans profound knowledge. This lead Robert Temple to theorize that the Nommos were extraterrestrial inhabitants of Sirius who travelled to earth at some point in the distant past to teach ancient civilizations (such as the Egyptians and Dogons) about the Sirius star system as well as our own solar system. These civilizations would then record the Nommos’ teachings in their religions and make them a central focus of their Mysteries. The Dogon’s mythology system is strikingly similar to the ones of other civilizations such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Israelites and Babylonians as it includes the archetypal myth of a “great teacher from above”. Depending on the civilization, this great teacher is known as eith Enoch, Thoth or Hermes Trismegistus and is said to have taught humanity theurgic sciences. In occult traditions, it is believed that Thoth-Hermes had taught the people of Atlantis, which, according to legend, became the world’s most advanced civilization before the entire continent was submerged by the Great Deluge (accounts of a flood can be found in the mythologies of countless civilizations). Survivors from Atlantis travelled by boat to several countries, including Egypt, where they imparted their advanced knowledge. Occultists believe that the inexplicable resemblances between distant civilizations (such as the Mayas and the Egyptians) can be explained by their common contact with Atlanteans. “Was the religious, philosophic, and scientific knowledge possessed by the priestcraft of antiquity secured from Atlantis, whose submergence obliterated every vestige of its part in the drama of world progress? Atlantean sun worship has been perpetuated in the ritualism and ceremonialism of both Christianity and pagandom. Both the cross and the serpent were Atlantean emblems of divine wisdom. The divine (Atlantean) progenitors of the Mayas and Quichés of Central America coexisted within the green and azure radiance of Gucumatz, the “plumed” serpent. The six sky-born sages came into manifestation as centers of light bound together or synthesized by the seventh – and chief – of their order, the “feathered” snake. The title of “winged” or “plumed” snake was applied to Quetzalcoatl, or Kukulcan, the Central American initiate. The center of the Atlantean Wisdom-Religion was presumably a great pyramidal temple standing on the brow of a plateau rising in the midst of the City of the Golden Gates. From here the Initiate-Priests of the Sacred Feather went forth, carrying the keys of Universal Wisdom to the uttermost parts of the earth. From the Atlanteans the world has received not only the heritage of arts and crafts, philosophies and sciences, ethics and religions, but also the heritage of hate, strife, and perversion. The Atlanteans instigated the first war; and it has been said that all subsequent wars were fought in a fruitless effort to justify the first one and right the wrong which it caused. Before Atlantis sank, its spiritually illumined Initiates, who realized that their land was doomed because it had departed from the Path of Light, withdrew from the ill-fated continent. Carrying with them the sacred and secret doctrine, these Atlanteans established themselves in Egypt, where they became its first “divine” rulers. Nearly all the great cosmologic myths forming the foundation of the various sacred books of the world are based upon the Atlantean Mystery rituals.” Is Thoth-Hermes-Trismegistus the equivalent of the Dogon’s Nommos, who are believed to originate from Sirius? Ancient texts concerning Hermes describe him as a teacher of mysteries who “came from the stars”. Furthermore, Thoth-Hermes was directly connected with Sirius in Egyptian mythology. “The dog-star: the star worshipped in Egypt and reverenced by the Occultists; by the former because its heliacal rising with the Sun was a sign of the beneficient inundation of the Nile, and by the latter because it is mysteriously associated with Toth-Hermes, god of wisdom, and Mercury, in another form. Thus Sothis-Sirius had, and still has, a mystic and direct influence over the whole living heaven, and is connected with almost every god and goddess. It was “Isis in the heaven” and called Isis-Sothis, for Isis was “in the constellation of the dog”, as is declared on her monuments. Being connected with the Pyramid, Sirius was, therefore, connected with the initiations which took place in it.” “The Trismegistic treatise ‘The Virgin of the World’ from Egypt refers to ‘the Black Rite’, connected with the ‘black’ Osiris, as the highest degree of secret initiation possible in the ancient Egyptian religion – it is the ultimate secret of the mysteries of Isis. This treatise says Hermes came to earth to teach men civilization and then again ‘mounted to the stars’, going back to his home and leaving behind the mystery religion of Egypt with its celestial secrets which were some day to be decoded.” Interpreting the mythology of ancient cultures is not an exact science and connections are inherently difficult to prove. However, the symbolic link between Sirius and occult knowledge has constantly appeared throughout History and has seamlessly traveled through the ages. In fact, it is as revered today as it was millenniums ago. Modern secret societies such as the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians and the Golden Dawn (which are considered to be Hermetic Orders due to the fact their teachings are based on those of Hermes Trismegistus) all attribute to Sirius the utmost importance. An educated look at their symbolism provides a glimpse at the profound connection between Sirius and occult philosophy. To claim that Sirius is “important” to Hermetic Orders would be a gross understatement. The dog star is nothing less than the central focus of the teachings and symbolism of secret societies. The ultimate proof of this fact: many secret societies are actually named after the star. The seventeenth numbered major trump is called Les Étoiles, (French for The Star), and portrays a young girl kneeling with one foot in water and the other on and, her body somewhat suggesting the swastika [more like Aquarius – N.I. Ed]. She has two urns, the contents of which she pours upon the land and sea. Above the girl’s head are eight stars, one of which is exceptionally large and bright. Count de Gébelin considers the great star to be Sothis or Sirius; the other seven are the sacred planets of the ancients. He believes the female figure to be Isis in the act of causing the inundations of the Nile which accompanied the rising of the Dog Star. The unclothed figure of Isis may well signify that Nature does not receive her garment of verdure until the rising of the Nile waters releases the germinal life of plants and flowers. In Masonic lodges, Sirius is known as the “Blazing Star” and a simple look at its prominence in Masonic symbolism reveals its utmost importance. The Masonic author William Hutchinson wrote about Sirius: “It is the first and most exalted object that demands our attention in the Lodge.” The same way the light of Sirius made its way into the Great Pyramid during initiations, it is symbolically present in Masonic lodges. “The Ancient Astronomers saw all the great Symbols of Masonry in the Stars. Sirius glitters in our lodges as the Blazing Star.” “(The Blazing Star) originally represented SIRIUS, or the Dog-star, the forerunner of the inundation of the Nile; the God ANUBIS, companion of ISIS in her search for the body of OSIRIS, her brother and husband. Then it became the image of HORUS, the son of OSIRIS, himself symbolized also by the Sun, the author of the Seasons, and the God of Time; Son of ISIS, who was the universal nature, himself the primitive matter, inexhaustible source of Life, spark of uncreated fire, universal seed of all beings. It was HERMES, also, the Master of Learning, whose name in Greek is that of the God Mercury.” In Freemasonry, it is taught that the Blazing Star is a symbol of deity, of omnipresence (the Creator is present everywhere) and of omniscience (the Creator sees and knows all). Sirius is therefore the “sacred place” all Masons must ascend to: It is the source of divine power and the destination of divine individuals. This concept is often represented in Masonic art. To achieve perfection, the initiate must successfully understand and internalize the dual nature of the world (good and evil; masculine and feminine; black and white, etc.) through alchemical metamorphosis. This concept is symbolically represented by the union of Osiris and Isis (the male and female principles) to give birth to Horus, the star-child, the Christ-like figure, the perfected man of Freemasonry – who is equated with the Blazing Star. “The sun and moon … represent the two grand principles … the male and the female … both shed their light upon their offspring, the blazing star, or Horus.” The Egyptian hieroglyph representing Sirius has been esoterically interpreted to be a representation of this cosmic trinity. The hieroglyph representing Sirius contains three elements: a “phallic” obelisk (representing Osiris), a “womb-like” dome (representing Isis) and a star (representing Horus). This concept is so crucial for Freemasons, that it was embedded in some of the most important structures in the world. The Washington Monument, an Egyptian obelisk representing the male principle, is directly connected with the dome of the Capitol, representing the female principle. Together they produce Horus an unseen energy represented by Sirius. As stated by Albert Pike above, the Egyptian god Horus and the star Sirius are often associated. In Masonic symbolism, the eye of Horus (or the All-Seeing Eye) is often depicted surrounded by the glittering of light of Sirius. A Masonic tracing board depicting the sun above the left pillar (representing the masculine), the moon above the right pillar (representing feminine) and Sirius above the middle pillar, representing the “perfected man” or Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris. The Eye of Horus inside a triangle (symbolizing deity) surrounded by the glow of Sirius, the Blazing Star The light behind the All-Seeing Eye on the American dollar bill is not from the sun, but from Sirius. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built in alignment with Sirius and is therefore shown shining right above the Pyramid. A radiant tribute to Sirius is therefore in the pockets of millions of citizens. Considered to be the “female version” of Freemasonry (although men can join), the Order of the Eastern Star (OES) is directly named after Sirius, the “Star rising from the East”. A “general public” explanation of the origins of the Order’s name claims it originated from the “Star of the East” that lead the Three Magi to Jesus. A look into the occult meaning of the Order’s symbolism however makes it clear that the OES is a reference to Sirius, the most important star of Freemasonry, its parent organization. Helena Blavatsky and Alice Bailey, the two main figures associated with Theosophy, have both considered Sirius to be a source esoteric power. Blavatsky stated that the star Sirius exerts a mystic and direct influence over the entire living heaven and is linked with every great religion of antiquity. Alice Bailey sees the Dog Star as the true “Great White Lodge” and believes it to be the home of the “Spiritual Hierarchy”. For this reason she considers Sirius as the “star of initiation”. “This is the great star of initiation because our Hierarchy (an expression of the second aspect of divinity) is under the supervision or spiritual magnetic control of the Hierarchy of Sirius. These are the major controlling influences whereby the cosmic Christ works upon the Christ principle in the solar system, in the planet, in man and in the lower forms of life expression. It is esoterically called the “brilliant star of sensitivity.” Not unlike most many esoteric writers, Bailey considers Sirius to have a great impact on human life. “All that can be done here in dealing with this profound subject is to enumerate briefly some of the cosmic influences which definitely affect our earth, and produce results in the consciousness of men everywhere, and which, during the process of initiation, bring about certain specific phenomena. First and foremost is the energy or force emanating from the sun Sirius. If it might be so expressed, the energy of thought, or mind force, in its totality, reaches the solar system from a distant cosmic centre via Sirius. Sirius acts as the transmitter, or the focalising centre, whence emanate those influences which produce self-consciousness in man.” In 1907, Aleister Crowley started his own occult order called the A.A. – short for Argentium Astrum, which can be translated to ‘The Order of the Silver Star’. The ‘Silver Star’ was, of course, a reference to Sirius. Even if Crowley almost always referred to the dog star in veiled terms, the whole of his magickal philosophy, from his development as a young Freemason through to his final years as the Head of the O.T.O, is wholly in accordance with the Sirian influence, which was identified and expressed by other writers of his era. His alleged contact with his Holy Guardian Angel that later led to the channelling of ‘Liber AL: The Book of the Law’ is believed to have originated from Sirius. If Crowley used code words to describe Sirius, his protégé Kenneth Grant has explicitly and extensively written about the dog star. Throughout his numerous books, he often described Sirius as being a powerful center of magickal magnetic power. His belief that the star holds the central key to unlocking the mysteries of the Egyptian and Typhonian traditions has strengthened over time and became a central focus of his research. One of Grant’s most important and controversial thesis was his discovery of the “Sirius/Set current”, which is an extra-terrestrial dimension connecting Sirius, the Earth and Set, the Eyptian god of Chaos – who was later associated with Satan. “Set is the initiator, the Opener of mans’ consciousness to the rays of the Undying God typified by Sirius – the Sun in the South.” “Sirius, or Set, was the original “headless one” – the light of the lower region (the south) who was known (in Egypt) as An (the dog), hence Set-An (Satan), Lord of the infernal regions, the place of heat, later interpreted in a moral sense as “hell”.” Although each occult philosophy describes Sirius in a slightly different matter, it is still consistently regarded as the “sun behind the sun”, the true source of occult power. It is perceived as the cradle of human knowledge and the belief of the existence of a strong connection between the star and planet Earth never seems to become outdated. Is there a true link between Sirius and Earth? Is the dog star an esoteric symbol representing something happening in the spiritual realm? It is both? One thing is for sure, the cult of Sirius is not a “thing of the past” and is very alive today. An in-depth look at our popular culture, which is heavily influenced by occult symbolism, reveals numerous references to Sirius. Direct references to Sirius in popular culture are too many to enumerate (e.g. see the name and the logo of the most important satellite radio in the world). A more interesting aspect of popular culture to analyze are the coded references to Sirius. Important movies have indeed made veiled yet profound references to the dog star (apparently intended to those “in the know”), where the star plays the role it was always given by the Mysteries: as an initiator and a divine teacher. Here are some examples. In Disney’s Pinocchio, based on a story written by Freemason Carlo Collodi, Gepetto prays to the brightest star in the sky to have a “real boy”. The Blue Fairy (her color is a reference to Sirius’ light-blue glow) then descends from the heavens to give life to Pinocchio. Throughout the marionette’s quest to become a boy (an allegory for esoteric initiation), the Blue Fairy guides Pinocchio towards the “right path”. Sirius is therefore represented as a source of life, a guide and a teacher. The theme song of the movie Pinocchio is also an ode to Sirius: When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires will come to you If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme When you wish upon a star as dreamers do (Fate is kind, she brings to those who love The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing) Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you thru When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true In Harry Potter, the character named Sirius Black is most likely a reference to Sirius B. (the “darker” star of Sirius’ binary system). He is Harry Potter’s godfather, which makes Sirius, once again, a teacher and a guide. The wizard can turn into a big black dog, another link with the “dog star”. In the Truman Show, a spotlight – used to imitate the light of a star in Truman’s fake world – falls from the sky and nearly hits him. The label on the spotlight identifies it as Sirius. Truman’s encounter with Sirius gives him a glimpse of “true knowledge” and prompts his quest for truth. Sirius is therefore the “star of initiation”. It caused Truman to realize the limitations of the his studio world (our material world) and lead him to freedom (spiritual emancipation). From the dawn of civilization to modern times, from remote tribes of Africa to the great capitals of the modern world, Sirius was – and still is – seen as a life-giver. Despite the disparity between cultures and epochs, the same mysterious attributes are given to the dog star, which can lead us to ask: how can all theses definitions synchronize so perfectly? Is there a common source to these myths about Sirius? The dog star is invariably associated with divinity and is regarded as a source of knowledge and power. These connections are particularly evident when one examines the teachings and the symbolism of secret societies, who have always taught about a mystical link with this particular celestial body. Is there a secret link between human evolution and Sirius? Unlocking this secret would mean unlocking one of humanity’s greatest mysteries. Blogman Leave a comment Fascinating place this Giza Plateau and I think, that it was not humans who built it. There are numerous remote viewers, which have remote viewed this place and it has always alien elements in it. Here’s something about the place: There is no other place on Earth like Egypt’s Giza Plateau. Anyone with even a slight interest in history and civilisation is aware of this fact. For on this plateau there stands the Great Pyramids and their sculpted guardian, the Great Sphinx. Although there are plenty of theories, no one really knows who built the Giza Pyramids or carved the Sphinx, or when they were constructed. Any statement as to who built them, or when they were built, is pure theory. In light of all the various theories concerning these mysterious structures, I don’t think the theoretical nature of the pyramid builders can be emphasised enough. What stands out at Giza more than anything else is not only the magnitude of the construction of the pyramids, but the internal design of the Great Pyramid; three chambers, of which one is subterranean, and their connecting passageways. The passageway that leads to the so-called King’s Chamber rises to a height of thirty-six feet! On the other hand, all other passageways were not built tall enough to accommodate the average man or woman. There is also the unique configuration of the King’s Chamber as well as the Queen’s Chamber. Both of these contain two shafts, one on each side of the chamber. The Queen’s Chamber contains a corbelled niche built into its east wall, and the King’s Chamber’s ceiling is composed of five granite slabs stacked one atop the other. Why these chambers were constructed in this manner is unknown. The official theory is that the pyramids were tombs, and that King Khufu kept changing his mind where his burial chamber was to be placed; thus, the reason for three chambers in the Great Pyramid. However, in comparison to typical Egyptian burial methods (the mastaba and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings), the Giza pyramids, and particularly the Great Pyramid, do not fare well within the Egyptian concept of a tomb. The Egyptians believed in an afterlife, and the tomb was an important part of that belief. As the tomb of King Tutankhamun testifies, the deceased’s chamber of internment was to be decorated with art and filled with that person’s possessions. Why they practiced this ritual was not for superstitious reasons, as one might suspect. It was practical, according to their beliefs, and aimed at preventing that person’s energy (spirit) from being re-absorbed into Nature’s spiritual force. For the ancient Egyptians, Ba animated a living person, whereas Ka was the energy emanating from that person. Although not an exact analogy, the Ka and the Ba are what traditional Western thought might refer as spirit and soul. Another important aspect of Egyptian belief represented immortality, the ankh, depicted as the crested ibis. The Ka, represented in art by up-stretched arms, was believed to be the part of man’s consciousness and energy (man’s spirit or inner quality) that related to the immediate world. It is the part of us connected to the physical body; where it lived, its possessions, as well as the people he or she was acquainted with. The Ka can be likened to one’s personality, which upon death is separated from the body, and naturally seeks a way to once again take form. The Ba, represented by a winged human head, or sometimes a human-faced bird, represented the part of consciousness that is immortal. When someone passed away, it was their goal as well as the hope of the family, that the deceased’s Ka would seek a way to remain united with their Ba. To help accomplish this eternal union, the possessions of the deceased were gathered together by the family and placed in the tomb with the mummified body. Mummification prevented the body from decomposing and returning to the soil of the Earth, whereas the tomb, with the deceased’s possessions, served as a ‘home’ for the Ka. As a result, the Ka maintained its identity in the spiritual world and could seek out its Ba in order to achieve ankh, which resulted in the resurrected and glorified form of the deceased beyond the limits of an earthly realm. Like the pharaonic tombs carved into the Valley of the Kings, royal mastabas built during the early dynasties – some as early as 3000 BCE – were also designed with ‘home’ in mind, as that home relates to a person’s Ka. Case in point: from the sixth dynasty, Mereruka’s mastaba was crafted in mansion-like proportion with thirty-two rooms and adorned with statues and art depicting, for example, scenes of wildlife along the Nile River. The traits of Egyptian domestic life, so beautifully incorporated into the design of their tombs, are not found in the Giza pyramids. The Giza pyramids contain no art or hieroglyphics of any kind, very uncharacteristic of Egyptian tombs. So why is it the case that the Giza pyramids are generally considered to be tombs of fourth dynasty Pharaohs? The reason is because of an association of the Giza complex with another development ten miles south at Sakkara where the Egyptians really did build tombs as pyramids. At Sakkara in 1881, the French Egyptologist, Gaston Maspero (1846–1916) discovered that the subterranean chamber of the Pepi I Pyramid (second ruler of the sixth dynasty) was engraved with hieroglyphics. Over the course of subsequent explorations, it was discovered that a total of five pyramids at Sakkara also contained inscriptions, from the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth dynasties of the Old Kingdom. In 1952, Dr. Samuel A.B. Mercer (1879–1969), Professor of Semitic Languages and Egyptology at the University of Toronto, published a complete English translation of “The Pyramid Texts” in a volume of the same name. According to Mercer, The Pyramid Texts contained ‘words to be spoken’ concerning funerary ritual, magical formulae, and religious hymns, as well as prayers and petitions on behalf of the deceased king.1 With the pyramids at Sakkara being confirmed as tombs the associative logic came to be that all pyramids must be tombs. Furthermore, since there are two cemeteries (mastaba fields) to the east and west of the northernmost Giza pyramid, assuming that all pyramids are tombs was a likely conclusion. However, the condition of the Sakkara pyramids – most of which are believed constructed after the Giza pyramids – poses serious problems in this logical association. Of the pyramids at Sakkara only Djoser’s ‘Step Pyramid’ is in good condition, although not really a true pyramid. (The Step Pyramid was originally a mastaba that was modified into a pyramid.) All other pyramids at Sakkara, most of which belong to the fifth and sixth dynasties are in ruins today and resemble mounds of rubble. According to a consensus of Egyptologists, Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Sakkara was constructed during the third dynasty and was the forerunner to the fourth dynasty pyramids on the Giza Plateau. After pyramid development at Giza, for whatever reason, the focus of pyramid building shifted back to Sakkara. The easily observable and obvious differences in the Giza pyramids and the Sakkara pyramids, which were all supposed to have been built during the same era, are a problem. Clearly, the construction techniques, as well as materials, for the Giza pyramids were different than those at Sakkara, or else we would expect pyramids at both sites to have stood the test of time in a similar manner. They did not. The important point is why. Did the engineers and construction workers of the Old Kingdom not pass along their methods from the fourth to the fifth dynasty? It seems they did not, which is a very curious occurrence given the stability of Egyptian civilisation. It may also be the case that the fourth dynasty Egyptians did not build the Giza pyramids. No other pyramid in Egypt (the world for that matter) is like the Giza pyramids, and in particular the Great Pyramid. Additionally, there is no direct evidence to support the claim that the Great Pyramid, or the other Giza pyramids were tombs. Nor is there any record left by its builders as to what it was for or when it was built. This creates a problem of explanation. If the Great Pyramid was not a tomb, then what was it? A mystical temple for initiation ritual, or a public works project designed to unify the country? Or, was it something else entirely? Theories are abundant, but the only theory I am aware of that covers all aspects of the Great Pyramid’s interior design, is Christopher Dunn’s theory that it was a device. According to Dunn, the Great Pyramid was a machine for producing power by converting tectonic vibration into electricity. There are a number of reasons to accept Dunn analysis. First, he explains the interior design and all other evidence within the Great Pyramid in a cohesive manner. Second, he demonstrates the technical skills required to accomplish precision construction. Third, Dunn’s expertise and career is in the precision fabrication and manufacturing industry, which makes him uniquely qualified to express a professional opinion on the techniques and tools of the Giza pyramid builders. The fact is, modern construction companies could not build the Great Pyramid today without first inventing specialised tools and techniques in order to deal with blocks of stone that vary in weight from ten to fifty tons. Such an endeavour would be on a magnitude equivalent to building a hydroelectric dam or a nuclear power station requiring tens of billions of dollars in resources. Although our modern economy is different than that of the ancient world, the resource required now as compared to then is the same! The stone must be quarried and moved and the workers must be paid. The fact that an extremely large amount of resources were dedicated to Giza pyramid development over a long period of time demands, in my opinion, that pyramid building was utilitarian, and not for any fourth dynasty pharaonic vanity of having the largest headstone in the world. For me, the evidence clearly tells a very different story of early dynastic Egypt. Sometime around 3000 BCE, the establishment and growth of permanent settlements in the Lower Nile Valley led to the development of civilisation. Why Giza and the surrounding area were chosen as the focal point for early Dynastic Egypt was because ‘civilisation’ had been there before, as the three pyramids and the Great Sphinx testify. Without knowing what the pyramids were designed for, the early Egyptians also assumed they must have been tombs. As a result, they rejuvenated the Giza Plateau and turned it into a Necropolis, then expanded to Sakkara where they built tombs in pyramid form, albeit of lesser quality and not brandishing the skills the original builders of the Giza pyramids demonstrated. Pyramid building, even the smaller ones at Sakkara, was resource intense, so the Egyptians reverted to burying their nobility in the traditional mastaba. This scenario, which calls for an earlier civilisation with advanced technical skills, poses another problem. It does not fit the standard model of history. However, the notion that an earlier civilisation existed does not rest on the Giza pyramids alone. There is also the Sphinx, which in 1991 was geologically dated to between 7,000 and 9,000 years old by the team of John Anthony West and geologist Dr. Robert Schoch. Add to that the megaliths of Nabta Playa in southwestern Egypt, which is believed to have been a star viewing diagram, according to astrophysicist Dr. Thomas Brophy, that relates not only the distance from Earth to the belt stars of Orion, but their radial velocities as well. Another ‘head scratching’ discovery is the 1260-ton foundation stones of the Baalbek temple, west of Beirut in Lebanon, one of which was left in its quarry. Clearly history has its secrets, but there is enough evidence to validate, as theory, that civilisation is much older than we have previously believed. History, according to the ancient Egyptians themselves, confirms this. According to the Papyrus of Turin, which is a complete list of kings up to the New Kingdom, before Menes (before 3000 BCE) the: …venerables Shemsu-Hor, [reigned] 13,420 years Reigns up to Shemsu-Hor, 23,200 years2 These two lines in the king’s list are explicit. According to their documents, the total years of Egyptian history goes back 36,620 years. The argument that the years in the king’s list do not represent actual years, but some other, shorter, measurement of time seems more of an attempt to explain away than to explain. The ancient Egyptians employed a sophisticated calendar system that involved a 365-day year, which was periodically corrected through the predictable and cyclical nature of the star Sirius. Every 1,461 years, the heliacal rising of Sirius marked the beginning of the new year. A single Sirius cycle corresponds to 1,461 years, where each year is equivalent to 365.25 days. In essence, the marking of the New Year at the heliacal rising of Sirius was the ancient Egyptian’s ‘leap year.’ Of course, determining the length of Sirius’ cyclical nature requires stellar observation over thousands of years which means the origins of pharaonic Egypt, or its source of knowledge, must originate in the remote past. Late twentieth century Egyptologist Walter Emery seems to have agreed in principle that the origins of ancient Egypt date well into prehistory. Emery believed that ancient Egypt’s written language was beyond the use of pictorial symbols, even during the earliest dynasties, and that signs were also used to represent sounds, along with a numerical system. When hieroglyphics had been stylised and used in architecture, a cursive script was already in common use. His conclusion was that: All this shows that the written language must have had a considerable period of development behind it, of which no trace has as yet been found in Egypt.3 Ancient Egyptian religion also testifies to a considerable period of development. Their religion, which is more of a philosophy of nature and life than it is a ‘religion,’ is based on a level of sophistication that, in all respects, appears more scientific than it does mythical. From a modern Western perspective their religion has been billed as primitive and polytheistic, and appears as a mythological menagerie of gods. Nothing could be further from the truth. The source of this misunderstanding stems from the Egyptian word neter being translated into Greek as ‘god,’ which later took on the Westernised meaning of deity. The true meaning of neter was to describe an aspect of deity, not a deity to be worshipped. In essence, neters referred to principles of nature in a practical scientific way. Yet, the meaning of a specific neter was communicated in a visually symbolic manner. When a human was depicted with an animal head, this signified the principle as it occurs in man. If the whole animal was depicted it was a reference to a principle in general. Alternatively, a human head depicted on an animal represented that principle as it relates to the divine essence within mankind, not any person in particular, but the archetypal; as the immortal Ba is represented by a human-faced bird. Another example is Anubis (the jackal), who presided over the process of mummification. He did so as a representation of the decomposition or fermentation process. In nature, the jackal keeps its prey and allows it to decompose before consumption. Therefore, he who presided over the mummification ritual was depicted in art as a man with the head of the jackal, thereby representing man’s death as the digestive principle found in nature. From a universal perspective, the decomposition of a body is, to Nature, digestion. Hence, those organs associated with digestion, after being removed from the deceased, were placed in a Canopic jar with a lid shaped in the image of the jackal’s head. The sudden emergence of Dynastic Egypt, at the beginning of the third millennium BCE, is one of civilisation’s greatest mysteries. How did this supposedly primitive North African culture organise itself into a civilisation of such magnificence? One aspect that I believe has been overlooked is that mankind – anatomically modern humans – has been around for a very long time. According to recent genetic studies, all people today are the descendants of a single African woman who walked the Earth 150,000 years ago. According to geneticists, her mitochondrial DNA exists in all of us. This is a long time, 147,000 years, for our ancestors to have remained in a relatively primitive state. In my opinion, the evidence, some of which is incredibly anomalous (in particular the Great Pyramid) suggests they did not remain primitive. Given the evidence of ancient Egypt’s technical abilities (their monument, temples, and other crafted artifacts still exist), as well as their sophisticated symbolism in describing Nature, it appears that in establishing a dynastic society, the Egyptians of the third millennium BCE benefited from a legacy of knowledge. Skeptics of this approach to history, of course, would want to know where the evidence of this technical and prehistoric civilisation is. If such a civilisation existed, surely there would be overwhelming evidence to support its existence. If an exclusively uniformitarian approach to geologic formation were generally accepted as fact, I would agree with the skeptic. However, mass extinctions, as a result of environmental catastrophism because of volcanism, asteroid or comet impact, or stellar (gamma) radiation, now seems to be a reality. According to geologists there have been five large mass extinctions in Earth’s history: the Ordovician (440–450 mya), Devonian (408–360 mya), Permian (286–248), Triassic (251–252 mya), and Cretaceous (144–65 mya). Although all of these cataclysms occurred well before the modern human form, there are two global disasters that occurred relatively recently. Approximately 71,000 years ago Mount Toba, in Sumatra, erupted spewing an enormous amount of ash into the atmosphere. It was the largest volcanic eruption in the last two million years, nearly 10,000 times larger than the Mount St. Helen’s explosion in 1980. The resultant caldera formed a lake 100 kilometres long by 60 kilometres wide, with devastating and lasting climatic consequences. A six-year long volcanic winter followed, and in its wake an ice age that lasted for a thousand years. With its sulfuric haze, the volcanic winter lowered global temperatures, creating drought and famine decimating the human population. According to geneticist’s estimates, the population was reduced to somewhere between 15,000 and 40,000 individuals. Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Utah, Lynn Jorde, believes it may have been as low as 5,000.4 Even closer to our time is the mysterious cataclysm at the end of the Ice Age, only 10,000 years ago. No one really knows if it was the result of natural phenomenon or an asteroid impact. What is known is that the climate drastically altered life for those who lived at that time. It is a known geologic fact that at the end of the Ice Age many North American species became extinct, including the mammoth, camel, horse, ground sloth, peccaries (pig-like hoofed mammals), antelope, American elephant, rhinoceros, giant armadillo, tapirs, saber-toothed tigers and giant bison. It also affected the climates of lower latitudes in Central and South America, as well as Europe in a similar way. Those lands have also revealed evidence of mass extinction. Yet, the mechanism that brought on this Ice Age ending cataclysm remains a mystery. If an ancient technical civilisation existed during the remote past, what would be the likelihood of that civilisation surviving a global catastrophe intact? Estimates from the Toba eruption are not encouraging. Neither are the scenarios that astronomers and climatologists build today for a theoretical asteroid impact. According to the archeological evidence, anatomically modern man (Cro-Magnon) appeared in Western Europe 40,000 years ago. Where they came from has been a long-standing mystery. The logical deduction is that they migrated from Africa. However, such a migration requires a host culture, of which there is no evidence. Nevertheless, a likely location for this host culture would have been along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which were likely a series of fresh water lakes during the remote past. If ancient civilisation existed in the region of the Mediterranean, it would not have survived the conflagration that turned those lakes into a salt-water sea. If that were indeed the case, the remnants of those who lived on the perimeter of that civilisation would appear to us, today, as anomalies such as the Giza pyramids and the giant stones of Baalbek. Cro-Magnon cultures of Western Europe, although once a part of a great Mediterranean civilisation, would also appear as an anomaly. For us, it would be as if they appeared from nowhere. Interesting article about the Anunnaki and more interesting it makes the aspect, that until now no-one knows who wrote it. So here we go again: A message from the Anunnaki – MANKIND IN AMNESIA (Flying Saucer Review Magazine © November-December 1958) Exhibit 19) Brinsley Le Poer Trench (Flying Saucer Review Magazine © November-December 1958) “We are already here, among you. Some of us have always been here, with you, yet apart from, watching, and occasionally guiding you whenever the opportunity arose. Now, however, our numbers have been increased in preparation for a further step in the development of your planet: a step of which you are not yet aware… We have been confused with the gods of many world-religions, although we are not gods, but your fellow creatures, as you will learn directly before many more years have passed. You will find records of our presence in the mysterious symbols of ancient Egypt, where we made ourselves known in order to accomplish certain ends. Our principal symbol appears in the religious art of your present civilization and occupies a position of importance upon the great seal of your country. (The United States of America) It has been preserved in certain secret societies founded originally to keep alive the knowledge of our existence and our intentions toward mankind.” “We have left you certain landmarks, placed carefully in different parts of the globe, but most prominently in Egypt where we established our headquarters upon the occasion of our last overt, or, as you would say, public appearance. At that time the foundations of your present civilization were ‘laid in the earth’ and the most ancient of your known landmarks established by means that would appear as miraculous to you now as they did to the pre-Egyptians, so many thousands of years ago. Since that time the whole art of building, in stone, has become symbolic, to many of you, of the work in hand—the building of the human race towards its perfection.” “Your ancestors knew us in those days as preceptors and as friends. Now, through your own efforts, you have almost reached, in your majority, a new step on the long ladder of your liberation. You have been constantly aided by our watchful ‘inspiration’, and hindered only by the difficulties natural to your processes of physical and moral development…” “You have lately achieved the means of destroying yourselves. Do not be hasty in your self-congratulation. Yours is not the first civilization to have achieved—and used—such means. Yours will not be the first civilization to be offered the means of preventing that destruction and proceeding, in the full glory of its accumulated knowledge, to establish an era of enlightenment upon the earth.” “However, if you do accept the means offered you, and if you establish such a ‘millennium’ upon the basis of your present accomplishments, yours will be the first civilization to do so. ALWAYS BEFORE, THE KNOWLEDGE, THE TECHNIQUES, THE INSTRUCTIONS, HAVE BECOME THE POSSESSIONS OF A CHOSEN FEW: A FEW CHOSE THEMSELVES BY THEIR OWN OPEN-MINDED AND CLEAR-SIGHTED REALIZATION OF ‘THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME’. THEY ENDEAVORED TO PASS ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE FORM, AND BY THE MOST ENDURING MEANS AT THEIR COMMAND.  In a sense they succeeded, but in another sense their failure equaled their success. Human acceptance is, to a very large extent, measurable by human experience. Succeeding generations, who never knew our actual presence, translated the teachings of their elders in the terms of their own experience. For instance, a cross-sectional drawing, much simplified and stylized by many copyings, of one of our traveling machines became the ‘Eye of Horus”, and then other eyes of other gods. Finally, the ancient symbol that was once an accurate representation of an important mechanical device has been given surprising connotations by the modern priesthood of psychology.” “The important fact is, however, that we are here, among you, and that you, as a world-race, will know it before very much longer! The time is almost ripe but, as with all ripening things, the process may not be hurried artificially without danger of damaging the fruit. There is a right time for every action, and the right time for our revelation of ourselves to your era is approaching.” “Some of you have seen our ‘advanced guard’ already. You have met us often in the streets of your cities, and you have not noticed us. But when we flash through your skies in the ANCIENT TRADITIONAL VEHICLES  [Vimanas, see Exhibit 14, this paper—GJ]  you are amazed, and those of you who open your mouths and tell of what you have seen are accounted dupes and fools. Actually you are prophets, seers in the true sense of the word. You in Kansas and Oklahoma, you in Oregon and in California, and Idaho, you know what you have seen: do not be dismayed by meteorologists. Their business is the weather. One of you says, ‘I saw a torpedo-shaped object’. Others report, ‘disc-like objects’, some of you say ‘spherical objects’, or ‘platter-like objects’. You are all reporting correctly and accurately what you saw, and in most cases you are describing the same sort of vehicle.” “… Now that the art of manufacturing plastic materials has reached a certain perfection among you, perhaps you can imagine a material, almost transparent to the rays of ordinary visible light, yet strong enough to endure the stresses of extremely rapid flight. Look again at the great nebulae, and think of the construction of your own galaxy, and behold the universal examples of what we have found to be the perfect shape for an object which is to travel through what you still fondly refer to as ‘empty’ space.” In the center of the discus, gyroscopically controlled within a central sphere of the same transparent material, our control rooms revolve freely, accommodating themselves and us to flat or edgewise flight. Both methods are suited to your atmosphere, and when we convert abruptly from one to the other, as we are sometimes obliged to do, and you are watching, OUR MACHINES seem suddenly to appear—or to disappear. At our possible speeds your eyes, untrained and unprepared for the maneuver, do make mistakes—but not the mistakes your scientists so often accuse them of making.” “We pass over your hilltops in horizontal flight. You see and report a torpedo-shaped object. We pass over, in formation, flying vertically ‘edge-on’… Or we go over at night, jet-slits glowing, and you see an orange disc. In any event you see us, and in any event we do not care. if we chose to remain invisible, we could do so, easily, and, in fact, we have done so almost without exception for hundreds of years. But you must become accustomed to our shapes in your skies, for one day they will be familiar, friendly, and reassuring sights.” “This time, it is to be hoped that the memory of them, passed on to your children and their children, will be clear and precise. That you will not cause them to forget, as your ancestors forgot, the meaning of the diagrams and the instructions we will leave with you. If you do fail, AS OTHER CIVILIZATIONS HAVE FAILED, we will see your descendants wearing wiring-diagrams for simple machines as amulets, expecting the diagrams to do what their forefathers were taught the completed article would accomplish. Then their children, forgetting even that much—or little—would preserve the amulet as a general protective device—or as an intellectual curiosity—or perhaps as a religious symbol. Such is the cycle of forgetfulness!” – The Anunnaki Editor, In5D.com I tried to find the original source to this article to no avail.  However, I did find this… : According to Trench, the editor/author and publisher of the Nov-Dec 1958 issue, the original article was found in the November 1947 issue of ‘Fantastic Stories’ (USA), written by a pseudonym, Alexander Blade.  Remarkably enough, after 54 years, the ‘Flying Saucer Review Magazine’ is still being published (or was at least in 2010), but I have not been able to find it online.  Also, 1947 triggers memories in the mass consciousness from the UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. So, the Sirians have (and they apparently admitted to this in 1947) been around since ancient time, and just like I’ve said, never left. Interesting in this article is that they at that time gave us hints of what is to come. They are talking about our ‘liberation’, and that they will be a part of that. and this : According to Brinsley Le Poer Trench, editor of Flying Saucer Review Magazine, an unknown person using the pseudonym ‘Alexander Blade’ wrote the above article that originally appeared in the November 1947 issue of Fantastic Stories (USA). One has to ask the question: who was Alexander Blade? A representative or liaison to inner-earth – Agharti? According to this article, the instructions and techniques used for building these “ancient traditional vehicles” are within the possession of a chosen few, and based on my research, this is indeed the case. I must admit, the ‘Alexander Blade’ article speaks volumes! And it seems the Germans wanted to be part of the “chosen few” club as well. From what I’ve uncovered they received vital information that eventually gave them a ‘shot in the arm’ necessary to jump-start their esoteric technology campaign – the ‘flying-disc’ program. I argue Germany’s pre-war secret societies, such as Vril and Thule, were actually communicating with inner-earth emissaries for the purposes of acquiring this ancient technology. According to Gregg Braden’s research, we are only utilizing 22 of the 64 codons in our DNA, thus suggesting that our DNA was genetically manipulated, most likely by the Anunnaki.  If this premise is true, then imagine being able to fully access all 64 codons in your DNA? Conversely, is this the reason why the Anunnaki created us to become slaves in order to mine gold for them?  It certainly explains why there is such a high demand for gold and who the “All seeing Eye” is at the top of the pyramid. To me, any benevolent message from the Anunnaki would most likely have a hidden agenda to keep us subservient to them.  The last thing they want is to see our DNA codons fully open. According to the research of Robert Morning Sky , our DNA is actually superior to the Anunnaki because we also have the DNA of the AKU, which gave us consciousness.  This is known as the “Gift of the Feather” and is why we feel something magical when we see a random feather in our every day lives. From the Sumerian texts, we also know that the Anunnaki co-mingled with us, thus giving us their DNA as well. As our masters, the last thing they want you to know is that YOU are more powerful than they are once you figure out how to activate the remaining codons in your DNA. I’ve been experimenting with this and will be publishing an article on In5D about what I’m doing to activate mine. In the meanwhile, always question everything, especially from alleged benevolent sources because most likely, there’s an agenda behind it. Blogman Leave a comment Interesting article about symbols for example ankh, swastika, hammer of Thor and spirals: It is seen in the sky, on the ground, hidden in language and glaring at us from the pages of our most profound books – the snake. In this Article I want to extend that now a little and for us to journey around the world of symbols. By understanding what many of these symbols mean and just how universal they are we will be guided into this lost world of our past. We will begin with a symbol of life itself from the world’s greatest ancient civilization. Ankh The Ankh is the Crux Ansata. A simple T-Cross, surmounted by an oval – called the RU, which is, simply put, the gateway to enlightenment. This enigmatic symbol of Egypt represents ‘eternal life’ and was often found in the names of Pharaoh’s such as Tut-ankh-amun. The symbol is often depicted being held by a god to a Pharaoh, giving him life, or held by a Pharaoh to his people, giving them life – this basically set aside the immortals, from the mortals, for anyone wearing or carrying the Ankh had gained or hoped to gain immortality. In truth also, the pharaoh was God on earth and so he held his own symbol of the sun and the serpent to his people – he was the sun, giving us life, just as it does in nature. It is the loop (the RU or gateway) of the Ankh, which is held by the immortals to the nostrils (as in the Biblical god breathing life into the nostrils of Adam.) If indeed these ‘immortals’ are the sun, moon and stars, then this Ru device is indeed a gateway to the stars – or basically a gateway to what we were believed to return or become following death. The Ankh though outlived Egyptian domination and was widely used by the Christians as their first cross, but in this symbol holds a clue to the secret of the serpent. Thoth (see Taautus below) was said to have symbolized the four elements with a simple cross, which originated from the oldest Phoenician alphabet as the curling serpent. Indeed Philo adds that the Phoenician alphabet “are those formed by means of serpents… and adored them as the supreme gods, the rulers of the universe.” Thus bringing to mind the god Thoth, who again is related to the worship of serpents and who created the alphabet. The “rulers of the universe” are indeed the planets and stars. Bunsen in the 19th century thought, “the forms and movements of serpents were employed in the invention of the oldest letters, which represent gods.” This symbol of the four elements was altered slightly and became the Egyptian Taut, the same as the Greek Tau, which is where we get the name Tau Cross from – a simple T. The T or Tau cross has been a symbol of eternal life in many cultures and gives its name to the Bull in the Astrological sign of Taurus – note here the two elements of the Tau and the RU being brought together. In fact the Druids (or “adders” after the snake) venerated the tree and the snake by scrawling the Tau cross into tree bark. In the Middle Ages the Tau cross was used in amulets to protect the wearer against disease. Amongst the modern Freemasons the Tau has many meanings. Some say that it stands for Templus Hierosolyma or the ‘Temple of Jerusalem,’ others that it signifies hidden treasure or means Clavis ad Thesaurum, ‘A key to treasure‘ or Theca ubi res pretiosa, ‘A place where the precious thing is concealed.’ It is especially important in Royal Arch Masonry where it becomes the ‘Companions Jewel’ with a serpent as a circle above the cross bar – forming the Ankh with the Hebrew word for ‘serpent’ engraved on the upright and also including the Triple Tau – a symbol for hidden treasure and significantly made up of 8 right angles. It was also the symbol for St. Anthony – later to become the symbol for the Knights Templar of St. Anthony of Leith in Scotland. St. Anthony lived in the 4th century AD and is credited with establishing Monasticism in Egypt, and generally the story goes that he sold all his possessions after hearing from the Lord and marched off into the wilderness to become a hermit. On his travels he learned much from various sages in Egypt and grew for himself a large following. He was sorely tempted by the devil in the form of ‘creeping things’ and serpents (chaos). In one episode he follows a trail of gold to a temple, which is infested with serpents and takes up residence, needing little food for sustenance other than bread and water. He is said to have lived 105 years and due to this longevity he is credited with protective powers. The Order of the Hospitalers of St. Anthony, who would later take much of the Templar wealth, brought many of Anthony’s relics to France in the 11th century, although they were said to have been secretly deposited somewhere in Egypt just after his death and then later to have found their way to Alexandria. The Taut or Tau symbolizes the creating four elements of the universe. Next the symbol of the sun / serpent was added, a simple circle or the oval RU. This loop above the T cross-created the Ankh, the symbol of eternity. The snake in a circle eating its own tale is symbolical of the sun and immortality. The symbol of the moon was added to this, turning it into the sign for Hermes/Mercury and showing the Caduceus/Serpent origin. No wonder that this, the most perfect and simple of symbolical devices became the symbol of the early Christians; no wonder that, even though there were no cross-beam crucifixions, Christ was never the less symbolically crucified on a symbol of eternal life, a symbol of the serpent. This symbol became the mark or sign, which would set the believer aside for saving. In Ezekiel this is the mark that god will know, the mark on the forehead. As Deane points out the Ezekiel passage (9:4) should read, “set a Tau upon their foreheads.” or “mark with the letter Tau the foreheads.” The early Christians baptized with the term “crucis thaumate notare.” They baptized with the symbol of the sun-snake (sun-ake). And St. Paul himself in Galatians 6: 17 states “let no-one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” Is this the original mark of Cain, who we have found to be of the serpent tribe ? The idea of this sign or mark is widespread once discovered. In Job 31:35 we read in our modern Bibles “I sign now my defense – let the Almighty answer me” which should properly read, “Behold, here is my Tau, let the Almighty answer me.” He then goes on and says “Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.” This remarkable idea of wearing the Tau cross on the shoulder as a sign would later become part and parcel of the crusader Templars markings, the very same Templars who are instigated in the worship of serpents. Also the Merovingians (said by some to be descended from Jesus and a sea serpent or fish god – the Quinotaur or Quino-Tau-rus) were supposedly born with a red cross between their shoulder blades. The Tau cross is also strangely used by those practicing sacred geometry as a “marker” for buried treasure, whether physical or spiritual. In shape, the Ankh is very similar to the Egyptian musical instrument, which is shaped like the oval RU – the Sistrum. Sistrum An Egyptian musical instrument closely associated with female gods – especially Hathor the serpent/cow goddess and Isis – the consort of Osiris. In form, very much like the Ankh with a loop at the top – also representing the egg – and three serpents striking through the loop with small square pieces of metal, which rattle. It’s possible these three serpents represent the ida, pingala and sushumna nerve channels and which are said to converge and fuse together within the centre of the brain (the thalamus) – which in the individual was also thought to represent the ‘cosmic egg.’ During the ascent of these serpent energies up the spine to the centre of the head, the individual while going through this supposed enlightenment process, will hear sounds similar to the sounds the Sistrum makes – i.e., rattle sounds like tambourine bells and sounds like a bell-tree being stroked. One will also hear sounds like a ‘rattle snake’ and also whistles and flute-like instruments. Underlying these sounds is a very low and strong rumbling sound which fades-in at first and gets louder and louder as the process proceeds culminating in the bright, white light explosion in the centre of the head. The Sistrum then may have been a symbol of this experience. The Sistrum was used in pictures and carvings to show the various gods and Pharaohs subduing the power of a particular god – and mostly because the god holding the Sistrum had the ‘power’ and ‘energy’ to do so through having had the enlightenment experience – also representing the externalized solar power. Birds The association between birds or wings and the serpent seems to go back in time many thousands of years and across the world. To quote John Bathurst Deane: “The hierogram of the circle, wings, and serpent, is one of the most curios emblems of Ophiolatreia, and is recognized, with some modifications, in almost every country where serpent worship prevailed . . . It may be alleged that all these cannot be resolved into the single-winged serpent once coiled. Under their present form, certainly not; but it is possible that these may be corruption’s of the original emblem which was only preserved accurately in the neighborhood of the country where the cause of serpent-worship existed; namely, in Persia, which bordered upon Babylonia and Media, the rival loci of the Garden of Eden.” Deane relates these many thousands of images of the ‘winged serpent’ to the Seraphim of the Bible, the ‘fiery’ and ‘flying serpents.’ These could also be the origins for the flying dragons and why Quetzalcoatl was the ‘feathered’ or ‘plumed serpent’ amongst others. The reason given by Deane for this symbolism is for proof of deity and consecration of a given Temple. If this is the case, then it was certainly believed that the ancient serpent had consecrated Temples across the world. And if the serpent was a true symbol of the sun (external) and the inner light (internal) then it was a perfect fusing of our ancestors belief in one location at one time (temple). The real reason for the wings is that the serpent enlightenment aspect gave the adherent wings, symbolically making him/her higher in aspect and part of the “heavenly” chorus. Dove The dove is an important element in symbolism and for some reason was seen in the New Testament as a symbol of the Holy Spirit or feminine aspect of God. It came down upon Jesus as he was baptized, giving him that famous “born again” element. It descended upon the disciples. But why was the Dove chosen? The Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl is the ‘Feathered Serpent,’ so are there any links between the dove as a feathered bird and the serpent? Eurynome was probably the most important Goddess of the Pelasgian myths. These Pelasgians were a people who arrived in Greece from Palestine over 5,500 years ago, although it also became a term for “real” Greeks later on. Eurynome was the creator, the Mother Goddess – the ruler of all things. She was born from chaos; she separated the water from the sky and then danced across the water in-order to create. Whilst dancing she created wind or breath and taking hold of it between her hands she rubbed and rubbed until she had created a snake. The snake was called Ophion and he was filled with desire for the ‘dancing goddess.’ Wrapping himself around her seven times he impregnated the goddess, who had now taken the form of a Dove, and created an egg. From the egg came forth all animals and plants and so Eurynome ascended to Mount Olympus and watched as her children developed. The snake Ophion bragged about his creation and so Eurynome kicked out his teeth, from where came all the people, including the first man Pelasgus, (like Adam) and from where the tribe derived its name. Ophion was then kicked out of heaven. The creation of the world and all that is in it was therefore again due to the snake and a goddess. But how does this goddess relate to the bird? By the Sumerians, one of the most ancient of civilizations, she was simply known as Iahu, the “exalted Dove.” This Eurynome cult had spread across the Mediterranean and became a base for many other myths and religions, including the Hebrew god Yahweh taking on elements of the name Lahu. She was an original Mother Goddess, the feminine aspect and was seen as a dove – and united with the serpent seed, she gave birth to creation. The Dove of Christianity is the feminine aspect and brings new life; she was known as the breath – the same breath that emerges in the beginning and from the Egyptian Ankh (see Ankh) into the nostrils, bringing new life and immortality. The feminine aspect of Quetzalcoatl is the feathered bird aspect and the male-part the snake. Celtic Knotwork and Other Symbols Due to the prevalence of the serpent in the Celtic world and surrounding cultures, it is my understanding that Celtic Knotwork is derived from the images of the snake and the movements of the planets. We can see influences of this in the spirals and other serpent shapes seen upon many of the world’s ancient monuments. In Scandinavian literature and stone art we can also see how the serpent appears, looking remarkably like Celtic Knotwork. In Roman and Greek wall paintings there are running spirals thought to be symbolic of the protective snake. A Neolithic vessel, now in the museum of Henan in China, shows a distinct correlation between the idea of the snake and the Knotwork. The idea of the Knotwork coming from the snake was probably discontinued due to Christian influence. Other symbols that are related to the snake include the Ivy leaf, a symbol of Bacchus/Dionysius and a symbol of immortality. The reasoning behind this symbol is simply that the leaf is similar to the snake’s head and it entwines around pillars and trees as the snake is shown to do in images across the world. Related to this Ivy leaf image is the shape of the heart and we can see in two Japanese clay statuettes from the Jomon period that they have these snake-heart heads. Many images of the Buddha also incorporate this Ivy/Heart shape head – a softening and hiding of the earlier images of Naga deities who had snakes heads. These Ivy and Heart shapes were thought to protect the person wearing them or the building adorned with them, and they are therefore no different to the concept of the protecting or guarding snake from folklore and legend. They are just basically symbolic of the original snake – and remaining so until Christianity demonized them. Of course the Ivy, along with that other serpentine symbol, the grapevine, are to be seen across the world’s Christian buildings, as Jesus claimed that we should be grafted onto the vine. Did Jesus really mean that we should be part of the serpent cult? Part of the family, which he was himself a creation of? Of course the fruit of the vine is wine, and if the vine is an ancient symbol of the snake, then what is the fruit of the snake? Jesus said that we were to drink the wine as a symbol of his blood and therefore it was the blood of the snake. Drink of the fruit of the vine and you shall have eternal life, a fruit created by God for our pleasure. Spirals and other Rock Art Vacation posts continue. Here’s something about Egyptian Gods etc. The Egyptians were fully clued in at one point. There is a real, and frightening reason so many extremely important people are going to ‘worship’ at the pyramid of Giza in Cairo this December 31, 1999. Will the pyramid be pointing to Sirius at a certain moment? Will the Sirius vortex of the God or Gods or the Goddess cause some event to occur, even if only psychic, while sweaty Zahi Hawass flips switches for the crowds? Sirius is called the vortex of God or Gods and/or the Goddess. This is where, for all intents and purposes, divine beings outside of “physical density” and it’s relative regions, originally come from. The originating Giza Pyramid builders designed-in a record of this and the predictions of eventual comings of messiahs through history. Sirius is where, for all intents and purposes, divine beings outside of “physical density” and it’s relative regions, originally came from. Near Sirius is a doorway to what we would call heaven. The doorway was scientifically proven when a pyramid array on a secret satellite detection experiment, revealed a geometric alignment where pyramid energies naturally amplify a stream of energy coming ONLY from near Sirius into our universe. The pyramid effected an interdimensional transceiver function where the subspace tunneling from the Sirius vortex domain occurred, in terms of measurable temporal field modulation. The reason razor blades don’t rust in pyramids is not pop culture fad belief, but the result of temporal field deceleration naturally occurring in the pyramid. This is actually measurable with a tuned crystal resonator detection and reference system. Above the pyramid the time field was found to be minutely accelerated, inside the pyramid it is decelerated. When the pyramid shaft of Cheops at Giza points to Sirius, and is also aligned geomagnetically on the Earth (Cheops), momentous things are predicted to occur or least be signified. At at certain times of day and year, there are peak conditions in the pyramid to (among other things): Communicate with the Gods from inside the Pyramid, i.e. the King’s and Queen’s Chamber – using emotion, vision and symbols. Receive energies of rejuvenation and spiritual balance from the Sirius vortex – using emotion, vision, and symbols. Out-of-body experience travel to other planes of existence and initiation and learning, using emotion, vision and symbols. The originating Giza Pyramid designed-in a record of this and the predictions of eventual comings of messiahs through history. The old dormant code activation keys were broadcast from the cortex and received by everyone on Earth five years ago. The changes are already beginning. Echelon knows evolution is in for a bumpy ride, and ET knows evolution is in for a bumpy ride, and the rest of us are told nothing. Yet it is we who are at stake. This is why ET and God’s ET agents, and other heavenly influences, are all so active right now, all trying to even up the need-to-know problem through covert mass contact. It is a covert assistance program, not a covert invasion. It is designed to allow us to evolve much faster than our institutions would prefer us sheep wake-up. There are bad ET’s and there are good ET’s and a lot in between, too. The saving grace in all this is the higherdimensional Sirian soul energies of beyond our physical universe invested powerful dormant DNA encoding and high soul substance into Neanderthal humanity 90,000 years ago. The shaft in the pyramid points to Sirius. It has been confirmed ET parties were associated closely with the existence of certain Earthly historical early messiahs and holy persons. Our religions were partly created by ET. We were truly, in every scientific physical sense of the words as well, aided by heavenly apparatus and intelligence. But this is no ordinary apparatus. We are talking about the scientific verification of the existence of God. But this could be God as ET themselves parading as God or God’s agents, by being able to prove their historical Messianic associations, and the fact our genetics came from their divine test tube. However this still leaves plenty of room left for deception, since there are so many damned ET factions still vying for position today. Not the least of which is our own highest Echelon response to the problem – the appropriation of the right of apotheosis away from the custodians – no matter how benevolent they are. This is a dangerous path. It is an outwardly directed path in worship of ‘power-over’, technology of control, exclusive rights to resources, and worship of the science of separating the observer from experience. This is a climate of alien threat response management by secession from the ET agents as angels of God. Here is the crux of the problem: The right Messianic ET’s were already rejected by our idiot world secret government. Why? Our government would not play because the true heavenly God Messianic ET agents would not broker soul rights by acceding to secret institutional control speaking for all humanity. The worst of it is the human-perceived direct attack by the good ET’s on the human institutions of organized religion as being embodiments of the worst kind of corruption. We wouldn’t have any of that. And they were told to take a cosmic hike – and they did – at our request, except for a few isolated continuing contacts with key individual contactees. The ET’s gave up on our institutions, and our institutions gave up on them, there was to be no marriage without undesired revolution. Part of ARC Echelon rejection of the ET agents of our historical Messiahs – who were after all good and true and spiritually divine human beings, leaves the populace without without a primer for things to come. So ET is picking up the slack by increasing covert contacts, and there are a quite of few ET visitation joyrides going on too. Our zoo is a hot ticket. Without a primer we are left to to our own wits and conditioning. And guess what? Plenty of alliances have come along who were not the Messianic connected ET’s and also claim involvement in our world, one way or another, usually more remote, but still associated somehow. The plot thickened, especially as some of these ET’s turned out to be rather fallen angels of a kind. Faustain bargains had been much more easily made with less caring ET’s by our institutions than with the more caring ETs. This means the institutions were left with a messy problem, and until they figured it out, and could wiggle out of certain Faustian bargains, humanity was to be left without a clue. So the feedback response system is modified to compensate. Humanity is exercising it’s own trim-tab compensation by receiving messages from itself in the future as precognition and dreams messages from itself from the future, as time travelers, both machine and humanoid, coming back messages telepathically from ET’s in the present, and most importantly messages directly from the original creator God and his once Earthly Messiahs, now operating as relay authentic bridges for humanity to God in these times The status quo in the institutions, on the other hand, are, respectively: trying to downplay the dreams and precognitions are millennial madness making sure to debunk the entire field of channelers as nutcase cults making sure to debunk the entire field of Ufology as disreputable snake oil salesmen trying to reinforce peoples allegiance to the organized institutional forms of religion and science This is the result of the actions of the Echelon elements in secession mode. The few elements in lower Echelons that have realized the monumental mistakes they have made still don’t want to turn over authority to any genuine human contactee! They want to instead attempt to go straight to the source. This is the reason for all the secret society worship of the Gods of ancient Egypt and the reason again, for the coming festivities being attended by representatives of all the secret societies . But the fact still remains, regardless of the noble attempts to adjust the game through the types like Joe Firmage, without a primer that requires more institutional dressing down to see the whole truth, most of humanity could rush to judgment – into a premature friend or foe determination – and get caught up in mistaken identity turmoil. This is why there are so many above top secret fake apotheosis programs in a box. They can only get away with all of this as long as we are still under basic embargo and quarantine as a planet. It all depends if we can: keep the ET lid on, and keep the worldly natural catastrophe curve in check, or adapt fast enough to changes in the sun, for example and keep ourselves from killing ourselves off with human conflict triggered NCBW in the next 12 years, All without without absolutely needing ET help to survive and not go extinct, we could pass through this momentum time at the end of ‘normal’ history and not have to scientifically confront the existence of alien life for almost another century. Now wouldn’t that be nice? Don’t worry, the abductions will all soon be over, for the most part. Besides you were just giving and getting some help. Once in a while there are a few demonic abductors running around, but that is kept in check. Every abduction event is monitored by Echelon authorities. Every ET tagged party is an Echelon tagged party. Yet, remember, human free will is still the most powerful element in the mix. You only get abducted because as a soul you agreed to it before you were born. There is a God who exists as a non-physical creator beyond this universe, of which entities in different ET’s civilizations either love or hate, or listen to or turn a deaf ear to, depending on how much their ‘fallen’ factor is operative. Certain Vedic saints, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mohammed, and recently even Joseph Smith , prime examples amongst many, were all contacted by rather benevolent angel ET’s, as judged by the quality of the teachings they have promulgated. Our institutions have recently rejected the right heavenly hosts. They left the rest of us to fend for ourselves, while they secure potential divine secessionary escape routes, or just Mexican stand-off hold-offs. This all means, good and bad ET, angelic and demonic ET, of different ilks can now covertly contact humanity on a telepathic basis, at the least, IF individual humanity ‘asks’ for it, and get a response, depending on the degree of pattern match. Negative people naturally attract similarly predisposed ET’s, and so on. Our institutions have failed the tests and given into the devil’s temptations. The Sirian-Egyptian connection correlates to a coordinate in the heavens that highest Echelon knows the door to ‘heaven’ is. Certain Egypto-Masonic ASC Echelon types want to negotiate their own exclusive relationship with divinity, and bypass the truly ‘holy-host’ ET’s who reject their all too human power and control games. If we don’t watch it, these idiots will try to drag the rest of humanity along with them into Faustian bargain oblivion. The only assured response strategy options are: Allow the whole thing blow over through the continued disenfranchisement of Ufology from science and religion, as ARC elements have planned and executed for fifty years, (and hope no massive new UFO religion springs up that would make things like Scientology and even Mormanism look like small stuff). Let the UFO age die-off, by forcing the ET’s away through a threatened scorched globe policy. Allow the whole thing gradually take hold socially through the personal domain of direct ET to person contact (and yes direct God to person contact) going on, physically, telepathically, symbolically, spiritually. And hopefully all the while try to marry science and religion back together in a way that allows these hallowed institutions to survive. But the bigoted radical cynical scientific rationalism cultists, and the bigoted radical optimistic religious mysticism cultists, will both have to eventually give it up. And as we all know, that will not happen without a fight. This is why ET is denied the welcome mat on Earth and the No-Vacancy signs are on in the mainstream sense. We need time to just make it go away, or to prepare ourselves for eventual radical cultural adjustment. Either way, ET is NOT really the issue we need to figure out anymore, even if more than half the ARC Echelon folks are still sweating it, and the abductees are tired of it. The ONLY issue of genuine import is how our hidden human potential for divine spirituality can dovetail with the coming big wave of cosmic events and ‘energies’ over the next years so we can make the best out of it, and yes, save our own souls, and our world, with the help of God and/or Goddess. That is the ONLY question that is relevant to be answered. Everything else turns out to be a grand distraction. But remember Heaven’s Gate . The leader of Falun Gong, Master Li, believes evil ET’s recently seeded human civilization with technology and computers as a covert invasion plan. These evil ET’s worship technology and science like a religion, to the exclusion of higher dimensions. Drunvalo Mechelzidek holds that technology is the result of a Luciferian rebellion. The environmental crisis has stirred a contemporary “modern age” Luddite backlash against insensitive irresponsible science, commerce and industry. The Unabomber Manifesto. Earthfirst. Back to nature worship and “superstition”. The backlash against science is just beginning unless science stops worshipping the separation of the observer from the observed as a means to operate with impunity, and derisively dismisses claims that involve the observer. Science is actually on the way to committing suicide. But in radically responding to the problem as a turf war for souls, so will religion. Don’t wait for your institutions to get it together for you. Common humanity may have to stand elitist management for decade or so until the inevitable happens. The inevitable is human apotheosis for the masses as a direct link between human and God and Goddess, and without ET necessarily consciously involved, and without human institutions moderating. And that scares our hallowed institutions of science and religion, our institutions of commerce and politics, it scares them all half to death. No wonder. Mommy Goddess and Daddy God are coming into direct contact with us in a new radical fashion – not as physical ET’s like the government or evil ET’s would have us believe, but as personalized loving, forgiving and powerful spiritual energies and entities from beyond this physical universe. They are returning, big time, in non-physical terms, to re-connect and co-create with their original soul substance in this universe, located in, guess what – human hearts. This Human-Spiritual heart reconnection is feared by the ‘fallen’ Luciferians mindsets – their game is up. Because once the true reconnection happens, it makes individual human beings hundreds of times more powerful than our high yield hydrogen bombs, in terms of potential spiritual influence. Remember the power of our historical Messiahs? They did not show what they were really capable of, despite the wonders they did demonstrate. And remember how all Messiahs claimed that any human was capable of the same as they? It was all only ever about growing love in the human heart. It was about growing the capacity for caring and intimacy, the incorruptible means for humanity not falling this time for well laid traps. The alien-human alliance engineered fail-safe awareness traps on the human evolutionary experiment. And they work. The ET’s just hope we humans as a whole species learn our lessons before we get so much power. Since most of us wouldn’t trust anyone we know with too much power, and treat other species on our planet like chattel without feelings, that ought to help explain to you why ET’s have us under a form of embargo and quarantine. We humans foam at the mouth after all without any help at all from ET races. Now see? You didn’t need to read all this blathering gibberish after all. We warned you. As William Shatner once said to the stunned crestfallen trekkies at a Star Trek convention, “Get a life”! Blogman Leave a comment Now when we have looked the Tibetan Book Of The Deatd there is also an Egyptian Book Of The Dead: The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text , used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE. [1] The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw [2] is translated as “Book of Coming Forth by Day”. [3] Another translation would be “Book of emerging forth into the Light”. The text consists of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person’s journey through the Duat , or underworld, and into the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was part of a tradition of funerary texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts , which were painted onto objects, not papyrus. Some of the spells included were drawn from these older works and date to the 3rd millennium BCE. Other spells were composed later in Egyptian history, dating to the Third Intermediate Period (11th to 7th centuries BCE). A number of the spells which made up the Book continued to be inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi , as had always been the spells from which they originated. The Book of the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased. There was no single or canonical Book of the Dead. The surviving papyri contain a varying selection of religious and magical texts and vary considerably in their illustration. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the Book of the Dead, perhaps choosing the spells they thought most vital in their own progression to the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was most commonly written in hieroglyphic or hieratic script on a papyrus scroll, and often illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased and their journey into the afterlife. Development The Book of the Dead developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts dating back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom . The first funerary texts were the Pyramid Texts , first used in the Pyramid of King Unas of the 5th dynasty , around 2400 BCE. [4] These texts were written on the walls of the burial chambers within pyramids, and were exclusively for the use of the Pharaoh (and, from the 6th dynasty , the Queen). The Pyramid Texts were written in an unusual hieroglyphic style; many of the hieroglyphs representing humans or animals were left incomplete or drawn mutilated, most likely to prevent them causing any harm to the dead pharaoh. [5] The purpose of the Pyramid Texts was to help the dead King take his place amongst the gods , in particular to reunite him with his divine father Ra ; at this period the afterlife was seen as being in the sky, rather than the underworld described in the Book of the Dead. [5] Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts ceased to be an exclusively royal privilege, and were adopted by regional governors and other high-ranking officials. In the Middle Kingdom , a new funerary text emerged, the Coffin Texts . The Coffin Texts used a newer version of the language, new spells, and included illustrations for the first time. The Coffin Texts were most commonly written on the inner surfaces of coffins, though they are occasionally found on tomb walls or on papyri. [5] The Coffin Texts were available to wealthy private individuals, vastly increasing the number of people who could expect to participate in the afterlife; a process which has been described as the “democratization of the afterlife”. [6] The Book of the Dead first developed in Thebes towards the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period , around 1700 BCE. The earliest known occurrence of the spells included in the Book of the Dead is from the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep , of the 13th dynasty , where the new spells were included amongst older texts known from the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. Some of the spells introduced at this time claim an older provenance; for instance the rubric to spell 30B states that it was discovered by the Prince Hordjedef in the reign of King Menkaure , many hundreds of years before it is attested in the archaeological record. [7] By the 19th dynasty , the Book of the Dead had become widespread not only for members of the royal family, but courtiers and other officials as well. At this stage, the spells were typically inscribed on linen shrouds wrapped around the dead, though occasionally they are found written on coffins or on papyrus. [8] The New Kingdom saw the Book of the Dead develop and spread further. The famous Spell 125, the ‘ Weighing of the Heart ‘, is first known from the reign of Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III , c.1475 BCE. From this period onward the Book of the Dead was typically written on a papyrus scroll, and the text illustrated with vignettes . During the 19th dynasty in particular, the vignettes tended to be lavish, sometimes at the expense of the surrounding text. [9] In the Third Intermediate Period , the Book of the Dead started to appear in hieratic script, as well as in the traditional hieroglyphics. The hieratic scrolls were a cheaper version, lacking illustration apart from a single vignette at the beginning, and were produced on smaller papyri. At the same time, many burials used additional funerary texts, for instance the Amduat . [10] During the 25th and 26th dynasties , the Book of the Dead was updated, revised and standardised. Spells were consistently ordered and numbered for the first time. This standardised version is known today as the ‘Saite recension’, after the Saite (26th) dynasty. In the Late period and Ptolemaic period , the Book of the Dead remained based on the Saite recension, though increasingly abbreviated towards the end of the Ptolemaic period. New funerary texts appeared, including the Book of Breathing and Book of Traversing Eternity . The last use of the Book of the Dead was in the 1st century BCE, though some artistic motifs drawn from it were still in use in Roman times. [11] Spells     Egypt has always been in my mind since I was a little boy. I have known that something very important is hidden in that area. Why Egypt’s officials don’t tell everything and all the fights between French and Britain of the artifacts, I know there’s something very important and it belongs to whole mankind. I wont tell the history about Giza Plateau but some facts first: When Khufu , perhaps better known by his Greek name, Cheops, became king of Egypt after the death of Sneferu , there was no convenient space remaining at Dahshur , where Sneferu was buried, for Khufu’s own pyramid complex. Hence, he moved his court and residence farther north, where his prospectors had located a commanding rock cliff, overlooking present day Giza, appropriate for a towering pyramid. This rock cliff was in the northernmost part of the first Lower Egyptian nome , Ineb-hedj (“the white fortress”). Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo , several hundred meters from the last houses in the southernmost part of the city proper, where a limestone cliff rises abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert plateau. The ancient Egyptians called this place imentet, “The West” or kher neter, “the necropolis”. Clickable Image Map of Giza According to a treatise on the geology of the pyramid plateau by Thomas Aigner, it is part of the Middle Eocene Mokattam Formation, which dips slightly southeast, comprising limestone and dolomites. To the south, the Mokattam and dolomitic limestones are overlain by the marly limestone and sandy marls of the Upper Eocene Maadi Formation. To the north and east, the Mokattam Formation is characterized by two steep escarpments about 30 meters (92 feet) high. It continues to the Great Sphinx ditch, which must at one time have formed a high peak. From there, the stonemasons cut the core blocks for the Great Pyramid. Side View of Giza The older pyramids of the third and early fourth dynasty were built on thick layers of marl and slate. These marl layers were easier to dig than limestone, so excavation of the large shafts that extended as much as 30 meters beneath the step pyramids was accomplished in a reasonable time. However, there was also a serious disadvantage, because the marl layers could not support their weight. The underlayer gave way, and the construction became unstable. This in fact happened with the South Pyramid at Dahshur , where cracks and serious damage appeared in the corridor system and in the chambers so that the pyramid had to be abandoned. Another view of Giza Hence, when Khufu planned his own ambitious pyramid, he was looking for a solid rock base, nearby quarries and a dominating position overlooking the Nile Valley, which he of course found at Giza. Giza can be subdivided into two groupings of monuments, clearly defined and separated by a wadi. The larger grouping consists of the three “Great” pyramids of Khufu , Khephren (Khafre) , and Menkaure , the Sphinx , attendant temples and outbuildings, and the private mastabas of the nobility. The second grouping, located on the ridge to the southeast, contains a number of private tombs of citizens of various classes. While the majority of the monuments of the larger grouping are made from limestone that was quarried and transported to the site, the tombs of the smaller grouping are simply carved out of the native living rock. Though the three Great Pyramids are the most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a Necropolis almost since the beginning of Pharaonic Egypt. A tomb just on the outskirts of the Giza site dates from the reign of the First Dynasty Pharaoh Wadj (Djet), and jar sealings discovered in a tomb in the southern part of Giza mention the Second Dynasty Pharaoh Ninetjer . But it was the Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) who placed Giza forever at the heart of funerary devotion, a city of the dead that dwarfed the cities of the living nearby. In order to build his complex, he had to clear away many of the old tombs, filling in their shafts or even totally destroying them. His pyramid , the largest of all the pyramids in Egypt (though it should be noted that it surpasses the Red Pyramid at Dahshur built by his father Snefru by only ten meters), dominates the sandy plain. On its southwest diagonal is the pyramid of his son , Khephren (Chephren, Khafre). Although it is smaller, a steeper angle results in the illusion that they are the same size. In fact, Kephren’s pyramid appears taller since it is on higher ground. The notion that this was done on purpose to out-do his father is without question. As it occupies the central point, has the illusion of greater size, and still has some of its casing stones intact, it is frequently mistaken to as the Great Pyramid, something that would no doubt please Khephren were he alive today. Further along the southwest diagonal is the smallest of the three great pyramids, that of Khephren ‘s son, Menkaure . It is also the most unusual. First of all, it is not entirely limestone. The uppermost portions are brick, much like the several Pyramids at Dahshur , though separated from them by several centuries. One theory is that Menkaure died before his pyramid could be completed, and the remaining construction was hastily done to finish it in time for the burial. It is also not along the diagonal line that runs through the Great Pyramid and the Second Pyramid , but instead is nearly a hundred meters to the southeast. This error, if error it is, is of a magnitude not in keeping with the mathematical skill known to have been possessed by the ancient Egyptians. However, an idea has emerged in the last few years that the three large pyramids of Giza are actually meant to be in an alignment resembling that of the three “belt” stars in the constellation Orion: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. This theory is largely discounted by the majority of Egyptologists, but some do believe it is a point to ponder. Actually, it should also be noted that, while the center of the pyramid does not line up with its larger counterparts, the southeast sides of all three pyramids are in alignment. All three pyramids stand empty, probably plundered during the political unrest that ended the Old Kingdom when the monarchy collapsed. Yet there are the occasional surprises. Airtight pits along the southern and eastern walls of Khufu ‘s pyramid contain boats (not small ritual boats, but fully-functional funerary barges with 40-ton displacements. One was excavated in 1954). Exactly how big Giza is may never be known. Excavations have continued to find new tombs and artifacts since Bezoni , Caviglia , Perring, and Vyse began the first systematic study of Giza in the early 1800s. It has been explored and excavated more thoroughly than any other site in Egypt, possibly more than any other site in the world, yet no one believes the research is anywhere near complete today. Throughout the Old Kingdom , the cemetery of Giza remained the most prominent, even when the kings moved again to Southern Saqqara . For example, important officials such as the architects of the ‘inti family, who constructed the pyramids of the 5th and 6th Dynasties , continued to live in the pyramid town of Khufu and had their family tombs at Giza. During the First Intermediate Period , the pyramid town of Khufu and the cemetery of Giza were both abandoned, and they remained so during the Middle Kingdom . In fact, the pyramids were forcefully opened and plundered, and the private tombs were not ignored by thieves either. The causeways and temples were in fact even used as quarries by the architects of the kings of the 12th Dynasty . This all changed completely during the New Kingdom . The kings of the 18th Dynasty showed deep respect for the pyramids as monuments of their ancestors at Giza, and the area gained considerable religious significance as the center of royal worship to the Great Sphinx , “Lord of Setpet, the Chosen Place.” Princes and kings of the 18th and 19th Dynasties erected stelae between the paws of the Sphinx, which was no longer seen as a royal statue but rather as an image of the sun god Harmachis, “Horus in his Western Horizon”, which was actually a reference to the “Horizon of Khufu”. Amenhotep II dedicated a small temple to Harcachis to the northeast of the Sphinx. On foundation tables of that temple, the Sphinx is also named Harmachis-Hauron. Hauron was the name of a Syrian-Palestinian god of the netherworld that a community of Syrian-Palestinians living near the Great Sphinx identified with his image. Ramesses II installed a sanctuary within the forepaws of the Sphinx. In the Late period , Osiris became the dominant god of the area, taking over the cult locations of Rostau from Sokar and installing his cult in the Sphinx . High, massive pedestals were actually added to the body of the Sphinx, on which chapels of Osiris and probably Isis stood. Isis became known as the “Lady of the Pyramids.” During the Sixth Century BC onward, Greek travelers admired the pyramids at Giza, and it was they who eventually placed the monuments in the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the Pharonic Period, and up until recently, stone from the monuments were taken and used to build buildings in nearby Cairo . First the polished white limestone “casing” was taken, then the softer core stones. Many of Cairo’s oldest buildings are built partly from stones from the pyramids. This destruction continued well into the Nineteenth Century until preservation efforts and a resurgence of national pride put a stop to it. It is believed that had the pyramids not been vandalized, they would still remain to this day much as they were when they were built. As the saying goes, “Man fears Time, but Time fears the Pyramids.” Giza Pyramids One of my favorite Egypt researchers is Graham Hancock and his ideas of Giza Plateau. Here is some info about hidden tunnels & doors in Giza Plateau: THE “DOOR” IN THE GREAT PYRAMID (c) 1996, Graham Hancock In March 1993, a small “door” made of marble or limestone with two copper handles fixed on it was discovered by a mechanized robot (Upuaut II, “Me opener of the way” in ancient Egyptian) at the end of a long narrow shaft (8 x 8 inches and 200 feet long). Since then the discoverer, robotics engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink from Munich, has been banned from resuming the exploration and opening the door. The official reason given by the Egyptian Antiquities Authorities (known as the Supreme Council of Antiquities – SCA) was that Gantenbrink leaked the news of the discovery to the British Press in April 1993 and thus, apparently, broke a “rule” of archeology. The Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Dr. Rainer Stadelmann, sided with the Egyptians and condemned Gantenbrink for his press action. Dr. Stadelmann was adamant about the non-importance of the find. “This is not a door; there is nothing behind it.” The President of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, Dr. Muhamad Bakr, went as far as claiming a “hoax.” “The orifice of the shaft is too small for the robot to go through” and accused the “German scientist” of not having the correct “approvals” from the SCA to carry out the exploration. Dr. Bakr fired the Chief Inspector of the Giza Pyramid Plateau, Dr. Zahi Hawass, although the official reason given was that a valuable ancient “statue” under the custody of Hawass was stolen from Giza. Three months later, in June 1993, Dr. Bakr himself was fired and replaced by Dr. Nur El Din. Amid accusations of malpractice and fraud, Dr. Bakr spoke of a “mafia” which had been involved with the Pyramids for “the last twenty years”. Refusing to give names, Dr. Bakr said, “I wanted the whole matter investigated by the prosecution authorities, but my request was refused.” Meanwhile, Dr. Hawass, who went to the USA, claimed that the discovery of the “door” was “THE discovery in Egypt,” and speculated on important artifacts behind it. In early 1994, Dr. Hawass was reinstalled at his post at the Giza Pyramids. Meanwhile, Gantenbrink offered his robot to the Egyptians and also offered to train an Egyptian technician to man the equipment and open the door. The Egyptians rejected the offer; “We are very busy at the moment,” replied Dr. Nur El Din. About the same time, Dr. Hawass was to declare that “I do not think this is a “door” and there is nothing behind it.” In March 1996 however, Dr. Hawass changed his mind once again and declared Gantenbrink’s find as being one of huge interest and that the “door” would be opened in September 1996 by a Canadian “mission”, but not including Rudolf Gantenbrink or his robot. The Canadian “mission” is owned by Amtex Corporation of Canada, a mulit-media CD-ROM company, who are reported to be raising the huge sum of $10 million to promote a staged a “live opening” of the door on television networks. “I’m working with a private guy who is a personal friend of Hawass and we are absolutely going to drum this thing to death. Whatever the event we are going to stage, it will be televised live,” reported Amtex Corporation’s president, Mr Peter Zuuring. TUNNELS & CHAMBERS UNDER THE GREAT SPHINX I. In a series of expeditions between 1991 and 1993 led by John Anthony West, an independent Egyptologist, scientific investigators conducted geological and seismic surveys around the Great Sphinx of Egypt. The chief geologist was Dr. Robert Schoch, Professor of Geology at Boston University, and the chief seismologist was Thomas Dobecki, from the highly-respected Houston consulting firm, McBride-Ratclif & Associates. II.The team’s conclusions were as follows: A. Geology, The pattern of erosion on the Sphinx indicates that it was carved at the end of the last Ice Age, when heavy rains fell on the eastern Sahara – perhaps more than 12, 000 years ago. This contrasts starkly with the “orthodox” Egyptological dating for the Sphinx of around 4,500 years ago. B. Seismography. The seismic survey indicated the existence of several unexplored tunnels and cavities in the bedrock beneath the Sphinx, including a large rectangular chamber at a depth of some 25 feet beneath the monuments front paws. III., In 1993, John West and his team were physically expelled from the site by Dr. Zawi Hawass then (and now) the Egyptian government’s Chief Inspector of Antiquities for the Pyramids and Sphinx. He appeared to be angered by the suggestion that the Sphinx might be far older than the civilization of Egypt itself – and thus the work of a lost civilization – and was particularly incensed by an NBC television film that was made about the team’s work This film linked the Sphinx to Atlantis and suggested that the chamber beneath the paws might contain the legendary “Hall of Records” of Atlantis. Hawass called these claims, “American hallucinations .. There is no scientific base for any of this. We have older monuments in the same area. They definitely weren’t built by men from Atlantis. It’s nonsense and we won’t allow our monuments to be exploited for personal enrichment. The Sphinx is the soul of Egypt.” IV. An article in the Egyptian press responding to the NBC film quoted Dr. Hawass on his further reasons for expelling John West and his team from the Sphinx enclosure: “I have found that their work is carried out by installing endoscopes in the Sphinx body and shooting film for all phases of the work in a propagandistic but not scientific manner. I therefore suspended the work of this unscientific mission and made a report which was presented to the permanent commission who rejected the mission’s work in the future.” V. The NBC film was produced by a certain Boris Said and partially financed by investments from the members of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE). The ARE, headquartered in Virginia Beach in the US, is a multimillion dollar organization that exists to promulgate the teachings and prophecies of an American psychic, Edgar Cayce, who died in 1947. Prominent amongst Cayce’s pronouncements were many statements to the effect that the Sphinx had been built in 10,500 BC by the survivors of the lost civiliaztion of Atlantis and that the survivors had concealed beneath it a “Hall of Records” containing all the wisdom of their lost civilization and the true history of the human race. Cayce prophesied that this Hall of Records would be rediscovered and opened between 1996 and 1998. He connected the opening to second coming of Christ. VI. In 1995, John West and Professor Robert Schoch of Boston University put in an application to the Egyptian authorities to resume their research. their application was ignored. VII At the beginning of April 1996, the Egyptian authorities granted a one-year license to a new team to conduct surveys around the Sphinx and the Giza necropolis using seismic equipment and ground-penetrating radar. This team, which claims academic sponsorship from Florida State University , is largely financed through the Schor Foundation of New York – by Dr. Joseph Schor, an American multimillionaire. Dr. Schor is a life member of the ARE and wrote on 24th May 1994 of his great personal interest in corroborating “the Cayce records which indicated that the culture which led to the building of the Pyramids dates to 10,400 BC.’: He also staated his wish “to further delineate that civilization.” VIII On April 11th 1996 Dr. Schor stated of his current project at the Sphinx: “We do not work for the Edgar Cayce Group. The major purpose of the Schor Foundation and the Florida State University is to aid in the preservation and restoration of the Pyramids and Sphinx. In addition, we are surveying the underground of the Giza Plateau to find faults and chasms that might collapse. This will increase the safety of the plateau.” IX Also financed by Dr. Schor is a short video film shot at the end of 1995 by Boris Said and produced in early 1996. The film opens with Dr. Zawi Hawass scrambling into a tunnel leading under the Sphinx. When he reaches the bottom he turns to face the camera and whispers to the viewer, “Even Indiana Jones woull never dream to be here. Can you believe it? We are now inside the Sphinx in this tunnel. This tunnel has never been opened before. No one really knows what’s inside this tunnel. But we are going to open it for the first time.” In commentary the film’s narrator goes on to state, “Edgar Cayce, America’s famous ‘Sleeping Prophet’, predicted that a chamber would be discovered beneath the Sphinx – a chamber containing the recorded history of human civilization. For the first time we’ll show you what lies beneath this great statue…a chamber which will be opened tonight, live, for our television cameras.” X . Dr. Schor has stated (on 11th April 1996) that this video is not a promotional venture aimed at hooking a major US network to televise a live opening of a chamber under the Sphinx. On the contrary, he insists, ‘It was made to test script and equipment and was made in November 1995 which was many months before we received approval for our expedition. We have abandoned its use..” XI. On 14th April 1996, Dr. Zawi Hawass announced in the Egyptian press that there were secret tunnels under the Sphinx and around the Pyramids and stated his belief that these tunnels would prove to “carry many secrets of the building of the Pyramids.” Here Graham Hancock talks about the Great Pyramids, that they are not just ancient tombs:   And here is a Chris Dunn’s beautiful theory, that Pyramids could have been ancient power plants (4 parts):     I think that the “official” story about Great Pyramids and Giza Plateau stinks and it stinks very bad. We don’t know anything about the ancient technology, because of some little group of scholars who has decided that this is the “official” theory and there’s no more about it. I think that it’s foolish to built these kind of monuments just tombs, it’s just too stupid. Ancient had maybe anti-gravity technology and this knowledge belongs to mankind. We need to know the Truth about Giza Plateau and it can be found if you search deep enough. Let’s find the Truth and stay tuned for more SECRET SITES!!!     One of the fascinating archeological finding is an artifact called The Rosetta Stone. This piece of history made possible to translate some mysteries of the ancient Pyramids, because it bears three inscriptions: the top register in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs , the second in the Egyptian demotic script, and the third in Ancient Greek . Here is the description about the artifact: The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V . The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs , the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek . Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs . Originally displayed within a temple , the stone was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period and eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta . It was rediscovered there in 1799 by a soldier, Pierre-François Bouchard , of the French expedition to Egypt . As the first Ancient Egyptian bilingual text recovered in modern times, the Rosetta Stone aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher this hitherto untranslated ancient language. Lithographic copies and plaster casts began circulating among European museums and scholars. Meanwhile, British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria . Transported to London, it has been on public display at the British Museum since 1802. It is the most-visited object in the British Museum. Study of the decree was already under way as the first full translation of the Greek text appeared in 1803. It was 20 years, however, before the transliteration of the Egyptian scripts was announced by Jean-François Champollion in Paris in 1822; it took longer still before scholars were able to read Ancient Egyptian inscriptions and literature confidently. Major advances in the decoding were: recognition that the stone offered three versions of the same text (1799); that the demotic text used phonetic characters to spell foreign names (1802); that the hieroglyphic text did so as well, and had pervasive similarities to the demotic ( Thomas Young , 1814); and that, in addition to being used for foreign names, phonetic characters were also used to spell native Egyptian words (Champollion, 1822–1824). Ever since its rediscovery, the stone has been the focus of nationalist rivalries, including its transfer from French to British possession during the Napoleonic Wars , a long-running dispute over the relative value of Young’s and Champollion’s contributions to the decipherment, and since 2003, demands for the stone’s return to Egypt. Two other fragmentary copies of the same decree were discovered later, and several similar Egyptian bilingual or trilingual inscriptions are now known, including two slightly earlier Ptolemaic decrees (the Decree of Canopus in 238 BC, and the Memphis decree of Ptolemy IV , ca. 218 BC). The Rosetta Stone is therefore no longer unique, but it was the essential key to modern understanding of Ancient Egyptian literature and civilization . The term Rosetta Stone is now used in other contexts as the name for the essential clue to a new field of knowledge. Description The Rosetta Stone is listed as “a stone of black granite , bearing three inscriptions … found at Rosetta”, in a contemporary catalogue of the artifacts discovered by the French expedition and surrendered to British troops in 1801. [1] At some period after its arrival in London, the inscriptions on the stone were coloured in white chalk to make them more legible, and the remaining surface was covered with a layer of carnauba wax designed to protect the Rosetta Stone from visitors’ fingers. [2] This gave a dark colour to the stone that led to its mistaken identification as black basalt . [3] These additions were removed when the stone was cleaned in 1999, revealing the original dark grey tint of the rock, the sparkle of its crystalline structure, and a pink vein running across the top left corner. [4] Comparisons with the Klemm collection of Egyptian rock samples showed a close resemblance to rock from a small granodiorite quarry at Gebel Tingar on the west bank of the Nile , west of Elephantine in the region of Aswan ; the pink vein is typical of granodiorite from this region. [5] The Rosetta Stone is currently 114.4 centimetres (45 in) high at its highest point, 72.3 cm (28.5 in) wide, and 27.9 cm (11 in) thick. It weighs approximately 760 kilograms (1,700 lb). [6] It bears three inscriptions: the top register in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs , the second in the Egyptian demotic script, and the third in Ancient Greek . [7] The front surface is polished and the inscriptions lightly incised on it; the sides of the stone are smoothed, but the back is only roughly worked, presumably because this would have not been visible when it was erected. Original stele The Rosetta Stone is a fragment of a larger stele. No additional fragments were found in later searches of the Rosetta site. [9] Owing to its damaged state, none of the three texts is absolutely complete. The top register composed of Egyptian hieroglyphs suffered the most damage. Only the last 14 lines of the hieroglyphic text can be seen; all of them are broken on the right side, and 12 of them on the left. The following register of demotic text has survived best: it has 32 lines, of which the first 14 are slightly damaged on the right side. The final register of Greek text contains 54 lines, of which the first 27 survive in full; the rest are increasingly fragmentary due to a diagonal break at the bottom right of the stone. [10] The full length of the hieroglyphic text and the total size of the original stele, of which the Rosetta Stone is a fragment, can be estimated based on comparable stelae that have survived, including other copies of the same order. The slightly earlier decree of Canopus , erected in 238 BC during the reign of Ptolemy III , is 219 centimetres (86 in) high and 82 centimetres (32 in) wide, and contains 36 lines of hieroglyphic text, 73 of demotic text, and 74 of Greek. The texts are of similar length. [11] From such comparisons it can be estimated that an additional 14 or 15 lines of hieroglyphic inscription are missing from the top register of the Rosetta Stone, amounting to another 30 centimetres (12 in). [12] In addition to the inscriptions, there would probably have been a scene depicting the king being presented to the gods, topped with a winged disk, as on the Canopus Stele. These parallels, and a hieroglyphic sign for “stela” on the stone itself ( Gardiner’s Sign O26 ) suggest that it originally had a rounded top. [7] [13] The height of the original stele is estimated to have been about 149 centimetres (59 in). Memphis decree and its context The stele was erected after the coronation of King Ptolemy V , and was inscribed with a decree that established the divine cult of the new ruler. [14] The decree was issued by a congress of priests who gathered at Memphis . The date is given as “4 Xandicus” in the Macedonian calendar and “18 Meshir ” in the Egyptian calendar , which corresponds to March 27, 196 BC. The year is stated as the ninth year of Ptolemy V’s reign (equated with 197/196 BC), and it is confirmed by naming four priests who officiated in that same year: Aëtus son of Aëtus was priest of the divine cults of Alexander the Great and the five Ptolemies down to Ptolemy V himself; his three colleagues, named in turn in the inscription, led the worship of Berenice Euergetis (wife of Ptolemy III ), Arsinoe Philadelpha (wife and sister of Ptolemy II ) and Arsinoe Philopator , mother of Ptolemy V. [15] However, a second date is also given in the Greek and hieroglyphic texts, corresponding to 27 November 197 BC, the official anniversary of Ptolemy’s coronation. [16] The inscription in demotic conflicts with this, listing consecutive days in March for the decree and the anniversary; [16] although it is uncertain why such discrepancies exist, it is clear that the decree was issued in 196 BC and that it was designed to re-establish the rule of the Ptolemaic kings over Egypt. [17] The decree was issued during a turbulent period in Egyptian history. Ptolemy V Epiphanes (reigned 204–181 BC), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and his wife and sister Arsinoe, had become ruler at the age of five after the sudden death of both of his parents, murdered, according to contemporary sources, in a conspiracy that involved Ptolemy IV’s mistress Agathoclea . The conspirators effectively ruled Egypt as Ptolemy V’s guardians, [18] [19] until, two years later, a revolt broke out under the general Tlepolemus and Agathoclea and her family were lynched by a mob in Alexandria. Tlepolemus, in turn, was replaced as guardian in 201 BC by Aristomenes of Alyzia , who was chief minister at the time of the Memphis decree. [20] Political forces beyond the borders of Egypt exacerbated the internal problems of the Ptolemaic kingdom. Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedon had made a pact to divide Egypt’s overseas possessions. Philip had seized several islands and cities in Caria and Thrace , while the Battle of Panium (198 BC) had resulted in the transfer of Coele-Syria , including Judea , from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids. Meanwhile, in the south of Egypt, there was a long-standing revolt that had begun during the reign of Ptolemy IV, [16] led by Horwennefer and by his successor Ankhwennefer . [21] Both the war and the internal revolt were still ongoing when the young Ptolemy V was officially crowned at Memphis at the age of 12 (seven years after the start of his reign), and the Memphis decree issued. The stele is a late example of a class of donation stelae, which depicts the reigning monarch granting a tax exemption to the resident priesthood. [22] Pharaohs had erected these stelae over the previous 2,000 years, the earliest examples dating from the Egyptian Old Kingdom . In earlier periods all such decrees were issued by the king himself, but the Memphis decree was issued by the priests, as the maintainers of traditional Egyptian culture. [23] The decree records that Ptolemy V gave a gift of silver and grain to the temples . [24] It also records that in the eighth year of his reign during a particularly high Nile flood , he had the excess waters dammed for the benefit of the farmers. [24] In return for these concessions, the priesthood pledged that the king’s birthday and coronation days would be celebrated annually, and that all the priests of Egypt would serve him alongside the other gods. The decree concludes with the instruction that a copy was to be placed in every temple, inscribed in the “language of the gods” (hieroglyphs), the “language of documents” (demotic), and the “language of the Greeks” as used by the Ptolemaic government. [25] [26] Securing the favour of the priesthood was essential for the Ptolemaic kings to retain effective rule over the populace. The High Priests of Memphis —where the king was crowned—were particularly important, as they were the highest religious authority of the time and had influence throughout the kingdom. [27] Given that the decree was issued at Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, rather than Alexandria, the centre of government of the ruling Ptolemies, it is evident that the young king was anxious to gain their active support. [28] Hence, although the government of Egypt had been Greek-speaking ever since the conquests of Alexander the Great , the Memphis decree, like the two preceding decrees in the series, included texts in Egyptian to display its relevance to the general populace by way of the literate Egyptian priesthood. [29] There exists no one definitive English translation of the decree because of the minor differences between the three original texts and because modern understanding of the ancient languages continues to develop. An up-to-date translation by R. S. Simpson, based on the demotic text, appears on the British Museum website. [30] It can be compared with Edwyn R. Bevan ‘s full translation in The House of Ptolemy (1927), [31] based on the Greek text with footnote comments on variations between this and the two Egyptian texts. The stele almost certainly did not originate in the town of Rashid (Rosetta) where it was found, but more likely came from a temple site farther inland, possibly the royal town of Sais . [32] The temple it originally came from was probably closed around AD 392 when Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I ordered the closing of all non-Christian temples of worship. [33] At some point the original stele broke, its largest piece becoming what we now know as the Rosetta Stone. [34] Ancient Egyptian temples were later used as quarries for new construction, and the Rosetta Stone probably was re-used in this manner. Later it was incorporated in the foundations of a fortress constructed by the Mameluke Sultan Qaitbay (ca. 1416/18–1496) to defend the Bolbitine branch of the Nile at Rashid. [34] There it would lie for at least another three centuries until its rediscovery. [34] Two other inscriptions of the Memphis decrees have been found since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone: the Nubayrah Stele and an inscription found at the Temple of Philae . Unlike the Rosetta Stone, their hieroglyphic inscriptions were relatively intact, and though the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone had been deciphered long before the discovery of the other copies of the decree, subsequent Egyptologists including Wallis Budge used these other inscriptions to further refine the actual hieroglyphs that must have been used in the lost portions of the hieroglyphic register on the Rosetta Stone. [35] Rediscovery On Napoleon ‘s 1798 campaign in Egypt , the expeditionary army was accompanied by the Commission des Sciences et des Arts , a corps of 167 technical experts (savants). On July 15, 1799, as French soldiers under the command of Colonel d’Hautpoul were strengthening the defences of Fort Julien , a couple of miles north-east of the Egyptian port city of Rosetta (Modern day Rashid), Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard spotted a slab with inscriptions on one side that the soldiers had uncovered. [36] He and d’Hautpoul saw at once that it might be important and informed general Jacques-François Menou , who happened to be at Rosetta. [A] The find was announced to Napoleon’s newly founded scientific association in Cairo, the Institut d’Égypte , in a report by Commission member Michel Ange Lancret noting that it contained three inscriptions, the first in hieroglyphs and the third in Greek, and rightly suggesting that the three inscriptions would be versions of the same text. Lancret’s report, dated July 19, 1799, was read to a meeting of the Institute soon after July 25. Bouchard, meanwhile, transported the stone to Cairo for examination by scholars. Napoleon himself inspected what had already begun to be called la Pierre de Rosette, the Rosetta Stone, shortly before his return to France in August 1799. [9] The discovery was reported in Courrier de l’Égypte , the official newspaper of the French expedition, in September: the anonymous reporter expressed a hope that the stone might one day be the key to deciphering hieroglyphs. [A] [9] In 1800, three of the Commission’s technical experts devised ways to make copies of the texts on the stone. One of these, the printer and gifted linguist Jean-Joseph Marcel , is credited as the first to recognise that the middle text, originally guessed to be Syriac , was, in fact, written in the Egyptian demotic script, rarely used for stone inscriptions and, therefore, seldom seen by scholars at that time. [9] It was the artist and inventor Nicolas-Jacques Conté who found a way to use the stone itself as a printing block ; [37] a slightly different method for reproducing the inscriptions was adopted by Antoine Galland . The prints that resulted were taken to Paris by General Charles Dugua . Scholars in Europe were now able to see the inscriptions and attempt to read them. [38] After Napoleon’s departure, French troops held off British and Ottoman attacks for a further 18 months. In March 1801, the British landed at Aboukir Bay . General Jacques-François Menou , who had been one of the first to see the stone in 1799, was now in command of the French expedition. His troops, including the Commission, marched north towards the Mediterranean coast to meet the enemy, transporting the stone along with other antiquities of all kinds. Defeated in battle, Menou and the remnant of his army retreated to Alexandria where they were surrounded and besieged, the stone now inside the city. He admitted defeat and surrendered on August 30. [39] [40] From French to British possession After the surrender, a dispute arose over the fate of French archaeological and scientific discoveries in Egypt, including a group of artifacts, biological specimens, notes, plans and drawings collected by the members of the commission. Menou refused to hand them over, claiming that they belonged to the Institute. British General John Hely-Hutchinson refused to relieve the city until Menou gave in. Scholars Edward Daniel Clarke and William Richard Hamilton , newly arrived from England, agreed to examine the collections in Alexandria and claimed to have found many artefacts that the French had not revealed. In a letter home, Clarke said that “we found much more in their possession than was represented or imagined”. [41] When Hutchinson claimed all materials were property of the British Crown , a French scholar, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire , said to Clarke and Hamilton that they would rather burn all their discoveries—referring ominously to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria —than turn them over. Clarke and Hamilton pleaded the French scholars’ case and Hutchinson finally agreed that items such as natural history specimens would be the scholars’ private property. [40] [42] Menou quickly claimed the stone, too, as his private property; [43] had this been accepted, he would have been able to take it to France. [40] Equally aware of the stone’s unique value, General Hutchinson rejected Menou’s claim. Eventually an agreement was reached, and the transfer of the objects was incorporated into the Capitulation of Alexandria signed by representatives of the British , French and Ottoman forces. How exactly the stone was transferred into British hands is not clear, as contemporary accounts differ. Colonel Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner , who was to escort it to England, claimed later that he had personally seized it from Menou and carried it away on a gun-carriage . In a much more detailed account, Edward Daniel Clarke stated that a French “officer and member of the Institute” had taken him, his student John Cripps, and Hamilton secretly into the back streets behind Menou’s residence and revealed the stone hidden under protective carpets among Menou’s baggage. According to Clarke, their informant feared that the stone might be stolen if French soldiers saw it. Hutchinson was informed at once and the stone was taken away—possibly by Turner and his gun-carriage. [44] Turner brought the stone to England aboard the captured French frigate HMS Egyptienne , landing in Portsmouth in February 1802. [45] His orders were to present it and the other antiquities to King George III . The King, represented by the War Secretary Lord Hobart , directed that it should be placed in the British Museum . According to Turner’s narrative, he urged—and Hobart agreed—that before its final deposit in the museum, the stone should be presented to scholars at the Society of Antiquaries of London , of which Turner was a member. It was first seen and discussed there at a meeting on March 11, 1802. [B] [H] During the course of 1802, the Society created four plaster casts of the inscriptions, which were given to the universities of Oxford , Cambridge and Edinburgh and to Trinity College Dublin . Soon afterwards, prints of the inscriptions were made and circulated to European scholars. [E] Before the end of 1802, the stone was transferred to the British Museum , where it is located today. [45] New inscriptions painted in white on the left and right edges of the slab stated that it was “Captured in Egypt by the British Army in 1801″ and “Presented by King George III”. [2] The stone has been exhibited almost continuously in the British Museum since June 1802. [6] During the middle of the 19th century, it was given the inventory number “EA 24”, “EA” standing for “Egyptian Antiquities”. It was part of a collection of ancient Egyptian monuments captured from the French expedition, including a sarcophagus of Nectanebo II (EA 10), the statue of a high priest of Amun (EA 81) and a large granite fist (EA 9). [46] The objects were soon discovered to be too heavy for the floors of Montagu House (the original building of The British Museum), and they were transferred to a new extension that was built onto the mansion. The Rosetta Stone was transferred to the sculpture gallery in 1834 shortly after Montagu House was demolished and replaced by the building that now houses the British Museum. [47] According to the museum’s records, the Rosetta Stone is its most-visited single object [48] and a simple image of it has been the museum’s best selling postcard for several decades. [49] The Rosetta Stone was originally displayed at a slight angle from the horizontal, and rested within a metal cradle that was made for it, which involved shaving off very small portions of its sides to ensure that the cradle fitted securely. [47] It originally had no protective covering, and despite the efforts of attendants to ensure that it was not touched by visitors, by 1847 it was found necessary to place it in a protective frame. [50] Since 2004, the conserved stone has been on display in a specially built case in the centre of the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery. A replica of the Rosetta Stone as it would have appeared to early 19th-century visitors—without a case and free to touch—is now available in the King’s Library of the British Museum. [51] Toward the end of the First World War , in 1917, the museum was concerned about heavy bombing in London and moved the Rosetta Stone to safety along with other portable objects of value. The stone spent the next two years 15.24 metres (50 ft) below ground level in a station of the Postal Tube Railway at Mount Pleasant near Holborn . [6] Other than during wartime, the Rosetta Stone has left the British Museum only once: for one month in October 1972, to be displayed alongside Champollion’s Lettre at the Louvre in Paris on the 150th anniversary of its publication. [49] Even when the Rosetta Stone was undergoing conservation measures in 1999, the work was done in the gallery so that it could remain visible to the public. [52] Reading the Rosetta Stone Prior to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and its eventual decipherment, there had been no understanding of the Ancient Egyptian language and script since shortly before the fall of the Roman Empire . The usage of the hieroglyphic script had become increasingly specialised even in the later Pharaonic period ; by the 4th century AD, few Egyptians were capable of reading hieroglyphs. Monumental use of hieroglyphs ceased after the closing of all non-Christian temples in the year 391 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I ; the last known inscription, found at Philae and known as The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom , is dated to 24 August 396 AD. [53] Hieroglyphs retained their pictorial appearance and classical authors emphasised this aspect, in sharp contrast to the Greek and Roman alphabets . For example, in the 5th century the priest Horapollo wrote Hieroglyphica, an explanation of almost 200 glyphs . Believed to be authoritative yet in many ways misleading, this and other works were a lasting impediment to the understanding of Egyptian writing. [54] Later attempts at deciphering hieroglyphs were made by Arab historians in medieval Egypt during the 9th and 10th centuries. Dhul-Nun al-Misri and Ibn Wahshiyya were the first historians to study this ancient script, by relating them to the contemporary Coptic language used by Coptic priests in their time. [55] [56] The study of hieroglyphs continued with fruitless attempts at decipherment by European scholars, notably Johannes Goropius Becanus in the 16th century, Athanasius Kircher in the 17th and Georg Zoëga in the 18th. [57] The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 provided critical missing information, gradually revealed by a succession of scholars, that eventually allowed Jean-François Champollion to determine the nature of this mysterious script. Greek text The Greek text on the Rosetta Stone provided the starting point. Ancient Greek was widely known to scholars, but the details of its use in the Hellenistic period as a government language in Ptolemaic Egypt were not familiar: large scale discoveries of Greek papyri were a long way in the future. Thus the earliest translations of the Greek text of the stone show the translators still struggling with the historical context and with administrative and religious jargon. Stephen Weston verbally presented an English translation of the Greek text at a Society of Antiquaries meeting in April 1802. [35] [58] Meanwhile, two of the lithographic copies made in Egypt had reached the Institut de France in Paris, in 1801. There, the librarian and antiquarian Gabriel de La Porte du Theil set to work on a translation of the Greek. Almost immediately dispatched elsewhere on Napoleon’s orders, he left his unfinished work in the hands of a colleague, Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon , who in 1803 produced the first published translations of the Greek text, in both Latin and French to ensure that they would circulate widely. [F] At Cambridge , Richard Porson worked on the missing lower right corner of the Greek text. He produced a skillful suggested reconstruction, which was soon being circulated by the Society of Antiquaries alongside its prints of the inscription. At Göttingen at almost the same moment, the Classical historian Christian Gottlob Heyne , working from one of these prints, made a new Latin translation of the Greek text that was more reliable than Ameilhon’s. First published in 1803, [G] it was reprinted by the Society of Antiquaries, alongside Weston’s previously unpublished English translation, Colonel Turner’s narrative, and other documents, in a special issue of its journal Archaeologia in 1811. [H] [59] [60] Demotic text At the time of the stone’s discovery, the Swedish diplomat and scholar Johan David Åkerblad was working on a little-known script of which some examples had recently been found in Egypt, which came to be known as Demotic. He called it “cursive Coptic” because, although it had few similarities with the later Coptic script , he was convinced that it was used to record some form of the Coptic language (the direct descendant of Ancient Egyptian). The French Orientalist Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy , who had been discussing this work with Åkerblad, received in 1801 from Jean-Antoine Chaptal , French minister of the interior, one of the early lithographic prints of the Rosetta Stone, and realised that the middle text was in this same script. He and Åkerblad set to work, both focusing on the middle text and assuming that the script was alphabetic. They attempted, by comparison with the Greek, to identify within this unknown text the points where Greek names ought to occur. In 1802, Silvestre de Sacy reported to Chaptal that he had successfully identified five names (“ Alexandros “, “ Alexandreia “, “ Ptolemaios “, “ Arsinoe ” and Ptolemy’s title “Epiphanes“), [C] while Åkerblad published an alphabet of 29 letters (more than half of which were correct) that he had identified from the Greek names in the demotic text. [D] [35] They could not, however, identify the remaining characters in the Demotic text, which, as is now known, included ideographic and other symbols alongside the phonetic ones. [61] Hieroglyphic text Silvestre de Sacy eventually gave up work on the stone, but he was to make another contribution. In 1811, prompted by discussions with a Chinese student about Chinese script , Silvestre de Sacy considered a suggestion made by Georg Zoëga in 1797 that the foreign names in Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions might be written phonetically; he also recalled that as long ago as 1761, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy had suggested that the characters enclosed in cartouches in hieroglyphic inscriptions were proper names. Thus, when Thomas Young, foreign secretary of the Royal Society of London , wrote to him about the stone in 1814, Silvestre de Sacy suggested in reply that in attempting to read the hieroglyphic text, Young might look for cartouches that ought to contain Greek names and try to identify phonetic characters in them. [62] Young did so, with two results that together paved the way for the final decipherment. He discovered in the hieroglyphic text the phonetic characters “p t o l m e s” (in today’s transliteration “p t w l m y s“), that were used to write the Greek name “Ptolemaios“. He also noticed that these characters resembled the equivalent ones in the Demotic script, and went on to note as many as 80 similarities between the hieroglyphic and demotic texts on the stone, an important discovery because the two scripts were previously thought to be entirely different from one another. This led him to deduce correctly that the demotic script was only partly phonetic, also consisting of ideographic characters imitated from hieroglyphs. [I] Young’s new insights were prominent in the long article “Egypt” that he contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica in 1819. [J] He could, however, get no further. [63] In 1814, Young first exchanged correspondence about the stone with Jean-François Champollion , a teacher at Grenoble who had produced a scholarly work on ancient Egypt. Champollion, in 1822, saw copies of the brief hieroglyphic and Greek inscriptions of the Philae obelisk , on which William John Bankes had tentatively noted the names “Ptolemaios” and “Kleopatra” in both languages. [64] From this, Champollion identified the phonetic characters k l e o p a t r a (in today’s transliteration q l i҆ w p ꜣ d r ꜣ.t). [65] On the basis of this and the foreign names on the Rosetta Stone, he quickly constructed an alphabet of phonetic hieroglyphic characters, which appears, printed from his hand-drawn chart, in his “ Lettre à M. Dacier “, addressed at the end of 1822 to Bon-Joseph Dacier , secretary of the Paris Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and immediately published by the Académie. [K] This “Letter” marks the real breakthrough to reading Egyptian hieroglyphs, for not only the alphabet chart and the main text, but also the postscript in which Champollion notes that similar phonetic characters seemed to occur in not only Greek names but also native Egyptian names. During 1823, he confirmed this, identifying the names of pharaohs Ramesses and Thutmose written in cartouches in far older hieroglyphic inscriptions that had been copied by Bankes at Abu Simbel and sent on to Champollion by Jean-Nicolas Huyot . [M] From this point, the stories of the Rosetta Stone and the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs diverge, as Champollion drew on many other texts to develop a first Ancient Egyptian grammar and a hieroglyphic dictionary, both of which were to be published after his death. [66] Later work Work on the stone now focused on fuller understanding of the texts and their contexts by comparing the three versions with one another. In 1824, the Classical scholar Antoine-Jean Letronne promised to prepare a new literal translation of the Greek text for Champollion’s use; Champollion promised in return an analysis of all the points at which the three texts seemed to differ. Following Champollion’s sudden death in 1832, his draft of this analysis could not be found, and Letronne’s work stalled. At the death in 1838 of François Salvolini , Champollion’s former student and assistant, this and other missing drafts were found among his papers (incidentally demonstrating that Salvolini’s own publication on the stone, in 1837, was plagiarism ). [O] Letronne was at last able to complete his commentary on the Greek text and his new French translation of it, which appeared in 1841. [P] During the early 1850s, two German Egyptologists, Heinrich Brugsch and Max Uhlemann , produced revised Latin translations based on the demotic and hieroglyphic texts; [Q] [R] the first English translation, the work of three members of the Philomathean Society at the University of Pennsylvania , followed in 1858. [S] The question of whether one of the three texts was the standard version from which the other two were originally translated has remained controversial. Letronne, in 1841, attempted to show that the Greek version (that of the Egyptian government under its Ptolemaic dynasty) was the original. [P] Among recent authors, John Ray has stated that “the hieroglyphs were the most important of the scripts on the stone: they were there for the gods to read, and the more learned of their priesthood”. [7] Philippe Derchain and Heinz Josef Thissen have argued that all three versions were composed simultaneously, while Stephen Quirke sees in the decree “an intricate coalescence of three vital textual traditions”. [67] Richard Parkinson points out that the hieroglyphic version, straying from archaic formalism, occasionally lapses into language closer to that of the demotic register that the priests more commonly used in everyday life. [23] The fact that the three versions cannot be matched word for word helps to explain why its decipherment has been more difficult than originally expected, especially for those original scholars who were expecting an exact bilingual key to Egyptian hieroglyphs. [68] Rivalries Even before the Salvolini affair, disputes over precedence and plagiarism punctuated the decipherment story. Thomas Young’s work is acknowledged in Champollion’s 1822 Lettre à M. Dacier, but incompletely, according to British critics: for example, James Browne , a sub-editor on the Encyclopædia Britannica (which had published Young’s 1819 article), contributed anonymously a series of review articles to the Edinburgh Review in 1823, praising Young’s work highly and alleging that the “unscrupulous” Champollion plagiarised it. [69] [70] These articles were translated into French by Julius Klaproth and published in book form in 1827. [N] Young’s own 1823 publication reasserted the contribution that he had made. [L] The early deaths of Young and Champollion, in 1829 and 1832, did not put an end to these disputes; the authoritative work on the stone by the British Museum curator E. A. Wallis Budge, published in 1904, gives special emphasis to Young’s contribution by contrast with Champollion’s. [71] In the early 1970s, French visitors complained that the portrait of Champollion was smaller than one of Young on an adjacent information panel; English visitors complained that the opposite was true. Both portraits were in fact the same size. [49] Requests for repatriation to Egypt In July 2003, on the occasion of the British Museum’s 250th anniversary, Egypt first requested the return of the Rosetta Stone. Zahi Hawass , the former chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities , asked that the stele be repatriated to Egypt, urging in comments to reporters: “If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity”. [72] Two years later in Paris he repeated the proposal, listing the stone as one of several key items belonging to Egypt’s cultural heritage, a list which also included the iconic bust of Nefertiti in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin ; a statue of the Great Pyramid architect Hemiunu in the Roemer-und-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim , Germany; the Dendara Temple Zodiac in the Louvre in Paris; and the bust of Ankhhaf from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . [73] During 2005, the British Museum presented to Egypt a full-size replica of the stele. This was initially displayed in the renovated Rashid National Museum , close to the site where the stone was found. [74] By November 2005, Hawass was suggesting a three-month loan of the Rosetta Stone, while reiterating the eventual goal of a permanent return; [75] in December 2009, he proposed to drop his claim for the permanent return of the Rosetta Stone if the British Museum loaned the stone to Egypt for three months, for the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza in 2013. [76] As John Ray has observed, “the day may come when the stone has spent longer in the British Museum than it ever did in Rosetta.” [77] There is strong opposition among national museums to the repatriation of objects of international cultural significance such as the Rosetta Stone. In response to repeated Greek requests for return of the Elgin Marbles and similar requests to other museums around the world, in 2002, over 30 of the world’s leading museums — including the British Museum , the Louvre , the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and the Metropolitan Museum in New York City — issued a joint statement declaring that “objects acquired in earlier times must be viewed in the light of different sensitivities and values reflective of that earlier era” and that “museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation”. [78] Idiomatic use The term Rosetta stone has been used idiomatically to represent a crucial key to the process of decryption of encoded information, especially when a small but representative sample is recognized as the clue to understanding a larger whole. [79] According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the first figurative use of the term appeared in the 1902 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica relating to an entry on the chemical analysis of glucose . [79] An almost literal use of the phrase appears in popular fiction within H. G. Wells ‘ 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come , where the protagonist finds a manuscript written in shorthand that provides a key to understanding additional scattered material that is sketched out in both longhand and on typewriter . [79] Perhaps its most important and prominent usage in scientific literature was Nobel laureate Theodor W. Hänsch ‘s reference in a 1979 Scientific American article on spectroscopy where he says that “the spectrum of the hydrogen atoms has proved to be the Rosetta stone of modern physics: once this pattern of lines had been deciphered much else could also be understood”. [79] Since then the term has been widely used in other contexts. For example, fully understanding the key set of genes to the human leucocyte antigen has been described as being “the Rosetta Stone of immunology”. [80] The flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana has been called the “Rosetta Stone of flowering time”. [81] A Gamma ray burst (GRB) found in conjunction with a supernova has been called a Rosetta Stone for understanding the origin of GRBs. [82] The technique of Doppler echocardiography has been called a Rosetta Stone for clinicians trying to understand the complex process by which the left ventricle of the human heart can be filled during various forms of diastolic dysfunction . [83] The name has also become used in various forms of translation software . Rosetta Stone is a brand of language-learning software published by Rosetta Stone Ltd., headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia , US. “ Rosetta ” is the name of a “lightweight dynamic translator” that enables applications compiled for PowerPC processor to run on Apple systems using an x86 processor. “Rosetta” is an online language translation tool to help localisation of software, developed and maintained by Canonical as part of the Launchpad project. Similarly, Rosetta@home is a distributed computing project for predicting (or translating) protein structures. The Rosetta Project brings language specialists and native speakers together to develop a meaningful survey and near permanent archive of 1,500 languages, intended to last from AD 2000 to 12,000. The Rosetta spacecraft is on a ten-year mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko , in the hopes that determining its composition will reveal the origins of the Solar System . Source So there you have a nice information pack and then we have a nice document about the stone and the story how French and British fought about these archeological findings. I find it fascinating that we the “people” can’t make cooperation with these findings. We are always fighting about anything, sad really:   And here is the Rosetta Stone’s text in translated in English: The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.     Nice piece of history and very interesting artifact. This was the key to understand the ancient hieroglyphs in the Egypt and in the Pyramids. It’s like an ancient dictionary if you like.  More ancient and secret sites coming, so stay tuned and keep on searching!
Rosetta Stone
Which four letter word can mean a dish of cooked meat cut into small pieces, to make a mess of or part of a mobile phone?
Ancient Egypt | Auricmedia – Blogman's Wonderland Auricmedia – Blogman's Wonderland Search for: Tag Archives: Ancient Egypt >> http://www.donaldmarshallrevolution.com/ Donald Marshall: Vril lizard agenda Marshall claims that there is a secret that has been kept by members of the Illuminati for more than 70 years, a secret of such great importance, as to effect the lives of every man, woman and child on the face of the planet. Marshall states that his mission in life is to share this secret with the world, so that all can know the truth and plan for the future. In order to fully understand this secret, it will be necessary to return to the events of Postwar Germany, following the end of World War I, where, in 1923, Hitler was named the leader of the new Nazi party. Following a failed attempt to overthrow the federal government, Hitler was arrested for treason. While awaiting trial in Landsberg prison, he read Bulwer-Lytton’s 1871 novel: Vril: The Power of the Coming Race about a master-race of beings who call themselves the Vril-ya. They claim to be the descendants of the inhabitants of ancient Atlantis, with access to an extraordinary force called Vril, an unlimited source of energy that supplies all their needs and can be controlled at will. Hitler believed the novel to be true and once made Chancellor of Germany, he would send teams of spelunkers into caves and mines all over Europe searching for the Vril-ya. He dispatched regular expeditions to Asia, especially Tibet, where Nazi explorers made significant connections with influential Tibetan lamas, who had expert knowledge about the underground tunnel and cavern systems around the world. Legend was these Tibetan lamas guarded a secret entrance to the Inner World, known as the Red Door, hidden within the Potala palace in the mountain city of Lhasa. Once a Nazi-Tibetan alliance was formed, the lamas agreed to share with them that for centuries, they had been helping to hide an indigenous race of lizard living deep within the planet since prehistoric times, known as Vril lizards. It seems that these lizards knew the location of an abandoned military base dating back from the time of Atlantis, filled with ancient aircraft, weaponry and technology hidden within the tunnels and caverns of Antarctica. The lizards had no use for the tech, but they were willing to trade for something else they wanted. The lizards were carnivorous and preferred to consume fresh human flesh. And so, a deal was made. The Nazis got the ancient Atlantean tech and sold out the human race. But according to Marshall, this is not the first time Vril lizards have interacted with humans. He claims that for centuries, royalty, powerful heads of state and trusted religious leaders around the world have kept a secret pact with the malevolent lizards. World leaders would receive valuable resources buried deep within the planet, such as gemstones, gold and other minerals and, in exchange, these leaders would conceal all evidence of the Vril from the surface population, so no one would learn of their existence. In addition to helping them hide, Vril lizards required that they be provided with a steady supply of humans to consume. However, Marshall says that keeping the Secret of Vril not only refers to hiding the lizards and denying their existence, but also refers to an even bigger secret. Being a parasitic race, Vril lizards have the unique biological ability to invade the human body, take over the brain, and by accessing their memories, they can look, act and seem human in every way. After a period of recovery, the human is able to return to its normal activities, except the brain is now under the complete control of the Vril parasite. Much like the 1956 scifi classic The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which the inhabitants of a small California town are replaced, one by one, with identical copies of themselves, Marshall warns us that we’ve already been invaded, we just don’t know it. Marshall explains that Vril lizards are essentially parasites, and like all parasites, have a biological drive to invade, dominate and take over. Marshall refers to this biological takeover as “bodysnatching” and explains that the human victim dies once the Vril lizard takes over. Marshall says that with the help of the Illuminati, bodysnatching Vril lizards have infiltrated all levels of society and hold positions of power all over the world. This is done in order to remove key people and replace them with Vril hosts. Marshall states that Vril hosts can be found everywhere, in all levels of government, business, banking, military, law enforcement, journalism, media and entertainment. Just how is this bodysnatching process accomplished? According to Marshall, Vril lizards have a natural proboscis at the top of their head, from which they eject a type of thick cerebrospinal fluid. When this fluid enters the human, usually through the eye and from there, to the brain, a chemical transformation immediately begins to take place. The victim essentially dies, leaving the lizard parasite in complete control of all brain function. After a period of recovery, the Vril host can return to its’ regular activities, looking, acting and seeming completely normal. Marshall reports that the Illuminati even hold a special bodysnatching ceremony to celebrate this Vril lizard takeover. Guests watch as the victim, conscious, though usually bound, is restrained and forced to sit still, until the lizard transfer is complete. Marshall claims to have seen this sick bodysnatching ceremony many times. Marshall claims that the Illuminati bodysnatch many people, in every country, all over the world. They sometimes choose victims from incarcerated prisoners or longterm patients in hospitals and medical facilities; anywhere they have easy access to people, they will bodysnatch and replace them with a Vril host. Anyone can be bodysnatched and, according to Marshall, he’s even seen this done to young children. Furthermore, Marshall claims that all loyal families within the Illuminati are expected to offer one of their children to be replaced by a Vril host. They comply since there is the unspoken threat that should they prove to be difficult, they can be bodysnatched at any time. Marshall says he has even seen bodysnatching done with just a couple of guys holding someone down while the victim is screaming, no ceremony required. According to Marshall, the Illuminati utilize this unique parasitic ability of the lizards to further their own dark agenda. They are able to remove those resistant to their goals without anyone even noticing, and with Vril bodysnatching, the troublesome person is now replaced with an Illuminati spy, infinitely loyal and willing to report back everything they see and hear. It is crucial to understand Vril lizard psychology, since Marshall maintains that all Vril lizards want to be human. They admire human intelligence and the beautiful human form. They want to crawl out from deep underground into the light and walk unnoticed among humanity. However, they are not human and have no capacity to feel human emotions. In fact, as malevolent lizards, they enjoy causing pain and suffering. Marshall reveals that Vril hosts are responsible for much of the senseless crimes and spree killings that occur. However, Vril hosts are excellent mimics and make convincing humans. And since there is no way to detect the presence of a Vril host, except with an MRI scan of the brain, most members of the Illuminati pretend to like the lizards and are friendly to Vril hosts, since no one is ever certain if they are talking to a host or human. According to Marshall, prehistoric Vril lizards have been bodysnatching humans throughout history, even during ancient times. He claims that they are, in part, responsible for the destruction of the island of Atlantis, where legend tells lived an advanced civilization that existed in the Atlantic ocean. Marshall reports that Vril hosts had bodysnatched and infiltrated their way into positions of power throughout Atlantean culture, where they destroyed themselves with advanced weaponry, causing cataclysmic flooding and earthquakes. Marshall asserts that Vril lizards often infiltrate human societies, by targeting individuals in the ruling class, royalty or priesthood. Once they are in positions of power, Vril lizards attempt to convince the humans to worship them as either gods or demons; something to be feared and obeyed without question. As gods, Vril lizards would demand human sacrifices as a show of loyalty and devotion. In these cultures, it was considered an honor to be bodysnatched and chosen to become a god. The people didn’t understand the biological nature of the takeover of the brain, and thought it was some kind of mystical or magical transformation. As demons, Vril lizards were deeply feared. Old legends warn travelers against going into certain haunted caves and mountains, and to beware when darkness falls as this was the time when demons would creep about, stealing babies and livestock. When Vril lizards would bodysnatch a victim, the person was later said to be demon possessed and various means would be attempted to drive the demons out. Many cultures around the world attempted to limit Vril lizard infestation, and Marshall says most, at some point, “start sharpening pointy sticks”. For example, The Hopi Indian culture successfully drove off Vril lizards, while the ancient Anasazi Indians of New Mexico, were forced to leave behind their elaborate cliff dwellings in order to relocate far away from nearby Vril infested caves. Throughout history, the lizards stayed hidden underground, in dark caves and tunnels, trying to avoid discovery. Some royal families kept Vril lizards as pets, and used them to instill fear in those not showing the proper loyalty to the crown. Some world religious leaders also knew of the lizards, had secret alliances with them, and agreed to help them. In the 1940’s, a secret pact was forged between the Nazis and the lizards making them mutual allies. Conditions of the pact required directing tremendous resources to assist the Vril lizards, including the building of deep, underground military bases worldwide. This would allow the lizards a way to interact directly with humans which, in turn, would permit the massive, government sponsored bodysnatching so prevalent around the world today. If we can assume that all this is true, that bodysnatching malevolent lizards have infiltrated human society and are replacing us, one by one, without raising any alarm, one might ask: Wouldn’t someone try to tell people and save humanity? According to Marshall, President Ronald Reagan tried to warn the public on numerous occasions from 1985 to1988. In an important speech to the United Nation General Assembly on September 21st, 1987, at the height of the Star Wars space race with Russia, Reagan mused, “In our obsession with the antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside of this world. And yet I ask: is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our people then war and the threat of war?” Marshall states that the Illuminati forgave Reagan’s comments at first, but when he continued to talk about aliens living among us, they “blew his mind and called it Alzheimer’s”. Marshall encourages us to remember the ultimate Vril lizard agenda, which he claims has remained unchanged for centuries: to infiltrate human society and take over the planet. Marshall warns us to act quickly to spread the news, as anyone can be bodysnatched. As the ending from “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” warns us: They’re already here. You’re next. Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me and especially the Spinx. Is there an ancient library of gold tablet or what under it? They have found a chamber underneath it so something is definitely there… The Sphinx There has never been a satisfactory answer to what the Sphinx actually is or was. Anyone who goes to Giza can see for himself or herself that there is something ‘wrong’ with the Sphinx. It only takes an instant. The body is gigantic and the head is just a pimple. The Egyptians never did anything like that, they were always meticulous about proportions in their art. So how is it that we have this monster with a tiny head sitting there in the sand, then? There are several other things wrong with the Sphinx. They are: The back is flat. Who ever saw a lion with a flat back, no big chest, and no mane? The Sphinx is sitting in a deep hole in the ground. Why is that? Why is it not sitting somewhere high up so that it can show off? There is a ruined temple right in front of the Sphinx, with a wall practically up against its nose, and no door in that wall. Why obstruct the view of the Sphinx from the front like that? And if the temple was for worshipping the Sphinx, why is there no access from the temple to the Sphinx, so that you can’t even get to it? The pit in which the Sphinx sits seems to be deeply eroded, as if by flows of water. What caused all that? It looks as if water has poured down the sides. On the other hand, there are no such vertical erosion patterns on the Sphinx itself, which instead has clear horizontal erosion patterns. How can these two different patterns at right angles to each other be reconciled? And what could possibly have caused either of them? None of this makes any sense if you think about it. Of course, many people don’t think. They just gawp and move on, their brains in neutral. But when my wife and I first saw the Sphinx many years ago, we just stood there in astonishment and both agreed that the whole thing was wrong, wrong, wrong. So now after many years of work, we think we have found some answers. Naturally, any new idea about anything that ‘everybody knows’ makes conventionally thinking people enraged, and makes anti-establishment people delighted. No prizes for guessing which side I’m on. Let me first declare my position on what has become something of an entrenched notion amongst my fellow anti-Establishmentarians. I do not believe that the Sphinx is 12,500 years old. Nor do I believe in ‘ancient rain’. I do believe that the Sphinx is older than conventionally believed. But I do not believe it is thousands of years older, or anything of that kind. I do believe there is water erosion at the Sphinx site, but I do not believe it had anything to do with ‘ancient rain’, nor do I believe there was anything there to be eroded at the time any ‘ancient rain’ fell. So what is the answer, then? The water of the Nile in those days, at the time of inundation once a year (which no longer happens because of the Aswan dam), came right up to the edge of the Sphinx Temple, where there are even quays in front. So what I believe happened was that the water of the Nile was let into the Sphinx Pit, which I now call the Sphinx Moat, by some simple water-raising devices, led along the narrow channel between the Sphinx Temple and the Valley Temple (the two structures in front of the Sphinx), and its flow was controlled by a series of sluices and water gates. The signs of these sluices and gates, with their many bolt holes and so forth, no longer exist, because new stones and cement have been laid over them. But not to worry! I took plenty of photographs of them before they disappeared, and those are all reproduced in our book. Everyone can then see it all very clearly. The reason why the temple wall is in front of the Sphinx is to act as the fourth barrier to the water. The reason why there is no door in the wall is that it would have let the water out. The horizontal erosion on the side of the Sphinx (where it is not covered by ‘restoration stones’) is because the Sphinx was sitting in the middle of a moat filled with water. The vertical erosion on the sides of the pit, especially the south side, is because of the continual dredging of the Moat due to the windblown sand accumulating there. Every time the Moat was dredged, water poured down in torrents onto the sides, leading to vertical erosion, accentuated by the natural cavities in the limestone bedrock. So I think the Sphinx was, amongst other things, an island! This immediately solves the puzzle of the evidence recorded by the fifth century BCE Greek historian Herodotus, who said that King Cheops let water in from the Nile to surround an island at Giza. Here it is! Whose Head is on the Sphinx? So we have got an island. Now what do we do with it? And why is King Cheops’s head the size of a pimple on the front of this large flat-backed lion, surrounded by water? What’s going on? But wait! Who says that is King Cheops’s head? Some say it is King Chephren’s head, but if you have ever seen Chephren’s head on that huge statue in the Cairo Museum, you know they look nothing alike at all, since Chephren has a long face and the Sphinx has a round face, just for starters, and there’s plenty else that’s not the same too. At this point of my wonderings, I began to feel really uncomfortable. I generally know when something doesn’t fit. I may not know what does fit, but I more often know what does not. And that face is neither Cheops (not that we know what he really looked like anyway, as the only likeness of him that survives is a three inch-high ivory statuette, which could be your Uncle Tony or even your Auntie Madge for that matter) nor old Chephren Long-Face. So who is it? It was at this point that I discovered one of those forgotten sources which keep falling into my lap, and in this case it was an article written by a German archaeologist named Ludwig Borchardt long before the Sphinx was excavated, when only its head and neck were sticking above the sand. Borchardt used to go and stand there and look at it. In those days, you could look the Sphinx in the eye and he wouldn’t even flinch, in fact he smiled back. Nowadays, he’s very stuck up, with his head high above us if we stand at his feet, so you can’t make out the details of his head all that well. Borchardt got to thinking. He noticed that the Sphinx was wearing eye-paint stripes (no comment, pharaohs have the right to do what they like as consenting adults in the privacy of their own Sphinx Pits), and he knew that those were not worn in the period known as the Old Kingdom, when Cheops and Chephren lived. He noticed the details of the stripe patterns in the strange headdress worn by the Sphinx. The face had to be that of a pharaoh, since this headdress was the sacred religious headdress of the pharaoh known as a nemes. But Borchardt, who was head of the German Institute at Cairo and therefore knew a thing or two, realised that those stripe patterns were also not used in the Old Kingdom. He started to do some research on nemes headdresses, and he discovered that those particular stripe patterns were only used in the Middle Kingdom period, hundreds of years later than Cheops and Chephren. He wrote this all up in technical form and published it in a distinguished scholarly periodical (in German of course, but I have translated it and it appears as an appendix to our book), and concluded that the Sphinx had been carved in the Middle Kingdom Period, not in the Old Kingdom period. But everybody laughed at poor old Borchardt. Who ever heard of such a thing? The Middle Kingdom! Borchardt must have gone crazy! And then the Sphinx was excavated in 1926, and finally completely excavated in 1936, and it was perfectly clear to everyone that the Sphinx was much older than the Middle Kingdom. But everybody forgot that Borchardt had never seen the Sphinx’s body at the time he wrote the article, he was only talking about the head. So I have reopened the case and concluded that the head was recarved in the Middle Kingdom, just as Borchardt said, and what is more, I believe I can even identify precisely which pharaoh’s face that is. Of course, to find that out, you really need to see the book. However, it is all very well identifying the face on the Sphinx. Some people might be satisfied just doing that. But no, it’s like watching a film noir without knowing the ending. Even if you know whodunnit, you still want to know the motive. “Everybody knows” Herd Mentality So what was the Sphinx before it had that guy’s face carved on it? Well, to figure that one out you have to try to figure out what the Sphinx was before that pharaoh got his chisels on it. This draws one’s attention to the flat back. “Everybody knows” that the Sphinx has the body of a lion. As soon as I hear that “everybody knows” something, I know that it must be wrong. I have a pathologically anti-herd mentality. All you have to do is tell me “everybody knows” something, and I will instantly disbelieve it. That is because crowds are always wrong. Crowds have about as much sense as a mollusc. I started from the premise that the Sphinx was not a lion at all. Millions of people see it every year, from all over the world, and they all “know” that it is a lion. So that means that it cannot possibly be one. They “know” it is a lion because they have been told that it is a lion. The Germans were told that Hitler was their saviour and so they “knew” it, the Russians all “knew” that Stalin was like a gentle father, who would look after them. Yes, everybody, or at least everybody they knew, “knew” these things. And people also all once “knew” that the Earth was flat, and that the Sun went round the Earth. Those things were all “known.” But were they true? If it wasn’t a lion, what was it? Well, it had to be an animal with a straight back, with no huge chest, and no mane. It also had to be an animal that crouched like that with its legs stuck out in front of it. (There is no use looking too closely at the paws, as they are completely covered in restoration stones, and have been shaped to look like “what everybody knows,” in order to re-confirm the consensus falsehood which everybody has agreed to believe in.) Anubis – Guardian of the Necropolis The Sphinx is crouching there at the entrance to the Necropolis like a guardian. Well, there it is! It is a guard dog! The ancient Egyptians had a god called Anubis, who was a crouching wild dog, generally referred to as a jackal (although strictly speaking there were no jackals in Egypt, and Anubis was really a wild dog species which is now extinct). Anubis was the guardian of the Necropolis, the guardian of the dead, and he was often depicted in the precise position of the Sphinx – and famously in a statue found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun as well – so that his image is familiar to almost anyone who has ever had an interest in ancient Egypt. In the comments i have posted a picture which shows how the recarved head of the Sphinx was carved out of the neck stump which remained on the Sphinx after the original statue was mutilated by the rampaging mobs who smashed up everything they could on the Giza Plateau during the period of chaos known as the First Intermediate Period, between 2200 and 2000 BCE. It was the easiest thing in the world to knock the ears and nose off the Sphinx when the Sphinx was Anubis. You couldn’t put them back because the Sphinx was carved out of the solid bedrock, and the pieces must have been smashed to bits anyway. So the later exhibitionist pharaoh could even tell himself he was doing a pious act and ‘restoring’ the statue by flaunting himself, just as, say, Madonna helps the world, doesn’t she? Tom Cruise is also saving the world, remember? Yes, we all know that all celebrities are getting their pictures in the papers only for noble causes, and it has nothing to do with wanting people to look at them, or with such a low thing as vanity. Speaking of movie stars, the Sphinx is now so botoxed and has had so much plastic surgery from crazy ‘restoration’ (which is all shown in great detail in our book) that he could easily get a lead part in a blockbuster. But his ‘nose job’ didn’t go so well, as it is still missing. It was hacked off in the 13th century by a fanatical imam named Sheikh Mohammed, who wished to purge Egypt of non-Islamic influences. He got as far as the nose, at least. (The story that the nose was shot off by Napoleon’s soldiers is false.) So now we have a crouching Anubis as an island, surrounded by a little lake. And at last we have something which students of the ancient texts can suddenly recognise. For the most ancient surviving Egyptian texts, known as the Pyramid Texts, often speak of a sacred place associated with the Giza Necropolis called Jackal Lake. And here it is! Now we are getting somewhere. It is all beginning to make sense. In our book we gather together the many ancient texts which refer to Anubis guarding the Necropolis, situated at Giza, being beside a causeway, and being very large. We also reproduce Fourth Dynasty Giza tomb reliefs showing a giant Anubis, which may be intended as actual depictions of the Sphinx. Secret Chamber Beneath the Sphinx Most people who are intrigued by Egyptian mysteries have been wondering for a long time whether there might be any secret chamber beneath the Sphinx. I have crawled around inside the Sphinx, and I describe the tunnel which exists in the rear portion of the Sphinx’s body, as well as the vertical tunnel carved out of the bedrock beneath the Sphinx’s rump, and reproduce photos of these. Then an amazing thing happened. I came across a passage in one of the old books which I collect, in this case one published in 1715, which described a chamber beneath the Sphinx and gave an eyewitness account of it! I was astounded. The book referred to earlier accounts of this chamber, but neglected to say who had written them or when they had been published. Slight problem! How was I to find these books? If you went into the British Library and told a librarian you needed a book published before 1715 which described a chamber beneath the Sphinx, you would be told to come back when you had the author’s name or the title of the book. All I had to go on was ‘a book mentioning the Sphinx before 1715’, so how did I do it? That is where my special abilities come in… I was eventually able to find 281 years’ worth of published eyewitness accounts of the chamber beneath the Sphinx, including detailed information about exactly where it was, its size, and the fact that it contained the remains of a wooden coffin. Because the chamber was described as having hieroglyphics on the walls, I am certain that it was what archaeologists call ‘an intruded burial’, but it must have been a royal one, as a shaft was carefully constructed and a chamber cut in one of the most important monuments in Egypt, within the sacred precincts of the royal Necropolis. The shaft was sealed with cement by Émile Baraize in 1926. A century earlier, Henry Salt also sealed some openings and passages elsewhere at the Sphinx, and was sharply criticised for it by the French Count de Forbin. All of this is described in full detail in our book. So, yes, there is a ‘secret chamber’ beneath the Sphinx. And the information in our book proves this beyond all possibility of doubt. But no, it is not original and does not date from the time of the Sphinx’s carving. Also, it is empty, so there is no gold or treasure. But if we could just read what it says on the walls! Another thing I was able to demonstrate is that the Sphinx and the three Giza pyramids were part of a single unified design concept of the Giza Plateau. The position and size of the Sphinx is determined precisely in relation to the three pyramids, in a manner never before noticed. This is shown and explained at great length in the book, and it is not really possible to summarise that material, as it is too lengthy and detailed for a brief description. I can say, however, that it was part of a resurrection cult. In the process of explaining this in detail, I even have occasion to explain the true nature of those bizarre reliefs in a crypt at Denderah which have excited a great deal of speculation, the ones with the ‘lightbulbs’, although they are 2,500 years more recent, and their only connection is through the symbolism. I hope everybody will get a lot out of looking through our book, and, who knows, maybe even reading it. Stranger things have happened. Oh yes, I almost forgot: ‘Woof! Woof!’ Award winning documentary on the sphinx. Blogman Leave a comment Ancient egypt has a strong connection towards Sirius and old relics they have found in South-America has relation to Sirius. So could it be, that humankind has a connection to that star? Maybe some ancient civilization came from there and built the pyramids and other old monuments, you decide… Since ancient times and across multiple civilizations, Sirius, the dog star, has been surrounded with a mysterious lore. Esoteric teachings of all ages have invariably attributed to Sirius a special status and the star’s importance in occult symbolism is an attestation of that fact. Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major – also known as the Big Dog – and is therefore known as the “dog star”. It is over twenty times brighter than our sun and is twice as massive. At night time, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and its blue-white glare never failed to amaze star gazers since the dawn of time. No wonder Sirius has been revered by practically all civilizations. But is there more to Sirius than meets the eye? Artifacts of ancient civilizations have revealed that Sirius was of a great importance in astronomy, mythology and occultism. Mystery schools consider it to be “sun behind the sun” and, therefore, the true source of our sun’s potency. If our sun’s warmth keeps the physical world alive, Sirius is considered to keep the spiritual world alive. It is the “real light” shining in the East, the spiritual light, where as the sun illuminates the physical world, which is considered to be a grand illusion. Associating Sirius with the divine and even considering it as the home of humanity’s “great teachers” is not only embedded in the mythology of a few primitive civilizations: It is a widespread belief that has survived (and even intensified) to this day. We will look at the importance of Sirius in ancient times, analyze its prominence in secret societies and we will examine these esoteric concepts as they are translated in popular culture. In Ancient Egypt, Sirius was regarded as the most important star in the sky. In fact, it was astronomically the foundation of the Egyptians’ entire religious system. It was revered as Sothis and was associated with Isis, the mother goddess of Egyptian mythology. Isis is the female aspect of the trinity formed by herself, Osiris and their son Horus. Ancient Egyptians held Sirius in such a high regard that most of their deities were associated, in some way or another, with the star. Anubis, the dog-headed god of death, had an obvious connection with the dog star and Thoth-Hermes, the great teacher of humanity, was also esoterically connected with the star. The Egyptian calendar system was based on the heliacal rising of Sirius that occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile during summer. The star’s celestial movement was also observed and revered by ancient Greeks, Sumerians, Babylonians and countless other civilizations. The star was therefore considered sacred and its apparition in the sky was accompanied with feasts and celebrations. The dog star heralded the coming of the hot and dry days of July and August, hence the popular term “the dog days of summer”. Several occult researchers have claimed that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in perfect alignment with the stars, especially Sirius. The light from these stars were said to be used in ceremonies of Egyptian Mysteries. “This ancient people (Egyptians) knew that once every year the Parent Sun is in line with the Dog Star. Therefore, the Great Pyramid was so constructed that, at this sacred moment, the light of the Dog Star fell upon the square “Stone of God” at the upper end of the Great Gallery, descending upon the head of the high priest, who received the Super Solar Force and sought through his own perfected Solar Body to transmit to other Initiates this added stimulation for the evolution of their Godhood. This then was the purpose of the “`Stone of God,’ whereon in the Ritual, Osiris sits to bestow upon him (the illuminate) the Atf crown or celestial light.” “North and South of that crown is love,” proclaims an Egyptian hymn. “And thus throughout the teaching of Egypt the visible light was but the shadow of the invisible Light; and in the wisdom of the ancient country the measures of Truth were the years of the Most High. Recent scientific discoveries relating to the Great Pyramid and its mysterious “air shafts” have lead researchers to further confirm the importance of Sirius within the pyramid. Star alignment with the Great Pyramid of Giza. Orion (associated with the god Osiris) is aligned with the King’s Chamber while Sirius (associated with the goddess Isis) is aligned with the Queen’s Chamber. A fascinating aspect of Sirius is the consistency of the symbolism and meanings attached to it. Several great civilizations have indeed associated Sirius with a dog-like figure and viewed the star as either the source or the destination of a mysterious force. In Chinese and Japanese astronomy, Sirius is known as the “star of the celestial wolf”. Several aboriginal tribes of North America referred to the star in canine terms: the Seri and Tohono O’odham tribes of the southwest describe the Sirius as a “dog that follows mountain sheep”, while the Blackfoot call it “Dog-face”. The Cherokee paired Sirius with Antares as a dog-star guardian of the “Path of Souls”. The Wolf (Skidi) tribe of Nebraska knew it as the “Wolf Star”, while other branches of knew it as the “Coyote Star”. Further north, the Alaskan Inuit of the Bering Strait called it “Moon Dog”. 2 In 1971, the American author Robert Temple published a controversial book entitled The Sirius Mystery where he claimed that the Dogons (an ancient African tribe from Mali) knew details about Sirius that would be impossible to be know without the use of telescopes. According to him, the Dogon understood the binary nature of Sirius, which is, in fact, composed of two stars named Sirius A and Sirius B. This lead Robert Temple to believe that the Dogons had “direct” connections with beings from Sirius. While some might say “you can’t be Sirius” (sorry), a great number of secret societies (who have historically held within their ranks some of the world’s most influential people) and belief systems teach about a mystic connection between Sirius and humanity. In Dogon mythology, humanity is said to be born from the Nommo, a race of amphibians who were inhabitants of a planet circling Sirius. They are said to have “descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder” and imparted to humans profound knowledge. This lead Robert Temple to theorize that the Nommos were extraterrestrial inhabitants of Sirius who travelled to earth at some point in the distant past to teach ancient civilizations (such as the Egyptians and Dogons) about the Sirius star system as well as our own solar system. These civilizations would then record the Nommos’ teachings in their religions and make them a central focus of their Mysteries. The Dogon’s mythology system is strikingly similar to the ones of other civilizations such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Israelites and Babylonians as it includes the archetypal myth of a “great teacher from above”. Depending on the civilization, this great teacher is known as eith Enoch, Thoth or Hermes Trismegistus and is said to have taught humanity theurgic sciences. In occult traditions, it is believed that Thoth-Hermes had taught the people of Atlantis, which, according to legend, became the world’s most advanced civilization before the entire continent was submerged by the Great Deluge (accounts of a flood can be found in the mythologies of countless civilizations). Survivors from Atlantis travelled by boat to several countries, including Egypt, where they imparted their advanced knowledge. Occultists believe that the inexplicable resemblances between distant civilizations (such as the Mayas and the Egyptians) can be explained by their common contact with Atlanteans. “Was the religious, philosophic, and scientific knowledge possessed by the priestcraft of antiquity secured from Atlantis, whose submergence obliterated every vestige of its part in the drama of world progress? Atlantean sun worship has been perpetuated in the ritualism and ceremonialism of both Christianity and pagandom. Both the cross and the serpent were Atlantean emblems of divine wisdom. The divine (Atlantean) progenitors of the Mayas and Quichés of Central America coexisted within the green and azure radiance of Gucumatz, the “plumed” serpent. The six sky-born sages came into manifestation as centers of light bound together or synthesized by the seventh – and chief – of their order, the “feathered” snake. The title of “winged” or “plumed” snake was applied to Quetzalcoatl, or Kukulcan, the Central American initiate. The center of the Atlantean Wisdom-Religion was presumably a great pyramidal temple standing on the brow of a plateau rising in the midst of the City of the Golden Gates. From here the Initiate-Priests of the Sacred Feather went forth, carrying the keys of Universal Wisdom to the uttermost parts of the earth. From the Atlanteans the world has received not only the heritage of arts and crafts, philosophies and sciences, ethics and religions, but also the heritage of hate, strife, and perversion. The Atlanteans instigated the first war; and it has been said that all subsequent wars were fought in a fruitless effort to justify the first one and right the wrong which it caused. Before Atlantis sank, its spiritually illumined Initiates, who realized that their land was doomed because it had departed from the Path of Light, withdrew from the ill-fated continent. Carrying with them the sacred and secret doctrine, these Atlanteans established themselves in Egypt, where they became its first “divine” rulers. Nearly all the great cosmologic myths forming the foundation of the various sacred books of the world are based upon the Atlantean Mystery rituals.” Is Thoth-Hermes-Trismegistus the equivalent of the Dogon’s Nommos, who are believed to originate from Sirius? Ancient texts concerning Hermes describe him as a teacher of mysteries who “came from the stars”. Furthermore, Thoth-Hermes was directly connected with Sirius in Egyptian mythology. “The dog-star: the star worshipped in Egypt and reverenced by the Occultists; by the former because its heliacal rising with the Sun was a sign of the beneficient inundation of the Nile, and by the latter because it is mysteriously associated with Toth-Hermes, god of wisdom, and Mercury, in another form. Thus Sothis-Sirius had, and still has, a mystic and direct influence over the whole living heaven, and is connected with almost every god and goddess. It was “Isis in the heaven” and called Isis-Sothis, for Isis was “in the constellation of the dog”, as is declared on her monuments. Being connected with the Pyramid, Sirius was, therefore, connected with the initiations which took place in it.” “The Trismegistic treatise ‘The Virgin of the World’ from Egypt refers to ‘the Black Rite’, connected with the ‘black’ Osiris, as the highest degree of secret initiation possible in the ancient Egyptian religion – it is the ultimate secret of the mysteries of Isis. This treatise says Hermes came to earth to teach men civilization and then again ‘mounted to the stars’, going back to his home and leaving behind the mystery religion of Egypt with its celestial secrets which were some day to be decoded.” Interpreting the mythology of ancient cultures is not an exact science and connections are inherently difficult to prove. However, the symbolic link between Sirius and occult knowledge has constantly appeared throughout History and has seamlessly traveled through the ages. In fact, it is as revered today as it was millenniums ago. Modern secret societies such as the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians and the Golden Dawn (which are considered to be Hermetic Orders due to the fact their teachings are based on those of Hermes Trismegistus) all attribute to Sirius the utmost importance. An educated look at their symbolism provides a glimpse at the profound connection between Sirius and occult philosophy. To claim that Sirius is “important” to Hermetic Orders would be a gross understatement. The dog star is nothing less than the central focus of the teachings and symbolism of secret societies. The ultimate proof of this fact: many secret societies are actually named after the star. The seventeenth numbered major trump is called Les Étoiles, (French for The Star), and portrays a young girl kneeling with one foot in water and the other on and, her body somewhat suggesting the swastika [more like Aquarius – N.I. Ed]. She has two urns, the contents of which she pours upon the land and sea. Above the girl’s head are eight stars, one of which is exceptionally large and bright. Count de Gébelin considers the great star to be Sothis or Sirius; the other seven are the sacred planets of the ancients. He believes the female figure to be Isis in the act of causing the inundations of the Nile which accompanied the rising of the Dog Star. The unclothed figure of Isis may well signify that Nature does not receive her garment of verdure until the rising of the Nile waters releases the germinal life of plants and flowers. In Masonic lodges, Sirius is known as the “Blazing Star” and a simple look at its prominence in Masonic symbolism reveals its utmost importance. The Masonic author William Hutchinson wrote about Sirius: “It is the first and most exalted object that demands our attention in the Lodge.” The same way the light of Sirius made its way into the Great Pyramid during initiations, it is symbolically present in Masonic lodges. “The Ancient Astronomers saw all the great Symbols of Masonry in the Stars. Sirius glitters in our lodges as the Blazing Star.” “(The Blazing Star) originally represented SIRIUS, or the Dog-star, the forerunner of the inundation of the Nile; the God ANUBIS, companion of ISIS in her search for the body of OSIRIS, her brother and husband. Then it became the image of HORUS, the son of OSIRIS, himself symbolized also by the Sun, the author of the Seasons, and the God of Time; Son of ISIS, who was the universal nature, himself the primitive matter, inexhaustible source of Life, spark of uncreated fire, universal seed of all beings. It was HERMES, also, the Master of Learning, whose name in Greek is that of the God Mercury.” In Freemasonry, it is taught that the Blazing Star is a symbol of deity, of omnipresence (the Creator is present everywhere) and of omniscience (the Creator sees and knows all). Sirius is therefore the “sacred place” all Masons must ascend to: It is the source of divine power and the destination of divine individuals. This concept is often represented in Masonic art. To achieve perfection, the initiate must successfully understand and internalize the dual nature of the world (good and evil; masculine and feminine; black and white, etc.) through alchemical metamorphosis. This concept is symbolically represented by the union of Osiris and Isis (the male and female principles) to give birth to Horus, the star-child, the Christ-like figure, the perfected man of Freemasonry – who is equated with the Blazing Star. “The sun and moon … represent the two grand principles … the male and the female … both shed their light upon their offspring, the blazing star, or Horus.” The Egyptian hieroglyph representing Sirius has been esoterically interpreted to be a representation of this cosmic trinity. The hieroglyph representing Sirius contains three elements: a “phallic” obelisk (representing Osiris), a “womb-like” dome (representing Isis) and a star (representing Horus). This concept is so crucial for Freemasons, that it was embedded in some of the most important structures in the world. The Washington Monument, an Egyptian obelisk representing the male principle, is directly connected with the dome of the Capitol, representing the female principle. Together they produce Horus an unseen energy represented by Sirius. As stated by Albert Pike above, the Egyptian god Horus and the star Sirius are often associated. In Masonic symbolism, the eye of Horus (or the All-Seeing Eye) is often depicted surrounded by the glittering of light of Sirius. A Masonic tracing board depicting the sun above the left pillar (representing the masculine), the moon above the right pillar (representing feminine) and Sirius above the middle pillar, representing the “perfected man” or Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris. The Eye of Horus inside a triangle (symbolizing deity) surrounded by the glow of Sirius, the Blazing Star The light behind the All-Seeing Eye on the American dollar bill is not from the sun, but from Sirius. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built in alignment with Sirius and is therefore shown shining right above the Pyramid. A radiant tribute to Sirius is therefore in the pockets of millions of citizens. Considered to be the “female version” of Freemasonry (although men can join), the Order of the Eastern Star (OES) is directly named after Sirius, the “Star rising from the East”. A “general public” explanation of the origins of the Order’s name claims it originated from the “Star of the East” that lead the Three Magi to Jesus. A look into the occult meaning of the Order’s symbolism however makes it clear that the OES is a reference to Sirius, the most important star of Freemasonry, its parent organization. Helena Blavatsky and Alice Bailey, the two main figures associated with Theosophy, have both considered Sirius to be a source esoteric power. Blavatsky stated that the star Sirius exerts a mystic and direct influence over the entire living heaven and is linked with every great religion of antiquity. Alice Bailey sees the Dog Star as the true “Great White Lodge” and believes it to be the home of the “Spiritual Hierarchy”. For this reason she considers Sirius as the “star of initiation”. “This is the great star of initiation because our Hierarchy (an expression of the second aspect of divinity) is under the supervision or spiritual magnetic control of the Hierarchy of Sirius. These are the major controlling influences whereby the cosmic Christ works upon the Christ principle in the solar system, in the planet, in man and in the lower forms of life expression. It is esoterically called the “brilliant star of sensitivity.” Not unlike most many esoteric writers, Bailey considers Sirius to have a great impact on human life. “All that can be done here in dealing with this profound subject is to enumerate briefly some of the cosmic influences which definitely affect our earth, and produce results in the consciousness of men everywhere, and which, during the process of initiation, bring about certain specific phenomena. First and foremost is the energy or force emanating from the sun Sirius. If it might be so expressed, the energy of thought, or mind force, in its totality, reaches the solar system from a distant cosmic centre via Sirius. Sirius acts as the transmitter, or the focalising centre, whence emanate those influences which produce self-consciousness in man.” In 1907, Aleister Crowley started his own occult order called the A.A. – short for Argentium Astrum, which can be translated to ‘The Order of the Silver Star’. The ‘Silver Star’ was, of course, a reference to Sirius. Even if Crowley almost always referred to the dog star in veiled terms, the whole of his magickal philosophy, from his development as a young Freemason through to his final years as the Head of the O.T.O, is wholly in accordance with the Sirian influence, which was identified and expressed by other writers of his era. His alleged contact with his Holy Guardian Angel that later led to the channelling of ‘Liber AL: The Book of the Law’ is believed to have originated from Sirius. If Crowley used code words to describe Sirius, his protégé Kenneth Grant has explicitly and extensively written about the dog star. Throughout his numerous books, he often described Sirius as being a powerful center of magickal magnetic power. His belief that the star holds the central key to unlocking the mysteries of the Egyptian and Typhonian traditions has strengthened over time and became a central focus of his research. One of Grant’s most important and controversial thesis was his discovery of the “Sirius/Set current”, which is an extra-terrestrial dimension connecting Sirius, the Earth and Set, the Eyptian god of Chaos – who was later associated with Satan. “Set is the initiator, the Opener of mans’ consciousness to the rays of the Undying God typified by Sirius – the Sun in the South.” “Sirius, or Set, was the original “headless one” – the light of the lower region (the south) who was known (in Egypt) as An (the dog), hence Set-An (Satan), Lord of the infernal regions, the place of heat, later interpreted in a moral sense as “hell”.” Although each occult philosophy describes Sirius in a slightly different matter, it is still consistently regarded as the “sun behind the sun”, the true source of occult power. It is perceived as the cradle of human knowledge and the belief of the existence of a strong connection between the star and planet Earth never seems to become outdated. Is there a true link between Sirius and Earth? Is the dog star an esoteric symbol representing something happening in the spiritual realm? It is both? One thing is for sure, the cult of Sirius is not a “thing of the past” and is very alive today. An in-depth look at our popular culture, which is heavily influenced by occult symbolism, reveals numerous references to Sirius. Direct references to Sirius in popular culture are too many to enumerate (e.g. see the name and the logo of the most important satellite radio in the world). A more interesting aspect of popular culture to analyze are the coded references to Sirius. Important movies have indeed made veiled yet profound references to the dog star (apparently intended to those “in the know”), where the star plays the role it was always given by the Mysteries: as an initiator and a divine teacher. Here are some examples. In Disney’s Pinocchio, based on a story written by Freemason Carlo Collodi, Gepetto prays to the brightest star in the sky to have a “real boy”. The Blue Fairy (her color is a reference to Sirius’ light-blue glow) then descends from the heavens to give life to Pinocchio. Throughout the marionette’s quest to become a boy (an allegory for esoteric initiation), the Blue Fairy guides Pinocchio towards the “right path”. Sirius is therefore represented as a source of life, a guide and a teacher. The theme song of the movie Pinocchio is also an ode to Sirius: When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are Anything your heart desires will come to you If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme When you wish upon a star as dreamers do (Fate is kind, she brings to those who love The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing) Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you thru When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true In Harry Potter, the character named Sirius Black is most likely a reference to Sirius B. (the “darker” star of Sirius’ binary system). He is Harry Potter’s godfather, which makes Sirius, once again, a teacher and a guide. The wizard can turn into a big black dog, another link with the “dog star”. In the Truman Show, a spotlight – used to imitate the light of a star in Truman’s fake world – falls from the sky and nearly hits him. The label on the spotlight identifies it as Sirius. Truman’s encounter with Sirius gives him a glimpse of “true knowledge” and prompts his quest for truth. Sirius is therefore the “star of initiation”. It caused Truman to realize the limitations of the his studio world (our material world) and lead him to freedom (spiritual emancipation). From the dawn of civilization to modern times, from remote tribes of Africa to the great capitals of the modern world, Sirius was – and still is – seen as a life-giver. Despite the disparity between cultures and epochs, the same mysterious attributes are given to the dog star, which can lead us to ask: how can all theses definitions synchronize so perfectly? Is there a common source to these myths about Sirius? The dog star is invariably associated with divinity and is regarded as a source of knowledge and power. These connections are particularly evident when one examines the teachings and the symbolism of secret societies, who have always taught about a mystical link with this particular celestial body. Is there a secret link between human evolution and Sirius? Unlocking this secret would mean unlocking one of humanity’s greatest mysteries. Blogman Leave a comment Fascinating place this Giza Plateau and I think, that it was not humans who built it. There are numerous remote viewers, which have remote viewed this place and it has always alien elements in it. Here’s something about the place: There is no other place on Earth like Egypt’s Giza Plateau. Anyone with even a slight interest in history and civilisation is aware of this fact. For on this plateau there stands the Great Pyramids and their sculpted guardian, the Great Sphinx. Although there are plenty of theories, no one really knows who built the Giza Pyramids or carved the Sphinx, or when they were constructed. Any statement as to who built them, or when they were built, is pure theory. In light of all the various theories concerning these mysterious structures, I don’t think the theoretical nature of the pyramid builders can be emphasised enough. What stands out at Giza more than anything else is not only the magnitude of the construction of the pyramids, but the internal design of the Great Pyramid; three chambers, of which one is subterranean, and their connecting passageways. The passageway that leads to the so-called King’s Chamber rises to a height of thirty-six feet! On the other hand, all other passageways were not built tall enough to accommodate the average man or woman. There is also the unique configuration of the King’s Chamber as well as the Queen’s Chamber. Both of these contain two shafts, one on each side of the chamber. The Queen’s Chamber contains a corbelled niche built into its east wall, and the King’s Chamber’s ceiling is composed of five granite slabs stacked one atop the other. Why these chambers were constructed in this manner is unknown. The official theory is that the pyramids were tombs, and that King Khufu kept changing his mind where his burial chamber was to be placed; thus, the reason for three chambers in the Great Pyramid. However, in comparison to typical Egyptian burial methods (the mastaba and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings), the Giza pyramids, and particularly the Great Pyramid, do not fare well within the Egyptian concept of a tomb. The Egyptians believed in an afterlife, and the tomb was an important part of that belief. As the tomb of King Tutankhamun testifies, the deceased’s chamber of internment was to be decorated with art and filled with that person’s possessions. Why they practiced this ritual was not for superstitious reasons, as one might suspect. It was practical, according to their beliefs, and aimed at preventing that person’s energy (spirit) from being re-absorbed into Nature’s spiritual force. For the ancient Egyptians, Ba animated a living person, whereas Ka was the energy emanating from that person. Although not an exact analogy, the Ka and the Ba are what traditional Western thought might refer as spirit and soul. Another important aspect of Egyptian belief represented immortality, the ankh, depicted as the crested ibis. The Ka, represented in art by up-stretched arms, was believed to be the part of man’s consciousness and energy (man’s spirit or inner quality) that related to the immediate world. It is the part of us connected to the physical body; where it lived, its possessions, as well as the people he or she was acquainted with. The Ka can be likened to one’s personality, which upon death is separated from the body, and naturally seeks a way to once again take form. The Ba, represented by a winged human head, or sometimes a human-faced bird, represented the part of consciousness that is immortal. When someone passed away, it was their goal as well as the hope of the family, that the deceased’s Ka would seek a way to remain united with their Ba. To help accomplish this eternal union, the possessions of the deceased were gathered together by the family and placed in the tomb with the mummified body. Mummification prevented the body from decomposing and returning to the soil of the Earth, whereas the tomb, with the deceased’s possessions, served as a ‘home’ for the Ka. As a result, the Ka maintained its identity in the spiritual world and could seek out its Ba in order to achieve ankh, which resulted in the resurrected and glorified form of the deceased beyond the limits of an earthly realm. Like the pharaonic tombs carved into the Valley of the Kings, royal mastabas built during the early dynasties – some as early as 3000 BCE – were also designed with ‘home’ in mind, as that home relates to a person’s Ka. Case in point: from the sixth dynasty, Mereruka’s mastaba was crafted in mansion-like proportion with thirty-two rooms and adorned with statues and art depicting, for example, scenes of wildlife along the Nile River. The traits of Egyptian domestic life, so beautifully incorporated into the design of their tombs, are not found in the Giza pyramids. The Giza pyramids contain no art or hieroglyphics of any kind, very uncharacteristic of Egyptian tombs. So why is it the case that the Giza pyramids are generally considered to be tombs of fourth dynasty Pharaohs? The reason is because of an association of the Giza complex with another development ten miles south at Sakkara where the Egyptians really did build tombs as pyramids. At Sakkara in 1881, the French Egyptologist, Gaston Maspero (1846–1916) discovered that the subterranean chamber of the Pepi I Pyramid (second ruler of the sixth dynasty) was engraved with hieroglyphics. Over the course of subsequent explorations, it was discovered that a total of five pyramids at Sakkara also contained inscriptions, from the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth dynasties of the Old Kingdom. In 1952, Dr. Samuel A.B. Mercer (1879–1969), Professor of Semitic Languages and Egyptology at the University of Toronto, published a complete English translation of “The Pyramid Texts” in a volume of the same name. According to Mercer, The Pyramid Texts contained ‘words to be spoken’ concerning funerary ritual, magical formulae, and religious hymns, as well as prayers and petitions on behalf of the deceased king.1 With the pyramids at Sakkara being confirmed as tombs the associative logic came to be that all pyramids must be tombs. Furthermore, since there are two cemeteries (mastaba fields) to the east and west of the northernmost Giza pyramid, assuming that all pyramids are tombs was a likely conclusion. However, the condition of the Sakkara pyramids – most of which are believed constructed after the Giza pyramids – poses serious problems in this logical association. Of the pyramids at Sakkara only Djoser’s ‘Step Pyramid’ is in good condition, although not really a true pyramid. (The Step Pyramid was originally a mastaba that was modified into a pyramid.) All other pyramids at Sakkara, most of which belong to the fifth and sixth dynasties are in ruins today and resemble mounds of rubble. According to a consensus of Egyptologists, Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Sakkara was constructed during the third dynasty and was the forerunner to the fourth dynasty pyramids on the Giza Plateau. After pyramid development at Giza, for whatever reason, the focus of pyramid building shifted back to Sakkara. The easily observable and obvious differences in the Giza pyramids and the Sakkara pyramids, which were all supposed to have been built during the same era, are a problem. Clearly, the construction techniques, as well as materials, for the Giza pyramids were different than those at Sakkara, or else we would expect pyramids at both sites to have stood the test of time in a similar manner. They did not. The important point is why. Did the engineers and construction workers of the Old Kingdom not pass along their methods from the fourth to the fifth dynasty? It seems they did not, which is a very curious occurrence given the stability of Egyptian civilisation. It may also be the case that the fourth dynasty Egyptians did not build the Giza pyramids. No other pyramid in Egypt (the world for that matter) is like the Giza pyramids, and in particular the Great Pyramid. Additionally, there is no direct evidence to support the claim that the Great Pyramid, or the other Giza pyramids were tombs. Nor is there any record left by its builders as to what it was for or when it was built. This creates a problem of explanation. If the Great Pyramid was not a tomb, then what was it? A mystical temple for initiation ritual, or a public works project designed to unify the country? Or, was it something else entirely? Theories are abundant, but the only theory I am aware of that covers all aspects of the Great Pyramid’s interior design, is Christopher Dunn’s theory that it was a device. According to Dunn, the Great Pyramid was a machine for producing power by converting tectonic vibration into electricity. There are a number of reasons to accept Dunn analysis. First, he explains the interior design and all other evidence within the Great Pyramid in a cohesive manner. Second, he demonstrates the technical skills required to accomplish precision construction. Third, Dunn’s expertise and career is in the precision fabrication and manufacturing industry, which makes him uniquely qualified to express a professional opinion on the techniques and tools of the Giza pyramid builders. The fact is, modern construction companies could not build the Great Pyramid today without first inventing specialised tools and techniques in order to deal with blocks of stone that vary in weight from ten to fifty tons. Such an endeavour would be on a magnitude equivalent to building a hydroelectric dam or a nuclear power station requiring tens of billions of dollars in resources. Although our modern economy is different than that of the ancient world, the resource required now as compared to then is the same! The stone must be quarried and moved and the workers must be paid. The fact that an extremely large amount of resources were dedicated to Giza pyramid development over a long period of time demands, in my opinion, that pyramid building was utilitarian, and not for any fourth dynasty pharaonic vanity of having the largest headstone in the world. For me, the evidence clearly tells a very different story of early dynastic Egypt. Sometime around 3000 BCE, the establishment and growth of permanent settlements in the Lower Nile Valley led to the development of civilisation. Why Giza and the surrounding area were chosen as the focal point for early Dynastic Egypt was because ‘civilisation’ had been there before, as the three pyramids and the Great Sphinx testify. Without knowing what the pyramids were designed for, the early Egyptians also assumed they must have been tombs. As a result, they rejuvenated the Giza Plateau and turned it into a Necropolis, then expanded to Sakkara where they built tombs in pyramid form, albeit of lesser quality and not brandishing the skills the original builders of the Giza pyramids demonstrated. Pyramid building, even the smaller ones at Sakkara, was resource intense, so the Egyptians reverted to burying their nobility in the traditional mastaba. This scenario, which calls for an earlier civilisation with advanced technical skills, poses another problem. It does not fit the standard model of history. However, the notion that an earlier civilisation existed does not rest on the Giza pyramids alone. There is also the Sphinx, which in 1991 was geologically dated to between 7,000 and 9,000 years old by the team of John Anthony West and geologist Dr. Robert Schoch. Add to that the megaliths of Nabta Playa in southwestern Egypt, which is believed to have been a star viewing diagram, according to astrophysicist Dr. Thomas Brophy, that relates not only the distance from Earth to the belt stars of Orion, but their radial velocities as well. Another ‘head scratching’ discovery is the 1260-ton foundation stones of the Baalbek temple, west of Beirut in Lebanon, one of which was left in its quarry. Clearly history has its secrets, but there is enough evidence to validate, as theory, that civilisation is much older than we have previously believed. History, according to the ancient Egyptians themselves, confirms this. According to the Papyrus of Turin, which is a complete list of kings up to the New Kingdom, before Menes (before 3000 BCE) the: …venerables Shemsu-Hor, [reigned] 13,420 years Reigns up to Shemsu-Hor, 23,200 years2 These two lines in the king’s list are explicit. According to their documents, the total years of Egyptian history goes back 36,620 years. The argument that the years in the king’s list do not represent actual years, but some other, shorter, measurement of time seems more of an attempt to explain away than to explain. The ancient Egyptians employed a sophisticated calendar system that involved a 365-day year, which was periodically corrected through the predictable and cyclical nature of the star Sirius. Every 1,461 years, the heliacal rising of Sirius marked the beginning of the new year. A single Sirius cycle corresponds to 1,461 years, where each year is equivalent to 365.25 days. In essence, the marking of the New Year at the heliacal rising of Sirius was the ancient Egyptian’s ‘leap year.’ Of course, determining the length of Sirius’ cyclical nature requires stellar observation over thousands of years which means the origins of pharaonic Egypt, or its source of knowledge, must originate in the remote past. Late twentieth century Egyptologist Walter Emery seems to have agreed in principle that the origins of ancient Egypt date well into prehistory. Emery believed that ancient Egypt’s written language was beyond the use of pictorial symbols, even during the earliest dynasties, and that signs were also used to represent sounds, along with a numerical system. When hieroglyphics had been stylised and used in architecture, a cursive script was already in common use. His conclusion was that: All this shows that the written language must have had a considerable period of development behind it, of which no trace has as yet been found in Egypt.3 Ancient Egyptian religion also testifies to a considerable period of development. Their religion, which is more of a philosophy of nature and life than it is a ‘religion,’ is based on a level of sophistication that, in all respects, appears more scientific than it does mythical. From a modern Western perspective their religion has been billed as primitive and polytheistic, and appears as a mythological menagerie of gods. Nothing could be further from the truth. The source of this misunderstanding stems from the Egyptian word neter being translated into Greek as ‘god,’ which later took on the Westernised meaning of deity. The true meaning of neter was to describe an aspect of deity, not a deity to be worshipped. In essence, neters referred to principles of nature in a practical scientific way. Yet, the meaning of a specific neter was communicated in a visually symbolic manner. When a human was depicted with an animal head, this signified the principle as it occurs in man. If the whole animal was depicted it was a reference to a principle in general. Alternatively, a human head depicted on an animal represented that principle as it relates to the divine essence within mankind, not any person in particular, but the archetypal; as the immortal Ba is represented by a human-faced bird. Another example is Anubis (the jackal), who presided over the process of mummification. He did so as a representation of the decomposition or fermentation process. In nature, the jackal keeps its prey and allows it to decompose before consumption. Therefore, he who presided over the mummification ritual was depicted in art as a man with the head of the jackal, thereby representing man’s death as the digestive principle found in nature. From a universal perspective, the decomposition of a body is, to Nature, digestion. Hence, those organs associated with digestion, after being removed from the deceased, were placed in a Canopic jar with a lid shaped in the image of the jackal’s head. The sudden emergence of Dynastic Egypt, at the beginning of the third millennium BCE, is one of civilisation’s greatest mysteries. How did this supposedly primitive North African culture organise itself into a civilisation of such magnificence? One aspect that I believe has been overlooked is that mankind – anatomically modern humans – has been around for a very long time. According to recent genetic studies, all people today are the descendants of a single African woman who walked the Earth 150,000 years ago. According to geneticists, her mitochondrial DNA exists in all of us. This is a long time, 147,000 years, for our ancestors to have remained in a relatively primitive state. In my opinion, the evidence, some of which is incredibly anomalous (in particular the Great Pyramid) suggests they did not remain primitive. Given the evidence of ancient Egypt’s technical abilities (their monument, temples, and other crafted artifacts still exist), as well as their sophisticated symbolism in describing Nature, it appears that in establishing a dynastic society, the Egyptians of the third millennium BCE benefited from a legacy of knowledge. Skeptics of this approach to history, of course, would want to know where the evidence of this technical and prehistoric civilisation is. If such a civilisation existed, surely there would be overwhelming evidence to support its existence. If an exclusively uniformitarian approach to geologic formation were generally accepted as fact, I would agree with the skeptic. However, mass extinctions, as a result of environmental catastrophism because of volcanism, asteroid or comet impact, or stellar (gamma) radiation, now seems to be a reality. According to geologists there have been five large mass extinctions in Earth’s history: the Ordovician (440–450 mya), Devonian (408–360 mya), Permian (286–248), Triassic (251–252 mya), and Cretaceous (144–65 mya). Although all of these cataclysms occurred well before the modern human form, there are two global disasters that occurred relatively recently. Approximately 71,000 years ago Mount Toba, in Sumatra, erupted spewing an enormous amount of ash into the atmosphere. It was the largest volcanic eruption in the last two million years, nearly 10,000 times larger than the Mount St. Helen’s explosion in 1980. The resultant caldera formed a lake 100 kilometres long by 60 kilometres wide, with devastating and lasting climatic consequences. A six-year long volcanic winter followed, and in its wake an ice age that lasted for a thousand years. With its sulfuric haze, the volcanic winter lowered global temperatures, creating drought and famine decimating the human population. According to geneticist’s estimates, the population was reduced to somewhere between 15,000 and 40,000 individuals. Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Utah, Lynn Jorde, believes it may have been as low as 5,000.4 Even closer to our time is the mysterious cataclysm at the end of the Ice Age, only 10,000 years ago. No one really knows if it was the result of natural phenomenon or an asteroid impact. What is known is that the climate drastically altered life for those who lived at that time. It is a known geologic fact that at the end of the Ice Age many North American species became extinct, including the mammoth, camel, horse, ground sloth, peccaries (pig-like hoofed mammals), antelope, American elephant, rhinoceros, giant armadillo, tapirs, saber-toothed tigers and giant bison. It also affected the climates of lower latitudes in Central and South America, as well as Europe in a similar way. Those lands have also revealed evidence of mass extinction. Yet, the mechanism that brought on this Ice Age ending cataclysm remains a mystery. If an ancient technical civilisation existed during the remote past, what would be the likelihood of that civilisation surviving a global catastrophe intact? Estimates from the Toba eruption are not encouraging. Neither are the scenarios that astronomers and climatologists build today for a theoretical asteroid impact. According to the archeological evidence, anatomically modern man (Cro-Magnon) appeared in Western Europe 40,000 years ago. Where they came from has been a long-standing mystery. The logical deduction is that they migrated from Africa. However, such a migration requires a host culture, of which there is no evidence. Nevertheless, a likely location for this host culture would have been along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which were likely a series of fresh water lakes during the remote past. If ancient civilisation existed in the region of the Mediterranean, it would not have survived the conflagration that turned those lakes into a salt-water sea. If that were indeed the case, the remnants of those who lived on the perimeter of that civilisation would appear to us, today, as anomalies such as the Giza pyramids and the giant stones of Baalbek. Cro-Magnon cultures of Western Europe, although once a part of a great Mediterranean civilisation, would also appear as an anomaly. For us, it would be as if they appeared from nowhere. Interesting article about the Anunnaki and more interesting it makes the aspect, that until now no-one knows who wrote it. So here we go again: A message from the Anunnaki – MANKIND IN AMNESIA (Flying Saucer Review Magazine © November-December 1958) Exhibit 19) Brinsley Le Poer Trench (Flying Saucer Review Magazine © November-December 1958) “We are already here, among you. Some of us have always been here, with you, yet apart from, watching, and occasionally guiding you whenever the opportunity arose. Now, however, our numbers have been increased in preparation for a further step in the development of your planet: a step of which you are not yet aware… We have been confused with the gods of many world-religions, although we are not gods, but your fellow creatures, as you will learn directly before many more years have passed. You will find records of our presence in the mysterious symbols of ancient Egypt, where we made ourselves known in order to accomplish certain ends. Our principal symbol appears in the religious art of your present civilization and occupies a position of importance upon the great seal of your country. (The United States of America) It has been preserved in certain secret societies founded originally to keep alive the knowledge of our existence and our intentions toward mankind.” “We have left you certain landmarks, placed carefully in different parts of the globe, but most prominently in Egypt where we established our headquarters upon the occasion of our last overt, or, as you would say, public appearance. At that time the foundations of your present civilization were ‘laid in the earth’ and the most ancient of your known landmarks established by means that would appear as miraculous to you now as they did to the pre-Egyptians, so many thousands of years ago. Since that time the whole art of building, in stone, has become symbolic, to many of you, of the work in hand—the building of the human race towards its perfection.” “Your ancestors knew us in those days as preceptors and as friends. Now, through your own efforts, you have almost reached, in your majority, a new step on the long ladder of your liberation. You have been constantly aided by our watchful ‘inspiration’, and hindered only by the difficulties natural to your processes of physical and moral development…” “You have lately achieved the means of destroying yourselves. Do not be hasty in your self-congratulation. Yours is not the first civilization to have achieved—and used—such means. Yours will not be the first civilization to be offered the means of preventing that destruction and proceeding, in the full glory of its accumulated knowledge, to establish an era of enlightenment upon the earth.” “However, if you do accept the means offered you, and if you establish such a ‘millennium’ upon the basis of your present accomplishments, yours will be the first civilization to do so. ALWAYS BEFORE, THE KNOWLEDGE, THE TECHNIQUES, THE INSTRUCTIONS, HAVE BECOME THE POSSESSIONS OF A CHOSEN FEW: A FEW CHOSE THEMSELVES BY THEIR OWN OPEN-MINDED AND CLEAR-SIGHTED REALIZATION OF ‘THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME’. THEY ENDEAVORED TO PASS ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE FORM, AND BY THE MOST ENDURING MEANS AT THEIR COMMAND.  In a sense they succeeded, but in another sense their failure equaled their success. Human acceptance is, to a very large extent, measurable by human experience. Succeeding generations, who never knew our actual presence, translated the teachings of their elders in the terms of their own experience. For instance, a cross-sectional drawing, much simplified and stylized by many copyings, of one of our traveling machines became the ‘Eye of Horus”, and then other eyes of other gods. Finally, the ancient symbol that was once an accurate representation of an important mechanical device has been given surprising connotations by the modern priesthood of psychology.” “The important fact is, however, that we are here, among you, and that you, as a world-race, will know it before very much longer! The time is almost ripe but, as with all ripening things, the process may not be hurried artificially without danger of damaging the fruit. There is a right time for every action, and the right time for our revelation of ourselves to your era is approaching.” “Some of you have seen our ‘advanced guard’ already. You have met us often in the streets of your cities, and you have not noticed us. But when we flash through your skies in the ANCIENT TRADITIONAL VEHICLES  [Vimanas, see Exhibit 14, this paper—GJ]  you are amazed, and those of you who open your mouths and tell of what you have seen are accounted dupes and fools. Actually you are prophets, seers in the true sense of the word. You in Kansas and Oklahoma, you in Oregon and in California, and Idaho, you know what you have seen: do not be dismayed by meteorologists. Their business is the weather. One of you says, ‘I saw a torpedo-shaped object’. Others report, ‘disc-like objects’, some of you say ‘spherical objects’, or ‘platter-like objects’. You are all reporting correctly and accurately what you saw, and in most cases you are describing the same sort of vehicle.” “… Now that the art of manufacturing plastic materials has reached a certain perfection among you, perhaps you can imagine a material, almost transparent to the rays of ordinary visible light, yet strong enough to endure the stresses of extremely rapid flight. Look again at the great nebulae, and think of the construction of your own galaxy, and behold the universal examples of what we have found to be the perfect shape for an object which is to travel through what you still fondly refer to as ‘empty’ space.” In the center of the discus, gyroscopically controlled within a central sphere of the same transparent material, our control rooms revolve freely, accommodating themselves and us to flat or edgewise flight. Both methods are suited to your atmosphere, and when we convert abruptly from one to the other, as we are sometimes obliged to do, and you are watching, OUR MACHINES seem suddenly to appear—or to disappear. At our possible speeds your eyes, untrained and unprepared for the maneuver, do make mistakes—but not the mistakes your scientists so often accuse them of making.” “We pass over your hilltops in horizontal flight. You see and report a torpedo-shaped object. We pass over, in formation, flying vertically ‘edge-on’… Or we go over at night, jet-slits glowing, and you see an orange disc. In any event you see us, and in any event we do not care. if we chose to remain invisible, we could do so, easily, and, in fact, we have done so almost without exception for hundreds of years. But you must become accustomed to our shapes in your skies, for one day they will be familiar, friendly, and reassuring sights.” “This time, it is to be hoped that the memory of them, passed on to your children and their children, will be clear and precise. That you will not cause them to forget, as your ancestors forgot, the meaning of the diagrams and the instructions we will leave with you. If you do fail, AS OTHER CIVILIZATIONS HAVE FAILED, we will see your descendants wearing wiring-diagrams for simple machines as amulets, expecting the diagrams to do what their forefathers were taught the completed article would accomplish. Then their children, forgetting even that much—or little—would preserve the amulet as a general protective device—or as an intellectual curiosity—or perhaps as a religious symbol. Such is the cycle of forgetfulness!” – The Anunnaki Editor, In5D.com I tried to find the original source to this article to no avail.  However, I did find this… : According to Trench, the editor/author and publisher of the Nov-Dec 1958 issue, the original article was found in the November 1947 issue of ‘Fantastic Stories’ (USA), written by a pseudonym, Alexander Blade.  Remarkably enough, after 54 years, the ‘Flying Saucer Review Magazine’ is still being published (or was at least in 2010), but I have not been able to find it online.  Also, 1947 triggers memories in the mass consciousness from the UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico. So, the Sirians have (and they apparently admitted to this in 1947) been around since ancient time, and just like I’ve said, never left. Interesting in this article is that they at that time gave us hints of what is to come. They are talking about our ‘liberation’, and that they will be a part of that. and this : According to Brinsley Le Poer Trench, editor of Flying Saucer Review Magazine, an unknown person using the pseudonym ‘Alexander Blade’ wrote the above article that originally appeared in the November 1947 issue of Fantastic Stories (USA). One has to ask the question: who was Alexander Blade? A representative or liaison to inner-earth – Agharti? According to this article, the instructions and techniques used for building these “ancient traditional vehicles” are within the possession of a chosen few, and based on my research, this is indeed the case. I must admit, the ‘Alexander Blade’ article speaks volumes! And it seems the Germans wanted to be part of the “chosen few” club as well. From what I’ve uncovered they received vital information that eventually gave them a ‘shot in the arm’ necessary to jump-start their esoteric technology campaign – the ‘flying-disc’ program. I argue Germany’s pre-war secret societies, such as Vril and Thule, were actually communicating with inner-earth emissaries for the purposes of acquiring this ancient technology. According to Gregg Braden’s research, we are only utilizing 22 of the 64 codons in our DNA, thus suggesting that our DNA was genetically manipulated, most likely by the Anunnaki.  If this premise is true, then imagine being able to fully access all 64 codons in your DNA? Conversely, is this the reason why the Anunnaki created us to become slaves in order to mine gold for them?  It certainly explains why there is such a high demand for gold and who the “All seeing Eye” is at the top of the pyramid. To me, any benevolent message from the Anunnaki would most likely have a hidden agenda to keep us subservient to them.  The last thing they want is to see our DNA codons fully open. According to the research of Robert Morning Sky , our DNA is actually superior to the Anunnaki because we also have the DNA of the AKU, which gave us consciousness.  This is known as the “Gift of the Feather” and is why we feel something magical when we see a random feather in our every day lives. From the Sumerian texts, we also know that the Anunnaki co-mingled with us, thus giving us their DNA as well. As our masters, the last thing they want you to know is that YOU are more powerful than they are once you figure out how to activate the remaining codons in your DNA. I’ve been experimenting with this and will be publishing an article on In5D about what I’m doing to activate mine. In the meanwhile, always question everything, especially from alleged benevolent sources because most likely, there’s an agenda behind it. Blogman Leave a comment Interesting article about symbols for example ankh, swastika, hammer of Thor and spirals: It is seen in the sky, on the ground, hidden in language and glaring at us from the pages of our most profound books – the snake. In this Article I want to extend that now a little and for us to journey around the world of symbols. By understanding what many of these symbols mean and just how universal they are we will be guided into this lost world of our past. We will begin with a symbol of life itself from the world’s greatest ancient civilization. Ankh The Ankh is the Crux Ansata. A simple T-Cross, surmounted by an oval – called the RU, which is, simply put, the gateway to enlightenment. This enigmatic symbol of Egypt represents ‘eternal life’ and was often found in the names of Pharaoh’s such as Tut-ankh-amun. The symbol is often depicted being held by a god to a Pharaoh, giving him life, or held by a Pharaoh to his people, giving them life – this basically set aside the immortals, from the mortals, for anyone wearing or carrying the Ankh had gained or hoped to gain immortality. In truth also, the pharaoh was God on earth and so he held his own symbol of the sun and the serpent to his people – he was the sun, giving us life, just as it does in nature. It is the loop (the RU or gateway) of the Ankh, which is held by the immortals to the nostrils (as in the Biblical god breathing life into the nostrils of Adam.) If indeed these ‘immortals’ are the sun, moon and stars, then this Ru device is indeed a gateway to the stars – or basically a gateway to what we were believed to return or become following death. The Ankh though outlived Egyptian domination and was widely used by the Christians as their first cross, but in this symbol holds a clue to the secret of the serpent. Thoth (see Taautus below) was said to have symbolized the four elements with a simple cross, which originated from the oldest Phoenician alphabet as the curling serpent. Indeed Philo adds that the Phoenician alphabet “are those formed by means of serpents… and adored them as the supreme gods, the rulers of the universe.” Thus bringing to mind the god Thoth, who again is related to the worship of serpents and who created the alphabet. The “rulers of the universe” are indeed the planets and stars. Bunsen in the 19th century thought, “the forms and movements of serpents were employed in the invention of the oldest letters, which represent gods.” This symbol of the four elements was altered slightly and became the Egyptian Taut, the same as the Greek Tau, which is where we get the name Tau Cross from – a simple T. The T or Tau cross has been a symbol of eternal life in many cultures and gives its name to the Bull in the Astrological sign of Taurus – note here the two elements of the Tau and the RU being brought together. In fact the Druids (or “adders” after the snake) venerated the tree and the snake by scrawling the Tau cross into tree bark. In the Middle Ages the Tau cross was used in amulets to protect the wearer against disease. Amongst the modern Freemasons the Tau has many meanings. Some say that it stands for Templus Hierosolyma or the ‘Temple of Jerusalem,’ others that it signifies hidden treasure or means Clavis ad Thesaurum, ‘A key to treasure‘ or Theca ubi res pretiosa, ‘A place where the precious thing is concealed.’ It is especially important in Royal Arch Masonry where it becomes the ‘Companions Jewel’ with a serpent as a circle above the cross bar – forming the Ankh with the Hebrew word for ‘serpent’ engraved on the upright and also including the Triple Tau – a symbol for hidden treasure and significantly made up of 8 right angles. It was also the symbol for St. Anthony – later to become the symbol for the Knights Templar of St. Anthony of Leith in Scotland. St. Anthony lived in the 4th century AD and is credited with establishing Monasticism in Egypt, and generally the story goes that he sold all his possessions after hearing from the Lord and marched off into the wilderness to become a hermit. On his travels he learned much from various sages in Egypt and grew for himself a large following. He was sorely tempted by the devil in the form of ‘creeping things’ and serpents (chaos). In one episode he follows a trail of gold to a temple, which is infested with serpents and takes up residence, needing little food for sustenance other than bread and water. He is said to have lived 105 years and due to this longevity he is credited with protective powers. The Order of the Hospitalers of St. Anthony, who would later take much of the Templar wealth, brought many of Anthony’s relics to France in the 11th century, although they were said to have been secretly deposited somewhere in Egypt just after his death and then later to have found their way to Alexandria. The Taut or Tau symbolizes the creating four elements of the universe. Next the symbol of the sun / serpent was added, a simple circle or the oval RU. This loop above the T cross-created the Ankh, the symbol of eternity. The snake in a circle eating its own tale is symbolical of the sun and immortality. The symbol of the moon was added to this, turning it into the sign for Hermes/Mercury and showing the Caduceus/Serpent origin. No wonder that this, the most perfect and simple of symbolical devices became the symbol of the early Christians; no wonder that, even though there were no cross-beam crucifixions, Christ was never the less symbolically crucified on a symbol of eternal life, a symbol of the serpent. This symbol became the mark or sign, which would set the believer aside for saving. In Ezekiel this is the mark that god will know, the mark on the forehead. As Deane points out the Ezekiel passage (9:4) should read, “set a Tau upon their foreheads.” or “mark with the letter Tau the foreheads.” The early Christians baptized with the term “crucis thaumate notare.” They baptized with the symbol of the sun-snake (sun-ake). And St. Paul himself in Galatians 6: 17 states “let no-one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” Is this the original mark of Cain, who we have found to be of the serpent tribe ? The idea of this sign or mark is widespread once discovered. In Job 31:35 we read in our modern Bibles “I sign now my defense – let the Almighty answer me” which should properly read, “Behold, here is my Tau, let the Almighty answer me.” He then goes on and says “Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.” This remarkable idea of wearing the Tau cross on the shoulder as a sign would later become part and parcel of the crusader Templars markings, the very same Templars who are instigated in the worship of serpents. Also the Merovingians (said by some to be descended from Jesus and a sea serpent or fish god – the Quinotaur or Quino-Tau-rus) were supposedly born with a red cross between their shoulder blades. The Tau cross is also strangely used by those practicing sacred geometry as a “marker” for buried treasure, whether physical or spiritual. In shape, the Ankh is very similar to the Egyptian musical instrument, which is shaped like the oval RU – the Sistrum. Sistrum An Egyptian musical instrument closely associated with female gods – especially Hathor the serpent/cow goddess and Isis – the consort of Osiris. In form, very much like the Ankh with a loop at the top – also representing the egg – and three serpents striking through the loop with small square pieces of metal, which rattle. It’s possible these three serpents represent the ida, pingala and sushumna nerve channels and which are said to converge and fuse together within the centre of the brain (the thalamus) – which in the individual was also thought to represent the ‘cosmic egg.’ During the ascent of these serpent energies up the spine to the centre of the head, the individual while going through this supposed enlightenment process, will hear sounds similar to the sounds the Sistrum makes – i.e., rattle sounds like tambourine bells and sounds like a bell-tree being stroked. One will also hear sounds like a ‘rattle snake’ and also whistles and flute-like instruments. Underlying these sounds is a very low and strong rumbling sound which fades-in at first and gets louder and louder as the process proceeds culminating in the bright, white light explosion in the centre of the head. The Sistrum then may have been a symbol of this experience. The Sistrum was used in pictures and carvings to show the various gods and Pharaohs subduing the power of a particular god – and mostly because the god holding the Sistrum had the ‘power’ and ‘energy’ to do so through having had the enlightenment experience – also representing the externalized solar power. Birds The association between birds or wings and the serpent seems to go back in time many thousands of years and across the world. To quote John Bathurst Deane: “The hierogram of the circle, wings, and serpent, is one of the most curios emblems of Ophiolatreia, and is recognized, with some modifications, in almost every country where serpent worship prevailed . . . It may be alleged that all these cannot be resolved into the single-winged serpent once coiled. Under their present form, certainly not; but it is possible that these may be corruption’s of the original emblem which was only preserved accurately in the neighborhood of the country where the cause of serpent-worship existed; namely, in Persia, which bordered upon Babylonia and Media, the rival loci of the Garden of Eden.” Deane relates these many thousands of images of the ‘winged serpent’ to the Seraphim of the Bible, the ‘fiery’ and ‘flying serpents.’ These could also be the origins for the flying dragons and why Quetzalcoatl was the ‘feathered’ or ‘plumed serpent’ amongst others. The reason given by Deane for this symbolism is for proof of deity and consecration of a given Temple. If this is the case, then it was certainly believed that the ancient serpent had consecrated Temples across the world. And if the serpent was a true symbol of the sun (external) and the inner light (internal) then it was a perfect fusing of our ancestors belief in one location at one time (temple). The real reason for the wings is that the serpent enlightenment aspect gave the adherent wings, symbolically making him/her higher in aspect and part of the “heavenly” chorus. Dove The dove is an important element in symbolism and for some reason was seen in the New Testament as a symbol of the Holy Spirit or feminine aspect of God. It came down upon Jesus as he was baptized, giving him that famous “born again” element. It descended upon the disciples. But why was the Dove chosen? The Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl is the ‘Feathered Serpent,’ so are there any links between the dove as a feathered bird and the serpent? Eurynome was probably the most important Goddess of the Pelasgian myths. These Pelasgians were a people who arrived in Greece from Palestine over 5,500 years ago, although it also became a term for “real” Greeks later on. Eurynome was the creator, the Mother Goddess – the ruler of all things. She was born from chaos; she separated the water from the sky and then danced across the water in-order to create. Whilst dancing she created wind or breath and taking hold of it between her hands she rubbed and rubbed until she had created a snake. The snake was called Ophion and he was filled with desire for the ‘dancing goddess.’ Wrapping himself around her seven times he impregnated the goddess, who had now taken the form of a Dove, and created an egg. From the egg came forth all animals and plants and so Eurynome ascended to Mount Olympus and watched as her children developed. The snake Ophion bragged about his creation and so Eurynome kicked out his teeth, from where came all the people, including the first man Pelasgus, (like Adam) and from where the tribe derived its name. Ophion was then kicked out of heaven. The creation of the world and all that is in it was therefore again due to the snake and a goddess. But how does this goddess relate to the bird? By the Sumerians, one of the most ancient of civilizations, she was simply known as Iahu, the “exalted Dove.” This Eurynome cult had spread across the Mediterranean and became a base for many other myths and religions, including the Hebrew god Yahweh taking on elements of the name Lahu. She was an original Mother Goddess, the feminine aspect and was seen as a dove – and united with the serpent seed, she gave birth to creation. The Dove of Christianity is the feminine aspect and brings new life; she was known as the breath – the same breath that emerges in the beginning and from the Egyptian Ankh (see Ankh) into the nostrils, bringing new life and immortality. The feminine aspect of Quetzalcoatl is the feathered bird aspect and the male-part the snake. Celtic Knotwork and Other Symbols Due to the prevalence of the serpent in the Celtic world and surrounding cultures, it is my understanding that Celtic Knotwork is derived from the images of the snake and the movements of the planets. We can see influences of this in the spirals and other serpent shapes seen upon many of the world’s ancient monuments. In Scandinavian literature and stone art we can also see how the serpent appears, looking remarkably like Celtic Knotwork. In Roman and Greek wall paintings there are running spirals thought to be symbolic of the protective snake. A Neolithic vessel, now in the museum of Henan in China, shows a distinct correlation between the idea of the snake and the Knotwork. The idea of the Knotwork coming from the snake was probably discontinued due to Christian influence. Other symbols that are related to the snake include the Ivy leaf, a symbol of Bacchus/Dionysius and a symbol of immortality. The reasoning behind this symbol is simply that the leaf is similar to the snake’s head and it entwines around pillars and trees as the snake is shown to do in images across the world. Related to this Ivy leaf image is the shape of the heart and we can see in two Japanese clay statuettes from the Jomon period that they have these snake-heart heads. Many images of the Buddha also incorporate this Ivy/Heart shape head – a softening and hiding of the earlier images of Naga deities who had snakes heads. These Ivy and Heart shapes were thought to protect the person wearing them or the building adorned with them, and they are therefore no different to the concept of the protecting or guarding snake from folklore and legend. They are just basically symbolic of the original snake – and remaining so until Christianity demonized them. Of course the Ivy, along with that other serpentine symbol, the grapevine, are to be seen across the world’s Christian buildings, as Jesus claimed that we should be grafted onto the vine. Did Jesus really mean that we should be part of the serpent cult? Part of the family, which he was himself a creation of? Of course the fruit of the vine is wine, and if the vine is an ancient symbol of the snake, then what is the fruit of the snake? Jesus said that we were to drink the wine as a symbol of his blood and therefore it was the blood of the snake. Drink of the fruit of the vine and you shall have eternal life, a fruit created by God for our pleasure. Spirals and other Rock Art Vacation posts continue. Here’s something about Egyptian Gods etc. The Egyptians were fully clued in at one point. There is a real, and frightening reason so many extremely important people are going to ‘worship’ at the pyramid of Giza in Cairo this December 31, 1999. Will the pyramid be pointing to Sirius at a certain moment? Will the Sirius vortex of the God or Gods or the Goddess cause some event to occur, even if only psychic, while sweaty Zahi Hawass flips switches for the crowds? Sirius is called the vortex of God or Gods and/or the Goddess. This is where, for all intents and purposes, divine beings outside of “physical density” and it’s relative regions, originally come from. The originating Giza Pyramid builders designed-in a record of this and the predictions of eventual comings of messiahs through history. Sirius is where, for all intents and purposes, divine beings outside of “physical density” and it’s relative regions, originally came from. Near Sirius is a doorway to what we would call heaven. The doorway was scientifically proven when a pyramid array on a secret satellite detection experiment, revealed a geometric alignment where pyramid energies naturally amplify a stream of energy coming ONLY from near Sirius into our universe. The pyramid effected an interdimensional transceiver function where the subspace tunneling from the Sirius vortex domain occurred, in terms of measurable temporal field modulation. The reason razor blades don’t rust in pyramids is not pop culture fad belief, but the result of temporal field deceleration naturally occurring in the pyramid. This is actually measurable with a tuned crystal resonator detection and reference system. Above the pyramid the time field was found to be minutely accelerated, inside the pyramid it is decelerated. When the pyramid shaft of Cheops at Giza points to Sirius, and is also aligned geomagnetically on the Earth (Cheops), momentous things are predicted to occur or least be signified. At at certain times of day and year, there are peak conditions in the pyramid to (among other things): Communicate with the Gods from inside the Pyramid, i.e. the King’s and Queen’s Chamber – using emotion, vision and symbols. Receive energies of rejuvenation and spiritual balance from the Sirius vortex – using emotion, vision, and symbols. Out-of-body experience travel to other planes of existence and initiation and learning, using emotion, vision and symbols. The originating Giza Pyramid designed-in a record of this and the predictions of eventual comings of messiahs through history. The old dormant code activation keys were broadcast from the cortex and received by everyone on Earth five years ago. The changes are already beginning. Echelon knows evolution is in for a bumpy ride, and ET knows evolution is in for a bumpy ride, and the rest of us are told nothing. Yet it is we who are at stake. This is why ET and God’s ET agents, and other heavenly influences, are all so active right now, all trying to even up the need-to-know problem through covert mass contact. It is a covert assistance program, not a covert invasion. It is designed to allow us to evolve much faster than our institutions would prefer us sheep wake-up. There are bad ET’s and there are good ET’s and a lot in between, too. The saving grace in all this is the higherdimensional Sirian soul energies of beyond our physical universe invested powerful dormant DNA encoding and high soul substance into Neanderthal humanity 90,000 years ago. The shaft in the pyramid points to Sirius. It has been confirmed ET parties were associated closely with the existence of certain Earthly historical early messiahs and holy persons. Our religions were partly created by ET. We were truly, in every scientific physical sense of the words as well, aided by heavenly apparatus and intelligence. But this is no ordinary apparatus. We are talking about the scientific verification of the existence of God. But this could be God as ET themselves parading as God or God’s agents, by being able to prove their historical Messianic associations, and the fact our genetics came from their divine test tube. However this still leaves plenty of room left for deception, since there are so many damned ET factions still vying for position today. Not the least of which is our own highest Echelon response to the problem – the appropriation of the right of apotheosis away from the custodians – no matter how benevolent they are. This is a dangerous path. It is an outwardly directed path in worship of ‘power-over’, technology of control, exclusive rights to resources, and worship of the science of separating the observer from experience. This is a climate of alien threat response management by secession from the ET agents as angels of God. Here is the crux of the problem: The right Messianic ET’s were already rejected by our idiot world secret government. Why? Our government would not play because the true heavenly God Messianic ET agents would not broker soul rights by acceding to secret institutional control speaking for all humanity. The worst of it is the human-perceived direct attack by the good ET’s on the human institutions of organized religion as being embodiments of the worst kind of corruption. We wouldn’t have any of that. And they were told to take a cosmic hike – and they did – at our request, except for a few isolated continuing contacts with key individual contactees. The ET’s gave up on our institutions, and our institutions gave up on them, there was to be no marriage without undesired revolution. Part of ARC Echelon rejection of the ET agents of our historical Messiahs – who were after all good and true and spiritually divine human beings, leaves the populace without without a primer for things to come. So ET is picking up the slack by increasing covert contacts, and there are a quite of few ET visitation joyrides going on too. Our zoo is a hot ticket. Without a primer we are left to to our own wits and conditioning. And guess what? Plenty of alliances have come along who were not the Messianic connected ET’s and also claim involvement in our world, one way or another, usually more remote, but still associated somehow. The plot thickened, especially as some of these ET’s turned out to be rather fallen angels of a kind. Faustain bargains had been much more easily made with less caring ET’s by our institutions than with the more caring ETs. This means the institutions were left with a messy problem, and until they figured it out, and could wiggle out of certain Faustian bargains, humanity was to be left without a clue. So the feedback response system is modified to compensate. Humanity is exercising it’s own trim-tab compensation by receiving messages from itself in the future as precognition and dreams messages from itself from the future, as time travelers, both machine and humanoid, coming back messages telepathically from ET’s in the present, and most importantly messages directly from the original creator God and his once Earthly Messiahs, now operating as relay authentic bridges for humanity to God in these times The status quo in the institutions, on the other hand, are, respectively: trying to downplay the dreams and precognitions are millennial madness making sure to debunk the entire field of channelers as nutcase cults making sure to debunk the entire field of Ufology as disreputable snake oil salesmen trying to reinforce peoples allegiance to the organized institutional forms of religion and science This is the result of the actions of the Echelon elements in secession mode. The few elements in lower Echelons that have realized the monumental mistakes they have made still don’t want to turn over authority to any genuine human contactee! They want to instead attempt to go straight to the source. This is the reason for all the secret society worship of the Gods of ancient Egypt and the reason again, for the coming festivities being attended by representatives of all the secret societies . But the fact still remains, regardless of the noble attempts to adjust the game through the types like Joe Firmage, without a primer that requires more institutional dressing down to see the whole truth, most of humanity could rush to judgment – into a premature friend or foe determination – and get caught up in mistaken identity turmoil. This is why there are so many above top secret fake apotheosis programs in a box. They can only get away with all of this as long as we are still under basic embargo and quarantine as a planet. It all depends if we can: keep the ET lid on, and keep the worldly natural catastrophe curve in check, or adapt fast enough to changes in the sun, for example and keep ourselves from killing ourselves off with human conflict triggered NCBW in the next 12 years, All without without absolutely needing ET help to survive and not go extinct, we could pass through this momentum time at the end of ‘normal’ history and not have to scientifically confront the existence of alien life for almost another century. Now wouldn’t that be nice? Don’t worry, the abductions will all soon be over, for the most part. Besides you were just giving and getting some help. Once in a while there are a few demonic abductors running around, but that is kept in check. Every abduction event is monitored by Echelon authorities. Every ET tagged party is an Echelon tagged party. Yet, remember, human free will is still the most powerful element in the mix. You only get abducted because as a soul you agreed to it before you were born. There is a God who exists as a non-physical creator beyond this universe, of which entities in different ET’s civilizations either love or hate, or listen to or turn a deaf ear to, depending on how much their ‘fallen’ factor is operative. Certain Vedic saints, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mohammed, and recently even Joseph Smith , prime examples amongst many, were all contacted by rather benevolent angel ET’s, as judged by the quality of the teachings they have promulgated. Our institutions have recently rejected the right heavenly hosts. They left the rest of us to fend for ourselves, while they secure potential divine secessionary escape routes, or just Mexican stand-off hold-offs. This all means, good and bad ET, angelic and demonic ET, of different ilks can now covertly contact humanity on a telepathic basis, at the least, IF individual humanity ‘asks’ for it, and get a response, depending on the degree of pattern match. Negative people naturally attract similarly predisposed ET’s, and so on. Our institutions have failed the tests and given into the devil’s temptations. The Sirian-Egyptian connection correlates to a coordinate in the heavens that highest Echelon knows the door to ‘heaven’ is. Certain Egypto-Masonic ASC Echelon types want to negotiate their own exclusive relationship with divinity, and bypass the truly ‘holy-host’ ET’s who reject their all too human power and control games. If we don’t watch it, these idiots will try to drag the rest of humanity along with them into Faustian bargain oblivion. The only assured response strategy options are: Allow the whole thing blow over through the continued disenfranchisement of Ufology from science and religion, as ARC elements have planned and executed for fifty years, (and hope no massive new UFO religion springs up that would make things like Scientology and even Mormanism look like small stuff). Let the UFO age die-off, by forcing the ET’s away through a threatened scorched globe policy. Allow the whole thing gradually take hold socially through the personal domain of direct ET to person contact (and yes direct God to person contact) going on, physically, telepathically, symbolically, spiritually. And hopefully all the while try to marry science and religion back together in a way that allows these hallowed institutions to survive. But the bigoted radical cynical scientific rationalism cultists, and the bigoted radical optimistic religious mysticism cultists, will both have to eventually give it up. And as we all know, that will not happen without a fight. This is why ET is denied the welcome mat on Earth and the No-Vacancy signs are on in the mainstream sense. We need time to just make it go away, or to prepare ourselves for eventual radical cultural adjustment. Either way, ET is NOT really the issue we need to figure out anymore, even if more than half the ARC Echelon folks are still sweating it, and the abductees are tired of it. The ONLY issue of genuine import is how our hidden human potential for divine spirituality can dovetail with the coming big wave of cosmic events and ‘energies’ over the next years so we can make the best out of it, and yes, save our own souls, and our world, with the help of God and/or Goddess. That is the ONLY question that is relevant to be answered. Everything else turns out to be a grand distraction. But remember Heaven’s Gate . The leader of Falun Gong, Master Li, believes evil ET’s recently seeded human civilization with technology and computers as a covert invasion plan. These evil ET’s worship technology and science like a religion, to the exclusion of higher dimensions. Drunvalo Mechelzidek holds that technology is the result of a Luciferian rebellion. The environmental crisis has stirred a contemporary “modern age” Luddite backlash against insensitive irresponsible science, commerce and industry. The Unabomber Manifesto. Earthfirst. Back to nature worship and “superstition”. The backlash against science is just beginning unless science stops worshipping the separation of the observer from the observed as a means to operate with impunity, and derisively dismisses claims that involve the observer. Science is actually on the way to committing suicide. But in radically responding to the problem as a turf war for souls, so will religion. Don’t wait for your institutions to get it together for you. Common humanity may have to stand elitist management for decade or so until the inevitable happens. The inevitable is human apotheosis for the masses as a direct link between human and God and Goddess, and without ET necessarily consciously involved, and without human institutions moderating. And that scares our hallowed institutions of science and religion, our institutions of commerce and politics, it scares them all half to death. No wonder. Mommy Goddess and Daddy God are coming into direct contact with us in a new radical fashion – not as physical ET’s like the government or evil ET’s would have us believe, but as personalized loving, forgiving and powerful spiritual energies and entities from beyond this physical universe. They are returning, big time, in non-physical terms, to re-connect and co-create with their original soul substance in this universe, located in, guess what – human hearts. This Human-Spiritual heart reconnection is feared by the ‘fallen’ Luciferians mindsets – their game is up. Because once the true reconnection happens, it makes individual human beings hundreds of times more powerful than our high yield hydrogen bombs, in terms of potential spiritual influence. Remember the power of our historical Messiahs? They did not show what they were really capable of, despite the wonders they did demonstrate. And remember how all Messiahs claimed that any human was capable of the same as they? It was all only ever about growing love in the human heart. It was about growing the capacity for caring and intimacy, the incorruptible means for humanity not falling this time for well laid traps. The alien-human alliance engineered fail-safe awareness traps on the human evolutionary experiment. And they work. The ET’s just hope we humans as a whole species learn our lessons before we get so much power. Since most of us wouldn’t trust anyone we know with too much power, and treat other species on our planet like chattel without feelings, that ought to help explain to you why ET’s have us under a form of embargo and quarantine. We humans foam at the mouth after all without any help at all from ET races. Now see? You didn’t need to read all this blathering gibberish after all. We warned you. As William Shatner once said to the stunned crestfallen trekkies at a Star Trek convention, “Get a life”! Blogman Leave a comment Now when we have looked the Tibetan Book Of The Deatd there is also an Egyptian Book Of The Dead: The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text , used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE. [1] The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw [2] is translated as “Book of Coming Forth by Day”. [3] Another translation would be “Book of emerging forth into the Light”. The text consists of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person’s journey through the Duat , or underworld, and into the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was part of a tradition of funerary texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts , which were painted onto objects, not papyrus. Some of the spells included were drawn from these older works and date to the 3rd millennium BCE. Other spells were composed later in Egyptian history, dating to the Third Intermediate Period (11th to 7th centuries BCE). A number of the spells which made up the Book continued to be inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi , as had always been the spells from which they originated. The Book of the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased. There was no single or canonical Book of the Dead. The surviving papyri contain a varying selection of religious and magical texts and vary considerably in their illustration. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the Book of the Dead, perhaps choosing the spells they thought most vital in their own progression to the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was most commonly written in hieroglyphic or hieratic script on a papyrus scroll, and often illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased and their journey into the afterlife. Development The Book of the Dead developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts dating back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom . The first funerary texts were the Pyramid Texts , first used in the Pyramid of King Unas of the 5th dynasty , around 2400 BCE. [4] These texts were written on the walls of the burial chambers within pyramids, and were exclusively for the use of the Pharaoh (and, from the 6th dynasty , the Queen). The Pyramid Texts were written in an unusual hieroglyphic style; many of the hieroglyphs representing humans or animals were left incomplete or drawn mutilated, most likely to prevent them causing any harm to the dead pharaoh. [5] The purpose of the Pyramid Texts was to help the dead King take his place amongst the gods , in particular to reunite him with his divine father Ra ; at this period the afterlife was seen as being in the sky, rather than the underworld described in the Book of the Dead. [5] Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts ceased to be an exclusively royal privilege, and were adopted by regional governors and other high-ranking officials. In the Middle Kingdom , a new funerary text emerged, the Coffin Texts . The Coffin Texts used a newer version of the language, new spells, and included illustrations for the first time. The Coffin Texts were most commonly written on the inner surfaces of coffins, though they are occasionally found on tomb walls or on papyri. [5] The Coffin Texts were available to wealthy private individuals, vastly increasing the number of people who could expect to participate in the afterlife; a process which has been described as the “democratization of the afterlife”. [6] The Book of the Dead first developed in Thebes towards the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period , around 1700 BCE. The earliest known occurrence of the spells included in the Book of the Dead is from the coffin of Queen Mentuhotep , of the 13th dynasty , where the new spells were included amongst older texts known from the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. Some of the spells introduced at this time claim an older provenance; for instance the rubric to spell 30B states that it was discovered by the Prince Hordjedef in the reign of King Menkaure , many hundreds of years before it is attested in the archaeological record. [7] By the 19th dynasty , the Book of the Dead had become widespread not only for members of the royal family, but courtiers and other officials as well. At this stage, the spells were typically inscribed on linen shrouds wrapped around the dead, though occasionally they are found written on coffins or on papyrus. [8] The New Kingdom saw the Book of the Dead develop and spread further. The famous Spell 125, the ‘ Weighing of the Heart ‘, is first known from the reign of Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III , c.1475 BCE. From this period onward the Book of the Dead was typically written on a papyrus scroll, and the text illustrated with vignettes . During the 19th dynasty in particular, the vignettes tended to be lavish, sometimes at the expense of the surrounding text. [9] In the Third Intermediate Period , the Book of the Dead started to appear in hieratic script, as well as in the traditional hieroglyphics. The hieratic scrolls were a cheaper version, lacking illustration apart from a single vignette at the beginning, and were produced on smaller papyri. At the same time, many burials used additional funerary texts, for instance the Amduat . [10] During the 25th and 26th dynasties , the Book of the Dead was updated, revised and standardised. Spells were consistently ordered and numbered for the first time. This standardised version is known today as the ‘Saite recension’, after the Saite (26th) dynasty. In the Late period and Ptolemaic period , the Book of the Dead remained based on the Saite recension, though increasingly abbreviated towards the end of the Ptolemaic period. New funerary texts appeared, including the Book of Breathing and Book of Traversing Eternity . The last use of the Book of the Dead was in the 1st century BCE, though some artistic motifs drawn from it were still in use in Roman times. [11] Spells     Egypt has always been in my mind since I was a little boy. I have known that something very important is hidden in that area. Why Egypt’s officials don’t tell everything and all the fights between French and Britain of the artifacts, I know there’s something very important and it belongs to whole mankind. I wont tell the history about Giza Plateau but some facts first: When Khufu , perhaps better known by his Greek name, Cheops, became king of Egypt after the death of Sneferu , there was no convenient space remaining at Dahshur , where Sneferu was buried, for Khufu’s own pyramid complex. Hence, he moved his court and residence farther north, where his prospectors had located a commanding rock cliff, overlooking present day Giza, appropriate for a towering pyramid. This rock cliff was in the northernmost part of the first Lower Egyptian nome , Ineb-hedj (“the white fortress”). Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo , several hundred meters from the last houses in the southernmost part of the city proper, where a limestone cliff rises abruptly from the other side of a sandy desert plateau. The ancient Egyptians called this place imentet, “The West” or kher neter, “the necropolis”. Clickable Image Map of Giza According to a treatise on the geology of the pyramid plateau by Thomas Aigner, it is part of the Middle Eocene Mokattam Formation, which dips slightly southeast, comprising limestone and dolomites. To the south, the Mokattam and dolomitic limestones are overlain by the marly limestone and sandy marls of the Upper Eocene Maadi Formation. To the north and east, the Mokattam Formation is characterized by two steep escarpments about 30 meters (92 feet) high. It continues to the Great Sphinx ditch, which must at one time have formed a high peak. From there, the stonemasons cut the core blocks for the Great Pyramid. Side View of Giza The older pyramids of the third and early fourth dynasty were built on thick layers of marl and slate. These marl layers were easier to dig than limestone, so excavation of the large shafts that extended as much as 30 meters beneath the step pyramids was accomplished in a reasonable time. However, there was also a serious disadvantage, because the marl layers could not support their weight. The underlayer gave way, and the construction became unstable. This in fact happened with the South Pyramid at Dahshur , where cracks and serious damage appeared in the corridor system and in the chambers so that the pyramid had to be abandoned. Another view of Giza Hence, when Khufu planned his own ambitious pyramid, he was looking for a solid rock base, nearby quarries and a dominating position overlooking the Nile Valley, which he of course found at Giza. Giza can be subdivided into two groupings of monuments, clearly defined and separated by a wadi. The larger grouping consists of the three “Great” pyramids of Khufu , Khephren (Khafre) , and Menkaure , the Sphinx , attendant temples and outbuildings, and the private mastabas of the nobility. The second grouping, located on the ridge to the southeast, contains a number of private tombs of citizens of various classes. While the majority of the monuments of the larger grouping are made from limestone that was quarried and transported to the site, the tombs of the smaller grouping are simply carved out of the native living rock. Though the three Great Pyramids are the most famous and prominent monuments at Giza, the site has actually been a Necropolis almost since the beginning of Pharaonic Egypt. A tomb just on the outskirts of the Giza site dates from the reign of the First Dynasty Pharaoh Wadj (Djet), and jar sealings discovered in a tomb in the southern part of Giza mention the Second Dynasty Pharaoh Ninetjer . But it was the Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) who placed Giza forever at the heart of funerary devotion, a city of the dead that dwarfed the cities of the living nearby. In order to build his complex, he had to clear away many of the old tombs, filling in their shafts or even totally destroying them. His pyramid , the largest of all the pyramids in Egypt (though it should be noted that it surpasses the Red Pyramid at Dahshur built by his father Snefru by only ten meters), dominates the sandy plain. On its southwest diagonal is the pyramid of his son , Khephren (Chephren, Khafre). Although it is smaller, a steeper angle results in the illusion that they are the same size. In fact, Kephren’s pyramid appears taller since it is on higher ground. The notion that this was done on purpose to out-do his father is without question. As it occupies the central point, has the illusion of greater size, and still has some of its casing stones intact, it is frequently mistaken to as the Great Pyramid, something that would no doubt please Khephren were he alive today. Further along the southwest diagonal is the smallest of the three great pyramids, that of Khephren ‘s son, Menkaure . It is also the most unusual. First of all, it is not entirely limestone. The uppermost portions are brick, much like the several Pyramids at Dahshur , though separated from them by several centuries. One theory is that Menkaure died before his pyramid could be completed, and the remaining construction was hastily done to finish it in time for the burial. It is also not along the diagonal line that runs through the Great Pyramid and the Second Pyramid , but instead is nearly a hundred meters to the southeast. This error, if error it is, is of a magnitude not in keeping with the mathematical skill known to have been possessed by the ancient Egyptians. However, an idea has emerged in the last few years that the three large pyramids of Giza are actually meant to be in an alignment resembling that of the three “belt” stars in the constellation Orion: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. This theory is largely discounted by the majority of Egyptologists, but some do believe it is a point to ponder. Actually, it should also be noted that, while the center of the pyramid does not line up with its larger counterparts, the southeast sides of all three pyramids are in alignment. All three pyramids stand empty, probably plundered during the political unrest that ended the Old Kingdom when the monarchy collapsed. Yet there are the occasional surprises. Airtight pits along the southern and eastern walls of Khufu ‘s pyramid contain boats (not small ritual boats, but fully-functional funerary barges with 40-ton displacements. One was excavated in 1954). Exactly how big Giza is may never be known. Excavations have continued to find new tombs and artifacts since Bezoni , Caviglia , Perring, and Vyse began the first systematic study of Giza in the early 1800s. It has been explored and excavated more thoroughly than any other site in Egypt, possibly more than any other site in the world, yet no one believes the research is anywhere near complete today. Throughout the Old Kingdom , the cemetery of Giza remained the most prominent, even when the kings moved again to Southern Saqqara . For example, important officials such as the architects of the ‘inti family, who constructed the pyramids of the 5th and 6th Dynasties , continued to live in the pyramid town of Khufu and had their family tombs at Giza. During the First Intermediate Period , the pyramid town of Khufu and the cemetery of Giza were both abandoned, and they remained so during the Middle Kingdom . In fact, the pyramids were forcefully opened and plundered, and the private tombs were not ignored by thieves either. The causeways and temples were in fact even used as quarries by the architects of the kings of the 12th Dynasty . This all changed completely during the New Kingdom . The kings of the 18th Dynasty showed deep respect for the pyramids as monuments of their ancestors at Giza, and the area gained considerable religious significance as the center of royal worship to the Great Sphinx , “Lord of Setpet, the Chosen Place.” Princes and kings of the 18th and 19th Dynasties erected stelae between the paws of the Sphinx, which was no longer seen as a royal statue but rather as an image of the sun god Harmachis, “Horus in his Western Horizon”, which was actually a reference to the “Horizon of Khufu”. Amenhotep II dedicated a small temple to Harcachis to the northeast of the Sphinx. On foundation tables of that temple, the Sphinx is also named Harmachis-Hauron. Hauron was the name of a Syrian-Palestinian god of the netherworld that a community of Syrian-Palestinians living near the Great Sphinx identified with his image. Ramesses II installed a sanctuary within the forepaws of the Sphinx. In the Late period , Osiris became the dominant god of the area, taking over the cult locations of Rostau from Sokar and installing his cult in the Sphinx . High, massive pedestals were actually added to the body of the Sphinx, on which chapels of Osiris and probably Isis stood. Isis became known as the “Lady of the Pyramids.” During the Sixth Century BC onward, Greek travelers admired the pyramids at Giza, and it was they who eventually placed the monuments in the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the Pharonic Period, and up until recently, stone from the monuments were taken and used to build buildings in nearby Cairo . First the polished white limestone “casing” was taken, then the softer core stones. Many of Cairo’s oldest buildings are built partly from stones from the pyramids. This destruction continued well into the Nineteenth Century until preservation efforts and a resurgence of national pride put a stop to it. It is believed that had the pyramids not been vandalized, they would still remain to this day much as they were when they were built. As the saying goes, “Man fears Time, but Time fears the Pyramids.” Giza Pyramids One of my favorite Egypt researchers is Graham Hancock and his ideas of Giza Plateau. Here is some info about hidden tunnels & doors in Giza Plateau: THE “DOOR” IN THE GREAT PYRAMID (c) 1996, Graham Hancock In March 1993, a small “door” made of marble or limestone with two copper handles fixed on it was discovered by a mechanized robot (Upuaut II, “Me opener of the way” in ancient Egyptian) at the end of a long narrow shaft (8 x 8 inches and 200 feet long). Since then the discoverer, robotics engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink from Munich, has been banned from resuming the exploration and opening the door. The official reason given by the Egyptian Antiquities Authorities (known as the Supreme Council of Antiquities – SCA) was that Gantenbrink leaked the news of the discovery to the British Press in April 1993 and thus, apparently, broke a “rule” of archeology. The Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Dr. Rainer Stadelmann, sided with the Egyptians and condemned Gantenbrink for his press action. Dr. Stadelmann was adamant about the non-importance of the find. “This is not a door; there is nothing behind it.” The President of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, Dr. Muhamad Bakr, went as far as claiming a “hoax.” “The orifice of the shaft is too small for the robot to go through” and accused the “German scientist” of not having the correct “approvals” from the SCA to carry out the exploration. Dr. Bakr fired the Chief Inspector of the Giza Pyramid Plateau, Dr. Zahi Hawass, although the official reason given was that a valuable ancient “statue” under the custody of Hawass was stolen from Giza. Three months later, in June 1993, Dr. Bakr himself was fired and replaced by Dr. Nur El Din. Amid accusations of malpractice and fraud, Dr. Bakr spoke of a “mafia” which had been involved with the Pyramids for “the last twenty years”. Refusing to give names, Dr. Bakr said, “I wanted the whole matter investigated by the prosecution authorities, but my request was refused.” Meanwhile, Dr. Hawass, who went to the USA, claimed that the discovery of the “door” was “THE discovery in Egypt,” and speculated on important artifacts behind it. In early 1994, Dr. Hawass was reinstalled at his post at the Giza Pyramids. Meanwhile, Gantenbrink offered his robot to the Egyptians and also offered to train an Egyptian technician to man the equipment and open the door. The Egyptians rejected the offer; “We are very busy at the moment,” replied Dr. Nur El Din. About the same time, Dr. Hawass was to declare that “I do not think this is a “door” and there is nothing behind it.” In March 1996 however, Dr. Hawass changed his mind once again and declared Gantenbrink’s find as being one of huge interest and that the “door” would be opened in September 1996 by a Canadian “mission”, but not including Rudolf Gantenbrink or his robot. The Canadian “mission” is owned by Amtex Corporation of Canada, a mulit-media CD-ROM company, who are reported to be raising the huge sum of $10 million to promote a staged a “live opening” of the door on television networks. “I’m working with a private guy who is a personal friend of Hawass and we are absolutely going to drum this thing to death. Whatever the event we are going to stage, it will be televised live,” reported Amtex Corporation’s president, Mr Peter Zuuring. TUNNELS & CHAMBERS UNDER THE GREAT SPHINX I. In a series of expeditions between 1991 and 1993 led by John Anthony West, an independent Egyptologist, scientific investigators conducted geological and seismic surveys around the Great Sphinx of Egypt. The chief geologist was Dr. Robert Schoch, Professor of Geology at Boston University, and the chief seismologist was Thomas Dobecki, from the highly-respected Houston consulting firm, McBride-Ratclif & Associates. II.The team’s conclusions were as follows: A. Geology, The pattern of erosion on the Sphinx indicates that it was carved at the end of the last Ice Age, when heavy rains fell on the eastern Sahara – perhaps more than 12, 000 years ago. This contrasts starkly with the “orthodox” Egyptological dating for the Sphinx of around 4,500 years ago. B. Seismography. The seismic survey indicated the existence of several unexplored tunnels and cavities in the bedrock beneath the Sphinx, including a large rectangular chamber at a depth of some 25 feet beneath the monuments front paws. III., In 1993, John West and his team were physically expelled from the site by Dr. Zawi Hawass then (and now) the Egyptian government’s Chief Inspector of Antiquities for the Pyramids and Sphinx. He appeared to be angered by the suggestion that the Sphinx might be far older than the civilization of Egypt itself – and thus the work of a lost civilization – and was particularly incensed by an NBC television film that was made about the team’s work This film linked the Sphinx to Atlantis and suggested that the chamber beneath the paws might contain the legendary “Hall of Records” of Atlantis. Hawass called these claims, “American hallucinations .. There is no scientific base for any of this. We have older monuments in the same area. They definitely weren’t built by men from Atlantis. It’s nonsense and we won’t allow our monuments to be exploited for personal enrichment. The Sphinx is the soul of Egypt.” IV. An article in the Egyptian press responding to the NBC film quoted Dr. Hawass on his further reasons for expelling John West and his team from the Sphinx enclosure: “I have found that their work is carried out by installing endoscopes in the Sphinx body and shooting film for all phases of the work in a propagandistic but not scientific manner. I therefore suspended the work of this unscientific mission and made a report which was presented to the permanent commission who rejected the mission’s work in the future.” V. The NBC film was produced by a certain Boris Said and partially financed by investments from the members of the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE). The ARE, headquartered in Virginia Beach in the US, is a multimillion dollar organization that exists to promulgate the teachings and prophecies of an American psychic, Edgar Cayce, who died in 1947. Prominent amongst Cayce’s pronouncements were many statements to the effect that the Sphinx had been built in 10,500 BC by the survivors of the lost civiliaztion of Atlantis and that the survivors had concealed beneath it a “Hall of Records” containing all the wisdom of their lost civilization and the true history of the human race. Cayce prophesied that this Hall of Records would be rediscovered and opened between 1996 and 1998. He connected the opening to second coming of Christ. VI. In 1995, John West and Professor Robert Schoch of Boston University put in an application to the Egyptian authorities to resume their research. their application was ignored. VII At the beginning of April 1996, the Egyptian authorities granted a one-year license to a new team to conduct surveys around the Sphinx and the Giza necropolis using seismic equipment and ground-penetrating radar. This team, which claims academic sponsorship from Florida State University , is largely financed through the Schor Foundation of New York – by Dr. Joseph Schor, an American multimillionaire. Dr. Schor is a life member of the ARE and wrote on 24th May 1994 of his great personal interest in corroborating “the Cayce records which indicated that the culture which led to the building of the Pyramids dates to 10,400 BC.’: He also staated his wish “to further delineate that civilization.” VIII On April 11th 1996 Dr. Schor stated of his current project at the Sphinx: “We do not work for the Edgar Cayce Group. The major purpose of the Schor Foundation and the Florida State University is to aid in the preservation and restoration of the Pyramids and Sphinx. In addition, we are surveying the underground of the Giza Plateau to find faults and chasms that might collapse. This will increase the safety of the plateau.” IX Also financed by Dr. Schor is a short video film shot at the end of 1995 by Boris Said and produced in early 1996. The film opens with Dr. Zawi Hawass scrambling into a tunnel leading under the Sphinx. When he reaches the bottom he turns to face the camera and whispers to the viewer, “Even Indiana Jones woull never dream to be here. Can you believe it? We are now inside the Sphinx in this tunnel. This tunnel has never been opened before. No one really knows what’s inside this tunnel. But we are going to open it for the first time.” In commentary the film’s narrator goes on to state, “Edgar Cayce, America’s famous ‘Sleeping Prophet’, predicted that a chamber would be discovered beneath the Sphinx – a chamber containing the recorded history of human civilization. For the first time we’ll show you what lies beneath this great statue…a chamber which will be opened tonight, live, for our television cameras.” X . Dr. Schor has stated (on 11th April 1996) that this video is not a promotional venture aimed at hooking a major US network to televise a live opening of a chamber under the Sphinx. On the contrary, he insists, ‘It was made to test script and equipment and was made in November 1995 which was many months before we received approval for our expedition. We have abandoned its use..” XI. On 14th April 1996, Dr. Zawi Hawass announced in the Egyptian press that there were secret tunnels under the Sphinx and around the Pyramids and stated his belief that these tunnels would prove to “carry many secrets of the building of the Pyramids.” Here Graham Hancock talks about the Great Pyramids, that they are not just ancient tombs:   And here is a Chris Dunn’s beautiful theory, that Pyramids could have been ancient power plants (4 parts):     I think that the “official” story about Great Pyramids and Giza Plateau stinks and it stinks very bad. We don’t know anything about the ancient technology, because of some little group of scholars who has decided that this is the “official” theory and there’s no more about it. I think that it’s foolish to built these kind of monuments just tombs, it’s just too stupid. Ancient had maybe anti-gravity technology and this knowledge belongs to mankind. We need to know the Truth about Giza Plateau and it can be found if you search deep enough. Let’s find the Truth and stay tuned for more SECRET SITES!!!     One of the fascinating archeological finding is an artifact called The Rosetta Stone. This piece of history made possible to translate some mysteries of the ancient Pyramids, because it bears three inscriptions: the top register in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs , the second in the Egyptian demotic script, and the third in Ancient Greek . Here is the description about the artifact: The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V . The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs , the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek . Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs . Originally displayed within a temple , the stone was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period and eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta . It was rediscovered there in 1799 by a soldier, Pierre-François Bouchard , of the French expedition to Egypt . As the first Ancient Egyptian bilingual text recovered in modern times, the Rosetta Stone aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher this hitherto untranslated ancient language. Lithographic copies and plaster casts began circulating among European museums and scholars. Meanwhile, British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria . Transported to London, it has been on public display at the British Museum since 1802. It is the most-visited object in the British Museum. Study of the decree was already under way as the first full translation of the Greek text appeared in 1803. It was 20 years, however, before the transliteration of the Egyptian scripts was announced by Jean-François Champollion in Paris in 1822; it took longer still before scholars were able to read Ancient Egyptian inscriptions and literature confidently. Major advances in the decoding were: recognition that the stone offered three versions of the same text (1799); that the demotic text used phonetic characters to spell foreign names (1802); that the hieroglyphic text did so as well, and had pervasive similarities to the demotic ( Thomas Young , 1814); and that, in addition to being used for foreign names, phonetic characters were also used to spell native Egyptian words (Champollion, 1822–1824). Ever since its rediscovery, the stone has been the focus of nationalist rivalries, including its transfer from French to British possession during the Napoleonic Wars , a long-running dispute over the relative value of Young’s and Champollion’s contributions to the decipherment, and since 2003, demands for the stone’s return to Egypt. Two other fragmentary copies of the same decree were discovered later, and several similar Egyptian bilingual or trilingual inscriptions are now known, including two slightly earlier Ptolemaic decrees (the Decree of Canopus in 238 BC, and the Memphis decree of Ptolemy IV , ca. 218 BC). The Rosetta Stone is therefore no longer unique, but it was the essential key to modern understanding of Ancient Egyptian literature and civilization . The term Rosetta Stone is now used in other contexts as the name for the essential clue to a new field of knowledge. Description The Rosetta Stone is listed as “a stone of black granite , bearing three inscriptions … found at Rosetta”, in a contemporary catalogue of the artifacts discovered by the French expedition and surrendered to British troops in 1801. [1] At some period after its arrival in London, the inscriptions on the stone were coloured in white chalk to make them more legible, and the remaining surface was covered with a layer of carnauba wax designed to protect the Rosetta Stone from visitors’ fingers. [2] This gave a dark colour to the stone that led to its mistaken identification as black basalt . [3] These additions were removed when the stone was cleaned in 1999, revealing the original dark grey tint of the rock, the sparkle of its crystalline structure, and a pink vein running across the top left corner. [4] Comparisons with the Klemm collection of Egyptian rock samples showed a close resemblance to rock from a small granodiorite quarry at Gebel Tingar on the west bank of the Nile , west of Elephantine in the region of Aswan ; the pink vein is typical of granodiorite from this region. [5] The Rosetta Stone is currently 114.4 centimetres (45 in) high at its highest point, 72.3 cm (28.5 in) wide, and 27.9 cm (11 in) thick. It weighs approximately 760 kilograms (1,700 lb). [6] It bears three inscriptions: the top register in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs , the second in the Egyptian demotic script, and the third in Ancient Greek . [7] The front surface is polished and the inscriptions lightly incised on it; the sides of the stone are smoothed, but the back is only roughly worked, presumably because this would have not been visible when it was erected. Original stele The Rosetta Stone is a fragment of a larger stele. No additional fragments were found in later searches of the Rosetta site. [9] Owing to its damaged state, none of the three texts is absolutely complete. The top register composed of Egyptian hieroglyphs suffered the most damage. Only the last 14 lines of the hieroglyphic text can be seen; all of them are broken on the right side, and 12 of them on the left. The following register of demotic text has survived best: it has 32 lines, of which the first 14 are slightly damaged on the right side. The final register of Greek text contains 54 lines, of which the first 27 survive in full; the rest are increasingly fragmentary due to a diagonal break at the bottom right of the stone. [10] The full length of the hieroglyphic text and the total size of the original stele, of which the Rosetta Stone is a fragment, can be estimated based on comparable stelae that have survived, including other copies of the same order. The slightly earlier decree of Canopus , erected in 238 BC during the reign of Ptolemy III , is 219 centimetres (86 in) high and 82 centimetres (32 in) wide, and contains 36 lines of hieroglyphic text, 73 of demotic text, and 74 of Greek. The texts are of similar length. [11] From such comparisons it can be estimated that an additional 14 or 15 lines of hieroglyphic inscription are missing from the top register of the Rosetta Stone, amounting to another 30 centimetres (12 in). [12] In addition to the inscriptions, there would probably have been a scene depicting the king being presented to the gods, topped with a winged disk, as on the Canopus Stele. These parallels, and a hieroglyphic sign for “stela” on the stone itself ( Gardiner’s Sign O26 ) suggest that it originally had a rounded top. [7] [13] The height of the original stele is estimated to have been about 149 centimetres (59 in). Memphis decree and its context The stele was erected after the coronation of King Ptolemy V , and was inscribed with a decree that established the divine cult of the new ruler. [14] The decree was issued by a congress of priests who gathered at Memphis . The date is given as “4 Xandicus” in the Macedonian calendar and “18 Meshir ” in the Egyptian calendar , which corresponds to March 27, 196 BC. The year is stated as the ninth year of Ptolemy V’s reign (equated with 197/196 BC), and it is confirmed by naming four priests who officiated in that same year: Aëtus son of Aëtus was priest of the divine cults of Alexander the Great and the five Ptolemies down to Ptolemy V himself; his three colleagues, named in turn in the inscription, led the worship of Berenice Euergetis (wife of Ptolemy III ), Arsinoe Philadelpha (wife and sister of Ptolemy II ) and Arsinoe Philopator , mother of Ptolemy V. [15] However, a second date is also given in the Greek and hieroglyphic texts, corresponding to 27 November 197 BC, the official anniversary of Ptolemy’s coronation. [16] The inscription in demotic conflicts with this, listing consecutive days in March for the decree and the anniversary; [16] although it is uncertain why such discrepancies exist, it is clear that the decree was issued in 196 BC and that it was designed to re-establish the rule of the Ptolemaic kings over Egypt. [17] The decree was issued during a turbulent period in Egyptian history. Ptolemy V Epiphanes (reigned 204–181 BC), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and his wife and sister Arsinoe, had become ruler at the age of five after the sudden death of both of his parents, murdered, according to contemporary sources, in a conspiracy that involved Ptolemy IV’s mistress Agathoclea . The conspirators effectively ruled Egypt as Ptolemy V’s guardians, [18] [19] until, two years later, a revolt broke out under the general Tlepolemus and Agathoclea and her family were lynched by a mob in Alexandria. Tlepolemus, in turn, was replaced as guardian in 201 BC by Aristomenes of Alyzia , who was chief minister at the time of the Memphis decree. [20] Political forces beyond the borders of Egypt exacerbated the internal problems of the Ptolemaic kingdom. Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedon had made a pact to divide Egypt’s overseas possessions. Philip had seized several islands and cities in Caria and Thrace , while the Battle of Panium (198 BC) had resulted in the transfer of Coele-Syria , including Judea , from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids. Meanwhile, in the south of Egypt, there was a long-standing revolt that had begun during the reign of Ptolemy IV, [16] led by Horwennefer and by his successor Ankhwennefer . [21] Both the war and the internal revolt were still ongoing when the young Ptolemy V was officially crowned at Memphis at the age of 12 (seven years after the start of his reign), and the Memphis decree issued. The stele is a late example of a class of donation stelae, which depicts the reigning monarch granting a tax exemption to the resident priesthood. [22] Pharaohs had erected these stelae over the previous 2,000 years, the earliest examples dating from the Egyptian Old Kingdom . In earlier periods all such decrees were issued by the king himself, but the Memphis decree was issued by the priests, as the maintainers of traditional Egyptian culture. [23] The decree records that Ptolemy V gave a gift of silver and grain to the temples . [24] It also records that in the eighth year of his reign during a particularly high Nile flood , he had the excess waters dammed for the benefit of the farmers. [24] In return for these concessions, the priesthood pledged that the king’s birthday and coronation days would be celebrated annually, and that all the priests of Egypt would serve him alongside the other gods. The decree concludes with the instruction that a copy was to be placed in every temple, inscribed in the “language of the gods” (hieroglyphs), the “language of documents” (demotic), and the “language of the Greeks” as used by the Ptolemaic government. [25] [26] Securing the favour of the priesthood was essential for the Ptolemaic kings to retain effective rule over the populace. The High Priests of Memphis —where the king was crowned—were particularly important, as they were the highest religious authority of the time and had influence throughout the kingdom. [27] Given that the decree was issued at Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, rather than Alexandria, the centre of government of the ruling Ptolemies, it is evident that the young king was anxious to gain their active support. [28] Hence, although the government of Egypt had been Greek-speaking ever since the conquests of Alexander the Great , the Memphis decree, like the two preceding decrees in the series, included texts in Egyptian to display its relevance to the general populace by way of the literate Egyptian priesthood. [29] There exists no one definitive English translation of the decree because of the minor differences between the three original texts and because modern understanding of the ancient languages continues to develop. An up-to-date translation by R. S. Simpson, based on the demotic text, appears on the British Museum website. [30] It can be compared with Edwyn R. Bevan ‘s full translation in The House of Ptolemy (1927), [31] based on the Greek text with footnote comments on variations between this and the two Egyptian texts. The stele almost certainly did not originate in the town of Rashid (Rosetta) where it was found, but more likely came from a temple site farther inland, possibly the royal town of Sais . [32] The temple it originally came from was probably closed around AD 392 when Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I ordered the closing of all non-Christian temples of worship. [33] At some point the original stele broke, its largest piece becoming what we now know as the Rosetta Stone. [34] Ancient Egyptian temples were later used as quarries for new construction, and the Rosetta Stone probably was re-used in this manner. Later it was incorporated in the foundations of a fortress constructed by the Mameluke Sultan Qaitbay (ca. 1416/18–1496) to defend the Bolbitine branch of the Nile at Rashid. [34] There it would lie for at least another three centuries until its rediscovery. [34] Two other inscriptions of the Memphis decrees have been found since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone: the Nubayrah Stele and an inscription found at the Temple of Philae . Unlike the Rosetta Stone, their hieroglyphic inscriptions were relatively intact, and though the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone had been deciphered long before the discovery of the other copies of the decree, subsequent Egyptologists including Wallis Budge used these other inscriptions to further refine the actual hieroglyphs that must have been used in the lost portions of the hieroglyphic register on the Rosetta Stone. [35] Rediscovery On Napoleon ‘s 1798 campaign in Egypt , the expeditionary army was accompanied by the Commission des Sciences et des Arts , a corps of 167 technical experts (savants). On July 15, 1799, as French soldiers under the command of Colonel d’Hautpoul were strengthening the defences of Fort Julien , a couple of miles north-east of the Egyptian port city of Rosetta (Modern day Rashid), Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard spotted a slab with inscriptions on one side that the soldiers had uncovered. [36] He and d’Hautpoul saw at once that it might be important and informed general Jacques-François Menou , who happened to be at Rosetta. [A] The find was announced to Napoleon’s newly founded scientific association in Cairo, the Institut d’Égypte , in a report by Commission member Michel Ange Lancret noting that it contained three inscriptions, the first in hieroglyphs and the third in Greek, and rightly suggesting that the three inscriptions would be versions of the same text. Lancret’s report, dated July 19, 1799, was read to a meeting of the Institute soon after July 25. Bouchard, meanwhile, transported the stone to Cairo for examination by scholars. Napoleon himself inspected what had already begun to be called la Pierre de Rosette, the Rosetta Stone, shortly before his return to France in August 1799. [9] The discovery was reported in Courrier de l’Égypte , the official newspaper of the French expedition, in September: the anonymous reporter expressed a hope that the stone might one day be the key to deciphering hieroglyphs. [A] [9] In 1800, three of the Commission’s technical experts devised ways to make copies of the texts on the stone. One of these, the printer and gifted linguist Jean-Joseph Marcel , is credited as the first to recognise that the middle text, originally guessed to be Syriac , was, in fact, written in the Egyptian demotic script, rarely used for stone inscriptions and, therefore, seldom seen by scholars at that time. [9] It was the artist and inventor Nicolas-Jacques Conté who found a way to use the stone itself as a printing block ; [37] a slightly different method for reproducing the inscriptions was adopted by Antoine Galland . The prints that resulted were taken to Paris by General Charles Dugua . Scholars in Europe were now able to see the inscriptions and attempt to read them. [38] After Napoleon’s departure, French troops held off British and Ottoman attacks for a further 18 months. In March 1801, the British landed at Aboukir Bay . General Jacques-François Menou , who had been one of the first to see the stone in 1799, was now in command of the French expedition. His troops, including the Commission, marched north towards the Mediterranean coast to meet the enemy, transporting the stone along with other antiquities of all kinds. Defeated in battle, Menou and the remnant of his army retreated to Alexandria where they were surrounded and besieged, the stone now inside the city. He admitted defeat and surrendered on August 30. [39] [40] From French to British possession After the surrender, a dispute arose over the fate of French archaeological and scientific discoveries in Egypt, including a group of artifacts, biological specimens, notes, plans and drawings collected by the members of the commission. Menou refused to hand them over, claiming that they belonged to the Institute. British General John Hely-Hutchinson refused to relieve the city until Menou gave in. Scholars Edward Daniel Clarke and William Richard Hamilton , newly arrived from England, agreed to examine the collections in Alexandria and claimed to have found many artefacts that the French had not revealed. In a letter home, Clarke said that “we found much more in their possession than was represented or imagined”. [41] When Hutchinson claimed all materials were property of the British Crown , a French scholar, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire , said to Clarke and Hamilton that they would rather burn all their discoveries—referring ominously to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria —than turn them over. Clarke and Hamilton pleaded the French scholars’ case and Hutchinson finally agreed that items such as natural history specimens would be the scholars’ private property. [40] [42] Menou quickly claimed the stone, too, as his private property; [43] had this been accepted, he would have been able to take it to France. [40] Equally aware of the stone’s unique value, General Hutchinson rejected Menou’s claim. Eventually an agreement was reached, and the transfer of the objects was incorporated into the Capitulation of Alexandria signed by representatives of the British , French and Ottoman forces. How exactly the stone was transferred into British hands is not clear, as contemporary accounts differ. Colonel Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner , who was to escort it to England, claimed later that he had personally seized it from Menou and carried it away on a gun-carriage . In a much more detailed account, Edward Daniel Clarke stated that a French “officer and member of the Institute” had taken him, his student John Cripps, and Hamilton secretly into the back streets behind Menou’s residence and revealed the stone hidden under protective carpets among Menou’s baggage. According to Clarke, their informant feared that the stone might be stolen if French soldiers saw it. Hutchinson was informed at once and the stone was taken away—possibly by Turner and his gun-carriage. [44] Turner brought the stone to England aboard the captured French frigate HMS Egyptienne , landing in Portsmouth in February 1802. [45] His orders were to present it and the other antiquities to King George III . The King, represented by the War Secretary Lord Hobart , directed that it should be placed in the British Museum . According to Turner’s narrative, he urged—and Hobart agreed—that before its final deposit in the museum, the stone should be presented to scholars at the Society of Antiquaries of London , of which Turner was a member. It was first seen and discussed there at a meeting on March 11, 1802. [B] [H] During the course of 1802, the Society created four plaster casts of the inscriptions, which were given to the universities of Oxford , Cambridge and Edinburgh and to Trinity College Dublin . Soon afterwards, prints of the inscriptions were made and circulated to European scholars. [E] Before the end of 1802, the stone was transferred to the British Museum , where it is located today. [45] New inscriptions painted in white on the left and right edges of the slab stated that it was “Captured in Egypt by the British Army in 1801″ and “Presented by King George III”. [2] The stone has been exhibited almost continuously in the British Museum since June 1802. [6] During the middle of the 19th century, it was given the inventory number “EA 24”, “EA” standing for “Egyptian Antiquities”. It was part of a collection of ancient Egyptian monuments captured from the French expedition, including a sarcophagus of Nectanebo II (EA 10), the statue of a high priest of Amun (EA 81) and a large granite fist (EA 9). [46] The objects were soon discovered to be too heavy for the floors of Montagu House (the original building of The British Museum), and they were transferred to a new extension that was built onto the mansion. The Rosetta Stone was transferred to the sculpture gallery in 1834 shortly after Montagu House was demolished and replaced by the building that now houses the British Museum. [47] According to the museum’s records, the Rosetta Stone is its most-visited single object [48] and a simple image of it has been the museum’s best selling postcard for several decades. [49] The Rosetta Stone was originally displayed at a slight angle from the horizontal, and rested within a metal cradle that was made for it, which involved shaving off very small portions of its sides to ensure that the cradle fitted securely. [47] It originally had no protective covering, and despite the efforts of attendants to ensure that it was not touched by visitors, by 1847 it was found necessary to place it in a protective frame. [50] Since 2004, the conserved stone has been on display in a specially built case in the centre of the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery. A replica of the Rosetta Stone as it would have appeared to early 19th-century visitors—without a case and free to touch—is now available in the King’s Library of the British Museum. [51] Toward the end of the First World War , in 1917, the museum was concerned about heavy bombing in London and moved the Rosetta Stone to safety along with other portable objects of value. The stone spent the next two years 15.24 metres (50 ft) below ground level in a station of the Postal Tube Railway at Mount Pleasant near Holborn . [6] Other than during wartime, the Rosetta Stone has left the British Museum only once: for one month in October 1972, to be displayed alongside Champollion’s Lettre at the Louvre in Paris on the 150th anniversary of its publication. [49] Even when the Rosetta Stone was undergoing conservation measures in 1999, the work was done in the gallery so that it could remain visible to the public. [52] Reading the Rosetta Stone Prior to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and its eventual decipherment, there had been no understanding of the Ancient Egyptian language and script since shortly before the fall of the Roman Empire . The usage of the hieroglyphic script had become increasingly specialised even in the later Pharaonic period ; by the 4th century AD, few Egyptians were capable of reading hieroglyphs. Monumental use of hieroglyphs ceased after the closing of all non-Christian temples in the year 391 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I ; the last known inscription, found at Philae and known as The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom , is dated to 24 August 396 AD. [53] Hieroglyphs retained their pictorial appearance and classical authors emphasised this aspect, in sharp contrast to the Greek and Roman alphabets . For example, in the 5th century the priest Horapollo wrote Hieroglyphica, an explanation of almost 200 glyphs . Believed to be authoritative yet in many ways misleading, this and other works were a lasting impediment to the understanding of Egyptian writing. [54] Later attempts at deciphering hieroglyphs were made by Arab historians in medieval Egypt during the 9th and 10th centuries. Dhul-Nun al-Misri and Ibn Wahshiyya were the first historians to study this ancient script, by relating them to the contemporary Coptic language used by Coptic priests in their time. [55] [56] The study of hieroglyphs continued with fruitless attempts at decipherment by European scholars, notably Johannes Goropius Becanus in the 16th century, Athanasius Kircher in the 17th and Georg Zoëga in the 18th. [57] The discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 provided critical missing information, gradually revealed by a succession of scholars, that eventually allowed Jean-François Champollion to determine the nature of this mysterious script. Greek text The Greek text on the Rosetta Stone provided the starting point. Ancient Greek was widely known to scholars, but the details of its use in the Hellenistic period as a government language in Ptolemaic Egypt were not familiar: large scale discoveries of Greek papyri were a long way in the future. Thus the earliest translations of the Greek text of the stone show the translators still struggling with the historical context and with administrative and religious jargon. Stephen Weston verbally presented an English translation of the Greek text at a Society of Antiquaries meeting in April 1802. [35] [58] Meanwhile, two of the lithographic copies made in Egypt had reached the Institut de France in Paris, in 1801. There, the librarian and antiquarian Gabriel de La Porte du Theil set to work on a translation of the Greek. Almost immediately dispatched elsewhere on Napoleon’s orders, he left his unfinished work in the hands of a colleague, Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon , who in 1803 produced the first published translations of the Greek text, in both Latin and French to ensure that they would circulate widely. [F] At Cambridge , Richard Porson worked on the missing lower right corner of the Greek text. He produced a skillful suggested reconstruction, which was soon being circulated by the Society of Antiquaries alongside its prints of the inscription. At Göttingen at almost the same moment, the Classical historian Christian Gottlob Heyne , working from one of these prints, made a new Latin translation of the Greek text that was more reliable than Ameilhon’s. First published in 1803, [G] it was reprinted by the Society of Antiquaries, alongside Weston’s previously unpublished English translation, Colonel Turner’s narrative, and other documents, in a special issue of its journal Archaeologia in 1811. [H] [59] [60] Demotic text At the time of the stone’s discovery, the Swedish diplomat and scholar Johan David Åkerblad was working on a little-known script of which some examples had recently been found in Egypt, which came to be known as Demotic. He called it “cursive Coptic” because, although it had few similarities with the later Coptic script , he was convinced that it was used to record some form of the Coptic language (the direct descendant of Ancient Egyptian). The French Orientalist Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy , who had been discussing this work with Åkerblad, received in 1801 from Jean-Antoine Chaptal , French minister of the interior, one of the early lithographic prints of the Rosetta Stone, and realised that the middle text was in this same script. He and Åkerblad set to work, both focusing on the middle text and assuming that the script was alphabetic. They attempted, by comparison with the Greek, to identify within this unknown text the points where Greek names ought to occur. In 1802, Silvestre de Sacy reported to Chaptal that he had successfully identified five names (“ Alexandros “, “ Alexandreia “, “ Ptolemaios “, “ Arsinoe ” and Ptolemy’s title “Epiphanes“), [C] while Åkerblad published an alphabet of 29 letters (more than half of which were correct) that he had identified from the Greek names in the demotic text. [D] [35] They could not, however, identify the remaining characters in the Demotic text, which, as is now known, included ideographic and other symbols alongside the phonetic ones. [61] Hieroglyphic text Silvestre de Sacy eventually gave up work on the stone, but he was to make another contribution. In 1811, prompted by discussions with a Chinese student about Chinese script , Silvestre de Sacy considered a suggestion made by Georg Zoëga in 1797 that the foreign names in Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions might be written phonetically; he also recalled that as long ago as 1761, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy had suggested that the characters enclosed in cartouches in hieroglyphic inscriptions were proper names. Thus, when Thomas Young, foreign secretary of the Royal Society of London , wrote to him about the stone in 1814, Silvestre de Sacy suggested in reply that in attempting to read the hieroglyphic text, Young might look for cartouches that ought to contain Greek names and try to identify phonetic characters in them. [62] Young did so, with two results that together paved the way for the final decipherment. He discovered in the hieroglyphic text the phonetic characters “p t o l m e s” (in today’s transliteration “p t w l m y s“), that were used to write the Greek name “Ptolemaios“. He also noticed that these characters resembled the equivalent ones in the Demotic script, and went on to note as many as 80 similarities between the hieroglyphic and demotic texts on the stone, an important discovery because the two scripts were previously thought to be entirely different from one another. This led him to deduce correctly that the demotic script was only partly phonetic, also consisting of ideographic characters imitated from hieroglyphs. [I] Young’s new insights were prominent in the long article “Egypt” that he contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica in 1819. [J] He could, however, get no further. [63] In 1814, Young first exchanged correspondence about the stone with Jean-François Champollion , a teacher at Grenoble who had produced a scholarly work on ancient Egypt. Champollion, in 1822, saw copies of the brief hieroglyphic and Greek inscriptions of the Philae obelisk , on which William John Bankes had tentatively noted the names “Ptolemaios” and “Kleopatra” in both languages. [64] From this, Champollion identified the phonetic characters k l e o p a t r a (in today’s transliteration q l i҆ w p ꜣ d r ꜣ.t). [65] On the basis of this and the foreign names on the Rosetta Stone, he quickly constructed an alphabet of phonetic hieroglyphic characters, which appears, printed from his hand-drawn chart, in his “ Lettre à M. Dacier “, addressed at the end of 1822 to Bon-Joseph Dacier , secretary of the Paris Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and immediately published by the Académie. [K] This “Letter” marks the real breakthrough to reading Egyptian hieroglyphs, for not only the alphabet chart and the main text, but also the postscript in which Champollion notes that similar phonetic characters seemed to occur in not only Greek names but also native Egyptian names. During 1823, he confirmed this, identifying the names of pharaohs Ramesses and Thutmose written in cartouches in far older hieroglyphic inscriptions that had been copied by Bankes at Abu Simbel and sent on to Champollion by Jean-Nicolas Huyot . [M] From this point, the stories of the Rosetta Stone and the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs diverge, as Champollion drew on many other texts to develop a first Ancient Egyptian grammar and a hieroglyphic dictionary, both of which were to be published after his death. [66] Later work Work on the stone now focused on fuller understanding of the texts and their contexts by comparing the three versions with one another. In 1824, the Classical scholar Antoine-Jean Letronne promised to prepare a new literal translation of the Greek text for Champollion’s use; Champollion promised in return an analysis of all the points at which the three texts seemed to differ. Following Champollion’s sudden death in 1832, his draft of this analysis could not be found, and Letronne’s work stalled. At the death in 1838 of François Salvolini , Champollion’s former student and assistant, this and other missing drafts were found among his papers (incidentally demonstrating that Salvolini’s own publication on the stone, in 1837, was plagiarism ). [O] Letronne was at last able to complete his commentary on the Greek text and his new French translation of it, which appeared in 1841. [P] During the early 1850s, two German Egyptologists, Heinrich Brugsch and Max Uhlemann , produced revised Latin translations based on the demotic and hieroglyphic texts; [Q] [R] the first English translation, the work of three members of the Philomathean Society at the University of Pennsylvania , followed in 1858. [S] The question of whether one of the three texts was the standard version from which the other two were originally translated has remained controversial. Letronne, in 1841, attempted to show that the Greek version (that of the Egyptian government under its Ptolemaic dynasty) was the original. [P] Among recent authors, John Ray has stated that “the hieroglyphs were the most important of the scripts on the stone: they were there for the gods to read, and the more learned of their priesthood”. [7] Philippe Derchain and Heinz Josef Thissen have argued that all three versions were composed simultaneously, while Stephen Quirke sees in the decree “an intricate coalescence of three vital textual traditions”. [67] Richard Parkinson points out that the hieroglyphic version, straying from archaic formalism, occasionally lapses into language closer to that of the demotic register that the priests more commonly used in everyday life. [23] The fact that the three versions cannot be matched word for word helps to explain why its decipherment has been more difficult than originally expected, especially for those original scholars who were expecting an exact bilingual key to Egyptian hieroglyphs. [68] Rivalries Even before the Salvolini affair, disputes over precedence and plagiarism punctuated the decipherment story. Thomas Young’s work is acknowledged in Champollion’s 1822 Lettre à M. Dacier, but incompletely, according to British critics: for example, James Browne , a sub-editor on the Encyclopædia Britannica (which had published Young’s 1819 article), contributed anonymously a series of review articles to the Edinburgh Review in 1823, praising Young’s work highly and alleging that the “unscrupulous” Champollion plagiarised it. [69] [70] These articles were translated into French by Julius Klaproth and published in book form in 1827. [N] Young’s own 1823 publication reasserted the contribution that he had made. [L] The early deaths of Young and Champollion, in 1829 and 1832, did not put an end to these disputes; the authoritative work on the stone by the British Museum curator E. A. Wallis Budge, published in 1904, gives special emphasis to Young’s contribution by contrast with Champollion’s. [71] In the early 1970s, French visitors complained that the portrait of Champollion was smaller than one of Young on an adjacent information panel; English visitors complained that the opposite was true. Both portraits were in fact the same size. [49] Requests for repatriation to Egypt In July 2003, on the occasion of the British Museum’s 250th anniversary, Egypt first requested the return of the Rosetta Stone. Zahi Hawass , the former chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities , asked that the stele be repatriated to Egypt, urging in comments to reporters: “If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity”. [72] Two years later in Paris he repeated the proposal, listing the stone as one of several key items belonging to Egypt’s cultural heritage, a list which also included the iconic bust of Nefertiti in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin ; a statue of the Great Pyramid architect Hemiunu in the Roemer-und-Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim , Germany; the Dendara Temple Zodiac in the Louvre in Paris; and the bust of Ankhhaf from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . [73] During 2005, the British Museum presented to Egypt a full-size replica of the stele. This was initially displayed in the renovated Rashid National Museum , close to the site where the stone was found. [74] By November 2005, Hawass was suggesting a three-month loan of the Rosetta Stone, while reiterating the eventual goal of a permanent return; [75] in December 2009, he proposed to drop his claim for the permanent return of the Rosetta Stone if the British Museum loaned the stone to Egypt for three months, for the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza in 2013. [76] As John Ray has observed, “the day may come when the stone has spent longer in the British Museum than it ever did in Rosetta.” [77] There is strong opposition among national museums to the repatriation of objects of international cultural significance such as the Rosetta Stone. In response to repeated Greek requests for return of the Elgin Marbles and similar requests to other museums around the world, in 2002, over 30 of the world’s leading museums — including the British Museum , the Louvre , the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and the Metropolitan Museum in New York City — issued a joint statement declaring that “objects acquired in earlier times must be viewed in the light of different sensitivities and values reflective of that earlier era” and that “museums serve not just the citizens of one nation but the people of every nation”. [78] Idiomatic use The term Rosetta stone has been used idiomatically to represent a crucial key to the process of decryption of encoded information, especially when a small but representative sample is recognized as the clue to understanding a larger whole. [79] According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the first figurative use of the term appeared in the 1902 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica relating to an entry on the chemical analysis of glucose . [79] An almost literal use of the phrase appears in popular fiction within H. G. Wells ‘ 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come , where the protagonist finds a manuscript written in shorthand that provides a key to understanding additional scattered material that is sketched out in both longhand and on typewriter . [79] Perhaps its most important and prominent usage in scientific literature was Nobel laureate Theodor W. Hänsch ‘s reference in a 1979 Scientific American article on spectroscopy where he says that “the spectrum of the hydrogen atoms has proved to be the Rosetta stone of modern physics: once this pattern of lines had been deciphered much else could also be understood”. [79] Since then the term has been widely used in other contexts. For example, fully understanding the key set of genes to the human leucocyte antigen has been described as being “the Rosetta Stone of immunology”. [80] The flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana has been called the “Rosetta Stone of flowering time”. [81] A Gamma ray burst (GRB) found in conjunction with a supernova has been called a Rosetta Stone for understanding the origin of GRBs. [82] The technique of Doppler echocardiography has been called a Rosetta Stone for clinicians trying to understand the complex process by which the left ventricle of the human heart can be filled during various forms of diastolic dysfunction . [83] The name has also become used in various forms of translation software . Rosetta Stone is a brand of language-learning software published by Rosetta Stone Ltd., headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia , US. “ Rosetta ” is the name of a “lightweight dynamic translator” that enables applications compiled for PowerPC processor to run on Apple systems using an x86 processor. “Rosetta” is an online language translation tool to help localisation of software, developed and maintained by Canonical as part of the Launchpad project. Similarly, Rosetta@home is a distributed computing project for predicting (or translating) protein structures. The Rosetta Project brings language specialists and native speakers together to develop a meaningful survey and near permanent archive of 1,500 languages, intended to last from AD 2000 to 12,000. The Rosetta spacecraft is on a ten-year mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko , in the hopes that determining its composition will reveal the origins of the Solar System . Source So there you have a nice information pack and then we have a nice document about the stone and the story how French and British fought about these archeological findings. I find it fascinating that we the “people” can’t make cooperation with these findings. We are always fighting about anything, sad really:   And here is the Rosetta Stone’s text in translated in English: The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek. Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some minor differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.     Nice piece of history and very interesting artifact. This was the key to understand the ancient hieroglyphs in the Egypt and in the Pyramids. It’s like an ancient dictionary if you like.  More ancient and secret sites coming, so stay tuned and keep on searching!
i don't know
What was the name of the spy, created by author Len Deighton who was portrayed by Michael Caine in the films Funeral in Berlin, The Ipcress File abd The Billion Dollar Brain?
LEN DEIGHTON An Appreciation LEN DEIGHTON An Appreciation Appreciations THE IPCRESS FILE It’s hard to realize today what an impact Len Deighton’s remarkable spy novel had on its first appearance in the 1960s. Like le Carré, Deighton was reacting against the glossy, unrealistic depiction of espionage in the novels of Ian Fleming (a certain Puritanism was a factor at the time, less à propos these days, now that Fleming’s considerable virtues have been recognized). But certainly The Ipcress File, with its insolent working-class hero and low-key treatment of all the quotidian details of a spy's life (endless futile requisitions for petty cash, a decidedly unglamorous secret service HQ) was astonishingly fresh, while the first-person narrative was a sardonic Londoner’s refraction of  Chandler ’s Marlowe-speak two decades on. Another radical touch was the refusal to neatly tie up the narrative with a cathartic death for the villain – the shadowy opponent of Deighton’s unnamed protagonist is – for political reasons – unpunished. A series of novels in the same vein followed, none quite as impressive as this debut – but all highly accomplished.  - Barry Forshaw, editor of British Crime Writing Encyclopedia   This is something Michael Caine agrees with me about. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Either way, we both regret that Deighton’sAn Expensive Place To Die was (like companion volume Horse Under Water) never made into a Harry Palmer film. But then again, maybe it is just as well. It is impossible to summarise the plot in that two-sentence pitch  Hollywood  still loves (“It’s Goldfinger Meets Raymond Blanc at The Priory”), so getting a workable script would have been a nightmare. Remember, legend has it that if any friend told Deighton they could follow the plot of The Ipcress File, he would jumble it up some  more. Deighton put the storyline of AEPD into a Moulinex and left it to run.  There is a shady artist, explosive dossiers, double-double- crosses, institutionalised voyeurism and Chinese nuclear weapons. It  doesn’t matter because the book is a love letter to two things: the  (brilliantly rendered) exoticism of Paris  in the sixties and a certain  anonymous English spy, described as ‘truculent and cynical’ on my book  flap, but also whip-smart and unflappable. Reading it, you can well see why a young Michael Caine imagined himself walking off the page. The character that the movies christened ‘Harry Palmer’ became synonymous with Swinging London and Cold War  Berlin , but this Deighton reeks of garlic, Gauloise and cuisine faite par le patron, as well as governmental treachery. My copy may have the one of the worst jackets of all time, in which the hero is rendered, alarmingly, as a Mr. Bean look-a-like, but in many ways the book hasn’t dated at all. All you have to do is change the E-Type to an XF, give him a mobile phone and the world-weary, put-up, suspicious secret agent would fit nicely into the world of Spooks. And  Paris  is still an Expensive Place To Die. - Robert Ryan author of Empire of Sand and Underdogs   Len Deighton added a change of direction in espionage fiction from the glamour and excesses of Ian Fleming’s James Bond, into the downbeat reality of life behind the looking glass with his cynical anti-hero Harry Palmer. The Palmer novels were of course The Ipcress File [1962], Horse Under Water [1963], Funeral in Berlin[1964],  Billion Dollar Brain [1966], A Expensive Place to Die [1967], Spy Story [1974] and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy [1976] US title Catch a Falling Spy. Incidentally as they all feature first person narration; the protagonist Harry Palmer is never actually named and in fact in the last two novels, Deighton stated that the protagonist [Patrick Armstrong] is a different character than in the preceding four. It was the film versions that gave the anti-hero his name. For many readers however, Harry Palmer would be the antithesis of Ian Fleming’s James Bond, especially when one compares the actors who played James Bond at the time. Sean Connery’s James Bond, compared to Micheal Caine’s Harry Palmer was a polar opposite. Coincidentally Bond producer Harry Saltzman was also involved with the Harry Palmer films. The protagonist in these novels [Harry Palmer] is a Grammar school boy working for Public school boys, and cynical toward the world he sees around him, they are required reading for anyone with interests in British espionage fiction of that period. My personal favourite of the Palmer novels is of course The Ipcress File [1962], because it was the first Deighton novel that passed my table; but also its blue collar hero’s insight is delightful. The tale reveals that the hunt for a missing scientist is linked to a large scale conspiracy that only the working class hero can solve.  – Ali Karim assistant Editor of www.shotsmag.co.uk   CLOSE UP Most of the best writers are versatile. While they may achieve fame through one particular novel, or type of novel, they are likely to have the breadth of mind, and talent, to turn their hand to a wide range of different subjects. Len Deighton will always be associated with the spy novel, and I have long been a fan of books like Bilion Dollar Brain and Horse Under Water. But I admire some of his other work just as much. I’m not qualified to judge his cookery books, or his travel guides, but I enjoyed Only When I Larf, and, perhaps even more, the routinely overlooked Close-Up. Close-Up was published in 1972, and I read it a couple of years later. It’s set in the film world and presents the story of a fading star called Marshall Stone. Deighton spent some time working in the movie business, and he put his experience of the business to good use. The gap between image and reality is convincingly portrayed. Above all, the material offers tremendous scope for Deighton’s sardonic humour. Not least right at the end when the mogul Koolman says: ‘Close-Up. I’d never buy a title like that. It’ll mean nothing on a marquee in  Omaha. - Martin Edwards, crime writer and legal expert   I first met Len Deighton in the Mucky Duck (aka The White Swan, the Daily Mail pub off Fleet Street)   when The Ipcress File had just hit the best-seller lists.  He couldn't believe his luck. Up to then he'd been known - if at all - as a cookery writer in national papers. Nice bloke, he seemed then. As for the films,  I think they worked very well.  Caine was particularly good as Harry Palmer (not that Deighton ever gave his hero a name).  Billion Dollar Brain was the least impressive of the movies but then it was extremely complicated and by that time there was a lot of  Hollywood  money involved (to say nothing of the eccentric Ken Russell) and everything became too overblown. Personally - though I very much took to the guy - I wasn't all that happy with Deighton.  At the time I'd just written my first spy novel, The Matter of Mandrake, rather in the James Bond genre, and I wasn't too chuffed about some bloke coming along and moving the whole business from upper and middle to the working class.  But his were bloody good books and I still enjoy the films.         - Barry Norman, thriller writer and film critic.   I well remember the first time I met Len. He had come to a meeting of the Crime Writers Association with a view to joining; somehow or another we began talking. The meeting came to an end and Len said to me "Come and have  a meal somewhere". We went to a nearby Chinese where the waiter had some difficulty using both serving spoon and fork in the one hand. Len looked up at him and said simply: "It's difficult, isn't it? I used to have the same trouble when I was an aircraft steward".      Awkward situation vanishing in an airy puff of smoke. And I thought  What a simply nice man he is. A belief I have kept to this day. - H.R.F. Keating creator of the Inspector Ghote crime series       SS-GB  is a remarkable crime novel, set in 1941  London , but in an England  which has lost the war and is occupied by the Nazis and from the opening line of dialogue – “Himmler’s got the King locked up in the  Tower London ” – you know you are in classic Deighton territory.           The plot revolves around the murder of a scientist in a seedy back room in Shepherd’s Market and the detective work of the upright and honourable Douglas Archer (“of the Yard”), one of the Metropolitan Police’s top cops. Archer has a shrewd idea “whodunit” almost from the off, but that’s not the point, for the murder turns out to be only the tip of a serpentine trail of espionage, double-crossing and triple-crossing which involves atomic research, the fate of the imprisoned King George VI, the neutrality of the United States and, of course (this being the author of The Ipcress File) the deadly rivalry between various intelligence agencies as to who will be top dog.      There are some marvellous set pieces: the chilling raid by the SS on the school of the widowed Archer’s son, the surreal escape of the King from the Tower which results in him being pushed in a wheelchair through fog-bound London, the blowing up of Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate Cemetery during a celebration of Nazi-Soviet relations and the sinister, quite chilling, appearance of a face at a train window which turns out to belong to Heinrich Himmler.      But the dark heart of the story is what Deighton does best: the internecine warfare between protagonists supposedly on the same side. In SS-GB, the power struggle is between the seemingly jovial Gruppenfuhrer Kellerman of the SS and Standartenfuhrer Huth of the SD (the SS’s intelligence service), which reprises the scenario of Dalby and Ross always jostling for position in The Ipcress File. In all such battles, of course, there is collateral damage which drives the tension and allows amasterful author to make some crucial observations of human nature.     Critics of the book may say it is simply The Ipcress File re-written as imaginary history. Well if it is, so what?     Just sit back and marvel at the imagination it took to do it. - Mike Ripley creator of the Angel crime series and keen archaeologist   BOMBER I came to Deighton as a result of Ipcress File, which is certainly an excellent book and film, but for me his greatest work has to beBomber. It is a magnificent anti-war work, and shows the courage of the young bombers without glorifying their work. Rather, by looking at the victims of the bombing run, it shows the futility of their actions. The story itself looks at the final raid of a  Lancaster . Pilot Sam Lambert has made it from the beginning of the war to this point, and although he’s suffering from exhaustion and nervous strain, his crew revere him. They count on him as their talisman. But the pathfinder Mosquito is shot apart and her load of incendiaries, designed to mark out a city ( Krefeld ) instead falls short, and the whole exercise is set to drop on a small town, Altgarten. More recently there have been explanations of the full horror of towns which were bombed in this way. Deighton describes in precise, clinical detail how the multiple fires lead to a firestorm, and what that means for the poor inhabitants. And that is his great skill. This story is not one person’s tale. It is a set of interlinked lives, and he looks at the attack from all points of view. It is this which gives the story its enormous power. And, of course, its horror. I’d recommend the book to anyone. -Mike Jecks hailed as the master of the medieval murder mystery   FUNERAL IN  BERLIN It’s iniquitous to have to pick out one of Deighton’s many masterpieces but if I’ve got to it has to be Funeral in  Berlin .Deighton’s take on spies and the Cold War always seemed more realistic to me than that of his rivals. He didn’t go for the fake glamour of Fleming. This was espionage as it ought to be if you think about it: rough, raw, cold and inhuman. Funeral in Berlinmagnifies this sense of the ‘great game’ by putting chess at the heart of the book, with a quotation about the game fronting every chapter. The Russian Colonel Stok boasts about being one of the best chess players and asks the anonymous British hero whether he liked the game too. Our man (who is not, as any Deighton fan knows, called Harry Palmer), replies, ‘Yes, but I prefer games where there is a better chance to cheat.’  Which makes him the better spy, naturally. Deighton as his best was unique, an original who could handle character and plot with extraordinary aplomb, and make places like  Berlin , torn apart by the Wall, seem as real as any grotty  London  suburb. One of the 20th century greats. - David Hewson author of the Nic Costa thrillers   BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN I first made the acquaintance of Len Deighton over forty years ago when we spent a rainy weekend in a caravan on the  Devon  coast. Someone had left behind copies of The Ipcress File, Horse Under Water and Funeral in  Berlin . I was captivated by them and have been a devoted fan of Deighton’s work ever since. He really qualifies as a member of the  Magic Circle  because his spy novels find new conjuring tricks every time. Of the other books, Bomber is my favourite. But if I got stuck in a caravan during a storm again, the novel I’d prefer to re-read would be Billion Dollar Brain. It’s fast, funny, idiosyncratic, unashamedly corny and it contains just enough information about the subjects on which it touches to give the impression that the author is an expert on each one. Only a master storyteller can do that. - Keith Miles aka Edward Marston   LEN DEIGHTON’S COOKBOOKS Whenever I make an omelette, I think of Len Deighton. A couple of years ago, the BBC screened a documentary in which the great man revealed that he always adds a tiny splash of water to a bowl of freshly cracked eggs. Ever the scientist, Deighton had learned that the shell of an egg is porous; water vapour is apparently escaping through it all the time. Before cooking, the discerning chef should always restore the egg’s molecular structure with a tiny amount of water. Does it work? Don’t ask me. But plenty of Deighton’s other cooking tips, culled from his culinary classics Ou Est Le Garlic? andLen Deighton’s Action Cook Book, have served me well for many years. Did you know, for example, that if you’re putting oil and vinegar onto a salad, you should always put the vinegar on first, otherwise the oil creates a coating on the lettuce upon which the vinegar will be unable to obtain a grip? Len taught me that. If I’m making Deighton sound overly fastidious, I don’t mean to. When it comes to cooking, he is a man of immense learning, but also one determined to take the mystery out of the process of turning raw ingredients into simple, delicious meals. Deighton was, for a time, The Observer’s cookery writer, the Nigel Slater of the Swinging Sixties, and every week would draw a simple cartoon strip to illustrate the stage-by-stage process of preparing a particular dish. These strips are reproduced in Ou Est Le Garlic? and the Action Cook Book. They show the amateur cook how to prepare everything from a simple chicken stock to Coquilles St Jacques, from a hollandaise sauce to Osso Buco. Legend has it that one of the strips is hanging in Michael Caine’s kitchen in the film of The Ipcress File. There is no doubt that the books, which were published in the mid-1960s, were intended partly to cash in on the huge success of Deighton’s early novels. The Action Cook Book, in particular, was marketed at trendy British bachelors who wanted to act like Harry Palmer but froze in terror at the sight of a potato. The cover of my copy shows a woman in a negligée running her fingers through the hair of a square-jawed brute busily tossing a pan of spaghetti while winking at the camera. The implication is clear. Learn how to stuff a Chicken Kiev properly, lads, and you’ll have her clothes off in no time. But these are serious cookbooks. I wouldn’t trade mine for any of the so-called modern classics by Gordon and Jamie and Nigella. Long before Heston Blumenthal came along with his egg and bacon ice cream and his canister of liquid nitrogen, the young Len Deighton was schooling himself in the science of French cuisine. There’s very little the author of Billion Dollar Brain doesn’t know about the boiling point of clarified butter or the impact of heat on a shin of veal. But he doesn’t make you feel bad for your culinary ignorance. Quite the opposite, in fact. The books are chatty and low key, with that lovely dry wit which characterises the novels. Here is Deighton on vinaigrettes: “American cooks add half a dozen more garnishes to salad dressing, including lemon peel, chopped cheese, curry powder, ketchup and, even more terrible, sugar. I give you this information to demonstrate the depths of depravity to which it is possible to sink.”             Of course, being forty years old, certain elements in the books are out-of-date. There’s a bit too much stuff involving aspic, and a recipe for tripe and onions which should be consigned to a time capsule. Rumour has it that an enterprising editor at Harper Perennial has hit on the idea of repackaging the cookbooks for a 21st century audience. I certainly hope that’s true, and I certainly hope that the all-new versions won’t excise these anachronistic details. They are part of the books’ charm. In my view, Ou Est Le Garlic? and Len Deighton’s Action Cook Book are classics of British cuisine, and every bit as central to Deighton’s reputation as Harry Palmer, Bomber, and Hook Line and Sinker. -Charles Cumming, author of TYPHOON   Okay, I’ll come clean. I’m a great fan of all Len Deighton’s work, but my favourite thriller is his Action Cookbook (and its companion Où est le Garlic?). For over forty years, and decades before it became top of the pops at  UK  restaurants, his crème brûlée has thrilled my family and friends. In my single days in the 1960s these two cookbooks were both full of information and of such delights as garlic mayonnaise, Baked Alaska, cheesecake, mousses, pommes de terre Dauphinoise, caper sauce, sabayon... All well known to us now, but then? Wow, how they thrilled. Thank you, Len Deighton, and happy birthday. Both books are still thrilling me today. - Amy Myers author of the Auguste Didier series My main interest in Len Deighton lies in his membership of the select band of writers who have imagined that World War II went the other way, and the Germans and Japanese won. The necessary premise almost always is that Churchill is dead by 1940 or 1941 – Deighton has him killed by Himmler, the royal family imprisoned and the SS in  Whitehall . It’s a long time since I read SS GB(published 1978) but I seem to remember that he sticks to the immediate period of his alternative history. The other hands set their stories well into the aftermath of the war. Fatherland (Robert Harris) is evidently taking place in the Sixties, with a nice little aside to the Beatles launching their career in  Hamburg  just as they did in ‘real’ history. Giles Cooper’s disturbing  TV play The Other Man  went out in 1964 as a contemporary yarn of an upright British army officer doing the Nazis’ bidding in a protracted racial war in  Asia . Inside every decent man, Cooper was suggesting, is this ‘other man’ waiting to take over.  Another television work, Philip Mackie’s three-part An Englishman’s Castle (1978), depended on what might be called the mirrored mirror image. Kenneth More, as a drama producer in the German-monitored  BBC , daringly embarks upon a soap opera of life as it might have been if  Britain  had not been subjugated. Which brings us to the wizard of this whole genre, Philip K.Dick. The Man in the  High   Castle  (1960) has the Germans ruling the Eastern American states, the Japanese the Western, but separated by the demilitarised buffer zone of the  Rocky Mountains . There lives the title figure, writing his alternative history and making it perhaps too wishful a picture of super-power  America . So Dick flirts, just for a moment, with an astonishing possibility. His main character, a Japanese official in  San Francisco , suffers a dizzy spell while walking in his city, Suddenly the clean, peaceful streets are full of cars. And ahead of him looms a vast structure shutting out the sky and carrying yet more automobiles. ‘What’s that?’ he mumbles to a passing stranger. ‘Awful, ain’t it? That’s the Embarcadero  Freeway.’ Mr Tagomi has been vouchsafed a glimpse of the world as we have it.  Though Len Deighton had shown himself to be a master of thetrompe l’oeil when he revealed in The Ipcress File that the hideous foreign prison in which his hero had been tormented was actually in London , I don’t think he ever risked pulling the rug from under his own feet quite so confidently. - Philip Purser, thriller writer and former television critic.  Horse Under Water Horse Under Water is the odd one out among Len Deighton's first four spy novels, and I have the feeling that it's not quite as well known as the others. Perhaps it is because it was not filmed. Or perhaps it is that, unlike the other three, it turns its back on the Cold War and looks instead at the aftermath of World War Two. Of course, when Horse Under Water was published in 1963, the war was a not so distant memory. The story is about the attempt to recover the cargo of a U-boat sunk off the Portuguese coast, which contains a Russian doll-like set of secrets. At first it seems to be counterfeit money, then it turns out to be heroin  -  the 'horse' of the title  -  and then it materialises as a compromising list of the British high-ups who would have collaborated after a Nazi invasion. The main villain here is a Cabinet minister and the scene where the narrator confronts him is a little like the scenes where Bond faces Dr No/Goldfinger/Blofeld. Except that Deighton makes it realistic. Realism is the keynote in these books, from the footnotes to the mysterious acronyms like W.C.O.O.(P) to the explanation of how secret information is stored. Maybe it was all true, maybe none of it was. I suspect it's about half and half, though. No spy writer has ever done with such cool authority.   - Philip Gooden, author of the historical Nick Revell series Len Deighton: a fan’s perspective By Rob Mallows     There are many reasons why any reader fixes on a particular author and devours their work. A glitzy advertising campaign. Word of mouth. A particularly good review, or maybe a successful movie adaptation. Me, I owe my twenty-year enjoyment of Len Deighton’s writing to the common cold virus. As a teenager I received the Game, Set & Match box-set as a Christmas gift from my father. I hadn’t asked for it. Indeed, I’d never dropped any hints that I liked Len Deighton’s writing, and I was sure my father hadn’t heard of him either. But there it was: a pristine three-volume box set, £8.85.....which I proceeded to put on my shelf and promptly forgot about for a couple of years. It was only when one rainy weekend, as I lay in bed with a heavy cold, snorting into a hanky and supping on a life-giving lemon drink, bored to tears and thoroughly miserable, I sought out something to read. I lighted upon Game, Set & Match, tucked away at the back of my bookshelves. What serendipity! It certainly got my mind off the cold and pretty much everything else, as I read through all three volumes in just over a week. Looking back - and having read those same three novels each at least a dozen times - I could so easily have looked a little further along the shelf and read something completely different. Now, considering the literary journey I’ve shared in the company of Len Deighton’s characters, thinking about what I might have missed out on had I not picked up the trilogy doesn’t bear thinking about. Twenty or so years later, I have now read every one of Len Deighton’s books, seen all the film adaptations, read numerous magazine and newspaper collated articles, collected film posters and other bits of Deighton paraphernalia and recently created a fully comprehensive Deighton website. So I guess you could say I’m officially a big fan of his work. Which is why I’ve been asked to write this perspective on Len Deighton and what he means to his readers. For the first time in a while, this meant I had to ask myself a simple question: Why do I enjoy Len Deighton’s books so much? Such self-examination rarely enters one’s consciousness as a reader. You find an author, you enjoy their works, you buy more books, you read them, and so on. You know instinctively why you read something, precluding the need for enquiry. But, why Deighton? Why Deighton, over say Fleming or Le Carré? What keeps me going back to his particular well? The first thought that comes to mind is variety. Author. Historian. Gastronome. Illustrator. Travel Editor. Scriptwriter. Film Producer. Bon Vivant.  London  society host. These are just some of the multiple roles that Len Deighton has filled and mastered since he burst onto the literary scene in the early sixties with The Ipcress File. He’s a true literary polymath. This multi-faceted life experience gives a rounded texture to Deighton’s writing - a three-dimensional and realistic style where the detail and knowledge of each of these disparate worlds he has mastered leaps off the page. These different fields often bleed into each other and enrich his stories. When in the books and the films you see the unnamed narrator (who subsequently became Harry Palmer in the films) cooking for his girlfriend or shopping for quality french mushrooms - much to the chagrin of his boss, the patrician Colonel Ross - you get a sense that Deighton was writing from first-hand experience as a gastronome but was also, more importantly, sending out a strong signal that this was no ordinary spy. Bond, one suspects, rarely cooked an omelette! This memorable character is a product of the sixties, when many of the existing social norms went through a fundamental change. Deighton’s subsequent publication of the Action Cook Book, for example - complete with parsley-stuffed pistol on the front cover - was a striking metaphor for the way society, and people’s accepted roles and behaviours within it, was changing, as well as an interesting literary juxtaposition of the two completely separate worlds of espionage and gastronomy. The Guardian even went as far as to describe this book as ‘a seminal moment in modern cookery’, the catalyst for a new trend in ‘bachelor cuisine’. I’m certain that phrase has never cropped up in a John Le Carré review! Similarly, Deighton applies a military historian’s forensic eye for detail in the fiction arena, such that when one reads Spy Story - with its detailed analysis of the amoral calculations behind nuclear war strategy - or Bomber - which details both the terrific bravery of the pilots on both sides and the rarely told story of the impact on German civilians, which much public disquiet at the time - you feel you are reading stories based on secret files and operational reality, such is their authenticity. The depth of Deighton’s knowledge of the world of the military and intelligence worlds and his obsessive eye for detail - endorsed by renowned historian A J P Taylor inFighter and General Nehring in Blitzkrieg - bears fruit in his fiction, to a degree which perhaps only Tom Clancy matches. The mix of fact and fiction - seen self-evidently in the explanatory footnotes in The Ipcress File or the laid-in dossier of secret papers in An Expensive Place to Die - is intoxicating. But this multi-dimensional back-story is just one of the myriad of reasons why I think fans like myself appreciate Deighton’s story-telling. You frame your relationship with a favourite author through recognising those elements that keep drawing you back, that encourage you to read just one more chapter before you put the lights out. For instance, his two greatest spy characters - the narrator of the first four novels (there are hints he appears in a new guise in at least one further novel) and Bernard Samson, Deighton’s tour de force - are flawed, for a start. The former, with his evident dodgy service record, poor eyesight and frustration at his lack of advancement is the ‘anti-Bond’ and the more memorable for it: Literature’s first proper working class spy! He is a sergeant, Bond a commander; and therein lies an obvious clue to their respective character development which Deighton exploits wonderfully. The relationship of an agent to his or her job (the ‘her’ in recognition of the character of Fiona Samson, one of the first fully developed spy heroines) and their paymasters - even their sense of right and wrong in the black and white morality of west versus communist east - is never clear cut and often opaque, morally or politically. Deighton’s agents also deal with the mundane as well as the dangerous and exist in the real world, stripping away some of the apparent glamour of the spying world. Bernard Samson was one of the first spy characters with a domestic hinterland, who returns from dangerous missions briefing agents behind the iron curtain to visit his children’s sports day and feed the family cat. ‘Harry Palmer’ is in his flat cooking up an omelette for his girlfriend one day, and the next getting beaten up by enemy agents. Such a mixture of the mundane and the thrilling helps readers identify with these memorable characters. And, of course, they are given life through sparkling dialogue. Deighton has a deserved reputation for using exquisitely tooled dialogue to drive the narratives in all of his books, but particularly so in the first four, where the words and ideas jump off the page, shot through with wit, sarcasm and doubt, adding welcome texture to the characters and precluding the need for excessive filling in of their back stories. The Julian Symons description of Deighton as ‘the poet of the spy story’ is therefore well-deserved. While there’s plenty of vivid character and location descriptions - and technical detail - in Deighton’s books that help make the reader feel they’re at the heart of the action, it is the dialogue - the way, of course, we communicate in our everyday lives and interrelate with those we work with and live with - that give his stories a real immediacy and wonderful pacing. As Deighton himself has said: “I was always interested in dialogue, even before I started writing. This today remains one of the things I work hardest at, seeing how much I can delete from descriptive passages and convey by means of dialogue.” Because of this approach a reader feels directly ensconced in the characters’ world, privy to their emotions. The frequent use of the first person narrative by Deighton often gives a wonderful directness to a story but also, by its very nature, provides scope for supposition and ambiguity as the context is rationed, meaning the reader relies on the character’s own skewed interpretation of the world. With Bernard and Fiona Samson - who kept her secret identity as a double agent from her husband for 12 years - you always get the sense that there is so much left unsaid, an idea exploited to the full in Spy Sinker when, with the simple conceit of a switch to the third person narrative, Deighton opens up a whole realm of hidden stories and connections which challenges everything you thought you understood in the previous five novels, and sets the scene for the loose ends that are tied up in the final Samson trilogy. This switch of perspective is demonstrated well in Only When I Larf, when the story develops through the sequential narration of the three main characters, whose own disparate perspectives on the scams they’re committing throw open the strained nature of their relationships to each other. Deighton’s dialogue is well-wrought, frequently cynical, and packed with irony and sarcasm, such that it never gets stale despite repeated reading. It certainly shouts loudest in the Samson trilogies I think, where the latent tension between the hard-working, even harder-taxed working class, family-man spy and his ‘betters’ further up the food chain, comes through vigorously in some caustic repartée.  The iniquity of class - a uniquely British obsession - is never far from the surface of Samson’s pysche. Take this exchange between Samson and Erich Stinnes, his KGB counterpart in Berlin Game: "'I've been West a few times, just as you've come here. But who gets the promotions and the big wages - desk-bound Party bastards. How lucky you are not to have the Party system working against you", said Stinnes. 'We have got it', I said. 'It's called  Eton  and Oxbridge'." Bernard Samson’s frequent barbs at his senior - privately educated - colleagues in London Central are laced with references to the English class system and its embodiment in the career advance of Oxbridge types like Dicky Cruyer, who’s apparent incompetence is no barrier to advancement and which hides an evident ease when guiding himself safely through the minefield of office politics and promotion. Character stereotypes such as Cruyer, Dalby, Colonel Ross or Dawlish are ciphers for a world of Cold War counter-espionage that, nowadays, is a distant memory in a world of global terrorism, social advancement, and the loss of deference. Deighton chronicled that change in his books. And this change in the context for Deighton’s story-telling may explain how his public profile is now, arguably, not what it once was when he was one of literary London’s heavyweights in the ‘sixties, or on top of the pile during the height of the Cold War in the ‘eighties. Ian Fleming abandoned the Cold War for more archetypal threats for his Bond character to fight, making the stories more universal and less time bound by history, and perhaps more adaptable to the Hollywood industry which has reinvigorated the brand with Daniel Craig’s characterisation. Deighton, it could be argued, is an unfortunate victim of the end of the Cold War, in that it removed the canvas on which he painted many of his most memorable stories. The loss of the Berlin Wall in 1989 deprived him of one of his greatest ‘characters’ in a way, its brooding presence defining many key scenes, leaving him to look elsewhere - to the seedy underbelly of LA in Violent Ward or the jungles of South America in Mamista - for inspiration, with mixed results. But a hint last year that hip auteur Quentin Tarantino is looking to adapt Game, Set & Match for modern audiences gives hope, perhaps, that in the right hands, Deighton’s stories could be re-tooled for the modern age and brought to a whole new audience. But, I’ll not hold my breath. Of course, his self-imposed exile from  UK  shores since the sixties, long periods of monastic silence away from media scrutiny, and the lack of any output over the last decade can give a general impression that Deighton is no longer eating at the top table of  Britain ’s thriller-writing elite. But - as we celebrate Deighton’s eightieth birthday - we might be in danger of putting Deighton back on the shelf too soon, as I almost did with my copy ofGame, Set & Match. The 80th birthday celebrations should - I hope - see a renewed focus on his works and a reappraisal of his contribution to modern literary and film culture. It is pleasing that his publishers Harper Collins will mark this milestone in the appropriate manner with reissues of many of his books and, with rumours of a first biography on the stocks, we may all have a chance to re-engage with the world of Len Deighton. And judging by his recent interview in the Daily Telegraph, the typewriter may be dusted down one last time, even if it's for a book on aero engines rather than a new novel. But I wouldn’t begrudge Len Deighton enjoying his retirement. Over the last forty or more years, he’s done more than enough to create a permanent legacy in the modern literary scene, a legacy which bears scrutiny with the best and has certainly left its mark on me. So, Happy Birthday, Len. And thanks for all the stories.   Rob Mallows runs The Deighton Dossier ( www.deightondossier.net ) the most comprehensive online fan site covering all of Len Deighton’s work.  
Harry Palmer
In which famous film did Michael Caine play a character named Charlie Croker?
DVD REVIEW: "FUNERAL IN BERLIN" (1967) STARRING MICHAEL CAINE AS HARRY PALMER By Lee Pfeiffer  The three Harry Palmer feature films (The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain) have had a rather cluttered history in terms of their video releases. Surprisingly, producer Harry Saltzman didn't stick with one studio in terms of their theatrical releases, as he did with the James Bond films which he co-produced with Cubby Broccoli. Instead, each of the Palmer films was financed by and released by a different studio. Thus, in the ensuing decades, the video rights to these films have been convoluted. The titles have remained consistently available to consumers in some countries, while in others (including the USA), they have appeared and disappeared from the marketplace for years at a time. Now the Warner Archive has reissued Paramount's original DVD version of Funeral in Berlin as a burn-to-order title. The original film, The Iprcress File, was internationally acclaimed as the "thinking man's 007" movie. Caine's Harry Palmer, replete with Cockney accent, was the working man's secret agent. He does not have a big expense account, he lives in a modest apartment and he is basically disdainful of authority figures. (Bond is, too, but generally only in a playful sense.) Two qualities that Bond and Palmer do share is that they are both incorruptible and are prone to bedding a parade of beautiful women they encounter both socially and on the job. Funeral in Berlin seems intent on emphasizing the independent nature of Harry Palmer. He reluctantly follows orders given to him by his grim, unsmiling boss Ross (Guy Doleman), but  he clearly disdains the man and the bureaucracy he represents. Palmer is on some kind of probation with MI6 and Ross dangles his termination as a constant threat. Palmer is so financially impoverished that he can't even afford a car (Ross won't extend a loan to him) and he must commute about London via public buses.  Ross summons Palmer to his home and informs him he must leave abruptly for West Berlin. It seems an influential Soviet general named Stock (Oscar Homolka) has made it clear that he wants to defect to the West. Palmer is immediately skeptical but Ross can't pass up the opportunity to bring Stock "in from the cold", so to speak. Palmer arrives in West Berlin and is greeted by his local contact with German intelligence, Johnny Vulcan (Paul Hubschmid). Like Palmer, he's young, charismatic and good looking and in the course of business, they enjoy the local bar scene as well as some willing beauties. Among them is Samantha Steel (Eva Renzi), a vivacious young woman who boldly seduces Palmer. Harry's suspicions that she is a spy are borne out when he learns she is with Israeli intelligence. The complicated plot, based on the Len Deighton novel, next finds Palmer in East Berlin where he meets with General Stock. As played by Oscar Homolka, the character comes across like a Soviet version of Henny Youngman, constantly cracking jokes and tossing insults. Nevertheless, the chemistry between Caine and Homolka is one of the main assets of the film and the character of General Stock was brought back in Billion Dollar Brain. Palmer suspects that Stock is lying about his desire to defect and this sets in motion plot devices that are so convoluted that the movie gets extremely confusing. After a while, it's hard to follow who is trying to accomplish what and the motivations and allegiances of the characters are also blurred. At some point, I just gave up and sat back to enjoy the performances and the assured direction of Guy Hamilton, who impressively capitalizes on the West Berlin locations. (Hamilton, who had previously directed Goldfinger, is not the only 007 luminary brought into the production. Producer Saltzman also has legendary production designer Ken Adam on board.) The film is drenched in the sullen mood of the Cold War era but there are some funny witticisms uttered by the bespectacled Palmer. In one of the film's most amsuing on-going sight gags, every time Palmer enters or leaves Samantha's apartment, he walks past some ancient stone decorations that look exactly like erect phallus symbols, a master touch by Ken Adam.  Caine is in virtually every frame of the film and dominates the production with his low-key performance. Paul Hubschmid is very good as an ally whose allegiance is called into question. Eva Renzi acquits herself well as the femme fatale, equally adept with a machine gun in hand or walking seductively through opulent settings in head-turning wardrobe. One of the delights of any Palmer film is the strained byplay between Palmer and Ross, who is expertly played by another Bond film veteran, Guy Doleman (he played the villain Count Lippe in Thunderball). In fact, Ross is such a stick-in-the-mud that he makes Bernard Lee's "M" look like a towel-snapping prankster. Their scenes in this film bristle with wit and tension. It should also be mentioned that John Barry's moody, acclaimed score for The Ipcress File has been left out of this film with new themes by composer Konrad Elfers, who emphasizes traditional bombastic German music that might seem more fitting in a military epic but somehow is interwoven sensibly into the action.  Many retro movie lovers consider Funeral in Berlin to be the best of the Palmer feature film trilogy (Caine revised the character many years later in a couple of ill-conceived TV productions.). I still vote for Iprcess as the best of the lot, but this film has so many merits that it can be enthusiastically recommended. The transfer from the previous Paramount DVD edition is identical and of high quality. (Even the packaging is identical, save for the notation that the new release is through the Warner Archive).  The only extra is a trailer that seems to have been struck from an unfinished work print, as it lacks any titles or graphics and doesn't even mention Michael Caine's name. Kudos to the Warner Archive for making this Harry Palmer title accessible once again. Let's hope The Ipcress File and Billion Dollar Brain reappear soon in the American market, too.  WB AND PARAMOUNT TO CO-FINANCE NEW CHRISTOPHER NOLAN SCI-FI PIC Warner Brothers and Paramount will combine forces to co-producer Interstellar,  a new sci-fi flick that will be directed by Christopher Nolan. The project was originally being developed for Steven Spielberg, but when he dropped out, Nolan eagerly took over the production. According to Deadline, the story  "will depict a heroic voyage to the farthest borders of scientific understanding." It is known that when Spielberg was involved with the film, he was exploring scientific theories about time travel. A November 2014 date has been set to open the movie, which will star Matthew MConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine. For more click here WILLIAM ATHERTON: EXCLUSIVE CINEMA RETRO INTERVIEW By Harvey Chartrand Since the late sixties, William Atherton has starred in motion pictures, on Broadway and television. He first achieved international prominence as the lead in Steven Spielberg’s first feature The Sugarland Express, and followed that with starring roles in John Schlesinger’s classic The Day of the Locust, Robert Wise’s The Hindenburg and Richard Brooks’ Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Atherton is known around the world for his memorable roles as the antagonistic anchorman in the action blockbusters Die Hard and Die Hard 2, as the relentless government bureaucrat in the iconic Ghostbusters and as the conniving professor in the cult classic Real Genius. Among his more than 30 feature films are co-starring roles in John Landis’ Oscar, Bill Duke’s Hoodlum, Richard Pearce’s No Mercy, Alan J. Pakula’s The Pelican Brief, Costa Gavras’ Mad City and Ed Zwick’s The Last Samurai. On television, Atherton has starred in numerous mini-series including Centennial and Malibu. Some of his many TV films include leading roles in TNT’s production of Joan Didion’s Broken Trust and his portrayal of Darryl F. Zanuck in HBO’s Golden Globe-winner Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Atherton was also a recurring series lead opposite Damian Lewis on NBC-TV’s Life and, as Principal Reynolds, resolved some of the vexing questions in the final season of Lost. Consistently honored for his work on the stage, Atherton has created roles on and off-Broadway for many of America’s leading playwrights. These include the title role in Joe Papp’s original production of David Rabe’s The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, the role of Ronnie in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves and Bing Ringling in Guare's Rich and Famous. Atherton also starred in the Broadway premiere of Arthur Miller’s The American Clock and in the Tony-winning revival of Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. His repertoire of more than 20 well-known productions also includes the acclaimed New York premieres of Franz Kafka’s The Castle and Kressman Taylor’s Address Unknown. For his work on the stage, he has received the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Theatre World Award and nominations for an Obie and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award. Recent feature films include the thriller The Kane Files as well as Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, which premiered in 2012. Atherton appears on an upcoming season of Childrens Hospital this summer. This interview focuses on Atherton's work since 2005. We began our talk with The Girl Next Door (2007), based on the Jack Ketchum novel of the same name... it follows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt... and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime. Then we discussed Headspace (2005), the story of the mysterious metamorphosis of 25-year-old Alex Borden, a handsome, charming and intelligent young man with the world by the tail. Alex becomes alarmed when his intellect mysteriously begins to grow, and so do the horrors that invade his body, his nightmares and his waking hours. ______________________________________________ You've said Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door is "a film that has legs." Could you elaborate on this? William Atherton: From what I know, it has legs in that it's still around and people still talk about it. It was a very difficult subject and I thought they did it very well. I bookend it, which is great. As an actor, I don't participate in anything in it like that (of a graphic nature). I don't mean that necessarily in a negative way. My position in it was kind of like the conscience of the film. It gave the film a spiritual edge. I mean, it's recounting a childhood but at the same time, the weight of that childhood is enormous and so bookending it like that, even though the scenes are very short, gave it a lot of substance and it was mine for each moment and meant something important in terms of the whole film. I thought your role as Adult David was absolutely heartbreaking, as he is a man who has contemplated the loss of his young love for over 50 years. I watched those bookend scenes several times and they are profoundly moving. I especially like the scene where you rescue a homeless man (Mark Margolis). WA: Well, The Girl Next Door is based on a true story (of monstrous child abuse). It happened in New Jersey in the 1950s. Andrew van den Houten, the producer, got onto it and he was the one who really marshalled it along. I had done Headspace with Andrew. So van den Houten had you in mind for the role of Adult David after working with you on Headspace. I guess he's a big fan of yours. WA: Yeah. And then we crafted those scenes together and figured out what to use, what not to use, how much of the voiceover to use, to try and keep it as spare and as evocative as we could to save time. So essentially that was it. It was a very quick shoot. This friend of mine would tell me that it was very difficult to shoot the kids since they couldn't see certain things because they were under 18. The girl who was being abused (Blythe Auffarth) was 21 by that time. But the younger kids couldn't see what was being done to her. It was a real ballet in terms of how to orchestrate that. I wasn't present at the shooting of the more intense scenes. I was doing a play... Address Unknown with the English actor Jim Dale, directed by Frank Dunlop from the Young Vic. We were doing that at the Promenade Theatre in New York and Address Unknown was a very big issue in the thirties. It came to be because this woman who was in advertising in San Francisco (Kressman Taylor) had some friends in advertising in Germany and went there in the 1930s and came back to San Francisco. So she wrote this book which is a very small, slight book. The play is just these letters sent back and forth between these two men, who were partners in an art gallery. The one who stayed in Germany became a real Nazi. He was responsible for the death of the sister of the guy who was in San Francisco, who was Jewish. What Kressman Taylor did was, she made up this story along those lines and she had it in the letters back and forth and you see how the two men change. The theatrical evening was reading these letters essentially and performing them as dialogue. So the revenge that the guy in San Francisco ultimately had was that he started writing letters with stuff like "a Picasso Red 3" in the text. It sounded like a code and the Nazis in Germany arrested the Nazi gallery owner and shot him. (laughs) That's Address Unknown. What this has to do with the Headspace movie is that I met Andrew van den Houten a couple of months beforehand through a friend of a friend of mine in New York. A very young kid, very talented and he asked me to do this movie when I was doing the play. I shot on my days off for about a month in New York on the dark days in the theatre. That movie did very well for Andrew and it got him started. I'm the doctor who finds the guy who finds the kid (whose intellect begins to grow). Dee Wallace and I have a couple of scenes at the beginning of the film. Andrew marshalled a very good cast. Sean Young, Olivia Hussey and Udo Kier are in it. It's a very interesting movie and it did very well. Andrew was ambitious in terms of the technical thing. He did some nice stuff (with monster makeup and special effects). In 2010, you appeared in Re-Animator: The Musical at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood. Critics said you and George Wendt knocked it out of the park in your respective roles as Dr. Carl Hill and Dean Halsey. WA: We did a stage reading for it here in L.A. and we did a couple of nights of it for director Stuart Gordon. And then they did a permanent production of it. I didn't do the permanent production. I just helped them out in the stage reading but it was a lot of fun. There weren't any special effects in the stage reading – just the music and playing the scenes. Kind of like a description of what might happen, but there were no special effects in what I was involved with. In Bedtime, a star-studded episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, you play a disreputable public official who abuses his position to prey on women who come to him for assistance. WA: Yeah, and all the women got the Emmys! (laughs) I thought you walked away with the show, but why is a classy guy like you so damn good at playing these sleazy characters? WA: The reason is because the characters that I play are far more interestingly written than the nice guys. Nice guys kind of take care of themselves, but there's not much conflict usually, particularly in television. You come and play a character and you can have all kinds of dimension which is very hard to keep up week to week. And so they bring you in for color and the writing was terrific and that's really how that all happens. The writing is often interesting for the villain. You can kind of play around with it. And it makes it fun. That was a real Seventies reunion episode of Law and Order: SVU. I suppose this was deliberate, right? WA: Yes, the Seventies! Shit, the Sixties. Some of those gals – Ann-Margret... I mean, wow! Atherton in Headspace In Getting Back to Zero, you play a professional gambler who goes by the name of Box Car Joe. Your performance was described by a crew member as "stellar." Can you tell us about your role in this film set in the world of underground casinos? WA: It was the moving casino thing. This is a picture I did about three years ago; it was about the underground world of gambling and how they move from one place to another and the stakes can get very high and it's entirely unregulated. There's an enormous industry in underground gambling. So that was kind of the scenario of the picture and you have people who are really addicted to gambling who get into that world and become part of the fabric of that world. Box Car Joe is one of those people who is addicted to gambling. He's arrogant, rich. They kind of run on the electricity of the moment in order to keep from essentially collapsing into a black hole. That's why they keep the gambling going, because there really is nothing else. So the gambling becomes a whole force unto itself and brings them along. Getting Back to Zero came onto Netflix about two months ago. The whole world for indies has changed in the last four or five years. It's become a lot more difficult for different films. Tonight I'm going to a movie I did a year and a half ago called The Citizen which was about one of the guys – it's a fictional picture, but it's about one of the guys who got caught in 9/11. Simply because he was Middle Eastern, he got into trouble in New York. It's with me and Cary Elwes and we went to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in the fall and tonight it's a screening for the Hollywood Film Festival with a Q&A afterwards. It's a lovely picture and it stars Khaled Nabawy, who is the George Clooney of the Middle East. He's enormous over there in the Arab world. The film festival in Abu Dhabi was incredible. We had a great time and the movie was very well received. Tell me about your role as Winston. WA: He's a prosecuting attorney trying to deport Ibrahim (Nabawy). It gets pretty intense. I'm in a courtroom and so what I'm trying to convey is that at the time, people were suspicious of people and you couldn't really take anything for granted. Everybody had to toe the line in a way. That's just the way the world changed. It was not necessarily a personal thing against this man so much as it was saying: "This is the scenario now. You have to account for yourself in ways that you wouldn't have had to before, but that is the way of the world now. So it may seem to you to be unfair and perhaps in the long run it is unfair, but that's the reality of the moment and we all have to address it." So would you say The Citizen is one of your better recent films? WA: Yeah, I think so. The Citizen won Best Ensemble Acting at the Boston Film Festival. They're in the middle of doing a distribution deal for it now in the U.S. The Citizen is a great picture. It also stars that lovely young actress Agnes Bruckner who is playing Anna Nichole Smith for HBO. The Citizen will go into general release in the summer. I don't always stump for everything that I'm in but I do stump for this one because I think it's a terrific picture. What are you working on next? WA: I have an offer for a movie but I'm not sure if the deal is going to work out. I've been involved in that process for two movies in the past two months. On one of them I said, "No, we'll see what happens with the other movie." I also just came back from Palm Springs where I did a big musical benefit for Jewish Family Service of the Desert. I used to do music in New York years ago. So it was a big musical extravaganza for a couple of thousand people and was filled with artists like James Barbour, Michelle Lee, Kate Ballard, and other great people. It was a big musical evening for the Jewish Home Services Charity in Palm Springs, held at The McCallum Theater, a big musical venue out in the desert. It was called Michael Childers Presents One Night Only. I sang Isn't It Romantic?, which was used in The Day of the Locust. How did you feel about taking on the role of Honoré in Gigi – the recent stage revival at the Reprise Theater in Los Angeles? WA: I loved it. I had a fabulous time. Millicent Martin and I did the enormously popular song Yes, I Remember It Well. We were a huge success. Gigi sold out. Millicent was great. The whole production was great. It was the most successful show they've had (at the Reprise Theater). That was when I was asked to perform at the first big do in Palm Springs. So Millicent and I also performed Yes, I Remember It Well at the McCallum Theatre's annual charity event. And then they brought me back this year. So you're edging back into musicals all these years after singing What'll I Do? in The Great Gatsby (1974 version). WA: I'm still around and I'm still doing it and I can still do it and I've had the most eclectic career I can imagine. You have to go through the easiest door. All of a sudden there was a door that opened to musical comedy. I can do a dance routine but I'm not a "dance dancer" the way Christopher Walken is an acrobatic dancer – even now. I'm a hoofer. I can do a routine, a soft shoe shuffle and stuff like that. Jinn sounds like a very intriguing picture. WA: I shot Jinn about two or three years ago and I did some more on it last summer. It's really a film-in-progress. The director of Jinn ( Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad ) is a very talented guy. It's really a Middle-Eastern Exorcist. A jinn is one of the spectres of Arab folk tales, a ghost essentially and part of Middle Eastern lore and it's a very interesting kind of sci-fi slash horror picture. So we'll see what happens. They're still in the midst of editing Jinn and putting that together so we should see Jinn in a month or two. My role as Father Westhoff is kind of like the Max von Sydow character in The Exorcist. In Yesterday, an episode of The Unknown series, you again worked with Martha Coolidge, the director of Real Genius, in which you played the douchebag professor Jerry Hathaway... WA: She also directed Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (a 1999 TV-movie in which Atherton played 20th Century Fox studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck). I understand Yesterday is a horror story. What can you tell me about it and about your role as Jim Larson? WA: It's an episode of a series on the Web called The Unknown... a series about a guy who has a website and he collects stories of the Beyond and puts them on his website. So he's uploading the Yesterday episode. I play the priest who has somebody come and confess to him. The person he sees at the end is already dead. And Martha shot it very well. Yesterday is very classy. And it's been quite successful as a webisode on Crackle.com. Can you give me your honest opinion of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, in which you play a gangster by the name of Earle Swinter? WA: My honest opinion is that it made money and did well and that's all you'll get out of me. (laughs). I think it made money overseas. It's very hard to say what does make money and what doesn't make money. But it did better than people thought, which is always important. I think Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim are very talented and they're going to find their niche. Did you have a blast working with Robert Loggia? WA: Oh yeah. I love Bob. He's always terrific. Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie is not for us. It's a kid's picture. It's not the kind of thing we'd be interested in. Their audience is the hip kids on the internet. Their audience is like the one for Childrens Hospital or Workaholics (Atherton recently guest starred in an episode of each series). Those are very hot internet cable comedies. That is their milieu and that's Tim and Eric's audience. So the new generation knows who you are basically because of your guest appearances in these productions. WA: Yes, I'm happy to say. How do you feel about present-day Hollywood? You have an international reputation from Ghostbusters, the first two Die Hard films, and the incomparable excellence of your performances. How do you fit in to this new Hollywood of Marvel Comics summer blockbusters, Internet movies... WA: Well, I don't know about that. Ghostbusters was one of the first summer blockbusters, where it was really designed for that kind of thing. That's almost 30 years ago now. Pictures I began with like The Sugarland Express and all that – they belong to a different era. But no, I think it's about the same now. Everybody is trying to figure out the best way to do it. Everybody is trying to figure out the best way to get good product out there. It's always been a business and the summer blockbuster thing has been going for a long time. Look at the Die Hards. They were positioned to be summer blockbusters. And that's 20 years ago. And Real Genius the same way. So nothing has changed very much. What's changed is that things come and go more quickly. Perhaps that's how I see it now. The attention span is less now than it used to be, but not because of Hollywood. It's the culture's attention span that's changed. What can you tell me about your participation in the Sci-Fi Channel Creature Feature Ghouls. WA: Ghouls was very ambitious for Sci-Fi because they wanted to see how much they could do technically with the CGI stuff for television. It was all shot in Romania, so Erin Gray and I went over there for a month and that was fascinating because you were shooting in Romania which was a hot location for a number of years until it got too expensive. It was very cheap to be in Romania back then. They had finished shooting a big Civil War picture there – Cold Mountain with Nicole Kidman and Jude Law. We were in Romania a couple of years later. There were a lot of pictures being shot in and around Bucharest. We worked in the big studios in Bucharest. A lot of American production companies were buying or leasing space in them. The crews were very good and very cheap. It was just cheaper to bring a lot of people over there from the States to shoot the picture. That changed after SAG's Rule 1 became official. And that is, if you're an American actor and you're in SAG, if you shoot a picture in Romania for international distribution, you have to have a SAG contract. If you go to Romania to shoot something for Romanian television, they don't care. But if you shoot something in Romania for international distribution, it has to be a SAG contract. So SAG's Rule 1 slammed into the Romanians. But the fun part of it was that you could go there and visit beautiful little towns... Sibiu and university towns like Brașov – these little Baroque gems in the middle of the Carpathians and you were shooting in some really lovely places. So that's what we did for a month. Ghouls is what it is. It was a horror picture for the Sci-Fi Channel. I think they were trying to shoot as many things as they could for all the distribution that they could get. So I was there with Erin Grey (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) and that's really all I can say about it. I was not part of the overall viewing of it or the overall putting it together as much as I was with Andrew's stuff like Headspace and The Girl Next Door. In 2012, you were called upon to play another bastard in Jersey Shore Shark Attack, a Syfy Channel production. WA: That was just a hoot. I did that because Paul Sorvino was in it. Paul and I have known each other for many years. It just seemed kind of fun and stupid and I guess it was fun and stupid and so that's why we spent four or five days down in El Segundo and we just had a very good time and it's one of those things you do just for the hell of it, because it's silly and stupid and we had a good time doing it and that was that! So you didn't feel that you had to bring a different element to your portrayal of another villain – a ruthless developer intent on demolishing a seedy boardwalk frequented by Italian-Americans? WA: No, you try to reel it up as much as you can because the more you ground it, the funnier it can be. You can't riff on a riff. (laughs) Somebody's got to be the straight man so you try to do it that way and hopefully it'll all work out. What was it like to be crushed by a ferris wheel? WA: Again, I watched that from afar. Paul and I just looked up and yelled "Oh my God" and that was that (laughs). What role do you play in Childrens Hospital, Adult Swim's hit comedy series? WA: I play an official who is kind of like the Inspector-General. Shooting that episode was a lot of fun. I worked with Henry Winkler. Henry and I have known each other for a thousand years, all the way back to New York and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel in 1971! © 2013 Harvey Chartrand DVD REVIEW: "BULLSEYE" (1990) STARRING MICHAEL CAINE AND ROGER MOORE By Lee Pfeiffer Actors and directors have a long tradition of trying to pass off exotic vacations as legitimate film making. Sometimes the cynical gambit pays unexpected dividends such as the Rat Pack's decision to shoot Oceans Eleven in between their nightly gigs on stage in the Sands hotel and casino in Las Vegas. They somehow turned out a good movie in between all the drinking, screwing and gambling. John Ford rounded up his stock company and headed to Hawaii for Donovan's Reef, but even with John Wayne on board, Paramount balked at the reed-thin script and old Pappy ended up having to front some of the production costs himself. In 1990, director Michael Winner teamed two of the wittiest and most likable stars- Michael Caine and Roger Moore- for what would appear to be a "no lose" proposition: casting them in an espionage comedy. Winner was well past his sell date as a director by then and ended up reinventing himself as a grouchy political pundit and much-feared restaurant critic. Still, how could he lose by teaming Harry Palmer and James Bond? It's a rhetorical question because the resulting film, Bullseye, was considered almost unreleasable. It's one of the least-seen movies of Caine and Moore's careers and with good reason. The ridiculous plot finds the two charismatic actors cast as two low-grade London con men who become embroiled in a plot to impersonate two renegade nuclear scientists who plan to sell top secrets to dangerous foreign powers. The silliest aspect of the film is that the scientists just happen to be physically identical to the con men. Moore and Caine are subjected to a series of increasingly weird scenarios that see them running about like the Keystone Cops as any shred of sensibility in the script is tossed out the window. They are joined by B movie mainstay of the era Sally Kirkland and Moore's daughter Deborah (billed here as "Deborah Barrymore") but not even the resurrection of Marilyn Monroe's sex appeal could salvage this cinematic train wreck. Winner seems to be directing as an afterthought as he indulges in some gorgeous locations in Scotland where the on-screen antics become so confusing that you literally have no idea whether you are observing the con men or the scientists. Winner films the final scene in an exotic island location which is quite obviously an indication of his ability to actually fly everyone there simply to shoot a few seconds of inconsequential footage. Winner wrote the non-screenplay with another otherwise talented person, the great lyricist and songwriter Leslie Bricusse. The only consolation they must have had is that they had a hell of a time on location and no one saw the movie anyway. MGM  has released Bullseye as a burn-to-order title but only Moore and Caine purists will want to add it to their collections as it fails so miserably that it doesn't even attain "guilty pleasure" status. Winner should have been drawn and quartered for squandering this one time on-screen teaming of two great stars. Moore once told me he and Caine laughingly refer to Bullseye as "Our Ishtar." Well, let's not go that far...at least Bullseye didn't cost a fortune, though with Winner's taste for on-set catering of exotic food and drink, maybe the financial losses did exceed that legendary debacle. MEMOIRS OF MICHAEL WINNER Winner clowns with Caine and Connery British director Michael Winner passed away recently. Although he had not been a force in the film industry in decades, the larger-than-life director remained one of the best-connected people in show business and could pretty much induce anyone to socialize with him. Click here to access some great stories about his relationships with Michael Caine, Sophia Loren, Sean Connery and Burt Lancaster.  BACK ISSUES! GET ALL THOSE ELUSIVE EDITIONS FOR YOUR COLLECTION! HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #24 (SEPTEMBER, 2012): Major celebration of The Poseidon Adventure's 40th anniversary with articles by David Savage, Tom Lisanti, James Radford and Chris Poggiali. Includes many rare photos, international movie posters and interviews with Carol Lynley and Mort Kunstler, the legendary artist who created the movie poster. Kunstler also provides his original sketches for the ad campaign, reproduced in this issue for the first time.  40th anniversary tribute to Deliverance. John Exshaw visits director John Boorman at his home in Ireland for exclusive interview about working with author James Dickey on the landmark film. Gary Giblin takes an in-depth look at another classic film celebrating its 40th anniversary: Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy, complete with rare stills from sequences that the Master cut from the final version of the movie. Matthew R. Bradley looks at one of the screen's legendary baddies, James Bond nemesis Blofeld in both literature and cinema. The title of the article: The Importance of Being Ernst. Remembering Ernest Borgnine: a tribute to the legendary Oscar winner. Raymond Benson's ten best films of 1983. Lee Pfeiffer pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to the 1976 B movie cult "classic" Grizzly starring Christopher George, Richard Jaeckel and Andrew Prine.  Gareth Owen revisits the early days of director Michael Winner's career at Pinewood Studios. Mark Mawston's new column Desert Island Flicks covers underrated gems like John Frankenheimer's Seconds, Frank Perry's The Swimmer and Don Siegel's Coogan's Bluff. Adrian Smith titillates readers with part two of his extensive look at the history of British sexploitation films in More Sex, Please. We're British.  Dean Brierly's Crime Wave International covers British classic crime movies of the 60s and 70s including Get Carter, Payroll, The Long Good Friday, Robbery, Villain and Sitting Target.  Plus the usual reviews of the latest film books, DVDs and soundtracks.  Limited supply. Price: $30  (includes postage worldwide).  HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #25 INCLUDE: James Bond at 50: Cinema Retro interviews Daniel Craig, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson and Skyfall director Sam Mendesabout the screen legacy of Agent 007. Dr. No cast and crew reunion at Pinewood Studios, England: Gareth Owen reports Matthew R. Bradley covers the Blofelds of screen and literature in The Importance of Being Ernst: Part 2 Major coverage of Hammer Films events: convention report, Hammer horror film locations then and now and coverage of the latest Blu-ray releases. In-depth look at the new restoration of David Lean's masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia and exclusive interview with Sony's Grover Crisp, the man who spearheaded the restoration process. Best-selling author Robert Sellers provides a fascinating look at the life and career of the ultimate "bad boy" of British cinema, Oliver Reed. Dean Brierly looks at the best Italian crime movies of the 60s and 70s. Tribute to the creator of master of British film posters, artist Tom Chantrell. Michael Davey interviews British sex symbol Liz Fraser Sands of the Kalahari starring Stuart Whitman and Susannah York: Lee Pfeiffer revisits an underrated classic adventure Nicholas  Anez pays tribute to Burt Lancaster's controversial The Swimmer  The"B" British war film Attack on the Iron Coast starring Lloyd Bridges- part one of Howard Hughes' history of Oakmont Studios Raymond Benson's top ten films of 1984 Plus the latest DVD, soundtrack and  film book reviews  USA/ CANADA : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #25 UK : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #25 EUROPE : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #25 REST OF THE WORLD : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #25 HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #26 INCLUDE: Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs: Mike Siegel provides  in-depth coverage of the legendary director's controversial 1971 classic starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. Includes extensive rarely seen behind the scenes production photos and rare international ad campaigns.  Lee Pfeiffer interviews comedy genius Mel Brooks, who reflects on his long career in TV and feature films. Howard Hughes examines the 1969 spaghetti Western classic The Five Man Army starring Peter Graves, Bud Spencer and Tetsuro Tamba Dean Brierly pays tribute to the great French crime films of the 1960s and 1970s David McCallum recalls the making of Oakmont Studio's 1969 WWII film Mosquito Squadron Cinema Retro attends the 40th anniversary cast and crew reunion of Bob Fosse's Cabaret and gets interviews with Joel Grey, Michael York, Marisa Berenson and Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies. Plus we cover the "re-premiere" at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre, attended by Liza Minnelli herself. Don R. Stradley looks at Sextette, the bizarre cinematic swan song of Mae West Raymond Benson's ten best films of 1985 Gareth Owen examines the making of the 1969 spy flick The Chairman (aka The Most Dangerous Man in the World) starring Gregory Peck  Dave Worrall covers the new restoration of the Hammer horror classic Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula)  Remembering the brilliant, cynical comedy of Paddy Chayefsky in The Hospital starring George C. Scott and Diana Rigg Plus the latest DVD, soundtrack and  film book reviews  USA/ CANADA : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #26 UK : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #26 EUROPE : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #26 REST OF THE WORLD : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #26 HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #27 INCLUDE: Don L. Stradley examines the dramatic life and career of Lolita star Sue Lyon John Exshaw's unpublished interview with screen legend Peter Cushing Adrian Smith interviews Hugh Hudson, director of Revolution and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Dean Brierly looks at classic Japanese crime movies Stephen C. Jilks celebrates the Hammer horror flick Curse of the Werewolf David Savage examines Liz Taylor's little-seen, late career bizarro cult movie The Driver's Seat Howard Hughes continues his history of Oakmont Productions with Submarine X-1 starring James Caan Paul Thomson provides in-depth coverage of the Amicus Edgar Rice Burroughs film adaptations The Land That Time Forgot, At the Earth's Core and The People That Time Forgot and reviews the long-forgotten electric rock Western Zachariah Remember Ray Harryhausen Raymond Benson's top ten films of 1986 Lee Pfeiffer's Take Two column looks back on The Valachi Papers starring Charles Bronson Burt Reynolds underrated dark comedy The End is re-evaluated by Tim Greaves Gareth Owen's Pinewood Past column features Reach for the Sky starring Kenneth More Plus the latest film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews.  USA/ CANADA : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #27 UK : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #27 EUROPE : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #27 REST OF THE WORLD : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #27 HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #28 INCLUDE: Sheldon Hall's 13 page spectacular tribute to the 50th anniversary of Zulu starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. Rare behind the scenes photos and international movie posters.   Dave Worrall takes on you on a locations "now and then" tour of where Goldfinger starring Sean Connery was filmed at the legendary Pinewood Studios. Ray Morton's exclusive interview with cinematographer Richard Kline, who shot King Kong (1976), Death Wish, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Camelot.  Dean Brierly looks at classic American crime movies including The Killers (1974), The Driver, Point Blank, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. Brian Hannan tells the fascinating story of Elizabeth Taylor's BUtterfield 8, the film she did not want to do but won an Oscar for! Tim Greaves looks at the short but exotic career of Victoria Vetri, star of Hammer Films' When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth- and provides some rare provocative photos! Illustrated tribute to movie comic book tie-ins from the 1960s and 1970s. Howard Hughes continues his history of Oakmont Productions with The Thousand Plane Raid starring Christopher George.  Harvey Chartrand tells the fascinating story behind Mary Rose, the dream project that Alfred Hitchcock never filmed. Trevor Chapman remembers the glorious Gaumont Theatre, one of Britain's Cinerama gems.  Gareth Owen looks at Pinewood Studios in the 1970s and 1980s. Raymond Benson's top ten films of 1987 Plus the latest film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews USA/ CANADA : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #28 UK : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #28 EUROPE : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #28 REST OF THE WORLD : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #28 HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #29 INCLUDE: Lee Pfeiffer interviews director William Friedkin about the restoration of his controversial film Sorcerer starring Roy Scheider Don L. Stradley looks at how horror films saved the careers of veteran actresses such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Shelly Winters Nicholas Anez compares the John Wayne/Howard Hawks  classics Rio Bravo and El Dorado The Wicker Man 40th Anniversary- Mark Mawston interviews the film's director Robin Hardy Lee Pfeiffer interviews actress Nancy Kwan about breaking racial barriers in Hollywood Howard Hughes covers the forgotten WWII flick The Last Escape starring Stuart Whitman Cai Ross pays tribute to the supporting actors of All the President's Men: Jason Robards, Jack Warden and Martin Balsam Harvey Chartrand on Mary Rose, Alfred Hitchcock's aborted thriller. Gareth Owen's tribute to legendary James Bond cinematographer Alec Mills Lee Van Cleef in Sabata and Death Rides a Horse Mike Siegel on Sam Peckinpah's cult classic Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia Roland Schaefli  visits the German film locations of  the Steve McQueen classic The Great Escape- then and now. Paul Sutton: "Meeting Malcolm McDowell" Plus the latest film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews USA/ CANADA : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #29 UK : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #29 EUROPE : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #29 HIGHLIGHTS OF ISSUE #30 INCLUDE: Mark Mawston lands a rare exclusive interview with A Hard Day's Night director Richard Lester, who recalls the making of the iconic film on its 50th anniversary- with insights from former United Artists production head David V. Picker, who brought the film to the screen. Denis Meilke looks at the legacy of the Steve Reeves Hercules films and the spin off Italian sword and sandal flicks in "Blood, Sweat and Togas".  Nicholas Anez compares the John Wayne/Howard Hawks  classics Rio Bravo and El Dorado in the concluding part of his essay.  Matthew Field provides the moving and informative final interview with legendary cinematographer Oswald Morris, who shot such diverse films as Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!, Death Wish and The Guns of Navarone. Lee Pfeiffer on the legacy of the late, great Eli Wallach. Brian Davidson pays tribute to the short, tragic career of 1960s glamour girl Francoise Dorleac. Tim Greaves celebrates the guilty pleasures of Warlords of Atlantis Gareth Owen's tribute to legendary Gerry Anderson and his work at Pinewood Studios Brian Davidson revisits the kinky, British cult thriller Fright starring Susan George and Honor Blackman Howard Hughes concludes The Oakmont Story with a look at their last production, Hell Boats starring James Franciscus. John M. Whalen explores the strange tale of One-Eyed Jacks starring and directed by Marlon Brando Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars- the 50th anniversary of the Clint Eastwood classic Raymond Benson's 10 best films of 1989 Plus the latest film book, soundtrack and DVD reviews USA/ CANADA : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #30 UK : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #30 EUROPE : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #30 REST OF THE WORLD : CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #30 CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE FOR MORE ISSUES BLU-RAY REVIEW: "ASHANTI" (1979) STARRING MICHAEL CAINE, PETER USTINOV, BEVERLY JOHNSON, OMAR SHARIF, REX HARRISON AND WILLIAM HOLDEN By Lee Pfeiffer Now that Severin Films has bounced back into circulation with their outstanding Blu-ray release of The Wild Geese, the company has also released a more obscure, star-studded title: the 1979 adventure film Ashanti. Never heard of it? Most people haven't and only a relatively few people have ever seen it in the American/British market, despite the impressive cast of high profile names. The film takes on what is probably the world's second-oldest profession: slave trading. Although human trafficking is high on the list of international crimes today, when the film was made, great pains had to be taken to educate viewers that slave trading did not get extinguished in the age of the horse and buggy and remains a very modern criminal activity. The film, directed by old hand Richard Fleischer, opens in Africa when an interracial married couple -  doctors David and Anansa Linderby (Michael Caine and Beverly Johnson)- are seen providing medical services to remote tribes who reside in isolated regions. When Anansa decides to take an ill-fated skinny dip in a local river, the beautiful young woman is mistaken for a member of the tribe and brutally kidnapped by slavers headed by the notorious Suleiman (Peter Ustinov), an Arab trader of human misery.  When David discovers his wife's fate, he launches an ambitious rescue effort but is hampered by corrupt or incompetent local officials. He decides to take matters into his own hands, with the help of a local humanitarian (Rex Harrison) and a sympathetic mercenary (William Holden). Despite their assistance, David finds the only man who can really help him is Malik (Kabir Bedi, who makes a striking screen presence), a Rambo-like figure who lives in the desert and is consumed by his own wife's abduction and murder at the hands of Suleiman. He agrees to assist David and the two make an arduous trek across the blazing Sahara in an attempt to rescue Anansa and her fellow victims before they can be sold at a private auction to rich men who want to abuse the slaves sexually. Ashanti doesn't stint on the plight of those victimized by slavery. The slaves are treated brutally on the walk across the Sahara and given a minimum amount of food and water. The plan is to bring them to a "fattening house", a deplorable cellar, where they will be brought back to health in order to maximize their price at auction.  Along the way, both young women and little boys are molested at will. David and Malik make for a disparate but determined team. David, who is unskilled in fighting or the use of weapons, must rely on his hot-tempered ally, who is capable of taking on numerous adversaries at the same time and prevailing. Meanwhile, Anansa tries to use logic with Suleiman to gain her freedom, pointing out that she is employed by the United Nations and her kidnapping will bring authorities down on him. He is unimpressed and claims that her natural beauty will result in his making enough money to retire and leave the slave trade before he can be found. Ashanti is a consistently compelling adventure film, well-directed by the veteran Fleischer. Caine is a refreshing screen hero because he isn't a superman. He does acquit himself well in a climactic fight scene but his unfamiliarity with firearms realistically results in tragic consequences for one of his key allies. Ustinov channels his role from Spartacus as a charismatic scoundrel. Even when he engages in deplorable acts, he is personally charming. The real find is model Beverly Johnson, who gives a very fine performance in what is really the starring the role in the film. Harrison and Holden have extended cameos and their presence adds greatly to the enjoyment of the movie, as does a late-in-the-story appearance by Omar Sharif. If there's a weak aspect to the production it's the musical score by Michael Melvoin, which would be more appropriate in a disco-themed romance than an action film. Severin's Blu-ray edition features an extensive, recent interview with Beverly Johnson, who discusses the fact that she was the "breakthrough" African American female model of the 1970s. (She is also an activist for social causes and was recently honored by Oprah Winfrey). Johnson is very verbose and amusing in recounting the film, which she is proud of. She found herself the only girl among a team of hard-drinking guys on the production company, but recalls some sound advice given to her by Rex Harrison ("Never perform your own stunts!) that she ignored with almost tragic results. She still swoons at the memory of aging William Holden's handsome features and speaks bluntly about having to cope with former husband Danny Sims' on-set antics, which she says included bedding seemingly every female in sight. She also blames Sims, who was a high profile record producer, for the film's awful song, heard over the end credits which he convinced her to sing in order to promote a record album that no one bought. Johnson says the film's producer alienated the "suits" at the studio and they decided to get even by burying the movie, despite its expensive production values. Regardless of its theatrical fate, Ashanti remains a fast-moving, well-acted adventure movie that entertains even as it outrages viewers with an honest look at how cheap human life is in certain parts of this planet. The special edition also includes the original trailer. WHEN HARRY MET QUILLER Here's a regrettably grainy but ultra-rare shot from the Cinema Retro archive, circa June 1966. It depicts a chance meeting of two major spy movie stars of that year, as Michael Caine bumped into George Segal on location in Berlin. Caine was reprising his Harry Palmer in Funeral in Berlin while Segal was shooting The Quiller Memorandum. Remember, every issue of our magazine edition is packed with rare photos and production ads you've never seen, so subscribe today! VISIT THE HARRY PALMER WEB SITE. CLICK HERE! DVD REVIEW: MICHAEL CAINE IN "PLAY DIRTY" By Lee Pfeiffer With a tidal wave of DVD releases hitting the market every year, it may well be that you are unaware that some of your favorite films are available on home video. In Cinema Retro's never-ending quest to serve our loyal readers, we occasionally shine the spotlight on DVD releases that don't get much fanfare and are often overlooked. In this case, we focus on Play Dirty, a 1968 WWII film that boasts a sterling cast of great British actors: Michael Caine, the two Nigels (Davenport and Green in a rare pairing in the same film) and Harry Andrews. The movie was directed by Andre De Toth, another of those rather eccentric, larger-than-life characters sadly lacking in today's film industry. The plot finds Caine as a British officer supervising loading docks in WWII Africa. He's reluctantly sent on a top secret mission 400 miles behind enemy lines to blow up a fuel depot. Unbeknownst to Caine, his team is being used as sacrificial lambs to divert attention from the real commando team that is following in their footsteps. From minute one, the uppercrust Caine finds himself in charge of a motley crew that makes the Dirty Dozen look like a boy's choir. He locks horns with Nigel Davenport, a mercenary-like cynic who makes it clear he is the de facto leader of the team. After suffering embarrassing lapses in strategy, Caine has to prove his worth in order to re-establish respect for his command. Along the way there are other challenges, aside from the obviously suicidal nature of the mission. The pure hell of the desert has rarely been so convincingly captured in any film and the widescreen cinematography by Edward Scaife is a wonder to behold. You can practically feel the heat and the sand every throughout the film, and you are made aware of how difficult the shooting of this film must have been for the actors. (The movie was shot in Almeria, Spain where Sergio Leone filmed his Dollar film trilogy with Clint Eastwood). The plot takes some surprising twists, with double-crosses, unexpected plot devices and the simmering tensions between Caine and Davenport that provide an unpredictable quality to the film that separates it from most WWII films. The movie's cynical outlook on war and the people who find themselves fighting them was largely a reflection with public weariness over the Vietnam conflict, which was then at its peak, along with the resulting protest movement. Performances are first-rate and the violence would have made Sam Peckinpah proud. This is not a film that stints on realism and the graphic nature of some scenes would have been impossible to bring to the screen only a year or two before Play Dirty was released. The real treat is watching the array of first-rate actors at their peak (even if Green and Andrews are relegated to extended cameo sequences). Ironically, Caine had appeared almost simultaneously in another major anti-war film that was reknowned for its violent content, Robert Aldrich's Too Late the Hero. Play Dirty was the fourth collaboration between Michael Caine and James Bond co-producer Harry Saltzman, with whom he made the three Harry Palmer big screen spy thrillers. It ranks as a top-notch adventure, but keep an ice cold brew handy when viewing it - the sun drenched landscapes will make you thirsty from the first frame. MGM's DVD provides a superb looking picture, but the one frustrating drawback is that the disc has no extras whatsoever. To order the DVD from Amazon.com, click here "THE DARK KNIGHT RISES" TIE-IN NOVEL BY GREG COX PUBLISHED BY TITAN BOOKS  Cinema Retro has received the following press release: Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises,” the much-anticipated final chapter in writer-director Christopher Nolan’s Batman film trilogy has been adapted into an official tie-in novel written by award-winning author Greg Cox and published by Titan Books, under a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Novelist Greg Cox is no stranger to Batman or the DC Comics universe, having written the official novelizations for such major comic book storylines as Infinite Crisis (2006), 52 (2007), Countdown (2009), and Final Crisis (2010). He has produced numerous bestselling adaptations and original novels based on Star Trek, Underworld, Warehouse 13, and other popular properties. His original novel Terminator Salvation: Cold War won the 2010 Scribe Award for tie-in fiction, and CSI: Headhunter took the award in 2009. “Batman is one of the most iconic characters of popular culture,” Titan Publisher Nick Landau said. “We’re tremendously excited to work with Warner Bros. on the novelization of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ especially since it is the culmination of everything Christopher Nolan has done with his amazing trilogy. This is a part of motion picture history.” The publishing of Titan Books’ The Dark Knight Rises on Tuesday, July 24, was timed to coincide with the Warner Bros. Pictures release of “The Dark Knight Rises,” which opened in theatres on Friday, July 20, 2012. About “The Dark Knight Rises” Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox. The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane. “The Dark Knight Rises” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Slated for release on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. About Titan Publishing Group Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981, comprising three divisions: Titan Books, Titan Magazines/Comics and Titan Merchandise. Titan Books' rapidly growing fiction list encompasses original fiction and reissues, primarily in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk and crime. Titan Books also has an extensive line of media and pop culture-related non-fiction, graphic novels, art and music books. The company is based at offices in London, but operates worldwide, with sales and distribution in the US & Canada being handled by Random House. About Warner Bros. Consumer Products Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world. About DC Entertainment DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner.  DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.  In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We Can Be Heroes—a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes—to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL ARCHIVE GALA: WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING OF BFI NATIONAL ARCHIVE RESTORATION OF HITCHCOCK’S THE MANXMAN (1929) CLIMAX OF BFI’S ‘GENIUS OF HITCHCOCK’ PROJECT Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the British Film Institute: The BFI is pleased to announce that the grand finale of The Genius of Hitchcock project (June – October 2012) will be the BFI London Film Festival’s Archive Gala screening, presented in association with The Krasner Fund for the BFI, of the world premiere of the BFI National Archive’s new restoration of Hitchcock’s The Manxman (1929). This powerful love triangle set among the fishing community on the Isle of Man will be shown at The Empire, Leicester Square with a new score by Stephen Horne on 19 October 2012.  The BFI London Film Festival runs from 10 -21 October 2012. Clare Stewart, BFI Head of Exhibition & Artistic Director, BFI LFF said, “The Manxman as the  BFI London Film Festival Archive Gala will be a fitting culmination to the BFI’s extraordinary series of screenings of Hitchcock's newly restored silent films this summer. Critics and audiences alike have thrilled to see these films afresh, transformed by great new music and exciting settings. We are delighted to be showing The Manxman at The Empire, a cinema which Hitchcock knew, with an accompaniment from Stephen Horne, a hugely talented composer who is guaranteed to produce something worthy of the LFF’s prestigious archive presentation. This screening marks the start of a valuable partnership with Ella Krasner, whose significant donation launches The Krasner Fund for the BFI: supporting film treasures in the BFI Collections. The Krasner Fund for the BFI will underpin a series of events throughout the year which, in turn, will leverage additional support for the unparalleled collections held in the BFI National Archive.  Amanda Nevill, BFI CEO said, “We are delighted to welcome Ella Krasner to the BFI. Her donation will support the work of the BFI collections and the fund we are launching with her at the Archive Gala will act as a meaningful catalyst to leverage additional significant funds for the same cause.  We are very grateful to her for initiating a new concept of support for our Archive in a sustainable way.” The Manxman is Alfred Hitchcock’s last wholly silent film and one of the best and most mature works of his early career. Adapted from the novel (originally published in 1894) by Sir Hall Caine, a bestselling author who specialised in stories set on the Isle of Man, the location work was actually done in Cornwall. Set in a small fishing community, two boyhood friends take markedly different paths in adulthood, one a humble fisherman, the other a lawyer destined to become ‘Deemster’, the local chief justice.  Both fall in love with the same woman, forcing them to deal not only with their own moral code but also that of the strict Manx society. Although an untypical Hitchcock work, The Manxman succeeds brilliantly on its own terms and features superlative performances from Hitchcock favourites, Malcom Keen, Carl Brisson and the luminescent Anny Ondra. Stephen Horne has been associated with the BFI for over 20 years and is an internationally renowned accompanist to silent films and a composer in his own right. His involvement with The Genius of Hitchcock began when he performed a partially improvised score at the world premiere screening of the BFI’s new restoration of The Ring at the Cannes Film Festival in May to great acclaim, playing piano, flute, accordion and percussion. He will also play a musical accompaniment to Hitchcock’s Easy Virtue in the autumn for screenings at BFI Southbank. The Genius of Hitchcock is the biggest ever project undertaken by the BFI. The Manxman is the last of nine new restorations of Alfred Hitchcock’s surviving silent films to be presented with new music, part of a series of spectacular events, launched as part of the Cultural Olympiad. The project continues through August into October with a complete retrospective at BFI Southbank, many international guests and a nationwide release of The Lodger in cinemas. Now in the final stage of the campaign, there is still a chance for anyone who would like to help ensure all nine of Hitchcock’s surviving silent films can be restored to make a donation by visiting www.bfi.org.uk/saveafilm . The BFI has also published a new book 39 Steps to The Genius of Hitchcock and there is a supporting exhibition at BFI Southbank alongside a series of new resources on the BFI website. The Manxman credits "DON'T LET THE BASTARDS GRIND YOU DOWN" ARRIVES IN MAY Cinema Retro contributor and best-selling author Robert Sellers has another major book about to be released that will be of interest to all retro movie fans- right down to the groovy Flint-inspired cover. Here is the official press release for the book, which will be out in May (UK) and June (USA): Alan Bates, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole, Robert Shaw and Terence Stamp: They are the most formidable acting generation ever to tread the boards or stare into a camera, whose anti-establishment attitude changed the cultural landscape of Britain. This was a new breed, many culled from the working class industrial towns of Britain, and nothing like them has been seen before or since. Their raw earthy brilliance brought realism to a whole range of groundbreaking theatre from John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger to Joan Littlewood and Harold Pinter and the creation of the National Theatre. And they ripped apart the staid, middle class British film industry with kitchen sink classics like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, This Sporting Life, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, A Kind of Loving and Billy Liar before turning their sights on international stardom: Connery with James Bond, O’Toole as Lawrence of Arabia, Finney with Tom Jones and Caine with Zulu. Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down brings alive the trail-blazing period of theatre and film from 1956-1964 through the vibrant energy and exploits of this revolutionary generation of stars who bulldozed over austerity Britain and paved the way for the swinging 60s. What Peter Biskind’s ‘Easy Riders Raging Bulls’ did for American cinema writing so ‘Don’t Let the Bastards’ will do for the British cinema. Interview subjects include: David McCallum, Rita Tushingham, Michael Anderson, Victor Spinetti, Susannah York, George Baker, Sidney J. Furie, Glyn Edwards, Derek Fowlds, Gary Raymond, Michael Cacoyannis, Robert Hardy, Cyril Frankel, David Storey, Edward Hardwicke, Gemma Jones, Monty Norman, Philip Saville, Walter Lassally and the widow of Richard Harris Elizabeth Harris. COLIN FIRTH MAY STAR IN REMAKE OF "GAMBIT"   Colin Firth, basking in acclaim for The King's Speech, is in talks to star in a remake of the 1966 caper film Gambit which starred Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine. The Coen Brothers wrote the script, but Michael Hoffman will direct. For more click here BILL DIEHL REMEMBERS ELAINE KAUFMAN (Legendary New York restaurant owner Elaine Kaufman has died at age 81, a staggering loss to Gotham's social scene. Elaine's restaurant was a favored hang-out for celebrities, largely because Elaine would use her less-than-shy demeanor and imposing physical presence to ensure that no one pestered the stars. Long time ABC radio film critic Bill Diehl shares his memories of Elaine in this exclusive column for Cinema Retro)  By Bill Diehl This photo was taken last year when I dined at Elaine's with my one-time intern, Emily Smolar, now a producer at Paula Zahn's "On the Case."  Emily took the photo. I reminded Elaine that I first met her in the late 1960s when WNEW's Jim Lowe took me up to her restaurant at 88th and Second Avenue.  "Elaine," he said, "I want you to meet one of the newest member's of our WNEW staff, newsman Bill Diehl."  And as I recall Elaine said, "Jim, any friend of yours is a friend of mine."  I was never a frequent visitor to Elaine's after Jim's introduction although I returned in the mid 80s for the promotion of a book about Hugh Hefner's Playboy, "Mr.Hugh Hefner and the American Dream," by Steven Watts.  Hef wasn't there (I did meet him in 2000 when I had a private visit to 'The Mansion' for an interview) but his daughter Christie was at Elaine's for the book party along with lots of other celebs.  Among the quotes about Elaine's passing---these from the Daily News: Author Gay Talese: "We're all a little less alive today with Elaine dead."   Woody Allen: "She protected everybody. The bar was so full of celebrated people. But you were never bothered, because everybody was a bigger deal than you."  And I love this,  from the N.Y.Times obit---a guy at the restaurant once asked Elaine for directions at the men's room. Elaine said, "It's in the back...take a right at Michael Caine." She was quite something, a real New York fixture.  Lots of obits in the NY Papers...NY Times of course has a lengthy one, also the Daily News and the NY Post.  Food was never great at Elaine's but of course celebs didn't go there for the food...they wanted a 'den mother' and that was Elaine.   LONDON'S HEYGATE ESTATE, SITE OF MANY FILM SHOOTS, TO BE DEMOLISHED Caine at Heygate: filming Harry Brown in 2009 Heygate housing estate, a notorious south London apartment complex built in 1974, is to be demolished later this year. The projects once housed 700 residents but only 50 people now reside there. The drab Soviet-style design has been used by countless filmmakers to shoot movies and TV series there. Most recently, Michael Caine's Harry Brown presented Heygate as a virtual hell-on-earth. Clint Eastwood also filmed his new movie Hereafter at Heygate. Although the fees from filmmakers for using the property were welcomed by residents, few are saddened by the demise of the dreary estate. For more click here ICONIC BRITISH CAR PARK FROM "GET CARTER" TO BE DEMOLISHED   Trinity Square Car Park in Gateshead, England is scheduled for demolition - and legions of retro movies fans are grieving. That's because the parking garage is where a key sequence from Michael Caine's 1971 crime classic Get Carter was filmed. Click here for details CINEMA RETRO ISSUE #11 BACK IN STOCK! Good news for those of you who are trying to complete your collection of Cinema Retro issues. A small number of copies of Cinema Retro #11, previously listed as sold out, have surfaced in our warehouse. Here's what this excellent issue features: *Film in Focus 8 page tribute to Michael Caine's crime classic Get Carter *The inside story of the shocking erotic film Baby Love starring 15 year old Linda Hayden *The Films From U.N.C.L.E. coverage continues with One Spy Too Many *Exclusive interview with noted director Joe Dante *Never before published behind the scenes photos from the filming of On Her Majesty's Secret Service Exclusive interview with David McCallum Inside the Ian Fleming London museum tribute Extensive look at Gerry Anderson's Doppleganger (aka Journey to the Far Side of the Sun) The Queen's visits to Pinewood Studios Pt. 2 of our tribute to Doris Day Raymond Benson's top ten films of 1970 plus the best soundtrack, DVD and movie book reviews PRICE: $30 (includes postage worldwide) CLICK HERE FOR OUR BACK ISSUES SECTION GREAT MOMENTS IN CHEESY CINEMA: "JAWS- THE REVENGE"   When critics go on a tangent against ridiculous sequels, they generally cite Jaws- The Revenge as prime evidence. The ill-conceived third sequel to the classic film is a treasure trove of unintended laughs. And to think that Michael Caine couldn't be on hand in Hollywood to accept his Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters because he was filming this! Click here to view the trailer FILMS THAT NEVER HAPPENED: "THE PASS BEYOND KASHMIR" RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES We're always amazed at the number of major films that are announced with fanfare only to fall into development hell and never go into production. Here's one we've never heard before from an industry trade magazine in November, 1964. It concerns James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman: "Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli will produce The Pass Beyond Kashmir for Columbia release, Columbia first vice-president M.J. Frankovich announced here at the weekend." CUBBY BROCCOLI What makes the story rather surprising is not only the fact that the film never went into production but that it was slated to be a Columbia production. Cubby Broccoli had enjoyed a good relationship with the studio in the 1950 when he partnered with Irving Allen to form Warwick Films which produced a number of boxoffice hits. However, by the early 1960s he and Saltzman had formed Eon Productions and was exclusively associated with United Artists henceforth. UA had financed and distributed the James Bond blockbusters and both Broccoli and Saltzman held UA boss Arthur Krim in high regard for having taken a chance on the franchise (Columbia repeatedly passed on Eon's overtures to back the series- much to the studio's regret.) HARRY SALTZMAN Broccoli and Saltzman originally intended to make other films outside of the Bond franchise, both independently and as a team. However, as the 007 films grew in size and budget it became difficult to mount any non-Bond related film. In 1963, the pair did manage to bring the Bob Hope comedy Call Me Bwana to the screen. In 1968, Broccoli produced the Ian Fleming story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a major musical on his own. Similarly, Saltzman produced three Harry Palmer films starring Michael Caine and the 1969 WWII epic Battle of Britain sans Broccoli. The Broccoli/Saltzman partnership ended after the release of the ninth Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun in 1974. Although Saltzman dabbled in producing in the ensuing years, he never was associated with another hit film. Broccoli continued to run the Bond franchise on his own and reinvigorated the series after the lukewarm reception accorded Golden Gun. The two men had never been close on a personal basis and often had well-publicized differences in their creative and business philosophies. However, they did see each other over the years on rare occasions. Saltzman accepted Cubby's invitation to attend the London premiere of For Your Eyes Only in 1981 and Cubby and his wife Dana did visit Saltzman in his later years when he was in declining health. UPDATE: Our eagle-eyed contributor Hank Reinke informs us that The Pass Beyond Kashmir was based on a 1960 spy novel by Berkley Mather, who contributed to the screenplay of Dr. No. The plot centered on a private detective based in Bombay who begins embroiled in a dangerous assignment that entails traveling through India and Pakistan. MICHAEL CAINE GETS POLITICAL; APPEARS WITH DAVID CAMERON AT TORY EVENT Sir Michael Caine is not generally known for wading into political waters, but he caused a stir when he recently made an appearance with David Cameron, the conservative leader who is trying to unseat Gordon Brown as prime minister in the May elections. Caine was lending his support to a Tory program designed to prevent youths from drifting into juvenile delinquency. Caine made the most of the event, even making a quip based on his classic crime caper The Italian Job. For more click here DVD REVIEW: PARAMOUNT RESTORES "THE AFRICAN QUEEN" By Lee Pfeiffer Like most classic movie fans, I have have viewed The African Queen countless times. However, I had never truly seen The African Queen until I attended a special digital screening of the restored version. Cinema Retro was among a select number of publications to be invited by Paramount for the unveiling of the restored version of director John Huston's classic adventure. The screening took place at Viacom headquarters in Times Square (Viacom is the parent company of Paramount). Following a reception attended by Ron Smith, the man who headed up the restoration process, we were escorted into the screening room where a new documentary was shown detailing the painstaking efforts to preserve the film. When the movie itself was shown in digital format, the result was literally breathtaking. The film looks better than Huston could have ever hoped for. UNIVERSAL UNVEILS BURN-TO-ORDER FILM TITLES THROUGH AMAZON The all star 1963 whodunnit The List of Adrian Messenger is among the long-awaited DVD releases now available through the Universal Archive. Universal is following in the footsteps of Warner Brothers by making well-known film titles available on a burn-to-order basis. The Universal titles are now available on Amazon and can be ordered through searching on the database, as you would for any other title. Each disc is recorded on DVD-R format. Here is the initial press release: CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jan. 20, 2010 – CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) group of companies, today announced an agreement with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to release a special selection of Universal's rare films, spanning six decades. Titles from the all-new "Universal Vault Series" will be available on Amazon.com through CreateSpace's DVD on-Demand technology. Spanning a variety of genres and decades, many of the films will now be available for the first time on DVD. Digitally remastered and exclusively available using CreateSpace's DVD on-Demand platform, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will give fans first-time DVD access to some of its most highly sought-after films, such as "A Bronx Tale," the 1993 film directed by and starring Robert De Niro. Other titles in the series will include cult favorite "The Incredible Shrinking Woman," starring Lily Tomlin; "Gambit," the three-time Academy Award®-nominated film starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine; "The Black Shield of Falworth," Universal's first feature film using CinemaScope technology; "The Brass Bottle," starring Barbara Eden and the film inspiration for the hit television show "I Dream of Jeannie"; and "Resurrection," starring Ellen Burstyn as a modern-day miracle worker. DVD on-Demand enables major film studios like Universal Pictures to release rare and unique content in response to consumer demand. With DVD on-Demand, DVDs are manufactured only after a customer places an order, making it a cost-effective solution that doesn't require studios to estimate market demand or make costly investments in physical inventory. "CreateSpace's model allows movie studios and content owners to restore and release oft-requested titles quickly, easily and economically," said Dana LoPiccolo-Giles, managing director, CreateSpace. "With CreateSpace's DVD on-Demand platform, Universal Pictures can ensure its fans have the opportunity to collect and view their favorite films from the past with DVD quality." Other titles in the "Universal Vault Series" to be made available through CreateSpace DVD on-Demand include: "40 Pounds of Trouble" (1962), starring Tony Curtis "Blue Collar" (1978), starring Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel "The Chalk Garden" (1964), starring Deborah Kerr and Hayley Mills "Death Takes a Holiday" (1934), starring Frederic March "Dragnet" (1954), starring Jack Webb "Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain" (1995), starring Christina Ricci and Anna Chlumsky "A Good Man in Africa" (1994), starring Sean Connery "The House of Seven Gables" (1940), starring George Sanders and Vincent Price "Kitten with a Whip" (1964), starring Ann-Margret and John Forsythe "The Last Remake of Beau Geste" (1977), starring Marty Feldman "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963), starring George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas and Frank Sinatra "The Perfect Furlough" (1958), starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh "Pure Luck" (1991), starring Martin Short and Danny Glover "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1933), starring Charles Laughton "Shoot Out" (1971), starring Gregory Peck "Shout" (1991), starring John Travolta "Spawn of the North" (1938), starring Henry Fonda, George Raft and Dorothy Lamour "Stick" (1985), starring Burt Reynolds "Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here" (1970), starring Robert Redford CLICK HERE TO GO TO AMAZON AND ORDER YOUR TITLES!
i don't know
Which four letter word can mean a shot in golf, a famous pirate or a law in physics?
Slang words for alcohol | Urban Thesaurus | The Online Slang Dictionary The Online Slang Dictionary Browsing page 1 of words meaning alcohol (68 words total) The slang words in this thesaurus category appear below the table of contents. Where does this category appear in the slang thesaurus? To expand these results, click one of the above categories. alcohol What slang words have this meaning? The definitions of these slang words appear below the list. Full definitions of all the slang words listed above: # See forty .                                                              Citation from "Stanny Boy and Frantastic", American Dad (TV), Season 6 Episode 10 (2011) blacked out to resolve Google's penalty against this site .                                                Citation from "El Secuestro", Archer (TV), Season 2 Episode 10 (2011) blacked out to resolve Google's penalty against this site .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Citation from "Irregarding Steve", American Dad! (TV), Season 2 Episode 8 (2006) blacked out to resolve Google's penalty against this site . See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Mar 03 2013. Submitted by Tony F. from Ann Arbor, MI, USA on Feb 21 2005 . + 516      noun a "Long Island Ice Tea" (also called a "Long Island Iced Tea") which is a strong alcoholic mixed drink. Origin: 516 is the telephone area code for the western portion of New York's Long Island. Man, I could really go for a 516 right about now. A 516 would make a perfect thirst-quencher. See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on May 18 2013. Submitted by A.M. from WI, USA on Nov 21 1999 . + Would you care for an adult beverage? See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Sep 11 2011. Submitted by Anonymous on Sep 11 2011 . + a few drinks of alcohol. Want to come over and have a few? Let's go out for a few. See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Jan 05 2013. Submitted by Tim on Jan 14 2000 . a few minutes.                                                                             Citation from "Prey", Season 3 Episode 14, The Walking Dead (TV) blacked out to resolve Google's penalty against this site . Last edited on Nov 18 2015. Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA on Nov 18 2015 . + Did you bring the alcamahol? See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Nov 01 2002. Submitted by Mix Master G from Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand on Nov 01 2002 . + flavored, often sweet alcoholic beverage.                                                                                                                                                          Citation from " Tory tax hike will hit alcopops ", lep.co.uk, Mark Hookham, 07 October 2009 blacked out to resolve Google's penalty against this site . See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Oct 10 2009. Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA on Aug 26 2009 . + alcoholic. Misspelled alchie; alkey; alkie. That alky drank the whole keg by himself! See more words with the same meaning: alcoholic . Last edited on Apr 06 2013. Submitted by Anonymous from MO, USA on Nov 05 1999 . alcohol. See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Dec 20 2001. Submitted by Norm from Ft Worth, TX, USA on Dec 20 2001 . fuel. See more words with the same meaning: fuel . Last edited on Dec 20 2001. Submitted by Norm from Ft Worth, TX, USA on Dec 20 2001 . + AMF      interjection acronym of "adios mother fucker." One typically says this when one has caused an object to go a long distance, or to the wrong location, e.g. in the game of golf. There goes that ball... AMF! See more words with the same meaning: acronyms (list of) . See more words with the same meaning: exclamations (list of) . Last edited on Oct 21 1999. Submitted by Gary M. from Charlotte, NC, USA on Oct 21 1999 . noun an alcoholic beverage. Acronym of "adios mother fucker." After three of those AMFs in a half an hour, she was puking her guts up. See more words with the same meaning: acronyms (list of) . See more words with the same meaning: alcohol . Last edited on Jul 27 2007. Submitted by April W. from Lebanon, OR, USA on Jul 27 2007 . +
Hook
There are eight states of the USA whose names begin with the letter 'N'. Which one comes last alphabetically?
Riddle Solution Answer Database Riddle Solution Answer Database Solve Riddles Now With the Best Cheat Riddle Solution Answer Database Which letter of the alphabet has the most water? C What kind of dog keeps the best time? Watchdog What time of day, when written in a capital letters, is the same forwards, backwards and upside down? Noon A tasty reward given to well behaved dogs and kids Treat A caribbean shape that makes ships disappear Triangle It takes two people to do this Tango What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? Clock What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short What word begins and ends with an 'E' but only has one letter? Envelope What has a neck but no head? Bottle What type of cheese is made backwards? Edam What gets wetter as it dries? Towel Which letter of the alphabet has the most water? C What starts with a 'P', ends with an 'E' and has thousands of letters? Post Office What has to be broken before you can eat it? Egg What begins with T, ends with T and has T in it? Teapot Teddy bears are never hungry because they are always what? Stuffed What belongs to you but others use it more than you do? Name The more you take aways, the larger it becomes? What is it? Hole What is full of holes, but can still hold a lot of water? Sponge Where do fish keep their money? Riverbank What do you get when you cross an automobile with a household animal? Carpet Mary's father has 4 children; three are named Nana, Nene, and Nini. So what is the 4th child's name? Mary What bone has a sense of humor? Humorous The more of them you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? Footsteps What is that you will break everytime you name it? Silence What has four fingers and one thumb, but is not alive? Glove What turns everything around, but does not move? Mirror What is half of two plus two? Three What word looks the same upside down and backwards? Swims What kind of fish chases a mouse? Catfish Your mother's brother's only brother-in-law is asleep on your coach. Who is asleep on your couch? Dad What's the difference between here and there? T What goes up and down without moving? Stairs Take off my skin and I won't cry, but you will, What am I? Onion What doesn't get any wetter, no matter how much rain falls on it? Water What sits in a corner while traveling all around the world? Stamp I have a face, two arms, and two hands, yet I can not move. I count to twelve, yet I can not speak. I can still tell you something everyday. Clock You enter a dark room. You have only one match. There is an oil lamp, a furnace, and a stove in the room. Which would you light first? Match What is round on both ends and hi in the middle? Ohio What do you call a dog that sweats so much? Hotdog What do you call a rabbit with fleas? Bugs Bunny What rains at the north pole? Reindeer What kind of apple has a short temper? Crabapple What do you do with a dead chemist? Barium What calls for help, when written in capital letters, is the same forwards, backwards and upside down? SOS What body part is pronounced as one letter but written with three, only two different letters are used? Eye What is 2+2? What is 4+4? What is 8+8? What is 16+16? Pick a number between 12 and 5 Seven Feed me and I live, give me something to drink and i'll die, What am I? Fire What keeps things green and keeps kids occupied in the summertime? Sprinkler There are four of these, but everyone's favourite seems to be spades Ace Rabbits do this to carrots and Jason Mraz does this to ears Nibble These minerals are vital to your health Vitamin Commits friendly home invasions one night a year Santa claus Treats said to be based on a shephero's staff Candy cane Everyone claims to know a way to stop these involuntary contractions but none of them work Hiccup Has 4 lucky leaves Shamrock One of the best things you can hope for after whacking a ball with a stick Home run They put the heat in pop tarts Toaster What has a ring, but no finger? Telephone What has four legs, but can't walk? Table What is higher without the head, than with it? Pillow What is harder to catch the faster you run? Breath What invention lets you look right through a wall? Window What is that you will break everytime you name it? Silence What is made of wood, but can't be sawed? Sawdust What is a witch's favorite school subject? Spelling What is an aliens favourite sport? Spaceball What is the saddest fruit? Blueberry What is black and white and read all over? Newspaper What is easy to get into, and hard to get out of? Trouble What is there more of the less you see? Darkness If two hours ago, it was as long after one o'clock in the afternoon as it was before one o'clock in the morning, what time would it be now? Nine What is as big as you are and yet does not weigh anything? Shadow What types of words are these: Madam, Civic, Eye, Level? Palindrome When you have me, you feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you don't have me. What am I? Secret The person who makes it has no need for it. The person who purchases it does not use it. The person who does use it does not know he or she is. What is it? Coffin It is an insect, and the first part of its name is the name of another insect. What is it? Beetle What english word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters? Queue What becomes white when it is dirty? Blackboard What word of five letters has only one left when two letters are removed? Stone How many 9′s are there between 1 and 100? Twenty Which vehicle is spelled the same forwards and backwards? Racecar I am lighter than air but a million men cannot lift me up, What am I? Bubble Five men were eating apples, a finished before B, but behind C. D finished before E, but behind B. What was the finishing order? CABDE David's father has three sons: Snap, Crackle, and ? David It is everything to someone, and nothing to everyone else. What is it? Mind What has a mouth but can't chew? River A man says,"Brothers and sisters, have I none, but that man's father is my father's son." Who is he pointing at? Son If it is two hours later, then it will take half as much time till it's midnight as it would be if it were an hour later. What time is it? Nine Forward I am heavy, backwards I am not. What am I? Ton What object has keys that open no locks, space but no room, and you can enter but not go in? Keyboard Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show, we always will meet, try as you might, to guess my name, I promise you'll know, when you I do claim. Death First you see me in the grass dressed in yellow gay; next I am in dainty white, then I fly away. What am I? Dandelion Hands she has but does not hold, teeth she has but does not bite, feet she has but they are cold, eyes she has but without sight. Who is she? Doll What lies in bed, and stands in bed, first white then red. The plumber it gets, the better the old woman likes it? Strawberry Inside a burning house, this thing is best to make. And best to make it quickly, before the fire's too much to take! Haste What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a life time? Memories An openended barrel, I am shaped like a hive. I am filled with the flesh, and the flesh is alive! What am I? Thimble Violet, indigo, blue and green, yellow, orange and red; these are the colors you have seen after the storm has fled. What am I? Rainbow I was carried into a dark room, and set on fire. I wept, and then my head was cut off. What am I? Candle What does no man want, yet no man want to lose? Job This old one runs forever, but never moves at all. He has not lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call. What is it? Waterfall Mountains will crumble and temples will fall, and no man can survive its endless call. What is it? Time What can go up a chimney down, but cannot go down a chimney up? Umbrella I pass before the sun, yet make no shadow. What am I? Wind When they are caught, they are thrown away. When they escape, you itch all day. What are they? Fleas You can spin, wheel and twist, but this thing can turn without moving. What is it? Milk Never resting, never still. Moving silently from hill to hill. It does not walk, run or trot. All is cool where it is not. Sunshine Different lights do make me strange, thus into different sizes I will change. Pupil When asked how old she was, suzie replied, "in two years I will be twice as old as I was five years ago." How old is she? Twelve I have two arms, but fingers none. I have two feet, but cannot run. I carry well, but I have found I carry best with my feet off the ground. What am I? Wheelbarrow What has a tongue, cannot walk, but gets around a lot? Shoe What has feet and legs, and nothing else? Stockings What has no beginning, end, or middle? Doughnut What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don't want to use it? Anchor You hear it speak, for it has a hard tongue. But it cannot breathe, for it has not a lung. What is it? Bell What is that which goes with a car, comes with a car, is of no use to a car, and yet the car cannot go without it? Noise What is big and yellow and comes in the morning, to brigten mom's day? School Bus You are in a room with 3 monkeys. One monkey has a banana, one has a stick, and one has nothing. Who is the smartest primate? You I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I? Shadow If you were standing directly on antarcticas south pole facing north, which direction would you travel if you took one step backward? North Look at me. I can bring a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, or even a thought to your mind. But, I can't be seen. What am I? Memories When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from wednesday as today was from wednesday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day? Thursday Who spends the day at the window, goes to the table for meals and hides at night? Fly In a tunnel of darksness lies a beast of iron. It can only attack when pulled back. What is it? Bullet What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble Lives without a body, hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, to which the air alone gives birth. What is it? Echo Three lives have i. Gentle enough to soothe the skin. Light enough to caress the sky. Hard enough to crack rocks. What am I? Water I go in hard. I come out soft. You blow me hard. What am I? Gum What is it that no man ever yet did see, which never was, but always is to be? Tomorrow I am in the sky but also in the ground. When you study me, no matter how long, I will always end with an f. I may be in your yard but not in your house. What am I? Leaf What I am visible to you, you cannot see me, but when I am invisible, you long to see me. I am plenty with someone patient, but all the more scarce with a hasty one. I am greater than all, but still in the control of those who value my existence. Who am i? Time I cover what's real; hide what is true, but sometimes bring out the courage in you. What am I? Makeup Mountains will crumble and temples will fall, and no man can survive its endless call. What is it? Time What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away? Charcoal Though liquid in nature, don't push me too far for then I will break, and the damage may scar. What am I? Glass Before Mt. Everest Was discovered as the highest mountain in the world, which mountain was the highest? Mt Everest Cute hares that hop and deliver eggs at Easter are called by this nickname. Bunny This monkey food makes people slip and fall in cartoons. Bananas Special abilities and brightly colored underwear are all you need to be one of these. Superhero Consuming food would be pretty tough without these chompers. Teeth Often sold by child entrepreneurs in the summer. Lemonade A shower that lights up the sky. Meteor The itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot variety is quite popular. Bikini Surname of the pilot of the Millennium Falcon. Solo Where jewelry pierces your head. Lobe If you blow past your destination, you'll have to throw your car into this. Reverse These animals hang out in the mist. Gorilla Rueben and Monte Cristo are two delicious varieties of this. Sandwich Air that is expelled orally. Burp Describes a toilet cleaner as well as one of Santa's reindeer. Comet Two year-old children who throw tantrums get this nickname. So did the tsar "Ivan." Terrible The signature stroll of ducks and penguins. Waddle The state of holding a person in your person. Pregnant This is needed both for courage and hardcover books. Spine Between daylight and darkness when sparkling blood suckers like to come out. Twilight Responsible for the toupee industry. BaldSpot Longer than a decade and shorter than a millennium. Century Only you can prevent forest fires. Smokey A defendant will go free if a reasonable amount of this exists. Doubt Godzilla calls this place home. Japan This would be a good place to find Can-Can girls and drunk Cowboys. Saloon Santa's reindeer make this noise. Jingle He prefers to travel on vines and pal around with gorillas. Tarzan This company makes billions of dollars selling Windows. Microsoft A caribbean shape that makes ships disappear. Triangle Known for their natural tuxedos and marching. Penguins Before Google, we actually had to physically look things up in this building full of knowledge. Library They transfer oxygen from the atmosphere into blood. Lungs Dark, feathery, and popular in Baltimore. Ravens Use this machine if you really want to see inside somone. Xray A morbidly-named body of water. DeadSea Angels and pilots earn these. Wing Boxes marked as this should not be abused. Fragile By Thursday you're over this. Hump One of the few activities that involves bowling pins flying through the air. Juggling Flavors your food and divides the year up. Season A candy whose name is reminiscent of a small laugh. Snickers This creature travels in a gaggle. Goose There are four of these, but everyone's favorite seems to be spades. Ace Where it is encouraged to slam into other vehicles. BumperCars Rabbits do this to carrots and Jason Mraz does this to ears. Nibble Has a strong attraction to belly buttons. Lint They make a living harassing wealthy, beautiful people. Paparazzi Ernie wouldn't get clean without singing with this little guy. RubberDuck These minerals are vital to your health. Vitamin What you make after you've weighed your options. Decision They put the heat in Pop Tarts. Toaster These help engines spin and trousers stay up. Belt Treats said to be based on a shepherd's staff. CandyCane A beverage named after a stick. Also combats the stains of another beverage. ClubSoda Flavors range from strawberry to toe. Jam Use this if leaping off a bridge for fun. Bungee Before crust hardens. Dough Raise your right appendage high above your head. Turn your head to the right and you will smell this. Armpit Teenage girls are pros at causing this. Drama It has a face and two hands but no arms or legs. Clock One of the best things you can hope for after whacking a ball with a stick. Homerun Water dwelling mammal known for its work ethic. Beaver A beautiful succession of sounds. Music Mary's child slept in one of these. Manger It takes two people to do this. Tango For this gourmet style of meal you'll need a pot and some pointy sticks. Fondue You're having a bad day if 12 peers deem you to be this. Guilty A small paradise surrounded by dry heat. Some have Wonderwalls. Oasis If you're worried that grandpa will bite, just remove these. Dentures Mad bats and dogs carry this. Rabies Sounds like he works on public transportation but he really works in a restaurant. BusBoy Retired people want these to be large and birds want them to hatch. NestEggs Mobsters judge the quality of a vehicle by the size of this. Trunk The Titanic is still chilling here. Atlantic This patch of land stands alone. Island Securing your documents is easy with these trusty metal objects. Staples Found at the back of a book or in an abdomen. Appendix A gentleman whose offspring have successfully produced offspring of their own. Grandpa Where food goes to get nuked. Microwave If you're on a diet, smelling a fresh pan of brownies could be described as this. Torture Announcing to the world that you\'ve recently enjoyed a fizzy beverage. Belch You'll see savory dishes in Hong Kong sizzling in these. Wok Aquatic creature whose name is rather "tight." Seal A pony trots his way through the world on these. Hoof Kids love this bouncy, sugary, treat. It's like colorful rubber that you can eat. Jello He has a genie to thank for the fact that he married a princess. Aladdin A piece of paper that determines the academic fate of kids everywhere. ReportCard The artistic vandal's best friend. SprayPaint Thousands of these come together to make a digital image. Pixel What you do to determine the length of something. Measure If you are unsure how to use one then just ask a flight attendant. SeatBelt This man has an obsession with spinach. Popeye Low on cash? Pick out items from this rack. Clearance This falls from the mouths of babies and Homer Simpson when he sees doughnuts. Drool These are great fun until you realize you don't have all the pieces. Puzzle Helps carry your books to school. BackPack The offspring of a feline and a Xerox machine. CopyCat When put in a pot of boiling water, they scream. Lobster Could be described as the cranium's version of snow. Dandruff The line a runner strives to reach. Finish Warns of deflating tires and serpents. Hiss You are owed one of these when someone wrongs you. Apology The King of Pop's stellar dance move. Moonwalk A first job for many kids, this could be described as "Media Distribution Management." PaperRoute What a South American might say to a friend as they depart. Adios Standard issue tool for Fairy Godmothers and wizards. Magicwand A performer counts on these folks for applause. Audience What Botox will do to your expression. Paralyze Indiana Jones likes to crack this. Whip Both a currency and an antlered male. Buck Where you deposit the red stuff from your veins. BloodBank Timid or weak people are said to not have these. Backbone Hearing something unexpected or touching a live wire can have this effect. Shocking Can be found in the drink aisle or on a body-builder's torso. SixPack An appropriately loud response to fear, excitement, or your team scoring. Yell Perhaps the most important adjective for ballerinas and princesses. Graceful Rotten trees and Jack-O-Lanterns have this characteristic in common. Hollow Your computer\'s version of white-out. Delete Hold these between your knees if you want to set a Cuban beat. Bongos Petting a feline often evokes this response. Purr When everyone stares at clocks and then starts smooching. NewYears To moisten your peepers you must do this. Blink The celebrities of high school were part of this crowd. Popular Without this, H2o would just be 2o. Hydrogen Thanks for such treasures as Mariachis, enchiladas and habanero! Mexico A popular afterlife destination to send people, when you're mad at them. Hell A toy that requires some string and a breezy day. Kite The one fashion accessory farmers and hipsters can agree upon. Suspenders A section of the calendar dedicated to mother nature. EarthDay The main difference between us and zombies. Life Causes bad breath and frightens blood-suckers. Garlic Drop this to stop a boat. Anchor An office supply that's shaped like a trombone. Paperclip They cut doors in half and wear wooden shoes. Dutch Proof you've done your time in school Diploma The athletically challenged spend a good deal of time on this seat made of pine. Bench A certain wizard resided in a city made from this gemstone. Emerald Millions of these are crushed every morning to help people wake up. CoffeeBean Rueben and Monte Cristo are two delicious varieties of this. Sandwich Famous for cheese, wine and saying 'ooo la la' French Aliens in Toy Story call this their leader. Claw Daily ritual of scraping a metal tool on the body. Shave Come November 1st, many of these will be found smashed on sidewalks. Pumpkin Grandmothers like to pinch these. Cheeks If it weren't for these, no one would be aware of Idaho's existence. Potato Sauerkraut owes its existence to this head. Cabbage A mini solar powered computer designed to help you pass Algebra. Calculator A stellar five-limbed sea creature. Starfish A DJ does this to records. I do it to mosquito bites. Scratch Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce and cheese in a sesame seed bun. BigMac It's anything but amusing when this body part gets hit. FunnyBone The way a kicker scores 3 points. FieldGoal The distance from the top of your head to the floor – standing up straight Height Plant whose name sounds like a dish full of dairy spread. Buttercup Something you do with guests at a fancy party hoping to get a leg-up in your career. Schmooze Beautiful girls strut and sexy men 'do their little turn' on this. CatWalk Lunch money thief and distributor of wedgies. Bully If someone calls you this, it might be time to consider hot wax. Hairy Some people count these. Some just consume them. Calories Found new creative way to get people to stuff themselves with Doritos. TacoBell Hurts when it breaks and if it stops, you are dead. Heart A storm in your cranium. Headache Men cut this by attaching a razor to a broom handle or just have their wives do it. BackHair Sometimes called chips and served with fish. FrenchFry You do this when you say goodbye to a sweetheart. Kiss A surly green puppet calls this filthy place his home. TrashCan A desert oasis where money magically disappears from your pocket. LasVegas These are the bumpy parts of your digits. Knuckle If someone offers you one of these, they had a successful fishing trip or their band just broke up. Bass The cozy place Dracula rests. Coffin You may have to assure your date\'s dad that you have these kind of intentions. Honorable The go-to weapon for science fiction heroes. Laser People chop this off for a good cause. Hair The Black Pearl was this type of criminal seafaring vessel. PirateShip A salutation from the islands. Aloha Fred and Wilma's child, named after a stone. Pebbles It is edible, a color and is best in summer. Peach Slang for the male half in a marriage. Hubby Causes the involuntary transportation of your vehicle. TowTruck A dark-colored creature serenaded by Lennon and McCartney. Blackbird Devils, unicorns and goats all share this feature. Horn Handy when you need to measure something or run a kingdom. Ruler They eat homes from the inside out. Termite If you rub this there is a possibility of a magical fat man coming out. Lamp They say each one is totally unique. Snowflake The epic tale of two women battling over a sparkly pair of shoes. WizardOfOz Brings the sky a lot closer. Telescope If you suffer from this, you might wear a wig. Baldness If you're stealing honey, be prepared to receive vengeance in this form. Sting Brings celebrities into your home every night. Television They're swimmers now, but later will make excellent hoppers. Tadpole Looks like a hippo crossed with a unicorn. Rhino A single seater best accompanied by circus music and great balance. Unicycle A standard dimension for sandwiches and rulers. Footlong A path of cow juice spread across the sky. MilkyWay The electronic version of junk mail or salty meat in a can. Spam The time in your life when you simultaneously know everything and nothing. Teenager Humans have two that shrink in the light and expand in the dark. Pupil When kings, queens knights and bishops go to war. Chess Scholastic transportation. SchoolBus In addition to the dental benefits, having one of these hanging out of your mouth will make you look like a wiseguy. Toothpick Someone who is enthusiastic about tending the garden is said to have this appendage. GreenThumb Has 88 keys, but not one of them will open a door. Piano A plant named after a light source. Sunflower Used to yell in a text. Caps According to Hollywood, the men of this ancient city wore leather speedos and waxed their chests. Sparta The edge of earth and bread. Crust If you spot one of these eastern warriors, they're not doing their job right. Ninja Hot tempered and sometimes it blows its top, making a mess of everything. Volcano Can describe a distress signal or flashy accessories. Flare Material for making balls and men that only shows up at certain times of the year. Snow Possibly the only plumber ever to rescue a princess. Mario Cause deflation of tires when dropped from the rear of spy cars. Spikes A life or death skill for gunifghters. QuickDraw Don't forget to do this before blowing out the candles. Wish These women make princesses scrub floors and sometimes try to poison them with apples. StepMother Causes dancing in children when it fills up. Bladder This type of cuisine is independent of utensils and usually tastes better than it sounds. FingerFood Rebecca Black and The Cure are in love with this 24 hour time period. Friday Describes universities like Harvard and can be poisonous. Ivy If you are a man then your best friend will eat this for dinner. DogFood Without coolant, you'll have some trouble with this. Radiator Disgusting creatures that would survive a nuclear strike. Roach Slithery critters with a taste for dirt. Earthworm Out of all the celestial bodies, this one has the funniest name. Uranus A favored material among biker gangs and superheroes. Leather You speak this when you are being sincere. Truth A disposable item to keep your waste organized. Trashbag These people cannot be choosers. Beggars A blind superhero and Evel Knievel's profession. Daredevil Bumpy form of transportation in desert cultures. Camel If you agree give me one of these! Amen When I type I tap these on the keys. FingerTips The profession of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Guitarist Thinkers hold this body part. Chin An ancient suit that is not worn with a tie. Armor Good for telling the future or racking up in a game. EightBall Dragons are known to do this to their gold. Hoard If you wake at dawn, you\'ll probably find this covering the lawn. Dew People like this usually live in rural areas, unless they strike oil and move to Beverly Hills. HillBilly Cockroaches and illegal drug labs are afraid of this. Raid A person who has powers to save the day. Superman A natural tattoo on babies. BirthMark A cat-like nickname for those of the left handed persuasion. SouthPaw These are great, floaty fun until they explode and give you a little scare. Balloon They come in a tin can and are known to cure halitosis. Altoids The lunch destination of choice for teenagers and hospital employees. Cafeteria Makes wooden boys noses grow. Fib A mechanism to discover who is following you. RearView Wearing one of these warm garments around might get you doused in red paint. FurCoat Found at the end of rainbows. Pots Children keep their assets in this. PiggyBank Environmentalists want to keep this from drying. Wetland Sends paper without using the post office. Fax Every team needs one of these before hitting the field. Get pumped! PepTalk Something you carry while singing. Tune Reserved for royalty and damaged teeth. Crown The preferred color of carpet in this town is red. Hollywood This is the tallest peak in the happiest place on earth. Matterhorn Goliath, The Jolly Green and Andre are all examples of this. Giant She is covered in dust and always jealous. Tinkerbell Possibly the word most commonly said before taking a sip. Cheers The father of Mickey Mouse. WaltDisney Your stomach's way of letting you know you've neglected it. Grumble Those who stand vigil by the shore. CoastGuard The enemy of the lactose intolerant. Dairy When someone uses this acronym, you know you've got to pick up the pace. ASAP Peaches and a certain Couture have this in common. Juicy Found under bridges and on the Internet. Troll Serves as a go between in business. MiddleMan A setting that proved to be deadly for Abraham Lincoln. Theater A crafty use of long pieces of wool to make a scarf. Knit A great mystery that the bold have been known to journey into. Unknown A bird that is too large to fly. BigBird Santa's favorite entrance for home invasion. Chimney A group that manages the winged engines of war. AirForce The possession of two left feet will probably rule out your prospects as this kind of professional. Dancer Often found in doctor's offices and pirate flags. Skeleton In the garden of Eden this was a fashion statement. FigLeaf The ball drops when the clock hits this. Midnight Diamonds and stress have this to thank for their existence. Pressure They come in many varieties: Red, Black, Dead, and Caspian to name a few. Sea A person who chews the ends of their fingers. NailBiter It was fully armed and operational when Lando attacked in Han's spaceship. DeathStar Kids play it and Michelangelo sculpted with it. Marble Certain worms and Amazon.com like these. Books One of the few vegetables that is routinely consumed with marshmallows. Yam Doing this with your job can be risky but doing it with smoking is always a good idea. Quit Being able to interpret the letters on this screen proves that you have this quality. Literate An accessory sported by many construction workers. HardHat Talks like this, a green wise man does. Guess my clue, you will. Yoda One of the few times it's encouraged to lock lips with a stranger. CPR Makes apples fall from trees. Gravity Used to keep prisoners silent and to make temporary repairs on cars. DuctTape A toasty and crunchy cereal would be pointless without this spice. Cinnamon You do this into someone's ear when you want to be discreet. Whisper People in love will often become this. Married What dentists battle on a daily basis. Cavities Boxers do this for a living and kids do it in the backseat for free. Fight This noble creature has the embarrassing inability to get up once it's been flipped onto its back. Turtle Without this, eating food and Steven Spielberg's career would be very different. Jaws If you need a night out, call one of these over to take the little ones off your hands for a while. Babysitter Temporary evidence of where you've been strolling. Footprint A fashion statement whose name sounds like the upper part of a mobile war machine. TankTop These are needed to finish a test Answers When you are a child you are forced to take them. When you are an adult you want to take them. Naps Can be achieved in a car or as a position during conflict. Neutral The surname of the only famous British spy. Bond A wave of white powdery destruction that is a skier's worst nightmare. Avalanche According to the music industry, you can count on a midnight train and the devil to turn up here. Georgia Some adults still use these to count. Finger Probably the most laid-back member of the animal kingdom. Sloth A reaction to being spooked that takes its name from water-fowl. Goosebumps A republican whose name is synonymous with "glove." Mitt Gumby and yoga instructors have this in common. Flexible It's where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Not to mention the waving wheat. Oklahoma Snowwhite was friendly with seven of them. Dwarf A seasonal fashion statement named for the weather it's worn in. SunDress The ones in the sea are prickly, but the ones on the street might pickpocket you. Urchin This person has left the building. Elvis If you can get this professional's attention you can get where you need to go.. .for a price. Taxi Vikings use this for warmth. Pelt Fans of the Pied Piper's smooth sound who are feared by elephants. Mice One more than a duet. Trio A mighty weapon in the war against winged household pests. Flyswatter Can be done to buttons and shopping carts. Push The French word for 'fun size' in women's clothing. Petite Candy that allegedly tastes like refracted light. Skittles Old people and owls are said to be this. Wise Boats with holes and dirty dishes have this in common. Sink The surname of Cinderella's boyfriend. Charming Don't do this in the shallow end. Dive A tangly game and a destructive weather phenomenon. Twister Edible items purchased in large quantities. Groceries A doctor might remove one from the neck of a Dracula victim. Fang You could do this to a motion, see it on a watch, or place this in a race. Second Watches students at the prom to make sure there's no funny business. Chaperone Makes arrows fly and kites soar! String Whipping one of these out in the wrong setting is said to be terrible luck. Umbrella The weapon of choice to create the biggest shock. Stungun Cows do this to salt and humans do it to ice cream! Lick Describes a gorgeous woman and an excellent punch. KnockOut Other terms for this handy device include doohicky, doo-dad, and whatchyamacallit. Gadget The most common hour to have a gunfight in a western. Noon Olympians use this to get high. Pole Micro parasites expert at sucking the blood of mammals and birds. Flea George J. Jetson and Neil A. Armstrong drove this to work. SpaceShip You're gonna need a bigger boat to go after one of these toothy hunters. Sharks In the 1800's these turned women into hourglasses. Corset When this is found in a road you are forced to make a decision. Fork A white horned symbol of purity and grace. Unicorn For all your post bubble-bath drying needs. Towel A famous home without color and with wings. WhiteHouse John Lennon sang about being this toothy creature. Walrus A cuisine without flesh. Vegetarian Useful term for when you need to start a fire or notice someone with the same shirt as you. Match Describes a mysterious region and a stylish pair of shorts. Bermuda When your undies attack you. Wedgie Ketchup's slighly less popular brother. Mustard When a professor's brain goes missing. Absent Pirates put their booty in it. Chest Tax-rates occasionally take these nature strolls. Hike Describes an era of history during which light was hard to come by. DarkAges The assumed nocturnal symbol of Mr. Wayne Bat A popular Hip Hop artist goes by the Vanilla version of this substance. Ice When 12 of your peers can't agree. HungJury Defends your noggin from the hard pavement. Helmet A drinkable phase of matter. Liquid Prior to smart phones, people used this to record their lives. Camcorder Taking this from a baby is said to be quite easy. Candy If you drive on this, pedestrians and the police will be pretty upset with you. Sidewalk Plastic money. CreditCard A pet who lived in a town where an inordinate number of children fell down wells. Lassie Those without much of an appetite will leave the restaurant with this item named after a pet. DoggyBag This plant is responsible for spreading a lot of gossip. Grapevine The most foreign visitors you could imagine. Alien Basically a cake made of cow. Meatloaf Transportation of choice for princesses to attend balls. Carriage You feel this sensation when you are dehydrated. Thirsty Known to accessorize with feathers, trumpets, and harps. Angel An arctic double breasted formal wear. SnowSuit Sugar on a stick. The kids love licking them. Lollipop According to many students, dogs have an appetite for this paper item. Homework Spys do this phones and musical shoes make this sound. Tap Kids hunt for them and adults make sure they are not all in one basket. Eggs When life gives you these, make a refreshing beverage. Lemons When something has been cut with h2o. Diluted Some are clean and some are dirty, but all are meant to get a chuckle. Joke Crisp, green, and found near deli sandwiches. Pickle Salivating at the mention of a cheeseburger is this kind of response. Pavlovian Currency that flirted with a British spy. MoneyPenny You throw away the outside and cook the inside. You then eat the outside and throw away the inside. Corn Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it? Nothing I'm tall when I'm young and I'm short when I'm old. What am I? Candle What goes up when rain comes down? Umbrella If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it. What is it? Secret What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs? Penny I know a word of letters three. Add two, and fewer there will be. Few Say my name and I disappear. What am I? Silence What gets wetter as it dries? Towel I'm full of holes, yet I'm full of water. What am I? Sponge What has a neck and no head, two arms but no hands? Shirt Feed me and I live, give me drink and I die. What am I? Fire The more you take, the more you leave behind. Footstep If you drop me I'm sure to crack but give me a smile and i'll always smile back Mirror I go in dry and come out wet, the longer I'm in, the stronger I get. What am I? Teabag Tear one off and scratch my head. What once was red is black instead. What am I? Match What do you throw out to use and take in when you're done? Anchor I crawl on the earth and rise on a pillar. What am I? Shadow What kind of pet always stays on the floor? Carpet What type of house weighs the least? Lighthouse I sit in a corner and travel around the world. What am I? Stamp What work of writing can one never finish? Autobiography What can you break but not touch? Promise What has arms and legs but no head? Chair What has a ring but no finger? Phone I am a king but also a measuring device. What am I? Ruler Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I? Onion What goes up and down without moving? Stairs What is full of holes, but can still hold a lot of water? Sponge What kind of room has no doors or windows? Mushroom What invention lets you look right through a wall? Window What has one eye but cannot see? Needle What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short What word begins and ends with an "e" but only has one letter? Envelope What begins with t, ends with t and has t in it? Teapot The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it? Darkness What gets whiter the dirtier it gets? Chalkboard What food has no beginning, end, or middle? Donut If the red house is on the right and if the blue house is on the left. Where?S The white house? WashingtonDC What can you put in a bucket full of water to make it lighter? Hole What nautical word looks the same upside down and backwards? Swims It is yellow and you can serve it but not eat. Tennisball If you throw a white rock into the red sea, what does it become? Wet What is found over your head but under your hat? Hair Before mt. Everest was discovered, which was the tallest mountain in the world? MtEverest Johnny's mom had 5 kids, january, february, march and april. Who was the fifth kid? Johnny Which building has the most stories? Library Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly? Incorrectly What has a head, can't think, but drives? Hammer The alphabet goes from a to z. What goes from z to a? Zebra What english word keeps the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters? Queue If I say "everything I tell you is a lie," am I telling you the truth or a lie? Lie If there are three cups of sugar and you take one away, how many do you have? One What has a mouth but can't chew? River Food can help me survive, but water will kill me. What am I? Fire Take away the whole and some still remains. What is it? Wholesome I'm light as a feather, yet the strongest man can't hold me for much more than a minute. What am I? Breath I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I? Shadow You answer me, although I never ask you questions. What am I? Telephone Mom and dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family? Seven If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it? Secret Two legs I have, and this will confound. Only at rest do they touch the ground! What am I? Wheelbarrow What comes down but never goes up? Rain How can a pants pocket be empty and still have something in it? Hole What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in one thousand years? LetterM What has hands but can not clap? Clock What can you catch but not throw? Cold What is at the end of a rainbow? LetterW What has one eye but cannot see? Needle How many months have 28 days? All We see it once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a day. What is it? LetterE Mr. Blue lives in the blue house, mr. Pink lives in the pink house, and mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the white house? President What goes up but never comes down? Age I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter but can't go outside. What am I? Keyboard It speaks without a tongue, and listens without ears. Phone What is yours but your friends use it more than you do? YourName A blue house is made of blue bricks. A yellow house is made of yellow bricks. What would a green house be made of? Glass I'm the start of eternity and the end of space. There are two of me in heaven and one in hell. LetterE A job that involves sitting in a highchair, wearing a black gown and smacking things with a mallet. Judge Some keep it in a dumpster while others keep it in their trunk. Junk Step on me and you'll reach the top first, but step under me and you're cursed. What am I? Ladder It will not die when hung, and will dry when wrung. Laundry Ideal if you're craving a cool treat or want to bring all the boys to the yard. Milkshake I'm the manly mark that milk makes. What am I? Mustache I can be found on fingers, in toolboxes and in snails. What am I? Nail A device that nearly everyone has that can freeze anyone it sees. What is it? Camera I'll shout til you wake or sing you to sleep. I'll talk to you but you're crazy if you talk back. What am I? Radio The most fabulous way to locate pots of gold. Rainbow Even the oldest ones can be described as current, but a little mainstream. River It covers you, you lose it every day and you'd die without it. Skin A squiggly line tells you when you've done it wrong. Spell A celebrity under the sea. Starfish I provide cover for games of footsie and tax-free wages. What am I? Table Everyone loses us as a child, and neglecting us makes us holy. What are we? Teeth It's shorter than the rest, but when you're happy, you raise it up like it's the best. What is it? Thumb It's equally comfortable in an orchestra and a geometry textbook. What is it? Triangle According to kids' entertainment, these reptiles are gifted at martial arts and surfer-dude slang. Turtle Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I? Not He has married many women, but has never been married. Who is he? Priest If an egg came floating down the green river, where did it come from? Chicken If two's company and three's a crowd, what are four and five? Nine How much dirt is in a hole 4 feet deep and 2 feet wide? None I'm near a ball and you bat with me, yet I never get a hit. What am I? Eyelash What goes up and down the stairs without moving? Carpet I am mother and father, but never birth or nurse. I'm rarely still, but I never wander. What am I? Tree At night they come out without being fetched, and by day they are lost without being stolen. What are they? Stars My tongue hangs out as I run over fields and streets all day. I get tied up every morning and untied at night. Shoe What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps? River Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you miss me when I have flown! What am I? Time Lighter than what I'm made of. Stronger than ships. More of me is hidden than is seen. What am I? Iceberg I fly, yet I have no wings. I cry, yet I have no eyes. Darkness follows me. Cloud I have a heart of gold and I smell when I'm old. What am I? Egg I have a body of stone and a fiery heart, and sooner or later my head and I will part. What am I? Volcano I'm the son of water but when I return to water I die. Who am I? Ice What do you get if you milk a cow after an earthquake? Milk Shake A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son. Who am I? Daughter I travel the world and I am drunk constantly. Who am I? Water I am an odd number. Take away one letter and I become even. What number am I? Seven What is black when it is clean and white when it is dirty? Blackboard Sophie's mother had 2 sons and 1 daughter. The sons names were George and John. What was the daughter's name? Sophie He has married many but has never been married. Who is he? Priest What has a head and a tail but no body? Coin What's an insect's favourite sport? Cricket If two's company and three's a crowd, what are four and five? Nine What do elves do after school? Gnomework What always goes to sleep with his shoes on? Horse I run but never walk, I murmur but never talk, I go but never stop. What am I? River What shoes should you wear when your basement is flooded? Pumps What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at night? Pillow I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter but can't go outside. What am I? Keyboard The more you have of me, the less you see. Who am I? Darkness What goes through towns and over hills but neer moves? Roads Not my sister nor my brother but still the child of my mother and father. Who am I? Myself They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they? Stars My neighbor makes mistakes. I get rid of them. Who am I? Eraser No matter how little or how much you use me, you change me every month. What am I? Calendar I give milk and have a horn but I'm not a cow? Who am I? Milk Truck What can honk without using a horn? Goose What room has no windows or doors? Mushroom What gets broken when you don't hold it? Secret What kind of shoes can you make out of banana peels? Slippers What is as light as a feather but not even the strongest man in the world can hold it for more than a few minutes? Air What is a bunny's favorite music? Hip Hop What has a forest with no trees, lakes without water, roads with no cars and deserts with no sand? Map It is not your enemy, yet we still beat it. What is it? Drum What kind of dog has no tail? Hot Dog Sally is 54 years old and her mother is 80, how many years ago was Sally's mother three times her age? Forty-One David's father has three sons: Snap, Crackle and? David I fasten it and it walks. I unfasten it and it stops. What is it? Sandal I have no bones and no legs, but if you keep me warm, I will soon walk away. What am I? Egg I know a word of letters three. Add two and fewer there will be. What is the word? Few Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it? Coffin There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it? Watermelon What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? Palm Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly? Incorrectly What can you catch but not throw? Cold What is at the end of a rainbow? W What is as light as a feather, but even the world's strongest man couldn't hold it for more than a minute? Breath What has one eye but cannot see? Needle What is always coming but never arrives? Tomorrow There is a three digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit. What is the number? 141 Who is it that rows quickly with four oars but never comes out from under his own roof? Turtle My voice is tender, my waist is slender and I'm often invited to play. Yet wherever I go I must take my bow or else I have nothing to say. What am I? Violin What is put on a table, cut, but never eaten? Cards What do you use to hoe a row, slay a foe, and wring with woe? Hands Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show, we always will meet. Try as you might, to guess my name, I promise you'll know, when you I do claim. Death First you see me in the grass dress in Yellow gay; next I am in dainty white, then I fly away. What am I? Dandelion Hands she has but does not hold, teeth she has but does not bite, feet she has but they are cold, eyes she has but without sight. Who is she? Doll What lies in bed, and stands in bed, first white then red. The plumper it gets, the better the old woman likes it? Strawberry Inside a burning house, this thing is best to make. And best to make it quickly, before the fire's too much to take! Haste What can bring back the dead, make us cry, make us laugh, make us young, born in an instant yet lasts a life time? Memories An openended barrel, I am shaped like a hive. I am filled with the flesh, and the flesh is alive! What am I? Thimble Violet, indigo, blue and green, yellow, orange, and red; these are the colors you have seen after the storm has fled. What am I? Rainbow I was carried into a dark room, and set on fire. I wept, and then my head was cut off. What am I? Candle What does no man want, yet no man want to lose? Job This old one runs forever, but never moves at all. He has not lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call. What is it? Waterfall Mountains will crumble and temples will fall, and no man can survive its endless call. What is it? Time What can go up a chimney down, but cannot go down a chimney up? Umbrella I pass before the sun, yet make no shadow. What am I? Wind When they are caught, they are thrown away. When they escape, you itch all day. What are they? Fleas You can spin, wheel and twist, but this thing can turn without moving. What is it? Milk Never resting, never still. Moving silently from hill to hill. It does not walk, run or trot. All is cool where it is not. Sunshine Different lights do make me strange, thus into different sizes I will change. Pupil When asked how old she was, Suzie replied, "In two years I will be twise as old as I was five years ago." How old is she? Twelve I have two arms, but fingers none. I have two feet, but cannot run. I carry well, but I have found I carry best with my feet off the ground. What am I? Wheelbarrow What has a tongue, cannot walk, but gets around a lot? Shoe What has feet and legs, and nothing else? Stockings What has no beginning, end, or middle? Doughnut What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don't want to use it? Anchor You hear it speak, for it has a hard tongue. But it cannot breathe, for it has not a lung. What is it? Bell What is that which goes with a car, comes with a car, is of no use to a car, and yet the car cannot go without it? Noise What is big and yellow and comes in the morning to brighten mom's day? School Bus You are in a room with 3 monkeys. One monkey has a banana, one has a stick, and one has nothing. Who is the smartest primate? You I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I? Shadow If you were standing directly on Antarcticas South Pole facing north, which direction would you travel if you took one step backward? North Look at me. I can bring a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, or even a thought to your mind. But, I can't be seen. What am I? Memories When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from Wednesday as today was from Wednesday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day? Thursday Who spends the day at the window, goes to the table for meals and hides at night? Fly In a tunnel of darkness lies a beast of iron. It can only attack when pulled back. What is it? Bullet What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble Lives without a body, hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, to which the air alone gives birth. What is it? Echo Three lives have I. Gentle enough to soothe the skin. Light enough to caress the sky. Hard enough to crack rocks. What am I? Water I go in hard. I come out soft. You blow me hard. What am I? Gum What is it that no man ever yet did see, which never was, but always is to be? Tomorrow I am in the sky but also in the ground. When you study me, no matter how long, I will always end with an f. I may be in your yard but not in your house. What am I? Leaf When I am visible to you, you cannot see me, but when I am invisible, you long to see me. I am plenty with someone patient, but all the more scarce with a hasty one. I am greater than all, but still in the control of those who value my existence. Who am I? Time I cover what's real, hide what is true, but sometimes bring out the courage in you. What am I? Makeup Mountains will crumble and temples will fall, and no man can survive its endless call. What is it? Time What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away? Charcoal Though liquid in nature, don't push me too far, for then I will break, and the damage may scar. What am I? Glass Before Mt. Everest was discovered as the highest mountain in the world, which mountain was the highest? Mt Everest Which letter of the alphabet has the most water? C What kind of dog keeps the best time? Watchdog What time of day, when written in capital letters, is the same forwards, backwards, and upside down? Noon What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs? Clock What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short What word begins and ends with an "E" but only has one letter? Envelope What has a neck but no head? Bottle What type of cheese is made backwards? Edam What gets weeter as it dries? Towel Which letter of the alphabet has the most water? C What starts with a 'P' and ends with an 'E' and has thousands of letters? Post Office What has to be broken before you can eat it? Egg What begins with T, ends with T and has T in it? Teapot Teddy bears are never hungry because they are always what? Stuffed What belongs to you but others use it more than you do? Name The more you take away, the larger it becomes? What is it? Hole What is full of holes, but can still hold a lot of water? Sponge Where do fish keep their money? Riverbank What do you get when you cross an automobile with a household animal? Carpet Mary's father has 4 children, three are named Nana, Nene, and Nini. So what is the 4th child's name? Mary What bone has a sense of humor? Humorous The more of them you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? Footsteps What is is that you will break every time you name it? Silence What has four fingers and one thumb, but is not alive? Glove What turns everything around, but does not move? Mirror What is half of two plus two Three What word looks the same upside down and backwards? Swims What kind of fish chases a mouse? Catfish Your mother's brother's only brother-in-law is asleep on your couch. Who is asleep on your couch? Dad What's the difference between here and there? T What goes up and down without moving? Stairs Take off my skin and I won't cry, but you will, what am I? Onion What doesn't get any wetter, no matter how much rain falls on it? Water What sits in a corner while traveling all around the world? Stamp I have a face, two arms, and two hands, yet I can not move. I count to twelve, yet I can not speak, I can still tell you something everyday. Clock You enter a dark room. You have only one match. There is an oil map, a furnace, and a stove in the room. Which would you light first? Match What is round on both ends and HI in the middle? Ohio What do you call a dog that sweats so much? Hotdog What do you call a rabbit with fleas? Bugs Bunny What rains at the north pole? Reindeer What kind of apple has a short temper? Crabapple What do you do with a dead chemist? Barium What calls for help, when written in capital letters, is the same forwards and backwards and upside down? SOS What body part is pronounced as one letter but written with three, only two different letters are used. Eye What is 2+2? What is 4+4? What is 8+8? What is 16+16? Pick a number between 12 and 5 Seven Feed me and I live, give me something to drink and I'll die. What am I? Fire A shower that lights up the sky Meteor Longer than a decade and shorter than a millennium Century They put the heat in Pop tarts Toaster What has a ring, but no finger? Telephone What has four legs, but can't walk? Table What is higher without the head, than with it? Pillow What is harder to catch the faster you run? Breath What invention lets you look right through a wall? Window What is that you will break every time you name it? Silence What is made of wood, but can't be sawed? Sawdust What is a witch's favorite school subject? Spelling What is an aliens favorite sport? Spaceball What is the saddest fruit? Blueberry What is black and white and read all over? Newspaper What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble What is there more of the less you see? Darkness If two hours ago, it was as long after one o'clock in the afternoon as it was before one o'clock in the morning, what time would it be now? Nine What is as big as you are and yet does not weight anything? Shadow What types of words are these: Madam, civic, eye, level? Palindrome When you have me, you feel like sharing me. But, if you do share me, you don't have me. What am I? Secret The person who makes it has no need for it. The person who purchases it does not use it. The person who does use it does not know he or she is. What is it? Coffin It is an insect, and the first part of its name is the name of another insect. What is it? Beetle What English word retains the same pronunciation even after you take away four of its five letters? Queue What becomes white when it is dirty? Blackboard What word of five letters has only one left when two letters are removed? Stone How many 9's are there between 1 and 100? Twenty Which vehicle is spelled the same forwards and backwards? Racecar I am lighter than air but a million men cannot lift me up. What am I? Bubble Five men were eating apples. A finished before B, but behind C. D finished before B. What was the finishing order? CABDE David's father has three sons: Snap, Crackle and? David It is everything to someone, and nothing to everyone else. What is it? Mind What has a mouth but can't chew? River A man says, "brothers and sisters, have I none, but that man's father is my father's son." Who is he pointing at? Son If it is two hours later, then it will take half as much time till it's midnight as it would be if it were an hour later. What time is it? Nine Forward I am heavy, backwards I am not. What am I? Ton What object has keys that open no lock, space but no room, and you can enter but not go in? Keyboard With thieves I consort, With the Vilest, in short, I'm quite at ease in depravity, Yet all divines use me, And savants can't lose me, For I am the century of gravity. V I move without wings, Between silken string, I leave as you find, My substance behind. Spider What flies forever, Rests never? Wind I appear in the morning. But am always there. You can never see me. Though I am everywhere. By night I am gone, though I sometimes never was. Nothing can defeat me. But I am easily gone. Sunlight I crawl on the earth. And rise on a pillar. Shadow They are many and one, they wave and they drum, Used to cover a state, they go with you everywhere. Hands What must be in the oven yet can not be baked? Grows in the heat yet shuns the light of day? What sinks in water but rises with air? Looks like skin but is fine as hair? Yeast I have holes on the top and bottom. I have holes on my left and on my right. And I have holes in the middle, Yet I still hold water. Sponge What can be swallowed, But can also swallow you? Pride You get many of me, but never enough. After the last one, your life soon will snuff. You may have one of me but one day a year, When the last one is gone, your life disappears. Birthday I run around the city, but I never move. Wall As a whole, I am both safe and secure. Behead me, I become a place of meeting. Behead me again, I am the partner of ready. Restore me, I become the domain of beasts. Stable Two horses, swiftest traveling, harnessed in a pair, and grazing ever in places. Distant from them. Eyes At the sound of me, men may dream. Or stamp their feet. At the sound of me, women may laugh. Or sometimes weep. Music To unravel me you need a simple key, no key that was made by locksmith's hand. But a key that only I will understand. Riddle Long and think, red within, with a nail at the end. Finger I'm sometimes white and always wrong. I can break a heart and hurt the strong. I can build love or tear it down. I can make a smile or bring a frown. Lie You can tumble in it, roll in it, burn it, animal eat it. Used to cover floors, still used beyond stall doors. Freshens whatever it is placed on. Absorbs whatever is poured into it. Hay I come in winter. I cannot see, hear, or feel. I can't eat, But you can eat parts of me. Snowman Sometimes I am loud. And viewed with distaste. Poke out my "eye", then I'm on the front of your face. Noise What is it that has four legs, one head, and a foot? Bed What makes a loud noise when changing its jacket. Becomes larger but weighs less? Popcorn I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I lick will soon turn red. Fire Something wholly unreal, yet seems real to I. Think my friend, tell me where does it lie? Mind No matter how little or how much you use me, you change me every month. Calendar What can burn the eyes, sting the mouth, yet be consumed? Salt What an fill a room but takes up no space? Light It occurs once in every minute. Twice in every moment and yet never in one hundred thousand years. M With pointed fangs it sits in wait. With piercing force it doles out fate, over bloodless victims proclaiming its might. Eternally joining in a single bite. Stapler It holds most knowledge that has ever been said. But is not the brain, is not the head. To feathers and their masters, it's both bane and boon. One empty, and one full. Paper Upon me you can tread, though softly under cover. And I will take you places, that you have yet to discover. I'm high, and I'm low, though flat in the middle. And though a joy to the children, adults think of me little. Stairs A mile from end to end, yet as close to as a friend. A precious commodity, freely given. Seen on the dead and on the living. Found on the rich, poor, short and tall. But shared among children most of all. Smile I have a hundred legs, but cannot stand. I have a long neck, but no head. I cannot see. I'm neat and tidy as can be. Broom Flat as a leaf, round as a ring. Has two eyes, can't see a thing. Button I don't think or eat or slumber. Or move around or fear thunder. Just like you I look the same but I can't harm you or be your bane. Doll In marble halls as white as milk, lined with a skin as soft as silk. Within a fountain crystal-clear. A golden apple doth appear. No doors there are to this stronghold, yet thieves break in and steal the gold. Egg What is it that you must give before you can keep it. Word I dig out tiny caves and store gold and silver in them. I also build bridges of silver and make crowns of gold. They are the smallest you could imagine. Sooner or later everybody needs my help. Yet many people are afraid to let me help them. Dentist What is long and slim, works in light. Has but one eye, and an awful bite? Needle What lies in a tunnel of darkness. That can only attack when pulled back? Bullet What has six faces and twenty-one eyes? Die Until I am measured. I am not known, yet how you miss me when I have flown. Time Three lives have I. Gentle enough to soothe the skin. Light enough to caress the sky. Hard enough to crack rocks. Water I wear a red robe, with staff in hand, and a stone in my throat. Cherry A warrior amongst the flowers, he bears a thrusting sword. He uses it whenever he must, to defend his golden hoard. Bee I hide but my head is outside. Nail A house full, a yard full, a chimney full, no one can get a spoonful. Smoke You can spin, wheel and twist. But this thing can turn without moving. Milk Halo of water, tongue of wood. Skin of stone, long I've stood. My fingers short reach to the sky. Inside my heart men live and die. Castle When they are caught, they are thrown away. When they escape, you itch all day. Fleas What does man love more than life, fear more than death or mortal strife. What the poor have, the rich require, and what contented men desire. What the miser spends, and the spendthrift saves. And all men carry to their graves. Nothing In we go, out we go. All around and in a row. Always, always steady flow. When we'll stop, you'll never known. In we go, out we go. Tides A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father. My son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place. And I'm the torment of man. Rain Born of earth, but with none of its strength. Molded by flame, but with none of its power. Shaped Glass Remove the outside. Cook the inside. Eat the outside. Throw away the inside. Corn This is in a realm of true and in a realm false, but you experience me as you turn and toss. Dream There is an ancient invention. Still used in some parts of the world today. That allows people to see through walls. Window Some live in me, some live on. And some shave me to stride upon. I rarely leave my native land. Until my death I always stand. High and low I may be found. Both above and below ground. Tree Metal or bone I may be, many teeth I have and always bared. Yet my bite harms no one. And ladies delight in my touch. Comb I am a fire's best friend. When fat, my body fills with wind. When pushed to thin, through my nose I blow. Then you can watch the embers glow. Bellows Every dawn begins with me. At dusk I'll be the first you see, and daybreak couldn't come without. What midday centers all about. Daises grow from me, I'm told. And when I come, I end all code, but in the sun I won't be found. Yet still, each day I'll be around. D You heart it speak, for it has a hard tongue. But it cannot breathe, for it has not a lung. Bell I cut through evil like a double edged sword, and chaos flees at my approach. Balance I single-handedly upraise, through battles fought with heart and mind, instead of with my gaze. Justice The eight of us move forth and back. To protect our king from the foes attack. Pawns He has one and a person has two. A citizen has three. And a human being has four. A personality has five. And an inhabitant of earth has six. Syllable If you break me, I do not stop working. If you touch me, I may be snared. If you lose me, nothing will matter. Heart What's in the middle of nowhere? H What force and strength cannot get through. I, with a gentle touch, can do. Many in the street would stand. Were I not a friend at hand. Key Often held but never touched. Always wet but never rusts. Often bits but seldom bit. To use it well you must have wit. Tongue As round as an apple. As deep as a cup. All the king's horses can't pull it up. Well He stands beside the road. In a purple cap at tattered green cloak. Those who touch him, curse him. Thistle Power enough to smash ships and crush roofs. Yet it still must fear the sun. Ice What surrounds the world, yet dwells within a thimble? Space I cannot be other than what I am, until the man who made me dies. Power and glory will fall to me finally. Only when he last closes his eyes. Prince What is it that makes tears without sorrow. And takes its journey to heaven? Smoke Inside a great blue castle lives a shy young maid. She blushes in the morning and comes not out at night. Sun This thing runs but cannot walk, sometimes sings but never talks. Lacks arms, has hands; lacks a head but has a face. Clock A word I know, six letters it contains. Subtract just one and twelve remains. Dozens I go in hard and dry. I come out soft and sticky. You can blow me. Gum I am the yellow hem of the sea's blue skirt. Beach A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. Potato I have four legs but no tail. Usually I am heard only at night. Frog A tiny bead, like fragile glass, strung along a cord of grass. Dew Break it and it is better, immediately set and harder to break again. Record Each morning I appear to lie at your feet, all day I follow no matter how fast you run. Yet I nearly perish in the midday sun. Shadow What do you throw out to use and take in when you're done? Anchor What is it which builds things up? Lays mountains low? Dries up lakes, and makes things grow? Cares not a whim about your passing? And is like few other things, because it is everlasting? Time I am the fountain from which no one can drink. For many I am considered a necessary link. Like gold to all I am sought for, but my continued death brings wealth for all to want more. Oil Sleeping during the day, I hide away. Watchful through the night, I open at dawn's light. But only for the briefest time, do I shine. And then I hide away. And sleep through the day. Sunrise A seed am I, three letters make my name. Take away two and I still sound the same. Pea In the middle of night, I surround the gong. In the middle of sight, I end the song. G Look into my face and I'm everybody. Scratch my back and I'm nobody. Mirror Two brothers we are, great burdens we bear. All day we are bitterly pressed. Yet this I will say, we are full all the day, and empty when go to rest. Boots They can be harbored, but few hold water. You can nurse them, but only by holding them against someone else. You can carry them, but not with your arms. You can bury them, but not in the earth. Grudge What is it that was given to you, belongs only to you. And yet your friends use it more than you do? Name By Moon or by Sun, I shall be found. Yet I am undone, if there's no light around. Shadow What do you use to hoe a row, slay a foe, and wring with woe? Hands We travel much, yet prisoners are, and close confined to boot. Yet with any horse, we will keep the pace, and will always go on foot. Spurs Without a bridle, or a saddle, across a thing I ride a-straddle. And those I ride, by help of me, though almost blind, are made to see. Glasses I fly through the air on small feathered wings, seeking out life and destroying all things. Arrow I am the red tongue of the earth, that buries cities. Lava I look at you, you look at me, I raise my right, you raise your left. Mirror What is the thing which, once poured out, cannot be gathered again? Rain It is a part of us, and then replaced. It escapes out bodies, to a better place. The world becomes its sizeable home. Its passions unrestraint, the planet it roams. Water What word starts with "E", ends with "E", but only has one letter? It is not the letter "E". Envelope A hole in a pole, though I fill a hole in white. I'm used more by the day, and less by the night. Eye I fly, yet I have no wings. I cry, yet I have no eyes. Darkness follows me. Lower light I never see. Cloud I'm full of holes, yet I'm full of water. Sponge Long and slinky like a trout, never sings till it's guts come out. Gun What animal keeps the best time? Watchdog What kind of room has no windows or doors? Mushroom I have legs but walk not, a strong back but work not. Two good arms but reach not. A seat but sit and tarry not. Chair It's in your hand though you can not feel it. Only you and time can reveal it. Fate Not born, but from a Mother's body drawn. I hang until half of me is gone. I sleep in a cave until I grow old. Then valued for my hardened gold. Cheese I am the outstretched fingers that seize and hold the wind. Wisdom flows from me in other hands. Upon me are sweet dreams dreamt, my merest touch brings laughter. Feather Hands she has but does not hold. Teeth she has but does not bite. Feet she has but they are cold. Eyes she has but without sight. Doll Only two backbones and thousands of ribs. Railroad Hard iron on horse. Cow's hide on man. Shoe What word is the same written forward, backward and upside down? Noon I cannot be felt, seen or touched. Yet I can be found in everybody. My existence is always in debate. Yet I have my own style of music. Soul I am seen in the water. If seen in the sky, I am in the rainbow, a jay's feather, and lapis lazuli. Blue You use it between your head and your toes, the more it works the thinner it grows. Soap Fatherless and motherless. Born without sin, roared when it came into the world. And never spoke again. Thunder Where can you find roads without cars, forests without trees and cities without houses? Map A leathery snake, with a stinging bite. I'll stay coiled up, unless I must fight. Whip Take one out and scratch my head, I am now black but once was red. Match Mountains will crumble and temples will fall. And no man can survive its endless call. Time What has wings, but can not fly. Is enclosed, but can outside also lie. Can open itself up, or close itself away. Is the place of kings and queens and doggerel of every means. What is it upon which I stand? Which can lead us to different lands. Stage I'm the source of all emotion, but I'm caged in a white prison. Heart I am the tool, for inspiring many. Buy me in the store, for not much more than a penny. Don't overuse me, or my usefulness will go. Pen What goes through a door but never goes in. And never comes out? Keyhole What goes up when the rain comes down? Umbrella I occur twice in eternity. And I'm always within sight. T Twigs and spheres and poles and plates. Join and bind to reason make. Skeleton The sun bakes them, the hand breaks them, the foot treads on them, and the mouth tastes them. Grapes I have many feathers to help me fly. I have a body and head, but I'm not alive. It is your strength which determines how far I go. You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown. Arrow What's black when you get it, red when you use it, and white when you're all through with it? Charcoal What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? Man Take off my skin, I won't cry, but you will. Onion Hold the tail, while I fish for you. Net I am so simple that I can only point. Yet I guide men all over the world. Compass Iron roof, glass walls, burns and burns and never falls. Lantern Late afternoons I often bathe. I'll soak in water piping hot. My essence goes through. My see through clothes. Used up am I - I've gone to pot. Teabag What can't you see, hear or feel, until its too late. What shadows love, and shopkeepers hate? Thief What can bring back the dead. Make us cry, make us laugh, make us young. Born in an instant yet lasts a life time? Memory I have a neck but no head. I have a body but no arm. I have a bottom but no leg. Bottle A thousand colored folds stretch toward the sky. Atop a tender strand, rising from the land, until killed by maiden's hand. Perhaps a token of love, perhaps to say goodbye. Flower Gold in a leather bag, swinging on a tree, money after honey in its time. Ills of a scurvy crew cured by the sea, reason in its season but no rhyme. Orange A slow, solemn square-dance of warriors feinting. One by one they fall, warriors fainting, thirty-two on sixty-four. Chess He has married many women but has never married. Priest In your fire you hear me scream, creaking and whining, yet I am dead before you lay me in your hearth. Log I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back. None suffer to have me, but do from my lack. Sleep I saw a strange creature. Long, hard, and straight, thrusting into a round, dark opening. Preparing to discharge its load of lives. Puffing and squealing noises accompanied it, then a final screech as it slowed and stopped. Train Large as a mountain, small as a pea, endlessly swimming in a waterless sea. Asteroid I do not breathe, but I run and jump. I do not eat, but I swim and stretch. I do not drink, but I sleep and stand. I do not think, but I grow and play. I do not see, but you see me everyday. Leg When liquid splashes me, none seeps through. When I am moved a lot, liquid I spew. When I am hit, color I change. And color, I come in quite a range. What I cover is very complex, and I am very easy to flex. Skin Give it food and it will live, give it water and it will die. Fire A nut cracker up in a tree. Squirrel What happens every second, minute, month, and century. But not every hour, week, year, or decade? N It has no top or bottom, but it can hold flesh, bones, and blood all at the same time. Ring I am free for the taking. Through all of your life, though given but once at birth. I am less than nothing in weight, but will fell the strongest of you if held. Breath My first is in blood and also in battle. My second is in acorn, oak, and apple. My third and fourth are both the same. In the center of sorrow and twice in refrain. My fifth starts eternity ending here. My last is the first of last, Oh Dear! Barrel When I'm metal or wood, I help you get home. When I'm flesh and I'm blood. In the darkness I roam. Bat I march before armies, a thousand salute me. My fall can bring victory, but no one would shoot me. The wind is my lover, one-legged am I. Name me and see me at home in the sky. Flag Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed. Mask What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two more letters? Short What is pronounced like one letter, written with three letters. And belongs to all animals? Eye What is it that given one, you'll have either two or none? Choice It is greater than God and more evil than the devil. The poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it you'll die. Nothing What gets bigger the more you take away from it? Hole The more of it there is, the less you see. Darkness To cross the water I'm the way, for water I'm above. I touch it not and, truth to say, I neither swim nor move. Bridge As beautiful as the setting sun, as delicate as the morning dew. An angel's dusting from the stars. That can turn the Earth into a frosted moon. Snow When set loose I fly away. Never so cursed as when I go astray. Fart How far will a blind dog walk into a forest? Halfway My first is in wield, sever bones and marrow. My second is in blade, forged in cold steel. My third is an arbalest, and also in arrows. My fourth is in power, plunged through a shield. My fifth is in honor, and also in vows. My last will put an end to it all. Weapon Face with a tree, skin like the sea. A great beast I am. Yet vermin frightens me. Elephant I sleep by day, I fly by night. I have no feathers to aid my flight. Bat I am mother and father, but never birth or nurse. I'm rarely still, but I never wander. Tree What goes in the water red, and comes out black? Iron Grows from the ground, bushes and grass, leaves of yellow, red and brow, unruly plants, get the axe, trim the hedge back down. Hair What can touch someone once and last them a life time? Love A dragons tooth in a mortals hand, I kill, I maim, I divide the land. Sword You will find me with four legs, but no hair. People ride me for hours, but I don't go anywhere without needing to be tugged. Jerked or turned on, I always manage to be ready for work. Desk No sooner spoken than broken. Silence Though desert men once called me God, today men call me mad. For I wag my tail when I am angry. And growl when I am glad. Cat An open ended barrel, it is shaped like a hive. It is filled with the flesh, and the flesh is alive. Thimble What kind of pet always stays on the floor? Carpet What flies without wings? What passes all things? What mends all sorrow? What brings the morrow? Time What has a neck and no head, two arms but no hands? Shirt Two in a corner, one in a room, none in a house, but one in a shelter. R What does no man want, yet no man want to lose? Work I am the heart that does not beat. If cut, I bleed without blood. I can fly, but have no wings. I can float, but have no fins. I can sing, but have no mouth. Wood Weight in my belly, trees on my back, nails in my ribs, feet I do lack. Boat What is that over the head and under the hat? Hair I bind it and it walks. I loose it and it stops. Sandal My voice is tender, my waist is slender and I'm often invited to play. Yet wherever I go, I must take my bow or else I have nothing to say. Violin Lovely and round, I shine with pale light, grown in the darkness, a lady's delight. Pearl The strangest creature you'll ever find has two eyes in front and a hundred behind. Peacock A little pool with two layers of wall around it. One white and soft and the other dark and hard. Amidst a light brown grassy lawn with an outline of a green grass. Coconut I open wide and tight I shut, Sharp am I and paper-cut fingers too, so do take care, I'm good and bad, so best beware. Scissors Only one color, but not one size. Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain. Doing no harm, and feeling no pain. Shadow A house of wood in a hidden place. Built without nails or glue. High above the earthen ground. It holds pale gems of blue. Nest Who spends the day at the window, goes to the table for meals. And hides at night? Fly The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, the end of every place. E Always old, sometimes new. Never sad, sometimes blue. Never empty, sometimes full. Never pushes, always pulls. Moon I bubble and laugh and spit water in your face. I am no lady, and I don't wear lace. Fountain My teeth are sharp, my back is straight, to cut things up it is my fate. Saw I love to dance and twist and prance. I shake my tail, as away I sail. Wingless I fly into the sky. Kite I usually wear a yellow coat. I usually have a dark head. I make marks wherever I go. Pencil My life is often a volume of grief, your help is needed to turn a new leaf. Stiff is my spine and my body is pale. But I'm always ready to tell a tale. Book I cost no money to use, or conscious effort to take part of. And as far as you can see, there is nothing to me. But without me, you are dead. Air Soldiers line up spaced with pride. Two long rows lined side by side. One sole unit can decide, if the rows will unit or divide. Zipper What measures out time. Until in time all is smashed to it? Sand I turn around once. What is out will not get in. I turn around again. What is in will not get out. Key Who is he that runs without a leg. And his house on his back? Snail When the day after tomorrow is yesterday. Today will be as far from Wednesday. As today was from Wednesday. When the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day? Thursday What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees. Up, up it goes, and yet never grows? Mountain Come up and let us go. Go down and here we stay. Anchor They have not flesh, nor feathers, nor scales, nor bone. Yet they have fingers and thumbs of their own. Gloves Long slim and slender. Dark as homemade thunder. Keen eyes and peaked nose. Scares the Devil wherever it goes. Snake What is put on a table, cut, but never eaten? Deck The sharp slim blade, that cuts the wind. Grass Although my cow is dead, I still beat her. What a racket she makes! Drum It sat upon a willow tree, and sang softly unto me. Easing my pain and sorrow with its song. I wished to fly, but tarried long. And in my suffering, the willow was like a cool clear spring. What was it that helped me so? To spend my time in my woe. Bird I have four wings but cannot fly. I never laugh and never cry. On the same spot always found, toiling away with little sound. Windmill I am never quite what I appear to be. Straight-forward I seem, but it's only skin deep. For mystery most often lies beneath my simple speech. Sharpen your wits, open your eyes, look beyond my exteriors, read me backwards, forwards, upside down. Think and answer the question...What am I? Riddle All about the house, with his lady he dances, yet he always works, and never romances. Broom I walked and walked and at last I got it. I didn't want it. So I stopped and looked for it. When I found it, I threw it away. Thorn Two in a whole and four in a pair. And six in a trio you see. And eight's a quartet but what you must get. Is the name that fits just one of me? Half I drive men mad for love of me. Easily beaten, never free. Gold I go around in circles, but always straight ahead. Never complain, no matter where I am led. Wheel You use a knife to slice my head. And weep beside me when I am dead. Onion Turns us on our backs, and open up our stomachs. You will be the wisest of men though at start a lummox. Books Thousands lay up gold within this house. But no man made it. Spears past counting guard this house, but no man wards it. Beehive What goes around the world and stays in a corner? Stamp What has to be broken before it can be used? Egg Creatures of power, creatures of grade, creatures of beauty, creatures of strength. As for their lives, they set everything's pace. For all things must come to live. Under their emerald embrace. Either in their life or in their death. Trees Double my number, I'm less than a score. Half of my number is less than four. Add one to my double when bakers are near. Days of the week are still greater, I fear. Six In buckles or lace, they help set the pace. The farther you go, the thinner they grow. Shoes When young, I am sweet in the sun. When middle-aged, I make you gay. When old, I am valued more than ever. Wine Forward I'm heavy, but backwards I'm not. Ton Hard to catch, easy to hold. Can't be seen, unless it's cold. Breath I am two-faced but bear only one. I have no legs but travel widely. Men spill much blood over me. Kings leave their imprint on me. I have greatest power when given away, yet lust for me keeps me locked away. Coin Two little holes in the side of a hill. Just as you come to the cherry-red mill. Nose When you stop and look, you can always see me. If you try to touch, you cannot feel me. I cannot move, but as you near me, I will move away from you. Horizon A dagger thrust at my own heart, dictates the way I'm swayed. Left I stand, and right I yield, to the twisting of the blade. Lock What instrument can make any sound and be heart, but not touched or seen? Voice What goes further the slower it goes? Money I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. Nose Used left or right, I get to travel over cobblestone or gravel. Used up, I vie for sweet success, used down, I cause men great duress. Thumb What goes through the door without pinching itself? What sits on the stove without burning itself? What sits on the table and is not ashamed? Sun The moon is my father. The sea is my mother. I have a million brothers. I die when I reach land. Wave What always goes to bed with his shoes on? Horse My thunder comes before the lightning. My lightning comes before the clouds. My rain dries all the land it touches. Volcano My love, when I gaze on thy beautiful face. Careering along, yet always in place, the thought has often come into my mind. If I ever shall see thy glorious behind. Moon What starts with a "T", ends with a "T", and has T in it? Teapot Today he is there to trip you up. And he will torture you tomorrow. Yet he is also there to ease the pain, when you are lost in grief and sorrow. Alcohol I can be moved. I can be rolled. But nothing will I hold. I'm red and I'm blue, and I can be other colors too. Having no head, though similar in shape. I have no eyes - yet move all over the place. Ball Inside a burning house, this thing is best to make. And best to make it quickly, before the fire's too much to take! Haste What is round as a dishpan, deep as a tub, and still the oceans couldn't fill it up? Sieve My first is in some but not in all. My second is into but not in tall. My third in little but no in big. My fourth in port but not in pig. My whole is made in nature's way. For clothing, rugs used every day. Silk Gets rid of bad ones, short and tall. Tightens when used, one size fits all. Noose What gets wetter the more it dries. Towel A little house full of meat, no door to go in and eat. Nut A beggar's brother went out to sea and drowned. But the man who drowned had no brother. Who was the beggar to the man who drowned? Sister I can be written, I can be spoken, I can be exposed, I can be broken. News A horrid monster hides from the day, with many legs and many eyes. With silver chains it catches prey. And eats it all before it dies. Yet in every cottage does it stay. And every castle beneath the sky. Spider Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it. Five in the middle is seen. First of all figures, the first of all letters. Take up their stations between. Join all together, and then you will bring before you the name of an eminent king. David Tall in the morning, short at noon, gone at night. But I'll be back soon. Shadow In the night a mountain, in the morning a meadow. Bed What can be heard and caught but never seen? Remark I can sizzle like bacon, I am made with an egg. I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg. I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole. I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole. Snake If a man carried my burden, he would break his back. I am not rich, but leave silver in my track. Snail High born, my touch is gentle. Purest white is my lace. Silence is my kingdom. Green is the color of my death. Snow You heard me before, yet you hear me again, then I die. Until you call me again. Echo What wears a coat in the winter and pants in the summer? Dog I'm not really more than holes tied to more holes. I'm strong as good steel, though not as stiff as a pole. Chain I am the third from a sparkle bright, I thrive throughout the day and night. Deep in the path of a cows white drink. I've had thousands of millions of years to think. But one of my creatures is killing me. And so the question I ask to thee, is who am I? Earth Up on high I wave away but not a word can I say. Flag I am whole but incomplete. I have no eyes, yet I see. You can see, and see right through me. My largest part is one fourth of what I once was. Skeleton They're up near the sky, on something very tall. Sometimes they die, only then do they fall. Leaves Toss me out of the window. You'll find a grieving wife. Pull me back but through the door, and watch someone give life! N A time when they're green. A time when they're brown. But both of these times, cause me to frown. But just in between, for a very short while. They're perfect and yellow. And cause me to smile. Bananas I build up castles. I tear down mountains. I make some men blind. I help others to see. Sand Round as a button, deep as a well. If you want me to talk, you must first pull my tail. Bell A house with two occupants, sometimes one, rarely three. Break the walls, eat the boarders, then throw away me. Peanut My first master has four legs, my second master has two. My first I serve in life, my second I serve in death. Tough I am, yet soft beside. Against ladies cheeks I often reside. Fur I have one eye. See near and far. I hold the moments you treasure and the things that make you weep. Camera There are two meanings to me. With one I may need to be broken, with the other I hold on. My favorite characteristic is my charming dimple. Tie With sharp edged wit and pointed poise. It can settle disputes without making a noise. Sword Lighter than what I am made of, more of me is hidden than is seen. I am the bane of the mariner. A tooth within the sea. Iceberg I have one, you have one. If you remove the first letter, a bit remains. If you remove the second, bit still remains. If you remove the third, it still remains. Habit Kings and queens may cling to power. And the jester's got his call. But, as you may all discover. The common one outranks them all. Ace Glittering points that downward thrust. Sparkling spears that never rust. Icicles My first is in fish but no in snail. My second is in rabbit but no in tail. My third is in up but not in down. My fourth is in tiara but not in crown. My fifth is in tree you plainly see. My whole a food for you and me. Fruit What I am filled, I can point the way. When I am empty. Nothing moves me. I have two skins. One without and one within. Gloves My first is in window but not in pane. My second's in road but not in lane. My third is in oval but not in round. My fourth is in hearing but not in sound. My whole is known as a sign of peace. And from noah's ark won quick release. Dove If you drop me I'm sure to crack. But give me a smile and I'll always smile back. Mirror I make you weak at the worst of all times. I keep you safe, I keep you fine. I make your hands sweat. And your heart grow cold. I visit the weak, but seldom the bold. Fear I run through hills. I veer around mountains. I leap over rivers. And crawl through the forests. Step out your door to find me. Road You can see nothing else when you look in my face. I will look you in the eye and I will never lie. Mirror I have split the one into five. I am the circle that few will spy. I am the path that breaks and gives. I am the bow no man may bend. Rainbow A harvest sown and reaped on the same day in an unplowed field. Which increases without growing, remains whole though it is eaten within and without. Is useless and yet the staple of nations. War Snake coiled round and round. Snake deep below the ground. Snake that's never had a head. Snake that binds but not with dread. Rope My first is in ocean but never in sea. My second's in wasp but never in bee. My third is in glider and also in flight. My whole is a creature that comes out at night. Owl Dies half its life. Lives the rest. Dances without music. Breathes without breath. Tree What runs around all day. Then lies under the bed. With its tongue hanging out? Shoe It's true I bring serenity. And hang around the stars. But yet I live in misery, you'll find me behind bars. With thieves and villains I consort. In prison I'll be found. But I would never go to court. Unless there's more than one. S You must keep this thing. Its loss will affect your brothers. For once yours is lost, it will soon be lost by others. Temper What can you catch but not throw? Cold Black we are and much admired. Men seek us if they are tired. We tire the horse, comfort man. Guess this riddle if you can. Coal I have a face, yet no senses. But I don't really care, because time is of the essence. Clock If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. Secret There is one in every corner and two in every room. O It comes only before, it comes only after. Rises only in darkness, but rises only in light. It is always the same, but is yet always different. Moon As soft as silk, as white as milk, as bitter as gall, a thick green wall, and a green coat covers me all. Walnut We are little airy creatures, all of different voice and features, one of us in glass is set. One of us you'll find in jet. Another you may see in tin. And the fourth a box within. If the fifth you should pursue, it can never fly from you. Vowels Three little letters. A paradox to some. The worse that it is, the better it becomes. Pun Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, gives it. But almost nobody takes it. Advice Different lights do make me strange, thus into different sizes I will change. Pupil Ten men's strength, ten men's length. Ten men can't break it, yet a young boy walks off with it. Rope Some try to hide, some try to cheat. But time will show, we always will meet. Try as you might, to guess my name. I promise you'll know, when you I do claim. Death I'm a god. I'm a planet. I measure heat. Mercury I'm white, I'm round, but not always around. Sometimes you see me, sometimes you don't. Moon People are hired to get rid of me. I'm often hiding under your bed. In time I'll always return you see. Bite me and you're surely dead. Dust Die without me, never thank me. Walk right through me, never feel me. Always watching, never speaking. Always lurking, never seen. Air White bird, featherless, flying out of paradise. Flying over sea and land. Dying in my hand. Snow My life can be measured in hours. I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick. Fat, I am slow. Wind is my foe. Candle What goes up but never comes down? Age We are all around, yet to us you are half blind. Sunlight makes us invisible, and difficult to find. Stars What's large on Saturday and Sunday. Small on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and disappears on Monday and Friday? S What do you fill with empty hands? Gloves Goes over all the hills and hollows. Bites hard, but never swallows. Frost Stealthy as a shadow in the dead of night, cunning but affectionate if given a bite. Never owned but often loved. At my sport considered cruel, but that's because you never know me at all. Cat A red drum which sounds without being touched, and grows silent, when it is touched. Heart My second is performed by my first, and it is thought a thief by the marks of my whole might be caught. Footstep The man who made it didn't need it. The man who bought it didn't use it. The man who used it didn't want it. Coffin A hill full, a hole full, yet you cannot catch a bowl full. Mist I am a box that holds black and white keys without locks. Yet they can unlock your soul. Piano What is often returned, but never borrowed/ Thanks A muttered rumble was heard from the pen, and I, in my walking stopped to look in. What was this I saw? A massive beast, hoofed, and jawed. With spikes upon its mighty brow, I watched as he struck the turf and prowled. And yet for all of his magnificence, he couldn't get out of that wooden fence. Bull What word has kst in the middle, in the beginning, and at the end? Inkstand So cold, damp and dark this place. To stay you would refrain, yet those who occupy this place do never complain. Grave What kind of nut is empty at the center and has no shell. Doughnut I have a title and many pages. I am a genteel of genteel descent. I am a killer veteran of war. I am a slave to my lord pledged to his service. Knight Of these things - I have two. One for me - and one for you. And when you ask about the price, I simply smile and nod twice. Sharing At night I come without being fetched. By day I am lost without being stolen. Stars Ripped from my mother's womb. Beaten and burned, I become a blood thirsty killer. Iron I'm very tempting, so its said, I have a shiny coat of red, and my flesh is white beneath. I smell so sweet, taste good to eat, and help to guard your teeth. Apple They made me a mouth, but didn't give me breath. Water gives me life, but the sun brings me death. Snowman I am as simple as a circle. Worthless as a leader, but when I follow a group. Their strength increases tenfold. By myself I am practically nothing. Neither negative or positive. Zero I saw a man in white, he looked quite a sight. He was not old, but he stood in the cold. And when he felt the sun, he started to run. Who could he be? Please answer me. Snowman We are five little objects of an everyday sort. You will find us all in a tennis court. Vowels What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks. Has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats? River I can be cracked, I can be made. I can be told, I can be played. Joke My children are near and far. No matter that I know where they are. The gift I give them make their day. But if I were gone they would wander away. Sun Screaming, soaring seeking sky. Flowers of fire flying high. Eastern art from ancient time. Name me now and solve this rhyme. Firework Who is it that rows quickly with four oars, but never comes out from under his own roof? Turtle Who works when he plays and plays when he works? Musician My first is twice in apple but not once in tart. My second is in liver but not in heart. My third is in giant and also in ghost. Whole I'm best when I am toast. Pig Reaching stiffly for the sky, I bare my fingers when its cold. In warmth I wear an emerald glove and in between I dress in gold. Tree A precious stone, as clear as diamond. Seek it out while the sun's near the horizon. Though you can walk on water with its power, try to keep it, and it'll vanish in an hour. Ice Half-way up the hill, I see you at last, lying beneath me with your sounds and sights. A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights. Past I heard of a wonder, of words moth-eaten. That is a strange thing, I thought, weird. That a man's song be swallowed by a worm. His blinded sentences, his bedside stand-by rustled in the night - and the robber-guest. Not one wit the wiser. For the words he had mumbled. Bookworm I can be caught but not thrown Cold I can travel the world without leaving my corner. What am I? Stamp What can be measured but not seen? Time What is always coming but never really arrives? Tomorrow If you have me, you want to share me. But if you share me, you'll lose me. What am I? Secret I am a three letter word. Add two more letters and you'll have fewer. What word am I? Few What has a tongue but no mouth? Shoe I can run but not walk, have a mouth but can't talk, and a bed but I do not sleep. What am I? River I weigh nothing, but you can see me, and if you put me in a bucket, I'll make it lighter Hole I can be told, I can be played. I can be cracked, and I can be made. What am I? Joke What kind of coat is best put on wet? Paint What animal jumps when it walks, and sits when it stands? Kangaroo What surrounds everyplace, is the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space? E I can be found in seconds, minutes and centuries, but not in days, years or decades N The more of this you have the less you see. What is it? Darkness What has a head and tail but no limbs or body? Coin What grows when fed but dies when watered? Fire What is lighter than what it is made of? Ice What has many keys but unlocks no doors? Piano What looks back but cannot see? Reflection What is it that can have the whole taken from it and still be left with some? Wholesome What kind of nail can be grown? Fingernail What has a neck but no head and two arms but no hands? Shirt The more of these you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? Footsteps What is never thirsty but always drinking and alive but never breathing? Fish What is lighter than air but can never be lifted? Bubble If you drop me, I'll crack, but if you smile, I'll smile back. What am I? Mirror I do not speak, but there is no word I cannot make. What am I? Alphabet What has an end but no beginning, a home but no family, and a space without room? Keyboard What never asks questions but receives a lot of answers? Telephone What stays on the ground but never gets dirty? Shadow What surrounds the world yet exists in a thimble Space What happens four times in every week, twice every month and once in a year? E I'm tall in the morning and short in the noon. I disappear at night but I will be back soon Shadow What breaks in the water but never on land? Wave What do you throw out to use and take in when you're done? Anchor What kind of room has no doors or windows? Mushroom What can be broken without being touched? Promise What starts with and ends with ‘e' but only has one letter in it? Envelope If you take off my skin, I will not cry, but you will. What am I? Onion What goes up and down without moving? Temperature What can be filled with empty hands? Gloves What gets served but never eaten? Tennis Ball I cannot be used until I have been broken. What am I? Egg What word is pronounced the same even after removing 4 of its 5 letters? Queue What cries without a voice, flutters without wings, and bites without a mouth? Wind What do the poor have that the rich need, and if you eat it, you will die? Nothing What is pronounced as one letter, written with three, and is the same forwards and backwards? Eye What can be seen but not touched? Shadow How can the letters OWONDER be rearranged to make one word? One word What falls but never breaks? Night I have four legs, one head, and a foot. What am I? Bed What has fingers and a thumb but no hand? Glove What can be any size or shape and gets bigger the more you take from it? Hole I have a face but no eyes and hands but no arms. What am I? Clock What does everyone have that goes up but never comes down? Age What makes my left hand my right? Mirror I am made of the stuff around me but lighter than it. I am more hidden than seen. What am I? Iceberg Where can you add 2 to 11 and get 1? Clock My maker doesn't want me, my buyer doesn't use me and my user will never see me Coffin What is better than the best thing and worse than the worst thing? Nothing What should you keep after giving? Your Word What has a ring but no fingers? Telephone I have been around for millions of year, but I am never more than a month old Moon What can go up the chimney down but can't go down the chimney up? Umbrella I am put on a table, cut, but never eaten Cards What is full of holes but still holds water? Sponge This man has married many but has never been married Priest Not my sister nor my bother but still the child of my mother Myself Many hear me, but no one sees me, and I only speak when spoken to Echo I never was but am always to be, and everyone looks forward to me Future What goes up and down the stairs without moving? Rug There are millions of me. I am very small but when moving fast I am deadly? Sand What comes down but never back goes up? Rain Tall when I'm young but short when I'm old Candle What goes up when the rain comes down? Umbrella What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it Short I have two hands but cannot clap Clock If you walk into a cabin with a match, a kerosene lamp and a fireplace, which do you light first? Match how many months have 28 day? Twelve I have an eye but cannot see. What I am? Needle what can go through tows and over hills without moving? Road what loses its head every morning only to get it back every night? Pillow I am a word with six letters. Subtract 1 of these letters and you have 12. what am I? Dozens what goes up and down without moving? Stairs A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 run away. how many are left? Nine I can shave everyday but my beard will stay. who am I? Barber what grows in winter, dies in summer and grows roots upward? Icicle how far can you walk into the woods? Halfway I am your mother's brother's only brother in law. who am I? Father feathers help me fly, but I am not alive. what am I? Arrow what word contains all 26 letter? Alphabet taken from a mine and shut in a wooden case, and yet used by almost everybody. what am I? Lead how many $5 bills are in a dozen? Twelve what has a neck but no head? Bottle what eight letter word has kst in middle, in the beginning and at the end? Inkstand before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the tallest mountain in the world? Mt. Everest What always comes into the house through the keyhole? Key I am everywhere but cannot be seen captured or held, only heard, what am I? Voice what is bought by the yard and worn by the foot? Carpet I have a metal roof and glass wall. I burn and burn but never fall. what am I? Lantern I am liquid in nature but don't me to far, for then I may break and my damage may scar Glass what has four legs and a back but no body? Chair what must take a bow before it can speak? Violin what has one foot on each side and one in the middle? Yardstick what word can be written forward, backward or upside down Noon nightly they come without being fetched? What are they? Stars what falls when thrown up but rises when thrown down? Ball you can swallow me, but I can also swallow you Water how many bricks does it take to finish a brick building? One you use this from your head to your toes. the more you use it the thinner it grows Soap what has a tongue but cannot talk, gets around a lot but cannot walk? Shoe what goes with a car, comes with a car, is no use to a car, but the car can't move without it? Noise how many seconds are there in a year? Twelve what binds two people yet touches only one? Ring I am larger than castle, lighter than air, yet a thousand men could not move me Shadow it stand on one leg and have my heart in my head Cabbage I sleep by day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to aid my flight Bat I am round as a bowl, deep as a tub, but all the world's water couldn't fill me up Sieve What is found once in a second, once in a minute, twice in a millennium, but never in a year? N They are dark and always on the run. But without the sun, there would be none. they are Shadows What does someone else have to take before you can get? Photograph When filled I can point the way. But when empty unmoving I stay. What am I? Glove What runs but cannot walk? Nose What has teeth but no mouth? Saw I carry my home on my back. I am not rich, but I leave silver in my track. What am I? Snail what has four legs but no feet and two arms but no hand? Chair What disappears if you say its name? Silence I cab be full, but I will never spill. I disappear at times, but return I always will. What am I? Moon What has no beginning or end and nothing in the middle? Doughnut What has one foot but no body? Ruler If you have me, you want to share me. But if you share me, you lose me. What am I? Secret What is the only animal without the ability to fly but still does? Man What flies when it born, lies while it is alive, and runs when it dies? Snowflake I cannot be felt or moved, but as you come closer, I get more distant. What am I Horizon What did Adam and Eve lack that everyone else has? Parents I am bigger than elephant but lighter than a feather. What am I? Wind For most, I am fast. For others, I am slow. An obsession to all, I make the world go. What am I? Time When they are caught they are thrown away when they escape you itch What am I? Fleas There is an old invention still used today that allows one to look through walls. What is it? Window What is red, blue, purple and green that no one can reach, not even the queen? Rainbow What is brown and has a head and a tail but no legs? Penny What is yours, but your friends use it more than you do? Your Name If you have three oranges and take away two, how many will you have? Two I am weightless, yet no man can hold me for long. What am I? Breath What is round, has a twin, and sees more than most? Eye This is a shape and a symbol that we literally cannot live without. What is it? Heart I dance and sing in the breeze, but I have neither voice nor feet. What am I? Tree Neither bought nor sold but more valuable than gold. It is built but not by hand. What is it? Trust In the ground I am nothing, but give me time and I'll be something. What am I? Seed What can provide food before it is alive, while it is alive and after it's dead? Chicken What hangs in the sky by day but at night goes away? Sun Without me where would you be? I am not your eyes, but I help you see. What am I? Light What points the way without a hand. It floats on water but exists on land? Compass What has four wings but cannot fly and uses the wind but does not know why? Windmill A locked sphere without hinges or key. Break me open and golden treasures you'll see Egg My life only lasts hours as I quickly become devoured. Fast or slow, wind is my foe. What am I? Candle If you held me for too long, you would die. What am I? Breath The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Saturday. What day is it today? Friday Glittering points that downward thrust. Sparkling spears that do not rust. What is it? Icicle What makes a loud noise when changing its jacket and get larger in the process but weighs less after? Popcorn What is green, has four legs, no tail, and usually heard at night? Frog Man greatly desires me. I am easily beaten but never free. What am I? Gold What is seen in the water and in the sky? It is part of the rainbow and can be in your eye. Blue You will hear me again. I will not appear until you call me. Echo What is gentle enough to soothe the skin and light enough to exist in the sky but strong enough to break rocks? Water I will not be what I am until the man who made me dies. What am I? Prince What do people need but always give away? Money You don't want this, but if you have it, you don't want to lose it. What is it? Lawsuit Men walk over me but boats go under me. What am I? Bridge I am too much for one but not enough for two. Give me to a third and I am gone. What am I? Secret What holds names and memories which are not its own? Gravestone What can be hot or cold and appears blue but is really red? Blood Bill's mom has four kids: Mary, John, and Alice. What is the name of her fourth child? Bill It is able to speak because it has a hard gone. You know what it is as soon as it has sung. What is it? Bell What is flat, usually square, and made from trees but isn't wood? Paper I am very large but look very small. When night falls, I am cherished by all. What am I? Star I am hot then cold, a liquid then solid, and I am at once flaky and wet. What am I? Wax Never swallowed but certainly chewed, tossed in the mouth but it is not food. What is it? Gum What building has the most stories? Library What becomes whiter the dirtier it gets? Chalkboard What turns everything around but does not move? Mirror What is something you can hold without ever touching? Breath I am sometimes white but usually black. I take you there, but I never bring you back. What am I? Hearse I have roads but no pavement, rivers but no water, and cities but no buildings. What am I? Map What is filled with air and sometimes a gas, tied to a string and often seen on your birthday? Balloon What vegetable is never sold canned, frozen, or cooked, only fresh? Lettuce What can be played with no rules and no winners or losers? Instruments What is eaten but not grown and was born in water but will disappear if soaked? Salt I come in many shapes and colors. I sing in the breeze but only live 7 months. What am I? Leaf Born from a fountain of wealth, I am black instead of gold but valued the same. What am I? Oil A container holding water but not a cup. If you want to find me, look up. What am I? Coconut What comes from an egg and peels like a fruit? It can sizzle like bacon and slender to boot. Snake What is always wet but never rusts and often held but mostly untouched? Tongue My life is a volume of joy and grief, but I need your help to turn a new leaf. What am I? Book What weakens a man for hours each day and presents you strange visions while you're away? Sleep I am set in white but colored myself. I have no words, but I reveal much. What am I? Eye I am wingless but airborne, and when I meet your gaze tears will fall from your eyes. What am I? Smoke My treasures are golden and guarded by thousands amongst a maze no man can enter. What am I? Beehive What travels from house to house and is sometimes narrow and sometimes wide but always stays outside? Path What has a brown coat, a long tail, and lives in house or shed but most active while you're in bed? Mouse A place with substance and story, where many masquerade to there glory. What am I? Stage What has no arms, hands, or legs but moves the earth? Worm I have a red cap on my head and a stone in my throat my sweetness is something of note. What am I? Cherry You may have many of me but never enough. After the last one arrives you will have no more. What am I? Birthday What devours all and can kill a king. Destroy a town and crushes mountains down? Time If I turn my head, you may go where you want, but if I turn again, you could stay and rot. What am I? Key As your ideas grow, I shrink. What am I? Pencil I am partly blind but can still see. I have legs but use them only for sleeping? What am I? Bat What is something yet nothing, but if you fill it up it will disappear? Hole Even though I am far from the point and make no mistakes of my own, I fix yours. What am I? Eraser I am not alive but seem so, because I dance and breathe with no legs or lungs of my own. What am I? Flame I am blinding at times yet help you see. I am necessary, but you'll burn with too much of me. What am I? Sunlight I am at your hand when it is dark and hidden away in the light. What am I? Flashlight I have arms but cannot carry a thing. But wave at me and I wave back at you. What am I? Reflection What covers its face with its hands, speaks no language, yet most known what it's saying? Clock Its thunder comes before lightning, it's lightning before clouds, and its rain dries all it touches. What is it? Volcano I am found by the ocean and offer you a bed. Whether you want me or not, to your house I am led? Sand Born in a shell I adorn your neck. What am I? Pearl A man without bones whose flesh is cold. A man unthinking who is always shrinking. Who is he? Snowmen What has armor but is not a knight, snaps but is not a twig, and is always at home even on the move? Turtle I have two legs, but they only touch the ground while I'm at rest. What am I? Wheelbarrow I enclose you in darkness but allow you to see many things. If you resist me, you're likely to get rings. What am I? Sleep I can feel any space, float, and disappear. Never touching the ground I help others get around. What am I? Gas I am black as night but can be filled with light. Through me things can be seen, although it is a screen. What am I? Television Green on the outside but red and black inside. I am food but mostly liquid. What am I? Watermelon I am part of the bird that is not in the sky. I can swim in the water but always stay dry. What am I? Shadow What build its house with earthen string and ensnares its prey with a biting sting? Spider What traps a star in its belly but can be held in your hand? Apple I am a container with an inside golden that can't be opened unless I am broken. What am I? Egg What runs distances and make many turns along the way, yet it never moves one foot? Watch I can fill a house or fill your mouth but you can never catch me in your hands. What am I? Smoke What is part of you and all around you but if it entangles you, it will kill you? Water I remain unseen but hold many things, and when you are making a decision you consult me. What am I? Mind I am sometimes yellow and sometimes white. Half of me is dark and the other is light. What am I? Moon I am always with my partner, and I make noise that you never see me create. What am I? Thunder I have a long tail that I let fly. Every time I go through a gap, I leave a bit of my tail in the trap. What am I? Needle You take my clothes off when you put your clothes on. What am I? Hanger I am bushy headed but have no air. No moisture will not enter my skin, but it's good at keeping it in. What am I? Tree Place your fingers in my eyes, and I will open my jaws to devour paper and cloth. What am I? Scissors In the morning I sing on feathered wing. I soar through the air without a care. What am I? Bird What has four legs but cannot move without help? Chair Add me to myself and multiply by 4. Divide me by 8 and you will have me once more. What number am I? Any number Four years ago. Alex was twice as old as Jake. Four years from now. Jake will be 3/4 of Alex's age. How old is Alex? Twelve We are two brothers on opposite sides of the road, but we never see each other. Who are we? Eyes What can your pocket hold while it is completely empty? Hole What can be a tree but also part of your hand? Palm We total ten, but two we make. When we are together people may quake. What are we? Fists What is used by man, tossed by trees, everywhere but unseen? Air This can only be given and never bought, it is craved by sinners but by saints it is not? What is it? Forgiveness I have two bodies, but I am joined into one. I sit still, but when flipped I run. What am I? Hourglass Man walks over, and man swims under. It times of war, it can be burned asunder? What is it? Bridge This is a paradox to some. The worse it is the better it becomes. What is it? Pun I may be dropped in dry, but I come out wet. The longer I stay, the stronger I get. What am I? Teabag Where force can't get through, I with a gentle movement do. What am I? Key I have no end and am the ending of all that begins. What am I? Death Kings and Queens have power; the jack and jester they call. But what is the trump who overtakes them all? Ace What speeds on a track but isn't in a race and has a whistle to announce its steady pace? Train This has no beginning, middle or end, and all the greatest thinkers see it but can't comprehend. What is it? Space What comes once a day but leaves every morning? Night Of these everyone has ten, part of two wholes at the arms end. What are they? Fingers In the forest, this blends in just right, but every December it is covered with lights. What is it? Evergreen 2 people in front of 2 people. 2 people behind 2 people, and 2 people beside 2 people. How many people are there? Four I am the number nine you see. Before 100, how many will you count of me? Twenty I am long and thin and make things right. I will repair your mistake but watch my bite. What am I? Needle I can fill a room but take up no space. Look out at night, and I am in no place. What am I? Light I give life for my own, have a beginning, but my end is unknown. What am I? Sun What can speak without a tongue and listen without ears? Telephone Round like a cup but deep like a well. To make it sing, you must pull its tail. What is it? Bell They can float and tickle, but their sound is rarely heard unless you're a pillow or bird. What are they? Feathers I live in the corn, and my job is to deter. Free from pests your crops I assure. What am I? Scarecrow A hand without flesh and nothing can I hold. My grip cannot be used until I am sold. What am I? Gloves Pointing North, South, East, and West it saves the lost and helps the rest. What is it? Compass Usually green but can be brown. It's a great place to play or lie down. What is it? Grass A circle of stones, never in rows. Stacked one on the other, mystery it sows. What is it? Stonehenge Through its wounds, water does run. It once held many but now has none. What is it? Shipwreck A beacon from home to guide your way. It can be a lifesaver on a stormy day. What is it? Lighthouse What travels from coast to coast without ever moving? Highway You can't live without doing this, and we all do it at the same time. Yet many wish it wasn't happening. What is it? Aging What kind of table has no legs? Periodic What has numbers on the outside but letters inside? Mailbox In a tree you'll find me moving slow as can be. My name is a sin but from them I am free. What am I? Sloth A father's and mother's child I am one, but I am no one's son. Who am I? Daughter I bring milk and have a horn, but I am not a cow. What am I? Milk Truck In two years I know, I'll be twice as old as five years ago, said Tom. How old is Tom? Twelve A book once owned by the wealthy, now rare to find. Never for sale and often left behind. What am I? Phonebook At first I am a yellow weed in the lawn, and then the wind blows, and my white feathers are gone. What am I? Dandelion With four oars it swims but it is always at home. Its back is like armor, tougher than chrome. What is it? Turtle I can burn your mouth and sting your eye, but I am consumed everyday. What am I? Salt With hands that can't hold and eyes that can't see, she's cherished by some but has no real family. Who is she? Doll I can bring back the dead and a tear to your eye. A stir of emotions will follow close by. What am I? Memories My body is timber and I am a boy among men. I have a nose without end and an insect for a friend. Who am I? Pinocchio What do you use to hoe a row and say hello? Hands Agile on my feet, I drive dogs mad. I flick my tail when I'm angry and hum when I'm glad. What am I? Cat You need a key to receive an answer from me. The answer you'll find is straight from your mind. What is it? Code I am in your hand but you don't hold me. After some time, you will know me. What am I? Fate Grown in darkness yet shimmers in light. It is lovely, round, and every woman's delight. What is it? Pearl I am young in the sun and trapped to be aged. Held in a bottle but opening is delayed. What am I? Wine My uses are changing, but I still remain the same. My interior is quiet, and stories are my game. What am I? Library I spin and hum, I'm your summer tool. Just flip the switch, and I serve to cool. What am I? Fan More rare today than long ago. There's a salutation from friends written below. What am I? Letter What can get you there in eco style, pushed by your legs mile after mile? Bicycle Secured in place, I work undercover, and with a flick of your finger. My purpose you'll discover. What am I? Light bulb What is eaten by man, served among many, grown by many, and white as snow? Rice I live next to beauty trying to catch your eye. Grab me without looking, and you're surely to cry. What am I? Thorn Without feather or wing I fly, but you'll known what I am when I hover near by. What am I? Helicopter What starts out in a field and then crashed on a stone. It becomes much more when to the fire it's thrown? Bread What is born on the ground but floats to the sky, to be returned back again from the clouds up high? Rain It gets passed among men and builds without growing. It serves to injure from a source unknowing. What is it? Lie What has a green top, red on its belly, seeds on the outside, and tastes great in jelly? Strawberry Sometimes it's silver but also gold. Printed on paper it's a treasure to hold. What is it? Currency Strip the skin under my skin, and my flesh you'll reveal. It tastes sweet and tart, now throw out the peel. What is it? Orange He calls in the morning, the day to renew, if his owner gets hungry, he'll be turned to stew. What is he? Rooster I am a number with a couple of friends, quarter a dozen, and you'll find me again. What am I? Three Tucked out of sight. I sing best at night. No instrument around, but you'll find me on the ground. What am I? Cricket Grown in the ground, it's taller than you. Strip off the outside, the yellow pieces you chew. What is it? Corn What moves across the land but never has to steer? It has delivered our goods year after year. What is it? Train Built of metal or wood to divide. It will make us good neighbors, if you stay on your side. What is it? Fence Tickle with your fingers and a song it will sing. Be careful, though, you may break a string. What is it? Guitar It is a place of play on a sunny day. Winter will come and take all the fun, but we'll be back in May. What is it? Park It can be grown in your yard or bought at the store and is given for love when less is more? Flower If you give it a tug, you can sit in the dark. Tug it again and a light will spark. What is it? Lamp Controlled by your hands and feet. It would be nothing without a street. What is it? Car It carries paper of the most important sort but also plastic, I'm glad to report. What is it? Wallet You use this to clean although it is small. If you forget it, your smile will appall? What is it? Toothbrush What comes in many varieties and can't be seen or touched, but it often makes you move? Music Touch this and you'll regret it. But if it's cold, you won't forget it. What is it? Fire What relies on columns but isn't a house, and asks for help but can't speak itself? Newspaper What is not a ball but yet a sphere, and holds all lands and people year after year? Earth Give it a toss, and it's ready, but not until it's dressed. What is it? Salad What can stand in place of a country but still fold away in a drawer? Flag What is made of wood and metal and must be buried before it works? Shovel Not a comb or a brush but makes the hair feel plush. What is it? Shampoo What has a bell but isn't a church. Is full of air but is not a balloon? Trumpet It comes from crystal and melts to a treat. Add it to your tea to make it sweet. What is it? Sugar What can be grown without sun or soil and can either provide nourishment or deliver poison? Mushroom Never alive but practically extinct. How we miss the letters pressing the ribbon of ink. What is it? Typewriter What zips through the sky with a tail of fire and dust. It could be an omen, its origin to discuss? Comet It stands upright and can be quite grand. Its secret is not hidden but right at hand. What is it? Piano What is light enough to float but will stay in a pack and may save your life if its on your back? Parachute My mother is water and my brother the sky. I am grey when wet but white when dry. What am I? Cloud What lives where it can breathe and has a hole in its back? whale Stolen from a cow, I'm placed in a vat. My flavor gets stronger the longer I've sat. What am I? Cheese I contain words about words, some of which you've never heard. What am I? Dictionary What has a spine, tail, and leash but isn't a dog? Kite Small was my stature, but my success was great. Until I entered Belgium to be handed my fate. Who am I? Napoleon A flash of light on a grey day. If you're made of metal, you best stay away. What am I? Lightning Used on a diamond and left on a board. It's great for a gymnast his grip to restore. What is it? Chalk What walks on 4 legs when young, 2 when grown, and 3 when old? Man You toss the outside and cook the inside. Then, you eat the outside and toss the inside. What is it? Corn You can break me, and I still work. If you touch me, you're mine. What am I? Heart At the sound of me, you may stomp your feet, but you may also dream or weep. What am I? Music What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it? Teapot You saw me where I could not be. Yet, often you see me. What am I? Reflection I can be round or shot, painted or bare. Sometimes I am round, at others I'm square. What am I? Fingernail Before I came, the world was darker, that's true. But beware, I can also kill you. What am I? Electricity It keeps you on the ground and stops things from floating around. What is it? Gravity What is found in the woods, and if you're not careful can become part of your skin? Sliver This only turns over once you have travelled very far. What is it? Odometer A mile from end to end, but easily found on the face of a friend. What is it? Smile It can't be seen or felt. It can't be touched or smelt. Behind stars and under hills. All emptiness it fills. What is it? Space What has weight in its belly and trees on its back, nails in it's ribs and a liquid track? Boat Two is one, four is two, and six is three. Don't you see? What am I? Half At night I'm a mountain but in the morning a meadow. What am I? Bed I can help you to mend. I hide my body but never my head. What am I? Nail I am always around, but in the morning I show. You'll know its me from my golden glow. What am I? Sunlight What instrument can make any sound but not be seen or touched? Voice I met a man and drew his name. He tipped his hat and played my game. What is his name? Andrew I am in the middle of water but not an island. What am I? T A snake that binds without a head. A snake of fiber no need to dread. What am I? Rope What has skin of stone and tongue of wood, a belt of water and long as stood? Castle I am not eaten or baked, but I'm sure you'll find that some problems are solved with me in mind. What am I? Pi Attracted by light but flies at night. It's wind and hairy but not too scary. What is it? Moth Found in pizza but also the sky. You'll know I'm around when I'm close by. What am I? Circle I sometimes lack reason but often rhyme. I'm not the best but a good way to pass time. What am I? Riddle I am very important, but often overlooked. What am I? Nose Always wooden and covered in paint. It can make you laugh or hide, because something dark is inside. What is it? Pencil I can invent dreams or open the skies. It's easy to use me, just close your eyes. What am I? Imagination Covered in stone and sun. It's home to many but also none. What is it? Cemetery I'm on the end of a hook or combined with book. What am I? Worm Only one foot tall but I govern you. What am I? Ruler I can be found on a present, the front of a boat, or after the rain. What am I? Bow I cover reality and hide what is true but may bring out the courage in you. What am I? Make up For me, much blood has been shed. I have two faces but only bare one head. What am I? Coin I rise up free the first and second time. But need me a third, and I will cost you. What am I? Teeth I cannot walk and cannot see, I'm straw on a stick but keep things tidy. What am I? Broom I can be used to type and point you see. But don't forget, you can count on me. What am I? Fingers What dresses for summer and sheds in the winter? Tree What is as large as a mountain or small as a pea and endlessly swims in a waterless sea? Asteroid What can hold all days, weeks, and months but still fit on a table? Calendar What must be looked through in order to see? Glasses What has two spines and a lot of ribs, and carries much but never moves? Train Tracks I bind it, it walks. I loosen it stops. What is it? Sandal The cloud is my mother, my father the wind. The lake is my son and the rainbow my bed. What am I? Rain What is heavy forward but not backward? Ton The more I dry the wetter I get. What am I? Towel I get wet when drying. I get dirty when wiping. What am I? Towel I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I? Joke I wiggle and cannot see, sometimes underground and sometimes on a tree. I really don't want to be on a hook, and I become a person when combined with book. What am I? Worm I like to twirl my body but keep my head up high. After I go in, everything becomes tight. What am I? Screw I am gentle enough to soothe your skin, light enough to fly in the sky, strong enough to crack rocks. What am I? Water I can fly but I have no wings. I can cry but I have no eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows me. What am I? Cloud Although I may have eyes, I cannot see. I have a round brown face with lots of acne. What am I? Potato I eat, I live, I breathe, I live, I drink, I die. What am I? Fire I am a seed with three letters in my name. Take away the last two and I still sound the same. What am I? Pea I am lighter than air but a hundred people cannot lift me. Careful, I am fragile. What am I? Bubble Although glory but not at my best. Power will fall to me finally, when the man made me is dead. What am I? Prince I am the type of room you can not enter or leave. Raise from the ground below. I could be poisonous or a delicious treat. What am I? Mushroom The more you take of me, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footstep I go up and never come down no matter how hard you wish. As I get higher, more wrinkles crawl on to the face. What am I? Age I can be long or short. I can be grown or bought. I can be painted or left bare. My tip can be round or square. (one word) What am I? Fingernails I have a neck and no head, two arms but no hands. I'm with you to school, I'm with you to work. What am I? Shirt I shrink smaller every time I take a bath. What am I? Soap I am heavy forward, but backward I'm not. What am I? Ton I wear a green jacket on the outside, white jacket as a second layer, and red jacket inside. I am pregnant with a lot of babies. What am I? Watermelon I am good at concealing what's real and hide what's true. Sometime, I bring out the courage in you! What am I? Makeup I have a face but no eyes, hands but no arms. What am I? Clock With three eyes and as black as night, I frequently knock down ten men with a single strike! What am I? Bowling Ball I grown from darkness but shine with a pale light. Very round I am, and always a lady's delight. What am I? Pearl I am owned by every man, though my length differs. Their wives uses me after getting married. What am I? Last Name I'm white; perfect for cutting & grinding. For most animals I am a useful tool. What am I? Teeth I am always around you but often forgotten. I am pure and clean most time, but occasionally rotten. What am I? Air I am the only thing that place today before yesterday. What am I? Dictionary I may only be given but never bought. Sinners seek me but saints do not. What am I? Forgiveness I will disappear every time you say my name. What am I? Silence I have two bodies joined together as one. When standing still. I ran and ran. What am I? Hourglass The more you take away from me, the bigger I shall get. What am I? Hole I jump when I walk and sit when I stand. What am I? Kangaroo I have fangs and enjoy piecing holes with a single bit. What am I? Stapler I have three eyes and only one leg. Obey me or you will be sorry. What am I? Traffic Light I have a straight back and sharp teeth to cut objects. What am I? Saw You can catch me but cannot throw me. What am I? Cold Taken from a mine and then locked up in a wooden case. Never released but used by students everyday. What am I? Lead I can never be stolen from you. I am owned by everyone. Some have more, some have less. What am I? Knowledge I am a mother from a family of eight. Spins around all day despite my weight. Had a ninth sibling before founding out its fake. What am I? Earth The more you have me the less you see. Shine a light on me and I flea. What am I? Darkness I turn everything around, but I cannot move. When you see me you see you! What am I? Mirror Tear me off and scratch my head, what once red is now black. What am I? Match I dance on one feet and knows only one shape. Someone with same name as me is very good with directions. What am I? Compass Whoever made me don't want me; Whoever bought me don't need me. Whoever use me don't know me. What am I? Coffin When you take away the whole from me, there is always some left. What am I? Wholesome I am a word. I become longer when the third letter is removed. What am I? Lounger Born in the ocean and white as snow. When I fall back to water I disappear without a trace. What am I? Salt As a state in America. I am round on both sides and high in the middle. What am I? Ohio I am enjoyed by some, despised by others. Some take me for granted, some treasure me like a gift. I last forever, unless you break me first. What am I? Marriage I am a king who's good at measuring stuff. What am I? Ruler I can wave my hands at you, but I never say goodbye. You are always cool when with me, even more so when I am high! What am I? Electric Fan I start with "T", ends with "T", and within me is "T". What am I? Teapot My first half means container. Not a lot of people understand my language. What am I? Binary I walk on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs at noon, and 3 legs at night. What am I? Human I start with an E, end with an E, and have a letter in me. What am I? Envelope If a man carries my burden, they will get crushed to death. Though not rich, I leave silver in my track. What am I? Snail I have feathers that help me fly; with head and body but I'm not alive. Very skinny and a fixed length, how far I go depends on. Arrow You heard me before, and then again. Afterward I die, until you call me again. What am I? Echo I am free the first time and second time, but the third time is going to cost you money. What am I? Teeth I always run but never walk, often murmur but never talk, have a bed but never sleep, has a mouth but never eat. What am I? River Lighter than feather and softer than silk, yet the strongest man in the world cannot hold me for more than a few minutes. What am I? Breath I am the place to turn when nature calls. What am I? Bathroom Soft, hairy, from door to door. I am the pet that always stays on the floor. What am I? Carpet I am quick when I'm thin. I am slow when I'm fat. Wind is my worst nightmare. What am I? Candle I go in dry and come out wet. The longer I stay in, the stronger my surroundings get. What am I? Tea Bag If you have me, you want to share me. Once you share me, you won't have me. What am I? Secret I have a head, tail, but no arms and legs. What am I? Coin I am full of holes but still holds water. What am I? Sponge I sit in a corner while traveling around the world. What am I? Stamp I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I? Nose People need me yet they give me away every day. What am I? Money I make a loud noise when changing jacket, becomes bigger and delicious. What am I? Popcorn I am owned by the poor, the rich does not need me. If you eat me, you will die! What am I? Nothing You do not want me when you don't have me, but when you have me you don't want to lose me. Lawsuit With a halo of water and a tongue of wood, stone as skin long I stood. What am I? Castle I am a kind of coat that can only be put on when wet. What am I? Paint I have a ring but no fingers. I used to stay still all the time, but nowadays I follow you around. What am I? Telephone I begin and have no end. Eventually I will be the ending of all that has begun. What am I? Death I must be broken before you can use me. What am I? Egg I stink in living but when dead smells good. What am I? Pig My rings are not worth much, but they do tell my age. What am I? Tree I climb higher as I get hotter. I can never escape from my crystal cage. What am I? Mercury What force and strength cannot get through, I with my unique teeth can do. What am I? Key I am pronounced as one letter, written with three. I come in blue, black, brown, or grey. Reverse me and I read the same either way. What am I? Eye Kings and queens may cling to power, and the jesters may have their call. I am the most common but I can rule them all. What am I? Ace I take off my clothes when you put on your clothes. I put on my clothes when you take off your clothes. What am I? Clothes Hanger I may be made of metal, bone, or wood and have many teeth. My bite hurts no one and the ladies love me. What am I? Comb I am not a toy, though many use me for pleasure. I have a butt, but I cannot poop. What am I? Cigarette I can't go left, I can't go right. I am forever stuck in a building over three stories high. What am I? Elevator I go up when the rain comes down. What am I? Umbrella If you lose me you may cause people around me to lose me too. What am I? Temper I beam, I shine, I sparkle white. I'll brighten the day with a single light. I'll charm and enchant all. I'll bring the best in you all. What am I? Smile I am a mountain at night, meadow at day. What am I? Bed I am an instrument capable of making numerous sound but cannot be touched or seen. What am I? Voice Cloud is my mother, wind is my father. What am I? Rain I am black, white, and read all over. What am I? Newspaper I run around the streets all day. Under the bed or by the door I sit at night, never alone. My tongue hangs out, waiting to be fed during the day. What am I? Shoe I am constantly overlooked by everyone but everyone has me. What am I? Nose I widen my jaws when you poke two fingers in me. I especially like to devour papers. What am I? Scissors I live above a star who never burns. I have 11 neighbors but they never turn. My initial are p, q, r, and sometimes s. What am I? Seven I have no voice but I can teach you all there is to know. I have spines and hinges but I am not a door. Once I've told you all, I cannot tell you more. What am I? Book I always have to work with something in my eye. What am I? Needle I am bought by the yard but worn by the foot. What am I? Carpet I never was but always will be. No one ever saw me but everyone knows I exist. I give people the motivation to better themselves everyday. What am I? Tomorrow I go up and down at the same time. Up towards to sky and down towards the ground. What am I? See-Saw I am a sharp looking horse with a flaxen tail. The longer I run the shorter my tail becomes. What am I? Needle I come in different colors and shapes. Some parts of me are curvy, some are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me. What am I? Jigsaw Puzzle I am alive without breath and cold as death. I am never thirsty but always drinking. What am I? Fish I belong to you but others use me more often than you do. What am I? Name I am rarely touched but often held, and if you are smart you'll use me well. What am I? Tongue I go around and in the house, but never touches the house. What am I? Sun I am a protector. I sit on a bridge. One person can see right through me, while others wonder what I hide. What am I? Sunglasses I fly away as soon as you set me loose. People around you may slowly move away once they sense my presence. What am I? Fart I am an insect, half of my name is another insect. I am similar to the name of a famous band. What am I? Beetle A necessity to some, a treasure to many, I'm best enjoyed among pleasant company. Some like me hot, some like me cold. Some prefer mild, some like me bold. What am I? Coffee You cannot keep me until you have given me. What am I? Your word I go from house to house, a messenger small and tight. Weather it rains or snows. I sleep outside at night. What am I? Road I'm really blue, but when you see me I'm red. You don't see me too often. I'm there for you if you're hurt, but I'm good for you. What am I? Blood I am a time for gathering crops. Remove the first three letters I become an object you can wear. What am I? Harvest I hold two people together but touch only one. What am I? Wedding Ring You turn me over after you have traveled far. What am I? Odometer Break me but I'll continue to work, touch me and maybe I'll stay with you forever. What am I? Heart I won't break if you throw me off from the highest building but I will break if you place me in the ocean. What am I? Tissue I hide in a dark tunnel awaiting my time. I can only be released by pulling back. Once released, I may do unstoppable damage. What am I? Bullet I have cities with no people, forests with no trees, and oceans with no water. What am I? Map I am a nut with a hole. What am I? Donut When it comes to me, you go on red and stops on green. What am I? Watermelon Physicists have built devices to move me very fast. My last seven letters can be commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and journals. What am I? Particles I can the same written do forward, backward, and upside down. What am I? Noon I sleep when you are awake, I am awake when you fall asleep. I can fly but no feathers to aid my flight. What am I? Bat I only exist when you are here. Where you never were, I can never be. What am I? Reflection I can be red, blue, purple, and green. No one can reach me, not even the queen. What am I? Rainbow I have six faces but not even one body connected, 21 eyes in total but cannot see. What am I? Dice I have a head and a tail but my eyes can never see my tail. What am I? Coin You hold my tail while I fish for you. What am I? Net I am a box who holds keys but not locks. With the right combination I may unlock your soul. What am I? Piano I come without being fetched at night, hides away as soon as daylight strikes. Although I may look small, I am much mightier than what you can imagine. What am I? Star I do not contain flesh, feather, or scales; yet I have fingers and thumbs. What am I? Glove I am all around you, but you cannot see me. I have no throat, but you can hear me. Valued during summer but despised in the winter. What am I? Wind I cannot be burned in fire or drowned in water. What am I? Ice I contain six letters, minus one and you got twelve. What am I? Dozens Sometimes I fly as fast as the speed of light. Sometime I crawl as slow as a snail. Unknown until I am measured but you will certainly miss me when I'm gone. What am I? Time I spend most of my day eating white. When I am quick enough, I get rewarded with fruit and somethings blue. In a dark room with blue walls, I run from the ghost that roam the halls. What am I? Pac-man I have roots nobody sees. I am taller than trees. Up, up I go but I never grow. What am I? Mountain I am a ship that can be made to ride the greatest waves. I am not built by objects, but built by minds. What am I? Friendship I have a mouth on my head and eat everything. What am I? Backpack I do not have eyes but I once could see. I used to have thoughts but now I'm empty. What am I? Skull I get paid to shoot people, then blow them up. What am I? Photographer I can the book one can never finish reading. What am I? Autobiography I am lighter than the material I am made of. You see parts of me but more of me is hidden underneath. What am I? Iceberg I was not born, but I am here. I have no name, but I am given many. I was made by science and life. What am I? Clone I hold two meanings. With one I may be broken, with the other I hold on. What am I? Tie I love to twist and dance. Though wingless, I fly high up into the sky. What am I? Kite You throw away my outside, you cook my inside. Then you eat my outside and you throw away my inside. What am I? Corn I am a rock group with four members. All dead, one was assassinated. What am I? Mt. Rushmore I go in hard, come out soft. Blow me hard and I'll make a pop. What am I? Gum I am a food with 5 letters. If you remove the first letter I am a form of energy. Remove two and I'm needed to live. Scramble the last 3 and you can drink me down. What am I? Wheat I have a hundred legs, but cannot stand. I have a long neck, but no head. I cannot see, and I help keep your house neat and tidy. What am I? Broom I cannot be bought, cannot be sold, even if I'm sometimes made of gold. What am I? Heart I can be found after you remove 6 letters from BSAINXLEATEARS. What am I? Banana I run up and down the stairs without moving. What am I? Rug When I point up, it's bright. When I point down, it's dark. What am I? Light Switch I ask no questions but receive a lot of answers. What am I? Doorbell You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I? Onion I am a fruit with seed on the outside. What am I? Strawberry I belong to everyone. Sometimes make you happy, sometimes make you sad. I will never end until the day you do. What am I? Thoughts I can wake you up in the morning but I require no electricity or winding. What am I? Rooster I can generate fear and some say I come out of your ears. I am as quite as a mouse but not welcomed in the house. What am I? Smoke You throw me out when you use me and take me in when you are done. What am I? Anchor I drift forever with the current and flows to your everyday life. I make living easy but I am good at killing people too. What am I? Electricity I have 24 keys but cannot open any locks. Sometimes loud, sometimes soft. What am I? Music I am clean when I'm black, dirty when I'm white. What am I? Chalkboard My first two letters say my name. My last letter asks a question. What I embrace I destroy. What am I? Ivy I have wheels and flies, yet I am not an aircraft. What am I? Garbage Truck I have three heads. Cut off one, I become stronger. Cut off two, I become ten. What am I? Fox I contain five little items of an everyday sort. You can find all five in a tennis court. What am I? Vowels I am black when you buy me, red when you use me, when I turn white. You know it's time to throw me away. What am I? Charcoal I can sizzle like bacon. I am made with an egg, I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg. I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole. I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole. What am I? Snake I can swim but never get wet. I can run but never get tired. I follow you everywhere but never say a word. What am I? Shadow I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I? E You can throw me away, but I will always be coming back. What am I? Boomerang I am in the past, never in the future. I don't exist, but have existed. I saw what you saw, and this is what I will ever see. What am I? Memory In prison I will be found, But I'll never be in court, Unless there's more than one. S I've been argued on my colour. Without me you'll die. So many attempts on your life use me, so make sure you have many of my "White" friends. Red Blood Cell I see what you see, feel what you feel, and hear what you hear. I know all of your moves before you make them. I even know the moves you didn't make. What am I? Brain I am flora, not fauna. I am foliage, not trees. I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I? Bush I come off a beautiful creature, which soars in the sky. I come off a peckish creature, which has a tail as mighty as the sun! I am sometimes dirty, and parents beg you not to pick me up. What am I? Feather I am easy to waste and unstoppable What am I? Time I am not very commonly found! Only in some rainforest! I have an odd number of toes! I'm very lazy and hang upside down! What am I? Sloth I am one small little piece of paper, yet sometimes hold lots of value. I am all you need to get in to big events, but will cost you. I am an important part of travel. And if lost, you're not coming. What am I? Ticket A hole in a pole. Though I fill a hole in white, I'm used more b the day and less by the night. What am I? Eye I start new then become old. Start clean but be one dirty. I usually start big then become little. What am I? Shoes I can fall off a building and live, but in water I will die. What am I? Paper I am what bring things together. Without me everything you see would be a total mass or debris everywhere. What am I? Gravity I have been the beginning of ideas for all time, yet I am just one simple small object, the things that you can use me for can be frustrating and also I can be pretty. I have some of the most valuable thing in the world on me, yet almost everyone owns me. With me you can make anything. What am I? Paper The thunder comes before the lightning, and the lightning comes before the cloud, The rain dries all the land it touches, wrapping the earth in a blood red shroud. What am I? Volcano I have palms but not on hands, I offer foods from distant lands, When at my peak you'll see me smoke, I'm famous for my friendly folk, My flowers grow and yet they lay, There's fire where a man will play. What am I? Hawaii I am beautiful, up in the sky. I am magical, yet I cannot fly. To people I bring luck, to some people, riches. The boy at my end does whatever he wishes. What am I? Rainbow I may seem real but it always turns out I was never there in the first place... you only see me during a certain resting stage. What am I? Dream The 8 of us go forth and back to protect our king from a foes attack. What am I? Pawns I can speak with my hard metal tongue. But I cannot breathe, for I have no lung. What am I? Bell I shoot but never kills. What am I? Camera Take away my first letter, take away my second letter, take away all my letters and I would remain the same. What am I? Postman I am a vegetable that bugs stay away from. What am I? Squash Two in a corner, 1 in a room, 0 in a house, but 1 in a shelter. What am I? R *Forward* *backwards* is what I do all day. I come in all different shapes and sizes. I can be scary, and I can calm you down. What am I? Rocking Chair You get embarrassed when you stand on me when everybody is watching. Women don't like to talk about the number they see on me. Everyone stands on me when nobody is around. What am I? Scale I am essential to life on earth! I am split into thirds. Two thirds are the same. One of the thirds is 8. The other two are 1 each. What am I? Water I can be driven, but have no wheels. I can be sliced, but still remains whole. What am I? Gold Ball I have two eyes in the front and a lot of eyes on my tail. What am I? Peacock I can be winding and I can be straight. I can be smooth and I can be rough. Sometimes both. I start out black but fade to brown the more I am used. My favorite colors are yellow and white, and I love stripes and dashed lines. What am I? Road I roam through the lands hoping to rescue my love. I search high and low, and will stomp on you if you get in my way! What am I? Mario People walk in and out of me. They push and I follow. When they walk out on me, I close up and I stay waiting for the next person to walk into my life when I have a more open mind. What am I? Elevator I shift around, though always slowly. I never move more than a few inches at a time. A large movement by me can kill many people. I am huge, yet unseen by humans. What am I? Tectonic Plate The faster you run, the harder it is to catch me. What am I? Breath I am gold and can be black and white, I'm a symbol for a nation, when freedom took flight. What am I? Eagle I am a portal to another world which you cannot enter. Only you can see me but I can't see you. What am I? Television I have a frame but no pictures. I have poles but not standing up. What am I? Glasses Before I grow I'm small. When I'm old I grow tall. When I die I give a mighty fall. What am I? Tree You use a knife to slice my head but you weep beside me when I am dead. What am I? Onion I am black and white. I have strings I have keys. I make sound without my lips. I make dough with no flour. What am I? Piano I'm an old relative who's hand's can't hold anything and eyes can't see anything. What am I? Grandfather Clock Sometimes dark and sometimes bright, I make my way among twinkling lights. Seas and oceans obey my call, yet mountains I cannot move at all. My face is marred and gray, but I'm majestic anyway. What am I? Moon I have married many woman but has never been married. What am I? Priest I am the only word that looks the same when spelled upside down. What am I? Swims Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it not. Whoever knows it, wants it not. What am I? Poison I am an English word with 3 consecutive double letters. What am I? Bookkeeper I am three simple words, everyone wants to hear. Three simple words, such simple words, and yet... life changing... What am I? I Love You I move without wings, between silken strings. I leave as you find my substance behind. What am I? Spider I am black and white and full of fuzz. What am I? Police Car I am used for light yet I am solid. Without me you would feel enclosed. I hate being touched, especially with a lot of force. I like to be in buildings. What am I? Window I am an animal and a hair product. What am I? Moose You can build or destroy. Let creativity soar but be careful at night. What am I? Minecraft I moan, I groan, I chase after you. I never seem to rest. Time's up for you. What am I? Children I am brown and sticky. What am I? Stick Against the sun, I protect your eyes and am often worn on the face of spies. What am I? Sunglasses I can be found in water but never wet. What am I? Reflection I make things short, but I am pretty long myself. What am I? Abbreviation Many people own a copy of me. Without me the world would fall. What am I? Atlas I stand up tall and made of steel, with baguettes and garlic at my heel. I love the colours red white and blue, but obviously not as much as you. I am a marvel for all to see, though to some I am a monstrosity! What am I? Eiffel Tower I am an object which is used in baseball, during the day I can't be seen at all. What am I? Bat I am wood that is neither hard, straight, or crooked. What am I? Saw Dust U always follow me but I am rarely seen. What am I? Q I'm as simple as a circle, worthless as a leader; but when I follow a group, their strength increases tenfold. By myself I'm practically nothing. What am I? Zero My first part compliments people. My second part makes things known. My third part hurts feelings. My fourth part ma hold a previous treasure. My fifth part is used when sharing fancy beverages. What am I? Hand I am not alive and yet I grow. Just put me next to where it grows. A favorite of the summertime, best with friends when combined. What am I? Marshmallow though I am only two words, I have thousands of letters in me. What am I? Post Office I can be sweet or sour. I do not rhyme with any other word. What am I? Orange I lose my head in the morning and regain back it at night. What am I? Pillow I wear a red robe, with staff in hand and a stone in my throat. What am I? Cherry I give people a huge fright, but at the end I'm sweet. I normally celebrate at night, when there's less heat. What am I? Halloween I am the ultimate killing machine, used not once but TWICE, I can be made by humans. What am I? War In my life I must bare, my bloodline I must share. What am I? Sibling Two in a whole and four in a pair. Six in a trio you see. Eight's a quartet but what you must get is the name that fits just one of me. What am I? Half I twist and turn and leaves a loop. What am I? Shoe Lace I am easy to see, but no one likes looking at me. Without me, there would be no you. I can make you complain, or make you happy. But you almost always take me for granted. What am I? Sun I am a type of cheese made backwards. What am I? Edam Though I am dark, Adam married me. What am I? Eve I am always in front of you, but you will never see me. What am I? Future I will go within you, and destroy you. Only because you wanted me too. What am I? Drugs I dig out tiny caves, and store gold and silver in them. I also build bridges of silver and make crowns of gold. Sooner or later everybody needs my help, yet many people afraid to let me help them. What am I? Dentist To cross the water I'm the way. For water I'm above I touch it not, and truth to say, I neither swim nor move. What am I? Bridge I can be simple or I can be complex. I can be found in this riddle or in everyday life. I c an be shapes or even colors. What am I? Pattern I am edible, pink, and a great summer food. What am I? Peach I crushed on Wendy Darling. What am I? Peter Pan I am a protector of the scoreboard. What am I? Goalie I am needed for most animals and hardcover books. What am I? Spine You used to come to me for all sorts of information and knowledge before internet was born. What am I? Library I tell people to be careful when handling boxes. What am I? Fragile We applaud if you perform well. What am I? Audience I look like a tiny trombone. What am I? Paperclip I increase head turning rate tremendously for girls at beaches. What am I? Bikini I describe a toilet cleaner as well as one of Santa's reindeer. What am I? Comet I can only be played on a windy day. What am I? Kite I am a candy that looks like a shepherd's staff. What am I? Candy Cane I begin your sentences. What am I? Capital I am a shiny metal sheet that covers BBQ food. What am I? Aluminum Deposit red liquid in me. What am I? Blood Bank I don't forget! What am I? Elephant Things here are usually tagged with red stickers. What am I? Clearance I am a small paradise surrounded by dryness and heat. What am I? Oasis I am a type of weapon for SCI-FI characters. What am I? Laser Keep doing me to avoid lens dryness. What am I? Blink I flow from the mouth of Homer when he sees doughnuts. What am I? Drool I am the noise Santa's reindeers make. What am I? Jingle I store fire-breathing animals. What am I? Dungeon Some people avoid me, some people count me, some people just consume me. What am I? Calories I am a beverage named after a stick. What am I? Club Soda Angels and pilots work with me. What am I? Wings I am like thunder in your cranium. What am I? Headache Better touch me before you proceed to second. What am I? First Base I encourage people to run home and steal. What am I? Baseball I am enjoyed with a pot and some pointy sticks. What am I? Fondue I am a tool for fairies. What am I? Magic Wand I hop around and deliver eggs at Easter. What am I? Bunny I am a daily ritual involving using a metal tool on the body. What am I? Shave I am the second L in LOL. What am I? Loud I am a delicious way of representing data. What am I? Pie Chart My flavors ranges from strawberry to toe. What am I? Jam I am known for my natural tuxedo and marching. What am I? Penguin A popular afterlife location to send evil people. What am I? Hell I am a desire to munch. What am I? Hunger I keep things green and keep kids happy during summer time. What am I? Sprinkler Canine children. What am I? Puppy I am a way to say goodbye to your sweetheart. What am I? Kiss I love spinach. What am I? Popeye I have strong affection for belly buttons. What am I? Lint I am a sound made by felines when petted. What am I? Purr I am so delicious that I require a house to contain me. What am I? Pancakes Cats and deflation tires make this noise. What am I? Hiss I am a activity dogs are very good at when a ball is thrown. What am I? Fetch I am very afraid of doing scary activities. What am I? Chicken Found at the back of the book. What am I? Appendix Hide me from your parents if you have done bad academically this year. What am I? Report Card I mean goodbye for South Americans. What am I? Adios I am longer than a decade and shorter than a millennium. What am I? Century I help you carry your books. What am I? Backpack You need thousands of me to create a digital image. What am I? Pixel :The Titanic is still here. What am I? Atlantic I am often sold by children entrepreneurs in summer time. What am I? Lemonade I am milky white and scares people. What am I? Ghost Send poorly behaved children to me and let them sit here. What am I? Corner I am a creature with a "tight" name. Seal Four leaves I have. What am I? Shamrock the most famous dinner. What am I? Last Supper I cracked by Indiana Jones. What am I? Whip I am sometimes referred to as chips. What am I? French Fries Teenage girls are pros at creating me. Learn me in classes. What am I? Drama I am million people's wakeup call. What am I? Coffee Bean My teeth help me suck. What am I? Vampire Island hello. What am I? Aloha I help boats park. What am I? Anchor Santa shakes his belly like me. What am I? Jelly I suck. What am I? Vaccum I am the kind of food monkey likes, and people slip on me and fall in cartoons. What am I? Banana I carry you down a gental stream. What am I? Rowboat I invade your home once a year... but only if you've been good. What am I? Santa Claus I am a type of animal that hang out in the mist. What am I? Gorilla An action done on mosquito bites. What am I? Scratch The time between daylight and darkness when blood drinkers like to come out. What am I? Twilight A piece of paper that takes most people 3 or 4 years to get. What am I? Diploma I am used when you jump off a bridge for fun. What am I? Bungee I am pinched by grandmas. What am I? Cheeks I mirror your actions. What am I? Copycat I am a busy worker who is a water mammal. What am I? Beaver I am ten little beans your look at everyday. What am I? Toes I travel in a gaggle. What am I? Goose Light me up in backyard gatherings. What am I? Charcoal I save lives on the ground an din the air. What am I? Seatbelt I destroy your home from inside out. What am I? Termite The only amusing part of the body. What am I? you are I am the home for feathery animals. What am I? Nest I am the state when a person is holding a person inside. What am I? Pregnant When you are inside me, you will be encouraged to slam other cars. What am I? Bumper Car I am a living following the wealthy and beautiful. What am I? Paparazzi I am expelled from you orally with a sound. What am I? Burp Find me on body builders or in the drink aisle. What am I? Six Pack I am the best thing that can happen after a stick hits a ball. What am I? Home Run I stink up your breath and fights evil vampires. What am I? Garlic I am commonly abbreviated to H. What am I? Hydrogen I am the minerals vital for your good health. What am I? Vitamin I am owned by Old McDonald. What am I? Farm I shared by goats, devils, and unicorns. What am I? Horn I let water fall on you while everyone else stays dry. What am I? Shower I am a caribbean shape that makes ships disappear. What am I? Triangle Rub me and a genie might appear. What am I? Lamp Makeup for finger tips. What am I? Nail Polish I direct you from outer space. What am I? GPS I transfer oxygen from the atmosphere to your blood. What am I? Lungs I am the reaction after enjoying soda. What am I? Belch Use me to reward good behavior. What am I? Treat I cause involuntary movements in your vehicle. What am I? Tow Truck I am a person who pretends to be someone else. What am I? Impostor I am a lunch money thief. What am I? Bully Although it sounds like I work on a transportation device, I actually work in a restaurant. What am I? Busboy A move made popular b the King of Pop. What am I? Moon Walk Use me if you really want to see inside someone. What am I? X-ray I am a mini solar powered computer. What am I? Calculator I can be entertaining until you realize some pieces have been lost. What am I? Puzzle I am an activity involving pins flying int eh air. What am I? Joggling Turkey day. What am I? Thanksgiving There are four of us, but it seems like everyone loves spades the most. What am I? Aces I am a shower that lights up the sky. What am I? Meteor I carried by mad animals. What am I? Rabies I am nature's way of applauding lightning. What am I? Thunder A large oasis in the desert. Come with cash and leave with none. What am I? Las Vegas Sing me to a baby about to go to sleep. What am I? Lullaby Digital white-out. What am I? Delete 3 point goal. What am I? Field Goal I can be heard in a court of carried with you. What am I? Case Score in end zones. What am I? Touchdown I am rubber you can eat! What am I? Jelly Skirts for men. What am I? Kilt I help engines spin and pants stay up. What am I? Belt I produce wool and spit a lot. What am I? Llama Cotingas Pardalotes Tapaculos Asities Passerines This heavy and ancient suit was not worn with a tie, but was always worn in battle. Armor What has a hundred limbs, sometimes leaves, but cannot walk? Tree When you find this in a road, you will not use it to eat, but will be forced to make a decision. Fork What invention lets you look right through a wall? Window Those with eyes bigger than their stomach will definitely leave the restaurant with one of them. It is named after a house pet as well. Doggy Bag A close relative of ketchup that people often spread on their dog. Mustard If you drop a yellow hat in the red sea what does it become? Wet I jump when I walk and I sit where I stand. What am I? Kangaroo He is known to commit a friendly home invasion one night a year, never taking but always leaving stuff behind. Santa Claus The more of me there is, the less you see. Darkness Often wandering the streets, this group of people cannot afford to be choosers. Beggars What holds water yet is full of holes? Sponge The state of holding a person within a person or an animal within an animal? Pregnant Feared on the playground, he steals your lunch money and distributes wedgies. Bully What is brown, has a head and a tail. But no legs? Penny I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I? Shadow It's been around for millions of years, but it's no more than a month old. What is it? Moon The more you take, the more you leave behind. They vary in size. What are they? Footprints I engulf you in darkness but you see many things. I can be resisted but a lack of me leaves rings. What am I? Sleep I'm a container with the inside golden that can't be opened unless I'm broken. What am I? Egg Which vehicle is spelled the same forwards and backwards? Racecar What kind of coat can be put on only when wet? Paint What goes around the world but stays in a corner? Stamp I can be cracked, I can be made. I can be told and I can be played. Joke What loses its head every morning and gets it back every night? Pillow What starts with a 'p' ends with an 'e' and has thousands of letters? Post Office I have married many women but I am not married. Who am I? Priest What is it that you ought to keep after you have given it to someone else? Promise What is red and blue, purple and green? No one can reach it, not even the queen. Rainbow When you know me, I am nothing. What you don't know me, I am something. What am I? Riddle What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters? Queue Which word in the English language becomes shorter when it is lengthened? Short As your ideas grow, I shrink. What am I? Pencil A certain crime is punishable if attempted. But not punishable if committed. What is it? Suicide What demands an answer, but asks no questions? Telephone I make noise yet you don't see me make it. I alarm for good yet sometimes for worse. I have a companion. What am I? Thunder Forwards, I'm heavy. Backwards, I'm not. What am I? Ton I am everywhere. I am inside you. I surround you. I can be seen by you. I can kill you. Yet you play in me. What am I? Water I can alter the actions of a king and leave puzzled the greatest of philosophers. What am I? Woman What goes up and never comes down and affects people? Age What word contains all of the twenty six letters? Alphabet Everybody has some. You can lose some, you can gain some. But you cannot live without it. What am I? Blood What English word has three consecutive double letters? Bookkeeper I am as light as a feather, yet no man can hold me for long. What am I? Breath I fly but have no wings. I cry but have no eyes. I see the sky get dark and I see when the sun comes up. What am I? Cloud The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it? Coffin Hands she has but does not hold, teeth she has but does not bite, feet she has but they are cold, eyes she has but without sight. Doll I have no beginning, end, or middle. What am I? Doughnut You heard me before, yet you hear me again. Then I die, 'til you call me again. What am I? Echo What starts with the letter T, is filled with T and ends in T? Teapot What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it? Silence What is always coming but never arrives? Tomorrow What goes through towns and over hills but never moves? Road What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money? River The more it dries, the wetter it becomes. What is it? Towel It is the electronic version of junk mail or a salty meat in a can Spam It is an aquatic creature whose name is rather "Tight" Seal The famous royal young lady who had several short men following her. Snow White It is filthy place that serves as a home to a grouchy green puppet. Trash Can They are known for their natural tuxedos and marching Penguins What has 2 banks, but no money? River Has four legs, but is not alive. Chair What keeps things green and keeps the kids occupied in the summer time? Sprinkler Round as a button, deep as a well. If you want me to talk, you must first pull my tail. What am I? Bell It is a sleep-inducing melody. Lullaby It is a storage facility for criminals and fire-breathing reptiles. Dungeon To be one of them, you need special abilities and brightly colored underwear. Superhero Not my sister nor my brother but still the child of my mother and father. Who am I? Myself They have not flesh, nor feathers, nor scales, nor bone. Yet they have fingers and thumbs of their own. What are they? Gloves It is something that is often sold by child entrepreneurs during summer. Lemonade The most popular itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot variety. Bikini It is longer than a decade and shorter than a millennium. Century What is long and slim, works in light; has but one eye, and an awful bite? Needle I have two heads but only one body. The stiller I stand, the faster I run. What am I? Hourglass Lighter than what I am made of. More of me is hidden than seen. What am I? Iceberg What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? Palm With no hammer or any kind of tool I build my house so quickly. What am I? Spider It is where everyone wants to run home and stealing is encouraged. Baseball What kind of noise does Santa's reindeers make? Jingle Where on earth do the ways always blow from the south? North Pole I run distances, often making many turns, yet I never move one foot. What am I? Watch What can go up a chimney down, but cannot go down a chimney up? Umbrella What is it that when you take away the whole, you still have some left over. Wholesome What goes up and down the stairs without moving? Carpet What goes into the water black and come out red? Lobster You do not want to have it, but when you do have it, you do not want to lose it. What is it? Lawsuit If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I? Fire What has 4 eyes but can't see? Mississippi I'm tall when I'm young and I'm short when I'm old. What am I? Candle What gets broken without being held? Promise Who can only prevent forest fires? Smokey What company makes billions of dollars selling windows? Microsoft What do you call a greedy grumpy holiday hater? Scrooge A kind of game with love and service played by singles and pairs. Tennis It has a face and two hands but no arms or legs. What is this? Clock A place where the titanic is still chilling. Atlantic It can be found at the back of a book or in an abdomen. Appendix What is the delicious way of presenting numbers? Pie Chart I turn around once. What is out will not get in. I turn around again. What is in will not get out. What am I? Key I have an end but no beginning, a home but no family, a space without room. I never speak but there is no word I cannot make. What am I? Keyboard You eat something you neither plant nor plow. It is the son of water, but if water touches it. It dies. What is it? Salt What is the center of gravity? V What has a mouth but can't chew? River How many letters are in the alphabet? Eleven If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I? Secret A common need for both courage and hardcover for books. Spine If rabbits do this to carrots, Jason Mraz does this to ears. What is this? Nibble You get these directions from outer space. GPS They are toothy nocturnal immortals. Vampire It brings celebrities closer into your home every now and then. Television Thousands of these come together to make an amazing digital image. Pixel What animal dwells in water and best known for its work ethic? Beaver It is a popular afterlife destination where you want to send people when you're mad at them. Hell It is carried by both mad bats and dogs. What is this? Rabies What screams when put in a pot of boiling water? Lobster What is an acceptable act of violence during saint Patrick's day? Pinch I am the killer of trees but people need me. I can be blown away by a breeze and I have been here since ancient Greece. What am I? Paper What is harder to catch the faster you run? Your Breath Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly? Incorrectly What word , when written in capital letters, is the same forwards, backwards, and upside down? Noon What doesn't exist, but has a name? Nothing Two legs I have, and this will confound: Only at rest do they touch the ground! What am I? Wheelbarrow Has a foot on each side and one in the middle. Yardstick What do you call the offspring of a feline and a Xerox machine? Copycat This old one runs forever, but never moves at all. He has not lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call. What is it? Waterfall Glittering points that downward thrust, sparkling spears that never rust. What is it? Icicle What 7 letter word becomes longer when the third letter is removed? Lounger You must keep this thing, its loss will affect your brothers. For once yours is lost, it will soon be lost by others. What is it? Temper My tines be long, my tines be short. My tines end ere, my first report. What am I? Lightning A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. What am I? Potato What makes leaping off a bridge fun? Bungee When a doctor hits you with a hammer he is testing you this. Reflex What gets whiter the dirtier that it gets? Chalkboard I drive men mad for the love of me. Easily beaten, never free. What am I? Gold Something that is handy when you need to measure something or run a kingdom. Ruler These are crisp, green, and are found near deli sandwiches. Pickle It is a monkey food that makes people slip and fall in cartoons. Bananas It can be heard in a court or used to carry briefs. Case It is something that is owned by old McDonald. Farm The one fashion accessory both farmers and hipsters love. Suspenders Who is the father of Mickey Mouse? Walt Disney It happens when something has been cut with H2O Diluted This is the drinkable phase of matter. Liquid A colorful cuisine without flesh. Vegetable He may seem to work in public transportation but he actually works in a restaurant. Busboy It is the offspring of a circle and a rectangle Oval It is the surname of Cinderella's love. Charming Lovely and round, I shine with pale light. Grown in the darkness, a lady's delight. What am I? Pearls Both boats with holes and dirty dishes have this in common. Sink Children who misbehave often find themselves sitting in this area. Corners It flavors your food and divides the year up. What is it? Season It is a desert oasis where money magically appears or disappears from your pocket. Las Vegas It could be a tangly game but can also become a destructive weather phenomenon. Twister If you are a sore loser, you are often called the sour variety of this fruit. Grape It brings the sky and the stars a lot closer. Telescope What goes from new York to California without ever moving? Highway What is it that Indiana jones likes to crack? Whip This type of tempting cuisine is independent of utensils and usually tastes better than it sounds. Finger Food It is probably the most laid-back member of the animal kingdom. Sloth Remove six letters from this sequence to reveal a familiar English word - BSAINXLEATNTEARS Bananas I have seas without water. I have forests without wood. I have deserts without sand. I have houses with no bricks. Map How many times can you subtract the number 5 from 25? One All about, but cannot be seen. Can be captured, cannot be held. No throat, but can be heard. Wind It is sometimes known to have silver linings. Cloud It is a form of plastic money. Credit Card Kids loves to hunt for them and adults make sure they are not all in one basket. Eggs I stink when living and smell good when dead? Bacon If there are three cups of sugar and you take one away, how many do you have? One I am full of wisdom and knowledge. I get what you want in a blink of an eye. I am known to man as full of endless wisdom. What am I? Computer A great mysterious place that the bold have been known to journey into. Unknown The only pet who lived in a town where an inordinate number of children fell down wells. Lassie If life gets tough, what do you have that you can always count on? Fingers What comes down but never goes up and happens most often in the spring? Rain Spies and detectives do this to phones and musical shoes make this sound. Tap This is the most famous bank where children keep their assets. Piggy Bank Environmentalists really want to keep this area from drying. Wetland These are believed to be found at the end of rainbows. Pots If a man carried my burden he would break his back. I am not rich, but leave silver in my track. What am I? Snail A common place to find can-can girls and drunk cowboys. What place is this? Saloon She is covered in dust and is always jealous. Tinker Bell The fans of the pied piper's smooth sound who are feared by elephants. Mice They are the group who manages the winged engines of war. Air Force If you happen to possess two left feet, this profession will probably rule out of your prospects. Dancer This is often found in doctor's offices and a common sight in pirate flags. Skeleton This became a fashion statement in the garden of Eden. Fig Leaf I known a word of letters three. Add two, and fewer there will be. Few What do you call the edge of both earth and bread? Crust It is a gruesome form of betray. Backstab Those ambitious people will climb the social version of this contraption. What is this? Ladder Both peaches and a certain couture have this in common. Juicy This can be found under bridges and even on the internet. Troll This is the known hairdo for nascar fans. Mullet It can be used onstage or to express admiration. What is it? Props They are producers of pies and burgers and are great for tipping. Cows It can cause deflation of tires when dropped from the rear of spy cars. Spikes Possibly the only famous plumber who has the courage to ever to rescue a princess. Mario Sources in Hollywood state that the men of this ancient city wore leather speedos and waxed their chests. Sparta She is fred and Wilma's child who is named after a stone. Pebbles Some people are conscious enough to count these while some just consume them. Calories Weight in my belly, trees on my back. Nails in my ribs, feet I do lack. What am I? Ship They're actually great swimmers now, but later they will become excellent hoppers. Tadpole They do look like a hippo crossed with a unicorn. What are they? Rhino This is a single seater best accompanied by circus music coupled with a great balance. Unicycle What is round on both sides but high in the middle? Ohio It has 88 keys, but none of these will open a door. Piano What animal gives away money and says moo? Cash Cow This comes in a tin can and are best known to cure halitosis. Altoids It is good for telling the future or racking up in a game. Eight Ball Long ago, dragons are believed to do this to their gold. Hoard If you happen to wake up at dawn, you'll probably find this covering the lawn. Dew People like this usually live in rural areas, unless they are lucky enough to strike oil and move to Beverly hills. Hillbilly Both cockroaches and illegal drug laboratories or syndicates do fear this. Raid You will have this response if you would go salivating at the mention of a cheeseburger. Pavlovian The only type of currency that flirted with a British spy. Moneypenny It happens when a professor's brain goes missing. Absent Tax rates and oil prices occasionally take these nature strolls. Hike It describes an era in history during which lights was hard to come by. Dark Ages It is known as the best real estate for toys. Dollhouse During the 1800's these turned women into hourglasses and is becoming more popular again these days. Corset They are dark-colored creature serenaded by Lennon and McCartney. Blackbird Tiny as they are, but they eat homes from the inside out. Termite Paul's height is six feet, he's an assistant at a butcher's shop, and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weight? Meat If you can spot one of these eastern warriors, it means they're not doing their job right. Ninja It is a standard dimension for both sandwiches and rulers. Footlong It is hot tempered and sometimes it blows its top, thus making a mess of everything. Volcano Known to be accessorized with feathers, trumpets and harps. Angel It is the time in your life when you simultaneously know everything and nothing at an instance. Teenager Not only humans have two that shrink in the light and expand in the dark. Pupil It is a path of cow juice spread across the sky but cannot be seen by the naked eye. Milky Way Both the original 49ers and opportunistic women share this nickname. Gold Digger If it has a quart capacity, how many pennies can you put into a empty piggy bank? One The group of animals which hang out in the mist. Gorillas It stands on one leg with its heart in its head. Cabbage What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don't want to use it? Anchor Where do fish keep their money? Riverbank I am partly blind but can still see. I have legs but only use them for sleeping. What am I? Bat It is where kings, queens, knights and bishops go to war together. Chess Whose big belly supposedly has the ability to dispense good fortune? Buddha This could make wooden boy's noses grow. Fib It is a form of mechanism invented so you can discover who is following you. Rearview If you happen to wear one of these warm garments around, you might get doused in red paint. Fur Coat What is probably the most famous dinner party in history? Last Supper It is an arctic double breasted formal wear. Snowsuit He is not the skinniest of felines. Fat Cat It has 4 lucky leaves. What is it? Shamrock What is the surname of the pilot of the millennium falcon? Solo What is greater than god, but more evil than the devil? The rich need it, but the poor already have it. If you eat it, you will die. Nothing Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open wide my jaws. Linen, cloth, quills or paper, my greedy lust devours them all. What am I? Scissors What type of cheese is made backwards? Edam I am in the sky. I'm white, I'm round, but not always. Sometimes you see me, sometimes you don't. What am I? Moon Mary's mom has four children. Their names are north, south, east. What's the fourth child's name? Mary What is the middle of nowhere? H A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son. Who am I? Daughter I am green but not a tree. You can see me and sit on me and I grow around the world. What am I? Grass I can sing, but I can't talk. I can climb a high tree, but can't run. I have very soft hair and a very hard mouth. Bird Women don't have and don't want it. Men get it but sometimes they try to get rid of it. What is it? Beard I am seen in the water and in the sky. I am in the rainbow and a jay's feather. What am I? Blue What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years? M I fall from the sky but am not rain. I like the cold and not the sun. People like to eat me. What am I? Snow Tomorrow's yesterday. Yesterday's tomorrow. What is it? Today Its fleece is warm and wooly white. And when you lie awake at night, count it and you'll fall asleep. What is it? Sheep What does every man have, some longer or shorter than others and they give it to their wife when they get married? Last Name What kind of pet always stays on the floor? Carpet What is in seasons, seconds, centuries and minutes but not in decades, years or days? N What goes up when rain comes down? Umbrella What goes up but never comes down? Age I'm light as a feather, yet the strongest man can't hold me for much more than a minute. What am I? Breath Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly? Incorrectly What has only two words, but thousands of letters? Post Office Who can shave 25 times a day and still have a beard? Barber What has two hands but no arms? Clock What holds two people together but touches only one? Wedding Ring What do people make that you can't see? Noise What is a cat on ice? Cool Cat You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I? Onion What runs around a house but doesn't move? Fence What has to be broken before it can be used? Eggs I have married many women but I am not married. Who am I? Priest What kind of a nut has a hole? Donut If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I? Secret You heard me before, yet you hear me again, then I die till you call me again. Echo One time every year, there is a very special day. Little have the same, everyone party a different way. Birthday What gets whiter the dirtier it gets? Blackboard What is an alien's favorite sport? Spaceball I am white and I am black. I am fast and I am not fat. I confuse many people with my style. Who am I? Zebra The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I? Footstep I give milk and have a horn but I'm not a cow. What am I? Milk Truck What type of bow can never be tied? Rainbow When set loose, I fly away. Never so cursed as when I go astray. What am I? Fart What is big and yellow and comes in the morning to brighten mom's day? School bus You do not want to have me, but when you have me, you do not want to lose me. What am I? Lawsuit What goes around the world but stays in a corner? Stamp What is red but it smells like a blue paint? Red Paint What do you call a witch that lives in the sand? Sandwich I know a word of three letters. Add two, and fewer there will be. What is it? Few What always works with something in its eye? Needle What can you catch but not throw? Cold What is Saturn's favorite day of the week? Saturnday Which bus could cross the ocean? Columbus You use lots of me, yet right you use me when you're done. What am I? Toilet Paper What is that you will break every time you name it? Silence What cruel person would sit on a baby? Baby Sitter I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and I'll make it lighter. What am I? Hole I hide but my head is outside. What am I? Nail At night they come without being fetched, and by day they are lost without being stolen. What are they? Stars Paul's height is six feet, he is an assistant at a butcher's shop, and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weight? Meat What do you get when you cross a vampire and teacher? Blood Test What has a head and a tail, but can never see its tail? Coin What seven letter word becomes longer when the third letter is removed? Lounger What is an astronaut's favorite snack? Space Chips When I take off my clothes, it puts on its clothes. What I put on my clothes, it takes off its clothes. What is it? Clothes Hanger A word I know, six letters it contains, subtract just one and twelve remains. What is it? Dozens What is something that can go up quite easily, but is not as easy to bring back down? Weight Everyone needs this, it's great with an 'r' on the end but you're sad when the first letter goes away. What is it? Lover Tear one off and scratch my head. What once was red is black instead. What am I? Match I go in hard and I come out soft. You blow me hard. What am I? Gum What has many keys, but can't even open a single door? Piano Which tree is the most difficult to get along with? Crabtree It has roots that nobody sees. It is taller than trees. Up, u pit goes. Yet it never grows. What is it? Mountain What goes through towns and over hills but never moves? Road I go in dry and come out wet. The longer I'm in, the stronger I get. What am I? Tea Bag What doesn't exist, but has a name? Nothing I am green and ugly and come out at night with a crumple old broom. Who am I? Witch What has feet and legs, and nothing else? Stocking What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? Palm What type of house weighs the least? Lighthouse What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries? Towel I wear a red robe, with staff in hand and a stone in my throat. Cut me and I weep red tears. What am I? Cherry Forward I'm heavy, but backwards I'm not. What am I? Ton I you were to take two apples from three apples, how many would you have? Two What is a witch's favorite school subject? Spelling I fly in the air without engines and am controlled by man on the ground. What am I? Kite I sleep by day, I fly by night. I have no feathers to aid y flight. What am I? Bat I cover what is real and hide what is true. But sometimes I bring out the courage in you. What am I? Makeup I am yellow on the outside, white inside, and very appealing. What am I? Banana I shoot people, then blow them up. What am I? Photographer If you drop me I'm sure to crack but give me a smile and I'll always smile back. Mirror You can always see it, but it's too far away to touch. Mountains rest on it, and at sea it surrounds you. What is it? Horizon We have no flesh, feather and bone. Yet we still have fingers and thumbs of our own. What are we? Gloves The more I lie, the more people trust me! Who am I? Politician You have to travel far before you turn it over. What is it? Odometer I am a seed, three letters in the name. Take away two and I sound quite the same. What am I? Pea Three lives have I. Gentle enough to soothe the skin. Light enough to caress the sky. Hard enough to crack rocks. Water The leaves are on the fruit, the fruit is on the leaves. What is it? Pineapple Though I wander the earth, I am no longer here. I am pale and I chill everyone near. Who am I? Ghost What state is round on one side, high in the middle, and round on the other side? Ohio It walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening. What is it? Man What is the saddest fruit? Blueberry What fruit has its seeds on the outside? Strawberry How many months have 28 days? Twelve I am white, black and red all over. What am I? Newspaper I can be as thin as a picture frame but my insides have many things you can see. What am I? Television Hold the tail, while I fish for you. What am I? Net What is higher without the head than with it? Pillow Who plays when he works and works when he plays? Actor You use it between your head and your toes, the more it works the thinner it grows. What is it? Soap I fly, yet I have no wings. I cry, yet I have no eyes. Darkness follows me, lower light I never see. What am I? Cloud At the sound of me, men may dream or stamp their feet. At the sound of me, women may laugh or sometimes weep. Music A man walks out of a house that has four walls all facing north. A bird walks past him. What is it? Penguin I live in water. If you cut my head I'm at your door. If you cut my tail I'm fruit. If you cut both I'm with you. Pearl I am neither a guest nor a trespasser in this place. I belong that belongs to me. Where is it? Home I use electricity and I killed my father. I am a king. I have a lot of girlfriends, but I also have a wife. Who am I? Zeus I am round. I have only one line. Circle is not my name indeed. What am I? Oval My life is measured in hours. I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick; Fat, I am slow. Wind is my foe. What am I? Candle I am a king but also a common device of measure. What am I? Ruler It stands on one leg with its heart in its head. What is it? Cabbage What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs? Penny Lifeless eyes on my smiling face and watch your child's sleeping place. In their dreams they hold me tight. Who am I? Teddy Bear What is long and filled with seamen? Submarine You shoot me but I don't die. You hang me but I don't die. What am I? Picture I go around in circles, but always straight ahead. Never complain, no matter where I am led. What am I? Wheel In a tunnel of darkness lies a beast of iron. It can only attack when pulled back. What is it? Bullet What invention lets you look straight through a wall? Window I build up castles. I tear down mountains. I make some men blind, but I help others to see. What am I? Sand What has a ring, but no finger? Telephone I am a protector. I sit on a bridge. One person can see right through me while others wonder what I hide. What am I? Sunglasses What is in your body for free the first and the second time, but the third time you have to buy yourself? Teeth What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short Even though I'm far from the point, I don't make mistakes. I fix yours. What am I? Eraser I have got three eyes and all are in a straight line. When my red eyes opens, everything freezes. What am I? Traffic Lights A house has 4 walls. All of the walls are facing south, and a bear is circling the house. What color is the bear? White I am fun and sad. I am fast and slow. I get louder and I get softer. And I am created by great geniuses. What am I? Music What is the only chain we can eat? Food Chain Give me food, and I will live; give me water, and I will die. What am I? Fire Who loves monsters and is not conservative. Doesn't like a good romance and sings about foreign men? Lady Gaga It may only be given, not taken or bought. What the sinner desires, but the saint does not. What is it? Forgiveness What comes in many different sizes but is always only 1 foot long? Shoe Brothers and sisters I have none but this man's father is my father's son. Who is the man? My son What kind of soda must you not drink? Baking soda I am killer of trees but people need me. I can be blown away by a breeze and I have been here since ancient Greece. Paper Green arrows grow out of my sides. I go from yellow to white. My babies fly in the wind. What am I? Dandelion I can be told and can make you crazy. Most people don't like me and think I'm harmful. What am I? Lie A doctor gives you three pills and tells you to take one every half an hour. How long will the pills last? One Hour How many sides does a circle have? Two I am flora, not fauna. I am foliage, not trees. I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I? Bush I count time, but have no end. Tick tick, but I am not a clock. What am I? Metronome Some try to hide, some try to cheat but time will show we always will meet. Death The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Saturday. What day is it today? Friday Two bodies have i, though both joined in one. The more I stand still the faster I run. What am I? Hourglass What makes a loud noise when changing its jacket, becomes larger but weighs less? Popcorn What seven-letter word has hundreds of letters in it? Mailbox What two things can you never have for breakfast? Lunch and Dinner I come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. I stick to many surfaces but I am, in fact, not sticky at all. What am I? Magnet I run distances, often making many turns, yet I never move one foot. What am I? Watch I saw the dead bring forth the living. I saw the living bring forth the dead. What did I see? Funeral In the Tour de France, what is the position of a rider, after he passes the second placed rider? Second Round like an apple, deep like a cup, yet all the king's horses cannot pull it up. What is it? Well What can burn the eyes, sting the mouth, yet be eaten? Salt What do you throw out to use and take in when you're done? Anchor What has four legs, but can't walk? Table What has no beginning, end or middle? Doughnut What is unwanted and eternal, though for some people, and escape? Death Alive without breath, as cold as death. Clad in mail, never clinking. Never thirsty, ever drinking. What is it? Fish All about, but cannot be seen. Can be captured, cannot be held. No throat, but can be heard. What is it? Wind I am soldier and I really hate one month. Which month I am talking about? March I eat as you turn me, my blade cutting wood. When I am full, empty me you should. What am I? Sharpener I have a big mouth and I am also quite loud! I am not a gossip but I do get involved with everyone's dirty business. Vacuum Cleaner Man walks over, man walks under. In times of war he burns asunder. What is it? Bridge Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you miss me when I have flown! What am I? Time What do you get when you cross a chicken and a pig? Eggs and Bacon What grows up while growing down? Goose You see me a lot, especially at night. I protect something special. Many shut me in fright. What am I? Eyelid I am used to bat with, yet I never get a hit. I am near a ball, yet never thrown. What am I? Eyelash I have a frame but n picture. I have poles but not standing up. What am I? Glasses I'm lighter than air but a million men can't lift me. What am I? Bubble If a man carried my burden, he would break his back. I am not rich, but I leave silver in my track. What am I? Snail The higher I climb, the hotter I engage. I cannot escape from my crystal cage. Mercury Weight in my belly, trees on my back, nails in my ribs, feet do I lack. What am I? Ship What insect does a blacksmith manufacture? Firefly What instrument can you hear but never see? Voice What jumps when it walks and sits when it stands? Kangaroo When young, I am sweet in the sun. When middle-aged, I make you gay. When old, I am valued more than ever. Wine Born of sorrow, grows with age, you need a lot to be a sage. What is it? Wisdom I have four wings but cannot fly. On the same spot I'm always found, toiling away with little sound. Windmill I have no eyes, no legs or ears and I help move the earth. What am I? Worm If two is a company and three is a crowd, what are four and five? Nine It rows quickly with four oars but never comes out from under his own roof. What is it? Turtle Most people love to use me. You make me glide through the air. Even your dog loves me. What am I? Frisbee Sometimes I am liked, sometimes I am hated. Usually I am old, usually I am dated. What am I? History What bone has a sense of humor? Humorous What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps? River What car is spelled the same frontwards and backwards? Racecar A young child goes up to a wise man and shocks him by asking him, Parents I drive men mad for love of me. Easily beaten, never free. Gold Often held, never touched. Always wet, never rust. Often bites, seldom bit. Use me well you must have wit. What am I? Tongue On what kind of ship do students study? Scholarship To cross the water I'm the way, for water I'm above; I touch it not, and truth to say, I neither swim. What am I? Bridge What kind of room has no windows or doors? Mushroom What suits do lawyers wear? Lawsuits What won't break if you throw it off the highest building in the world, but will break if you place it in the ocean? Tissue What's black when get it, red when you use it, and white when you're all through with it? Charcoal Where do fish keep their money? Riverbank I am a man without bones,without blood, without life. My flesh is white, cold and shrinking. What am I? Snowman I am always with you but commonly forgotten. You use me constantly and can sometimes be rotten. What am I? Air I am some one you don't know. Who am i? Stranger I have a mouth on my head and eat everything. What am I? Backpack Ripped from my mother's womb. Beaten and burned, I become a blood thirsty killer. What am I? Iron Ore There are two ducks in front of a duck, two ducks behind a duck and a duck in the middle. How many ducks are there? Three Two legs I have and this will confound. Only at rest do they touch the ground. What am I? Wheelbarrow What can you lose that will cause other people to lose theirs too? Temper What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble What surrounds the world, yet dwells within a thimble? Space I am something that floats. But after a period of time I fall. What am I? Balloon I run cold and hot, I look blue but am red. What am I? Blood I warn you about meetings, and I assist you in your life, I can help you do most of your work, unless I have a bug. Computer I'm where yesterday follows today. And tomorrow's in the middle. What am I? Dictionary The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it? Darkness What do you get if you put a radio in the fridge? Cool Music What has 4 eyes but cannot see? Mississippi What has a horn but does not work? Rhinoceros What has an eye but can't see and is stronger than any man? Hurrican What is made of wood, but can't be sawed? Sawdust They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they? Stars It is something you will never see again. Yesterday What goes round the house and in the house but never touches the house? Sun What is it that you can keep after giving it to someone else? Your Word What goes up and down without moving? Stairs When one does not know what it is, then it is something; but when one knows what it is, then it is nothing. Riddle I bind it and it walks. I loose it and it stops. Sandal Lives without a body, hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, to which the air alone gives birth. Echo What is put on a table, cut, but never eaten? Cards What belongs to you but others use it more than you do? Your Name Has four legs, but is not alive. Chair What has a neck but no head, and wears a cap? Bottle What has a tongue, cannot walk, but gets around a lot? Shoe What gets beaten, and whipped, but never cries? Egg What has a ring but no fingers? Telephone What is made of wood, but can't be sawed? Sawdust How many letters are in the alphabet? Eleven Who prefers to travel on vines and pal around with gorillas? Tarzan It is a tasty reward that is given to well behaved dogs and kids. Treat Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I? Onion Something very helpful if you want to go gently down a stream. Rowboat It is something you make after you've weighed your options. Decision John's mom had three children. The first child was april. The second child was May. What was the third Child's name? John You have three stoves: A gas stove, a wood stove, and a coal stove, but only one match. Which should you light first? Match I am but three holes. When you come out of me, you are still inside me. What am I? Shirt What do you have when you're sitting down that you don't have when you're standing up? Lap The favorite beverage of friendly polar bears as shown in the ads. Coke What do you call a lonely patch of land? Island The coziest place for Dracula. Coffin What is used to yell in a text? Caps It is a common and favored clothing material among biker gangs and superheroes. Leather A type of hammer that brings a room to order. Gavel People in love are often bound to this. Married It is the assumed nocturnal symbol of Mr. Wayne. What is it? Bat What is black and white and read all over? Newspaper A kind of shower that lighten up the sky. Meteor Both old people and owls are said to be possessing this trait. Wise He has married many women, but has never been married. Who is he? Preacher These are knee-length formal wear for men popular in the highlands. Kilt This is where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Not to mention the waving wheat. Oklahoma It is a seasonal yet regular fashion trend which is named after the type of weather its worn in. Sundress All about, but cannot be seen. Can be captured, cannot be held. No Throat, but can be heard. What is it? Wind It can be done to buttons and shopping carts. What is it? Push He is the kind of person who has powers to save the day. Superman This is a natural tattoo on babies. Birthmark A cat-like name for those of the left handed persuasion which is very common in boxing. Southpaw This is your stomach's way of letting you know you've neglected it. Grumble They are the shore's gallant knights. Coast Guard It is the great nemesis of the lactose intolerant Dairy What goes round and round the wood but never goes into the wood? Bark Schwarzenegger has a big one, Michael J. Fox's is small, Madonna doesn't have one, the pope doesn't use his, and Cliton uses his all the time. Last Name Never ahead, ever behind, yet flying swiftly past. For a child, I last forever, for adults, I'm gone too fast. What am I? Youth It could make arrows fly and kites soar. What is it? String I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everybody. Pencil Lead The profession of both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton Guitarist The thinkers usually hold this body part. Chin This is an ancient suit that is not worn with a tie. Armor This both describes gorgeous woman and an excellent punch. Knockout This is something you carry while singing. Tune When set loose, I fly away. Never so cursed, as when I go astray. What am I? Fart What is Santa's favorite entrance for home invasion? Chimney The plant that is responsible for spreading a lot of gossip. Grapevine It is basically a cake made of cow. Meatloaf It is the transportation of choice for princesses to attend balls. Carriage John Lennon once sang about being this toothy creature. What is it? Walrus This is a plant named after a light source. What is it? Sunflower It does hurt when it breaks and if it stops, you are dead. Heart Some are clean and some are dirty, but all are meant to get a chuckle. Most like it, some takes offense from it. Joke Other terms for this handy device include hoohicky, doo-dad and watchyamacallit. Some people are so addicted to this. Gadget It is the most common hour to have a gunfight in a western scene. Noon Sport Olympians use this to get high jump up in the air. Pole It is one more than a duet. Trio This is the common vehicle both George J. Jetson and Neil A. Armstrong drove to work. Spaceship They are the most foreign visitors you could ever imagine. Alien What are you expressing if you say "THX"? Thanks What does the "F" in "PMF" stand for? French What attribute defines a "klutz"? Clumsy Texting: ###.. means that you are what? Sick If something is "OT" what is it? Off Topic What do you want someone to do if you ask them to "CM"? Call Me What's "eating" you means what? Bothering What does the "fed" stand for in "Kfed"? Federline If someone is "packing heat" what are they carrying? Gun What am I doing if I say "JK"? Just Kidding What are you feeling if you are :( Sad What can you do if you say "ICW"? Wait What does the "H" in "Ne2H" stand for? Have What is "off to you" if I say "MHOTY"? Hat When someone asks to "crash" at your house, what do they want to do there? Sleep A beautiful succession of sounds. Music A big shiny black car nobody wants to be a passenger in. Hearse A bird done at every meal. Swallow A bird that is: Nothing, Twice yourself, Fifty. Owl A blackbird similar to, but much bigger than a crow. Raven A box without hinges, lock or key, yet golden treasure lies within. Egg A breakfast food that is cracked from white shells and is often scrambled. Usually served with bacon, sausage, toast or pancakes. Eggs A building filled with books you can't buy. Library A building where people and stories are on stage. Theatre A canvas full of stars. Sky A colourful bird that talks. Parrot A defendant will go free if a reasonable amount of this exists. Doubt A device for finding furniture in the dark. Shin A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son. Daughter A favored material among biker gangs and superheroes. Leather A great mystery that the bold have been known to journey into. Unknown A hold leading in a hold leading out I connect to a cavern that is slimy throughout. Nose A house where you are brought, If they find you or get caught. If you cross the government, This is where you will be sent. Jail A huge mythical animal said to resemble a whale. Leviathan A hundred years I once did live, and often wholesome food did give, yet all that time I ne'er did roam, so much as a half a mile from my home, my days were spent devoid of strife, until at last I lost my life. And since my death – I pray give ear, I oft have traveled far and near. Tree A kind of weather that comes your way, but add a "D" and it will run away. Drain A king wears one on his head. Crown A king without a crown. Lion A man who worked in a butcher shop was six feet tall and wore size eleven shoes. What did he weigh? Meat A mechanism to discover who is following you. Rearview A metal neither black nor red, as heavy as man's golden greed. What you do to stay ahead, with friend or foe or arrow and steed. Lead A metal snake that runs on tracks. Train A mile from end to end, yet as close to as a friend. A precious commodity, freely given. Seen on the dead and on the living. Found on the rich, poor, short and tall, but shared among children most of all. What is it? Smile A most complex construction, Of creation and destruction, Of good and evil deeds, Of noblest thought and basest needs, A species in the lead, Immortal 'til we bleed. Humans A most delicious thing. It can be given but cannot be kept. Some awake from it after they've slept. It is the moistest and softest butterfly wing, But when it is the last even it can sting. Kiss A mysterious, fantastic creature, It has one defining feature, And for humans at their worst, In their eyes it's just a horse. Unicorn A path between high natural masses; remove the first letter to get a path between man-made masses. Valley A precious fluid, thicker than water. Blood A precious gift, yet it has no end, no beginning, and nothing in the middle. Ring A prickly house a little host contains; The pointed weapons keep back from pains, So he, unarmed, safe in his fort remains. Hedgehog A red house is made of red bricks. A blue house is made of blue bricks. A yellow house is made of yellow bricks. What is a greenhouse made of? Glass A shimmering field that reaches far. Yet it has no tracks, And is crossed without paths. Ocean A shower that lights up the sky. Meteor A single syllable do I claim, black was my most famous name; Fetal to mortals here below, thousands have I slain in a single blow. Plague A small hill with seven holes. Head A small paradise surrounded by dry heat. Some have Wonderwalls. Oasis A sport with love and service played by singles and pairs. Tennis A storage facility for criminals and fire-breathing reptiles. Dungeon A tasty reward given to well behaved dogs and kids. Treat A thing with a thundering breech. It weighing a thousand welly. I have heard it roar louder than Guy's wild boar. They say it hath death in its belly. Cannon A third from the sun, and not much else since the world's begun. Some may weigh a metric ton. Is a synonym for fun. Made a zeppelin take flight. A big thing at Isle of Wight. Rock A tower at the root of all confusion. Babel A twiggy home. Nest A useful thing, hard, firm, and white, outside in shaggy robe bedight; Hallowed within right cleverly, it goes to work both white and dry. When after labor it comes back, you'll find it moist and very black; for service it is ready ever, and fails the hand that guides it never. Pen A very pretty thing am I, fluttering in the pale-blue sky. Delicate, fragile on the wing, indeed I am a pretty thing. Butterfly A vessel have I, that is round as pear, moist in the middle, surrounded with hair; and often it happens that water flows there. Eye A white field, and when it is plowed, its soil is black. Paper A wonderful elixir, It is your fluid fixer. Gulp it down and turn like a concrete mixer. Dark as night and sweet as sin, It's like liquid heroin. Coffee A word I know, six letters it contains, subtract just one and twelve remains. Dozens A word there is of plural number, foe to ease and tranquil slumber; with any other word you take, to add an "s" would plural make. But if you add an "s" to this, how strange the metamorphosis: What plural was, is plural now no more, and sweet, what bitter was before. caress A young lady walked through the meadow and scattered her glass pearls. The Moon saw this, yet didn't tell her. The Sun woke up and gathered the pearls. Dew A young man wants to have it, but when he has it he no longer wants it. Blade in hand he attacks it And does his best to remove it. Yet he knows that it is all in vain. Beard According to the ads,this is the favorite beverage of friendly polar bears. Coke Aged Aged Aged Middle Aged Alive without breath, As cold as death, Clad in mail never clicking, Never thirsty, ever drinking. Fish All Again All Over Again Almost everyone sees me without noticing me, For what is beyond is what he or she seeks. Window Although a human shape I wear, Mother I never had; And though no sense nor life I share, in finest silks I'm clad. By every miss I'm valued much, beloved and highly prized; still my cruel fate is such by boys I am often despised. Doll Ambitious people will climb social version of this contraption. Ladder An art-form and a web-browser. Opera An art-form and its colourful result. Painting an I 4 an I An Eye for an Eye An image taken from real life. Photo An iron horse with a flaxen tail. The faster the horse runs, the shorter his tail becomes. Needle An outcome already written, Fight it and you'll be smitten. By it you may be blessed, Or put up to the test, And take you places you'd have never guessed. Destiny. An utensil used for bread. Also a paper cutter. Used by a thug to take a life, Or wielded by the tamest wife, When used to spread the butter. Knife Ancient and majestic, great big piles of stones, Used to encase both riches and bones. Seen from certain angles, They look like big triangles. Pyramids Annual Annual Checkup As I walked along the path I saw something with four fingers an done thumb, but it was not flesh, fish, bone, or fowl. Glove As I was going through a field of wheat, I found something good to eat; It wasn't fish or flesh or bone; I kept it till it ran alone. Egg As I went across the bridge, I met a man with a load of wood which was neither straight nor crooked. What kind of wood was it? Sawdust As I went over London Bridge I met my sister Jenny; I broke her neck and drank her blood and left her standing empty. Gin As strong as love, more dangerous than cancer. Hate At night they come without being fetched. By day they are lost without being stolen. What are they? Stars At the end of my yard there is a vat, four-and-twenty ladies dancing in that; Some in green gowns, and some with blue hat: He is a wise man who can tell me that. Flax At the sound of me, men may dream or stamp their feet. At the sound of me, women may laugh or sometimes weep. Music bbride Bride to Be Be sure to shout for its answers are weak, but there is no language it cannot speak. Echo Beef Lean Beef Before a circle appear, twice twenty-five, and five in rear; One fifth of eight subjoin; and then you'll quickly find what conquers men. Love Before my birth I have a name, but soon as born I lose the same; and when I'm laid within the tomb, I do my father's name assume; I change my name three days together, yet live but on in any weather. Today Begin with a word, five letters to my name, remove the first and last but I am the same. Take out my middle and still I remain. Empty Coca Cola, Dr.Pepper, and Pepsi are three varieties of this kind of drink. Soda Cold head and feet; Round as a ball; Always turning around itself. Earth Come table table table table Comfortable Comes in bits and pieces, Put together forms a whole. It's athletics for the mind, The more you think the more you find, Sometimes it can be a grind, But then, that is the goal. Puzzle Consuming food would be pretty tough without these chompers. Teeth Cover cover cover cover Head for Cover Crooked as a rainbow, And slick as a plate, Ten thousand horses Can't pull it straight. River Forward I'm heavy, but backwards I'm not. Ton Forward I'm heavy, but backwards I'm not. Ton Forward I'm heavy, but backwards I'm not. What am I? Ton Four holes, one going in and three coming out; When you are going in you are out and when you are coming out you are in. Shirt Four legs in front, two behind; Its steely armor scratched and dented by rocks and sticks; still it toils as it helps feed the hungry. Plough Four wings I have, which swiftly mount on high, on sturdy pinions, yet I never fly; And though my body often moves around, upon the self-same spot I'm always found, and, like a mother, who breaks her infant's bread. I chew for man before he can be fed. Windmill How many 9's are there between 1 and 100? Twenty i Eye Shadow I always run but never walk, I sometimes sing but cannot talk, No head on which a hat to place, You always look me in the face. Clock I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet they can unlock your soul. Piano I am a bread made with cornmeal, often eaten with beans or Jambalaya. Cornbread I am a food made from the pressed curds of milk. I come in American, swiss, sharp and many other flavors. What am I? Cheese I am a good state, There can be no doubt of it; But those who are in, Entirely are out of it. Sane I am a king but also a common device of measure. Ruler I am a particular brand of candybar which contains caramel and peanuts which is smothered in chocolate. Snickers I am a seed, three letters in the name, take away two and I sound quite the same. Pea I am a tale in children's minds. I keep their secrets and share them inside. I blur their thoughts into fantasies kept Like a canvas of art or a submarine depth. Though an illusion it occurs every night; I give them a fantasy; I give them a fright. Nor good or bad but always nigh? Dream I am a window, I am a lamp, I am clouded, I am shining, I am colored and set in white, I fill with water and overflow. I say much, but I have no words. Eye I am born in fear, raised in truth, and I come to my own in deed. When comes a time that I'm called forth, I come to serve the cause of need. Courage I am flora, not fauna, I am foliage, not trees, I am shrubbery, not grass. Bush I am merry creature in pleasant time of year, As in but certain seasons, I sing that you can hear; And yet I'm made a by-word, A very perfect mock; Compared to foolish persons, And silliest of all folk. Cuckoo I am not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. Fire I am nothing really at all, Yet I am easily found; Ignore me at your own peril, and you might end up crowned! Cavity I am partially baked. I am not completely lit. I am a portion of the moon. I am lesser than full wit. I am a divider of the hour. I am not a total lie. I am a sibling through one parent. Half I am small, but, when entire, of force to set a town on fire; Let but one letter disappear, I then can hold a herd of deer; Take one more off, and then you'll find I once contained all human kind. Spark I am something many people don't enjoy having as a friend, including you. But I am called upon anything someone is injured. Pain I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never seen out of darkness. S I am two-faced, but bear one head. Men spill their blood for me. I have no legs but travel widely. I make kings immortal. I am potent when shared, yet lust for my power keeps me locked away. Money I am where the sky is orange, I am where the glass is red, I am the land of violet bananas and the home to blue oranges. Negative I am whole but incomplete. I have no eyes, yet I see. You can see, and see right through me. My largest part is one fourth of what I once was. Skeleton I appear in the morning but am always there. You can never see me through I am everywhere. By night i am gone, though I sometimes never was. Nothing can defeat me but I am easily gone. Sunlight I bind it and it walks. I loose it and it stops Sandal I can be long, or i can be short. I can be grown,and i can be bought. I can be painted, or left bare. I can be round, or square. Fingernail I can be quick and then I'm deadly, I am a rock, shell and bone medley. If I was made into a man, I'd make people dream, I gather in my millions By ocean, sea and stream. Sand I can be short and sometimes hot. When displayed, I rarely impress. Temper I can be told and can make you crazy. Most people don't like me and think I'm harmful. Lie I can honk without using a horn. Goose I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. Nose I can trap many different things and colors, Ever changing, not boring. Look closely and you may find yourself Also caught in my trap. Mirror I can travel from there to here by disappearing, and here to there by reappearing. T I cannot be other than what I am, Until the man who made me dies, Power and glory will fall to me finally, Only when he last closes his eyes. Prince I cannot hear or even see, but sense light and sounds there may be, sometimes I end up on a hook, I can be combined with a book. Worm I come out of the earth, I am sold in the market. He who buys me cuts my tail, takes off m suit of silk, and weeps beside me when I am dead. Onion I consist mostly of lettuce, along with a variety of other veggies. Ranch is one of my popular dressings. What am I? Salad I consist of several parts. Two slices of bread, usually cheese and some kind of lunch meat. What am I? Sandwich I cover what is real and hide what is true, but sometimes I bring out the courage in you. Makeup I cover what is real and hide what is true, but sometimes I bring out the courage in you. Makeup I crawl on the earth and rise on a pillar. Shadow I drive men mad for love of me, easily beaten, Never free. Gold I fly to any foreign parts, assisted by my spreading wings. My body holds an hundred hearts, Nay, I will tell you stranger things when I am not in haste I ride, and then I mend my pace anon. I issue fire from my side. You witty youths, this riddle con. Ship I get wet when drying. Towel i go in hard. I come out soft. You blow me hard. What am i? Gum I have a head and a tail, exactly the same size. Coin I have a little sister, they call her Peep, Peep; She wades the waters deep, deep, deep; She climbs the mountains high,high, high; Poor little creature she has but one eye. Star I have a tail. I can fly. I'm covered in colorful feathers. I can whistle and I can talk. Parrot I have an eye But cannot see, You'll head inside When you see me. Storm I have an eye but cannot see. I am stronger and faster then any man alive but have no limbs. Hurricane I have five letters and people eat me. When you remove my first letter I become a crime. Remove my first two letters and I am an animal. If you remove my first and last letters I'm a form of music. Grape I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter but can't go outside. Keyboard I have legs but never walk, I may have flowers but no soil, I hold food but never eat. Table I have legs but seldom walk; I backbite many but never talk; I seek places that can hide me because those that feed me cannot abide me. Flea I have legs but walk not, a strong back but work not, two good arms but reach not, a seat but sits and tarry not. Armchair I have many feathers to help me fly. I have a body and head but I'm not alive. Your strength determines how far I go. You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown. Arrow I have many letters, And though it's strange to say, I stay the same no matter How many I give away. Mailman I have no head, and a tail I lack, but oft have arms, and legs, and back; I inhabit the palace, the tavern, the cot, 'Tis a beggarly residence where I am not. If a monarch were present (I tell you no fable), I still should be placed at the head of the table. Chair I help to mature your spirits. When moistened I fulfill my purpose. Should I dry out, my task will fail And my quarry may be worthless. Cork I know a word of letters three, Add two and fewer there will be. Few I lack much reason, but often rhyme, And require logic to pass the time, To get the words to tell your kin, Look for clues that lie within, Though all are different, they act the same, The answer is practically in the name. Riddle I pass before the sun, yet make no shadow. Wind I pass before the sun, yet make no shadow. What am I? Wind I reach for the sky, but clutch to the ground. Sometimes I leave, but I am always around. Tree I ride, I ride; No tracks are left. I chop and chop; There are no chips left. He rides and rides; Turns around: There is no road left. Boat I run cold and hot, I look blue but am red. Blood I run distances, often making many turns, yet I never move one foot. What am I? Watch I run over fields and woods all day. Under the bed at night I sit not alone. My tongue hangs out, up and to the rear, awaiting to be filled in the morning. Shoe I saw a fight the other day; A damsel did begin the fray. She with her daily friend did meet, then standing in the open street, she gave such hard and sturdy blows, he bled ten gallons at the nose; yet neither seemed to faint nor fall, nor gave her an abuse at all. Pump I saw the dead bring forth the living. I saw the living bring forth the dead. What did I see? Funeral I scribble forms of the finest letter, And repel elements of the harshest weather. I am an arrow-aimer and a dust-breaker. Feather I spit like bacon, am made with an egg, I have plenty of backbone but lack good legs, I peel like an onion but still remain whole. I'm long like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole. Snake I start in little but I end in full, you'll find me in half and complete. L I think you live beneath a roof That is upheld by me; I think you seldom walk abroad, But my fair form you see; I close you in on every side, you very dwelling pave, and probably I'll go with you At last into the grave. Wood I tremble at each breath of air, and yet can heaviest burdens bear. Water I view the world in little space, am always changing place; No food I eat, but, by my power, procure what millions do devour. Sun I war with the wind, with the waves I wrestle; I must battle with both when the bottom I seek, my strange habitation by surges o'er-roofed. I am strong in strife, while I still remain; as soon as I stir, they are stronger than I. They wrench and they wrest, till I run from my foes; what was put in my keeping they carry away. Anchor I wear a red robe, with staff in hand, and a stone in my throat. Cut me and I weep red tears. Cherry I'm a blended cold beverage made up of milk, ice cream and fruit. I bring all the boys to the yard. Milkshake I'm a dessert consisting usually of toasted marshmallow and pieces of chocolate bar sandwich between two graham crackers. S'mores I'm a dish of ground meat formed into a loaf shape, mixed with egg and breadcrumbs, then baked or smoked. Meatloaf I'm a flat circular spongy roll made from yeast dough and eaten toasted and buttered. English Muffin I'm a food made of flour, water, and yeast or another leavening agent, mixed together and baked. You need me to make a sandwich. Bread I'm a fruit that groes on a tree. Some of my varieties include Red Delicious and Granny Smith. Apple I'm a green veggie that looks like a tiny tree. Broccoli I'm a lion with a human head. Guess my Riddle or you'll be dead. Sphinx I'm a long curved fruit that grows in clusters and has soft pulpy flesh and yellow skin when ripe. Banana I'm a long, green-skinned fruit with watery flesh, usually eaten raw in salads or pickled. Cucumber I'm a lot like a pancake, except I'm a little crisper, and I'm square, with square patterns all over. Waffles I'm a pie, but I come with peperoni and cheese. Pizza I'm a red creature from the sea with large claws, or pincers, and I'm often boiled and served as an expensive dish at seafood restaurants like Long John Silver's. Lobster I'm a ring of sliced onion dipped in batter and then deep fried. Onion Rings I'm a slippery fish in a cloudy sea; Neither hook nor spear will capture me; With your hand you must hunt down this fish, to see that it ends up in the dish. Soap I'm a small ring shaped friedcake, often with bavarian cream or fruit filling, and sometimes covered in icing and sprinkles. Donut I'm a small sweet cake, typically round, flat, and crisp. I come in a variety of flavors from chocolate chip to oatmeal rasin. Cookie I'm a small, yellow finger-shaped sponge cake with a white synthetic cream filling. Twinkies I'm a soft frozen food made with sweetened and flavored milk fat. I'm usually put in a waffle cone. Ice Cream I'm a soft, sweet food made from a mixture of flour, shortening, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and often decorated. Cake I'm a starchy plant tuber that is one of the most important food crops, cooked and eaten fried, such as french fries. Potato I'm a thick slice of beef or other high-quality meat or fish that is often cooked on a grill or fried. Steak I'm a type of pizza that is folded in half before cooking to contain a filling. Calzone I'm a vegetable that is a long, green stalk. I'm usually eaten at thanksgiving with cheese or peanut butter. Celery I'm in a box, full of that which is most rare. But I'm not a flute, and I'm not some hair. Though soft be my bed, I'm as hard as a rock. While dull in the dark, I glisten once unlocked. Jewel I'm lighter than air but million men can't lift me. Bubble I'm not a bird, but I can fly through the sky. I'm not a river, but I'm full of water. Cloud I'm not the sort that's eaten, I'm not the sort you bake, Don't put me in an oven, I don't taste that great, But when applied correctly, around me you will find, Problems are so simple when my digits come to mind. Pi I'm often served as a "rack of ..." I'm often smoked or grilled, with bones in, and slathered in BBQ sauce. Ribs I'm sometimes white, but most often I'm black. I take you there, but never bring you back. Hearse I'm strangely capricious, I'm sour or I'm sweet, To housewives am useful, To children a treat; Yet I freely confess I more mischief have done, Than anything else That is under the sun. Apple I'm usually served along side burgers. I'm crispy golden potato sticks! Fries I'm where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow's in the middle. Dictionary I've got a beautiful, beautiful hall all walled in red velvet, with all white armchairs made of bone, and in the middle a woman dances. Mouth If a dog were filling out a resume, he might list his mastery of this game under skills Fetch If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I? Fire If it is absolute, it will corrupt absolutely. Power If it is two hours later, then it will take half as much time till it's midnight as it would be if it were an hour later. What time is it? Nine If two is company and three is a crowd, what are four and five? Nine If you blow past your destination, you'll have to throw your car into this. Reverse If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea what does it become? Wet If you drop me I'm sure to crack, but give me a smile and I'll always smile back. Mirror If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it? Secret If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me. What am I? Secret If you look you cannot see me. If you see me you cannot see anything else. I can make anything you want happen, but later everything goes back to normal. Imagination If you slash it, It heals at once. Water If you wake at dawn, you'll probably find this covering the lawn. Dew If you were to throw a white stone into the Red Sea, What would it become? Wet If you're on a diet, smelling a fresh pan of brownies could be described at this. Torture If you're to idleness inclined, a lesson take from me; though small in body, yet you'll find I work with constant glee. And lest stern Winter's chilling snow should spread the verdure over; While Summer's sun in full glow, I then secure my store. Ant Important = Important Equally Important In a tunnel of darkness lies a beast or iron. It can only attack when pulled back. Bullet In all the world, none can compare, to this tiny weaver, his deadly cloth so silky and fair. Spider In almost every house I'm seen, (No wonder then I'm common) I'm neither man, nor maid, nor child, nor yet a married woman. I'm penniless and poor as Job, Yet such my pride by nature, I always wear a kingly robe, though a dependent creature. Cat In birth I spring forth, in life I unfold. In death I wilt and die, but rebirth restores all. Leaf In many hall ways you would stand, if not with this in hand. Key In Paris but not in France, the thinnest of its siblings. I In Spring I look gay, Decked in comely array, In Summer more clothing I wear; when colder it grows, I filing off my clothes, and in winter quite naked appear. Tree In the evening I'm long, in the morning I'm small; When seen in a ballroom, I'm nothing at all. Shadow In the fields a frightful thing. Watch it and you will find, it has a pitchfork in the front, and a broom back behind. Bull In the marble walls as white as wilk, Lined with skin as soft as silk, Within a fountain crystal clear, A golden apple does appear. No doors are there to this stronghold, Yet thieves break in and steal the gold. Egg In the night a mountain in the morning a meadow. Bed In the sun it likes to play; In the rain it goes away; Walk or run it always follows; In the mud it always wallows. Shadow In wealth I abound; in water I stand; as a fencer I'm valued all over the land; at Venice I'm famous; by farmers I'm prized; respected by law, yet huntsmen despised; consternation and ruin ensue when I break; And the beasts of the forest advantage won't take. Bank Is said to make the world go around, But only if we let it. It puts a value on a thing, And makes you do some crazy things, Just so you can get it. Money It belongs to you but others use it more than you do. Name It breathes fire in fairy-tales. Dragon It can be clear like water, but it burns like fire. Alcohol It can be cracked, It can be made, It can be told, It can be played. Joke It can be in a hat, Or out of the bag. If you see it you'll be smitten, 'Cause it's fluffy like a mitten. Cat It can be repeated but rarely in the same way. It can't be changed but can be rewritten. It can be passed down, but should not be forgotten. History It can be white or blue or black, Humped or have a horn. And when it talks it sings its menuets, as it's travelling the depths. Whale It can make rain, but take away one leg and it'll give you pain. R It can pierce the best armor and make swords crumble with a rub, yet for all its power It can't harm a wooden club. Rust It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, Lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. Comes first follows after, Ends life kills laughter. Darkness It cannot be seen, it weighs nothing, but when put into a barrel, it makes it lighter. Hole It comes down but never goes up. Rain It doesn't live within a house, nor does it live without. Most will use it when they come in, and again when they go out. Door It flies when it's on and floats coming off. Feather It floats over the land, It cuts the tallest mountain, Its voice is like a fountain, Its body like a snake, Will flow into a lake. River It flows out of the soil, It burns you if it boils, And holds us in its coils, More valuable than gold, As black as it is old. Oil It gives everything and then takes it away, It governs destinies and fates, It changes and it never waits, It rules the cards and dice each day, Is part of any game we play. Chance It goes around the world but stays in a corner. Stamp It goes into the water black and comes out red. Lobster It goes up but never comes down. Age It goes up the hill, and down the hill, and yet stands still. Road It goes up, but at the same time goes down Up toward the sky, and down to the ground. It's present tense and past tense too, Come for a ride, just me and you. Seesaw It has 8 arms and lots of ink but can't write a word. Octopus It has a face and two hands but no arms or legs. Clock It has no legs to dance, it has no lungs to breathe, it has no life to live or die, and yet it does all three. Fire It has plenty of backbone But doesn't have a let. It peels like an orange But it comes from an egg. Snake It has the biggest wall and is also used when drinking tea. China It has two bands but no money. River It hisses but it's not a snake. It holds water but it's not a lake. When it's done you hear it scream. Pour from it and add some cream. Teapot It holds no blessings in disguise. Its rhymes are aimed at your demise, it's cast only to ruin, Whatever you are doin'. Curse It increases and decreases Yet no one see it. It is not a fire And yet it can be quenched. Thirst It is a big and bulky mammal, And has a trunk just like a tree. Will store water in its nose, Which is long and like a hose. Elephant It is a cat but not a kitty, You'll never catch on in a city. Its fangs are huge and so its claws, A death machine with paws and jaws. In its own way a royal fellow, Striped with black and clothed in yellow. Tiger It is a sound of empty, speak and it'll talk back plenty. But all the more you yack, you'll get the same words back. Echo It is a symphony of noise, It can produce both grief and joys, It is inspiring and grand, Made by a person or a band. Music It is by nature, soft as silk; A puffy cloud, white as milk; Snow tops this tropical crop; The dirtiest part of a mop. Cotton It is destruction made out of thin air, You hear it howl and give a prayer, Through barns and houses it will tear. It is a deadly funnel, Of violent and twisting air. Hurricane It is in every mountain, it's not in any hill, it's not in all the world, and yet it's in the mill. M It is more feared than fear itself, And no one can escape it. It takes no sides and does not judge, it does not know to hold a grudge. It is the most clearest result, Of how life beats you by default. Death It is worldwide, but once only a spider could weave one. Web It is yellow and you can serve it but not eat. Tennisball It keeps something that cannot be kept, And wakes you when you've slept. It may go slow or stop at times, But even then it chimes. Clock It may only be given, Not taken or bought, What the sinner desires, But the saint does not. Forgiveness It moves around in circles. We see it as we turn. It keeps us always warm. Always alive and always dying, Across the sky we see it flying, But touch it and we burn. Sun It nukes food at the touch of a button. Microwave It passes but you never hear it. Sometimes though, you think you feel it. You think you had it but it's gone. You want to stop it, but it moves on. You lose it, gain it, maybe fear it, but it goes on, forever on. Time It regulates our daily movements, but it feels no interest in our lives. It directs us when to come and go, but does not care if we pay attention. What is it? Clock It speaks to you, yet it can't speak. When you hold it you can travel, in your mind's eye worlds unravel. And everything in it's a lie. And with every new untruth, still you feel it speaks the truth. Book It stands on one leg with its heart in its head. cabbage It stands on one leg with its heart in its head. Cabbage It stands on one leg with its heart in its head. Cabbage It starts at the earth's end and brink, Filled with water you can't drink. Has a color, just like ink, Walk into it and you'll sink. Sea It was a tradition long ago, When the world was dark and full of woe. When men turned darkness into light, By mixing, melting and decanting in the night, To seek for youth and gold and riches, Just to be burned as witches. Alchemy It's a game played by serious people that takes place on a global scale. Politics It's always above the negatives Yet it's lower than the first prime no matter how you multiply it's the same every time. Zero It's been around For millions of years, But it's no more Than a month old. Moon It's been around for millions of years, but it's no more than a month old. What is it? Moon It's been around for millions of years, but its no more than a month old. Moon It's black and every time it speaks it says its name. Crow It's held in the hand When going out. Doorknob It's in the church, but not in the steeple; It's in the parson, but not in the people; It's in the oyster, but not in the shell; It's in the clapper, but not in the bell. R It's only good if people laugh at it. Joke It's red, blue, purple, and green, no one can reach it, not even the queen. Rainbow It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. Lettuce It's what light turns into in the night. Darkness It's a symbol and a fruit, For man's folly, evil's root. But also for great inspiration, and famous application. Apple It's like a forrest without trees, Like a jail you want to visit. Though the inmates did no wrong. You may freely walk along, They're put there so you can see them, Just as long as you don't feed them. Zoo It's real until the trick is revealed. Magic It's round but also like a chess-board. It can and is both whirled and curled, And bent and shot and parried. Some play it on a field or watch it on the couch, And anyone can play it, even Peter Crouch. Football It's small but larger than a bee, And agile as a flea. It humms but does not buzz, And it's not covered with fuzz. It is a small collector, Of juicy flower nectar. Hummingbird It's tough as nails, Or soft as snow. People use it for their rink, Some just put in their drink. Ice It's voice is like a burp, Will swallow with a slurp, You'll never hear it chirp. Kiss it with a wince, Might turn into a prince. Frog Its days are numbered. Calendar Its tall is round and hollow, Seems to get chewed a bit, But you'll rarely see this thing Unless the other end is lit. Pipe life live live One Life to Live Light as a feather, there is nothing in it, yet the strongest man can't hold it for much more than a minute? Breath Lighter than what I am made of. More of me hidden than seen. Iceberg Little Nancy Etticote, in a white petticoat. With a red nose; the longer she stands, the shorter she grows. Candle Lives in winter, dies in summer and grows with its root upwards. Icicle Lives without a body, hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, to which the air alone gives birth. Echo Locked up inside you and yet they can steal it from you. Heart Long Legs, crooked thighs, little head, and no eyes. Tongs Look at me. I can bring a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, or a thought to your mind. But I can't be seen. Memories Looks like water, but it's heat. Sits on sand, lays on concrete. A play on the eyes, but it's all lies. Mirage Lots of them make up a word, And lots of words are in them. It's easy when you think about it. A while ago we stamped and mailed them. Letters Lovely and round, I shine with pale light, Grown in the darkness, A lady's delight. Pearl Lovely and round, I shine with pale light, Grown in the darkness, A lady's delight. Pearl Mad bats and dogs carry this. Rabies Made Made in China Made of ten but two we make, When assembled others quake, Five apart and we are weak, Five together havoc wreak. Fist Make three fourths of a cross, then a circle complete; Let two semicircles a perpendicular meet; then add a triangle that stands on two feet, with two semicircles and a circle complete. Tobacco Makes apples fall from trees. Gravity Man Board Man Overboard Man of old, it is told would search until he tired, not for gold, ne'er be sold, but what sought he was fire. Man today, thou mayst say, has quite another aim, in places deep, he did seek, to find me for his gain! Oil Man walks over, man walks under, in times of war he burns asunder. Bridge Man walks over, man walks under, in times of war he burns asunder. What is it? Bridge Moon Once in a Blue Moon More precious than gold, but cannot be bought, can never be sold only earned if it's sought, If it is broken it can still can be mended, At birth it can't start nor by death is it ended. Friendship Mouth up it gets filled, mouth down it gets empty. Bottle Mouthless but I will tell you a name that is not mine, I will show you the years I have seen but I have no eyes, memory I have but I have no mind. Gravestone Mr. Blue lives in the blue house, Mr. Pink lives in the pink house, and Mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the white house? President Mustard Cut the Mustard My back and belly is wood, And my ribs is lined with leather. I've a hole in my nose and one in my breast, And I'm mostly used in cold weather. Bellows My body is quite thin, and has nothing within, neither have I head, face, or eye; yet a tail I have got full as long as- what not? And up, without wings, I can fly. Kite My first a blessing sent to earth, of plants and flowers to aid the birth; my second surely was designed to hurl destruction on mankind; my whole a pledge from pardoning heaven, of wrath appeased and crimes forgiven. Rainbow My first brace Nelson yielded, midst the jar of angry battle, and the din of war; my second, when from labor we retreat, far form polite, yet offers us a seat; my whole is but my second more complete. Armchair My first is a heir; My second's a snare; My whole is the offspring of fancy; Which I sent, out of play, Upon Valentine's day, As a token of love, to my Nancy. Sonnet My first is a slice affords so nice; my second discomposes; my whole's a bed where honor's head devotedly reposes. Hammock My first is a term to relate a circumstance present or past; and those who are much prone to prate, my second will spout away fast. My whole, in the days of our youth, is what we extremely despised; and though it say nothing but truth, yet it never need hope to be prized. Telltale My first is a title of honor; My second is myself; My first is your and I; My whole is a beautiful fixed star, seen in the winter. Sirius My first is an insect; m second is a border; my whole puts the face in a tuneful disorder. Anthem My first is equality; my second is inferiority; my whole is superiority. Peerless My first is high, my second damp, my whole a tie, a writer's cramp. Hyphen My first is in riddle, but not in little. My second is in think, but not in brink. My third is in thyme, but not in time. My fourth is in mother, but not in brother. My last is in time, but no t in climb. Rhyme My first is in spell, but not book. My second is in fright and also shook. My third is in cauldron, but never in pot. My fourth is in net and also in knot. My fifth is in bat, but never in vampire. My sixth is in coal, but not found in fire. My seventh is in moon, but not in night. Phantom My first is nothing but a name; my second is more small; my whole is of so little fame it has no name at all. Nameless My first is ocean but not in sea, My second in milk but not in me. My third is in three but not in throw, My fourth in vow but not in crow. My fifth is in eight but not in night, My last is in wrong and also right. My whole is praise for thoughts or men; Or women, too, or tongue or pen. Clever My first is second in line; I send shivers up your spine; not quite shining bright I glitter in the light. Ice My first is snapping, snarling, growling, My second's industrious, romping, and prowling. Higgledy piggledy Here we lie, picked and plucked, and put in a pie. Currants My first is to be seen Every day in the firmament; My second conquers Kings and queens; And my whole is what I would offer To a friend in distress. Solace My first keeps time, My second spends time, My whole tells time. Watchman My first, if you do, you'll increase; my second will keep you from heaven; my whole, such a human caprice, is more frequently given than taken. Advice My first, though water, cures no thirst, My next alone has soul, And when he lives upon my first, He then is called my whole. Seaman My head and tail both equal are, my middle slender as a bee. Whether I stand on head or heel Is quite the same to you or me. But if my head should be cut off, the matter's true, though passing strange directly I to nothing change. Eight My head bobs lazily in the sun. You think I'm cute For my face is yellow my hair is white and my body is green. Daisy My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quite fat. I am slow, wind is my foe. Candle My love for Eliza shall never know my first; neither shall it be my second; but it shall be my whole. Endless My mind mind my mimy ND NDM IMY Changed my mind My parents are singers, and while my father has red hair I am pale and completely bald. Egg My sides are firmly laced about, Yet nothing is within; you'll think my head is strange indeed, being nothing else but skin. Drum My strength is powerful and great, 'Tis tru, altho' it seemeth strange, I carry many thousand weight, with which I many miles do range. Whene'er I reach my journey's end with all my speed I hasten home; and tho' I often man befriend, I sometimes also seal his doom. Tide My tail is long, my coat is brown, I like the country, I like the town. I can live in a house or live in a shed, And I come out to play when you are in bed. Mouse My thunder comes before the lightning; My lightning comes before the clouds; My rain dries all the land it touches. Volcano my tongue Tip of my tongue My voice is tender, my waist is slender and I'm often invited to play. Yet wherever I go I must take my bow or else I have nothing to say. Violin My voice rises above the din sometimes catching all unaware. I never ask questions yet get many answers. Doorbell Nature's way of applauding a lightning strike. Thunder Never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breath on this terrestrial ball. What am I? Future Often cooked as fillet, this meat comes form an animal that swims underwater. Fish Often found in doctor's offices and on pirate flags. Skull Oh lord! I am not worthy! I bend my limbs to the ground. I cry, yet without a sound. Let me drink of waters deep. And in silence I will weep. Willow Old Grandpa Diddle Daddle jumped in the mud puddle, green cap and yellow shoes. Guess all your loftiness and you can't guess these news. Frog Old people and owls are said to be this. Wise Once they sailed the sea, now they surf the web. Pirates Scottish knee-length formal wear for men. Kilt scratch ym Scratch My Back Searing 'cross the pitch-black skies, I scream in celebration, Yet moments later, my outburst through, I am naught but imagination. Firework Securing your documents is easy with these trusty metal objects. Staples Sends paper without using the post office. Fax sense sense sense sense sense sense The Sixth Sense Seven brothers, Five work all day, The other two, Just play or pray. Week Shared between two; Most often to woo; Sometimes hot and sometimes cold; The beginning of us all, young and old. Kiss Sheets of paper that tell new stories each day. Newspaper show Sideshow Silently I drink and dive in fluids dark as night. I beat the mighty warrior but never in fight. The black blood in my veins your thirst for knowledge slakes. My spittle is more venomous than that of poison snakes. Pen Sir Land Sir Lance Sir Lance Sir Lancelot Sitting down you have it, Standing up you don't. Lap Six legs, two heads, Two hands, one long nose. Yet he uses only four legs Wherever he goes. Horseman Six letters do my name compound; Among the aged oft I'm found; The shepherd also, by the brook, Hears me when Leaning on his crook; But in the middle me divide, And take the half on either side, Each backward read, a liquor tell, Ev'ry gay toper knows it well. Murmur Slain to be saved, with much ado and pain, scatter'd, dispersed and gather'd up again; wither'd though young, sweet though not perfumed, and carefully laid up to be consumed. Hay sleep slpee slepe lseep pesle Sleeping Disorder Slowly creeping, I am weeping, changing shades, and growing. Spring Small and bearded, both in the real world and in stories. Dwarf Small edible creature from the sea that is often served at restaurants like Red Lobster. Shrimp Small, containing light, You'll need it in the dark, It will provide that spark, and shine into the night. Will light up any pyre, 'Cause it can help make a fire. Lighter Snake coiled round and round, snake deep below the ground, snake that's never had a head, snake that binds but not with dread. Rope Snow White was friendly with seven of them. Dwarf So beautiful and cold, So young and yet so old, Alive but always dead, Still hungry when has fed, Will die if it is bled, Or you cut off its head. Vampire Soft and fragile is my skin. I get my growth in dirt. I'm dangerous as much as pretty. For if not careful, I draw blood. Thorn Soldiers fight it but never changes. War Some are clean and some are dirty, but all are meant to get a chuckle. Jokes Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show, we always will meet. Try as you might, to guess my name, I promise you'll know when you I do claim. Death Some women don't like to be called that, Yet every woman wants one. It cries and makes a lot of noise, But smiles and gurgles when you give it toys. Baby Something everybody tends to overlook, no matter how careful they are. Nose Something we eat, and misspell as meet. Meat Something you carry while singing. Tune Sometimes black, sometimes white, I have veins but no blood. Marble Sometimes it glitters, but often not; May be cold, or may be hot! Ever changing though the eye can't measure, concealed within are many treasures. Some find safety beneath its gate, while some may die beneath its weight! Old and broken, it brings forth life. Rock Sometimes you feel it weigh a ton. Yet it is nothing, but somehow still there. Makes you uncomfortable around anyone, But speak its name and it's gone. Silence Sometimes you'll find me hard and cold, other times I'm hard to hold, always present in the air, if I'm ever gone, beware. Water The answer to this riddle is unknown. Unknown The cost of making only the maker knows, valueless if bought, but sometimes traded. A poor man may give one as easily as king. When one is broken pain and deceit are assured. Promise The edge of earth and bread. Crust The eight of us go forth not back to protect our king from a foe's attack. What are we? Pawns The floor's on top, the roof's beneath, and from this place I rarely leave. Yet with the passing of each day. A new horizon greets my gaze. Sailor The higher I climb the hotter I engage, I cannot escape my crystal cage. Mercury The land was white the seed was black It'll take a good scholar to riddle me that. Book The line a runner strives to reach. Finish The little pink nub that helps rectify mistakes. Eraser The little pink nub that helps rectify mistakes. Eraser The Load-bearer. The warrior. The Frightened One. The Brave. The Fleet-of-foot. The Iron-shod. The Faithful One. The Slave. Horse The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. Coffin The more holes you cover the lower it goes. Recorder The more it dries, the wetter it gets. What is it? Towel The more you have, the less you see. Darkness The more you look at it, The less you see. Sun The more you take away, the larger it becomes. Hole The more you take the more you leave behind. Steps The more you take, the more you leave behind. Footsteps The most beautiful and useless of human acts. Art The most foreign visitors you could imagine. Alien The most foreign visitors you could imagine. Alien The negative hero in each story. Villain The offspring of circle and a rectangle. Oval The older they are the less wrinkles they have. Tires The older this thing grows the more valued it becomes. It is always much better when its breathing is done. Wine The ones who see it may go blind, Contracting the fool's madness. You have to dig to find it, Crush big stones or mine it. Wash dirt clumps in a pan and wait for it to settle, A shiny, precious metal. Gold The side of cat with the most hair. Outside The signature stroll of ducks and penguins. Waddle The strongest chains will not bind it. Ditch and rampart will not slow it down. A thousand soldiers cannot beat it, it can knock down trees with a single bush. Wind The thunder comes before the lightning, and the lightning comes before the cloud, the rain dries all the land it touches, wrapping the earth in a blood red shroud. Volcano The thunder comes before the lightning; the lightning comes before the clouds. The rain dries everything it touches. Volcano The warmer I am, The fresher I am. Bread The wave, over the wave, a weird thing I saw, Through-wrought, and wonderfully ornate: A wonder on the wave-water became bone. Ice There are four of these, but everyone's favourite seems to be spades. Ace There is a body without a heart. That has a tongue and yet no head. Buried it was before it was made, and loud it speaks and yet is dead. Bell There is a word in the English language, the two first letters signify a male, the three first a female, the four first a great man, and the whole a great woman. heroine There is not wind enough to twirl That one red leaf, nearest of its clan, Which dances as often as dance it can. Sun There is someone, and there is always another, for without the other, there wouldn't be one. Twins There she goes over the road, a young mare that is whinnying. A fiery spot on her forehead, with her hindquarters ablaze. Thunder There was a little heart inside a little white house, which was inside a little yellow house, which was inside a little brown house, which was inside a little green house. Walnut There's not a kingdom on the earth, but I have traveled over and over, and though I know not whence my birth, yet when I come, you know my roar. I through the town do take my flight, and through the fields and meadows green, and whether it be day or night, I neither am nor can be seen. Wind There's one of me for everything, through only four are we. O'er and o'er we repeat, cycling endlessly. But Then, I am an act you'll do, when standing at the range. One word, and yet, I've meanings two. I hope it's not too strange. Season There's on in every deck of cards and in a famous movie. Joker These animals hang out in the mist. Gorilla These are great fun until you realize you don't have all the pieces. Puzzle These are small chicken drumsticks fried and sometimes coated in buffalo hot sauce. Wings These begin your sentences and are home to your leader. Capital These delicious pork meat strips is enjoyed at breakfast time along side sausage, eggs and toast. Bacon These help engines spin and trousers stay up. Belt These help engines spin and trousers stay up. Belt These nutrients are vital to your health. Vitamin These small herring-like fish are often smoked and eaten out of a small tin can. Sardines They are two brothers. However much they run, They do not reach each other. Wheels They belong to me; they belong to you; they can make you feel happy or make you feel blue; they never end until the day you do. Thoughts They bring oxygen into blood. Lungs They can be long or short; they can be grown or bought; they can be painted or left bare; they can be round or square. Nails They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. Stars They come to witness the night Without being called, A sailor's guide and a poet's tears. They are lost to the sight each day Without the hand of a thief. Stars They keep secrets locked away. And you pass through them each day. For each one there is a key, They respond to sesame. Doors They live only in stories, taller than three storeys. Giants They make no sense at all, In them you either fly or fall. They make you do it all. Their need is biologic, but they are most illogic. They are not real but still can be achieved, If they are just believed. Dreams They swim around in schools or pods and they are related to whales. Dolphin They took me from my mother's side where I was bravely bred and when to age I did become they did cut off my head. They gave to me some diet drink that often made me mad but it made peace between two kings and made two lovers glad. Quill They try to beat me, they try in vain. And when I win, I end the pain. Death They're big and blue, and larger than seas Oceans They're big and yet so far away, We see them at the end of day. They're small and they're above. We see them when we close our eyes, Each time we are in love. Stars Think Think Big Thirty men and ladies two, gathered for a festive do; Dressed quite formal, black and white: soon movement turned to nasty fight. Chess Thirty white horses on a red hill, first champ, then stamp, and then stand still. Teeth Thirty white horses on a red hill, first they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. Teeth This baked dish consists of an open-topped pastry case with a savory or sweet filling. Flan This baked Italian dish consisting of this and layered with meat or vegetables, cheese, and tomato sauce is one of our favorites. Can you guess what it is? Lasagna This breakfast food is thin, flat cake or batter, usually fried and turned in a pan. It is often enjoyed with butter and syrup. Pancakes This Cajun dish of rice with shrimp, chicken, and vegetables, is often enjoyed with cornbread. Jambalaya This Chocolate baked good is a soft candy made from sugar, butter, and milk or cream. Fudge This creature travels in a gaggle. Goose This crisp stick-shaped roll is often enjoyed with soup or marinara sauce. Bread Stick This delicious kids snack is a fruit-flavored gelatin dessert made from a commercially prepared powder. Jello This dip for chips is a spanish style sauce, mainly consisting of peppers, diced tomatos and spices for a spicy flavor. Salsa This dish consists of a rolled tortilla with a filling typically of beef or chicken and served with a chili sauce. Enchelada This dish is defined as small pasta envelopes containing ground meat, cheese, or vegetables. Ravioli This dish is hot frankfurter served in a long, soft roll and typically topped with various condiments. Often served with hamburgers. Hot Dog This dish is usually consumed at breakfast time with milk. Cereal This food is a chop of pork cut perpendicularly to the spine of the pig and usually containing a rib or part of a vertebra, served as an individual portion. Pork Chops This food is a staple for households world wide. It's definition is: An edible seed, typically kidney-shaped, growing in long pds on certain leguminous plants. Beans This food is a staple grain in many pantries world wide. You often steam or boil it and serve it in a variety of different ways. One brand touts the fact that it can be cooked in 1 minute. Rice This food is a Thanksgiving tradition! Turkey This food is a tortilla filled with cheese and sometimes chicken before being heated or cooked. Quasedilla This food is a white meat, that often goes with salad. It's poultry. Chicken This food is an immature bean pod eaten as a vegetable. They are green. Green Beans This food is made of grated potatos smashed together and fried in the form of a tot. Tater Tots This food is usually grilled and put between two buns, with cheese,tomato and pickles. Burger This food, made from pork, is often eaten along side eggs and bacon. Sausage This for is a baked dish of fruit, or meat and vegetables, typically with a top and base of pastry. Pie This greek dish is similar to a taco or pita sandwich in appearance. It is made with a fatty meat in a taco shell shaped flatbread with tomatos, lettice and other veggies. Gyro This guy crossed a road and everyone wants an explanation. Chicken This has been cut with water Diluted This is a baked snack that is traditionally twisted into a unique knot-like shape. Pretzel This is a coat that will soon dry but it must be put on while it is wet. Paint This is a dead giveaway. Will This is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. A common brand is Bush's. Baked Beans This is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice sushi-meshi combined with other ingredients, usually raw fish or other seafood. Sushi This is a pear-shaped fruit with a rough leathery skin, smooth oily edible flesh, and a large pit in the center. It is most used in guacamole dip. Avocado This is meat from the upper part of a pig's leg salted and dried or smoked, often enjoyed in a sandwich. Ham This is needed both for courage and hard-cover books. Spine This is the main ingredient in spaghetti and Mac-N-Cheese. Pasta This is variety of pasta formed in narrow tubes, often mixed with cheese powder. The most common brand is Kraft. Macaroni This large green melon has red pulp inside and watery juice. Best enjoyed cold on a hot summer day! Watermelon This man has an obsession with spinach. Popeye This Mexican dish is a type of flatbread made of crushed flour or cornmeal and is cooked and then enjoyed hot or cold. It is used especially in making quesadllas. Tortilla This mother comes from a family of eight, Supports her children in spite of their weight, Turns around without being called, Has held you since the time you crawled. Earth This old one runs forever, but never moves at all. He has not lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call. Waterfall This orange colored fruit gets its name from its color. Orange This orange vegetable is a favorite of Bugs Bunny. Carrot This pastry is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. Apple Pie This patch of land stands alone. Island This small creature kills even the largest one. Bacteria This small, rolled tortilla usually has meat or cheese filling, and was originally invented in mexico. Taqitos This small, round stone fruit that is typically bright or dark red, is often served on top of whipped cream on a milk shake. Cherry This sparkling globe can float on water. It is light as a feather, but ten giants can't pick it up. Bubble This thing all things devours, Birds, beasts, trees, and flowers. Gnaws iron bites steel, Grinds hard stones to meal, Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down. Time This thing can bat but never hit. It is next to a ball that is never thrown. It is good luck when found and it falls when it is lost. Eyelash This toasted sandwich is made with Bacon, Lettice and Tomato. BLT This type of corn swells up and bursts into a crisp puff when heated. Popcorn This type of food, which is a fungus, is often served on supreme pizza, in spaghetti and in a particular "cream of" style soup. Mushroom This veggie is characterized of long stalks or shoots taken from the plant. They have a strong odor when cooked and can influence the color or urine. Asparagus This would be a good place to find Can-Can girls and drunk Cowboys. Saloon Those wooden birds are now in sight whose voices roar, whose wings are white, whose maws are fill'd with hose and shoes, with wine, cloth, sugar, salt and news, when they have eas'd their stomachs here they cry farewell, until next year. Ships Though blind as well, can lead the blind well. Cane Though easy to spot, when allowed to plume, It is hard to see, when held in a room. Smoke Though I do not speak, I oft impart The secret wishes of the heart; I may deceive, may make amends, May create foes, and yet make friends. The harshest anger I can disarm, Such is the power of my charm. Smile Though I have neither legs nor feet, my use is for to go; Altho' I cannot speak, I tell what others want to know. Watch Though it be cold, I wear no clothes, the frost and snow I never fear; I value neither shoes nor hose, And yet I wander far and near: My diet is forever good, I drink no cider, port, nor sack, what Providence doth send for food, I neither buy, nor sell, nor lack. Fish Though it is not an ox, it has horns; Though it is not a donkey, it has packed-saddle; And wherever it goes it leaves silver behind. Snail Though learning has fed me, I know not a letter; I live among the books, Yet am never the better. Bookworm Though liquid in nature, don't push me too far, for then I will break, and the damage may scar. Glass Though my beauty is becoming I can hurt you just the same; I come in many colors; I am what I am by any other name. Rose Though not a plant, has leaves. Though not a beast, has spine. Though many wouldn't need this thing, It's more valuable than wine. Book Though seldom I flatter, I oft show respect To the prelate, the patriot, and the peer; But sometimes, alas! A sad proof of neglect, Or a mark of contempt, I appear. By the couch of the sick, I am frequently found, And I always attend on the dead; With patient affliction, I sit on the ground, But if talk'd of, I'm instantly fled. Silence Three little letters, a paradox to some. The worse that it is, the better it becomes. Pun Three lives have I. Gentle enough to sooth the skin, Light enough to caress the sky, Hard enough to crack rocks. Water Throw it off the highest building, and I'll not break. But put me in the ocean, and I will. Tissue Water dwelling mammal known for its work ethic. Beaver We are a round stone fruit with juicy yellow flesh and downy pinkish-yellow skin that is often sweet or tar in taste. What are we? Peach We are few to the wise; We are abundant to the drunken; We can calm the beast And are precious to the child; We can devour the heart, Without piercing the skin. Words We are little brethren twain, arbiters of loss and gain; man to our counters run, some are made, and some undone; but men find it, to their cost, few are made, but numbers lost; though we play them tricks for ever, yet they always hope our favor. Dice We are little creatures; all of us have different features One of us in glass is set; one of us you;ll find in jet. Another you may see in tin, and fourth is boxed within. If the fifth you should pursue, it can never fly from you. What are we? Vowels We dwell in cottages of straw, and labor much for little gains; sweet food from us our masters draw, and then with death reward our pains. Bees Week Weekend Weight in my belly, trees on my back;, nails in my ribs, feet I do lack. Ship What 's the difference Between one yard and two yards? Fence What age most travelers have? Baggage What always works with something in its eye? Needle What animal has feet on the head? Lice What are you certain to find inside your pocket when you reach into it? Hand What becomes too young the longer it exists? Portrait What begins and has no end? What is the ending of all that begins? Death What bird can lift the heaviest weight? Crane What bird is always unhappy? Bluebird What calls for help, when written in capital letters, in the same forwards, backwards and upside down? Sos What can be heard and caught but never seen? Remark What can be seen but never found that only hides in the unwound? Relaxation What can bring back the dead, make us cry, make us laugh, make us young, born in an instant yet lasts a life time? Memories What can fill a room but takes up no space? Light What can go through glass without breaking it. Light What can travel around the world while staying in a corner? Stamp What can you add to a bucket full of water to make it lighter? Hole What can you always count on? Fingers What can you blow up and keep intact? Balloon What can you break but not touch? Promise What can you catch but not throw? Cold What can you never have for breakfast? Lunch What can you spell with B, R and Y? Brandy What can't be burned in a fire nor drowned in water? Ice What creature starts yellow inside and white outside, then becomes its first five before becoming the whole? Chicken What dish consists of tortilla chips smothered in cheese? Nachos What divides by uniting and by dividing? Scissors What do rich people have that can be changed into the law. Wealth What do we see every day, Kings see rarely, And God never sees? Equal What do you call bread that has been browned in a small electric oven until it is crispy? Toast What do you call the mother-in-law of your sister's husband? Mother What do you fill with empty hands? Gloves What do you get when you cross an automobile with a household animal? Carpet What do you not want to have and not want to lose? Lawsuit What do you throw out to use and take in when you're done? Anchor What does a cat have That no other animal has? Kittens What doesn't get any wetter, no matter how much rain falls on it? Water What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters? Queue What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters? Queue What fish is a celebrity? Starfish What flares up and does a lot of good, and when it dies is just a piece of wood? Match What flowers have two lips? Tulips What follows a dog wherever it goes? Tail What force and strength cannot get through, i, with a gentle touch, can do. And many in the street would stand, were i not a friend at hand. Key What fruit is of great use in history? Date What gets harder to catch the faster you run? Breath What goes inside boots and outside shoes? Ankles What goes into the water black and comes out red? Lobster What goes into the water black and comes out red? Lobster What goes round and round the wood but never goes in to the wood? Bark What goes through towns and over hills but never moves? Road What goes up and down without moving? Stairs What goes up and down without moving? Stairs What goes up and down without moving? Stairs What goes up the chimney down, but can't go down the chimney up? Umbrella What goes up the chimney down, but can't go down the chimney up? Umbrella What goes up when rain comes down? Umbrella What goes with a train, And comes with a train, And the train doesn't need it, But can't go without it? Noise What grows bigger The more you contract it? Debt What has 88 keys but can't open a single door? Piano What has a bottom right at the top? Leg What has a coat; Hugs you not in sympathy; Whose smile you'd rather not see; Whose stance is a terrible thing to see; Who is it that brave men run away from; Whose finders are clawed; Whose sleep lasts for months; And who's company we shunt? Bear What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps, can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money? River What has a head, but can't think. And has no limbs but can drive. Hammer What has a mouth but can't chew? River What has a neck and no head, two arms but no hands? Shirt What has a neck but no head? Bottle What has a ring but no finger? Phone What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive? Glove What has arms and legs but no head? Chair What has ears but can't hear? Corn What has four legs during the day; and six or eight during the night? Bed What has green hair, a round red head and a long thin white beard? Radish What has no beginning, end or middle? Donut What has one hand longer than the other, and goes on all day and night. Clock What has roots that nobody sees, is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, Yet it never grows? Mountain What has thirteen hearts But no body or soul? Deck What has three feet But no arms or legs? Yard What has to be broken before it can be used? Egg What has to be broken before you can use it? Egg What has two hands, a round face, always runs, but stays in place? Clock What holds water yet is full of holes? Sponge What hole do you mend with holes? Net What instrument can make any sound and be heard but not touched or seen? Voice What instrument can you hear but not touch or see? Voice What is a foot long and slippery? Slipper What is all over the house? Roof What is always coming Every day, But never arrives Until the next? Tomorrow What is between heaven and earth? And What is black when it is clean and white when it is dirty? Blackboard What is born long, dies short, and spends its life leaving a trail? Pencil What is bought by the yard and worn by the foot? Carpet What is brown and sticky? Stick What is common to eat before it's born and after it's dead? Chicken What is deep within you, never dies or gets worn out, and only needs some fire from time to time? Soul What is drawn by everyone without pen or pencil? Breath What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble What is found over your head but under your hat? Hair What is it that after you take away the whole, some still remains? Wholesome What is it that has a power socket on one end and a corkscrew on the other? Pig What is it that no man ever saw, which never was, but always will be? Tomorrow What is it that you will break even when you name it? Silence What is it the more you take away the larger it becomes? Hole What is long, pink and wet and is rude to pull out in front of people? Tongue What is made of wood but can't be sawed? Sawdust What is never eaten before lunch? Dinner What is orange and sounds like a parrot? Carrot What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it? Silence What is that which, though black itself, enlightens the world without burning? Ink What is that which, while it lives, constantly changes its habit, that is buried before it is dead, and whose tomb is valued wherever it is found? Silkworm What is the end of everything? G What is the ending of all that begins? Death What is the first thing A gardener plants in the garden? Foot What is the largest living ant on earth? Elephant What is the middle of water but is not an island. T What is the thing that stays the same size, but the more it's used the more it decreases? Iron What is the word that even in plain sight remains hidden? Hidden What is this Mexican dish consisting of a fried folded tortilla, filled with various mixtures, such as seasoned meat, beans, lettuce, and tomato? Taco What is this Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla rolled around a filling, typically of beans or ground or shredded beef? Burrito What jumps when it walks And sits when it stands? Kangaroo What keeps things green and keeps kids occupied in the summertime? Sprinkler What key is the hardest to turn? Donkey What kind of cheese is made backwards? Edam What kind of cookie is a chocolate sandwich cookie with a creamy white filling? Oreo What kind of cup doesn't hold water? Cupcake What kind of dog chases anything red? Bulldog What kind of fish chases a mouse? Catfish What kind of tree can you carry in your hand? Palm What king can you make if you take the head of a lamb, the middle of a pig, the hind of a buffalo, and the tail of a dragon? Lion what leaps one time out of four? Year What liquid can contain the soul? Ink What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night? Pillow What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at night? Pillow What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at night? Pillow What makes a loud noise when changing its jacket, becomes larger but weighs less? Popcorn What needs to be taken from you Before you have it? Picture What number has all letters in alphabetical order when spelled out? Forty What occurs four times in every week, twice in every month, only once in a year but never in a day? e What odd number becomes even when beheaded? Seven What part of a fish weights most? Scales What smells the most in the kitchen? Nose What sphinxes employ and players enjoy. Riddle What stays the same size no matter how much they weight? Scales What surrounds the world, yet dwells within a thimble? Space What turns everything around, but does not move? Mirror What turns from red to black as soon as it touches water. Ember What type of drink is usually added to cereal in the morning? Milk What was was, before was was was? Is What weeps without eyes or eyelids, her tears rejoicing sons and fathers; and when she laughs and no tears fall, her laughter saddens all hearts? Cloud What won't break if you throw it off The highest building in the world, But will break if you place it In the ocean? Tissue What word has three syllables and twenty six letters? alphabet What word In the English language is always spelled wrong? Wrong What word is that, which, deprived of its first letter, leaves you sick. Music What word of five letters has only one left when two letters are removed? Stone What you do to determine the length of something. Measure What you make after you've weighed your options. Decision What's at the head of an elephant and at the tail of a squirrel? EL What's black when you get it, red when you use it, and white when you're all through with it? Charcoal What's higher than the king? Crown When I get closer my tail grows longer, but when I go away my tail leads the way. Comet When I live I cry, If you don't kill me I'll die. Candle When I'm born I fly. When I'm alive I lay. When I'm dead I run. Snow When it comes in, From sea to shore, Twenty paces you'll see, No less, no more. Fog When it shines, its light is hazy. Makes the oceans swell like crazy. It makes moods seem more romantic, But it makes the ladies frantic. Moon When life gives you these, make a refreshing beverage. Lemon When one does not know what it is, then it is something; But when one knows that it is, then it is nothing. Riddle When one does not know what it is, then it is something; but when one knows what it is, then it is nothing. Riddle When people come for me to meet, they come to me with heavy feet. The one I hold, when I get my chance, will turn and spin, and start to dance. Gallows When the horse strokes the cat the wood begins to sing. Violin When we stand up it lies flat. When we lie back it stands up. Foot Where can you add two to eleven and get one as the correct answer? Clock Where do penguins come from? Eggs Where is the ocean deepest? Bottom Where jewelery pierces your head. Lobe Which building has the most stories? Library Which vehicle is spelled the same forwards and backwards? Racecar While I did live, I food did give, which many one did daily eat. Now being dead, you see they tread me under feet about the street. Cow White fat and fluffy, May even look like a puppy. Seems heavy but is light, Floats about without a worry, But if it turns dark you have to hurry! Cloud Who are the two brothers who live on opposite sides of the road yet never see each other? Eyes Who can shave ten times a day And still have a beard? Barber Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. Coffin Who spends the day at the window, goes to the table for meals and hides at night? Fly Who spends the day at the window, goes to the table for meals and hides at night? Fly widow Black Widow With pointed fangs it sits in wait, With piercing force it doles out fate, Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might, Eternally joining in a single bite. Stapler Within passion's fruit the will be found, and more of them in the pomegranate's crown. Rowed they are within an apple's core, yet other fruits have them more. And though the nectarine has but one, still, this is all just in fun. Playing hide and seek- a children's game. Finding out each player is just the same. Seeds Without it sounds would not be there, But through it music's ring is clear. It is a symbol for your woe, But only if your name's van Gogh. Ear Without what would everyone lose their head? Neck Worse wear wear wear wear No Worse for Wear Written on with words of white, Has the color of the night, Is the teacher's best delight, And a student's daily fright. Blackboard You answer me, although I never ask you questions. What am I? Phone You are having a bad day if 12 peers deem you to be this. Guilty You can break it or drink water from it. Glass You can do this with your friends. You can do this with your nose. But don't do it with your friend's nose! Pick You can draw me, fire me or fill me in. Gun You can read it both ways, I wear; One way it's a number, reversed a snare. Ten You deal with them and they deal chance, They show you your future at a glance. You play them and they play you back, And win or lose, They go back in their pack. Cards You fill it and it empties, A metaphor for plenty, Depending on what half you see, It's either full or empty. Cup You get one if you miss one at golf. Stroke You have it even if there is none. Hope You have to travel far before you turn it over. What is it? Odometer You hear it speak, for it has a hard tongue. But it cannot breathe, for it has not a lung. Bell You heard me before, Yet you hear me again, Then I die, Until you call me again. Echo You roll it or you buy it, People say you shouldn't try it, Because you may get a stroke, From inhaling all that smoke. Cigarette You row in one while you float. Boat You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet within that very place, my face you often see. Reflection You seek it out, When your hunger's ripe. It sits on four legs, And smokes a pipe. Stove You throw away the outside and cook the inside. You then eat the outside and throw away the inside. Corn You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. Onion You're currently trying to solve one. Riddle Your cat does my first in your ear O were I admitted as near! In my second I've held by you, my fair, So long that I almost despair; But my prey, if at last I overtake, What a glorious third I shall make! Purchase
i don't know
There are eight states of the USA whose names begin withthe letter 'M'. Which one comes last alphabetically?
List of States in America That Start With List of States in America That Start With Updated on June 26, 2015 The United States In recent news, the United States' president Barack Obama said that he has visited most of the 57 states in the United States. The video of Obama's speech has been making its rounds on the Internet. It was obviously a mistake on the president's part, but in reality, not many people probably even know how many states there are. Every single person knows what the United States are. Obama might have made a mistake, but surprisingly, not many people can name all of the states off the top of their head and quite a bit of people think that there are 52 states, 48 states or give or take a few more. There are 50 states in America and here is the list of them in alphabetical order. Some of the capitals have been listed next to the states and other fun facts are also listed besides others. List of States in America that Start with A List of states in America that start with A. Alabama- The capital is Montgomery and the largest city is Birmingham. Alaska- The capital is Juneau and the largest city is Anchorage. Arizona- The capital is Phoenix and the largest city is Phoenix. Arkansas- The capital is Little Rock and the largest city is Little rock. States that Start with the letter B There are no states that begin with the letter B. List of States in America that Start with C List of states in America that start with C. California- The capital is Sacramento and the largest city is Los Angeles Colorado- The capital is Denver and the largest city is Denver Connecticut- The capital is Hartford and the largest city is Bridgeport List of States in America that Start with D List of states in America that start with D. Delaware- The capital is Dover and the largest city is Wilmington States that Start with the Letter E There are no states that start with the letter E. States that Start with F Here are the states that start with the letter F. Florida- The capital is Tallahassee and the largest city is Jacksonville States that Start with G Here are the states that start with the letter G. Georgia- The capital is Atlanta and the largest city is Atlanta States that Start with H Here are the states that start with the letter H. Hawaii- The capital is Honolulu and the largest city is Honolulu States that Start with I Here are the states that start with the letter I. Idaho- The capital is Boise and the largest city is Boise Illinois- The capital is Springfield and the largest city is Chicago Indiana- The capital is Indianapolis and the largest city is Indianapolis Iowa- The capital is Des Moines and the largest city is Des Moines States that Start with J There are no states that start with the letter J. States that Start with the Letter K Here are the states that start with the letter K. Kansas- The capital is Topeka and the largest city is Wichita Kentucky- The capital is Frankfort and the largest city is Lexington States that Start with L Here are the states that start with the letter L. Louisiana- The nickname for this state is the pelican state States that Start with M Here are the states that start with the letter M. Maine- The nickname for this state is the pine tree state Maryland- The nickname for this state is the free state Massachusetts- The nickname for this state is the bay state Michigan- The nickname for this state is the wolverine state Minnesota- The nickname for this state is the north star state Mississippi- The nickname for this state is the magnolia state Missouri- The nickname for this state is the show-me state Montana- The nickname for this state is the treasure state States that Start with N Here are the states that start with the letter N. Nebraska States that Start with O Here are the states that start with the letter O. Ohio States that Start with P Here is the state that starts with the letter P. Pennsylvania States that Start with Q There are no states that start with the letter Q. States that Start with R Here are the states that start with the letter R. Rhode Island States that Start with S Here are the states that start with the letter S. South Carolina States that Start with T Here are the states that start with the letter T. Tennessee States that Start with U Here are the states that start with the letter U. Utah States that Start with V Here are the states that start with the letter V. Vermont States that Start with W Here are the states that start with the letter W. Washington States that Start with X There are no states that start with the letter X. States that Start with Y There are no states that start with the letter Y. States that Start with the letter Z There are no states that start with the letter Z. List of Capitals in America Here is a complete list of state capitals in America. There are also some facts about each capital. List of State Capitals in America: 1. State: Alabama - Capital: Montgomery - Population: 205,764 - About Montgomery: Incorporated in 1819, Montgomery City was formed with the merger of two towns located along the Alabama River. It is known for its historic and cultural landmarks like the Alabama State Capitol, First White House of Confederacy, Alabama war memorial, Hanks William Memorial and many more. It is also home of important air force establishments. 2. State: Alaska - Capital: Juneau - Population: 31,275 - About Juneau: Juneau became the capital of Alaska in 1906. The city of Juneau is named after Joe Juneau, a gold prospector. Downtown Juneau is located at the sea level and surrounded by steep mountains. 3. Arizona - Capital: Phoenix - Population: 1,445,632 About Phoenix: Phoenix is the third state capital in the list of state capitals of US. Incorporated in 1881, Phoenix is the 6th most populous city in The US. The city is famous for its political culture, and many influential American politicians have come from this city. Phoenix is famous for its natural beauty, sunny skies and sports and cultural attractions. It also provides access to The Sonoran Desert. 4. State: Arkansas - Capital: Little Rock - Population: 193,524 About Little Rock: Little Rock gets its name from the small Rock formation near the south bank of Arkansas River. The city is known for its diverse economic climate. The city gave the US its first president in the form of Bill Clinton. 5. State: California - Capital: Sacramento - Population: 466,488 About Sacramento: Sacramento city is located at the confluence of two rivers – Sacramento River and American River. It is one of the most ethnically and racially integrated cities of US. 6. State: Colorado - Capital: Denver - Population: 600,158 About Denver: Placed near the confluence of South Platte River and Cherry Creek, Denver is known as Mile-High City as it is exactly 1-mile above sea level. The city was founded in 1858 as a mining town during Pikes Peak gold rush. It is famous for its scenic surroundings and Coors Beer. The city has the world's 11th busiest airport. 7. Connecticut - Capital: Hartford - Population: 124,775 About Hartford: Hartford is famous known as 'the Insurance capital of the world' as it is home to many large insurance companies. The city is known for its economic activity, and it is 2nd in the US in terms of per capita economic activity. 8. Delaware - Capital: Dover - Population: 36,047 About Dover: Incorporated in 1717, Dover is a small capital city with a tiny population. The city is famous for NASCAR races that are held at Dover International Speedway for two weekends a year. It attracts more than 100,000 spectators. 9. State: Florida - Capital: Tallahassee - Population: 181,376 About Tallahassee: Tallahassee is Florida's prominent college cities and is home to several universities. It is a regional centre for scientific research, and trade and agriculture. 10. State: Georgia - Capital: Atlanta - Population: 420,003 About Atlanta: Atlanta is famous for being a place of origin for Coca-Cola Company. It is also home to one of the world's busiest airports, thanks to Atlanta being one of the major business cities in the US. Big companies like Coca-Cola, AT&T, The Home Depot, UPS, Delta Airlines and CNN have their headquarters in Atlanta. 11. Hawaii - Capital: Honolulu - Population: 953,207 About Honolulu: Honolulu is known for the horrific Pearl Harbour attack in 1941. It is also famous for Arizona Memorial. The city skyline is marked by high-rises, and it ranks 4th in terms of high-rises in the US. 12. State: Idaho - Capital: Boise - Population: 205,671 About Boise: Idaho is famous for its farming of potatoes. Boise has attracted many hi-tech companies over the years that are also contributing to the economy. Call centre industry is one of the major sources of employment here. 13. Illinois - Capital: Springfield - Population: 116,250 About Illinois: Illinois is one of the nation's manufacturing leaders and is also known as a leader in music education. 14. State: Indiana - Capital: Indianapolis - Population: 820,445 About Indianapolis: The city is well-known for its annual Indianapolis 500 and the NHRA US Nationals. 15. Iowa - Capital: Des Moines - Population: 203,433 About Des Moines: Des Moines is the major centre for the insurance industry and financial services. 16. State: Kansas About Frankfort: Frankfort is known for Frankfort Cemetery, Old State Capitol and Old State Arsenal. 18. State: Louisiana - Capital: Baton Rouge - Population: 229,493 About Baton Rouge: It is a major industrial, medical and research center. Baton Rouge area, also known as the Capital Area is the first bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta. 19. State: Maine - Capital: Augusta - Population: 200,000 City, 500,000 Trade Region About Augusta: Augusta National is one of the most admired golf clubs in history for its beauty and legends. Every year in April, golf players from all over the world concentrate on the legendary golf course at Augusta National for the Master's Tournament. 20. State: Maryland - Capital: Annapolis - Population: 35,838 according to the 2000 Census About Annapolis: The city is known for its largest collection of eighteenth and nineteenth-century architecture. It has abundant examples of Victorian and other famous architectural styles such as Georgian mansions, Tudor Revival, Beaux Arts and many more. It became the country's first National Historic Landmark District. 21. State: Massachusetts- Capital: Boston - Population: 589,141 About Boston: Boston is known for the nation's first public park (The Boston Commons), the first public library and the first subway. This largest city of Massachusetts harbors some of the most popular historical sites in the country: the Boston Tea Party ship, Paul Revere House and Faneuil Hall. 22. State: Michigan -Capital: Lansing - Population: 114,297 (as of the census of 2010) About Lansing: Lansing is known as the car capital of North America. East Lansing is famous for its reputed Michigan State University. It is the only state capital that is not also a county seat. 23. State: Minnesota - Capital: St. Paul - Population: 275,000 About St. Paul: St. Paul is one of the twin cities (other one Minneapolis). Located on the Missisippi River, St. Paul is the home to seven Fortune 1000 Company Headquaters. The city is famous for its St. Paul Winter Carnival. 24. State: Mississippi - Capital: Jackson - Population: 173,514 (as of the census of 2010) About Jackson: Jackson is home to several major industries including processed food, electrical equipment and primary metal products. This modern city is known for its fun and festive events such as Farish Street festival, Missisippi Trade fair and Dixie National Rodeo. 25. State: Missouri - Capital: Jefferson City - Population: 43,079 About Jefferson City: Jefferson City is a historic place that is famous for its Missouri State Penitentiary, Civil War history and the state capitol. 26. State: Montana - Capital: Helena - Population: 28,180 About Helena: The city is home to Helena Brewers (minor league baseball team) and Helena Bighorns (tier III Junior ice hockey team). 27. State: Nebraska About Trenton: The city is known for "Battle of Trenton," George Washington's first military victory. 31. State: New Mexico - Capital: Santa Fe - Population: 67,947 About Santa Fe: It is known as the second largest art center in United States. It is the highest as well as the oldest state capital in the US. 32. State: New York - Capital: Albany - Population: 97,856 About Albany: Albany is known for its rich culture, architecture, history and institutions for higher education. It won the All-America City Award in 1991 and 2009. 33. State: North Carolina - Capital: Raleigh - Population: 403,892 About Raleigh: Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks for its many oak trees. Due to its high quality life and business climate, Raleigh was featured in the Top 10 Lists of Forbes and Money Magazine. 34. State: North Dakota - Capital: Bismarck - Population: 61,272 About Bismarck: Bismarck holds a major place in retail and health care and is the economic center of North and South Dakota. 35. State: Ohio - Capital: Columbus - Population: 2,031,229. About Columbus: This technologically advanced city is hub of research and development, including the Battelle Memorial Institute, Chemical Abstracts Service and Netjets and the Ohio State University. 36. State: Oklahoma About Salem: The city is known for Corban University and Willamette University. 38. State: Pennsylvania - Capital: Harrisburg - About Harrisburg: The city is known for its important role in the history of America. It is popular for its Pennsylvania Farm Show and annual outdoor Sports show. 39. State: Rhode Island - Capital: Providence - Population: 178,042 About Providence: Providence is one of the largest centers for jewelry and silverware designs and manufacturing. 40. State: South Carolina - Capital: Columbia - Population: 129,272 About Columbia: In the past the city has been rated as one of the America's 25 best places to retire. 41. State: South Dakota About Nashville: Also known as Music city, Nashville is the center to music industry. 43. State: Texas - Capital: Austin - Population: 790,390 About Austin: Many people all around the world travel to Austin just to attend incredible music events going throughout the year. 44. State: Utah - Capital: Salt lake city - Population: 180,000 About Salt Lake City: Salt Lake City is the base for outdoor recreational activities such as ski resorts. 45. State: Vermont - Capital: Montpelier - Population: 7,855 About Montpelier: It is the smallest state capital in the United States. Two important buildings in Montpelier are Vermont History Museum and Vermont State House. 46. State: Virginia - Capital: Richmond - Population: 204,214 About Richmond: Due to its great architectural style, Richmond is one of the major tourist attractions. 47. State: Washington
A. montana
Deriving its name from the Urdu for 'Water Monster' and predominantly found in India, what type of creature is a 'Mugger'?
List of States in America That Start With List of States in America That Start With Updated on June 26, 2015 The United States In recent news, the United States' president Barack Obama said that he has visited most of the 57 states in the United States. The video of Obama's speech has been making its rounds on the Internet. It was obviously a mistake on the president's part, but in reality, not many people probably even know how many states there are. Every single person knows what the United States are. Obama might have made a mistake, but surprisingly, not many people can name all of the states off the top of their head and quite a bit of people think that there are 52 states, 48 states or give or take a few more. There are 50 states in America and here is the list of them in alphabetical order. Some of the capitals have been listed next to the states and other fun facts are also listed besides others. List of States in America that Start with A List of states in America that start with A. Alabama- The capital is Montgomery and the largest city is Birmingham. Alaska- The capital is Juneau and the largest city is Anchorage. Arizona- The capital is Phoenix and the largest city is Phoenix. Arkansas- The capital is Little Rock and the largest city is Little rock. States that Start with the letter B There are no states that begin with the letter B. List of States in America that Start with C List of states in America that start with C. California- The capital is Sacramento and the largest city is Los Angeles Colorado- The capital is Denver and the largest city is Denver Connecticut- The capital is Hartford and the largest city is Bridgeport List of States in America that Start with D List of states in America that start with D. Delaware- The capital is Dover and the largest city is Wilmington States that Start with the Letter E There are no states that start with the letter E. States that Start with F Here are the states that start with the letter F. Florida- The capital is Tallahassee and the largest city is Jacksonville States that Start with G Here are the states that start with the letter G. Georgia- The capital is Atlanta and the largest city is Atlanta States that Start with H Here are the states that start with the letter H. Hawaii- The capital is Honolulu and the largest city is Honolulu States that Start with I Here are the states that start with the letter I. Idaho- The capital is Boise and the largest city is Boise Illinois- The capital is Springfield and the largest city is Chicago Indiana- The capital is Indianapolis and the largest city is Indianapolis Iowa- The capital is Des Moines and the largest city is Des Moines States that Start with J There are no states that start with the letter J. States that Start with the Letter K Here are the states that start with the letter K. Kansas- The capital is Topeka and the largest city is Wichita Kentucky- The capital is Frankfort and the largest city is Lexington States that Start with L Here are the states that start with the letter L. Louisiana- The nickname for this state is the pelican state States that Start with M Here are the states that start with the letter M. Maine- The nickname for this state is the pine tree state Maryland- The nickname for this state is the free state Massachusetts- The nickname for this state is the bay state Michigan- The nickname for this state is the wolverine state Minnesota- The nickname for this state is the north star state Mississippi- The nickname for this state is the magnolia state Missouri- The nickname for this state is the show-me state Montana- The nickname for this state is the treasure state States that Start with N Here are the states that start with the letter N. Nebraska States that Start with O Here are the states that start with the letter O. Ohio States that Start with P Here is the state that starts with the letter P. Pennsylvania States that Start with Q There are no states that start with the letter Q. States that Start with R Here are the states that start with the letter R. Rhode Island States that Start with S Here are the states that start with the letter S. South Carolina States that Start with T Here are the states that start with the letter T. Tennessee States that Start with U Here are the states that start with the letter U. Utah States that Start with V Here are the states that start with the letter V. Vermont States that Start with W Here are the states that start with the letter W. Washington States that Start with X There are no states that start with the letter X. States that Start with Y There are no states that start with the letter Y. States that Start with the letter Z There are no states that start with the letter Z. List of Capitals in America Here is a complete list of state capitals in America. There are also some facts about each capital. List of State Capitals in America: 1. State: Alabama - Capital: Montgomery - Population: 205,764 - About Montgomery: Incorporated in 1819, Montgomery City was formed with the merger of two towns located along the Alabama River. It is known for its historic and cultural landmarks like the Alabama State Capitol, First White House of Confederacy, Alabama war memorial, Hanks William Memorial and many more. It is also home of important air force establishments. 2. State: Alaska - Capital: Juneau - Population: 31,275 - About Juneau: Juneau became the capital of Alaska in 1906. The city of Juneau is named after Joe Juneau, a gold prospector. Downtown Juneau is located at the sea level and surrounded by steep mountains. 3. Arizona - Capital: Phoenix - Population: 1,445,632 About Phoenix: Phoenix is the third state capital in the list of state capitals of US. Incorporated in 1881, Phoenix is the 6th most populous city in The US. The city is famous for its political culture, and many influential American politicians have come from this city. Phoenix is famous for its natural beauty, sunny skies and sports and cultural attractions. It also provides access to The Sonoran Desert. 4. State: Arkansas - Capital: Little Rock - Population: 193,524 About Little Rock: Little Rock gets its name from the small Rock formation near the south bank of Arkansas River. The city is known for its diverse economic climate. The city gave the US its first president in the form of Bill Clinton. 5. State: California - Capital: Sacramento - Population: 466,488 About Sacramento: Sacramento city is located at the confluence of two rivers – Sacramento River and American River. It is one of the most ethnically and racially integrated cities of US. 6. State: Colorado - Capital: Denver - Population: 600,158 About Denver: Placed near the confluence of South Platte River and Cherry Creek, Denver is known as Mile-High City as it is exactly 1-mile above sea level. The city was founded in 1858 as a mining town during Pikes Peak gold rush. It is famous for its scenic surroundings and Coors Beer. The city has the world's 11th busiest airport. 7. Connecticut - Capital: Hartford - Population: 124,775 About Hartford: Hartford is famous known as 'the Insurance capital of the world' as it is home to many large insurance companies. The city is known for its economic activity, and it is 2nd in the US in terms of per capita economic activity. 8. Delaware - Capital: Dover - Population: 36,047 About Dover: Incorporated in 1717, Dover is a small capital city with a tiny population. The city is famous for NASCAR races that are held at Dover International Speedway for two weekends a year. It attracts more than 100,000 spectators. 9. State: Florida - Capital: Tallahassee - Population: 181,376 About Tallahassee: Tallahassee is Florida's prominent college cities and is home to several universities. It is a regional centre for scientific research, and trade and agriculture. 10. State: Georgia - Capital: Atlanta - Population: 420,003 About Atlanta: Atlanta is famous for being a place of origin for Coca-Cola Company. It is also home to one of the world's busiest airports, thanks to Atlanta being one of the major business cities in the US. Big companies like Coca-Cola, AT&T, The Home Depot, UPS, Delta Airlines and CNN have their headquarters in Atlanta. 11. Hawaii - Capital: Honolulu - Population: 953,207 About Honolulu: Honolulu is known for the horrific Pearl Harbour attack in 1941. It is also famous for Arizona Memorial. The city skyline is marked by high-rises, and it ranks 4th in terms of high-rises in the US. 12. State: Idaho - Capital: Boise - Population: 205,671 About Boise: Idaho is famous for its farming of potatoes. Boise has attracted many hi-tech companies over the years that are also contributing to the economy. Call centre industry is one of the major sources of employment here. 13. Illinois - Capital: Springfield - Population: 116,250 About Illinois: Illinois is one of the nation's manufacturing leaders and is also known as a leader in music education. 14. State: Indiana - Capital: Indianapolis - Population: 820,445 About Indianapolis: The city is well-known for its annual Indianapolis 500 and the NHRA US Nationals. 15. Iowa - Capital: Des Moines - Population: 203,433 About Des Moines: Des Moines is the major centre for the insurance industry and financial services. 16. State: Kansas About Frankfort: Frankfort is known for Frankfort Cemetery, Old State Capitol and Old State Arsenal. 18. State: Louisiana - Capital: Baton Rouge - Population: 229,493 About Baton Rouge: It is a major industrial, medical and research center. Baton Rouge area, also known as the Capital Area is the first bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta. 19. State: Maine - Capital: Augusta - Population: 200,000 City, 500,000 Trade Region About Augusta: Augusta National is one of the most admired golf clubs in history for its beauty and legends. Every year in April, golf players from all over the world concentrate on the legendary golf course at Augusta National for the Master's Tournament. 20. State: Maryland - Capital: Annapolis - Population: 35,838 according to the 2000 Census About Annapolis: The city is known for its largest collection of eighteenth and nineteenth-century architecture. It has abundant examples of Victorian and other famous architectural styles such as Georgian mansions, Tudor Revival, Beaux Arts and many more. It became the country's first National Historic Landmark District. 21. State: Massachusetts- Capital: Boston - Population: 589,141 About Boston: Boston is known for the nation's first public park (The Boston Commons), the first public library and the first subway. This largest city of Massachusetts harbors some of the most popular historical sites in the country: the Boston Tea Party ship, Paul Revere House and Faneuil Hall. 22. State: Michigan -Capital: Lansing - Population: 114,297 (as of the census of 2010) About Lansing: Lansing is known as the car capital of North America. East Lansing is famous for its reputed Michigan State University. It is the only state capital that is not also a county seat. 23. State: Minnesota - Capital: St. Paul - Population: 275,000 About St. Paul: St. Paul is one of the twin cities (other one Minneapolis). Located on the Missisippi River, St. Paul is the home to seven Fortune 1000 Company Headquaters. The city is famous for its St. Paul Winter Carnival. 24. State: Mississippi - Capital: Jackson - Population: 173,514 (as of the census of 2010) About Jackson: Jackson is home to several major industries including processed food, electrical equipment and primary metal products. This modern city is known for its fun and festive events such as Farish Street festival, Missisippi Trade fair and Dixie National Rodeo. 25. State: Missouri - Capital: Jefferson City - Population: 43,079 About Jefferson City: Jefferson City is a historic place that is famous for its Missouri State Penitentiary, Civil War history and the state capitol. 26. State: Montana - Capital: Helena - Population: 28,180 About Helena: The city is home to Helena Brewers (minor league baseball team) and Helena Bighorns (tier III Junior ice hockey team). 27. State: Nebraska About Trenton: The city is known for "Battle of Trenton," George Washington's first military victory. 31. State: New Mexico - Capital: Santa Fe - Population: 67,947 About Santa Fe: It is known as the second largest art center in United States. It is the highest as well as the oldest state capital in the US. 32. State: New York - Capital: Albany - Population: 97,856 About Albany: Albany is known for its rich culture, architecture, history and institutions for higher education. It won the All-America City Award in 1991 and 2009. 33. State: North Carolina - Capital: Raleigh - Population: 403,892 About Raleigh: Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks for its many oak trees. Due to its high quality life and business climate, Raleigh was featured in the Top 10 Lists of Forbes and Money Magazine. 34. State: North Dakota - Capital: Bismarck - Population: 61,272 About Bismarck: Bismarck holds a major place in retail and health care and is the economic center of North and South Dakota. 35. State: Ohio - Capital: Columbus - Population: 2,031,229. About Columbus: This technologically advanced city is hub of research and development, including the Battelle Memorial Institute, Chemical Abstracts Service and Netjets and the Ohio State University. 36. State: Oklahoma About Salem: The city is known for Corban University and Willamette University. 38. State: Pennsylvania - Capital: Harrisburg - About Harrisburg: The city is known for its important role in the history of America. It is popular for its Pennsylvania Farm Show and annual outdoor Sports show. 39. State: Rhode Island - Capital: Providence - Population: 178,042 About Providence: Providence is one of the largest centers for jewelry and silverware designs and manufacturing. 40. State: South Carolina - Capital: Columbia - Population: 129,272 About Columbia: In the past the city has been rated as one of the America's 25 best places to retire. 41. State: South Dakota About Nashville: Also known as Music city, Nashville is the center to music industry. 43. State: Texas - Capital: Austin - Population: 790,390 About Austin: Many people all around the world travel to Austin just to attend incredible music events going throughout the year. 44. State: Utah - Capital: Salt lake city - Population: 180,000 About Salt Lake City: Salt Lake City is the base for outdoor recreational activities such as ski resorts. 45. State: Vermont - Capital: Montpelier - Population: 7,855 About Montpelier: It is the smallest state capital in the United States. Two important buildings in Montpelier are Vermont History Museum and Vermont State House. 46. State: Virginia - Capital: Richmond - Population: 204,214 About Richmond: Due to its great architectural style, Richmond is one of the major tourist attractions. 47. State: Washington
i don't know
Native to America, what type of creature is a 'Bobolink'?
Bobolink, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology Typical Voice Size & Shape Bobolinks are small songbirds with large, somewhat flat heads, short necks, and short tails. They are related to blackbirds and orioles, and they have a similar shaped, sharply pointed bill. Color Pattern Breeding male Bobolinks are mostly black with a white back and rump, and a rich buffy nape. Females and nonbreeding males are warm buffy brown, streaked with dark brown on the back and flanks. They have bold brown stripes on the crown but are unstreaked on the nape of the neck. The bill is pinkish. Behavior In spring, male Bobolinks give conspicuous display flights low over grasslands, fluttering their wings while singing. At other times, Bobolinks stay hidden in tall grasses or brush, clinging to seed heads or foraging on the ground amid the stems. They often migrate in large flocks. Habitat Bobolinks are birds of tall grasslands, uncut pastures, overgrown fields and meadows, and the continent’s remaining prairies. While molting and on migration, look for them in marshes and in agricultural fields, particularly rice fields.
Bird (disambiguation)
With Michael Landon and Karen Grassle as the mother and father, what was the surname of the main family in the TV series Litle House on the Prairie?
Spirit Walk Ministry - Bird Animal Spirits Spirit Walk Ministry “a reading room for magical thinkers”   Bird Spirit Animals assist in matters of higher knowledge. They are symbols of strength, freedom and unity of fellow creatures. Albatross ,-- Stamina and endurance, ability to remain in emotional situations for extended periods of time, awkward yet effective beginnings and endings, seeing the benefits of extended parenting Anhinga ,-- The advantages of keeping wet, not wildly flapping to get somewhere, patiently waiting for the opportunity to spear your quarry Bee Eater -- Ability to see auras, use of color in healing, capture of moving objects, ability to dig to find answers Bird of Paradise -- Extravagant and elaborate thoughts. On the positive side, it can symbolize lightness, closeness to God, and removal from worldly concerns. Blackbird ,,-- A guide to understanding energies of Mother Earth. Blackbirds are known for their hypnotic song, calling from the gateway between two worlds, which is said to awaken the psychic mind. The Blackbird teaches how to use your voice for healing purposes. A familiar of the goddess Rhiannon Red Wing Blackbird -- A slow learner who can adapt quickly to new situations. One who will do anything to be noticed. Red-Winged Blackbirds are directly connected to the Goddess and primal feminine energies Yellow Headed Blackbird -- Blackbirds with a yellow head oversee nature and nature spirits. The egg of yellow blackbird egg represents new life, bringing hope for the revitalization of the mistreated land. Bluebird ,-- Bluebirds are a sign of spring and when the bluebirds show up there is a change in the climate, so the bluebird is a guardian of all passages and transitions that we make or are about to make. Your own fertility will increase and in your endeavors will no longer be stuck in "ice and snow". The song of the “bluebird of happiness” signifies a contentment and fulfillment that is happening or is about to happen. Bluebird shows how to find those joyful gems in everyday life with an appreciation anew. The bluebird teaches how to move through life with a gentle and patient persistence. Blue Jay ,-- (The word jay comes from the Latin word Gaea ,for Mother Earth) Linking directly to the power of the Earth and access to universal energies. Aggressive and noisy, driving others from resources. Hiding away more than needed to keep others from having it. Deceiving others by mimicking their behavior./(Negative characteristics often seen in humans, which makes them unpopular visitors.) The blue jay is fearless when it comes to protecting its partner, young and territory. So too are those with this animal as their totem. They will defend their positions against adversaries who seem much more powerful than themselves. They keep the same mate for life, which is symbolic of endurance, patience and loyalty. (see also "Jay" below) Blue Tit -- The Blue Tit represents a loyal and faithful love. Remember the great things in life, especially, those that have been successfully completed. Since Blue Tits never fly far distances from their homes, the sight of them always denote good tidings to a sailor.  It would mean that land is near. Blue Tits are also believed to carry the spirits of sailors who have died at sea, to their home in heaven. Bobolink (Reedbird) -- Awaken to the changesin perceptionsthat are unfolding before you. Pay attention to dualities and adjust perceptions accordingly. Trust your intuition and watch for synchronicities to show the way. This is a period of balancing the light and dark and grounding the physical with the spiritual. Be ready to reevaluate your position. Bobwhite -- (see under "Quail")   Booby -- Fearlessness, trust, agility in water, courtship display, understanding layers, depth perception.  A booby will never make a hawk. The booby allows itself to be fleeced by other birds, will never become a bird of prey itself. Bowerbird /-- Creating elaborate surroundings (bowers) to impress others. Acquiring a dowry to attract a mate. A need to make sensible and practical preparations for the future. Positive materialism Budgerigar -- see under "Parrot" Bunting -- Knowledge and intelligence with an emphasis on utilizing your voice to "sing" your thoughts to speak from the heart. Learn to camouflage yourself in order to rest along with showing oneself when it is time. Emotions may need to surface or remain hidden in order to heal. Pay attention to the color of the bunting for this may mean adding color and vitality to life Blue Bunting -- Good, truth and love with spiritual origins. White Bunting -- Bringer of light and emphasis on purity, cleansing and healing. Bustard -- The biggest thing flying. A faith that Spirit and Mother Earth will provide what is needed. If you can get through the first year you will make it. Butcher Bird (Shrike) -- A predatory songbird, fearless and bold. A ferocious killer that will impale its victims. Check out your surroundings, know the value of having a surplus Buzzard -- (see: 'Vulture/Turkey Vulture') Canary -- A domesticated songbird, a Canary totem gives you the power of your voice. Beauty of voice, use of song in healing and enlightening, finding your souls song, ability to find joy in song during times in darkness, the importance of fresh air Caracara (Mexican Eagle) -- National bird of Mexico, Attraction to the colour red, Clear vision, Connection to wetlands, Ability to see problems sharply. Conserve available resources for it is a sign of dark times to come. Cardinal ( Redbird ) -- Cardinal is a reminder that this is an opportunity to recognize the importance of discovering life's purpose. The bright red color of the cardinal is symbolic. The color red represents the blood or life force of the Mystic Christ. (The Cardinal's name derives from the bright red robes of the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.) In yoga the color red represents the vital force of the kundalini and the root chakra . The Cardinal signifies that.once on a spiritual path there is no turning back. The balancing of spiritual ideals and physical desires is necessary in order to achieve harmony so that life's purpose may be revealed and you will be able,to find your soul song. Add color to life and remember that every song you sing is important. Cassowary /-- Jumping feet first into confrontations and knocking down the opposition. Address your need of Sacred Space and how you treat the Sacred Space of others. Catbird /-- Language and communication, be careful what you say and to whom you say it, make it a point to mind your own business Chickadee /-- Chickadee is among the most intelligent of the small songbirds, and has a wide range of vocalizations. The recognizable sound "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" is a warning call as well as a rallying cry to other birds. The number of "dees" indicates the severity of the threat. In Native American myth, Chickadee is regarded as a speaker of the truth. This Spirit can alert you to an ambush or hidden danger.  Chicken /-- Fertility and sacrifice, pecking out the answers that escape others, protection of family and community. Known for their hardiness chickens will run quickly and frantically away from danger. When danger is close they take off with a loud explosion which startles their predator. They are mindful creatures that have extreme sensitivity. Chickens feel the vibrations of mother earth and all life forms that inhabit her. This indicates its empathic abilities. Because empaths literally absorb the energy of everything around them a high strung nervous system can develop. If nervous energy isn't expressed in a balanced way sporadic unpredictable behavior can occur. Yoga or any other form of meditative movement can help those with this medicine acquire balance. Rooster -- Roosters are considered sacred symbols in Japan, calling Shinto followers to prayer with its morning crow at dawn. The Rooster is considered a time-keeper and is a sign of time passing in our lives. Hearing a Rooster's voice may indicate we need a wake-up call, and need to pay attention to some circumstances in our lives. A solar symbol, symbol of sexuality, vain, likes gifts and attention, rising to meet the Sun, drives off evil spirits of the darkness Cockatoo/Cockatiel -- see under "Parrot" Condor ,-- Soaring above limitations, imminent changes, knowledge concerning the dead, a new vision through death and rebirth Andean Condor -- Condors motivate us to collectively reach out and share the knowledge we have stored within ourselves. Mapuche Indian Proverb: Dont try to be a Condor, because the mountains are high. California Condor -- Condor people are inspired to restore balance Cormorant -- Cormorants are expert swimmers and divers and can show us how to dive in and to swim where we wouldn't think possible. When the cormorant appears it means you can accomplish in unique ways what others could not seem to do. It appears in your life as a message dive into to what you have been hesitating to do. Dive deeper for answers and solutions. Corncrake -- So called because of its fondness for feeding in grain fields. An elusive nature, but its loud call ensures that it gets noticed. A warning of misfortune to come if you do not make your voice heard. Be wary for the corncrake may also warn that you might be lured into doing something that can cause you troubles and may result in you getting arrested or hunted.  Cowbird -- The Cowbird does not build a nest of its own. The female lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species and then the host parents raise the cowbird chick as their own. So those with cowbird totem can start off with child abandonment and adoption issues. As time goes on these factors will present situations that will change your perception of realtionships and awaken you to the need to pay attention to interactions in relationships. Danger of developing behavior patterns of avoiding responsibilities and parasitic relationships. Crane ,-- The crane is a prehistoric bird with great symbolic meaning and has long been associated with royalty, balance, grace, and longevity. They can comfortably move between water, land, earth, and sky and they can open doors between all worlds, realms, times and traditions. Cranes can be fierce fighters when necessary and because of this they can achieve new heights and new spiritual experiences. Cranes mate for life and symbolize faithfulness and protection of family.  Brolga -- An inspired dancer. A sacred dance that will carry you into other realms. A love of the theater. Sandhill Cranes -- They are high flyers, always announcing their presence with loud calls. Because of this they are often considered noble guardians, calling out loudly to forewarn. When the Sandhill Crane appears there is usually something in our life we need to watch out for and pay attention. White Crane -- In China it is "Honorable Lord Crane", the ancient symbol of law and karmic justice. A master of defensive maneuvers. Whooping Crane -- A symbol of the wildlife conservation movement. Its haunting whooping sound is reminiscent of a primal celebration over birth. The crane can teach you how to celebrate your creative resources. Your actions may influence more than you think Crow -- The Keeper of the Universal Sacred Law. Nothing escapes the keen sight of the Crow and it instills the wisdom to see things beyond the limitations of one-dimensional thinking. Crow calls to see beyond cultural limitations and the accepted rules of right and wrong. Crow is an omen of change and when experiencing something new watches closely to see what happens and then learns from it. Learn to recognize potential danger and be watchful in vulnerable times. Watch what you believe and question your ideas about reality against a more universal standard. The crow is the spirit which represents the transcendence that will reveal the true path to life's mission. Crow merges both light and dark, both inner and outer and when in the darkness of emotional pain and turmoil the crow is the Carrier of Lost Souls into Light. The Crow /has a message for you! Native American Totem Animal for "Libra" (The Celtic Goddess ' Morrigan ' will often appear in the guise of the crow.) Jackdaw -- Feisty, annoying, and territorial birds of the crow family. Jackdaws fight by launching themselves at each other feet-first and then wrestling with their feet intertwined and pecking at each other.  Jackdaws are always beaten in fights with crows and rooks, and so their arguments tend to be amongst themselves. If the jackdaw wishes to make a friend it will swoop over them, wagging its tail as it does so.   Much like crows, jackdaws are black may signify health issues and even death. The jackdaw warns you to be wary of evil and negativity abounding in your life and to understand that sometimes you cannot be prepared for the worst of times. Jackdaws are very evil and ill omens. There is one area that jackdaws are positive omens and this is in romance. Jackdaws mate for life and seeing them just before being married or when committing to a relationship is a sign that you will be with the person for life.  Rook -- A great deal of mythology has been associated with rooks and rookeries .  Communal by nature rooks are individuals when it comes to the defense of their places within the rookery. They see off intruders whenever they catch them stealing material from nests to use in the creation of their own nests. This often happens, leading to some raucous and violent scenes. The agro attracts other rooks that gather around voicing their disapproval of the crime. Psycho pomp, mythologies and folklore relating to bad fortune, weather forecasting, planning according to weather cycles, delighting in the concept of community, politics and judging others according to their beliefs, belief systems, an affiliation with death and the concept of death, questioning luck.  Cuckoo -- It is the time is for new beginnings and Cuckoo will show how to move at this time, heralding a new fate. Cuckoo shows how to maneuver through the physical world and to be more sensitive to other worlds. Trust your intuitions and look deeper for solutions. A diet balanced with protein and fruits so be aware of your diet.,It is,time to migrate or remain, time to be active or a time to rest. Pay attention to the eyes and care for them and how to walk carefully by feeling vibrations. You may notice feet sensitivity as you attune the senses. Curlew -- Long believed by the Celts to be associated with sorrow. One of the names that the Highlanders have for the curlew is 'Guilbhron' (Wail of Sorrow) or 'Guilbinn' (Wailing Music). The curlew is the bird of Dalua , the faerie fool, who is often called "The Shadow Lord". It is said to be a Storm Bringer. Dove /-- Associated with many goddesses, (most notably the Greek goddess Aphrodite ), it is considered the embodiment of the maternal instinct. When the dove appears it is signaling a time to go within and to release emotional discord. It assists in releasing the memories of past trauma. The dove bestows healing on all levels so that when inner turmoil is released the possibility of peace and prosperity awaits. A spirit messenger bringing communication between the realms of the conscious and the unconscious. Brown Dove -- Represents a subconscious thought that is less than clear. Somewhere between awareness and ignorance, leaning to the side of being unaware. Give attention to being clearer about what is needed. Laughing Dove -- Sacred to the goddess Venus, the Queen of Laughter.  There is a joke hidden somewhere in this situation. Mourning Dove /-- Represents Spirit and communication with Spirit through all other creatures. When the mourning dove appears there will be messages and opportunities for growth. (Commonly thought of as a potential symbol of a coming death, but only if it is seen/under extremely unusual circumstances.) Turtle Dove (Palm Dove) -- The two turtledoves in Holy Scripture and in literature presents a picture of devotion and covenant loving kindness. It is a sublime vision of earthly love and friendship. Two is the number of witness. One person is standing up on behalf of his friend, his companion. White Dove -- Universal symbol of peace and hope for the future. Duck ,-- Connection to the feminine and the astral plane, maneuvering through the emotional waters with grace and comfort, assisting others through emotional entanglements, spirit helper of mystics and seers, comfortable with other ethnicities. Duck will also help filter out what is not needed, what is important and discern what is true from what is false. Duck shows emotional comfort and protection and teaches how to move with grace and comfort in actions, emotions and thoughts and aids in balancing the mind and emotions (the physical and spiritual) and discerning when to move while easing the transitions between the worlds. Duck will show new opportunities so be alert, quick and speedy movements will help ideas to take flight. Pay attention to the variety of colors of Duck for further insight. (Bold colored ducks hold the qualities of strength and perseverance, iridescent colored ducks call you to examine your emotions) Ducks are also a Celtic animal symbol of honesty, simplicity and resourcefulness Mallard Duck -- Mallards are symbolic of emotions, as they are associated with the water element. In Feng Shui , Mallards are symbolic of relationships and commitment.  They don't like to be alone, they reference to the need to be around those of like mind, where you feel comfortable and safe. (Mallards don't mate for life, but they do mate for the season) Sea Duck -- Tailor made for a life at sea. A delayed maturity that many never reach.A snappy appearance.The marine corps of the bird world Eagle ,-- A Sacred Messenger from Heaven and,the,Eye of the Sun. The eagle lives in the spirit realm and it carries prayers to the Creator and returns with a vision. The eagle possesses healing spiritual power and their magical feathers assist medicine men and women in connecting with Spirit for healing. Eagles will mate on the wind and they symbolize the power of creation when released from the confines of the Earthly realm,with a lesson of staying grounded when soaring high.,The eagle teaches that with limited vision we may not see the things that lie before us and how to look at life from a higher perspective. Bald Eagle ,-- Swiftness, strength, courage, wisdom, ability to see hidden spiritual truths, rising above the material to see the spiritual, connection to spirit guides and teachers Golden Eagle ,-- Understands the cycles of the Sun, clear vision, sees from the highest places, spiritual power of the Sun Wedge-tailed Eagle ,-- The Persecuted King. Upperworld Messenger. Pride. Transcending the Ego. Flight of the Spirit. White-tailed Eagle -- A particularly sociable eagle, and this is reflected in the emotional support that he offers as a power animal. A powerful and agile hunter of fish, he can delve into the unconscious of his shaman companion to retrieve hidden images and influences with his sure and strong talons. Emu ,-- The Emu is a symbol of blame and forgiveness. In many Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime stories the Emu is cast as a troublesome, unreasonable and quarrelsome creature, who missed special opportunities and friendships due to the instigation of conflict. The message of the Emu is the examination of personal fears, unrealistic expectations and communications to bring harmony to relationships. Fulfill your responsibilities while you explore your possibilities Falcon ,-- Comes when you require higher vision and knowledge, being in a position to see everything, knowing when to fully commit and act, teaching how to ride the wind. Accompanies the soul back to the soul world, soul healing. The Falcon represents visionary power and leads you to your life purpose. The Falcon carries a message of transition and change. Native American Totem Animal for "Aries" Krestel -- The kestrel is a symbol for recognizing opportunities and acting upon them at only the correct moment. It teaches speed and accuracy of action as falcons use their plunge to kill their prey, striking it hard. The kestrel and any falcon can teach us to know when to act, and how to fully commit to our actions, as well as how to use our strengths for the greatest success. Peregrine Falcon -- Nobody's faster, know when to act and how to act, act upon opportunity, observing from on high, meditation and deep spiritual studies Fantail -- Curiosity, Ability to change directions quickly, Inter-species communication, Connection to water spirits. Finch ,-- An entertaining litlte singer expressing what makes its heart sing. Traditionally, the finch is an oracle of celebration and upcoming festivities and these are song birds, and their music herald the beginningounty of spring. The Finch’s symbolism is also seen in their flight patterns. Unlike most birds, who simply take the quickest and most efficient route from point A to point B, these songbirds make their journey in flight into a dance, twisting and turning throughout the air for no purpose other than enjoyment. Finch totem people also are often stuck raising other's children [see: Cowbird] Galpagos Finches ( Darwin's Finches ) -- Can change "in the blink of an eye", inspiration for revolutionary ideas. Goldfinch -- Awakening to nature spirits (fairies and elves), resolving family conflicts, at home in the rural or urban life, first marriage difficulties, wardrobe changes Weaver Finch -- Weaver finches do not do well in a crisis and try to avoid difficult and uncomfortble situations. Some with this totem will do alright in a crisis while others tend to fall apart under the same circumstances. Flamingo -- Ability to cleanse and filter what emotionally nourishes and heals, understanding how to maintain balance Flicker -- New rhythm of growth and healing power, love, balance   Flycatcher -- Proper use of diversion in deceiving enemies. Ability to change direction rapidly. Ability to judge distance.  Frigatebird -- A seafarer that cannot swim, puffing up the chest to appear important, will defend its own turf but no other, a pirate and a thief Frogmouth -- Seek out the secrets being held by the Elders. Learn the ancient stories. Often mistaken for a wise old owl. Gallinule (see: "Moorhen") Godwit -- To the Maori they are birds of mystery: They are said to accompany the wairua (soul) of the departed back to Hawaiki , the source and destination of life. Goldfinch -- (see under “Finch”) Goose /-- The symbol of the sacred circle and its migration announces the passage of the Great Circle of the Year. Sacred bird in the temples of the Roman Goddess Juno ,,and it is the totem of the Winter Solstice for the Native Americans. The goose reminds us of the stories we are drawn to that often reflect our life mission. The goose is a call to the vision quest, travel and new adventure and the celebration of victory with dance. The goose never leaves one of its own kind behind. Geese annually migrate to warmer climates during the winter. Should a goose become injured during this trek, another goose will leave the migrating flock to stay with its fallen comrade. An individual whose outer personality is one of determination and resourcefulness, goose souls may become so single-minded in their drive to provide a safe nest for their mate and offspring that they may ultimately attain their beautiful and sturdy nest, only to turn around when it has been achieved to find there is no mate with whom to share it. Native American Totem Animal for "Capricorn" Canada Goose -- Cooperative and communal behavior, never leave the weak behind Grackle ,-- Grackles are very happy birds that look past the emotional turmoil and find joy in the smallest of things. Black is the color of the inner and the feminine and the purple and bronze coloring about the head especially usually indicates that emotions are coloring the thinking process. Situations are not always what they appear to be; particularly when dealing with emotions. Emotions that are not dealt with can even go on to produce physical congestion in the body. Grackles love to live in pine trees and the essence of pine can be used to help alleviate strong emotional states, particularly feelings of guilt. The grackle showing up is a sign that it is time to clear away emotional congestion and to deal with your emotions. Grebe -- Grebes are funny-looking little birds, with their red eyes, squashed backside, and wobbling gait. In Native American legends they are not merely comical but are also a symbol of perseverance and fearlessness. In Celtic mythology the grebe is a guardian of the spirit world. The grebe will help in seeing beauty in the mundane. Grosbeak ,-- Healing the family heart, when it comes to relationships the male and female sing a different song Rose Breasted Grosbeak -- Undergoing a time of pain and a reminder that the pain will pass. Healing through music and sound therapy Grouse ,-- Sacred dancing & drumming drawing one into the higher consciousness of the Dance of the Sacred Spiral . Focusing on what is needed to be manifest and through movement creating the energy to accomplish it. Understanding the circular nature of time. Guide to perceiving the order within the Sacred Geometry . (see also: 'Water Animal Spirits/Nautilus') Prairie-Chicken ,-- Spirit dancer, shaman singer, attachment to the hereditary land. "Avoid taking on others responsibilities to the detriment of your own." Ruffed Grouse -- Quite trusting of others and friendly. But if that trust is broken, it will be very difficult to regain it. This leaves two states for people interacting with a grouse totem. They will either be a good friend or they will never be seen. Willow Grouse (Ptarmigan) -- Balance masculine and feminine energies whether and be neutral in actions and dominant only when needed. Changes will come in three stages where letting go of the past, grounding and timing will best serve. Learn the art of camouflage Gull ,-- Spiritual messengers that demonstrate that a higher communication is taking place spiritually with the deities. Gulls also teaches releasing fear by showing that there are many perspectives to consider and it is time to change yours. Soar above your problems, watch how you behave and don't be a pest Herring Gull -- Always a complicated story, body language reveals the truth, prefers water to wine, gets what it wants,by bullying Seagull ,-- The Seagull is a survivor and will survive under the worst conditions. It can go for long periods of time without food and will eat anything if they have to in order to survive. It represents stamina, perseverance, and cunning. But it can also be mischievous, selfish, and quarrelsome. The power of the Seagull can also get rid of negative powers, such as when thousands of grasshoppers ravaged the Midwest back in the 1930s and seagulls were sent by the Great Creator to purify the pestilence. A flock of Seagulls inland flying around in circles is a warning that a bad storm is coming. Hawk ,-- Hawk is the Messenger of the Great Spirit, the protector and the visionary; delivering omens, spirit messages and blessings from the Creator in order that you may see the larger picture. It holds the key to higher levels of consciousness. This totem awakens vision, recalls past lives and inspires a creative life purpose. Be careful not to become caught up in the details; fly higher so you can see the big picture, the overall view. Observe and study your surroundings and work on accepting things the way they are, rather than forcing change. Soar high above the mundane and everyday problems and be reminded of the great responsibility of diligently working to fulfill your soul's purpose. Harrier ,-- Sky dancer, constantly changing sides, getting in on the ground floor, a "Ramblin' Man" Nighthawk -- Patient, nocturnal vision, resting when others cannot Red-Shouldered Hawk -- Living in the old neighborhood, being mobbed, losing your home, joining with one enemy to challenge another Red-Tailed Hawk  -- A Red-Tailed Hawk is a special totem. It has direct ties to the Kundalini , the seat of the primal life force. It teaches of higher expressions of psychic ability and vision, lessons of awareness and insight. The Red-Tailed Hawk represents the Sun and the Great Horned Owl the Moon.  Heron ,-- The Heron is symbolic in many cultures. In Egypt the Heron is honored as the creator of light. In China the Heron represents strength, purity, patience and long life. In Africa, the Heron was a messenger from the Gods. Native American tribes held the blue heron as a very good omen and they saw the heron as an expert fisher and hunter and sighting a heron before a hunt was a sign that the hunt would be a good one.  Heron represents  the Holy Spear , and the concept of spear magic. Look at the imagery of spears and arrows, and start visualising aiming for your goals with spears to make sure you're 'on target'. The holy spear, is also the messenger from the gods, and heron comes into our lives like an arrow from the gods, to make sure that we're on target too.Heron's slow, deliberate manner produces a ceremonial aura and displays the harmonious natural flow of being ourselves. Heron people prefer complete isolation...but are equally at ease in a crowdof peers. Bittern ,-- Heed promises made Egret -- Provides safe passage to the soul world, peace bringer, self-confidence, wading rather than swimming, symbol of the Audubon Society Great Blue Heron ,-- Assert your authority and strike while you can Hoopoe -- Humility in the wearing of laurels and fame, cleansing oneself, using odor for defense, tunneling as a means of escape. Hoopoe teaches the ability to tap into ancient wisdom to reach your own profound sense of regality. (The hoopoe gives warning when it detectes changes in the atmosphere that herald an electrical storm. It detects earthquake light and piezoelectric charges on split rocks, in the ten or twelve hours prior an earthquake.) This bird signals ways to tap into your energy body and to connect to higher realms. She demonstrates touching Mother Earth for balance.  (Hoopoe: from the Middle French word duppe.,One that is easily deceived or cheated; "to deceive by underhanded means. It suggests the unwariness of a person deluded.) Hornbill -- Ability to rear young alone, Protection of young, Pecking your way through obstacles, Breaking out of difficult situations. Hummingbird -- The Aztecs of Mexico regarded the hummingbird as a warrior. Despite the hummingbird's delicate appearance, it is a bold, quarrelsome bird who will readily attack any intruder that strays in,to its territory. The hummingbird is a symbol for accomplishing that which seems impossible. The hummingbird is all about making the effort and going the distance. The hummingbird is tireless in its efforts to sustain itself over vast migratory paths. Its tiny body is designed for ultimate efficiency and,it taps into massive energy stores to maintainits high pace. This totem reminds us to explore the past and extract the sweetness from it. It can help you find joy and sweetness in any situation. Grab joy as swiftly as you can. Ibis ,-- Connected to the Egyptian gods/goddesses and the moon. The ibis symbolizes wisdom and the ability to work magick. The ibis lives on cobras, the poisonous serpent means creative force misused and as eaten by the ibis it shows man protected and saved by Wisdom. In ancient Egypt the ibis was the totem of the god of knowledge Thoth, representing great wisdom. Modern bird watchers have noted that the Ibis is a gregarious bird, mixing easily with those from other species. Jackdaw-- see under "Crow" Jaeger (Skua Bird) -- A character who sticks up for their own kind and looks after their own. Upsetting others by bullying to get them to cough up what they have, often working in a pair. Jay ,-- (The word jay comes from the Latin word Gaea ,for Mother Earth)  Jay spirit bestows an understanding of how to use power wisely, warning, courage, ability to check on future trouble spots, Jay’s show us how to use personal power correctly and effectively, reminding us to pay attention and to not allow ourselves to be put in a situation where power is misused against us. Jays symbolise huge talent, but this talent must be developed and used correctly. (See also "Blue Jay" above) Gray Jay -- Thievery, trickery. (The Gray Jay only exists in North America, so its mythology is completely North American.) It has been equated with the Algonquin crane spirit ' Wisakedjak ', which gave rise to its name 'Whiskey Jack'. Wisakedjak was a trickster figure responsible for a great destroying flood and for creating the world with magic. He was a master thief and loves to play tricks on people. The Algonquin natives so hated his thieving that if they caught a Gray Jay, they would pluck it alive if they could catch it. To the Cree , while still a thief and trickster he is seen as a psychopomp type of divine figure. They love to pull pranks but it's done with such good humor that they are always forgiven for their transgressions Stellar's Jay -- Lessons of adaptation to any situations and learning quickly. Risk taking, seizing opportunities and discovering new avenues for exploration. It demonstrates risk taking, seizing opportunities and discovering new avenues for exploration. Stellar's Jay also demonstrates that anything of value, spiritual growth and relationships takes work … and a bit of cunning, as they are very adept at stealing from campers and picnicers when their backs are turned. Western Scrub Jay ,(California Jay and Long-Tailed Jay) -- Unusual yet functional family units, scrub wisdom and connection to scrub spirits, theft and appropriation, urban wisdom, growth in urban areas, material wealth, saving something for later, delayed gratification, adapting and learning, great intelligence. Junco -- Expression of Spirit, increased activity and opportunity, pay attention to how you express yourself Kestrel -- Kestrel shows how to discover ones personal rhythm and act accordingly. As ones personal energy field is increased and broader vision is developed, one learns when to act and when not to. Kestrel teaches speed and action of thoughts must be done with a balance mind and heart along with patience to act at the opportune time. Kestrel aids in seeking out truths with clarity by illuminating the path. Killdeer ,-- A precocious little bird who runs into new experiences with its eyes wide open. One who gets along with those who are different and takes advantage of the opportunities these encounters provide. When you approach an adult the killdeer it may suddenly develop a broken wing. It struggles in front of you, as if it can barely walk, let alone fly. One or both wings drag pitifully on the ground. Somehow, while struggling to keep its balance, the killdeer manages to stay one step ahead of you. As you pursue it, the killdeer leads you farther and farther away from its downy killdeer babies crouching on the ground or half hidden under a tiny bush. When the killdeer feels that the young are safe from you, its broken wing heals suddenly, and the bird flies away, calling a loud "KILL-DEE" that sounds like a jeer. Kingbird -- Love of open spaces, defense of environment, tenacity, fearlessness, balanced vision Kingfisher ,-- Ability to express oneself in a clear and concise manner, past life connections relating to the misuse of the ego Kite -- Graceful and buoyant, responding with grace and gentleness, mediumship and a connection to the underworld, learning how to breathe to open psychic awareness. Kite will bring about truths and wisdom while keeping the watery emotions in balance and will teach how to skim the surface of knowledge to collect what you need for the moment. Observe carefully what is around you as resources will appear. Mississippi Kite -- Being able to bring great darkness into the light, being unafraid to fly, caring for and helping others, wind energy, being a spiritual messenger, all spiritual messages, inner and outer grace, a connection to death, the shadows and the underworld. Kiwi -- Connection to the ancient wisdom of the Maori , ability to scratch out the truth, understanding earth changes Kookaburra -- A disarming laugh that is used to deceive, diving headlong into situations, a need to live as close to water as possible Krestel -- (see under: "Falcon") Lapwing --,Its name derives from its wavering flight. The lapwings meaning is disguise is the secret. The Greek proverb; more deceitful than a lapwing meant an artful beggar and this comes from the artful way in which the lapwing adapts its behavior to differing threats from differing predators combining illusion and discernment. It knows how to work a situation to its best advantage. Another interesting part of the spiritual myth of the lapwing is its connection to the goddess Ostara and the Easter Bunny. The myth goes that Ostara changed a lapwing into a hare to be her animal totem. (In the spring, the lapwing nests on the ground and hares have been known to sit in these nests therefore looking like they are hatching eggs.) Lark ,-- The mystery of sound, the power of voice, being awakened to your sacred song Loon ,-- Awakening of the imagination, the ability to separate the real from the unreal in the search for the truth, a haunting call that speaks of your dreams and wishes, pay attention to your dreams. Lyrebird --,A timid, shy and solitary figure. Mixing a voice of its own with the voices of others. Songs and stories of long ago. Genetic memory stored in the DNA. (Appears on the Australian 10 cent piece.) Mackaw -- see under "Parrot" Magpie -- "The Cunning Prophet". Occult knowledge, can open the door to the Spirit World, use of everyday ritual, jack of all trades and master of none, witch's familiar . The Magpie is common in European folklore and superstition. Generally speaking, the bird is associated with unhappiness and trouble. This may be because of its well known tendency to "steal" shiny objects, as well as its harsh, chattering call. In many parts of the United Kingdom spying a single magpie is considered an omen of bad fortune and saluting the magpie is a way of showing the proper respect in hope that the magpie won't pass on some of the misfortune that follows it. As magpies usually mate for life seeing one on its own is as sign of sorrow because it's lost it's mate, whereas if you see two it's is a sign of joy as it's with it's mate. This is why when you see a single magpie you ask after it's wife, thus suggesting it has a mate and is in fact happy.  Australian Magpie -- Spiritual custodian of cultural rule and law. Home protection. Making new friends. Gossip. Attacking people behind their back. Paranoia. The beauty of song. Aggressive territoriality. Attack. Malleefowl -- Parenting. Going to great lengths for your children. Incubation. Going within. Patience. Caring for what you create. Nesting. Giving Your Creations Freedom. Knowing the inner earth. Trusting your instincts and intuition. Manakin – “The Moonwalking Bird” The male manakin seeks out a mate by performing a unique and strange ritual that involves snapping his wings and dancing on the branch. By moving back and forth across the branch, this brightly colored male bird attracts the attention of his desired female. Sound is just as important. The buzzes, whirrs and snaps may catch a lady's eye, but the noise also warns other males-back off. A bird nerd rarely gets the girl, so show off your steps and if all else fails, show some leg. Martin -- Teaches cooperation, establishing peace, shows team work and community action. Pay attention to ancestral ways. Martin shows how to take flight with aerial precision. Higher realms may be opening at this time which is a time to expand spiritually and go beyond comfort level. Watch for and keep aware of new opportunities. These chances may prove to be long lasting if you listen to Martin.  Meadowlark -- Cheerful journey inward, sublimation, imagination, courageous, going inward for answers Megapode -- Born of the heat of the volcanic furnace. Springing forth, Athena like, fully grown.  Mound builders who incubate their eggs buried in the ground. The association of the birds hatching from the volcanic soil has caused local natives of the South Pacific to see these birds more as evil spirits than totems. Mockingbird ,-- Finding your sacred songs and learning your life's purpose, recognition of your innate abilities, overcoming fear, learning through experience. Exposing to mockery those people and,things that can hurt you and in doing so robbing them of the power to hurt you. ("To Kill A Mockingbird",is to take away the innocence of a child) Moorhen (Marsh Chicken) -- Connection to water vegetation, Ability to move above ones environment, Diversity of color and race, Use of voice. Gallinule -- (Alae 'Ula) The Gallinule is one of the sacred birds of the Native Hawaiian people. The legend says that in the days before fire was known to the people Gallinule took pity on them, flying to the home of the gods (the volcanoes), stealing fire and bringing and brought it back to earth. During his flight the Gallinule's formerly white forehead was scorched by the volcano’s fires, (gallinules bear a red frontal mark on their heads), thus got its name "alae" signifying a burnt forehead. Murre -- Dive deep for answers, cold weather activities, no fixed abode Mynah -- Prolific talker and mimic, ability to learn a new language, traveling with large groups, an aristocratic pet Nightingale -- Soft tempered, good speaker, smooth movement and voice, keeper of the night. When a nightingale appears it is there to teach you the healing power of song and to move through fear and shadow with grace. Nutcracker -- Cracking open the outer shell in order to find what is hidden inside. Life tied directly to diet, willing to travel long distances, stay at home dad, yearning for the pine forests Nuthatch -- Grounding of faith and higher wisdom. You need to crack something open to get at the truth. Oriole ,-- Ability to see how life is woven together, connection to tree spirits, ability to connect others to the fairy realm. Oriole is the symbol of approaching summer or sunshine, usually within a two-week period. An Oriole totem reflects this symbolism bringing sunshine (or positive changes) to your life and/or current projects. Osprey ,-- The osprey is connected to all aspects of solar worship. Osprey teaches how to plunder our resources and the necessity to move outside of our comfort zones in order to do this. Osprey teaches us to take risks, and to not be frightened of grasping opportunities just because they seem like they're out of our reach. Keen sight in seeing through illusions, freedom of spirit, connection to the Moon, understanding weather especially lightning Ostrich ,-- Learning how to use knowledge in a non-threatening way, become less visible, outrunning adversaries, avoidance and denial Owl -- The owl is ruler of the night and seer of souls. The owl is honored as the keeper of spirits who had passed from one plane to another. Often myth indicates the owl accompanying a spirit to the underworld; winging it's newly freed soul from the physical world into the realm of spirit. Bringer of wisdom, revealer of secrets and omens, intuition and clairvoyance. Brings clarity and illumination to dreams, (Moon magick). The "night eagle", seeing and hearing that which others cannot. Be aware of omens and portents for the owl brings the power to extract secrets,out of the,darkness. Native American Totem Animal for "Sagittarius". (' Lilith ', who was the first wife of Adam in the Garden of Eden and in Christian lore was said to be the first witch, is often depicted as appearing in the form of a screech owl or with screech owls as familiars . The owl is also the familiar of goddess' Athena ') Barn Owl ,-- Knowledge coming from intense scrutiny that is kept for information and not,directly used. Connection to house spirits. Mediumship. Burrowing Owl , -- Little bird with big ambitions, likes the daylight, stay grounded while working with spirits Eurasian Eagle Owl -- The largest owl and the subject of legends from Egyptian hieroglyphs to Tibetan mythology telling of how it captures the souls of the departed. From these earliest times the Egyptians associated the Eagle Owl with freedom; in particular, the freedom of unobstructed bowel movements. Great Horned Owl ,-- Messenger that announces new cycles often through clairvoyance. Can readily adapt to change. Able to hear what is not spoken and an extractor of secrets. The Great Horned Owl represents the Moon and the Red-Tailed Hawk the Sun Screech Owl -- Creatures of the night who go about unseen. Bravery and ferociousness. Fiercely independent but,works well with others. Differing regional accents. Totem animal of ' Lilith ' Short-Eared Owl ,-- (Evening or Marsh Owl) -- Keeper of the flame and the light of inspiration. Keep your ear to the ground and be ready to take advantageof being in the right place at the right time. Snowy Owl ,-- Carries wisdom from the Elders and inspires through the written word. Save your strength for the proper moment and be ready to act. Spotted Owl -- Threatening in appearance but not meaning to harm. Very sensitive to changes in temperature.,Makes and receives a lot of calls. Use of voice for effect. Oxpecker -- Riding through life, perching on other's ideas, flying straight and landing solidly Oystercatcher -- Large, conspicuous, and noisy. A time to realize that portions of you are being suppressed. (Christian legend says that the oystercatcher once hid Jesus in a time of danger and was rewarded by being given the mark of the cross on its back.) A need to protect children from being taken. A selfless act of concealment. Parakeet --see under "Parrot" Parrot ,-- A bird of the sun and its bright colors and sunshine aspect are what gives it its magic. It is a teacher of the power of light and colors and its feathers can be used for healing and to invoke the energies of the Sun. Some parrots have been taught to mimic human speech and can, on one hand be linked to learning language. On the other hand a parrot can be a sign of insincerity; speaking another's words without meaning them. When Parrot appears, look to your left. Budgerigar (Budgie) ,-- A nomad who flies off to wherever it feels like, female jealousy and fighting (Translated roughly, from the Australian Aborigine word for "good to eat".) Cockatiel -- Goddess of New Holland", hissing when threatened or frightened, need to find out the source of fear and do away with it , needs games and toys or may go as "crazy as a loon Cockatoo -- Rain magic. The joy of travel. Emotional and spiritual freedom. Seeking and finding spiritual truths. Preserving what you care for. "The Muse" Kakapo (Owl Parrot) -- The world's strangest and most endangered parrot (now approximately 62 Kakapo left). It the only flightless and nocturnal parrot, as well as being the heaviest in the world, weighing up to 8 lbs. Although the poor little thing does not have wings capable of flight it seems to often forget this and will try to soar from the trees only to come crashing down like a brick. It and you should learn to recognize your limitations. Lorikeet -- Connect to the Rainbow, Communication skills, Recognition of one’s soul mate, Ability to see all viewpoints, Love of language. Macaw ,-- Language, mockery, bringer of rain. Traveling as a family. Parakeet --,Ability to change direction suddenly, imitation, trust, assists with goals within the community. ( Horned Parakeet / Olive-Headed Parakeet / Plum-Headed Parakeet Partridge -- A human spirit that has come to live on Earth as animal in order to serve the Goddess.,,(In the Greek myth of ' Perdix ', who was one of the sacred children of ' Athene ', Perdix was thrown from a tower to the sea. He was saved by the Goddess and carried to heaven in the form of a bird. "Perdix was the partridge and Athene was the pear tree.") Peacock ,-- Universal symbol of resurrection. The ability to see the connection between the past, the present and the future and its loud and raucous call, almost like laughter, reminds us to laugh at life. The peacock's feather in all ages has been considered as a sign of beauty and knowledge; beauty because it is beautiful, knowledge because it is in the form of,the all seeing eyes of the goddess 'Hera' . Pelican ,-- Overcoming troubles, rising above emotional turmoil, recovering from loss, sharing abundance with others, forgiveness, letting go of your judgments Penguin ,-- Lucid dreaming and the ability to alter the course of those dreams, out of body experiences and astral projection, leaping from the land (the conscious) into the water (the unconscious), the knowledge of the female within the male Fairy Penguin (Little Blue Penguin) -- The littlest one in the family. Know that you can overcome any limitation by adopting a resolute mindset. Be careful crossing the street. Pheasant ,--,A hardy bird that symbolizes warning and concealment. It teaches about fertility and sexuality as symbolized by its tail plumes. The pheasant feeds on grains and grasses and anyone with pheasant energy benefits by incorporating more grains into their diet. Golden Pheasant -- Preferring to hide one's beauty, the understanding of trees and their wisdom, taking refuge away from others, personality and presence that fades under the spotlight, avoidance of prestige and glamour, understanding the cold and lonely places, being exploited for your beauty, elusiveness, hiding your true nature. Phoebe -- Heightening the powers of observation in the stillness within. Finding the balance between masculine and feminine energies; in the power and strength of the sacred feminine as well as the male and create a more solid foundation to build upon. Dont let the flies land on you. Black Phoebe -- Represents opportunities to socialize and express yourself. It signals a time for seeking emotional and spiritual nourishment with others and creating a more solid foundation to build relationships upon. Black Phoebe illuminates the powers of observation, revealing hidden knowledge and wisdom.  Pigeon ,-- Return to the security of home, use of senses to navigate life in a balanced way Plover -- A shore dweller that likes to vacation inland. One who exhibits extremely flexible behavior when encountering difficulty and intruders that come into its life. One who will seem to walk away from a threatening situation, but turns back at the first opportunity. Taking long non-stop trips to get where you need to be. The plover call to us in desolate places to experience the wilderness, the wild and raw side of Nature. They also represent the wilderness and solitude within, where for some lurk so many of their fears. According to legend, the little plover bird hops into a crocodile’s mouth and cleans its teeth. Although crocodile eats birds, she never harms the plover. We can call upon Crocodile and Plover medicine to help us form alliances with people who are very different from us, and to help us find allies where and with whom we least expect. Prairie-Chicken -- (see under 'Grouse') Puffin -- Graceful in the water, clumsy on land and in the air, out of water there is difficulty finding equilibrium in life, using body language to convey messages, throwing tantrums when upset. The appearance of the Puffin signals a time for prayer. Quail -- Living close to the Earth, group nourishment and protection. Seeing danger and finding peaceful alternatives. Having courage in times of hardship. (Quails have an intricate system of communication, and much of is revolves around avoiding danger. Quails have an uncanny sense of their surroundings, and are masters at eluding predators. They stay grounded, preferring the comfort of tall grasses over open skies. This reminds us to keep ourselves protected.) When Quail comes to call, be smart, communicate your hesitation clearly and be mindful to stay out of harm's way. Bobwhite (Virginia Quail) -- Social pairing, time to protect your secrets Rail Bird or Rallidae -- (also: Crakes, Coots, and Gallinules) -- A clattering cackle in the salt marsh is often our first clue to the presence of this big rail. The Rail is usually hidden in dense cover, but sometimes we see it stalking boldly along the muddy edge of the marsh, twitching its short tail as it walks, or swimming across a tidal creek. Clapper Rails have special salt glands that enable them to drink sea water.An evil or mischievous spirit thatseems almost invisible in its elusiveness. Its call is heard, but rarely is it seen Raven --,The Keeper of Secrets. Guide to the unknown and the teacher of the mystic, the raven goes into the darkness to return with the light. Raven chooses its students according to their knowledge and stays only as long as needed to impart its lesson and return them to the light. Raven is the bearer of magic and mysticism. They mimic and use the calls of other species and can teach how to understand animal language. The raven is a shape shifter and can assist in shifting consciousness into various dimensional realms. When the raven appears prophecy shall be fulfilled. , Morrigan the Celtic Warrior Goddess appears in battle in the guise of the raven and will not be driven quietly back into the darkness. From an anthropological standpoint the Raven is an interesting symbol in that it demonstrates the differences sometimes found between tribal groups and their interpretations of a spirit animal's appearance. Within the traditions of North American folklore the Raven is the creature who brought light into the World and its appearance is welcomed as a symbol of new life. However, in British folklore the Raven is seen as the harbinger of the Black Plague and a symbol of impending doom. The British mythology comes out of the mistaken perception that the Raven appeared before the arrival of the plague and,heralded the coming of death. In actuality, the Raven appeared after the plague had already struck, as a natural scavenger, to feed upon the unburied corpses. This is a misrepresentation arising from the transposition of the order of events in the early oral recounting of the story, but one should be forewarned that if you come from a background of North American mythology and you try to offer your Raven Spirit message to someone with a cultural reference from the British folklore, the mention of the Raven may cause them to mistakenly believe it foreshadows death looming on the horizon. Redbird -- (see: 'Cardinal') Road Runner -- Speed and agility, stimulate the mind, act quickly to avoid danger, understanding rapid change, always thinking how to get what it wants, proper use of running Robin ,-- The traditional herald of spring and a symbol of new beginnings. American Indian tribes associated the return of the Sun (spring) with the red robin because its red chest is symbolic of the rising sun and its bright yellow beak a symbol of the Sun’s rays lighting the Earth. Medieval European legends associate the robin with the Christ story and thus as a call to divine service. The robin sings to help establish its territory and fights between robins over territory are usually in song. Confrontations are verbal and when the robin appears it is a sign to only speak the highest truth when expressing yourself. The robin will reveal your true path at the time you are ready to move forward.  American Robin -- Changing luck and fortunes (for yourself and others), tomorrow is a new day, musicality, connecting to others through song, voice and words, constantly moving forward, bringing new growth into your life, finding beginnings more often than endings, being a pioneer, connections to disease and illness, lessons connected to coming in first place, learning how to spring forward. Red-Capped Robin -- The best and brightest, wariness, setting boundaries with other people, inflexibility, faring better in more open environments, preferring to stay away from the hustle and bustle, needing quieter spaces, staying grounded. Rook -- see under "Crow" Shrike -- see under "Butcher Bird" Snowbird -- Manners and etiquette, hopping and leaping, aloof but not stand-offish, small families, eating left-overs Sparrow ,-- A common visitor with a love of old buildings that are a symbol of peasants and the common people. Most animal totem resources describe the sparrow as a synbol of peace and joy who denote that even a common little bird can triumph. But on the negative side, sparrows are aggressive fighters that will evict any nesting bird from a cavity to take over the site. Sparrows will tear up nests, break eggs, kill and toss out nestlings and adults and then build their nest right on top of the carnage. Therefore they can behave like little Nazi storm troopers invading neighboring territories and seizing “ Lebensraum ” (living space) from peaceful native inhabitants. So when you see sparrow types coming around be wary of those who may be coming to force you from your home and taking it for themselves.  Spoonbill -- Sweeping obstacles out of ones way, shyness, wariness, silence, protection from communal living Starling --  Starling teaches lessons of group etiquette, social standing, family relations and how you appear to the world within those relationships. The starling signals that communication through vocalization is important in relationships, but be careful what you say, for people may take it incorrectly or blow it out of proportion. On the negative side, starlings are like sparrows (even worse) in that they can be nasty little Nazi storm troopers invading neighboring territories and seizing “ Lebensraum ” (living space) from peaceful native inhabitants. They can be vicious fighters and will evict even much larger nesting birds, tearing up their nests, breaking eggs and killing chicks. When starlings begin to gather, be prepared for a brutal invasion.   Stork -- The stork carries feminine or mothering energies. When the stork appears a birth or rebirth will soon happen and/or you may need to reconnect to your roots . Creation, birth, new beginnings, unspoken communication, dance, protection of the young Swallow ,-- Protection and warmth for the home,,proper perspective, communal life, connection to thunderstorms, (little cousin to the Thunderbird [see: Mythic Animal Spirits / Thunderbird]) Swan ,-- A time of new states of awareness, ancient songs of true beauty and eternal mystery, powerful and graceful, seeing and accepting the future and going with your feelings, life partnership Black Swan -- Love, romance and monogamy. Partnership. Equality. Compassion. Tenderness. Protecting your loved ones. Enjoying the presence of others. Folklore and fairytale. Love stories. Invoking happiness in yourself and others. Spiritual love and freedom. The joy and freedom in serving another. ( Black Swan Theory -- An event or occurrence that deviates beyond what is normally expected of a situation and that illustrates a severe limitation to our learning from observations or experience and the fragility of our knowledge. The term popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb .in his book " The Black Swan ".suggests that upon observing 100 swans the norm is to fixate on the one black swan (the black swan event) to the exclusion of the ninety-nine other white swans. Taleb goes on the say that "9/11" was a "black swan event" in that its effect was to cause a fixation on the 1% of the time that there is a security threat to the exclusion of the other 99% of the time when there is no threat. Converesly had an individual on the day before "9/11" instituted a security policy that prevented the attack the actions of that individual (a white swan) would have gone unnoticed as there would have been no "black swan event" to bring the matter to attention. Therefore, a hero who might have prevented 9/11 and changed the course of history would never be recognized as having done so.) Swift -- Speed and agility, journeying in the "Great Quest", responding to opportunities as they arise Swisher -- Living in the "Between Time" (dawn/dusk), awakening to the fairy realm Tanager -- (A species of songbirds of the southern forests consisting of over 240 varieties which often cross over into other species.) Traveling by night and catching meals on the fly. Riparian entertainment of a beautiful male song. A convoluted family tree. Blue-Grey Tanager (Blue Jean) -- Restless, noisy and twittering away life. Hepatic Tanager -- One who no longer associates with their family or group. Now considered,more related,to the cardinal family. Scarlet Tanager -- A harsh message must be heard Summer Tanager -- (The only entirely red bird in North America.) Add color to your life and remember that everything you do is of importance. Western Tanager (Coffee Bird) -- Maintain a secure,,food-filled home and the coffee tastes better too. Yellow-Winged Tanager -- Listen to a higher calling Tern -- Enjoying all the comforts of Nature, refreshment on the fly,drinking of the local waters, screaming to get the point across Thrush / Thrasher -- Coincidences and synchronicities will expand your spirituality in a profound way. Be alert to what may be hidden under the surface. A fierce protector of the environment. Titmouse -- Fearless attitude, powerful voice, control of ego, not letting praise go to your head Toucan -- Sharp tongued individual, a vast repertoire of sounds,,a need to tone down speech, knowing what to say and when to say it, either heard loud and clear or completely misunderstood Towhee -- Makes noise until it gets attention, shabby, red-eyed, speaking with a southern accent Turkey (Wild Turkey) -- A symbol of sacrifice and a giver of life. Native American peoples saw the turkey as a sacred bird because their great abundance provided a source of good meat. It gives its life so others may live. The turkey symbolizes the harvest bounty and honoring of the Earth Mother. Wild turkeys were almost eliminated because they were taken for granted and the turkey teaches a need to remember that nothing is an endless resource and that all gifts that come from the Great Spirit must be honored. When 3 turkeys cross your path a strange and eerie encounter lies ahead. Today's domestic turkeys are not the,birds of the Native American peoples. While wild turkeys can fly for short distances, farm raised turkeys are bred to be so stout that they cannot fly. Domesticated turkeys have been genetically altered to grow twice as fast and twice as large as their ancestors. Although this rapid growth poses a serious threat to the animal's health and welfare the turkey industry continues pushing to grow bigger birds. Respiratory ailments and influenza are responsible for almost half of,the deaths of turkeys who don't make it to slaughter. Turkeys are debeaked by slicing off,one third of the beak with a red hot blade when the bird is about five days old. After 4 months, turkeys,have reached the right size,and are sent to the slaughterhouse. Vulture ,-- Symbol of death and rebirth, new vision, new beginning, and purification of mind and body. The vulture asks us to be patient with ourselves, and think things through. They encourage us to be quite sure of how we feel before we enter the arena of our plans and this symbolism is underscored by the magnificent level of patience the vulture exhibits. Being noticed more for what you do than how you look, soaring above the difficulties of life, associated with the sense of smell (aromatherapy). Black Vulture,-- Time of transformation is approaching Turkey Vulture ,(Buzzard) -- Getting the blame by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, vomiting when stressed, diarrhea when things get too hot to handle Warbler -- Characteristic regional manner, a distinctive voice,,pecks at its food, vagrancy Wattlebird -- A shaman in disguise, drawn to the unusual, ventriloquist and mimic,,speaking will either set you free or imprison you, stand your ground and speak the truth Waxbill -- Foster parenting, understanding female societies, communal living, ability to see from all perspectives, surefooted, ability to change and self respect. Waxwing -- Gentleness and courtesy, polite and sociable,,ability to see from all perspectives and change as needed, surefooted, foster parent, a diet,of fruit, without a song to sing Weaver Bird --,(The Weavers are named for their highly complex woven nests) An innate talent as a street performer. Will come to a call from a long distance. Using artificial light to enhance the environment. Whippoorwill -- Whippoorwill's nocturnal nature teaches the art of night time movements and camouflage. The art of invisibility may be utilized when he appears. Heightened senses may be activated at twilight, dawn with special emphasis on moonlit nights. It is time to adjust your cycle to correspond to the lunar one. Pay attention to the cycles and themes you are experiencing around the moon phases. It is time to listen to sounds in the spiritual realm and in your surroundings. Whippoorwill shows how to adapt to this new phase. Widow Bird / Waydah -- Spousal protection. Giving up young for adoption. Use of beauty in courtship. Aggression. Need for open spaces Willie Wagtail -- Extroversion. Cheerfulness and gregariousness. Anger and irritability. Friendliness. Curiosity. Socializing. Appealing to others. Effectively maintaining your space and home. Woodpecker ,-- The drummer of the forest, shamans ride the drumbeats of the Woodpecker's rhythm into other dimension of space and time. Woodpecker holds the power of rhythm and discrimination, listen to your inner rhythms and heed what they tell you. The woodpecker pecks away at deception and when you hear the woodpecker knocking, the truth will be revealed. Native American Totem Animal for the Astrological Sign "Cancer" Sapsucker -- Digging for hidden nourishment in two different ways, intuition, rhythm, being resourceful without depleting Wren ,-- The wren brings a message of going beyond the realm of the known and to pursue the adventure that awaits there. Resourcefulness and boldness. Medicine for the environment and for the healing of sibling relationships Fairy Wren -- Infidelity and promiscuity. Not staying loyal to people or projects. Assessing many different options. Canvassing. Unable to focus on one thing at a time. Carnality. Lust. Moving on.   Yellow Tit -- The color of awakening, inspiration, intelligence and action shared, creative, playful, optimistic, easy-going. Spirit Guide Links
i don't know
In Chinese cooking what would you be eating of you ordered Wantons?
Chinese Wonton Recipe, How to Cook Wonton Soup chopped ginger  chopped green onion Note: the amount of the ingredients especially the seasonings listed above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste.   STEP 1 Place the chopped lean pork into a bowl. Add in some cooking wine, chopped ginger, chopped green onion, salt and chicken essence. Stir it well with chopsticks or a teaspoon. STEP 2 Take one piece of wrapper, and smooth it in one hand. Pick some of the fillings, and put at the corner of the wrapper (the filling should be less than that of the dumplings). Roll it up and pinch the two sides together. The result is a hat-like wonton. STEP 3 Place a wok over high heat. Add in half a wok of water. Add the wontons one by one till the water is boiling. Add in 1/4 table spoon of water when it boils. Repeat this twice. Turn off the heat. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of soup and pour in to a soup bowl. Pick out the boiled wontons with a table spoon or a colander and add to the bowl. STEP 4 Add in salt, chicken essence, chopped green onion, sesame oil and dried small shrimps. Stir slowly and thoroughly with the teaspoon. Wonton now is ready for you to enjoy.    Tips: The fillings of wonton can be varied, either meat (pork, mutton, beef, chicken, shrimp) like this recipe, or vegetable (carrot, preserved vegetable, celery, cabbage, mushroom, leek), or meat with vegetable. They can be made into various shapes, such as round, tube, semi-cylinder, rectangular, triangle or gold ingot.    Origin of Wonton  Story has it that in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220), the Huns in northern China often invaded the northern border of the country where the people were always tormented. At that time, the Huns had two leaders named 'Hun' and 'Dun', both of whom were cruel. The northern Chinese hated them bitterly, so they wrapped dumplings filled with meat, named them 'hun dun', and cooked and ate them in the hope of having a peaceful life. Our Guests Attending Cooking Class Our Guests Learn to Make Wontons On Oct.1, 2012, Ms. Katherine & Mr. James from USA paid a visit to a local family in China where our cooking class was offered. They understood that there were eight major cuisines in China with different styles as they traveled with us throughout the country. They Not only made dumplings, but also learnt to cook Chinese Wonton – the other traditional pasta originated from northern China. We really appreciate it when they said they enjoyed this family visit. Ms. Maria Learn to Make Wonton On Apr. 17, 2012, Ms. Maria from USA stepped into a local family in Xian under the elaborate arrangement of our tour operators and guide. Since Maria was very curious about the difference between Chinese wonton and dumplings , the warm-hearted host especially showed her the whole process of making wonton and dumplings on site. Maria said she felt very privileged to have had this opportunity. Ms. Iride Making Wonton On July 8, 2010, Mr. Jorge & Ms. Iride from Venezuela joined a family tour arranged by TravelChinaGuide and learned to cook Cold Celery and Dry Bean Curd , Chinese Wonton & Kung Pao Chicken in a local family in Xian. They were very impressed by the meal and especially mentioned it in their feedback: "... The lunch that we had with the Chinese Lady in Xian was memorable and delicious. My wife had such a good time cooking the dumplings and they eating them...." See details at Mr. Jorge's feedback  
Dumpling
Which poem by Alexander Pope contains the famous line 'Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread'?
Wonton Dumpings Pan Fried (Traditional Chinese Cooking) - YouTube Wonton Dumpings Pan Fried (Traditional Chinese Cooking) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Dec 31, 2013 Wonton Dumplings are delicious when grilled and then steamed. Easy to make and they make a very tasty snack. Sometimes I grill the wontons and put them in soup for a special treat. The recipe is below: Grilled Wonton Dumplings 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (in filling) 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (when grilling) 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon light soy sauce 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1/2 to 1 cup water Peel prawns and wash in cold water. Cut prawns into small pieces. To make the filling: In a big mixing bowl, add ground pork, prawns, water chestnut, green onions, egg, salt, sesame oil, cornstarch, soy sauce. Mix ingredients well with chopsticks or a fork. Put 1 teaspoon or more of the filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper. Squeeze and twist the wrapper, making sure the filling doesn't leak out. Heat cooking oil in a pan at low to medium heat. Put wontons in pan. Grill the wontons on one side and turn over to grill the other side. Add water to pan and cover wontons. Steam 5 to 7 minutes. Check during steaming to make sure water does not dry out. Frozen wontons may require more water and longer cooking time. Just before serving, add sesame oil over the wontons. I`m sure you will like eating wontons made this way. Enjoy! Category
i don't know
Which fellow English team did Tottenham Hotspur defeat by an aggregate score of 3 - 2 to win the 1972 EUFA Cup Final?
Tottenham Hotspur: 20 Best Spurs Players of All Time | Bleacher Report Tottenham Hotspur: 20 Best Spurs Players of All Time By Thomas Cooper , Featured Columnist Apr 14, 2013 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Clive Mason/Getty Images Spoiler alert: Ledley King features on the following list. Read on to find out where the former Tottenham Hotspur defender placed. 37.6K 37 Comments Working out the criteria for deciding the best players to have played for any one club or country, or even in a league or decade, is not easy. In the club category, there is no exact science in choosing between big names and cult heroes of different eras. So this is a warning that the following list of Tottenham Hotspur 's 20 best-ever players—while assessing and measuring talent, success, longevity, loyalty and determination, among other things—has largely come down to this writer's opinion. Covering only the post-World War II years (sorry Jimmy Dimmock, George Hunt, Arthur Grimsdell etc!), an attempt has been made to choose between the heroes who established the club's modern reputation in the 1950s and 1960s and more recent stars. Feasibly, the list could have just contained players from Spurs' only two league-title winning sides. In order to make it a tad more interesting, a little more subjectivity has been applied. Trawling back over 60-odd years of Tottenham history has been a lot of fun. Inevitably, some fantastic Spurs players have missed out on being deemed one of the club's 20 best. No list is going to completely satisfy any reader, and this one has undergone several changes over the course of writing it. If nothing else, this one has been intended as a celebration of some of the most varied, talented and hugely accomplished players to ever wear the famous old cockerel on their chest. Phil Cole/Getty Images 20. David Ginola. Unlike the majority of those occupying places on this list, David Ginola's impact at Tottenham Hotspur was comparatively short-term at three seasons. He stands above several others in that category in that he was not only a memorable and most delightful performer, but an extremely important one. Ginola's first season of 1997-98 was likely not what he envisioned upon signing from Newcastle United . Gerry Francis left prior to Christmas and was replaced as manager by Christian Gross, the upheaval exacerbating Tottenham's difficulties in the Premier League that season. Ginola's form was near-impervious to the struggles, and along with defensive rock Sol Campbell and a clutch of post-Christmas arrivals, the Frenchman played a large part in the club avoiding relegation. The following season would prove his finest at Spurs, and arguably the best of his career. In a season when Manchester United would record a historic treble, Ginola was almost a one-man road block in stopping Alex Ferguson and his club from achieving further honors. One of the stars of Spurs' run to League Cup success, Ginola was instrumental in his team's defeat of Man United at the quarterfinal stage. So impressive was he that season that he also edged in front of the Red Devils' numerous contenders to win both of English football's main player of the year awards. There would be further magic in his final season, before Ginola was moved on by George Graham, a coach with whom he shared a strained (though often very effective) working relationship. Memories of Ginola kept Spurs fans warm in those days, and will likely do so for many a year to come. Stu Forster/Getty Images 19. Darren Anderton. Darren Anderton is one of English football's most underrated players of the Premier League era. Even at Tottenham, his contributions were somewhat unrecognized, at least going by the abrupt fashion with which he was released at the end of the 2003-04 season. That oversight was partially corrected by his induction to the club's Hall of Fame. Make no mistake, Anderton was one of Spurs' most significant beacons of quality in a tumultuous time that lasted throughout his White Hart Lane stay. The early years saw Anderton at his most dazzling, a young, quick and adventurous runner whose ability at taking the game to the opposition was topped off by an emphatic and productive decisiveness in the final third. Others with whom he would gel so effectively in the early to mid 1990s (particularly Teddy Sheringham, Nick Barmby and Jurgen Klinsmann) moved on for various reasons. Anderton stayed and evolved into the next phase of his career. But for a cruel succession of injuries Anderton too may have tried his luck elsewhere. As it was, he remained to become Tottenham's creative linchpin through frequent managerial changes, his football mind coming to the fore to make up for diminishing pace. The likes of Ginola, Gus Poyet, Robbie Keane and Sheringham (back for a second spell) owed plenty to a teammate capable of helping them and others unlock their best. Don Morley/Getty Images 17. Alan Mullery. To measure the importance of Alan Mullery to Tottenham, you only have to look at the two players he would help fill the void for over the course of his time there—Danny Blanchflower and Dave Mackay. Coming in for the former was a particularly thankless task. Mullery would never replace the inspirational captain of the great Double side, but the hard-working, persistent and skillful midfielder compensated as well as anyone might have hoped for. With Bill Nicholson facing the particularly difficult job of building his next great team, Mullery was consistency personified. After playing his part in helping Tottenham to the 1967 FA Cup, Mullery was appointed captain after Mackay joined Derby County . His inherent leadership had been evident for some time, but now officially recognized as Nicholson's on-field skipper, he rose to the occasion. Further success would follow with victory in the 1970-71 League Cup, and then came Mullery's crowning glory in the last days of his Spurs career. Injury problems that following season had seen him re-join Fulham on loan, but he returned for a truly memorable swansong in the UEFA Cup. First came what proved to be the winning goal in the second leg of Tottenham's semifinal with AC Milan . Then in the second leg of the final against Wolverhampton Wanderers , Mullery scored again to set them on their way to a 3-2 aggregate win in front of an ecstatic White Hart Lane crowd. Shaun Botterill/Getty Images 17. Gary Mabbutt Gary Mabbutt's service to Tottenham Hotspur has continued long into retirement, as a dignified and loyal ambassador in official and unofficial capacity. Notably, the former captain has taken a leading role in supporting his old teammate Paul Gascoigne's battle with alcoholism. On the pitch, Mabbutt's contributions to the club stand out particularly for their longevity, lasting as he did from 1982-83 to 1997-98 in N17 . Initially, he was signed as a midfielder from Bristol Rovers , and it was in that position he would predominantly play early on—including several appearances in the UEFA Cup winning campaign of 1983-84. Mabbutt's most telling impact as a Tottenham player would be in central defense, where his talents found their natural home. Assured, unyielding and as reliable and technically sound a defender as Spurs have ever had, he became the rock on which subsequent sides would be built after he was awarded the captaincy.  In 1991, Mabbutt led his side up the Wembley steps to lift the FA Cup, to this day the last time the club won the competition. 16. Ted Ditchburn Image from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/sites/spurs/History%20of%20the%20Club/great-players/ted-ditchburn.page Ted Ditchburn was goalkeeper of Arthur Rowe's legendary "push-and-run" side that won successive titles in 1949-50 and 1950-51 (Division Two, and then Division One having won promotion). A former boxer, Ditchburn was well-known for his bravery and skill in one-on-one situations, while he was also highly regarded for his exemplary athleticism and strength. He was the type of goalkeeper all great sides possess and was so vital to the Spurs that he was the last of Rowe's great side to leave (having fought off the efforts of Ron Reynolds to claim his spot permanently). He was only categorically forced to depart through injury. Quite extraordinarily, he racked up over 450 appearances for Spurs, an extra-special achievement considering Ditchburn had been robbed of several years of first-class football through World War II (which he served with the RAF). Only just behind Jennings, he gets the nod ahead of Bill Brown as Tottenham's second best-ever keeper. 15. Alan Gilzean Don Morley/Getty Images Straddling two eras at Tottenham, Alan Gilzean was one of those to come in following the successes of the early 1960s who was a genuine match in quality. The forward would, alongside Jimmy Greaves, be one of the stars who kept the club competitive in comparatively leaner years. Then, demonstrating his adaptability, he equally thrived in a less-defined attacking role as Bill Nicholson's team won several trophies at the beginning of the 1970s. Gilzean scored an excellent 133 goals for Spurs in over 400 appearances, but it was the sheer quality of so many of his contributions for which he stands out. His control and touch were regarded as impeccable, with his ability to utilize both in aerial situations regarded by some as almost unparalleled in recent times. Greaves and Martin Chivers, the two players with whom Gilzean formed such devastatingly effective partnerships, scored more for Spurs overall. But it is doubtful either would have struck as many goals had it not been for the Scotsman beside them, who was as equally adept and intelligent a provider as he was a goal scorer. Gilzean recently returned to White Hart Lane after a lengthy absence, receiving an extremely affectionate response when making an appearance at halftime during last November's win over West Ham. 13. Ledley King Clive Rose/Getty Images Ledley King is this list's most recent entry, with the former Tottenham defender having only retired last summer. Talented, loyal and a massive contributor to the achievements of the last decade, he undoubtedly deserves to be recognized as one of the club's 20 best-ever players. The importance of King to Spurs in the aftermath of Sol Campbell's departure to Arsenal cannot be underestimated. The young centre-back was not yet the player he would become, but that potential was a beacon of hope for the club's fans so hurt by Campbell's betrayal. Over the following years King established himself as one of the best defenders in England. His reading and timing was exemplary, as were his tackling ability and command in aerial duels, not to mention his eye for a pass. For a thrilling example of his brilliance, see his superb challenge on Arjen Robben in Spurs' 2-1 win over Chelsea in November 2006. Even with the injury problems that ultimately shortened his playing career, King developed into a player who would prove so vital to Tottenham's re-emergence as a top-six side. He overcame fitness concerns to play a big role in their 2007-08 League Cup success, and also in helping guide Spurs to the Champions League/European Cup for the first time in nearly 50 years. 12. Ron Burgess Image from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/sites/spurs/History%20of%20the%20Club/great-players/ron-burgess.page It is one of the unfortunate vagaries of time that Arthur Rowe's title-winning "push and run" side of 1950-51 came just a few years prior to an increase in the recording of football matches in England. Bill Nicholson's successful team a decade later was hardly extensively covered, but a good deal more footage survives of them—certainly of their cup final successes. Rowe's captain, Ron Burgess, is one such player whose talent is more difficult to accurately estimate by those of us not around. But from the historical recollections of those who were there, the significance of the Welshman to Tottenham's first top-flight championship winners, and thus his place as one of the club's great, is obvious. After World War II, Burgess soon established himself as Spurs captain. As they raced away to the 1949-50 Division Two title (today's equivalent of The Championship), it became clear he was at the heart of this emerging side. Already in his early thirties by then, Burgess' movement and eagerness to involve himself in Spurs' play was key to the flourishing of Rowe's revolutionary tactics. A thoroughly tidy and sensible midfield presence, he was a guiding force in letting more recognizably starring players like attackers Eddie Baily and Len Duquemin excel. 11. Ossie Ardiles Getty Images/Getty Images Even more so than his compatriot with whom he arrived in the country (Ricky Villa), Ossie Ardiles is quite possibly the single most important trailblazer in English football history—in regards to the mass of foreign stars that would follow. The Argentinian was not the first to ply his trade in England's top flight, but as a World Cup winner in 1978, he was one of the first major stars. Ardiles was a shining example in how to approach life in a new country on and off the pitch, adjusting to the demands of a new style of football while embracing a new culture and lifestyle. He was a bargain for Spurs, who got one of world football's most talented midfielders fresh off winning the World Cup for only £325,000 (especially when you consider Nottingham Forest bought Trevor Francis for £1 million a year later). It was certainly money well spent, with the technically impeccable Ardiles a master manipulator of the fluctuating pacing of football in his new homeland. He undoubtedly could have been the main man of Tottenham's midfield, but he ceded that role to Glenn Hoddle, instead filling a less glamorous but equally valuable role supporting. This did nothing to detract from the quality that was on show, though, and even as injuries and the Falklands conflict cut down on his appearances in the following years, he would time and again prove his tremendous worth. 10. John White Image from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/sites/spurs/History%20of%20the%20Club/great-players/john-white.page John White's tragic death in 1964 robbed his family of a husband, father, brother and son, and stopped in its tracks the career of a player who was set up to be the man around whom Bill Nicholson would build his next great Tottenham side (Scotland too had high hopes for him). Yet for all White's unfulfilled potential, his brief career was not one short on achievement. In the five seasons the young Scotsman had been at White Hart Lane, he had been an integral member of a team that had won league championship, two FA Cups and a European Cup Winners' Cup. White was one of British football's first great playmakers. Positionally he was a step or two ahead of opposition players, with his often unnoticed movement earning him the nickname of "The Ghost." Making the most of these earned spatial advantages, White's passing range was almost unparalleled among his peers, while he also chipped in almost 50 goals during his Spurs career. For anyone further interested in learning about White's all-too brief 26 years on this earth, this writer highly recommends checking out The Ghost: In Search of My Father the Football Legend . Written by his son Rob and renowned football writer Julie Welch, it is an excellent biography of one of the sport's lost greats. 8. Paul Gascoigne David Cannon/Getty Images Paul Gascoigne's final competitive action in a Tottenham shirt came in the 1991 FA Cup final. Against Nottingham Forest, he was fortunate to avoid being sent off for an ugly tackle on Gary Charles, only to disastrously injure himself soon after in a similarly reckless attempt at a tackle. Yet even had Spurs lost that match (which they won), anyone at the club would have been hard-pressed to have been angry with their talented midfielder. Coaches, teammates and fans alike were aware of the debt they owed Gascoigne in even being at Wembley that day. Gazza scored a brutal, long-range free-kick against rivals Arsenal in the semifinal, an opening salvo to remember, before helping instigate the move for Gary Lineker's second. Throughout Spurs' run, the England midfielder had been in sensational form, inspiring his team through successive rounds. If that cup run was Gascoigne's most tangible contribution to the Tottenham cause, it was the all-round ability that so mesmerized the White Hart Lane faithful for three seasons that sees him rank so highly here. Gascoigne was (and still is) a hero of the English game. That he played his best football during his time at Spurs is something to cherish for the club's supporters. 7. Cliff Jones Image from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/sites/spurs/History%20of%20the%20Club/great-players/cliff-jones.page The Gareth Bale of his day, except with less penchant for theatrics and creatively falling over, Cliff Jones' bravery could serve as an example to his young compatriot.   Signed from Swansea in 1957, Jones took time to settle in North London. Once he did, he did not look back. Comparisons of Bale to Jones are not wide of the mark. A fellow Welsh wing wizard with a happy habit of scoring goals, Jones too was a tormentor of defenders who could run all day long. With Bobby Smith, Les Allen, John White and later Jimmy Greaves positioned and ready, he found worthy marksmen to finish the chances he would often provide. The 1960-61 Double-winning team was full of tremendous talent, among whom Jones was worthy enough to be regarded as one of the best. An invigorating presence, the Wales international time and time again would come up with the goods for his club side. Departing in 1968, he had continued to contribute even as injuries took their toll, and long after several of his teammates had moved on. Getty Images/Getty Images 6. Steve Perryman. Outside of Tottenham circles, Steve Perryman is probably one of the most undervalued of their former greats—at least in the eyes of history, since players like the more glamorous Glenn Hoddle or iconic Danny Blanchflower are more immediately appealing. Perryman, though, was everything to Spurs. His versatility was his biggest strength; he excelled as a midfielder, centre-back and right-back. Of course, he is also the club's record appearance holder (854 competitive appearances, give or take a game depending on the source) and a revered and cherished captain who led his team for a decade. Early in his Tottenham career, Perryman impressed upon getting his chance and established himself in the team. He played his part in two League Cup successes in 1971 and 1973, as well as scoring two wonderful volleys that set them on their way to a semifinal win over AC Milan in 1972 (and an eventual UEFA Cup success). The captaincy came his way during a difficult era for Spurs, as they struggled after the highs of the early 1970s. After Bill Nicholson's departure, they had been unable to suitably rebuild and were relegated in 1977. Perryman's loyalty and determination to restore Spurs to their former heights saw him turn down a move to Liverpool . That the champions were interested in him was not surprising. Perryman had long before established himself as a top footballer, one who could graft but was equally at home among Spurs' best ball-players.  Instead he would help his team, now managed by Keith Burkinshaw, back toward the top of English football. The second of Perryman's two UEFA Cups in 1983-84 would follow on from successive FA Cup victories, the former in 1981 being particularly sweet as it signified Spurs' successful return. For his individual efforts, Perryman was voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association in 1982. Douglas Miller/Getty Images 4. Jimmy Greaves. Jimmy Greaves may have arrived at White Hart Lane even earlier but for confusion in the transition process between managers Arthur Rowe and Jimmy Anderson. The teenage striker was overlooked, and it was Chelsea who would enjoy his early years: Greaves scoring an astonishing 124 goals in 157 appearances for the Blues. Considering he would go on to score a further 266 in 381 games for Tottenham (he is still the club's record scorer), it is a tantalizing prospect to imagine how many more he might have scored had he been at the club even longer. Of course, we do not know how circumstances might have differed had he arrived in the mid-1950s rather than in 1961, when Bill Nicholson signed him from AC Milan after Greaves had endured a difficult spell with the Italians. Greaves was a phenomenal goalscorer for Spurs. He had more about him than his finishing, but putting the ball in the back of the net was what he lived for. During his time in North London, the striker's goal ratio stood at an extraordinary 70 percent . Those goals counted for plenty too. In the 1962 FA Cup, he scored nine throughout the tournament, including one in the 3-1 final win over Burnley . Five were scored on the way to their European Cup Winners' Cup success the following season (including two in the final), while Greaves would record a further six on the way to the 1967 FA Cup win. So then, not just Tottenham's best ever striker, quite possibly English football as a whole's too. Tony Duffy/Getty Images 3. Glenn Hoddle. Tottenham's most gifted player since the 1960s, Glenn Hoddle is the greatest footballer the club itself has produced by a long-shot. Hoddle netted 110 times altogether for Spurs. If assists were recorded as they are now, that statistic would be similarly impressive. Numbers, though, were not the measure of this man. Hoddle was a supreme conductor for a Spurs team that, over his time at the club, would feature many a top player who looked even better thanks to him. His glorious passing ability was based upon an interpretation of the game around him that few English players since can claim to have been blessed with. For all the accusations of Hoddle being a luxury player, he more than held his own during a period largely more physical than today. The midfielder would not have thrived as he did if this had not been so, and having spent a year in Division Two, he had certainly tested himself in surroundings less-= appropriate for his talent. Along with the likes of Perryman, Ardiles, Graham Roberts, Garth Crooks and Steve Archibald, Hoddle helped Spurs back to a level of company the club had gotten use to in the Nicholson years. The FA Cup successes in 1981 and 1982 were a tremendous accomplishment at a time when several top teams inhabited the English flight. On the European stage, Hoddle often starred too. His outclassing of an aging Johan Cruyff in UEFA Cup games against Feyenoord in 1983 still today draws hushed tones from those who witnessed it. Tweet Danny Blanchflower's combined leadership, intelligence and understanding of football have arguably never been matched by a fellow player in the history of British football. Those attributes have seen him attain a near-mythical status in Tottenham folklore, coming from the mind of a man whose famous quote about glory remains at the very essence of the club's aspirations to this day. What those qualities did was enable Blanchflower to serve as the on-field lieutenant for Bill Nicholson, helping implement his manager's instructions both in word and deed. When the situation demanded it, he was trusted enough to make on-field changes himself. The closest, successful modern equivalent is probably the relationship players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta had with Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. It was not always so apparent the Blanchflower/Nicholson relationship would work. Indeed, the Northern Irishman had not always got on well with managers at Spurs and at previous clubs. The new man in charge at White Hart Lane would soon come to understand his value, a change in mindset that heralded the arrival of an incredible few years. Blanchflower was a hungry player, demanding the ball and usually utilizing it in most effective fashion. From him stemmed so many of Spurs' sweeping, thrilling moves, as indeed did their overall style of playing in the 1960s. Considering that it is, to this day, the club's most successful period, it is hard to ignore Blanchflower's claim as one of the club's very best players. One more may stand just above him, though. Don Morley/Getty Images 1. Dave Mackay. "The stature of Dave Mackay in Tottenham folklore is vast and indisputable; indeed, to imagine Spurs' great 1960s side without the vibrant Scot is to picture the Huns without Attila or the Alamo without Davy Crockett." So reads co-author Ivan Ponting's assessment of Dave Mackay in the 2008 edition of the Tottenham Hotspur Player by Player guide. Blanchflower's importance to this team is only by the smallest degree below Mackay's (arguably, if at all), but coupled with his own tremendous ability, the force of will the Edinburgh man instilled in Spurs' greatest ever team was the ingredient that transformed them from good into legendary. The famous image of Mackay grabbing a frightened Billy Bremner has seen him egregiously cast as merely a hardman in some misinformed opinions. While he was certainly tough, Mackay was no thug; rather, he was a dominating midfield presence with footballing nous of the highest order. Defensively, Mackay could be relied upon to do a shift and was as comprehensive as they come in winning the ball. From there, he combined ably alongside Blanchflower and in support of others like White and Jones. Far from just a water-carrier, Mackay could be relied upon to subsequently surge forward and join those attacks. Spurs' overwhelming of countless teams, particularly in 1960-61, was in large part down to such determination. Crucially, Mackay did not lose his head this far up the pitch either and notched 51 goals in his time at the club. Though he missed the 1962-63 European Cup Winners' Cup final through injury, he more than played his part in Spurs becoming the first English team to a win a European competition. Four years later, he was again instrumental in their FA Cup success. By now club captain and operating from a more defensive station, Mackay's role was all the more impressive considering he had to come back from breaking his leg twice. He would just not be denied. That spirit and intent once again helped Tottenham to a major trophy. But for Mackay, they may have found it even harder to win than they did.
Gray wolf
Which eight letter word from medics takes its name from the Greek word meaning 'to smother'?
On this day - special 1 January 2004 - News - tottenhamhotspur.com On this day - special Posted on 1 January 2004  - 12:00 Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) Football Club is located in North London. The club is also known as Spurs. Tottenham's home ground is White Hart Lane. The club motto is Audere est Facere (To dare is to do).     Having concluded our special look at daily events yesterday - here is a full rundown of 'On This Day' from January 1-December 31. Compiled by and thanks to clnb historian Andy Porter... JANUARY 1st - 1900 Our first match this century was a 2-2 draw at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough. Part of a two match mini tour of the north east, we faced Sunderland the following day. 2nd - 1909 The old Leeds City club made their only visit to White Hart Lane. Former Spurs chairman John Oliver was associated with the Yorkshire outfit. They disbanded in 1919 due to financial irregularities. 3rd - 1920 We played our fourth consecutive match with an all English XI. It was nearly 300 games into our League career that we played a League game without a Scottish player in our ranks. 4th - 1933 Three Spurs players - Willie Evans, Dave Levene and Jimmy Brain - formed part of a combined Tottenham/Arsenal/Chelsea/West Ham XI against The Rest of London in an experimental floodlight match at the old White City stadium. 5th - 1946 We face Brentford in the first leg of our only two-legged FA Cup tie, drawing the match 2-2. We lost the return 0-2 five days later. All ties from rounds one to six were played over two matches. 6th - 1934 Spurs 'keeper Joe Nicholls was bombarded by fruit and beer bottles by the Villa Park crowd during our 5-1 win there. Villa were warned as to their spectators future behaviour. Both teams wore black armbands following the passing of former Spurs player Herbert Chapman. 7th - 1939 Following many years of rallying by the Club board, our senior players wore numbered shirts for the first time, in a 7-1 FA Cup victory over Watford. 8th - 1901 We face European opposition for the first time when the touring Berlin FC were defeated 9-6 at a snow covered White Hart Lane. It was the first visit to Britain by a German team. 9th - 1992 Former club programme editor and historian Leslie Yates passed away. A freelance journalist, Tottenham born and bred, he contributed to the club publications for many years having seen his first Spurs game in 1923, aged eight. 10th - 1914 We share ten goals in an FA Cup match with Leicester, our highest scoring draw in the competition. 11th - 1975 Terrace favourite Alfie Conn nets a hat-trick in our 5-2 win at Newcastle. The 3rd goal that afternoon, scored by John Duncan, was our 4,000th in the Football League. 12th - 1983 Cecil Poynton passed away. Started a 12 year stint as a player in August,1922 and served on our backroom staff during the war. Later appointed assistant trainer, senior trainer and then physiotherapist until retiring in 1975. 13th - 1923 One of our biggest FA Cup shocks, held to a goal-less draw by Midland League club Worksop Town. We won the replay, also at Tottenham, by a comfortable margin of 9-0. 14th - 1956 Eddie Baily transferred to Port Vale after 10 years on our books. He returned in October, 1963 for a further 11 year stint as assistant manager to Bill Nicholson. 15th - 1927 Tottenham 12 Arsenal 2. Our first ever home fixture against our neighbours 'A' team saw goalkeeper Nicholls net one of our goals from the penalty spot. 16th - 1914 Tommy Clay signed from Leicester. Each of the full back's 24 senior goals for Spurs came from the penalty spot. 17th - 1969 New signing Martin Chivers scores on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 18th - 1947 Goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn, who held the club appearance record of 418 games until 1975, nominated his favourite game as being our 1-0 defeat at Newcastle where he received a standing ovation from the 63,000 crowd. 19th - 1994 We won our first and only successful penalty shootout in the FA Cup to date. First Division Peterborough United eventually succumbed to a 5-4 penalty decider at White Hart Lane. 20th - 1962 Phil Beal signed professional forms for the club having been an apprentice since May, 1960. He went on to make 420 senior appearances in 13 years at Tottenham. 21st - 1967 We started a club record run of 28 League and cup matches without defeat with a 2-0 home win against Burnley. The sequence came to an end on September 2, following 20 wins and eight draws in 20 League and eight FA Cup matches, with a thumping 1-5 defeat at Turf Moor, Burnley! 22nd - 1920 Alf Ramsey born at Dagenham. A full back, signed from Southampton in May,1949, he was the last piece of the jigsaw in our push and run side of 1949-50-51. Knighted in 1967 having managed the England side to World Cup glory. 23rd - 1909 Our match at Bolton was billed as a promotion decider. We won 1-0 and ended the season accompanying champions Wanderers to the top flight at the first attempt, edging out third placed West Bromwich Albion on goal average. 24th - 1953 Sonny Walters scores our 1,500th League goal at White Hart Lane in a 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday 25th - 1964 We record our 800th League win a 3-1 home victory against Aston Villa. 26th - 1995 Vic Buckingham passed away. He is the only Spur to amass over 200 League appearances for the club without playing in the top flight. His tally of 204 came between 1935 and 1949. 27th - 1900 We lost our first FA Cup tie of the century to Preston North End. Revenge was gained the following year when defeating the Lancashire club on our way to the final. 28th - 1911 One of four of our Football League fixtures to be abandoned. This one against Oldham was stopped at half time due to fog with the score at 1-1. 29th - 1910 The three Steel brothers from Newmilns, Alec, Danny and Bobby, all played in our goal-less home fixture with Bradford City. 30th - 1904 Our highest aggregate score in a Southern League fixture with a 7-4 victory against Reading. 31st - 1954 VJ Woodward, our famous amateur centre forward, passed away. He was the first Spur to gain a Full England cap when he faced Ireland in February, 1903, scoring two goals. FEBRUARY 1st - 1967 Our only post war win on this date came in a 1-0 victory over Millwall in a replayed FA Cup tie. Our nine other games have seen us draw one and lose eight! 2nd - 1929 Taffy O'Callaghan won his first Welsh cap at the age of 22. He was the first product of our Northfleet United nursery team to gain Full international honours. 3rd - 1960 We run up our best ever competitive scoreline with a 13-2 win over Crewe Alexandra. The Fourth Division side are 10-1 down at half time. Legend has it that they arrived at London Euston station on platform 13 and left again from number 2. 4th - 1961 Leicester City inflict our first home defeat of the double season with a 3-2 win. 5th - 1927 Our First Division fixture with Sunderland is broadcast in part on BBC Radio. The Grenadier Guards are in attendance to lead the community singing at White Hart Lane plus two announcers, one to describe the play the other to provide general and topical patter. 6th - 1982 The official opening of our current West Stand is performed by Sir Stanley Rous who symbolically cuts the ribbon prior to our 6-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. 7th - 1973 Derby County score five goals against us at White Hart Lane, the only club to do so in the FA Cup. Their hat-trick hero is Roger Davies in the 5-3 scoreline after extra time. 8th - 1913 Tommy Lunn makes his last senior appearance for us. He took part in our first Football League game, picking the ball out of the net three times as we beat Wolves 3-0 in 1908. 9th - 1929 Arthur Grimsdell made his final senior appearance in our colours. Regarded as one the finest players ever to don a Spurs shirt, he captained both club and country, lifting the FA Cup aloft following our 1921 triumph. 10th - 1986 Pat Jennings played for both sides in a Jersey friendly match, keeping the score down to 1-0 at half time. We eventually ran out 7-0 winners. 11th - 1907 For the only time in our history we needed a second replay to decide consecutive FA Cup ties. Having faced Hull City three times in round one we also required a third match to defeat Blackburn Rovers. Since then only three of our ties have gone to a third game. 12th - 1944 Jack Rowley, a guest player from Manchester United, nets a club record seven of our goals in an 8-1 win over Luton Town. 13th - 1915 Centre forward Jimmy Cantrell nets four goals at Middlesbrough but it is not enough as the home side win 7-5. That is one of only seven such scorelines in the history of the League. 14th - 1974 Neil McNab signs for Spurs from Morton. Aged 16, he is too young to sign professional so instead signs amateur forms. He was the first 16 year old, and the last amateur, in our League side. 15th - 1969 Roger Morgan makes his debut in our colours. Facing his former club Queens Park Rangers who include his twin brother Ian in their line-up. 16th - 1974 Jose Dominguez born at Lisbon. His gymnastic goal celebrations brightened up White Hart Lane when he opened his scoring account against Sheffield Wednesday in October, 1997. 17th - 1900 Bristol based club Bedminster were defeated 5-2 as we strove towards our one and only Southern League championship title. 18th - 1958 Cliff Jones was signed from Swansea. The Welsh international winger gave tremendous service with 159 goals in 378 senior appearances during his ten years at Tottenham. 19th - 1995 Jürgen Klinsmann is appointed captain of Germany during his first spell with us. His tally of 38 goals in 68 games were a crucial contribution to our cause in both of his stints at Tottenham. 20th - 1982 Scottish winger Ally Dick, aged 16 years 301 days, becomes our youngest League player ever on facing Manchester City at White Hart Lane. 21st - 1989 Mohamed Ali Amar, better known as Nayim, makes his senior debut for us. He was immortalised in the hearts of Spurs fans for a goal scored in a European final from the halfway line. 22nd - 1937 A dramatic FA Cup replay with Everton ends 4-3 to Spurs. Everton had been 3-1 up with 25 minutes remaining. 23rd - 1901 We knock Bury out of the FA Cup, the first time since the Football League incepted in 1888 that the holders had been eliminated by a non league club. 24th - 1900 John Kirwan gains the first Irish cap by a Spur. Welshman Jack Jones was our only other player at the time to have been honoured by his country. 25th - 1904 We record a win 1-0 at Aston Villa in a replayed FA Cup tie after the crowd 'invaded' the pitch at Tottenham during the original match, causing it to be abandoned. 26th - 1921 Sandy Hunter makes his senior debut for the club. Two months later he won an FA Cup winners medal. 27th - 1971 We win our first League Cup final with two late goals from Martin Chivers against Third Division opponents Aston Villa at Wembley. 28th - 1936 The Football League management committee scrapped the fixture list in a row with the pools promoters. Home teams would be known but visitors would only be announced two days prior to the fixture. The problem was resolved within a few weeks. 29th - 1964 Our last game on Leap Year Day, a 2-1 win at Birmingham. We were scheduled to visit Notts County in 1992 but the League Cup semi final against Forest took precedent and was switched to the Sunday. MARCH 1st - 1995 "Rocket Ronny" Rosenthal turns the cup replay at Southampton on its head with a hat-trick, this after coming on as a substitute. We run out 6-2 winners in extra time. 2nd - 1963 Welsh international Terry Medwin makes the last of his 215 senior appearances for the club, against West Bromwich Albion. 3rd - 1973 Ralph Coates bags the only goal of the final against Norwich City to secure the Football League Cup for the second time in three years. 4th - 1949 26 year old defender Harry Clarke is signed from Newport-based Southern League club Lovells Athletic. He gained a Full England cap and was everpresent in our push and run side of 1949-50-51. 5th - 1948 Arthur Turner, Club Secretary since August, 1906, passed away. During both wars he managed the team whilst other staff were fighting for King and Country. 6th - 1938 An FA Cup sixth round tie with Sunderland attracts a record attendance to White Hart Lane of 75,038. The visitors win the match 1-0. 7th - 1908 Billy Minter made his debut in our colours. He went on to serve as assistant trainer, trainer, manager and assistant secretary until his death in 1942. 8th - 1961 Sunderland, the only team to take us to a replay during our Double winning cup run, are defeated 5-0 in a sixth round tie following a 1-1 draw at Roker Park. 9th - 1946 Len Duquemin made his senior debut for the club within a couple of months of joining our groundstaff from his native Guernsey. 10th - 1900 Our last Southern League game against Thames Ironworks. The east London club reformed under the new title West Ham United later that year. 11th - 1978 We gained our 500th home point in the Second Division with a 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic. 12th - 1936 Ralph Ward signed from Bradford Park Avenue. A tough character - he sparred with Reggie Meen - Ward went on to to make 366 senior appearances in 10 years at Tottenham. 13th - 1936 One six line paragraph in the Weekly Herald, headlined 'On Trial' stated "Spurs are giving a month's trial to an amateur Wm. E. Nicholson, an inside right of Scarborough Working Man's Club. He recently celebrated his 17th birthday. His height is 5ft 8 ins and weight 10st 12 lbs." 14th - 1929 Ted Harper signed from Sheffield Wednesday on transfer deadline day. He went on to notch, on average, a goal per game in his 63 League appearances for the club. 15th - 1987 Our 2-0 FA Cup win at Wimbledon is dedicated to full back Danny Thomas whose career had been ended by a serious injury the previous weekend. 16th - 1985 Garth Crooks scores the only goal as we achieve our first win at Anfield since 1912, exactly 73 years to the day since our last victory there. 17th - 1921 One of the strangest games ever staged at Tottenham sees our second XI face a team of Music Hall Artistes. Two similar matches had been played prior to the Great War. 18th - 1905 Herbert Chapman, later to find fame as a manager, made his Southern League debut for us against Brighton & Hove Albion. 19th - 1955 Terry Dyson, the only Spur to net a hat-trick in a north London derby match, makes his senior debut in our colours against Sheffield United. 20th - 1982 Graham Roberts nets a hat-trick from midfield in a 3-2 home win over his home town club Southampton. 21st - 1999 Dane Allan Nielsen heads the only goal deep into injury time against Leicester City to secure our third Football League Cup triumph. 22nd - 1934 White Hart Lane hosted the annual markets match between teams representing Spitalfields and Covent Garden. 23rd - 1934 The Weekly Herald reports that the mammoth electric clock, on the High Road at the front of the ground, is now complete having been illuminated and adorned with the cockerel motif. 24th - 1979 We gained our 1,000th away point in the Football League with a 3-2 victory at Aston Villa. This after being two down with 12 minutes remaining. 25th - 1986 Steve Perryman moves on to Oxford United after nearly 20 years at Tottenham, making a club record 854 senior appearances, including 655 in the Football League. 26th - 1921 Tommy Clay, normally a full back, plays the whole match in goal in a 1-0 win at Sunderland, due to an Easter injury crisis. 27th - 1926 With Frank Osborne taken ill before the game, club trainer Billy Minter plays in a friendly fixture at Hull City, over six years after his last senior game. 28th - 1931 A then club record of 25,000 programmes are sold for the promotion chasing Second Division encounter with West Bromwich Albion. 29th - 1958 Another League landmark achieved against Aston Villa with Bobby Smith netting our 1,000th home goal in Division One. 30th - 1922 White Hart Lane hosts its only London Combination representative match, against the London League. 31st - 1917 We run up our best scoreline during the Great War with a 10-0 thumping of Portsmouth in the London Combination. APRIL 1st - 1918 Could it be an April Fool or did the one time Spurs programme seller named Hill really play at left half in the wartime match against Clapton Orient? 2nd - 1900 We play a benefit match at the Canning Town home of Thames Ironworks in aid of the dependants of Harry Bradshaw, an England international who played for both clubs. 3rd - 1982 Ossie Ardiles departs to prepare for Argentina's defence of the World Cup after helping us return to Wembley with a 2-0 semi final win over Leicester at Villa Park. 4th - 1914 Winger Fanny Walden makes his England debut against Scotland. In doing so he becomes the shortest player for his country, standing five feet two inches in his stockinged feet. 5th - 1962 We bow out of our first European campaign having taken holders and eventual winners Benfica right to the wire in the second leg of the semi final. We won 2-1 on the night but went out of the Champions Cup 4-3 on aggregate. 6th - 1901 Vivian Woodward made his Southern League debut for the club. The famous amateur forward later captained England at Amateur and Full level as well as the Great Britain Olympic team. 7th - 1914 SH Stewart Casey, one of the founder members of the club in 1882, passed away. By the end of the month his brother HD Sam Casey - also a founder - had passed on. 8th - 1975 Glenn Hoddle signed professional forms for the club. He fell just short of 500 senior appearances during his 12 years in our first team. 9th - 1921 Four of our players - Bert Bliss, Jimmy Dimmock, Arthur Grimsdell and Bert Smith - turned out for England against Scotland. 10th - 1914 Tiny Joyce nets a penalty against Bolton Wanderers to become the only 'keeper to net a goal for us in the Football League. It was one of ten spot kicks scored by Joyce during his time at Tottenham. 11th - 1959 Dave Mackay gains the first Scottish cap by a Spurs player when facing England. By the end of the year new arrivals Bill Brown and John White had also played for their country. 12th - 1955 Ron Henry makes his Spurs debut. His final appearance came in March, 1977 when he faced Reading reserves, aged 42, due to a player shortage. 13th 1900 A 2-0 win against defending champions Southampton secures the Southern League title. 14th - 1991 Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker net early goals in the first FA Cup semi final to be staged at Wembley. We run out 3-1 winners against Arsenal. 15th 1974 We secure our 2,500th point in the Football League with a goal-less draw at Chelsea. 16th - 1960 Tommy Harmer, nicknamed "The Charmer", makes his 222nd and last appearance in our first team. 17th - 1961 A 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday at White Hart Lane ensures our second Football League Championship success. 18th - 1908 Norwich City provide the opposition for our final home game in the Southern League. 19th 1935 John Cameron, player/secretary/manager of our 1901 FA Cup winning side, passes away at Edinburgh. 20th - 1901 A then world record crowd for a football match numbering 110,820 watch our 2-2 draw with Sheffield United in the FA Cup final at the old Crystal Palace. 21st - 1923 Jimmy Cantrell makes his final League appearance for the club. At 40 years, 349 days, he is the oldest player to feature in our league side. 22nd - 1909 John Curtis signed from Gainsborough Trinity. He scored our first ever League goal against Arsenal in April, 1910. 23rd - 1921 Jimmy Dimmock scores the only goal after 53 minutes to secure our second FA Cup win, in the final against Wolves at Stamford Bridge. 24th - 1920 Jabe Darnell, who served the club as a player and assistant trainer between 1904 and 1947, earns a second benefit match against Arsenal 25th - 1942 Tom Morris passed away. He played in our first game at White Hart Lane, our first FA Cup Final and our first Football League match before working on our backroom staff. 26th - 1902 Sandy Brown, 15 goal hero of our 1901 cup run, played his last Southern League match for us netting twice against Brentford. 27th - 1901 Our first FA Cup Final victory, 3-1 against Sheffield United at Burnden Park, Bolton. The only non-league club to win the trophy since 1888. 28th - 1951 A 1-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday secures our first League Championship title. 29th - 1944 We win the wartime Football League South championship with a home victory over Clapton Orient. The title was retained the following season. 30th - 1910 Record receipts for a League match at the time of Stg£ 2,163 are paid to watch our relegation battle with Chelsea. We won 2-1 to maintain our top flight status. MAY 1st - 1955 Winger Johnny Gavin gains the first Republic of Ireland cap by a Spurs player when facing The Netherlands at Dalymount Park 2nd - 1914 Bill Jacques signed from Coventry City. A goalkeeper he cost a reputed £300 fee. Was ever-present in our 1919-20 second division championship side. 3rd - 1939 White Hart Lane was selected to host a replay had the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers been drawn. As it was Portsmouth won 4-1 at the first attempt. 4th - 1905 We play our first match overseas, facing the Hohen Warte club at Vienna. 5th - 1962 Burnley are defeated 3-1 at Wembley as we retain the FA Cup for another year. 6th - 1961 The completion of the first "Double" this century. A 2-0 win over Leicester City at Wembley secures this historic feat. 7th - 1946 We stage our first testimonial match for a player. Willie Hall is the beneficiary of a fixture against an FA XI. 8th - 1979 Mark Falco scores on his league debut at Bolton. "Bilko" went on to net 89 goals in 236 senior appearances for the club. He now works on matchdays in our executive areas. 9th - 1981 Our first FA Cup final for 14 years ends all square with Tommy Hutchison being credited with our equaliser in a 1-1 scoreline. 10th - 1929 Arthur Rowe signs professional forms for the club some five years after first being mentioned as a future prospect. 11th - 1974 A 1-1 home draw with Huddersfield Town, coupled with a 1-0 win in the away leg three days later, secures the FA Youth Cup for the second time. Coventry City had succumbed following two replays in 1970. 12th - 1950 We host the visit of German club Borussia Dortmund as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations. 13th - 1990 Our Youth team complete a third success in the FA Youth Cup with a 3-2 aggregate win over Middlesbrough. 14th - 1981 Ricky Villa shrugs off the disappointment of the previous encounter to net one of the best Cup Final goals ever against Manchester City in the replayed final. 15th - 1963 A stunning 5-1 victory over European Cup-Winners Cup holders Atletico Madrid in Rotterdam sees us become the first British club to lift a European trophy. 16th - 1987 Clive Allen scores the 49th goal of a memorable season for him but Coventry City hit back to win the FA Cup final 3-2 after extra time. 17th - 1972 The first all English European final - in the first season of the UEFA Cup replacing the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup - sees Alan Mullery add to Martin Chivers' two goal salvo at Molineux to set up a 3-2 aggregate win. 18th - 1991 A then record breaking eighth FA Cup final win, again going to extra time before former Spurs Junior Des Walker's own goal settles the issue. 19th - 1951 Bill Nicholson scores 19 seconds into his one and only appearance for the England side, against Portugal at Goodison Park. 20th - 1967 The first all London FA Cup final sees Jimmy Robertson and Frank Saul net in our 2-1 victory over Chelsea. 21st - 1974 Our first European final at White Hart Lane ends in a 2-2 draw with Feyenoord. We lost the second leg in Rotterdam 2-0 eight days later. 22nd - 1982 Another all London FA Cup final, this time against second division Queens Park Rangers, which ends all square at 1-1. 23rd - 1984 Tony Parks is the hero on a night of high drama at White Hart Lane. The UEFA Cup final against Anderlecht ends 2-2 on aggregate then we win the trophy with a 4-3 victory in the penalty shoot-out. 24th - 1975 Terrace hero Alfie Conn wins his second and last Full cap for Scotland, against England at Wembley. 25th - 1908 Long serving full back Sandy Tait, a member of our 1901 FA Cup winning side, joins neighbours Leyton as player coach. 26th - 1900 John Cameron, our player/secretary/manager, is presented with the Southern League shield on behalf of the club. He is also elected to the organisation's management committee. 27th - 1982 An early Glenn Hoddle penalty seals our seventh FA Cup triumph and gives us some reward for a season where we went close on all four fronts. 28th - 1952 We run up our best ever scoreline with an 18-1 win over Saskatchewan FA XI at Saskatoon. Sid McClellan nets nine of our goals. 29th - 1937 The LNER engine named Tottenham Hotspur is unveiled at Hoe Street Station, Walthamstow in a ceremony performed by club chairman Charles Roberts. 30th - 1912 A tour match against the Olympic Players XI in Budapest ends in a 4-3 victory. 31st - 1963 Our tour to South Africa kicks off with a 5-1 defeat of a NSAFL Invitation XI in Cape Town. JUNE 1st - 1935 Spurs captain Arthur Rowe marries Miss A Foot of Camberwell at Peckham Register Office. 2nd - 1982 FWA Footballer of the Year Steve Perryman gains his only Full cap for England against Iceland in Reykjavik. 3rd - 1961 A banquet to celebrate the "Double" is held at the Savoy Hotel, London. 4th - 1959 A crowd numbering 100,000 see our tour game in Leningrad against a Soviet Union Select XI. 5th - 1909 We face fellow English club Everton in Palermo on the first leg of our seven match tour of South America. 6th - 1979 A Bermuda Select XI are defeated 3-1 on our way back from the Japan Cup tournament where we defeated Dundee United in the final two days earlier. 7th - 1947 Due to government restrictions on midweek fixtures and a severe winter, we make our latest ever end to a League campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Barnsley. 8th - 1938 Ted Ditchburn signs on as an amateur for us. A good class boxer as a schoolboy he concentrates on football and is farmed out to our nursery side Northfleet United. 9th - 1909 In preparation for our first top flight campaign, the club pays its Football League fee amounting to 15 guineas (£15-75). 10th - 1949 The Spurs Supporters Club is formed by a meeting of approximately 100 people at Denmark Street Hall. 11th - 1936 Goalkeeper Jack Hall is signed from Manchester United. He joins three other Hall's on our books, namely Willie, Almer and Albert. 12th - 1986 Pat Jennings makes the last of a then world record 119 international appearances for Northern Ireland, against Brazil in the Mexico World Cup finals, on his 41st birthday. 13th - 1924 The Weekly Herald reported that Spurs, in accordance with the Football League, will continue to charge one shilling (five pence) for division one games next season. 14th - 1994 The club are hit with a 12 point deduction and an FA Cup ban for financial irregularities by a previous administration. 15th - 1947 On our tour to France we go down 2-1 to Toulouse. It was our first tour outside the UK or Channel Islands since visiting Malta in 1929. 16th - 1936 Ted Hughes, a member of our 1901 FA Cup winning side, passed away. He had run the Kings Arms public house at Enfield Highway since 1908 17th - 1966 We defeat Bayern Munich 3-0 in Detroit on our North American tour. The two teams draw 1-1 at Chicago 48 hours later. 18th - 1952 A Quebec FA XI are beaten 8-0 at Montreal, taking our goal tally on the 10 match tour to 85! 19th - 1993 Ossie Ardiles is appointed manager of Spurs, 18 years all but a day since making his international debut for Argentina. 20th - 1909 Rosario are defeated 9-0 in the penultimate game of our South American tour. 21st - 1937 A loss of £4,851 for the 1936-37 season, announced at the club AGM, is blamed on bad weather! Transfer trading totalled £12,217 for new arrivals with £3,630 being recouped in sales. 22nd - 1991 Alan Sugar joins the directorate and steers the club away from impending bankruptcy. 23rd - 1989 Gary Lineker is signed from Barcelona. He scored 80 goals in 138 games in our colours and won the FWA Footballer of the Year statuette in 1992. 24th - 1965 Equalling our latest end to a season, in 1909, we face a Maccabi Select XI in Tel Aviv. 25th - 1950 Full back Alf Ramsey (later Sir Alf) becomes our first player to feature in the World Cup finals when facing Chile in Rio de Janeiro. 26th - 1948 Spurs stalwart John Pratt born. He made 415 senior appearances between 1969 and 1980, scoring 49 goals, and later served on our coaching staff. 27th -1936 Former Spur Fanny Walden umpired a test match between England and All India at Lords. In all, he officiated at 11 tests between 1934 and 1939. 28th - 1941 Bert Middlemiss died. He featured in our first League match in 1908 and when he married in 1915 held a wedding breakfast at Warmington House at the front of the ground! 29th - 1908 After several failed attempts we gain membership of the Football League. Stoke resigned and we pipped Lincoln City on a third ballot. The management committee voted 5-3 in our favour. 30th - 1936 The club AGM revealed that assets of £121,802 made Spurs the richest club in the country. We were in the second division at the time. JULY 1st - 1969 Terry Naylor turns professional. The full back, affectionately nicknamed 'Meathook', scored one goal in 304 senior outings for the club. 2nd - 1950 Eddie Baily wins his first Full cap for England, against Spain at the World Cup Finals in Brazil. 3rd - 1931 Dickie Dowsett born. He scored in his one and only First Division match for us, at Aston Villa in August, 1954, the only Spur to do so. 4th - 1956 Taffy O'Callaghan passed away. He played 283 games for us, including a spell as a wartime guest, netting 102 goals and after the war served on the Fulham training staff. 5th - 1930 Full back Matt Forster, plucked from Newburn-on-Tyne in 1919, joins Reading after 244 senior appearances for us. 6th - 1987 Dutch international Johnny Metgod signed from Nottingham Forest. He has been with Feyenoord since leaving us in 1988. 7th - 1988 The transfer of Paul Gascoigne from Newcastle is completed for a reputed £2 million fee. He notched 33 goals in 112 senior games in our colours until joining Lazio in May, 1992. 8th - 1935 An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, held in the billiards room at the club offices, authorises the directorate to borrow up to £50,000 rather than the current limit of £25,000! 9th - 1918 Finlay Weir, serving with the Tottenham Royal Engineers, is killed in action. He made 101 peacetime appearances for us, scoring twice. 10th - 1978 Spurs scoop the world with the capture of Argentine World Cup stars Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa for a reported combined fee of £700,000. 11th - 1995 Striker John Hendry departs for Motherwell having notched five goals in 20 appearances during his five years on our books. 12th - 1949 Jake Farley signed from Chelmsford City, one of several players snapped up by manager Arthur Rowe from his former club. 13th - 1944 Cyril Knowles born at Fitzwilliam. Signed from Middlesbrough in 1964 he went on to play 506 games for us, scoring 17 goals. He also gained four Full caps for England. 14th - 1976 Keith Burkinshaw appointed manager in succession to Terry Neill. Guided the club to FA Cup success in 1981 and 1982 plus the UEFA Cup in 1984. 15th - 1974 Alfie Conn signed from Rangers, the last player bought by Bill Nicholson. He returned north of the border in 1977 to join Celtic. 16th - 1952 The freehold of our training ground at Brookfield Lane, Cheshunt is secured with a payment in excess of £11,000. 17th - 1924 Len Duquemin born at Guernsey. Nicknamed 'The Duke' he scored 134 goals in 307 games for us between 1947 and 1957. 18th - 1997 David Ginola makes his Spurs debut on tour at the Norwegian town of Fredrikstad, two days after signing from Newcastle. 19th - 1947 Harry Erentz, a member of our 1901 FA Cup winning side, passed away at his home town of Dundee. His family was originally of Danish extraction. 20th - 1909 A £10 signing on fee was paid to Walter Tull, the first black player to feature in our League side. 21st - 1964 John White, our Scottish international forward, was struck down by lightning at Crews Hill golf club, aged 27. 22nd - 1943 Charles David Roberts, the longest serving club chairman in our history, passed away. He first became involved with the club in 1897 and was chairman from November, 1898 until his death. 23rd - 1928 The 30th and reportedly shortest ever shareholders AGM, was held at the club, lasting 25 minutes. 24th - 1968 Dave Mackay transferred to Derby. Twice came back from a broken leg to skipper the 1967 FA Cup winning team. 25th - 1982 Gary Mabbutt signed from Bristol Rovers for a reputed £105,000 fee. Second in our all time list of appearances with 611 in League and major cup competitions, scoring 38 goals. 26th - 1988 Danningelanda, a small Swedish village, is the venue for the first appearance in a Spurs shirt by new recruits Paul Stewart and Paul Gascoigne. 27th - 1922 A boxing exhibition, including serious bouts, is staged at White Hart Lane. 28th - 1992 Midfielder Paul Stewart, subject of our first £1 million plus payment in 1988 when signed as a striker from Manchester City, is transferred to Liverpool. 29th - 1998 Hans Segers signed on as player/goalkeeping coach. He became our oldest League debutant when facing Southampton last September. 30th - 1964 Jürgen Klinsmann born. He first signed for us the day before his 30th birthday. Ended his career at the 1998 World Cup Finals with a tally of 47 goals in 108 internationals for Germany. 31st - 1968 Our first ever July start to a pre-season campaign sees Rangers defeated 3-1 at Tottenham before a 37,998 crowd. Peter Collins nets twice and Alan Mullery the other. AUGUST 1st - 1987 In our only match to date in Finland, against the Lansi Uudenmaan XI at Karjaala, Shaun Close scores four of our goals in a 7-2 scoreline. He is now a Hertfordshire publican. 2nd - 1948 White Hart Lane plays host to an Olympic Games second round match in which Sweden defeat Austria 3-0 3rd - 1982 16 year old winger Richard Cooke makes his First Team debut in a 5-0 friendly win at Scunthorpe United. He still turns out regularly for our Veterans side. 4th - 1984 Goalscoring hero of the 1978 World Cup Finals Mario Kempes turns out for us in a friendly match at Enfield, alongside compatriot Ossie Ardiles. 5th - 1967 A 91,708 crowd watch the friendly match at Hampden Park between Spurs and Celtic as part of the Queens Park centenary celebrations. 6th - 1900 The club's fourth annual military tournament is staged at White Hart Lane. Inclement weather washed out the proposed first penalty kick competition to be staged at the ground. 7th - 1980 The deal to sign Garth Crooks is completed. He forms a prolific partnership with another recent recruit Steve Archibald. 8th - 1946 Ralph Ward joins Crewe Alexandra after 10 years on our books. He later had a spell as manager of the Cheshire club. 9th - 1969 We made our earliest start to a campaign in the old First Division when facing Leeds United at Elland Road. 10th - 1984 Clive Allen signed from Queens Park Rangers. He went on to notch 84 goals in 135 games, including a club record 49 during season 1986-87. 11th - 1938 Ron Burgess signed professional forms for the club. Including wartime games he played 458 times for us, netting 56 goals. He left to manage Swansea Town in 1954. 12th - 1930 A trio of local talent, Wally Alsford, Fred Channell and Les Howe were all asigned to our professional staff. 13th - 1934 As part of our pre-season preparation we faced a North Middlesex XI cricket team. 14th - 1926 Ex-Spur Bobby Steel refereed the first public trial match at Tottenham since 1902. The attendance of 9,742 produced receipts of £275 for local charities. 15th - 1931 Johnny Morrison signed amateur forms for the club. He went on to score 130 goals in 187 senior games for us between 1933 and 1945. 16th - 1921 The Red House, on the right hand side of the club entrance, was acquired and transformed into the club offices. 17th - 1986 Scottish international defender Richard Gough signs from Dundee United. He captained our 1987 FA Cup final side before returning north of the border to Rangers. 18th - 1956 Terry Medwin makes his debut against Preston North End. Capped 30 times by Wales, he scored 72 goals in 215 senior outings for us. 19th - 1966 Another Welshman, Mike England signs from Blackburn Rovers. He made 397 appearances in nine years at Tottenham, netting 18 goals, and later managed the Welsh national team. 20th - 1960 We open the double season with a 2-0 home win over Everton. We took maximum points from our first 11 games, a record for the top flight. 21st - 1983 A long overdue testimonial match is staged for Bill Nicholson, against West Ham. 22nd - 1908 We win our second British Baseball Cup final in three years with a victory by six runs to five against Leyton. 23rd - 1970 Jimmy Anderson passed away. He served the club for 50 years from 1908 including spells as coach, trainer and manager. 24th - 1960 Frank Saul, the youngest player to feature during the double campaign, signs professional the day after his 17th birthday. 25th - 1947 Our Reserve Team record their best ever scoreline in the Football Combination with a 13-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion. Johnny Jordan leads the goal rush with four. 26th - 1933 We use numbers on our players shirts for the first time when Watford visit for a London Combination fixture. It was another five years and more before our senior side donned numbers, coincidentally in a home cup tie with Watford. 27th - 1938 England full back Bert Sproston made his debut for us at Southampton. Within three months he had returned north, reportedly suffering from homesickness. 28th - 1987 Tony Galvin left for Sheffield Wednesday. Since joining us from Goole Town in 1978 he had scored 31 goals in 273 games. 29th - 1930 Alec Lindsay joined Thames after 13 years service with us. He made 243 appearances in our colours, netting 54 goals. 30th - 1953 Billy Harston, a player from our amateur days, passed away at his Tottenham home, aged 86. He had served on our matchday staff for many years. 31st - 1946 We field nine products of our pre-war Northfleet United nursery team in a Second Division fixture with Birmingham. SEPTEMBER 1st — 1908 Our first ever Football League match, against Wolves at Tottenham, results in a 3-0 win. Club director and England international forward Vivian Woodward nets our first goal. 2nd — 1939 Johnny Morrison scores a hat-trick for us in a 4-3 win at West Bromwich Albion. It is to no avail as war was declared the following day and the match scrubbed from the official records. 3rd — 1925 Our Reserve Team host touring Spanish club Real Madrid in a friendly fixture at White Hart Lane, winning 4-2. 4th — 1968 Martin Chivers nets our first ever goal in the Football League Cup after 41 minutes at Aston Villa He goes on to score a hat-trick, Cliff Jones netting the other in a 4-1 win. 5th — 1924 Sonny Walters born at Edmonton. The outside right of our push and run side he scored 85 goals in 283 senior games for us. 6th — 1928 A Spurs ‘A’ team, including Leslie Howe faced a Cheshunt side — then one of our nursery clubs — featuring his future colleague Wally Alsford. 7th — 1985 Goalkeeper Ray Clemence played the 1,000th senior game of his career in our 5-1 home win over Newcastle United. 8th 1933 The Weekly Herald reports that a trawler named “The Spurs” is to make its maiden voyage from Grimsby next week. The vessel cost £20,000. 9th 1992 Sol Campbell signed professional forms for the club, nine days prior to his 18th birthday. 10th — 1960 Our under-18 side run up their best ever win in the FA Youth Cup with a 15-0 scoreline against Terrington Lads, a King’s Lynn based youth club team. 11th — 1909 The old West Stand is officially opened for our first home game in the top flight, a 2-2 draw with Manchester United. 12th — 1931 Jimmy Brain, subject of the first north London transfer between Arsenal and Tottenham, makes his senior debut in our colours at Manchester United. 13th — 1927 Club director Morton Cadman, a Spurs player back in the 1890’s, is elected to the Football League Management Committee. 14th — 1966 West Ham United defeat us 1-0 in our first ever Football League Cup tie. 15th — 1951 A new club record is set for our best ever away win in the Football League, a 6-1 victory at Stoke City, a feat equalled at West Ham in 1962. 16th — 1933 We draw 1-1 with Arsenal in the last match of our record undefeated home run of 34 games, stretching back to January, 1932. 17th — 1900 Frank Scott Walford, one of our former players, referees a benefit game between Millwall Athletic and Spurs. 18th — 1952 Our first ever FA Youth Cup tie results in a 4-0 win over Welwyn Garden City. The match is staged at our Cheshunt training ground just a fortnight after it hosted its first game. 19th — 1925 We share 10 goals in a League match with a 5-5 draw against Huddersfield Town. 20th — 1961 A 2-4 first leg deficit is overturned against Polish club Gornik Zabre with an 8-1 win in our first home match in the European Champion Clubs Cup. 21st — 1901 The first international match staged at Tottenham, between “England Amateurs” and a touring German side, results in a 12-0 win for England. 22nd — 1971 Alan Mullery lifts the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners Cup following a 2-0 win over AC Torino at White Hart Lane. We won the tie 3-0 on aggregate. 23rd — 1922 Various incidents during our home match with Arsenal result in a special FA commission two weeks later. Tottenham spectators were warned of possible ground closure if the scenes were repeated. 24th — 1900 The Spurs players are presented with their Southern League Championship medals at a dinner held at Stanstead House, Lower Tottenham. 25th - 1909 We record our first victory in the top flight, a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, this after one draw and three defeats. 26th - 1908 Max Seeburg, a native of Leipzig, becomes one of the earliest overseas players to feature in the Football League when turning out for us in a Second Division fixture against Hull City. 27th — 1969 Steve Perryman makes the first of his club record 655 League appearances, against Sunderland at White Hart Lane. 28th — 1955 Alf Stokes becomes the first Spur to gain an England Under-23 cap when he faces Denmark. 29th — 1953 The official opening of our floodlights is celebrated with a 5-3 win over French outfit Racing Club de Paris. 30th — 1976 Winger Jimmy Neighbour signs for Norwich City after 156 senior games for us, scoring 11 goals. Earlier this year he was appointed head of youth recruitment to Charlton Athletic. OCTOBER 1st — 1937 George Hunt, our former England striker, leaves Tottenham to sign for Arsenal. 2nd — 1983 Our 2-1 home win Nottingham Forest is the first Football League game to be shown live in full on British television. 3rd — 1987 The 14th and last of our best ever run of consecutive home League wins, a 2-0 scoreline against Sheffield Wednesday. 4th — 1919 Jimmy Dimmock makes the first of his 400 League appearances for the club. He was also the first player to reach the landmark of 100 League goals in a Spurs shirt. 5th — 1945 Goalkeeper Roy Brown born. He made his only senior appearance for us against Blackpool in 1966. Currently head of sport and leisure at Reading Borough Council. 6th — 1983 We become the first football club to float our shares on the London Stock Exchange. The issue is four and a half times oversubscribed with 12,859 applicants. 7th — 1901 A banquet is held at Kings Hall restaurant, Holborn, to celebrate our FA Cup win as a non-league club. 8th — 1960 Centre forward Bobby Smith scored on his England debut against Northern Ireland. He netted seven goals in his first five appearances for the national side. 9th — 1968 Cliff Jones made the last of his 378 senior appearances in a Spurs shirt, scoring 159 goals, prior to his transfer to Fulham. 10th — 1959 Film star Jayne Mansfield is the first female allowed into the directors box at White Hart Lane for the home game against Wolves. 11th — 1958 Everton are defeated 10-4 at Tottenham on the day that Bill Nicholson succeeds Jimmy Anderson as Spurs manager. 12th — 1996 Justin Edinburgh becomes our 1,000th used substitute in League football when he replaces Andy Sinton in the home game with Aston Villa. 13th — 1982 Gary Mabbutt gains the first of his 16 Full caps for England against West Germany at Wembley. 14th — 1967 We play our 2,000th Football League fixture, against Coventry City at Highfield Road. 15th — 1927 We gained our 500th point in the First Division with a 1-1 home draw against Blackburn Rovers. 16th — 1920 A crowd numbering 76,000 watch our First Division game at Chelsea, then a competition record and still the biggest for any of our League fixtures. 17th — 1930 The Weekly Herald reports that a new football film, entitled “The Great Game” features six Spurs players, namely Jimmy Dimmock, Frank Osborne, Taffy O’Callaghan, Bert Smith, Billy Cook and Arthur Lowdell. 18th — 1958 Former England amateur international George Robb makes the last of his 200 senior appearances in a Spurs shirt, against Leicester City. 19th — 1946 Ronnie Burgess gains his first official cap for Wales, against Scotland, this after making numerous appearances as a wartime international. 20th — 1977 Colin Lee signed from Torquay United. He scored four goals on his debut two days later in a 9-0 Second Division win over Bristol Rovers. 21st — 1944 We bounced back from our one and only defeat of the 1944-45 season to trounce Luton Town 9-1. We went on to retain the wartime league title won in 1943-44. 22nd — 1938 Alan Gilzean is born at Coupar Angus on the same day that 19 year old Bill Nicholson makes his League debut for Spurs at Blackburn Rovers. 23rd — 1915 Centre half Charlie Rance played in goal for the first few minutes of the goal-less wartime game at Clapton Orient while Tiny Joyce changed his jersey due to a colour clash! 24th — 1962 We notched up our 2,000th goal in the First Division during a 6-2 victory over Manchester United. 25th — 1935 We led the Second Division table with 16 points from 11 games but eventually finished fifth, six points behind the second promoted club. 26th — 1994 Micky Hazard makes the last of 170 senior appearances during his two spells with the club. He scored 25 goals for us. 27th — 1909 Fred Bearman was elected to the club directorate. He became chairman in August, 1943 and retired in October, 1961, aged 88. 28th — 1962 Erik ‘The Viking’ Thorstvedt born. Kept goal in our 1991 FA Cup triumph. In all, made 218 senior appearances in a Spurs shirt. 29th — 1956 Alan Mullery plays his first game at White Hart Lane, as a west London schoolboy, for London Boys against Manchester Boys. 30th — 1961 Hans Segers born at Eindhoven. He became our oldest League debutant when playing at Southampton last season. 31st — 1981 Pat Corbett, normally a defender, scores the winning goal within a few minutes of coming on for his League debut against Southampton at The Dell. NOVEMBER 1st — 1961 We record our first away win in European competition, a 3-1 victory at Feyenoord in the Champion’s Club Cup. 3rd — 1935 Willie Hall nets his only senior hat-trick in our colours, notching three goals in a 7-2 home win over Swansea Town. 3rd — 1955 Maurice Norman signed from Norwich City. He went on to gain England honours before a double leg fracture ended his career in 1965. Now lives at Eccles, Suffolk. 4th — 1933 Reserve defender Alf Day plays for Wales against Northern Ireland, five months prior to his first League outing in our colours. 5th — 1993 Arthur Rowe passed away. Under our wing as a player from 1924 to 1939 he returned in 1949 to manage the club to push and run glory. 6th — 1979 Chris Jones scored twice in our 4-2 win over the Widad club in Morocco. He now lives at his native Jersey. 7th — 1912 Willie Evans born. He made his Spurs debut on this 19th birthday and his final senior appearance in our colours precisely five years later. 8th — 1958 Our 1,000th match in the old First Division results in a 1-1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers. 9th - 1932 A souvenir programme was issued for the Shareholders Jubilee Concert — celebrating our first 50 years — staged at the Tottenham Municipal Hall. 10th — 1984 A 2-1 victory at Nottingham Forest is the start of our club record away sequence of 16 matches unbeaten, stretching to August 21, 1985. 11th — 1939 Les Bennett and Les Medley net three apiece in our 8-2 home win over Watford in a wartime league game. 12th — 1955 We win 2-1 at Manchester City to celebrate our 1,500th match in the Football League. 13th — 1967 Confusion amongst many of a near 42,000 crowd as a 4-3 home win over Olympique Lyonnais results in us going out of the European Cup-Winners Cup on the away goals rule. 14th — 1955 Our first match in the Anglo-Scottish Floodlight Trophy results in a 1-0 win for the visitors, Partick Thistle. 15th — 1950 Les Medley gains his first cap for England against Wales at Roker Park, Sunderland. 16th — 1938 Spurs forward Willie Hall nets five goals for England in their 7-0 win over Northern Ireland at Old Trafford. 17th — 1900 Following a lengthy delay in awaiting FA sanction, we start our eight year career in the Western League with an 8-1 home win over Portsmouth. 18th — 1950 We record our eighth consecutive League victory with a 7-0 drubbing of Newcastle United at White Hart Lane. 19th — 1980 Chris Hughton scores the first goal by a Spurs player for the Republic of Ireland in a 6-0 win against Cyprus. 20th 1961 Jimmy Greaves signed from AC Milan. His transfer became the subject of a Football League enquiry which took three weeks to complete! 21st - 1931 We defeat Port Vale 9-3 at Tottenham in a Second Division game, our first nine goal tally in a Football League fixture. 22nd — 1979 Glenn Hoddle scores a spectacular goal on his Full international debut for England against Bulgaria. The match was delayed for 24 hours by fog. 23rd — 1940 Johnny Wallis made his senior debut for the club in a wartime match against Luton. He was awarded the CBE in 1993 and retired a year later after serving on our back room staff for nearly 50 years. 24th — 1931 JL Jones, captain of our 1901 cup winning side, passed away. 25th — 1953 Former Amateur international George Robb gains his one Full cap for England, against Hungary at Wembley. 26th — 1910 Tom Collins made his Spurs debut three days after signing from Hearts. His career was ended by injuries sustained during the Great War. 27th — 1974 Alan Gilzean is rewarded for 10 years service with a testimonial match against Yugoslav side Red Star Belgrade. 28th — 1962 Danny Blanchflower gains the last of his 56 Caps for Northern Irealand, against Poland, at the age of 36. 29th — 1980 Garry Brooke made his senior debut against West Bromwich Albion. His unique shooting style is still in evidence for our veterans team. 30th - 1949 England defeat Italy 2-0 in the last of four Full internationals to be staged at White Hart Lane. DECEMBER 1st — 1913 Arthur Hitchins born. A centre half he captained Lea Bridge Gasworks FC prior to making 149 senior appearances in our colours. 2nd — 1948 Goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn gains the first of his six Full caps for England, against Switzerland. 3rd — 1910 We record our first Football League win over Arsenal — then known as Woolwich Arsenal — with a 3-1 scoreline. 4th — 1948 Bill Nicholson nets our 2,000th Football League goal in a 1-1 draw at Fulham. 5th — 1996 Steffen Iversen signs for Spurs from Norwegain club Rosenborg BK. 6th — 1967 Cyril Knowles wins the first of four England caps, against the Soviet Union at Wembley. 7th — 1907 Spurs director Tom Deacock officiates as a linesman in the Amateur international between England and Ireland at White Hart Lane. 8th — 1954 The protracted signing of Danny Blanchflower from Aston Villa is completed for a reputed £30,000 fee. 9th — 1994 An independent arbitration tribunal rescinds the FA decision to ban us from the FA Cup. 10th — 1932 Spurs stalwart Harry Goddard passed away. A player during the late 1880’s he was involved with the club programme and handbook for 35 years. 11th — 1971 We notch our 300th away win in the Football League with a 1-0 victory at Leicester City. 12th — 1964 Another long-running transfer saga is completed with Scots international Alan Gilzean joining us from Dundee. 13th — 1958 Alfie Stokes scores our 1,000th away goal in the Football League in a 1-3 defeat at Burnley. 14th — 1960 Chris Waddle born. He scored 42 goals in 173 senior appearances for us until joining Marseille in July, 1989. 15th — 1976 The first England Under-21 appearance by a Spurs player — Glenn Hoddle faces Wales in a friendly fixture. 16th — 1983 Holsten become our first shirt sponsors for the televised match against Manchester United at Old Trafford. 17th — 1904 We equal our record Southern League win of 8-1 against Wellingborough. Watford had succumbed to a similar scoreline three years earlier. 18th — 1991 The First Division home fixture with Liverpool is our 3,000th match in the Football League. 19th — 1931 11,375 people turned up for our home game with Oldham Athletic, due to fog. The gates were only opened 20 minutes before kick-off. 20th — 1982 A crowd of around 10,000 — including a hardy band of travelling Spurs fans — watch our 2-0 defeat by German club Borussia Moenchengladbach at Tel Aviv, Israel. 21st — 1940 Jackie Gibbons scored the first of four hat-tricks against Clapton Orient, each on consecutive Saturday’s. Orient only fielded ten players in the 9-0 win. 22nd — 1962 Spurs assistant manager Harry Evans passed away, aged 42. His daughter Sandra married John White. 23rd — 1939 Johnny Dowers, an office boy to chief scout Ben Ives, made his Spurs debut in an abandoned wartime game with Southend United, just a year after gaining an England Schoolboy cap. 24th — 1932 Willie Hall made his Spurs debut, against former club Notts County three days after signing from them. 25th — 1905 A record crowd for a Southern League game of 33,000 watch our 3-1 win over Portsmouth at White Hart Lane. 26th — 1930 One GR Phillips scores eight of the goals in a 15-1 win for our ‘A’ Team against their Arsenal counterparts at White Hart Lane. 27th — 1980 Glenn Hoddle acts as an emergency goalkeeper for the third time in 14 months, at Norwich City having also done so at Leeds (October, 1979) and Manchester United (January, 1980). 28th — 1983 Peter Southey, our former England Youth international defender, passed away following a bone marrow transplant in an attempt to cure Leukaemia. 29th — 1922 Bert Bliss joins Clapton Orient after a ten year career at Spurs spanning 150 goals in 279 senior games. 30th — 1916 A Bearman, a Charterhouse schoolboy and relative of the Club director, played in a wartime game against Watford. 31st — 1929 Bill Whatley signs on as an amateur. He served as a coach and scout for us after gaining Welsh honours as a player. Share this story
i don't know
In Chinese cooking, what type of meat is the main ingredient in the dish Char Siu?
Chinese Pork Main Dish Recipes - Allrecipes.com Chinese Pork Main Dishes Chinese Pork Main Dish Recipes Looking for Chinese pork main dish recipes? Allrecipes has more than 30 trusted Chinese pork main dish recipes complete with ratings, reviews and cooking tips. "Char siu literally means fork burn/roast—'char' being fork (both noun and verb) and 'siu' being burn/roast—after the traditional cooking method." – David&Andrea Get Allrecipes Magazine! Top-rated recipes, party ideas, and cooking tips to inspire you year-round. Get a full year for just $7.99!
Pork
With Guy Williams and June Lockhart as the mother and father, what was the surname of the main family in the TV series Lost in Space?
1000+ images about Chinese Food on Pinterest | Pork, Egg rolls and Pork egg rolls Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe. The most delicious and easy sweet and sour pork recipe, made with easy-to-get ingredients, and much healthier than your regular takeout | http://rasamalaysia.com See More
i don't know
Which poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson contains the line 'Into the mouth of hell rode the six hundred'?
SparkNotes: Tennyson’s Poetry: “The Charge of the Light Brigade” “The Charge of the Light Brigade” “The Charge of the Light Brigade” → “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, page 2 page 1 of 2 Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death    Rode the six hundred. Charge for the guns!’ he said: Into the valley of Death    Rode the six hundred. Was there a man dismay’d? Not tho’ the soldier knew    Someone had blunder’d: Their’s not to make reply, Their’s not to reason why, Their’s but to do and die: Into the valley of Death    Rode the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them    Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell    Rode the six hundred. Flash’d all their sabres bare, Flash’d as they turn’d in air Sabring the gunners there,    All the world wonder’d: Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro’ the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reel’d from the sabre-stroke Shatter’d and sunder’d. Then they rode back, but not    Not the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them    Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro’ the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them,    Left of six hundred. When can their glory fade ? O the wild charge they made!    All the world wonder’d. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade,    Noble six hundred! Summary The poem tells the story of a brigade consisting of 600 soldiers who rode on horseback into the “valley of death” for half a league (about one and a half miles). They were obeying a command to charge the enemy forces that had been seizing their guns. Not a single soldier was discouraged or distressed by the command to charge forward, even though all the soldiers realized that their commander had made a terrible mistake: “Someone had blundered.” The role of the soldier is to obey and “not to make reply...not to reason why,” so they followed orders and rode into the “valley of death.” The 600 soldiers were assaulted by the shots of shells of canons in front and on both sides of them. Still, they rode courageously forward toward their own deaths: “Into the jaws of Death / Into the mouth of hell / Rode the six hundred.” The soldiers struck the enemy gunners with their unsheathed swords (“sabres bare”) and charged at the enemy army while the rest of the world looked on in wonder. They rode into the artillery smoke and broke through the enemy line, destroying their Cossack and Russian opponents. Then they rode back from the offensive, but they had lost many men so they were “not the six hundred” any more. Canons behind and on both sides of the soldiers now assaulted them with shots and shells. As the brigade rode “back from the mouth of hell,” soldiers and horses collapsed; few remained to make the journey back. The world marvelled at the courage of the soldiers; indeed, their glory is undying: the poem states these noble 600 men remain worthy of honor and tribute today. 1
Charge of the Light Brigade (disambiguation)
What two word name was given to the British civilian organisation created during the first and second world wars that involved women working in agriculture, replacing men who had been called up to the military?
RPO -- Alfred Lord Tennyson : The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade I               1 Half a league, half a league,               2    Half a league onward,               3All in the valley of Death               4    Rode the six hundred.               5`Forward, the Light Brigade!               6Charge for the guns!' he said:               7Into the valley of Death               8    Rode the six hundred. II               9`Forward, the Light Brigade!'             10Was there a man dismay'd?             11Not tho' the soldier knew             12    Some one had blunder'd:             13Their's not to make reply,             14Their's not to reason why,             15Their's but to do and die:             16Into the valley of Death             17    Rode the six hundred. III             18Cannon to right of them,             19Cannon to left of them,             20Cannon in front of them             21    Volley'd and thunder'd;             22Storm'd at with shot and shell,             23Boldly they rode and well,             24Into the jaws of Death,             25Into the mouth of Hell             26    Rode the six hundred. IV             27Flash'd all their sabres bare,             28Flash'd as they turn'd in air             29Sabring the gunners there,             31    All the world wonder'd:             32Plunged in the battery-smoke             33Right thro' the line they broke;             34Cossack and Russian             37Then they rode back, but not             38    Not the six hundred. V             39Cannon to right of them,             40Cannon to left of them,             41Cannon behind them             43Storm'd at with shot and shell,             44While horse and hero fell,             45They that had fought so well             46Came thro' the jaws of Death,             47Back from the mouth of Hell,             48All that was left of them,             49    Left of six hundred. VI             50When can their glory fade?             51O the wild charge they made!             52    All the world wonder'd.             53Honour the charge they made!             54Honour the Light Brigade,             55    Noble six hundred! Notes 1 ] Author's note: "This poem (written at Farringford, and published in The Examiner, Dec. 9, 1854) was written after reading the first report of the Times correspondent, where only 607 sabres are mentioned as having taken part in this charge (Oct. 25, 1854). Drayton's Agincourt was not in my mind; my poem is dactylic, and founded on the phrase, "Some one had blundered." At the request of Lady Franklin I distributed copies among our soldiers in the Crimea and the hospital at Scutari. The charge lasted only twenty-five minutes. I have heard that one of the men, with the blood streaming from his leg, as he was riding by his officer, said, `Those d--d heavies will never chaff us again,' and fell down dead." (p. 369). Online text copyright © 2003, Ian Lancashire for the Department of English, University of Toronto. Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries. Original text: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Poems, ed. Hallam Lord Tennyson and annotated by Alfred Lord Tennyson (London: Macmillan, 1908), II, 225-27. First publication date: 1854 RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire RP edition: RPO 1998.
i don't know
Gary Lightbody is the lead vocalist of which pop band formed in 1994 ?
Gary Lightbody (Singer) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Gary Lightbody Male Born Jun 15, 1976 Dr Gary Lightbody is a Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. related links Tired Pony Return On 'i Don't Want You As A Ghost' – Song Premiere Rolling Stone - Aug 26, 2013 ' Click to listen to Tired Pony\'s \"I Don\'t Want You As a Ghost\" When <mark>Gary Lightbody</mark> of Snow Patrol Peter Buck of REM and Richard Colburn of Belle and Sebastian began working on their next album as Tired Pony they had something special from the start opening song \"I Don\'t Want... ' Coldplay Member Appears On 'game Of Thrones' Huffington Post - Jun 03, 2013 '\n \"Game of Thrones\" fans are still reeling from Sunday night\'s penultimate episode, \"The Rains of Castamere,\" a.k.a. the Red Wedding episode, a.k.a. you crazy for this one George RR Martin. Despite the blood and tears (and blood and blood), Episode 9 did feature one brief moment of levity for those viewers paying close attention: a cameo appearance from Coldplay drummer Will Champion. \n\n Champion played a drummer in the episode, casting that was first announced by EW.com back... New Game Of Thrones Season 3 Poster As Unforgiving As Stone Boom Tron - Nov 16, 2012 ' \n Boom! March 2013 is a little over four months away, but you don’t have to wait for today’s teaser poster reveal for the next addictive season of Game of Thrones on HBO. You can see it now. The art work is cold, dark and made of stone, but it gets its point across. Dragons, kings and wildlings return on 03.31.13. The repetition of the number three is also very fitting. It is, after all, season three that we’re waiting on pins and needles for. I like the swords worked into the image. If it... Family And Friends Shocked By Death Of Massive Attack Vocalist Huffington Post - Oct 29, 2012 '\n Fans and friends are paying tribute to Terry Callier, one of Massive Attack\'s most celebrated collaborators. \n\n The jazz and soul singer has died, aged 67, reportedly found dead at his home on Sunday, with saxophonist Gene Barge confirming his death to the Chicago Sun-Times. \n\n Terry Callier was rediscovered later in his career through collaborations with Beth Orton and Massive Attack \n\n Callier started his career aged 17 after signing a deal with Chess Records and recorde... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Gary Lightbody. CHILDHOOD 1976 Birth Born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, to Jack and Lynne (née Wray) Lightbody, on 15 June 1976, Jack Lightbody has been an independent business owner and has roots in Rosemount, Derry. … Read More Gary Lightbody has one sister, Sarah, and attended Rockport School and Campbell College. Read Less TEENAGE In 1994, Lightbody left home for Scotland to study English literature and English language at the University of Dundee. Lightbody formed a band with Mark McClelland and drummer Michael Morrison in 1994, called Shrug. … Read More Morrison left the band later, and the band were forced to change the name to Polarbear, as another band had claimed the name. In the band's first seven years of existence, they added drummer Jonny Quinn, released two albums (Songs for Polarbears, and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up), and toured with bands such as Levellers, Ash and Travis. The band stayed in Glasgow during the recording of the first two albums. Lightbody used to hold a job at the Nice n Sleazy's Bar in Sauchiehall Street. Today, Lightbody owns a small place in Glasgow and says he will never leave the country behind, though he resides in Belfast. He feels an attachment to the place, as it gave him his first taste of success.<br /><br /> In the early days, Lightbody used to drink very heavily, and in his words, was "irrational, erratic, neurotic". He had become frustrated by Snow Patrol's lack of financial success and felt lost and aimless. He started cursing at the audience and demolishing the band's equipment. He found himself breaking guitars they could not afford. This phase ran for two years. He later gave up drinking and now does it "for fun" and credits his band mates for the turnaround. The song "Disaster Button" (A Hundred Million Suns) deals with this topic. Though a musician, he cannot read music and has said that he "guesses" his way through chords. Read Less THIRTIES 2007 31 Years Old Lightbody has filled in for DJ Zane Lowe on his BBC radio show on one occasion during the 2007 takeovers. … Read More He was subsequently voted the best fill-in DJ amongst them by the listeners. He has compiled two DJ mix albums, one in The Trip series: The Trip: Created by Snow Patrol, and another with bandmate Tom Simpson, called Late Night Tales: Snow Patrol on the Late Night Tales series.<br /><br /> In addition to his work with Snow Patrol and DJing, Gary Lightbody has contributed to other projects and works.<br /><br /> Lightbody writes as essayist articles or columns in variously music magazines and newspapers like Q magazine and previously wrote for The Irish Times music section as guest-editor. As an impassioned music fan and DJ, he recommends in his blogs or essays albums and artists of different and wide-ranging genres of music. Read Less Show Less In May 2009, Lightbody commenced writing his music column, Gary Lightbody's Band of the Week, in the magazine Q The Music.com. … Read More In 2011, he wrote as an essayist for The Huffington Post.<br /><br /> As a songwriter/bandleader, he has written songs and lyrics for a wide variety of artists and genres.<br /><br /> In 2000, he formed the Scottish supergroup The Reindeer Section, comprising 47 musicians from 20 different bands, including members of bands like Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap and other musicians. The group released Y'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! in 2001 and Son of Evil Reindeer in 2002.<br /><br /> 2000–2002 <br /><br /> 2005–2006 <br /><br /> 2007–2008 <br /><br /> 2008–2009 <br /><br /> 2010 <br /><br /> 2012 <br /><br /> 2013 <br /><br /> Growing up, Lightbody listened to artists like Super Furry Animals, Quincy Jones, Kool & the Gang, and Michael Jackson. He subsequently got into hard rock bands AC/DC and KISS as a teen, and then alternative acts like Sebadoh, Mudhoney, Pixies and Pavement. Read Less Lightbody's songwriting has earned him much praise. In October 2009, he revealed that a certain "public figure", whom he wanted to remain nameless, told him that the band had written songs that were standards in today's world, and that Snow Patrol songs had become a part of the public consciousness. … Read More He compared their work to that of artists like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles. Lightbody realises this and cites performances of their songs on reality TV shows as an example.<br /><br /> Lightbody has held the view that Snow Patrol may have had an easier time succeeding in the music industry than a band forming at the present time and attempting to become successful, given the changed state of the music industry, specifically how music is obtained by consumers. He questions the public's motive to buy the songs which they have already listened to, and blames Myspace for it.<br /><br /> Of Snow Patrol, Lightbody has said that all albums they managed to sell in the early days were from touring, as there were no unauthorized copies of their music available then. He believes if the current state of the industry continues, it would become impossible for bands starting out to become full-time. Despite this, he observes that the band might not have survived if they had been successful early in their career, as they would have subsequently taken that success for granted. Read Less …  He is a fan of the X-Men, particularly Wolverine, and owns a stack of comics. He bought several comics as a kid and has some that he has never opened, hoping they would become rare collectibles someday; in a later interview, he light-heartedly mentioned that they could earn him a small pension. He considers himself a "comics freak". <br /><br />Despite having written several romantic songs, Lightbody has been reported as having had trouble talking to women. Lightbody has been in many doomed relationships, and he blames their failure on only himself, considering himself "rubbish with women". He attributes the failure partly to him "never being in the same place for very long", and admits that at times he's been hopelessly in love. <br /><br />Lightbody has been involved in numerous causes, mostly related to music and football. He is currently on the board of directors of the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Northern Ireland, a project set up to give young artists a place where they can share ideas and kick-start their music careers, as often is the trend of talent leaving the country from lack of appraisal. Read Less He supported young bands from Northern Ireland and involved them as support bands to shows of Snow Patrol's UK & Ireland Arena Tour of February–March 2009. … Read More Lightbody is one of the supporting voices for the growing music-scene in his hometown Belfast in Northern Ireland and once stated in an interview to have grown up as an "Indie rock kid" inspired to become a musician through influences of artists and acts such as Kurt Cobain, Super Furry Animals, and Sebadoh.<br /><br /> Lightbody has worked with the aid organisation Save the Children in Uganda, an experience on which he has written in New Statesman. He has also been involved in raising awareness of depression, a condition that he himself has struggled with. Read Less 2012 36 Years Old In July 2012, Lightbody received an Honorary Doctorate in Letters from the University of Ulster at a ceremony in the Millennium Forum, Derry/Londonderry. … Read More See also Snow Patrol Awards. Read Less Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Lightbody .
Snow Patrol
Chad Varah, a British Anglican priest who lived from 1911 to 2007 is probably best remembered for being the founder of which charity organisation in 1953 ?
Snow Patrol Official Website :: Band Merch (US) Snow Patrol Snow Patrol's new album, Fallen Empires, arrives with a serious reputation attached. The Irish/Scottish five piece have sold over 11 million albums and have been responsible for several era-defining singles, including Run, Chocolate, and Chasing Cars (which spent an incredible 104 weeks in the UK Top 75 and was voted song of the decade in a Channel 4 poll). Their albums have been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, Grammys and MTV Europe Music Awards, with Final Straw landing them an Ivor Novello Award in 2005. By anyone's standards, it's been a pretty good century so far. Given its iconic status, The Joshua Tree National Park in south-eastern California seemed as good a place as any to start work on their sixth studio album. In October 2010, the band drove out into the desert with their guitars and one or two rough song ideas. A week later, their writing session at Rancho De La Luna Studios had laid the foundations of the tracks that would comprise Fallen Empires. Over several months, the five piece - singer Gary Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly, bassist Paul Wilson, drummer Jonny Quinn and keyboardist, Tom Simpson - began a musical road trip around California. They recorded tracks at Eagles Watch, a topsy turvy house in Santa Monica with widescreen windows and panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. Backing vocals were drawn from the LA Inner City Mass Gospel Choir in Compton, south central LA. Later, tracks were mixed at the studio owned by longterm collaborator, Garret 'Jacknife' Lee - a hacienda tucked away in Topanga Canyon, the one time hippy commune and former home to Neil Young and Woody Guthrie. Along the way, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, US singer Lissie and Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist, Troy Van Leeuwen all popped by to lend a guitar part here, a lyric idea there. Meanwhile, Snow Patrol's new adventures seeped into every note on 'Fallen Empires'. The result is an album that promises to redefine the band as an altogether more ambitious, more expansive, creative force. "We wanted to make a massively ambitious record," says Gary Lightbody, sipping wine by the pool at Garret Lee's picturesque, Topanga Canyon home. "Arcade Fire's last record (The Suburbs) made us realise that we had to up our game. It was amazing. We decided that we wanted to make a record unlike any other we've made before." "We started writing songs that were more playful, even rawer than before - we were brave enough to do what we wanted as a band, rather than what convention dictated to us. It was tough at times, we were out of our comfort zone for most of it, but I think it's given us a great album." On first listen, its immediately apparent that Fallen Empires breaks new ground for the band. Bolting distorted, electro guitar riffs, club-friendly drums and anthemic choruses to Gary Lightbody's heart-bruised lyricism, this is an album that takes its cues from LCD Soundsystem's The Sound Of Silver, U2's Achtung Baby and The Suburbs, Arcade Fire's aforementioned album. Despite the experimentation, Fallen Empires still retains the essence of Snow Patrol's appeal. The catch-all emotional dynamics are still there: the soulful New York feels like a festival moment-in-waiting; The Garden Rules a soundtrack to autumnal romance. "I'm really happy with the words," says Gary. "I always try to write about personal experiences - New York is about a girl I was seeing over there. We both had strong feelings for one another, but we were never in the same place at the same time. It's about missed opportunities. The overall feeling of the record is home though - there are stories about my childhood (The Garden Rules) and Garret's kids (Life-ning). Home is the overall theme." Beyond Gary's lyric writing and pop hooks, the band have flexed their creative muscle as a whole. On the album's title track and Weight Of Love Nathan Connolly is revealed as a guitarist with stadium riffs to burn; I'll Never Let Go arrives blitzed with distorted, synth like curlicues and techno-mixed effects. "The most exciting part of making this album is that I felt able to express myself more" says Nathan. This time round I felt confident enough to be really creative when it came to recording my own parts. We also tried to record differently. I used to write my parts and play them along to Gary's songs. This time Garret would just play the song and say 'Go'. I'd improvise. I had to think on my feet, and it worked." Gary later admits the band decided to release their "inner dance monkey" during recording sessions. "I'll Never Let Go is a proper night out track," says Gary. "It's full blown electro. There's always been a dance element to our music, but this time we've been a bit bolder with it. I'm looking forward to hearing some of these songs in a club because it'll get people going. I always see people walking off the dance floor when they play our records, we're not that kind of band. I'll Never Let Go might change that." Elsewhere, Fallen Empires' call-to-arms anthem is powered by a clattering percussion attack - the sound of dozens of different drums picked up by Jonny Quinn from a local music store in LA. "I was inspired by the drummers I used to see on Venice Beach in Santa Monica," he says. "They were always out there playing - some of them were great, some of them were shit, but they all had different drums and drumming styles. I just went down to the store and picked up loads of different kits. I started playing them and we layered drum over drum over drum. It was so painful playing them all. By the end of it, my hands had totally swollen up." Cameo roles were later played by Michael Stipe (Gary: "He was very supportive when I had writer's block and gave me the confidence that everything that I had already was worth pursuing further."), Queens Of The Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen (Nathan: "We recorded the track Called Out In The Dark with him in LA"), and the LA Inner City Mass Gospel Choir (Gary: "It brought a real soul to songs like I'll Never Let Go"). Lissie was also invited to contribute vocals to four tracks, including The Garden Rules. "I'm a big fan of hers so I got in touch," says Gary. "I didn't write any songs with her specifically in mind, but we just got her to sing on a bunch of stuff and it sounded great, she gave us that Gimme Shelter vibe. She's a real infectious character - she lights up the room with her energy." The overall results are an album that should mark Snow Patrol as a band big on experimental ideas as well as stadium sized anthems. Fallen Empires feels like a suitably weighty follow-up to the platinum success of 2008's A Hundred Millions Suns and the million-selling 2009 collection Up To Now - it is simply their best record to date. "This feels like a proper record to me," says Gary. "A grown up record, but a fun record. I've always wanted to make an album that could rank with the ones that inspire me, and hopefully this one will. I'm really proud of this album. Listening to it thrills me and that is a beautiful thing indeed."
i don't know
What surname links a 16th century Queen Consort of England and the name of a current Premiership football ground?
History of English Sports - An Englishman's Favourite bits of England An Englishman's Favourite bits of England History of British Sports Given To The Warld         Inventor of the Pea Whistle by Englishman Joseph Hudson ( 1848-1930 )       Jigsaw Puzzles – An English Iconic Game - 1776       Village of Wenlock, England – A Modern Olympic Games – 1850       Centuries of English Cricket History – 990AD       Twenty20 Cricket – It's Founding and History - 2003       History of Horse Racing – 12th. Century England       History of The Grand National – England 1839       The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race – It's Fun History       Commonwealth Games – The Friendly Games       Darts – British 16th Century History       World's First Football Chant – by Edward Elgar       English Football - It's History from 1280 AD       English Football Premier League – History       English Rugby – History       The Ryder Cup Golf Competition – History       English Field Hockey - 1363 AD History       Badminton and it's English History       Table Tennis and Its English History       The Sport 0f Squash - It's English Historical Beginnings       History of Cribbage – An English Iconic Game       History of English Lawn Bowls Inventor of the Pea Whistle by Englishman Joseph Hudson (1848-1930) As a fan of most sports I thought I would write about how the first referee's Pea Whistle was invented and by whom. Way back in the 1860s, Joseph Hudson, who was originally a Farm Worker from Derbyshire who moved to Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution. He later trained as a toolmaker and converted his humble wash room at St. Mark’s Square, Birmingham which he rented for 1s. 6d. (one shilling and six pence per week) into a workshop where he could supplement the family income by watch repairing and to cobbling shoes. Joseph Hudson was well known as an inventor in Birmingham, England during the late 19th century and the founder of J Hudson & Co. in 1870 later to become the world largest whistle manufacturer. He entered a competition held by the Metropolitan police force in London in 1883 to design a better way of attracting people's attention. He won a contract to supply the police with their new devices, a small but loud 'Whistle'. Prior to this time the police force had to rely on hand rattles and whistles were only thought of as musical instruments or toys, his whistle is still used by the force and many others world side. He later invented the first referee whistle for football matches, prior to this handkerchiefs were used at games. Hudson also invented the 'Acme Thunderer' (first ever pea whistle) which has been, and remains, the most used whistle in the world, from train guards to dog handlers, party goers to police officers. Joseph Hudson set up his whistle factory in Birmingham, England in 1870. Around 1878, his ACME Whistles were the first to replace the handkerchiefs and sticks of football referees. In 1883 the Home Secretary invited competition from companies to replace the hand rattle that the London Metropolitan Police of the time relied on. Joseph Hudson, basing a new whistle on the sound he had heard when a violin broke from a fall, was awarded the contract for over 7,000 whistles. During testing on Clapham Common, the sound of the whistle was heard over a mile away. In 1884, the company continued their whistle revolution, inventing the first reliable pea-whistle, the ACME Thunderer which is still the most popular whistle today and has sold in the hundreds of millions. Today Acme whistles are recognized as some of the finest whistles manufactured in the world today. Jigsaw Puzzles – An English Iconic Game - 1776 I thought as Jigsaw Puzzles was invented by us English I thought I would tell its history. The first jigsaw was made by John Spilsbury (an Englishman) in 1766 who was a renowned mapmaker and engraver from London who mounted a map of England on a thin sheet of mahogany board, used a hand held fretsaw to cut round the county boundaries and sold the boxed pieces for children to assemble. They were known as "Dissected maps". The result was an educational aid, which could be used for teaching Geography to children. John Spilsbury certainly spotted a great  business opportunity. In the space of two years he marketed the eight map subjects most likely to appeal to upper class English parents: The World, the Four Continents then known (Africa, America, Asia and Europe), England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland. During the next 40 years several other manufacturers (including individuals in Holland) copied John Spilsbury's ideas and introduced historical scenes to compliment his map subjects. In the early part of the century, puzzles were made almost exclusively for wealthy children and almost always with education in mind. To save on cutting labour the puzzles consisted of only a few large pieces and only the outside interlocked – the rest was cut quickly with straight or wavy lines. The wood used was usually Mahogany or Cedar. The jigsaw named “The Parable of the Sower” on the right was cut by Betts in about 1870 and typifies the style of jigsaws up to that date. Only the outside pieces interlock and the quality of the print is very poor by modern standards. Towards the end of the century great strides were made in many manufacturing techniques and three of these influenced jigsaws: Treadle operated jigsaws were invented. Techniques were developed to produce THIN sheets of wood. Printing improved in leaps and bounds. These technological advances enabled jigsaws to be made that were much more intricate, durable and colourful. Adults became interested in doing jigsaws and this spurred the manufacturers to widen the range of subjects available and to make them more difficult to do. It became evident that colourful, complex jigsaws held a fascination for many people. In the late 1800’s a German furniture dealer named Raphael Tuck and his two sons developed 4 techniques that set the scene for jigsaw development into the next century: 2)    Their subjects included many varied and colourful topics. 3)    Cutting was made more intricate and included "Whimsies" – individual pieces cut into recognisable shapes like animals and household goods. 4)    Plywood and thick card started to be used instead of expensive hardwood. 5)    Attractive boxes (that for the first time included an image of the uncut puzzle) were introduced. Those with an interest in history might like to know that Raphael Tuck was also instrumental in the development of other industries – he is credited with the first commercial production of Christmas cards and also the first picture postcards. He set up printing establishments in London, Paris and New York and in 1893 he received the Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria for printing the Queen’s letter to the nation on the occasion of the death of the Duke of Clarence. Village of Wenlock, England – A Modern Olympic Games - 1850 Before the Modern Olympics began there was an Olympics in the Village of Wenlock, Shropshire, England which was run by Dr. William Penny Brookes from 1850 and every year thereafter. He has been widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Olympic Games, but surprisingly not that many people are aware of him or his remarkable life. We in Britain have given the World over 100 Sports and Games and the Wenlock Olympics are still held every year. In 1850, the Agricultural Reading Society resolved to establish a class called "The Olympian Class", "for the promotion of the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation, and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skill in Athletic exercise and proficiency in Intellectual and industrial attainments". The first meeting was held in October 1850, and included athletics and country sports such as quoits, football and cricket. The event quickly expanded, and within a few years attracted competitors from as far away as London and Liverpool. When the first Wenlock Olympian Games were staged in 1859, there was heavy criticism of Brookes' insistence that the Games be open to "every grade of man". It was felt that such an event would cause rioting, lewd behaviour, and that men would leave their wives. Brookes tirelessly avoided requests to limit the Games to only the pupils of public schools and the sons of professionals. The Games were a huge success and none of the threatened disturbances occurred. In 1859, Brookes established contact with the organisers of an Olympic Games revival in Athens sponsored by Evangelis Zappas. In 1860, the Class officially became the Wenlock Olympian Society, adopted some of the athletics events from the Athens games, and added them to their program. The first athlete to be listed on the honour roll of the Society was Petros Velissariou (an ethnic Greek from Smyrna, in the Ottoman Empire who was one of the first international Olympians. In 1865, Brookes helped establish the National Olympian Association (NOA) based in Liverpool. Their first Olympic Games, a national event, held in 1866 at the Crystal Palace, London, were a success and attracted a crowd of over 10,000 spectators. W.G. Grace, the famous cricketer (before he became famous), competed and came first in the hurdles event. The Amateur Athletic Club, later to become the Amateur Athletics Association was formed as a rival organisation to the NOA. In 1877, he requested an Olympian prize from Greece in honour of Queen Victoria’s jubilee. In response, King George I of Greece sent a silver cup which was presented at the National Olympian Games held in Shrewsbury. This brought Brookes into contact with the Greek government, but his attempts to organise an international Olympian Festival in Athens in 1881 failed. In 1889, he invited Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the organizer of an International Congress on Physical Education, too Much Wenlock. Meetings between William Penny Brookes and Baron Pierre de Coubertain took place at The Raven Hotel (as did the feast which concluded each year’s Olympian Games), and today in The Raven Hotel there are displayed many artefacts from those early years, including original letters from Baron Pierre de Coubertain to William Penny Brookes. A meeting of the Wenlock Olympian Games was held in de Coubertin's honour in 1890, with much pageantry. On his return to France, de Coubertin gave a glowing account of his stay in an article, "Les Jeux Olympiques à Much Wenlock", and referred to his host's efforts to revive the Olympics. He wrote: "If the Olympic Games that Modern Greece has not yet been able to revive still survives today, it is due, not to a Greek, but to Dr W P Brookes. Dr. W.P. Brookes died four months before the Athens 1896 Olympic Games, under the auspices of the IOC which was held in Athens in 1896. The Wenlock Olympian Society maintains his original ideals, and continues to organise annual games. The William Brookes School in Much Wenlock is named after him. In 2012 you could say the modern Olympic Games are coming home to London. Centuries of English Cricket History from 900 AD Imbued in English culture is a love and Creator of Sports of all kinds. I was born just a few miles from the oldest cricket club in the world – Hambledon Cricket Club in Hampshire, England. Our national summer game is Cricket which it is believed was first played over 1,000 years ago in English villages in an area of England called The Weald which borders Sussex and Kent.    The game was played by children for hundreds of years before adults played the game . Its beginning is lost in the mists of history, but bat hitting games were played in Saxon England before the Norman Conquest. There are stories that villager's played against villager's on village greens throughout our history, including up to today. There is nothing like a hot, sunny, summer day with the sound of leather ( The ball ) hitting willow ( The Bat ) in an English village. What is agreed is that by Tudor times cricket had evolved far enough from club-ball to be recognisable as the game played today; that it was well established in many parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; that within a few years it had become a feature of leisure time at a significant number of schools; and - a sure sign of the wide acceptance of any game - that it had become popular enough among young men to earn the disapproval of local magistrates. Important Known Historical Dates of Cricketing Events: 900AD (approx.) English Children Play bat and ball games which are the pre-cursors to Cricket, Tennis, and Baseball.                                                                                                                              1550 (approx.) Evidence of cricket being played in Guildford, Surrey. 1598 Cricket mentioned in Florio's Italian-English dictionary. 1610 Reference to "cricketing" between Weald and Upland near Chevening, Kent.       1611 Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary translates the French word "crosse" as a cricket staff. Two youths fined for playing cricket at Sidlesham, Sussex. 1624 Jasper Vinall becomes first man known to be killed playing cricket: hit by a bat while trying to catch the ball - at Horsted Green, Sussex. 1676 First reference to cricket being played abroad, by British residents in Aleppo, Syria. 1694 Two shillings and sixpence paid for a "wagger" (wager) about a cricket match at Lewes. 1697 First reference to "a great match" with 11 players a side for fifty guineas, in Sussex. 1700 Cricket match announced on Clapham Common. 1709 First recorded inter-county match: Kent v Surrey. 1710 First reference to cricket at Cambridge University. 1727 Articles of Agreement written governing the conduct of matches between the teams of the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peperharow, Surrey. 1729 Date of earliest surviving bat, belonging to John Chitty, now in the pavilion at The Oval. 1730 First recorded match at the Artillery Ground, off City Road, central London, still the cricketing home of the Honourable Artillery Company. 1744 Kent beat All England by one wicket at the Artillery Ground. First known version of the Laws of Cricket, issued by the London Club, formalising the pitch as 22 yards long. 1767 (approx) Foundation of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire, the leading club in England for the next 30 years. ( I used to live just a few miles away from this excellent cricket club). 1769 First recorded century, by John Minshull for Duke of Dorset's XI v Wrotham. 1771 Width of bat limited to 4 1/4 inches, where it has remained ever since. 1774 LBW law devised. 1776 Earliest known scorecards, at the Vine Club, Sevenoaks, Kent. 1780 The first six-seamed cricket ball, manufactured by Dukes of Penshurst, Kent. 1787 First match at Thomas Lord's first ground, Dorset Square, Marylebone - White Conduit Club v Middlesex. Formation of Marylebone Cricket Club by members of the White Conduit Club. 1788 First revision of the Laws of Cricket by MCC. 1794 First recorded inter-schools match: Charterhouse v Westminster. 1795 First recorded case of a dismissal "leg before wicket". 1806 First Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. 1807 First mention of "straight-armed" (i.e. round-arm) bowling: by John Willes of Kent. 1809 Thomas Lord's second ground opened at North Bank, St John's Wood. 1811 First recorded women's county match: Surrey v Hampshire at Ball's Pond, London. 1814 Lord's third ground opened on its present site, also in St John's Wood. 1827 First Oxford v Cambridge match, at Lord's. A draw. 1828 MCC authorise the bowler to raise his hand level with the elbow. 1833 John Nyren publishes his classic Young Cricketer's Tutor and The Cricketers of My Time. 1836 First North v South match, for many years regarded as the principal fixture of the season. 1836 (approx) Batting pads invented. 1841 General Lord Hill, commander-in-chief of the British Army, orders that a cricket ground be made an adjunct of every military barracks. 1844 First official international match: Canada v United States. 1845 First match played at The Oval. 1846 The All-England XI, organised by William Clarke, begins playing matches, often against odds, throughout the country. 1849 First Yorkshire v Lancashire match. 1850 Wicket-keeping gloves first used. 1850 John Wisden bowls all ten batsmen in an innings for North v South. 1853 First mention of a champion county: Nottinghamshire. 1858 First recorded instance of a hat being awarded to a bowler taking three wickets with consecutive balls. 1859 First touring team to leave England, captained by George Parr, draws enthusiastic crowds in the US and Canada. 1864 Overhand bowling authorised by MCC. John Wisden's The Cricketer's Almanack first published. 1868 Team of Australian aborigines tour England. 1873 W G Grace becomes the first player to record 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season. First regulations restricting county qualifications, often regarded as the official start of the County Championship. 1877 First Test match: Australia beat England by 45 runs in Melbourne. 1880 First Test in England: a five-wicket win against Australia at The Oval. 1882 Following England's first defeat by Australia in England, an "obituary notice" to English cricket in the Sporting Times leads to the tradition of The Ashes. 1889 South Africa's first Test match. Declarations first authorised, but only on the third day, or in a one-day match. 1890 County Championship officially constituted. Present Lord's pavillion opened. 1895 W G Grace scores 1,000 runs in May, and reaches his 100th hundred. 1899 AEJ Collins scores 628 not out in a junior house match at Clifton College, the highest individual score in any match. Selectors choose England team for home Tests, instead of host club issuing invitations. 1900 Six-ball over becomes the norm, instead of five. 1909 Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC - now the International Cricket Council) set up, with England, Australia and South Africa the original members. 1910 Six runs given for any hit over the boundary, instead of only for a hit out of the ground. 1912 First and only triangular Test series played in England, involving England, Australia and South Africa. 1915 W.G. Grace dies aged 67. 1926 Victoria score 1,107 v New South Wales at Melbourne, the record total for a first-class innings. 1928 West Indies' first Test match. AP "Tich" Freeman of Kent and England becomes the only player to take more than 300 first-class wickets in a season: 304. 1930 New Zealand's first Test match. Donald Bradman's first tour of England: he scores 974 runs in the five Ashes Tests, still a record for any Test series. 1931 Stumps made higher (28 inches not 27) and wider (nine inches not eight - this was optional until 1947). 1932 India's first Test match. Hedley Verity of Yorkshire takes ten wickets for ten runs v Nottinghamshire, the best innings analysis in first-class cricket. 1932-33 The Bodyline tour of Australia in which England bowl at batsmen's bodies with a packed leg-side field to neutralise Bradman's scoring. 1934 Jack Hobbs retires, with 197 centuries and 61,237 runs, both records. First women's Test: Australia v England at Brisbane. 1935 MCC condemn and outlaw Bodyline. 1947 Denis Compton of Middlesex and England scores a record 3,816 runs in an English season. 1948 First five-day Tests in England. Bradman concludes Test career with a second-ball duck at The Oval and a batting average of 99.94 - four runs short of 100. 1952 Pakistan's first Test match. 1953 England regain the Ashes after a 19-year gap, the longest ever. 1956 Jim Laker of England takes 19 wickets for 90 v Australia at Manchester, the best match analysis in first-class cricket. 1957 Declarations authorised at any time. 1960 First tied Test, Australia v West Indies at Brisbane. 1963 Distinction between amateur and professional cricketers abolished in English cricket. The first major one-day tournament begins in England: the Gillette Cup. 1969 Limited-over Sunday league inaugurated for first-class counties. 1970 Proposed South African tour of England cancelled: South Africa excluded from international cricket because of their government's apartheid policies. 1971 First one-day international: Australia v England at Melbourne. 1975 First World Cup: West Indies beat Australia in final at Lord's. 1976 First women's match at Lord's, England v Australia. 1977 Centenary Test at Melbourne, with identical result to the first match: Australia beat England by 45 runs. Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer, signs 51 of the world's leading players in defiance of the cricketing authorities. 1978 Graham Yallop of Australia wears a protective helmet to bat in a Test match, the first player to do so. 1979 Packer and official cricket agree peace deal. 1980 Eight-ball over abolished in Australia, making the six-ball over universal. 1981 England beat Australia in Leeds Test, after following on with bookmakers offering odds of 500 to 1 against them winning. 1982 Sri Lanka's first Test match. 1991 South Africa return, with a one-day international in India. 1992 Zimbabwe's first Test match. Durham become the first county since Glamorgan in 1921 to attain first class status. 1993 The ICC ceases to be administered by MCC, becoming an independent organisation with its own chief executive. 1994 Brian Lara of Warwickshire becomes the only player to pass 500 in a first class innings: 501 not out v Durham. 2000 County Championship split into two divisions, with promotion and relegation. 2001 The Laws of Cricket revised and rewritten. 2003 Twenty20 Cup, a 20-over-per-side evening tournament, inaugurated in England. 2005 The ICC introduces Powerplays and Supersubs in ODIs, and hosts the inaugural Superseries.                                                                                                                                2007 The inaugural 20/20 World Cup. Also the creation of the Indian 20/20 Premier league.          2010 England reach the 20/20 Cricket Final. Twenty20 Cricket – It's Founder and History I thought I would write about the latest sport given to the world which is proving a great success with the world - Twenty20 Cricket and its history. Twenty20 is a form of cricket originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams; each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket. A Twenty20 game is completed in about three and half hours, with each innings lasting around 75 minutes, thus bringing the game closer to the timespan of other popular team sports. It was introduced to create a lively form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television and as such it has been very successful. The ECB did not intend that Twenty20 would replace other forms of cricket and these have continued alongside it. The idea of a shortened format of the game at a professional level was discussed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 1998 and 2001. When the Benson and Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB needed another one day competition to fill its place. The cricketing authorities were looking to boost the game's popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. It was intended to deliver fast paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game. Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a 20 over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001 and they voted 11-7 in favour of adopting the new format. A media group was invited to develop a name for the new game and Twenty20 was the chosen title. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket. Historical Dates of Twenty20 1) Twenty20 Introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. 2) On 10th January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers. It drew a sell-out crowd of 20, 700. 3) Starting 11th July 2006 19 West Indies regional teams competed in what was named the Stanford 20/20 tournament. The event has been financially backed by billionaire Allen Stanford who gave at least US$28,000,000 funding money. West Indies legends also backed the programme, and several "looked after" the teams during their stay in and around the purpose built ground in Antigua. It was intended that the tournament would be an annual event. Guyana won the inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by 5 wickets. The top prize for the winning team was US$1,000,000, but other prizes were given throughout the tournament, such as play of the match (US$10,000) and man of the match (US$25,000). 4) On 1st November 2008 the Superstars West Indies team (101-0/12.5 overs) beat England (99/all out) by 10 wickets. England slumped to 33-4 and then 65-8 after 15 overs before Samit Patel's 22 took them to 99 in 19.5 overs, still easily their lowest Twenty20 total. Chris Gayle scored an impressive 65 runs not out. 5) On 5th January 2007 Queensland’s Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The Gabba, Brisbane. A crowd of 11,000 was expected based on pre-match ticket sales. However, an unexpected 16,000 turned up on the day to buy tickets, causing disruption and confusion for surprised Gabba staff as they were forced to throw open gates and grant many fans free entry. Attendance reached 27,653. 6) For 1st February 2008's Twenty20 match between Australia and India, 84,041 people attended the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground involving the Twenty20 World Champions against the ODI World Champions. 7) Twenty20 attracted billions of fans to the game through the Indian Premier League.   The first Indian Premier League which was staged in India in 2008 changed the face of the game. The league involved over hundreds of players contracted and over billion dollars investment. It was won by Rajasthan Royals with the Chennai Super Kings finishing as runners-up. 8) The second edition was staged in South Africa which was won by Deccan Charges beating the Royal Challengers in the final. 9) The third edition was played in India despite the many challenges and controversies surrounding the league which was won by the Chennai Super Kings with Mumbai Indians finishing as the runners-up. 10) On 17th February 2005 Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's full international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland. 11) The first Twenty20 international in England was played between England and Australia at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire on the 13th June 2005, which England won, by a record margin of 100 runs. 12) On 9th January 2006 Australia and South Africa met in the first international Twenty20 game in Australia. In a first, each player's nickname appeared on the back of his uniform, rather than his surname. Since its inception the game has spread around the cricket world. On most international tours there is at least one Twenty20 match and most Test-playing nations have a domestic cup competition. The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was played in South Africa in 2007 with India winning by five runs against Pakistan in the final. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 defeating Sri Lanka by eight wickets. England won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 defeating Australia in the final by 7 wickets. In June 2009, speaking at the annual Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's, a former Australian wicket-keeper pushed for Twenty20 to be made an Olympic Sports. "It would," he said, "be difficult to see a better, quicker or cheaper way of spreading the game throughout the world." History of Horse Racing – 12th. Century England I thought as English Horse Races are famous worldwide I thought my article on the earliest English horse races would be of interest to horse lovers and readers from all over world.  The origins of modern racing lies in the 12th century, when English knights returned from the Crusades with swift Arab horses. Over the next 400 years, an increasing number of Arab stallions were imported and bred to English mares to produce horses that combined speed and endurance. Matching the fastest of these animals in two-horse races for a private wager became a popular diversion of the nobility. Horse racing began to become a professional sport during the reign (1702-14) of Queen Anne, when match racing gave way to races involving several horses on which the spectators wagered. Racecourses sprang up all over England, offering increasingly large purses to attract the best horses. These purses in turn made breeding and owning horses for racing profitable. With the rapid expansion of the sport came the need for a central governing authority. In 1750 racing's elite met at Newmarket to form the English Jockey Club, which to this day exercises complete control over English racing. The English Jockey Club wrote complete rules of racing and sanctioned racecourses to conduct meetings under those rules. Standards defining the quality of races soon led to the designation of certain races as the ultimate tests of excellence. Since 1814, five races for three-year-old horses have been designated as "classics." Three races open to male horses (colts) and female horses (fillies), make up the English Triple Crown: the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby (see DERBY, THE), and the St. Leger Stakes. Two races, open to fillies only, are the 1,000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks. The Jockey Club also took steps to regulate the breeding of racehorses. James Weatherby, whose family served as accountants to the members of the Jockey Club, was assigned the task of tracing the pedigree, or complete family history, of every horse racing in England. In 1791 the results of his research were published as the Introduction to the General Stud Book. From 1793 to the present, members of the Weatherby family have meticulously recorded the pedigree of every foal born to those racehorses in subsequent volumes of the General Stud Book. By the early 1800s the only horses that could be called "Thoroughbreds" and allowed to race were those descended from horses listed in the General Stud Book. Thoroughbreds are so inbred that the pedigree of every single animal can be traced back father-to-father to one of three stallions, called the "foundation sires." These stallions were the Byerley Turk, foaled c.1679; the Darley Arabian, foaled c.1700; and the Godolphin Arabian, foaled c.1724. Overseas Horse Racing The British settlers brought horses and horse racing with them to the New World, with the first racetrack laid out on Long Island as early as 1665. Although the sport became a popular local pastime, the development of organized racing did not arrive until after the Civil War. (The American Stud Book was begun in 1868.) For the next several decades, with the rapid rise of an industrial economy, gambling on racehorses, and therefore horse racing itself, grew explosively; by 1890, 314 tracks were operating across the country. In 1894 the America's most prominent track and stable owners met in New York to form an American Jockey Club, modelled on the English Jockey Club, which soon ruled racing with an iron hand. History of The Grand National – England 1839 I thought as The Grand National is an Iconic English  Horse race, I thought it would be interesting to fans of English Horse racing to know its history. The origins of the Grand National can be traced back to the first official races at Aintree which were initiated by the owner of Liverpool's Waterloo Hotel, Mr William Lynn. Lynn who leased the land from Lord Sefton, built a course, built a grandstand and staged the first Grand National on Tuesday February 26th 1839 and Lottery became the first winner of The Grand National. In those days the field had to jump a stone wall (now the water jump), cross a stretch of ploughed  land and finished over two hurdles. The Grand National in the days of the Topham family owned substantial tracts of land around Aintree and had been involved with the management of the course since the early years of the Aintree Meeting. In 1949 Lord Sefton sold the course to the Tophams who appointed ex-Gaiety Girl Mirabel Topham to manage it. Mrs Topham built a new track within the established National Racecourse and named it after Lord Mildmay, a fine amateur jockey and lover of the Grand National. The Mildmay course opened in 1953, the same year as the motor circuit which still encircles the track. The motor circuit was another of Mrs Topham's ideas and it quickly gained a reputation as one the best in the world hosting a European Grand Prix and five British Grand Prix. Stirling Moss won his first Grand Prix on it in 1955 while Jim Clark won the 1962 event. Aintree Racecourse suffered some lean times in the post-war years and in 1965 it was announced that the course would be sold to a property developer. In 1973 the Tophams finally sold the course to property developer Bill Davies who gave a commitment to keep the race going however he was not a real racing fan. As a result the attendance at the 1975 Liverpool Grand National was the smallest in living memory (Davies had tripled the admission price) and the great race reached its lowest point. Ladbrokes, the bookmaker made a bold bid in 1975 and signed an agreement with Davies allowing them to manage the Grand National. Ladbrokes, like all true racing professionals, had a genuine love for the National and were determined to keep it alive. Their task stretched over the next eight years and they set about it admirably but Davies was reluctant to renew their contract. He was determined to sell Aintree. Racing and the public in general finally realised that after so many years of "crying wolf" the threat was serious and a huge campaign was launched to rescue the race once and for all. Donations from the public helped the Jockey Club pay Davies' price and in early '83 he finally sold the racecourse. That year the Grand National was sponsored by the Sun newspaper but in '84 Seagram Distillers stepped in to provide the solid foundation on which Aintree's revival has been built. The last Seagram-sponsored National was in 1991 when the race was won by a horse which chairman Straker twice had the opportunity to buy; the horse's name was Seagram. The Seagram subsidiary, Martell, took over sponsorship in 1992. Martell backs the whole three-day Grand National meeting. Around 100,000 people will be at Aintree to watch the top horses battle for honours. By far the most successful and my favourite horse in Grand National history was Red Rum, the only horse to win three times, in 1973, 1974, and in 1977. He also came second in the two intervening years, 1975 and 1976. In 1973, he beat the champion Crisp who had to carry 12 stone, in what is arguably the most memorable Grand National of all time. Aintree racecourse has overcome all the obstacles and today enjoys its most successful period in modern times. Future plans include a new grandstand, a Heritage Centre and a strong ambition to establish Aintree as an international tourist attraction on non-race days. Below is a list of the Past Winners of the Grand National: Year 1839 Lottery                  1840 Jerry                     1841 Charity                  1842 Gay Lad                1843 Vanguard  1844 Discount   1845 Cure-All     1846 Pioneer 1847 Mathew     1848 Chandler   1849 Peter Simple         1850 Abd-El-Kader 1851 Abd-El-Kader        1852 Miss Mowbray       1853 Peter Simple        1854 Bourton 1855 Wanderer  1856 Freetrader 1857 Emigrant   1858 Little Charley 1859 Half Caste 1860 Anatis                   1861 Jealousy   1862 Huntsman 1863 Emblem    1864 Emblematic           1865 Alcibiade  1866 Salamander 1867 Cortolvin   1868 The Lamb  1869 The Colonel           1870 The Colonel 1871 The Lamb  1872 Casse Tete            1873 Disturbance          1874 Reugny 1875 Pathfinder 1876 Regal                    1877 Austerlitz   1878 Shifnal 1879 The Liberator         1880 Empress   1881 Woodbrook          1882 Seaman 1883 Zoedone   1884 Voluptuary            1885 Roquefort 1886 Old Joe 1887 Gamecock            1888 Playfair                 1889 Frigate                  1890 Ilex 1891 Come Away          1892 Father O'Flynn 1893 Cloister                 1894 Why Not   1895 Wild Man From Borneo 1896 The Soarer            1897 Manifesto 1898 Drogheda 1899 Manifesto 1900 Ambush II 1901 Grudon                 1902 Shannon Lass 1903 Drumcree  1904 Moifaa                  1905 Kirkland    1906 Ascetic's Silver 1907 Eremon     1908 Rubio                   1909 Lutteur III   1910 Jenkinstown 1911 Glenside   1912 Jerry M                 1913 Covertcoat            1914 Sunloch 1915 Ally Sloper            1 1916 1916–18 see below:: For three years during World War 1, the Grand National could not be run at Aintree, and so a substitute event was held at another racecourse, Gatwick. This venue is now defunct, and it is presently the site of Garwick Airport. The course was modified to make it similar to Aintree, and the races were contested over the same distance, with one less fence to be jumped. The 1916 running was titled the Racecourse Association Steeplechase, and for the next two years it was known as the War National. Year                                                     Winner Past Winners of the Grand National – Contd – 1919     Poethlyn           1920     Troytown           1921     Shaun Spadah  1922     Music Hall 1923     Sergeant Murphy           1924     Master Robert   1925     Double Chance 1926     Jack Horner      1927     Sprig                1928     Tipperary Tim    1929     Gregalach 1930     Shaun Goilin                 1931     Grakle               1932     Forbra 1933     Kellsboro Jack  1934     Golden Miller                 1935     Reynoldstown 1936     Reynoldstown   1937     Royal Mail         1938     Battleship 1939     Workman          1940     Bogskar            1941     1941–45 no race [b] 1946     Lovely Cottage  1947     Caughoo           1948     Sheila's Cottage            1949     Russian Hero 1950     Freebooter        1951     Nickel Coin       1952     Teal                              1953     Early Mist 1954     Royal Tan         1955     Quare Times      1956     E.S.B.                          1957     Sundew 1958     Mr What            1959     Oxo                  1960     Merryman II                   1961     Nicolaus Silver 1962     Kilmore 1963     Ayala                1964     Team Spirit                   1965     Jay Trump 1966     Anglo               1967     Foinavon          1968     Red Alligator                 1969 Highland Wedding 1970     Gay Trip            1971     Specify 1972     Well to Do                    1973     Red Rum 1974     Red Rum          1975     L'Escargot        1976     Rag Trade                     1977     Red Rum 1978     Lucius               1979     Rubstic 1980     Ben Nevis                     1981     Aldaniti 1982     Grittar               1983     Corbiere            1984     Hallo Dandy                  1985     Last Suspect 1986     West Tip           1987     Maori Venture    1988     Rhyme 'n' Reason         1989     Little Polveir 1990     Mr Frisk            1991     Seagram           1992     Party Politics                1993     race void [c] 1994     Miinnehoma      1995     Royal Athlete                1996     Rough Quest                 1997     Lord Gyllene 1998     Earth Summit    1999     Bobbyjo           2000     Papillon            2001     Red Marauder 2002     Bindaree           2003     Monty's Pass                2004     Amberleigh House         2005     Hedgehunter 2006     Numbersixvalverde        2007     Silver Birch       2008     Comply or Die   2009     Mon Mome 2010     Don't Push It                 2011     Ballabriggs       2012     Neptune Collonges        The 1843 winner Vanguard was trained at Lord Chesterfield's private stables at Bretby Hall. The race was abandoned from 1941 to 1945 because of World War II the 1993 running was declared void because some of the horses failed to be called back after a false start. Unofficial winners Pre-1839 the first official running of the "Grand National" is now considered to be the 1839 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase. There had been a similar race for several years prior to this, but its status as an official Grand National was revoked sometime between 1862 and 1873. Year  and   Winner’s 1836                 The Duke          1837     The Duke          1838     Sir William The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race – It's Fun History I thought it would be of interest to write this article about the history of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race as it’s one of the most famous boat races in the world and is one of England's greatest sporting Icon competitions. The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club. The teams comprised of eight rowers in each team with a cox in the bow who would control the speed of the boat. The race is between competing eights, each spring on the Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April. The formal title of the event is the Xchanging Boat Race, and it is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The event is a popular one, not only with the alumni of the universities, but also with rowers in general and the public. An estimated quarter of a million people watch the race live from the banks of the river, around seven to nine million people on TV in the UK, and an overseas audience estimated by the Boat Race Company at around 120 million, which would make this the most viewed single day sporting event in the world. However, other sources estimate that the international audience is below 20 million. Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a “Blue Boat” with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue. The first race was in 1829 and it has been held annually since 1856, with the exception of the two world wars. Although the heavyweight men's eights are the main draw, the two universities compete in other rowing boat races. The main boat race is preceded by a race between the two reserve crews (called Isis for Oxford and Goldie for Cambridge). The women's eights, women's reserve eights, men's lightweight eights and women's lightweight eights race in the Henley Boat races a week before the men's heavyweight races. There is also a 'veterans' boat race, usually held on a weekday before the main Boat Race, on the Thames between Putney and Hammersmith. Commonwealth Games – The Friendly Games The Commonwealth games is a sporting event that appears every 4 years and over 70 countries are represented. The Commonwealth Games are called the friendly games and the atmosphere is completely different to the Olympics. The sporting competition brought together the members of the old British Empire was first proposed by the Reverend Astley Cooper in 1891 when he wrote an article in The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing the goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire.". In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held in come London to celebrate the Coronation of King George V. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championships was held in which teams from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom competed in events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming and athletics. In 1928, a key Canadian athlete, Bobby Robinson, was given the task of organizing the first ever Commonwealth Games. These Games were held in 1930, in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and saw the participation of 400 athletes from eleven countries. All other nations march in English alphabetical order, except that the first nation marching in the Parade of Athletes is the host nation of the previous games, and the host nation of the current games marches last. In 2006 countries marched in alphabetical order in geographical regions. Since then, the Commonwealth Games have been held every four years, except for the period during the Second World War. The Games have been known by various names such as the British Empire Games, Friendly Games and British Commonwealth Games. Since 1978, they have been known as the Commonwealth Games. Originally having only single competition sports, the 1998 Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur saw a major change when team sports such as cricket, hockey and netball made their first appearance. In 2001, the Games Movement adopted the three values of Humanity, Equality and Destiny as the core values of the Commonwealth Games. These values inspire and connect thousands of people and signify the broad mandate for holding the Games within the Commonwealth. The Games were originally known as the British Empire Games. The first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada. The 10th Commonwealth Games were held at Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974, the 11th in Edmonton (Canada) in 1978, the 12th in Brisbane (Australia) in 1982, the 13th in Edinburgh (Scotland) in 1986, the 14th in Auckland (New Zealand) in 1990 and the 15th in Victoria (Canada) in 1994, where about 3,350 athletes from a record 64 nations (including South Africa, which joined the family of Commonwealth athletes after 36 years) participated. Namibia also, which gained its independence in 1990, made its debut while Hong Kong made its final appearance in the Games before being ceded to China in 1997. Table of Past Commonwealth Games ...................Venue.............                  Year........Number of Countries 1 Hamilton, Canada                   1930               11 2 London, England                                 1934               16 3 Sydney, Australia                   1938               15 4 Auckland, N Z                        1950               12 5 Vancouver, Canada                1954               24 6 Cardiff, Wales                        1958               35 7 Perth, Australia                       1962               35 8 Jamaica, West Indies              1966                34 9 Edinburgh, Scotland               1970                 42 10 Christchurch, N Z                  1974                 38 11 Edmonton, Canada               1978              48 12 Brisbane, Australia                1982              47 13 Edinburgh, Scotland             1986             26 14 Auckland, N Z                       1990              55 15 Victoria, Canada                   1994               64 6 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia                      1998               70 17 Manchester, England            2002               72 18 Melbourne, Australia             2006               76 19 New Delhi, India                    2010                 72 20 Glasgow, Scotland               2014 After Olympics, Commonwealth Games is the second largest sports festival in the world. The Games are held once in four years but only in between the Olympic years. The three nations to have hosted the games the most number of times are Australia (4), Canada (4), and New Zealand (3). Furthermore, five editions have taken place in the countries within the United Kingdom. Two cities have held the games on multiple occasions: Auckland (1950 and 1990), and Edinburgh (1970 and 1986). After the Olympics the Commonwealth Games is the second largest sports festival in the world. The Games are held once in four years but only in between the Olympic years. Darts – British 16th Century History Britain is famous for the game of Darts. I thought it would be of interest to write this article about Darts – It's English beginnings and history. The sport of darts began as training in the martial arts, (well, the martial art of archery). Darts began in Medieval England. Historians surmise, because they don't know for certain, that those teaching archery shortened some arrows and had their students throw them at the bottom of an empty wine barrel. It is said that darts even came to the new world on the Mayflower. Darts in America didn't really become popular until the late nineteenth century when immigrants from England came over and brought the game with them. Like much of American History, the roots of darts in America can be traced to the Pilgrims. These hardy colonizers were reputed to have played the game on the Mayflower as it made its ocean crossing. Like the game of horseshoes it was then played avidly in America whenever leisure time was available. In fact the game of darts that we know today originated in English pubs hundreds of years ago and is still called English darts by many when referring to the modern day game of darts. The fact that the bottom of an empty wine barrel was used is a clue to how the game developed into a pastime. It is thought that the soldiers took their shortened arrows with them to the local drinking establishment to both exhibit their skill and have fun at the same time. When the bottoms of wine barrels proved to be inconvenient or in short supply, some inventive dart thrower brought in a cross-section of a moderate sized tree. The "board" provided rings, and when it dried out, the cracks provided further segmentation. This cracked and dried board began to evolve into what we think of as the current dart board. A game as fun as darts could not be hidden from the upper classes and they soon put their own stamp on the game. The oft married Henry VIII was reputed to enjoy the game immensely. So much so, that he was given a beautifully ornate set by Anne Boleyn. However, darts remained largely an Anglo-American sport until the Victorian age when it was spread world-wide by the great expansion of the British Empire. It seems that the "sun never set on the British Empire". At the same time, there was never a time when a dart was not in the air. Many native populations were exposed to the game and found enjoyment in it. The international throwing line of 7 ft. 9 1/4 inches was established in the 1970s to make it standard for international competitions; depending on the country (or at times, even the venue), the throwing line was anywhere from 7 ft. 6 in. to 8 ft. Also, throughout the early part of the 20th  century, there were many different types of dartboards until the 'clock' board became the standard...It really wasn't until after WWII that many of the rules of darts became standardized. Now people all around the world can enjoy the sport of darts in international competitions, in leagues, or in private parties and all be on an equal footing. So the next time you put your toe to the line and raise a dart to the board, remember that there is a rich history behind this engrossing sport. The throwing distance also became standardized during this time. There was a brewery named Hockey and Sons who supplied beer to much of the South west of England. The length of three Hockey and Sons kegs placed end to end became the standard throwing distance. This is generally believed to be where the phrase "toeing the hockey" comes from. It was also during this time that the game really started to gain in popularity, especially in pubs. There is a fun story that happened in 1908. At this time, in England, games of chance were illegal and a pub owner in Leeds was brought into court for allowing darts to be played there because it was believed to be a game of chance. If the legend is true, when the pub owner appeared in court he brought along a dartboard and some darts. He then asked one of the officers of the court to name a number on the board, the officer obliged and the pub owner then hit that number with three darts. The pub owner then challenged anyone in the court to do the same. A court clerk attempted and failed and the judge immediately dismissed the case because it was obviously a game of skill and not of chance. As the game grew more popular, more pub owners put up dartboards and the game continued to spread and gain in popularity. Naturally, as more and more people played, they started to form leagues and organizations. The very first organization was formed in 1924 in England. An English newspaper started sponsoring local competitions which later grew into regional competitions and then national tournaments. At one point the game grew so popular that the Scottish government tried to ban the game in pubs, saying that it encouraged bad habits. The public didn't stand for it and the ban never took place. The game continued to grow in popularity in the twentieth century. Annual tournaments were held in England sponsored by the News of the World newspaper; these tournaments really helped to boost the popularity of the game and these tournaments ran from 1947 to 1990. During this time the game was also growing in popularity in Great Britain and in America. In the mid-seventies darts had become so popular in Great Britain that the tournaments were being televised. With this kind of publicity the game was turning into a serious sport with professional players. This led to more players and larger prizes at the tournaments. This huge growth of popularity led to the creation of major national organizations that governed the tournaments, promoted the sport, and attracted more sponsors. The first of these organizations was the British Darts Organization which was founded in 1973. The American Darts Organization followed in 1975, as well as dozens of other countries. There is also the World Dart Federation (WDF) which almost all the national darts organizations belong to; the WDF was formed in 1976 and is considered the official governing body for the sport of darts. Technology hasn't ignored the game either. Today we have electronic dartboards which can keep score automatically for you, have dozens of games built into them, electronic scoreboards, and some of the boards will even talk to you. These technologic advancements have only furthered the popularity of the sport making the game much more accessible. World's First Football Chant – by Edward Elgar As football is England's favourite sport and is called England's national game I thought I would write about the World's First Football Chant – by Edward Elgar who was born in the small village of Lower Broadheath outside Worcester, England on 2nd June 1857. It has recently come to light that Elgar wrote music to the world's first football chant for his favourite football team Wolverhampton Wanderers which was called “He Banged The leather for Goal” ( The Leather was shorthand for the Football which was made of leather and if you tried to head it when wet, it nearly took your head off )!! Elgar went to his first football match in February 1898 and became hooked on the atmosphere and the football and became a fan of Wolves for the rest of his life. Edward Elgar was an English Composer who was famous for his orchestral works including the “Land of Hope and Glory”, “Enigma Variations”, the “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”, “concertos for violin and cello” and two symphonies. He also composed oratorios, including “The Dream of Gerontius”, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the Kings Music in 1924. Despite the fluctuating critical assessment of the various works over the years, Elgar's major works taken as a whole have in the twenty-first century recovered strongly from their neglect in the 1950s. The Record Guide in 1955 could list only one currently-available recording of the First Symphony, none of the Second, one of the Violin Concerto, two of the Cello Concerto, two of the Enigma Variations, one of Falstaff, and none of The Dream of Gerontius. Since then there have been multiple recordings of all the major works. More than thirty recordings have been made of the First Symphony since 1955, for example, and more than ten of The Dream of Gerontius. Similarly in the concert hall, Elgar's works, after a period of neglect are once again frequently programmed. The Elgar Society's website, in its diary of forthcoming performances, lists performances of Elgar's works by orchestras, soloists and conductors across Europe, North America and Australia. Edward Elgar died on the 23rd February 1934. Elgar's statue at the end of Worcester High Street stands facing the cathedral, only yards from where his father's shop once stood. When I visited Malvern in 2011 I came across another fab statue of the composer at the top of Church Street in Malvern, overlooking the town and giving visitors an opportunity to stand next to the composer in the shadow of the Hills that he so often regarded. In September 2005, a third statue sculpted by Jemma Pearson was unveiled near Hereford Cathedral in honour of his many musical and other associations with that city. It features Elgar with his bicycle. English Football - It's History from 1280 AD Our national game is Football which it is believed was first played over 1,000 years ago in English villages up and down the country. There are stories that villager's played against villager's and the aim of the game was to get the ball passed the opposing village boundary line. The rules included kicking, punching, scratching the opposition over and above the kicking of the ball. 1280 AD - Earliest form of ball kicking The earliest recorded form of ball kicking was recorded in England in 1280 AD at Ulgham near Ashington in Northumberland. A player was killed by running into an opposing player’s dagger. 1314 AD - The first banning of Football In 1314, comes the earliest reference to a game called football when Nicholas de Farndone Lord Mayor of the City of London issued a decree on behalf of King Edward II banning football. It was written in the French used by the English upper classes at the time. A translation reads: "For as much as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large foot balls in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise which God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future." 1409 AD – First banning of betting on Football In 1409 King Henry IV of England gives us the first documented use of the English word "football" when issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball". 1481 AD - Earliest description of Football Game At the end of the 15th century comes the earliest description of a football game. This account in Latin of a football game contains a number of features of modern football and comes from Cawston, Nottinghamshire, England. It is included in a manuscript collection of the miracles of King Henry VI of England. Although the precise date is uncertain it certainly comes from between 1481 and 1500. This is the first account of an exclusively "kicking game" and the first description of dribbling. "The game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking it and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet... kicking in opposite directions" The chronicler gives the earliest reference to a football field, stating that: "The boundaries have been marked and the game had started. 1526 AD - First Football Boots In 1526 comes the first record of a pair of football boots occurs when Henry VIII of England ordered a pair from the Great Wardrobe in 1526. Unfortunately these are no longer in existence. 1581 AD - First organised Team Sport In 1581 comes the earliest account of football as an organised team sport. Richard Mulcaster, a student at Eton College in the early 16th century and later headmaster at other English schools provides the earliest references to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Mulcaster's "footeball" had evolved from the disordered and violent forms of traditional football: [s]ome smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to try their strength: nor should ring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges. Mulcaster also confirms that in sixteenth century England football was very popular and widespread: it had attained "greatness. .. [And was] much used ... in all places" Despite this violence continued to be a problem. For example, the parish archives of North Moreton, Oxfordshire for May 1595 state: "Gunter's son and ye Gregory’s fell together by ye years at football. Old Gunter drew his dagger and both broke their heads, and they died both within a fortnight after." 1600 AD - First reference to Scoring a Goal the first direct references to scoring a goal come from England in the 1600s. For example, in John Day's play 'The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green (performed circa 1600; published 1659): "I'll play a goal at camp-ball" (an extremely violent variety of football, which was popular in East Anglia. Similarly in a poem in 1613, Michael Drayton refers to "when the Ball to throw, and drive it to the Goole, in squadrons forth they goe". 1602 AD – First reference to Passing the Ball  In 1602 the earliest reference to a game involving passing the ball comes from Cornish hurling. In particular Carew tells us that: "Then must he cast the ball (named Dealing) to some one of his fellowes". In this case, however, the pass is by hand, as in rugby football. Although there are other allusions to ball passing in seventeenth century literature, this is the only one which categorically states that the ball was passed to another member of the same team. There are no other explicit references to passing the ball between members of the same team until the 1860s, however, in 1650 English puritan Richard Baxter alludes to player to player passing of the ball during a football game in his book Everlasting Rest: "like a Football in the midst of a crowd of Boys, tost about in contention from one to another". 1608 AD – Outlawing of Football in Cities Football continued to be outlawed in English cities, for example the Manchester Lete Roll contains a resolution, dated 12 October 1608: "That whereas there hath been heretofore great disorder in our towne of Manchester, and the inhabitants thereof greatly wronged and charged with makinge and amendinge of their glasses windows broken yearlye and spoiled by a company of lewd and disordered that unlawful exercise of playing with the football in ye streets of ye said toune breaking many men's windows and glasses at their pleasures and other great enormities. Therefore, wee of this jury doe order that no manner of psons hereafter shall play or use the footeball in any street within the said toune of Manchester, suspend to everyone that shall so use the same for every time played". Although football was frequently outlawed in England, it remained popular even with the ruling classes. For example, during the reign of King James I of England James Howell mentions how Lord Willoughby and Lord Sunderland enjoyed playing football, for example: “Lord Willoughby, and he, with so many of their servants ... played a match at foot- ball against such a number of Countrymen, where my Lord of Sunderland being busy about the ball, got a bruise in the breast. 1624 AD – First concept of Football Teams the concept of football teams is mentioned by English Poet Edmund Waller in c1624: He mentions an "a sort [i.e. company]of lusty shepherds try their force at football, care of victory... They ply their feet, and still the restless ball, Toss'd to and fro, is urged by them all". The last line suggests that playing as a team emerged much earlier in English football than previously thought. 1638 AD - Popularity of Football Football continued to be popular throughout seventeenth century England. For example in 1634 Davenant is quoted (in Hones Table-Book) as remarking, "I would now make a safe retreat, but methinks Jam stopped by one of your heroic game called football; which I conceive (under your favour) not very conveniently civil in the streets, especially in such irregular and narrow roads as Crooked Lane. Yet it argues your courage, much like your military pastime of throwing at cocks, since you have long allowed these two valiant exercises in the streets". Similarly in 1638 Thomas Randolph suggests this in the following lines from one of his plays: "Madam, you may in time bring down his legs to the just size, now overgrown with playing too much at foot-ball". 1660 AD – First Objective study of Football  In 1660 comes the first objective study of football, given in Francis Willughby's Book of Sports, written in about 1660. This account is particularly noteworthy as he refers to football by its correct name and is the first to describe the following: goals and a pitch ("a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals"), tactics ("leaving some of their best players to guard the goal"), scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a law of football: "They often break one another's shins when two meet and strike both together against the ball, and therefore there is a law that they must not strike higher than the ball". His book includes the first (basic) diagram illustrating a modern football pitch. Football continued to be played in the later seventeenth century, even in cities such as London. The great diarist Samuel Pepys, for example, states in 1665 that in a London street "the street being full of footballs" 1840's AD - Codified Football England was the first country in the world to develop codified football, coming about from a desire of its various public schools to compete against each other. Previously, each school had its own rules, which may have dated back to the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. The first attempts to come up with single codes probably began in the 1840s, with various meetings between school representatives attempting to come up with a set of rules with which all would be happy. The first attempt was The Cambridge Rules, created in 1848; others developed their own sets, most notably Sheffield F.C. (1855) and J.C. Thring(1862). These were moulded into one set in 1863 when the Football Association was formed; though some clubs continued to play under the Sheffield Rules 1878, and others dissented to form Rugby Union instead. The 1863 rules of the Football Association provides the first reference in the English Language to the verb to "pass" a ball. 1866 AD – First Player to be Ruled Offside C.W.Alcock became the first footballer ever to be ruled off side on 31 March 1866, confirming that players were probing ways of exploiting the new off side rule right from the start. The offside rule was introduced in 1866 into the Football Association rules. It was almost identical to the one that had been part of the Cambridge Rules. The early Sheffield Rules were particularly important as their offside system allowed poaching or sneaking and thus demonstrated the use of the forward pass: Players known as "kick through" were positioned permanently near the opponent’s goal to receive these balls. According to C.W. Alcock the Sheffield style gave birth to the modern passing game. The Sheffield Rules of 1862later included both crossbars and half time and free kicks were introduced to their code in 1866. 1867 AD – The Oldest Football Cup in the World  The Youdan Cup was an association football competition played in Sheffield, England. A local theatre owner Thomas Youdan sponsored the competition and provided the trophy. The trophy itself was made of silver, and although Thomas Youdan awarded a £2 prize to the winner of a competition to design the trophy, it was not completed in time to be presented on the day to the winners. The format of the competition was drawn up by a committee and played under Sheffield Rules. The first two rounds were on a knock-out basis, however the final was contested between three teams playing each other in turn. The final was played at Bramell Lane, Sheffield on 5 March 1867 and attracted 3,000 spectators, each paying 3d admission. The game used the concept of 'rouges' (a rouge was scored when an attempt at goal, using a goal only 4 yards wide, missed, but would have gone into an 8 yard wide goal: rouges were only considered in the case of a drawn match), and Hallam beat Norfolk and Mackenzie to finish first, while Norfolk beat Mackenzie and finished second. The Runners-up were presented with a two-handed silver goblet encircled with athletic figures that had been purchased with the proceeds of the gate money and had been completed. Sadly Youdan was unable to present it personally as he was ill. 1870 AD – The first International  England was home to the first ever international football match on the 5 March 1870. The first match ended in a draw and was one of a series of four matches between representatives of England and Scotland at The Oval, London. These matches were arranged by the Football Association, at the time the only national football body in the world. The origin of these games came in 1870 when CW Alcock challenged home-grown contenders in Scotland against an English eleven. These challenges were issued in Scottish newspapers, including the Glasgow Herald. He received no response to these adverts. One response to Alcock's challenges illustrates that soccer was eclipsed in Scotland by other codes: "Mr Alcock's challenge to meet a Scotch eleven on the borders sounds very well and is doubtless well meant. But it may not be generally well known that Mr Alcock is a very leading supporter of what is called the "association game"...devotees of the "association" rules will find no foemen worthy of their steel in Scotland". As a result he was forced to draw upon London-based players with Scottish origins. One notable Scottish player of the 1870 and 1871 games was Smith, a player of Queens Park FC. This suggests that southern teams were not so isolated from Glasgow players and style of play as originally thought. Alcock was categorical that although most players were London based, this was due to lack of response from north of the border: "I must join issue with your correspondent in some instances. First, I assert that of whatever the Scotch eleven may have been composed the right to play was open to every Scotchman [Alcock's italics] whether his lines were cast North or South of the Tweed and that if in the face of the invitations publicly given through the columns of leading journals of Scotland the representative eleven consisted chiefly of Anglo-Scots ... the fault lies on the heads of the players of the north, not on the management who sought the services of all alike impartially. To call the team London Scotchmen contributes nothing. The match was, as announced, to all intents and purposes between England and Scotland". The first official ( i.e. currently recognised by FIFA) international match would take place between Scotland and England on November 30th. 1872. This match was played under the Football Association rules. 1871 AD – The F.A.Cup the F.A. Cup was the first nationally organized competition. A knockout cup, it began 1871, with the first winners being the Wanderers. In those days professionalism was banned, and the cup was dominated by service teams or old schoolboys' teams (such as Old Estonians). In the early 1870s the modern team passing game was invented by the Sheffield FC, Royal Engineers A.F.C. and Scottish players of the era from Queens Park FC. This was the predecessor to the current passing, defensive game which was known as the Combination Game and was spread around the world by British expatriates. 1888 AD – Worlds First Football League  The new professionals needed more regular competitive football in which they could compete, which led to the creation of the Football league in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor . This was dominated by those clubs who had supported professionalism, and the twelve founding members consisted of six from Lancashire (Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Accrington, Everton and Preston North End) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Nott’s County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). No sides from the South or London initially participated. Preston North End won the first ever Football League championship without losing any of their 22 fixtures, and won the FA Cup to complete the double. They retained their league title the following year but by the turn of the 20th century they had been eclipsed by Aston Villa, who had emulated Preston's double success in 1897. Other Midlands sides, such as Wolves (1893 FA Cup winners) and West Bromwich Albion (1888 & 1892 FA Cup winners) were also successful during this era, as were Blackburn Rovers, who won five FA Cups in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1892 a second division was added and in 1920 a third division was added. 1891 AD – Creation of Football Net In 1891 Liverpool engineer John Alexander Brodie invented the football net. 1991- Present In 1991 the English Premier league was formed of 20 clubs and with its links to Sky television and the increase in revenues by 2001 The Premier league was the richest league of any kind of sports in the world. At the present day, the league's TV rights have reached over 2 Billion Pounds. The argument at present is when technology will be used around the goal to confirm problem goals by Video replay. It always amazes me how from a little Island like England we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. English Football Premier League – History I have decided to write the history of the Premier League as it is the world's most popular and valuable league of any sporting kind. Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries, frequently on networks owned and/or controlled by Newscorp who also own Sky Sports. In China a Premier League match is watched from between 200-400 Million people. The Premier League is watched by many countries around the world including : United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27th  May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster gate. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League ( Since 1888) that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place. As of the end of the 2009–10 season, there had been 18 completed seasons of the Premier League. The league held its first season in 1992-93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Due to insistence by FIFA, the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. British Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion. Worldwide Television rights were sold for the 2010 to 2013 season for over £600 Million which added to the British rights total £2.282 Billion over 3 years. This has created the most watched and valuable league in the world. English Rugby – History Imbued in English culture is a love and creator of Sports of all kinds. One of our favourite sports is Rugby Football which it is believed was first played in English villages up and down the country. There are stories that villager's played against villager's and the aim of the game was to get the ball passed the opposing village boundary line. The rules included kicking, punching, scratching the opposition over and above the running with the ball and kicking of the ball. While it is true that such games as Rugby did exist for centuries, there may be a kernel of truth to the William Webb Ellis legend that a football match was being played when Web Ellis picked up the ball and created Rugby. As far as most historians can tell, the earliest form of football with much similarity to rugby as we know it today, did originate at Rugby School around Ellis's time. Whether he was the actual creator of the game or the game simply evolved into something like the modern game during his time is still a point for debate. Most probable is the slightly different version of the legend that the English Rugby Union relates. According to the English Rugby Union, the type of football played at Rugby School in Ellis's time was not soccer, but a game with a mixture of both soccer and rugby rules. Handling the ball was prohibited unless the ball was airborne, when the player was permitted to catch it. After catching the ball he would stand still, as did all the other players, and had the option of kicking it wherever he chose, or placing it on the ground and kicking for goal. It is also very important to remember that in those days at English Public Schools, students often developed their own rules for the games of football they played on the spot as there was very little official refereeing. So it is possible that William Webb Ellis did in fact pick up the ball and run with it during an impromptu game of football, which set an example for others. But one thing does remain, it is highly dubious that rugby originated from soccer as we know it today. It is far more likely, and most historians tend to agree, that both rugby and soccer developed roughly side by side as rules became more formalized and documented. Whatever the case, the story of William Webb Ellis is too good not to be held on to and cherished. William Webb Ellis has an official headstone on the grounds of Rugby School with the following inscription: "This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis who with a fine disregard for the rules of football, as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the Rugby game A.D. 1823" By the 1840s running with the ball had become the norm, and by the 1870s rugby clubs had sprung up all over England and in the colonies. But just as it was during the earliest days at the public schools, different rules were being used by different clubs with no official codification of the rules being laid down. To try and remedy this situation and provide a more uniform set of laws, a meeting was held in January 26, 1871, attended by the representatives of 22 clubs. It was at this meeting that the Rugby Football Union was founded. The meeting was called by Edwin Ash, then secretary of the Richmond Club. He sent a letter to the newspapers which stated: "Those who play the rugby type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play". Following the founding of the Rugby Football Union, a committee was formed consisting of three ex-Rugby School pupils who were invited to formulate a set of laws to help govern and unify the game. By June 1871 they had accomplished their task. Soon after the Scottish members of the Union challenged the English to a match. This was by all accounts the first international match between England and Scotland, perhaps between anyone, and took place at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh on March 27, 1871, resulting in a win to Scotland. The "Great Schism" and the Start of Rugby League. The rugby football union at this time believed strongly in maintaining the games amateur status. Despite this commitment, in 1893 reports of some players in the north of England receiving payments for playing reached the RFU, and it attempted to obtain evidence. The Union set up an inquiry into the matter, but was warned that if the club involved was punished, all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire would secede from the Rugby Football Union. The inquiry went ahead and the club concerned was suspended. Two general meetings resulted at which the Northern Unions lobbied for the right to pay player "broken time" wages to help cover any lost wages players incurred by skipping work to play in matches. It is important to note that many of the Northern Union clubs had a strong mining and blue collar constituency and lost pay was a serious concern for them. The Northern Union's request was denied and in August 1895 twenty two of the northern clubs seceded from the Rugby Football Union and formed the Northern Union, later to become known as the Rugby League. The Rugby League quickly adopted rules to make the game more attractive to spectators in order to draw crowds to help pay the men's broken time wages. This is where the reduction of players to 13 came into effect as well as the move to a multiple downs style of play. As a result, Rugby League is very distinctive from Rugby Union in both appearance and strategies employed. Rugby Union Becomes Professional As the years wore on, the IRB and the Rugby Football Union clung to their amateur roots and traditions tightly, but there were growing cries from around the globe to turn professional. Ironically many of these reasons shadow the reason the Northern Union split away in the first place, namely increased demands on player’s time as well as increased media attention on the sport and revenues generated as a result. Many felt it was simply unfair to have so much money generated and the players receive none of it in spite of all of their sacrifices for club and country. Along with this was a growing "hidden professionalism" in Rugby Union. While open air payments were unlikely, it became clear that most players were receiving a number of perks for playing such as houses, cars, and other under the table deals. Realizing that the sport needed to move to a professional model if it was to remain intact, the IRB and RFU accepted professionals in Rugby Union in August 1995. Snooker and Billiards – History One of the most popular British sports is Snooker and Billiards which It is believed was first played over a 600 years ago by British Soldiers. 1470 - Billiard tables evolved as a replacement to the lawn of a croquet game. Although billiards tables initially could only afforded by nobility and the rich. 1516-1558 - It was reported that Bloody Queen Mary of Scotland 1516 – 1558 had a Billiards Table and was a great fan of the game. 1674 - The first book discussing about the rules of Billiard was named as `The Complete Gamester` and was written by Charles Cotton. The book was published in England in the year 1674. Almost all the towns in England had public Billiard Tables, during that period. Billiards became quite familiar to the public and several writers of that period also started to mention about the game in their writings. 1875 - It was in 1875 that Neville Chamberlain ( No, not that Appeasement British Prime Minister ) created snooker. During the rainy season, young officers spent much of their time in the billiards room, and several of the games they played allowed for gambling. Two of the most popular games were ' pyramids' and 'black pool’. There were 15 reds, arranged in a pyramid, and each time a player potted a red his opponent had to pay a forfeit. In 'black pool', each player had a different coloured cue ball, and when an opponent potted potted it they had to pay a fee to re-join the game. If the opponent potted the black ball after an opponent’s ball, the fee was greater. Chamberlain combined elements of these two games to create a new game, which he persuaded his fellow officers to try. One day, when a player missed an easy shot, Chamberlain remarked that he was a 'snooker' - this was slang for a new recruit at Woolwich Military Academy. Chamberlain went on to say that they were all snookers at this game, and the name stuck. Chamberlain had various postings throughout India, and introduced the game wherever he went. He was stationed in Madras from 1881 to 1885 and the game became very popular at the Ootacamund Club there. This is where the rules were worked out in detail for the first time. During a visit to India in 1885, John Roberts, the world billiards champion, sought out Chamberlain in order to learn the game of snooker. He then introduced the game to England. Chamberlain was promoted to captain in 1885, major shortly afterwards, and lieutenant-colonel in 1887. He was military secretary to the Kashmir government between 1890 and 1897, when he reorganised the Kashmir army. In 1899 he was promoted to colonel. As well as India, Chamberlain also served in South Africa and Ireland. He died at his home in Ascot in 1944. The Name Snooker received its name in the 1800's by the British Armed Force who always called losing players "snooker". The name stuck and the billiards game has remained under the same name of snooker for all of these years. The first organized tournament which was played wasn't until 1916 when snooker introduced the Amateur English Championships. The World Snooker Championships was released soon after with the help of Joe Davis in 1927. Throughout the 1930's snooker quickly became the most popular billiards game played throughout many countries. 1885 - The first governing body of the game, the English Billiards Association was formed in the UK in 1885, a period that saw a number of sporting bodies founded across the British sporting world. By the mid-20th century, the principal sanctioning body was the Billiards Association and Control Council (later the Billiards and Snooker Control Council). 1927 - The history of Billiards in India can be traced back to the first half of the nineteenth century, when the British rulers were ruling India. The game was brought to India by the British armed services. British Boxing – It's History One of the most popular British sports is Boxing which It is believed was first played over a 500 years ago in English villages up and down the country. British Prize Fighting was popular in the 16th century in England and became especially popular during the championship reign of James Figg, who held the heavyweight title from 1719 through 1730. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury, and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used. It should be noted, that this earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mar. Figg's time, in addition to fist fighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. Boxing became a workingman's sport during the Industrial Revolution as prize-fights attracted participants and spectators from the working class. Organization was minimal at first, and the bouts of those eras resembled street fights more than modern boxing. The second heavyweight champion, Jack Broughton of England, drew his own set of rules for his own fights, and these were recognized in 1743. They outlawed some of the gorier aspects that the sport had acquired, such as hitting below the belt line. Instead of a ring of spectators--hence, the name ring--Broughton insisted upon a squared-off area. His rules governed what is known as the "bareknuckle era." In 1866 the Marquis of Queensberry gave his support to a new set of rules, which were named in his honour. These rules limited the number of 3-minute rounds, eliminated gouging and wrestling, and made the use of gloves mandatory. Bareknuckle bouts did not cease immediately but did begin to decline. A new era dawned in 1892, when James J. CORBETT defeated the last of the great bare-fisted fighters, John L. SULLIVAN, under the new rules With the growing popularity of boxing, especially in the United States, weight classes other than the unlimited heavyweights emerged. These classes became popular as world championships were held at the new weights. Currently, there are eight major professional divisions: flyweight (up to 112 lb./50.8 kg); bantamweight (118 lb./53.5 kg); featherweight (126 lb./57.2 kg); lightweight (135 lb./61.2 kg); welterweight (147 lb./66.7 kg); middleweight (160 lb./72.6 kg); light heavyweight (175 lb./79.4 kg); and heavyweight (unlimited). In recent years there has been some recognition of junior weights, or between-weights, such as junior lightweight and cruiserweight. Because of its violent nature and its identification with betting, boxing has had a controversial history. There have been periodic efforts to outlaw the sport. In 1867, the Marquis of Queensbury Rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights. Middleweights and Heavyweights. The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquis of Queensbury, whose name has always been associated with them. The June 1894 Leonard–Cushing bout. Each of the six one-minute rounds recorded by the Kinetograph was made available to exhibitors for $22.50. Customers who watched the final round saw Leonard score a knockdown. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with one minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As a result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive manoeuvres such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to more modern stance in which the torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face. The English case of Rv. Coney in 1882 found that a bare knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans. Throughout the early twentieth century, boxers struggled to achieve legitimacy, aided by the influence of promoters like Tex Rickard and the popularity of great champions from John L. Sullivan to Jack Dempsey. Shortly after this era, boxing commissions and other sanctioning bodies were established to regulate the sport and establish universally recognized champions. Golf – Its British History One of Britain's favourite Sports is Golf which It is believed a form of ball and club sport called 'Paganica' was first played in Londinium ( London, England ) by the Romans over 1500 years ago. Whilst the argument continues on who first invented the sport of Golf, the one certain fact concerning the origins of golf, is that golf was first played in Scotland in the form we know of today. It would appear that in around 1353, golfers adopted the principle of allowing each team to hit a second uninterrupted shot. Previously, teams of players would alternate hitting a ball back and forth across the links in Fife. The history of golf shows that golf also rapidly acquired such a popularity, that it eclipsed the sport of archery. Archery was so vital to Scotland's national defence, that the playing of golf in Scotland was made a criminal offence punishable by hanging. The modern game of golf we understand today is generally considered to be a Scottish Invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th-century Acts of the Scottish Parliament, prohibiting the playing of the game of golf because it was taking time from archery practice, which was necessary for national defence. The modern game of golf originated and developed in Scotland: the first permanent golf course originated in Scotland, as well as membership in the first golf clubs. The very first written rules originated there, as did the establishment of the 18-hole course. The first formalized tournament structures developed and competitions were held between various Scottish cities. Before long, the modern game of golf had spread from Scotland to England and from there to the rest of the world. The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Old Links at Musselburgh Links. Evidence has shown that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672, although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567. In 1603 James VI of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England. He and his courtiers played golf at Blackheath, London, from which the Royal Blackheath Golf Club traces its origins. There is evidence that Scottish soldiers, expatriates and emigrants took the game to British colonies and elsewhere during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club and the club at Pau in south western France are notable reminders of these excursions and are the oldest golf clubs outside the British Isles and the oldest in continental Europe respectively. However, it was not until the late 19th century that Golf became more widely popular outside of its Scottish home. By the 1860s there were regular services from London to Edinburgh. The royal enthusiasm for Scotland, the much improved transport links and the writings of Sir Walter Scott caused a boom for tourism in Scotland and a wider interest in Scottish history and culture outside of the country. This period also coincided with the development of the Gutty; a golf ball made of Gutta Percha which was cheaper to mass produce, more durable and more consistent in quality and performance than the feather filled leather balls used previously. Golf began to spread across the rest of the British Isles. In 1864 the golf course at the resort of Westward Ho! became the first new course in England since Blackheath. In 1880 England had 12 courses, rising to 50 in 1887 and over 1000 by 1914. The game in England had progressed sufficiently by 1890 to produce its first Open Championship, John Ball. The game also started to spread further across the British Commonwealth and at British Tourist destinations. By the 1880s golf clubs had been established in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Singapore followed in 1891. Courses were also established in several continental European resorts for the benefit of British visitors. The word golf was first mentioned in writing in 1457 on a Scottish Parliamentary Statute on forbidden games as gouf, possibly derived from the Scots word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived the Dutch word Kolf, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. Timeline of the history of golf from 150 AD to 1900 AD: ·       150 AD ball and club sport called 'Paganica' was first played in Londinium ( London, England ) by the Romans. ·       1354 - The first recorded reference to "chole", the probable antecedent of golf. It is a derivative of hockey played in Flanders. ·       1421 - A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Bauge is introduced to the game of chole. Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of the identified players, are credited with introducing the game in Scotland. ·       1457 - Golf, along with football, is banned by the Scots Parliament of James II to preserve the skills of Archery by prohibiting gowf on Sundays because it has interfered with military training for the wars against the English. ·       1470 - The ban on golf is reaffirmed by the Parliament of James III. ·       1491 - The golf ban is affirmed again by Parliament, this time under James IV. ·       1502 - With the signing of the Treaty of Glasgow between England and Scotland, the ban on golf is lifted. ·       James IV makes the first recorded purchase of golf equipment, a set of golf clubs from a bow-maker in Perth. ·       1513 - Queen Catherine, queen consort of England, in a letter to Cardinal Wolsey, refers to the growing popularity of golf in England. ·       1527 - The first commoner recorded as a golfer is Sir Robert Maule, described as playing on Barry Links, Angus (near the modern-day town of Carnoustie). ·       1552 - The first recorded evidence of golf at St. Andrews, Fife. ·       1553 - The Archbishop of St Andrews issues a decree giving the local populace the right to play golf on the links at St. Andrews. ·       1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, seen playing golf shortly after the death of her husband Lord Darnley, is the first known female golfer. ·       1589 - Golf is banned in the Blackfriars Yard, Glasgow. This is the earliest reference to golf in the west of Scotland. ·       1592 - The Royal Burgh of Edinburgh bans golfing at Leith on Sunday "in tyme of sermonis." (Eng.: sermons) ·       1618 - Invention of the featherie ball. ·       King James VI of Scotland and I of England confirms the right of the populace to play golf on Sundays. ·       1621 - First recorded reference to golf on the links of Dornoch (later Royal Dornoch), in the far north of Scotland. ·       1641 - Charles I is playing golf at Leith when he learns of the Irish rebellion, marking the beginning of the English Civil War. He finishes his round. ·       1642 - John Dickson receives a licence as ball-maker for Aberdeen. ·       1659 - Golf is banned from the streets of Albany, New York-the first reference to golf in America. ·       1682 - In the first recorded international golf match, the Duke of York and John Paterstone of Scotland defeat two English noblemen in a match played on the links of Leith. ·       Andrew Dickson, carrying clubs for the Duke of York, is the first recorded caddy. ·       1687 - A book by Thomas Kincaid, Thoughts on Golve, contains the first references on how golf clubs are made. ·       1721 - Earliest reference to golf at Glasgow Green, the first course played in the west of Scotland. ·       1724 - "A solemn match of golf" between Alexander Elphinstone and Captain John Porteous becomes the first match reported in a newspaper. Elphinstone fights and wins a duel on the same ground in 1729. ·       1735 - The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed.[1] ·       1743 - Thomas Mathison's epic The Goff is the first literary effort devoted to golf. ·       1744 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is formed, playing at Leith links. It is the first golf club. ·       The Royal Burgh of Edinburgh pays for a Silver Cup to be awarded to the annual champion in an open competition played at Leith. John Rattray is the first champion. ·       1754 - Golfers at St. Andrews purchase a Silver Cup for an open championship played on the Old Course. Bailie William Landale is the first champion. ·       The first codified Rules of Golf published by the St. Andrews Golfers (later the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews). ·       1759 - Earliest reference to stroke play, at St. Andrews. Previously, all play was match. ·       1761 - The Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed.[2] ·       1764 - The competition for the Silver Club at Leith is restricted to members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. ·       The first four holes at St. Andrews are combined into two, reducing the round from twenty-two holes (11 out and in) to 18 (nine out and in). St. Andrews is the first 18-hole golf course, and sets the standard for future courses. ·       1766 - The Blackheath Club in London becomes the first golf club formed outside of Scotland. ·       1767 - The score of 94 returned by James Durham at St. Andrews in the Silver Cup competition sets a record unbroken for 86 years. ·       1768 - The Golf House at Leith is erected. It is the first golf clubhouse. ·       1773 - Competition at St. Andrews is restricted to members of the Leith and St. Andrews societies. ·       1774 - Thomas McMillan offers a Silver Cup for competition at Musselburgh, East Lothian. He wins the first championship. ·       The first part-time golf course professional (at the time also the greenkeeper) is hired, by the Edinburgh Burgess Society. ·       1780 - The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen (later the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club) is formed. ·       1783 - A Silver Club is offered for competition at Glasgow. ·       1786 - The South Carolina Golf Club is formed in Charleston, the first golf club outside of the United Kingdom. ·       The Crail Golfing Society is formed. ·       1788 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers requires members to wear club uniform when playing on the links. ·       1797 - The Burntisland Golf Club is formed. ·       The town of St. Andrews sells the land containing the Old Course (known then as Pilmor Links), to Thomas Erskine for 805 pounds. Erskine was required to preserve the course for golf. ·       1806 - The St. Andrews Club chooses to elect its captains rather than award captaincy to the winner of the Silver Cup. Thus begins the tradition of the Captain "playing himself into office," by hitting a single shot before the start of the annual competition. ·       1810 - Earliest recorded reference to a women's competition at Musselburgh. ·       1820 - The Bangalore Club is formed. ·       1824 - The Perth Golfing Society is formed, later Royal Perth (the first club so honored). ·       1826 - Hickory imported from America is used to make golf shafts. ·       1829 - The Dum Dum Golfing Club, later Calcutta Golf Club (and later still Royal Calcutta) is formed. ·       1832 - The North Berwick Club is founded, the first to include women in its activities, although they are not permitted to play in competitions. ·       1833 - King William IV confers the distinction of "Royal" on the Perth Golfing Society; as Royal Perth it is the first Club to hold the distinction. ·       The St. Andrews Golfers ban the stymie, but rescind the ban one year later. ·       1834 - William IV confers the title "Royal and Ancient" on the Golf Club at St. Andrews. ·       1836 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers abandons the deteriorating Leith Links, moving to Musselburgh. ·       The longest drive ever recorded with a feathery ball, 361 yards, is achieved by Samuel Messieux at Elysian Fields. ·       1842 - The Bombay Golfing Society (later Royal Bombay) is founded. ·       1844 - Blackheath follows Leith in expanding its course from five to seven holes. North Berwick also had seven holes at the time, although the trend toward a standard eighteen had begun. ·       1848 - Invention of the "guttie," the gutta-percha ball. It flies farther than the feathery and is much less expensive. It contributes greatly to the expansion of the game. The Bangalore golf club was formed in 1868 and not 1820 as stated in timeline.[ 1851–18601851 The Prestwick Golf Club is founded. 1856 The Royal Curragh Golf Club is founded at Kildare, the first golf club in Ireland. Pau Golf Club is founded, the first on the Continent. A rule change is enacted that, in match play, the ball must be played as it lies or the hole be conceded. It is the last recorded toughening of the rules structure. 1857 "The Golfer's Manual", by "A Keen Hand" (H. B. Farnie), is published. It is the first book on golf instruction. The Prestwick Club institutes the first Championship Meeting, a foursomes competition at St. Andrews attended by eleven golf clubs. George Glennie and J.C. Stewart win for Blackheath. 1858 The format of the Championship Meeting is changed to individual match play and is won by Robert Chambers of Bruntsfield. Allan Robertson becomes the first golfer to break 80 at the Old Course, recording a 79. The King James VI Golf Club is founded in Perth, Scotland. 1859 The first Amateur Championship is won by George Condie of Perth. Death of Allan Robertson, the first great professional golfer. [edit] 1860–18701860 The Prestwick Club institutes a Professional Championship played at Prestwick; the first Championship Belt is won by Willie Park, Snr. 1861 The Professionals Championship is opened to amateurs, and the Open Championship is born. The first competition is won by Old Tom Morris. 1864 The North Devon Golf Club is founded at Westward Ho! 1867 The Ladies' Golf Club at St. Andrews is founded, the first golf club for women. 1869 The Liverpool Golf Club is founded at Hoylake, later Royal Liverpool. Young Tom Morris, age 17, wins the first of four successive Open Championships. His streak would include an 11-stroke victory in 1869 and a 12-stroke victory in 1870 (in a 36-hole format). His 149 in the 1870 Open over 36 holes is a stroke average that would not be equalled until the invention of the rubber-cored ball. [edit] 1870–18801870 Young Tom Morris wins his third consecutive Open Championship, thus winning permanent possession of the Belt. The Royal Adelaide Golf Club is founded, the first golf club in Australia. 1871 The Otago Golf Club is formed, the first club in New Zealand. 1872 The Open Championship is reinstituted when Prestwick, St. Andrews and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers offer a new trophy, with the Open Championship to be hosted in rotation by the three clubs. Young Tom Morris wins his fourth consecutive Open Championship. 1873 The Christchurch Golf Club is formed, the second club in New Zealand. The Royal Montreal Golf Club is formed, the first club in Canada. The Open Championship is held for the first time at the Old Course. 1875 The Oxford and Cambridge University Golf Clubs are founded. Young Tom Morris dies at age 24. He did not emotionally recover from the death of both his wife and their daughter in childbirth earlier that year. Vesper Country Club is formed in Tyngsboro, MA. 1878 The first University Match is played at Wimbledon, won by Oxford. 1880–18901881 Royal Belfast is founded. The use of moulds is instituted to dimple the gutta-percha ball. Golfers had long noticed that the guttie worked in the air much better after it had been hit several times and scuffed up. 1883 Bob Ferguson of Musselburgh, losing The Open in extra holes, comes one victory shy of equalling Young Tom Morris' record of four consecutive titles. Ferguson ends up later in life penniless, working out of the Musselburgh caddy-shack. 1884 The Oakhurst Golf Club is founded at White Sulphur Springs. The first hole at The Homestead survives from this course and is the oldest surviving golf hole in America. 1885 The Amateur Championship is first played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. The Royal Cape Golf Club is founded at Wynberg, South Africa, the first club in Africa. 1886 A.J. Balfour is appointed Chief Secretary (Cabinet Minister) for Ireland; his rise to political and social prominence has an incalculable effect on the popularity of golf, as he is an indefatigable player and catalyses great interest in the game through his writing and public speaking. 1887 "The Art of Golf" by Sir Walter Simpson is published. 1887 The Foxburg Country Club is founded in Foxburg, Pennsylvania, the oldest golf course in the United States in continuous use in one place. 1888 Kebo Valley Golf Club is the 8th oldest Golf course in the US. 1888 The St. Andrew's Golf Club is founded in Yonkers, New York, the oldest surviving golf club in America. [edit] 1890–19001890 John Ball, an English amateur, becomes the first non-Scotsman and first amateur to win The Open Championship. Bogey is invented by Hugh Rotherham, as the score of the hypothetical golfer playing perfect golf at every hole. Rotherham calls this a "Ground Score," but Dr. Thomas Brown, honorary Secretary of the Great Yarmouth Club, christens this hypothetical man a "Bogey Man," after a popular song of the day, and christens his score a "Bogey." With the invention of the rubber-cored ball golfers are able to reach the greens in fewer strokes, and so bogey has come to represent one over the par score for the hole. 1891 The Golfing Union of Ireland is founded on 12 October 1891 and is the oldest Golfing Union in the world. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is founded on Long Island. Warkworth Golf Club is founded in Northumberland, designed by Old Tom Morris 1892 Palmetto Golf Club established in Aiken, South Carolina. Glen Arven Country Club golf course established in Thomasville, Georgia USA; the oldest course still in use in Georgia. Gate money is charged for the first time, at a match between Douglas Rollard and Jack White at Cambridge. The practice of paying for matches through private betting, rather than gate receipts and sponsorships, survives well into the 20th Century as a "Calcutta," but increasingly gate receipts are the source of legitimate prize purses. The Amateur Golf Championship of India and the East is instituted, the first international championship event. 1893 The Ladies' Golf Union of Great Britain and Ireland is founded and the first British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship won by Lady Margaret Scott at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. The Irish Ladies' Golf Union is founded and is the oldest Ladies Golf Union in the world. The Chicago Golf Club opens the United States' first 18-hole golf course on the site of the present-day Downers Grove Golf Course. The Chicago Golf Club moved to its current location in 1895. Victoria Golf Club is formed and remains the oldest course west of the Mississippi on its original site. The Segregansett Country Club opens in Taunton, Massachusetts. This course is still in operation. 1894 The Open is played on an English course for the first time and is won for the first time by an Englishman, J.H. Taylor. Taylor, along with Harry Vardon and James Braid (together known as the Great Triumvirate) would dominate the Open Championship for the next two decades. The United States Golf Association is founded as the Amateur Golf Association of the United States. Charter members are the Chicago Golf Club, The Country Club, Newport Country Club, St. Andrew's Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Tacoma Golf Club is founded, the first golf club on the US Pacific Coast. 1895 The U.S. Amateur Championship is instituted, with Charles B. Macdonald winning the inaugural event. The first United States Open is held the following day, with Horace Rawlins winning. July 6, 1895 - Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course opens - the first public golf course in America. The pool cue is banned as a putter by the USGA. The U.S. Women's Amateur is instituted. Mrs. Charles S. Brown (née Lucy N. Barnes)[1] is the first winner. 1896 Harry Vardon wins his first British Open. 1897 The first NCAA Championship is held. Louis Bayard, Jr. is the winner. "Golf", America's first golfing magazine, is published for the first time. 1898 The term "birdie" is coined at Atlantic C.C. from "a bird of a hole." Freddie Tait, betting he could reach the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club clubhouse from the clubhouse at Royal St George's Golf Club - a three mile distance - in forty shots or less, puts his 32nd stroke through a window at the Cinque Ports club. The Haskell ball is designed and patented by Coburn Haskell. It is the first rubber-cored ball. Church Stretton Golf Club is founded, the oldest 18-hole course in Shropshire and one of the highest courses in England and the United Kingdom. 1899 The Western Open is first played at Glenview G.C., the first tournament in what would evolve into the PGA Tour. 1900 Walter Travis wins the first of his three U.S. Amateur Championships. Harry Vardon wins the U.S. Open, the first golfer to win both the British and U.S. Opens. Golf is placed on the Olympic calendar for the 2nd Games at Paris. It always amazes me how from a little Island like Britain we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This has given me an interest in British history and the sports us brits have created. The Ryder Cup Golf Competition – History The Ryder Cup Matches, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, span 34 competitions over 77 years. The origin of the idea to stage international matches between the best American professionals and those of Great Britain. Ryder was an Englishman from St Albans in Hertfordshire, who made his fortune selling penny seed packets. Before the matches at Wentworth, Ryder had engaged the British star Abe Mitchell as his personal golf tutor. Mitchell beat the reigning British Open Champion Jim Barnes, 8 and 7, in the singles, and then partnered with George Duncan in the foursomes to beat Hagen and Barnes, 9 and 8. After the matches, Ryder had tea with British Team Members George Duncan and Mitchell. Also joining them were Hagen and American teammate Emmett French. Duncan suggested Ryder provide a trophy and encourage the establishment of matches on a regular basis. Ryder agreed at once and commissioned the design of the gold chalice that bears his name and Mitchell's likeness on the top. Few amateurs who took up golf after their 50th birthday have left as many positive impressions upon the game as Samuel Ryder. Born in 1858, he was the son of a Manchester corn merchant and educated at Manchester University. His father doubted the wisdom of his son's plans to sell penny seed packets to English garden lovers. The young Ryder decided he would go into business on his own, moved south to St Albans in Hertfordshire and formed the Heath and Heather Seed Company. His business quickly prospered, and in 1906 his social standing improved to the point where he was elected mayor of St Albans. He became ill due to overwork, and fresh air and light exercise were prescribed as part of the cure. He was encouraged to take up golf. Reared on music and cricket, Ryder at first spurned the idea, but later relented. Ryder first enlisted a professional named Hill from a local nine-hole course to guide him through his golf fundamentals. Later, Ryder employed Mitchell as his exclusive instructor at an annual fee of £1,000. Ryder practiced rain or shine, six days a week (never on Sunday), for a year. He was given instruction at Marlborough House, his home, on driving and iron shots, and he hit chip shots over a hedge in the paddock. He followed up with putting. After his rigorous practice regimen, Ryder decided he could apply for membership at Verulam Golf Club. By age 51, he boasted a six handicap and joined the Verulam Golf Club in St Albans in 1910. Within a year he was elected Captain of the club, and later held the title in 1926 and '27. He sponsored a Heath and Heather Tournament in 1923, which was restricted to professionals. Among the field was Mitchell, a former gardener himself, and considered one of the finest players in Great Britain to have ever won an Open Championship. Ryder relished the 1926 unofficial international match between the Americans and British at Wentworth, watching Mitchell and Duncan defeat Hagen and Barnes. "Why can't they all get to know each other?" said Ryder. "I will give £5 to each of the winning players, and give a party afterwards, with champagne and chicken sandwiches." Later that evening in a pub, Duncan turned to Ryder and said, "This is wonderful. It's too bad we don't have a match like this which is official." "Why not?" Ryder asked. Soon, the deed of gift was drafted with Ryder agreeing to donate a solid gold cup, worth £250. The cup was designed by Mappin & Webb Company. Ryder insisted that a golfing figure adorn the lid and that it resemble Mitchell. The first official Ryder Cup Matches were arranged for June 3-4, 1927, at the Worcester (Mass.) Country Club. An appeal for £3,000 to finance the first British Ryder Cup Team was met with apathy and fell £500 short of the goal, but Ryder made up the deficit. After Ryder, the biggest single contribution was £210 from the Stock Exchange Golf Society. With no Order of Merit money-winning list available, the famed British triumvirate of Harry Vardon, James Braid and James Taylor acted as team selection committee. Samuel Ryder, who would serve two terms as mayor of St Albans, lived to see two Ryder Cup Matches on his home soil. While celebrating the holidays with his family in London, he died of a massive haemorrhage on January 2, 1936. He was 77. His eldest daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Claisen, sent her father's favourite mashie (5-iron) to be placed in his coffin. Another of his daughters, Mrs. Thomas Scarfe, took over the family business. However, she never shared her father's passion for golf. Ryder's youngest daughter, Joan, was her father's constant companion at all his golfing events. She witnessed all Ryder Cup Matches in Great Britain, and once in America, in 1983, when the US edged the Europeans at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In 1981, Joan met the Duke of Kent at the Matches at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England. She told the royal guest that her father had been surprised by the success of the Matches. "He had the idea that when the Americans came over for a match he would give a 'small friendly lunch party' to both teams," said Joan. The Duke gazed at the spectators swarming near the 18th green, and said: "I wonder what your father would think of this little lunch party!" Joan Ryder's final appearance at The Ryder Cup Matches was at The De Vere Belfry in 1985. She called that edition of The Matches "the most exciting ever." Later that year, she died at her home in Sussex at age 81. War-Torn Matches With the outbreak of World War II, The Ryder Cup Matches were suspended from 1939-45, and the US retained the trophy from its 1937 victory. However, the United States continued the spirit of The Matches by selecting a ten-member team that participated in "challenge" matches to raise funds for the American Red Cross, various service organizations and other war-related efforts. With The 1939 Ryder Cup Matches cancelled, challenge competitions were arranged from 1940- 43, with two at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, Michigan, in 1940 and 1942: at Detroit Golf Club, in 1941: and at Plum Hollow Country Club in 1943. The Ryder Cup Team, which had various members during that period, won four of the five challenge matches. Walter Hagen captained the 1939, '40 and '41 Ryder Cup Teams, while Craig Wood captained the Team in 1942 and 1943. There was no competition in 1939, though The Matches were set for Ponte Vedra Country Club in Florida in November of that year. The 1939 US selections were repeated in 1940 in a challenge match at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, against Gene Sarazen's Challengers. Sarazen, who was left off The Ryder Cup Team, challenged Hagen by assembling a team that included Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret and Craig Wood. In 1939, The Professional Golfers Association of Great Britain had selected eight players and Captain Henry Cotton before war interrupted further plans. The eight players named were: Jimmy Adams, Dick Burton, Sam King, Alf Padgham, Dai Rees, Charles Whitcombe and Reg Whitcombe. The remaining two members were never filled. During the war, the exhibition matches brought together the greatest players of the era, including amateur Bobby Jones who led his team to an 8 1/2 to 6 1/2 upset of the Ryder Cup Team, August 23-24, 1941, at Detroit Golf Club. Europeans join the Fight for the Cup In 1973, The Matches were contested for the first time in Scotland at historic Muirfield. The PGA of Great Britain altered its selection procedure by having eight players chosen from a year-long points system and four by invitation. During The 1977 Matches at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Jack Nicklaus approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgency to improve the competitive level of The Matches. The issue had been discussed earlier the same day by both Past PGA President Henry Poe and British PGA President Lord Derby. Nicklaus pitched his ideas, adding: "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if The Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige." The changes in team selection procedure were approved by descendants of the Samuel A. Ryder family along with The PGA of America. The major change was expanding selection procedures to include players from the British PGA European Tournament Division Order of Merit, and "that European Members be entitled to play on the team." This meant that professional players on the European Tournament Players Order of Merit could be natives and residents of countries other than the British Isles, as long as they were from continental Europe. The recommendation and succeeding approval of the new selection process followed another American victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1977. The first Ryder Cup Matches under the expanded European selection format were played at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The first two Europeans to make the overseas squad were a pair of Spaniards-Severiano Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. Ballesteros has gone on to become one of the all-time winners in The Matches. He has a record of won 20, lost 12 and halved five and has earned 22 1/2 points in 37 Ryder Cup Matches. The move to include the continental players was a major step in upgrading the Ryder Cup competitive level. The US had won all but one outing from 1959 to 1977, being tied, 16-16, in a memorable duel in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. Expanding the selection procedure to include The European Tour provided the British PGA with a much greater pool of talent from which to select their Team. The European Tour Order of Merit also ensured a team comprised of golfers who were playing their best at the time of selection. The effect of this continental Tour, with its varying types of golf courses, climates, food, language and customs, was to produce players of unprecedented durability. They possessed the technique and confidence to deal with all course situations and make The Ryder Cup Matches even more of a quality event. Ryder Cup Format Changes: From the beginning of the series through 1959, The Ryder Cup competition was comprised of four foursomes (alternate shot) matches on one day and eight singles matches on the other day, each of 36 holes. The format was changed in 1961, to provide four 18-hole foursomes matches the morning of the first day, four more foursomes that afternoon, eight 18-hole singles the morning of the second day and eight more singles that afternoon. One point was at stake in each match, so the total number of points was doubled to 24. In 1963, fourball (better-ball) matches were added for the first time, boosting the total number of points available to 32. The format was altered again in 1977, this time with five foursomes on opening day, five four-ball matches on the second day, and 10 singles matches on the final day. This reduced the total points to 20. In 1979, when the Great Britain & Ireland Team was expanded to include players from European countries, the format was revised to provide four fourball and four foursomes matches the first two days and 12 singles matches on the third day. The total points awarded were 28. This format still continues today and for the foreseeable future. The Ryder Cup Matches were interrupted for the second time in history following the September 11, 2001, attack upon America. Some eight days following the tragedy, The 2001 Matches were rescheduled, with all future competitions conducted in even-numbered years. English Field Hockey - 1363 AD History One of our favourite games is Field Hockey which It is believed as a club and ball game was first played over 800 years ago by English Royalty. The word 'hockey' was recorded in 1363 when Edward III of England issued the proclamation: "moreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games". The modern game grew from English public schools in the early 19th century. The first club was in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London, but the modern rules grew out of a version played by Middlesex cricket clubs for winter sport. Teddington Hockey Club formed the modern game by introducing the striking circle and changing the ball to a sphere from a rubber cube. The Hockey Association was founded in 1886. The first international took place in 1895 (Ireland 3, Wales 0) and the International Rules Board was founded in 1900. Hockey was played at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. It was dropped in 1924, leading to the foundation of the (FIH) as an international governing body by seven continental European nations, and hockey was reinstated in 1928. Men's hockey united under the FIH in 1970. The two oldest trophies are the Irish Seniors Cup, which 1st XI teams compete for, and the Irish Junior Cup. The game had been taken to India by British servicemen and the first clubs formed in Calcutta in 1885. The Beighton Cup and the Aga Khan tournament commenced within ten years. Entering the Olympics in 1928, India won all five games without conceding a goal and won from 1932 until 1956 and then in 1964 and 1980. Pakistan won in 1960, 1968 and 1984. In the early 1970s artificial turf began to be used. Synthetic pitches changed most aspects of hockey, gaining speed. New tactics and techniques such as the Indian Dribble developed, followed by new rules to take account. The switch to synthetic surfaces ended Indian and Pakistani domination because artificial turf was too expensive—in comparison to the wealthier European countries—and since the 1970s Australia, The Netherlands and Germany have dominated at the Olympics. Women's hockey was first played at British universities and schools, and the first club, Molesey Ladies, was founded in 1887. The first national association was the Irish Ladies Hockey Union in 1894 and though rebuffed by the Hockey Association, women's hockey grew rapidly around the world. This led to the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1927, though this did not include many continental European countries where women played as sections of men's associations and were affiliated to the FIH. The IFWHA held conferences every three years, and tournaments associated with these were the primary IFWHA competitions. These tournaments were non-competitive until 1975. By the early 1970s there were 22 associations with women's sections in the FIH and 36 associations in the IFWHA. Discussions started about a common rule book. The FIH introduced competitive tournaments in 1974, forcing the acceptance of the principle of competitive hockey by the IFWHA in 1973. It took until 1982 for the two bodies to merge, but this allowed the introduction of women's hockey to the Olympic games from 1980 where, as in the men's game, The Netherlands, Germany, and Australia have been consistently strong. Badminton and its English History One of England’s popular games is Badminton which is played by over 1 million people every week. Badminton was originally an English game called "The battledore and shuttlecock Game", an English game about which there are many references as far back as the 1400's. As early as 1860, Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, Badminton Battledore - a new game, but unfortunately no copy has survived. The beginnings of Modern Badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British India, where it was created by British military officers stationed there. Early pictures show Englishmen adding a net to the traditional English game of battledore and shuttlecock. Being particularly popular in the British garrison town Poona (now Pune), the game also came to be known as Poona. Initially, balls of wool were preferred by the upper classes in windy or wet conditions, but ultimately the shuttlecock stuck. This game was taken by retired officers back to England where it developed and rules were set out. The new sport was definitively launched in 1873 at Badminton House, Gloucester, England and owned by the Duke of Beufort ( The same house and grounds used every year for the Badminton Horse Show ). During that time, the game was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and the game's official name became Badminton. The game uses Shuttlecocks which are made up of nylon and feathers instead of balls. Shuttlecocks have been used in English games since the 8th Century. Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in British India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic regulations were drawn up in 1887. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Southsea, Portsmouth, England on September 13th  of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition held in the world, in 1899. The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934 with the following countries: ·       Canada, Denmark, England, France, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally. I would image during the last 800 years my family have been playing the many sports developed and created in England and may have led to my family's interest in most sports played in England and given to the world. My older brother Mark is a good example of our sporting prowess. When my brother was 11 years of age and onwards he represented his school in Cricket, Football, Tennis, Badminton, Athletics and when he was 15 years of age him had a Football trial with Portsmouth Football Club and at 16 years of age played for Hampshire juniors at Cricket. It always amazes me how from a little Island like England we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This has given me an interest in English history and the sports England have created. Table Tennis and Its English History England’s favourite games is Table Tennis. It was initially an after dinner past time and originated as a common sport in England during the 1800s and was commonly known then as "wiff-waff". Its history goes back to Real Tennis played by the English Royal Family in the 1150's. In the 1800's the game was played when a row of books were to stood up along the centre of the table as a net, two more books served as rackets and were used to continuously hit a golf-ball from one end of the table to the other. Later, table tennis was played with paddles made of cigar box lids and balls made of champagne corks. Eventually, table tennis evolved into the modern game in Europe and the United States. The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early rackets were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "wiff-waff" and "Ping-pong". A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of Hamley's of Regent Street under the name "Gossima". The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd. trademarked it in 1901. The name "Ping-Pong" then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaquesses equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis. A similar situation arose in the United States. The next major innovation was by James Gibb, a British enthusiast of table tennis, who discovered novelty celluloid balls in 1901 and found them to be ideal for the game. This was followed by E. C. Goode who in 1901 invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 when table tennis tournaments were being organized, books on table tennis were being written, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. During the early 20th century the game was banned in Russia due to a belief that was held by the rulers at the time that playing the game had an adverse effect on players' eyesight. In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official world championship in 1927. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988. In the 1950s rackets that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to Britain by the sports goods manufacturers S.W. Hancock Ltd. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down". There is a move towards reviving the table tennis game that existed prior to the introduction of sponge rubber. Classic table tennis like Liha or "hardball" table tennis players reject the speed and spin of reversed sponge rubber, preferring the 1940–60s play style, with no-sponge, short-pimpled rubber equipment, when defence is less difficult by decreasing the speed and eliminating any meaningful Magnus effect of spin. Because hardbat killer shots are almost impossible to hit against a skilled player, hardbat matches focus on the strategic side of table tennis, requiring skilful manoeuvring of the opponent before an attack can be successful. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) worldwide governing body with national bodies responsible for the sport in each country. There are other local authorities applicable as well. List of Members of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) The European Table Tennis Union is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Europe. The English Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in England. The Irish Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Ireland. The Polish Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Poland. ·The Scottish Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Scotland. The Table Tennis Association of Wales is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Wales. The Canadian Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Canada.  The USA Table Tennis (USATT): national governing body for table tennis in the United States. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is the governing body for table tennis in India. It always amazes me how from a little Island like England we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This has given me an interest in English history and the sports England have created. English Lawn Tennis – History One of our favourite summer games is Lawn Tennis which It is believed a form called Real Tennis was first played over 500 years ago by English Royalty. Royal interest in Real Tennis began with Henry V (1413–22) but it was Henry VIII (1509–47) who made the biggest impact as a young monarch, playing the game with gusto at Hampton Court on a court he had built in 1530, and on several other courts in his palaces. It is believed that his second wife Anne Boleyn was watching a game of real tennis when she was arrested and that Henry was playing tennis when news was brought to him of her execution. During the reign of James I (1603–25), there were 14 courts in London. Today Real Tennis is still played at Hampton Court including by English Royalty like Prince Edward. In England, during the 18th century and early 19th century as real tennis became less popular, three other racquet sports emerged: Racquets, Squash Racquets and Lawn Tennis (the modern game). Its establishment as the modern sport can be dated to two separate inventions. Between 1859 and 1865, in Birmingham, England, Major Harry Gem, a solicitor combined elements of the game of rackets and played it on a croquet lawn in Edgbaston .  In 1872, he moved to Leamington Spa and in 1874, with two doctors from the Warneford Hospital, founded the world's first tennis club. The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall. In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised a similar game for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd in Llanelidan, Wales. He based the game on the older Real tennis. At the suggestion of Arthur Balfour, Wingfield named it "lawn tennis," and patented the game in 1874 with an eight-page rule book titled "Sphairistike or Lawn Tennis", but he failed to succeed in enforcing his patent. Dates of first Tennis Grand Slams 1877 Wimbledon Championships and played on grass. 1881 US Open Championships and played on grass until in 1977 on clay court 1891 French Open Championships and played on grass until 1912 on clay court. 1905 Australian Open Championship and played on grass until 1988 on hard court. In 1877 the All England Croquet Club formally changed its name to the All England Croquet Lawn tennis Club and held the first Lawn tennis Championship in July 1877. The referee was Henry Jones who devised the rules for the tournament with the help of a 2 man committee. Players were made to change ends after each set , matches were the best of 5 sets. Twenty two men entered the first championship. The shape of the court changed from hourglass to the modern rectangular. The net was 5ft high at the posts and in the 3 ft. 3in at the centre. The first champion was Spencer Gore. The Sport 0f Squash - its English Historical Beginnings One of our favourite summer games is "Squash" which It is believed originated from Royal Tennis played over 500 years ago by English Royalty. Squash is an individual or pairs game where players use a racquet to hit a small rubber ball around a four-walled court. The origin of the game of "Squash" seems to originate from the English game called "Squash Rackets" and "Rackets and Fives" which evolved with a number of influences shaping its creation. The first known reference to a rebounding ball game was made by an English schoolmaster in 1581. The prisoners in "The Fleet Prison", London, mainly debtors, took their exercise by hitting a ball against walls, of which there were many, with rackets and so started the game of "Rackets". Rackets progressed, by some strange route, to Harrow and other select English schools from about 1820 and it was from this source that the sport of Squash, or Squash Rackets, developed. In 1865, a game which had evolved from the English game of "Rackets and Fives" which was played in an enclosed court at the Harrow school. Several young boys in England began playing a game similar to squash (though squash had not been formally invented at the time) at the Harrow Boarding School in London. In the early 19th century, when the boys noted that puncturing a rackets' ball caused it to squash when hitting the wall, allowing a greater variety of shots. This led to the building of similar courts at Rugby, and at other private houses and clubs and "Squash" was officially created By the end of the century it had spread to Britain's other private schools as well as Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1908 a squash sub-committee of the Tennis and Rackets Association was formed to regulate the sport. In 1923, a meeting was called to resolve the discrepancies in how the game of squash was played. At the time, squash competitions were held at several English clubs across Britain. The meeting requested representatives from each of these clubs to attend. A committee (called the "Squash Rackets Representative Committee") was formed and a set of squash standards were established. Court size, ball speed and various rules of play were codified. Today, most of the squash tournaments played throughout England adhere to these codified standards. Since 1923, international competitions have taken place. During the previous 20 years, squash had progressed quickly from an obscure game played by young boys throughout England's boarding schools to a standardized sport with a committee overseeing tournaments in Britain, England, the U.S. and other countries. Today, squash is played by over 15 million people and it's enjoyed by players and fans throughout 150 countries. The Time Line of Squash: 19th century: A game called 'Rackets' is developed in a London prison 1830 Squash invented at Harrow School 1864 The first four squash courts are built at Harrow 1907 National squash associations start to be set up 1912 First professional championship held in England 1966 International Squash Rackets Association (ISRF) founded 1985 ISRF amalgamated with the Women's International Squash Federation 1992 ISR becomes the World Squash Federation (WSF) 1998 Squash featured in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. The Sport of "Squash" started being played at the British Commonwealth Games in 1998 and thereafter every 4 years. History of Cribbage – An English Iconic Game I thought as the Game of Cribbage was invented by us English and is played Worldwide I thought I would tell its history. The most famous cribbage player of all, as described by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist: "Mr Toby Crackit swept up his winnings [at cribbage] and crammed them into his waist-coat pocket." According to John Aubrey who was a 17th Century English antiquary and writer, cribbage was created by the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, as a derivation of the game “Noddy”. While noddy has disappeared, crib has survived, virtually unchanged, as one of the most popular games in the English Speaking world. The objective of the game is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121 Points are scored for card combinations that add up to fifteen, and for pairs, triples, quadruples, runs and flushes. Cribbage, or crib, is a card game traditionally for two players, but commonly played with three, four or more, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbage board used for score keeping, the eponymous crib or box (a separate hand counting for the dealer), two distinct scoring stages (the play and the show) and a unique scoring system including points for groups of cards that total fifteen. Rules 1) The players cut for first deal, and the dealer shuffles and deals five or six cards to each player, depending on the number of players. For two players, each is dealt six cards; for three or four players, each is dealt five cards. In the case of three players, a single card is dealt face down in the centre of the table to start the crib. Once the cards have been dealt, each player chooses four cards to retain, then discards the other one or two face-down to form the "crib" which will be used later by the dealer. At this point, each player's hand and the crib will contain exactly four cards. The player on the dealer's left cuts the deck and the dealer reveals the top card, called the "starter". If this card is a jack the dealer scores two points for "his heels", also known as "his nibs". 2) Starting with the player on the dealer's left, each player lays one card in turn onto a personal discard pile, stating the cumulative value of the cards laid (for example, the first player lays a five and says "five", the next lays a six and says "eleven", and so on), without the total going above 31. Once no more cards can be played, the cumulative position is reset to zero and those players with cards remaining repeat the process until all players' cards have been played. Players score points during this process for making a total of fifteen, for reaching exactly, or as close as possible to a total of thirty-one, for runs and for pairs. Players choose the order in which to lay their cards in order to maximize their score; experienced players refer to this as either good or poor "pegsmanship". If one player reaches the target (usually 61 or 121), the game ends immediately and that player wins. 3) Once the play is complete, each player in turn receives points based on the content of his hand in conjunction with the starter card. Points are scored for combinations of cards totalling fifteen, runs, pairs, flushes and having a Jack of the same suit as the starter card ("one for his nob [or nobs or nibs]"). The dealer scores his hand last and then turns the cards in the crib face up. These cards are then scored by the dealer as an additional hand in conjunction with the starter card. Scores between 0 and 29 are all possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27.Players may refer colloquially to a hand scoring zero points as having a score of nineteen. 4) Visually, cribbage is known for its scoring board - a series of holes ("streets") on which the score is tallied with pegs (also known as "spilikins"). Scores can be kept on a piece of paper, but a cribbage board is almost always used, since scoring occurs throughout the game, not just at the conclusion of hands as in most other card games. Points are registered as having been scored by "pegging" along the crib board. Two pegs are used in a leapfrog fashion, so that if a player loses track during the count one peg still marks the previous score. Some boards have a "game counter", with many additional holes for use with a third peg to count the games won by each side. The most famous cribbage player of all, as described by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist: "Mr Toby Crackit swept up his winnings [at cribbage] and crammed them into his waist-coat pocket."  History of English Lawn Bowls I thought as Green Bowls is popular worldwide and was invented by us English I thought I would tell its history.One of the most famous stories concerning Bowls was On 19th July 1588 Captain Thomas Fleming in the Golden Hinde, glimpsed the Armada through the swirling morning mist off the Lizard and raced for Plymouth, Lord Howard’s home port. Fleming came up the channel into Plymouth with the afternoon tide to find Sir Francis Drake playing bowls with his officers on the Ho, high above the harbour. On hearing of Fleming’s sighting Drake insisted on continuing with the game. Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls, called bowls, so that they stop close to a smaller—normally white—bowl called the "jack" or "kitty". Bowls, either flat- or crown-green, is usually played outdoors, on grass and synthetic surfaces. Flat-green bowls can also be played indoors on synthetic surfaces. Both variants are collectively known as "lawn bowls". It is most popular in Australia, New Zealand (where the natural playing surface is cotula), the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealth nations. It has been traced certainly to the 13th century and conjecturally to the 12th century with William Fitzstephen (d. About 1190 AD). In his biography, Thomas Becket gives a graphic sketch of the London of his day and writing of the summer amusements of the young men, says that on holidays they were "exercised in Leaping, Shooting, Wrestling, Casting of Stones [in jactu lapidum], and Throwing of Javelins fitted with Loops for the Purpose, which they strive to fling before the Mark; they also use Bucklers, like fighting Men." It is commonly supposed that by jactus lapidum, Fitzstephen meant the game of bowls, but though it is possible that round stones may sometimes have been employed in an early variety of the game - and there is a record of iron bowls being used, though at a much later date, on festive occasions at Nairn, - nevertheless the inference seems unwarranted. The jactus lapidum of which he speaks was probably more akin to the modern "putting the weight," once even called "putting the stone." It is beyond dispute, however, that the game, at any rate in a rudimentary form, was played in the 13th century. A manuscript of that period in the royal library, Windsor (No. 20, E iv.), contains a drawing representing two players aiming at a small cone instead of an earthenware ball or jack. The world's oldest surviving bowling green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green which was first used in 1299 AD. Another manuscript of the same century has a crude but spirited picture which brings us into close touch with the existing game. Three figures are introduced and a jack. The first player's bowl has come to rest just in front of the jack; the second has delivered his bowl and is following after it with one of those eccentric contortions still not unusual on modern greens, the first player meanwhile making a repressive gesture with his hand, as if to urge the bowl to stop short of his own; the third player is depicted as in the act of delivering his bowl. As the game grew in popularity, it came under the ban of king and parliament, both fearing it might jeopardise the practice of archery, then so important in battle. Statutes forbidding it and other sports were enacted in the reigns of King Edward III, King Richard II and other monarchs. Even when, on the invention of gunpowder and firearms, the bow had fallen into disuse as a weapon of war, the prohibition was continued. The discredit attaching to bowling alleys, first established in London in 1455, probably encouraged subsequent repressive legislation, for many of the alleys were connected with taverns frequented by the dissolute and gamesters. The word "bowls" occurs for the first time in the statute of 1511 in which Henry VIII confirmed previous enactments against unlawful games. By a further act of 1541 - which was not repealed until 1845 - artificers, labourers, apprentices, servants and the like were forbidden to play bowls at any time except Christmas and then only in their master's house and presence. It was further enjoined that any one playing bowls outside his own garden or orchard was liable to a penalty of 6s. 8d., while those possessed of lands to the yearly value of £100 might obtain licences to play on their own private greens. Bowls is popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and parts of the United States. It is also gaining momentum in Japan. Because of its competitiveness, skill and the fact that it is a non-contact sport, the game suits people from teen years through to their nineties. However, there is a considerable professional competition with many younger men and women playing. Since the 1990's, the sport has developed in Denmark as well. The World Championships are held in the UK annually and the £100,000 competition is watched by 3 million viewers on BBC TV. Today the sport is played in over 50 countries with more than 50 member national authorities. 
Boleyn
Ricky Wilson is the lead vocalist of which pop band formed in 1996 ?
History of English Sports - An Englishman's Favourite bits of England An Englishman's Favourite bits of England History of British Sports Given To The Warld         Inventor of the Pea Whistle by Englishman Joseph Hudson ( 1848-1930 )       Jigsaw Puzzles – An English Iconic Game - 1776       Village of Wenlock, England – A Modern Olympic Games – 1850       Centuries of English Cricket History – 990AD       Twenty20 Cricket – It's Founding and History - 2003       History of Horse Racing – 12th. Century England       History of The Grand National – England 1839       The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race – It's Fun History       Commonwealth Games – The Friendly Games       Darts – British 16th Century History       World's First Football Chant – by Edward Elgar       English Football - It's History from 1280 AD       English Football Premier League – History       English Rugby – History       The Ryder Cup Golf Competition – History       English Field Hockey - 1363 AD History       Badminton and it's English History       Table Tennis and Its English History       The Sport 0f Squash - It's English Historical Beginnings       History of Cribbage – An English Iconic Game       History of English Lawn Bowls Inventor of the Pea Whistle by Englishman Joseph Hudson (1848-1930) As a fan of most sports I thought I would write about how the first referee's Pea Whistle was invented and by whom. Way back in the 1860s, Joseph Hudson, who was originally a Farm Worker from Derbyshire who moved to Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution. He later trained as a toolmaker and converted his humble wash room at St. Mark’s Square, Birmingham which he rented for 1s. 6d. (one shilling and six pence per week) into a workshop where he could supplement the family income by watch repairing and to cobbling shoes. Joseph Hudson was well known as an inventor in Birmingham, England during the late 19th century and the founder of J Hudson & Co. in 1870 later to become the world largest whistle manufacturer. He entered a competition held by the Metropolitan police force in London in 1883 to design a better way of attracting people's attention. He won a contract to supply the police with their new devices, a small but loud 'Whistle'. Prior to this time the police force had to rely on hand rattles and whistles were only thought of as musical instruments or toys, his whistle is still used by the force and many others world side. He later invented the first referee whistle for football matches, prior to this handkerchiefs were used at games. Hudson also invented the 'Acme Thunderer' (first ever pea whistle) which has been, and remains, the most used whistle in the world, from train guards to dog handlers, party goers to police officers. Joseph Hudson set up his whistle factory in Birmingham, England in 1870. Around 1878, his ACME Whistles were the first to replace the handkerchiefs and sticks of football referees. In 1883 the Home Secretary invited competition from companies to replace the hand rattle that the London Metropolitan Police of the time relied on. Joseph Hudson, basing a new whistle on the sound he had heard when a violin broke from a fall, was awarded the contract for over 7,000 whistles. During testing on Clapham Common, the sound of the whistle was heard over a mile away. In 1884, the company continued their whistle revolution, inventing the first reliable pea-whistle, the ACME Thunderer which is still the most popular whistle today and has sold in the hundreds of millions. Today Acme whistles are recognized as some of the finest whistles manufactured in the world today. Jigsaw Puzzles – An English Iconic Game - 1776 I thought as Jigsaw Puzzles was invented by us English I thought I would tell its history. The first jigsaw was made by John Spilsbury (an Englishman) in 1766 who was a renowned mapmaker and engraver from London who mounted a map of England on a thin sheet of mahogany board, used a hand held fretsaw to cut round the county boundaries and sold the boxed pieces for children to assemble. They were known as "Dissected maps". The result was an educational aid, which could be used for teaching Geography to children. John Spilsbury certainly spotted a great  business opportunity. In the space of two years he marketed the eight map subjects most likely to appeal to upper class English parents: The World, the Four Continents then known (Africa, America, Asia and Europe), England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland. During the next 40 years several other manufacturers (including individuals in Holland) copied John Spilsbury's ideas and introduced historical scenes to compliment his map subjects. In the early part of the century, puzzles were made almost exclusively for wealthy children and almost always with education in mind. To save on cutting labour the puzzles consisted of only a few large pieces and only the outside interlocked – the rest was cut quickly with straight or wavy lines. The wood used was usually Mahogany or Cedar. The jigsaw named “The Parable of the Sower” on the right was cut by Betts in about 1870 and typifies the style of jigsaws up to that date. Only the outside pieces interlock and the quality of the print is very poor by modern standards. Towards the end of the century great strides were made in many manufacturing techniques and three of these influenced jigsaws: Treadle operated jigsaws were invented. Techniques were developed to produce THIN sheets of wood. Printing improved in leaps and bounds. These technological advances enabled jigsaws to be made that were much more intricate, durable and colourful. Adults became interested in doing jigsaws and this spurred the manufacturers to widen the range of subjects available and to make them more difficult to do. It became evident that colourful, complex jigsaws held a fascination for many people. In the late 1800’s a German furniture dealer named Raphael Tuck and his two sons developed 4 techniques that set the scene for jigsaw development into the next century: 2)    Their subjects included many varied and colourful topics. 3)    Cutting was made more intricate and included "Whimsies" – individual pieces cut into recognisable shapes like animals and household goods. 4)    Plywood and thick card started to be used instead of expensive hardwood. 5)    Attractive boxes (that for the first time included an image of the uncut puzzle) were introduced. Those with an interest in history might like to know that Raphael Tuck was also instrumental in the development of other industries – he is credited with the first commercial production of Christmas cards and also the first picture postcards. He set up printing establishments in London, Paris and New York and in 1893 he received the Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria for printing the Queen’s letter to the nation on the occasion of the death of the Duke of Clarence. Village of Wenlock, England – A Modern Olympic Games - 1850 Before the Modern Olympics began there was an Olympics in the Village of Wenlock, Shropshire, England which was run by Dr. William Penny Brookes from 1850 and every year thereafter. He has been widely recognised as the founding father of the modern Olympic Games, but surprisingly not that many people are aware of him or his remarkable life. We in Britain have given the World over 100 Sports and Games and the Wenlock Olympics are still held every year. In 1850, the Agricultural Reading Society resolved to establish a class called "The Olympian Class", "for the promotion of the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation, and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skill in Athletic exercise and proficiency in Intellectual and industrial attainments". The first meeting was held in October 1850, and included athletics and country sports such as quoits, football and cricket. The event quickly expanded, and within a few years attracted competitors from as far away as London and Liverpool. When the first Wenlock Olympian Games were staged in 1859, there was heavy criticism of Brookes' insistence that the Games be open to "every grade of man". It was felt that such an event would cause rioting, lewd behaviour, and that men would leave their wives. Brookes tirelessly avoided requests to limit the Games to only the pupils of public schools and the sons of professionals. The Games were a huge success and none of the threatened disturbances occurred. In 1859, Brookes established contact with the organisers of an Olympic Games revival in Athens sponsored by Evangelis Zappas. In 1860, the Class officially became the Wenlock Olympian Society, adopted some of the athletics events from the Athens games, and added them to their program. The first athlete to be listed on the honour roll of the Society was Petros Velissariou (an ethnic Greek from Smyrna, in the Ottoman Empire who was one of the first international Olympians. In 1865, Brookes helped establish the National Olympian Association (NOA) based in Liverpool. Their first Olympic Games, a national event, held in 1866 at the Crystal Palace, London, were a success and attracted a crowd of over 10,000 spectators. W.G. Grace, the famous cricketer (before he became famous), competed and came first in the hurdles event. The Amateur Athletic Club, later to become the Amateur Athletics Association was formed as a rival organisation to the NOA. In 1877, he requested an Olympian prize from Greece in honour of Queen Victoria’s jubilee. In response, King George I of Greece sent a silver cup which was presented at the National Olympian Games held in Shrewsbury. This brought Brookes into contact with the Greek government, but his attempts to organise an international Olympian Festival in Athens in 1881 failed. In 1889, he invited Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the organizer of an International Congress on Physical Education, too Much Wenlock. Meetings between William Penny Brookes and Baron Pierre de Coubertain took place at The Raven Hotel (as did the feast which concluded each year’s Olympian Games), and today in The Raven Hotel there are displayed many artefacts from those early years, including original letters from Baron Pierre de Coubertain to William Penny Brookes. A meeting of the Wenlock Olympian Games was held in de Coubertin's honour in 1890, with much pageantry. On his return to France, de Coubertin gave a glowing account of his stay in an article, "Les Jeux Olympiques à Much Wenlock", and referred to his host's efforts to revive the Olympics. He wrote: "If the Olympic Games that Modern Greece has not yet been able to revive still survives today, it is due, not to a Greek, but to Dr W P Brookes. Dr. W.P. Brookes died four months before the Athens 1896 Olympic Games, under the auspices of the IOC which was held in Athens in 1896. The Wenlock Olympian Society maintains his original ideals, and continues to organise annual games. The William Brookes School in Much Wenlock is named after him. In 2012 you could say the modern Olympic Games are coming home to London. Centuries of English Cricket History from 900 AD Imbued in English culture is a love and Creator of Sports of all kinds. I was born just a few miles from the oldest cricket club in the world – Hambledon Cricket Club in Hampshire, England. Our national summer game is Cricket which it is believed was first played over 1,000 years ago in English villages in an area of England called The Weald which borders Sussex and Kent.    The game was played by children for hundreds of years before adults played the game . Its beginning is lost in the mists of history, but bat hitting games were played in Saxon England before the Norman Conquest. There are stories that villager's played against villager's on village greens throughout our history, including up to today. There is nothing like a hot, sunny, summer day with the sound of leather ( The ball ) hitting willow ( The Bat ) in an English village. What is agreed is that by Tudor times cricket had evolved far enough from club-ball to be recognisable as the game played today; that it was well established in many parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; that within a few years it had become a feature of leisure time at a significant number of schools; and - a sure sign of the wide acceptance of any game - that it had become popular enough among young men to earn the disapproval of local magistrates. Important Known Historical Dates of Cricketing Events: 900AD (approx.) English Children Play bat and ball games which are the pre-cursors to Cricket, Tennis, and Baseball.                                                                                                                              1550 (approx.) Evidence of cricket being played in Guildford, Surrey. 1598 Cricket mentioned in Florio's Italian-English dictionary. 1610 Reference to "cricketing" between Weald and Upland near Chevening, Kent.       1611 Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary translates the French word "crosse" as a cricket staff. Two youths fined for playing cricket at Sidlesham, Sussex. 1624 Jasper Vinall becomes first man known to be killed playing cricket: hit by a bat while trying to catch the ball - at Horsted Green, Sussex. 1676 First reference to cricket being played abroad, by British residents in Aleppo, Syria. 1694 Two shillings and sixpence paid for a "wagger" (wager) about a cricket match at Lewes. 1697 First reference to "a great match" with 11 players a side for fifty guineas, in Sussex. 1700 Cricket match announced on Clapham Common. 1709 First recorded inter-county match: Kent v Surrey. 1710 First reference to cricket at Cambridge University. 1727 Articles of Agreement written governing the conduct of matches between the teams of the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peperharow, Surrey. 1729 Date of earliest surviving bat, belonging to John Chitty, now in the pavilion at The Oval. 1730 First recorded match at the Artillery Ground, off City Road, central London, still the cricketing home of the Honourable Artillery Company. 1744 Kent beat All England by one wicket at the Artillery Ground. First known version of the Laws of Cricket, issued by the London Club, formalising the pitch as 22 yards long. 1767 (approx) Foundation of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire, the leading club in England for the next 30 years. ( I used to live just a few miles away from this excellent cricket club). 1769 First recorded century, by John Minshull for Duke of Dorset's XI v Wrotham. 1771 Width of bat limited to 4 1/4 inches, where it has remained ever since. 1774 LBW law devised. 1776 Earliest known scorecards, at the Vine Club, Sevenoaks, Kent. 1780 The first six-seamed cricket ball, manufactured by Dukes of Penshurst, Kent. 1787 First match at Thomas Lord's first ground, Dorset Square, Marylebone - White Conduit Club v Middlesex. Formation of Marylebone Cricket Club by members of the White Conduit Club. 1788 First revision of the Laws of Cricket by MCC. 1794 First recorded inter-schools match: Charterhouse v Westminster. 1795 First recorded case of a dismissal "leg before wicket". 1806 First Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's. 1807 First mention of "straight-armed" (i.e. round-arm) bowling: by John Willes of Kent. 1809 Thomas Lord's second ground opened at North Bank, St John's Wood. 1811 First recorded women's county match: Surrey v Hampshire at Ball's Pond, London. 1814 Lord's third ground opened on its present site, also in St John's Wood. 1827 First Oxford v Cambridge match, at Lord's. A draw. 1828 MCC authorise the bowler to raise his hand level with the elbow. 1833 John Nyren publishes his classic Young Cricketer's Tutor and The Cricketers of My Time. 1836 First North v South match, for many years regarded as the principal fixture of the season. 1836 (approx) Batting pads invented. 1841 General Lord Hill, commander-in-chief of the British Army, orders that a cricket ground be made an adjunct of every military barracks. 1844 First official international match: Canada v United States. 1845 First match played at The Oval. 1846 The All-England XI, organised by William Clarke, begins playing matches, often against odds, throughout the country. 1849 First Yorkshire v Lancashire match. 1850 Wicket-keeping gloves first used. 1850 John Wisden bowls all ten batsmen in an innings for North v South. 1853 First mention of a champion county: Nottinghamshire. 1858 First recorded instance of a hat being awarded to a bowler taking three wickets with consecutive balls. 1859 First touring team to leave England, captained by George Parr, draws enthusiastic crowds in the US and Canada. 1864 Overhand bowling authorised by MCC. John Wisden's The Cricketer's Almanack first published. 1868 Team of Australian aborigines tour England. 1873 W G Grace becomes the first player to record 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season. First regulations restricting county qualifications, often regarded as the official start of the County Championship. 1877 First Test match: Australia beat England by 45 runs in Melbourne. 1880 First Test in England: a five-wicket win against Australia at The Oval. 1882 Following England's first defeat by Australia in England, an "obituary notice" to English cricket in the Sporting Times leads to the tradition of The Ashes. 1889 South Africa's first Test match. Declarations first authorised, but only on the third day, or in a one-day match. 1890 County Championship officially constituted. Present Lord's pavillion opened. 1895 W G Grace scores 1,000 runs in May, and reaches his 100th hundred. 1899 AEJ Collins scores 628 not out in a junior house match at Clifton College, the highest individual score in any match. Selectors choose England team for home Tests, instead of host club issuing invitations. 1900 Six-ball over becomes the norm, instead of five. 1909 Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC - now the International Cricket Council) set up, with England, Australia and South Africa the original members. 1910 Six runs given for any hit over the boundary, instead of only for a hit out of the ground. 1912 First and only triangular Test series played in England, involving England, Australia and South Africa. 1915 W.G. Grace dies aged 67. 1926 Victoria score 1,107 v New South Wales at Melbourne, the record total for a first-class innings. 1928 West Indies' first Test match. AP "Tich" Freeman of Kent and England becomes the only player to take more than 300 first-class wickets in a season: 304. 1930 New Zealand's first Test match. Donald Bradman's first tour of England: he scores 974 runs in the five Ashes Tests, still a record for any Test series. 1931 Stumps made higher (28 inches not 27) and wider (nine inches not eight - this was optional until 1947). 1932 India's first Test match. Hedley Verity of Yorkshire takes ten wickets for ten runs v Nottinghamshire, the best innings analysis in first-class cricket. 1932-33 The Bodyline tour of Australia in which England bowl at batsmen's bodies with a packed leg-side field to neutralise Bradman's scoring. 1934 Jack Hobbs retires, with 197 centuries and 61,237 runs, both records. First women's Test: Australia v England at Brisbane. 1935 MCC condemn and outlaw Bodyline. 1947 Denis Compton of Middlesex and England scores a record 3,816 runs in an English season. 1948 First five-day Tests in England. Bradman concludes Test career with a second-ball duck at The Oval and a batting average of 99.94 - four runs short of 100. 1952 Pakistan's first Test match. 1953 England regain the Ashes after a 19-year gap, the longest ever. 1956 Jim Laker of England takes 19 wickets for 90 v Australia at Manchester, the best match analysis in first-class cricket. 1957 Declarations authorised at any time. 1960 First tied Test, Australia v West Indies at Brisbane. 1963 Distinction between amateur and professional cricketers abolished in English cricket. The first major one-day tournament begins in England: the Gillette Cup. 1969 Limited-over Sunday league inaugurated for first-class counties. 1970 Proposed South African tour of England cancelled: South Africa excluded from international cricket because of their government's apartheid policies. 1971 First one-day international: Australia v England at Melbourne. 1975 First World Cup: West Indies beat Australia in final at Lord's. 1976 First women's match at Lord's, England v Australia. 1977 Centenary Test at Melbourne, with identical result to the first match: Australia beat England by 45 runs. Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer, signs 51 of the world's leading players in defiance of the cricketing authorities. 1978 Graham Yallop of Australia wears a protective helmet to bat in a Test match, the first player to do so. 1979 Packer and official cricket agree peace deal. 1980 Eight-ball over abolished in Australia, making the six-ball over universal. 1981 England beat Australia in Leeds Test, after following on with bookmakers offering odds of 500 to 1 against them winning. 1982 Sri Lanka's first Test match. 1991 South Africa return, with a one-day international in India. 1992 Zimbabwe's first Test match. Durham become the first county since Glamorgan in 1921 to attain first class status. 1993 The ICC ceases to be administered by MCC, becoming an independent organisation with its own chief executive. 1994 Brian Lara of Warwickshire becomes the only player to pass 500 in a first class innings: 501 not out v Durham. 2000 County Championship split into two divisions, with promotion and relegation. 2001 The Laws of Cricket revised and rewritten. 2003 Twenty20 Cup, a 20-over-per-side evening tournament, inaugurated in England. 2005 The ICC introduces Powerplays and Supersubs in ODIs, and hosts the inaugural Superseries.                                                                                                                                2007 The inaugural 20/20 World Cup. Also the creation of the Indian 20/20 Premier league.          2010 England reach the 20/20 Cricket Final. Twenty20 Cricket – It's Founder and History I thought I would write about the latest sport given to the world which is proving a great success with the world - Twenty20 Cricket and its history. Twenty20 is a form of cricket originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams; each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket. A Twenty20 game is completed in about three and half hours, with each innings lasting around 75 minutes, thus bringing the game closer to the timespan of other popular team sports. It was introduced to create a lively form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television and as such it has been very successful. The ECB did not intend that Twenty20 would replace other forms of cricket and these have continued alongside it. The idea of a shortened format of the game at a professional level was discussed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 1998 and 2001. When the Benson and Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB needed another one day competition to fill its place. The cricketing authorities were looking to boost the game's popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. It was intended to deliver fast paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game. Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a 20 over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001 and they voted 11-7 in favour of adopting the new format. A media group was invited to develop a name for the new game and Twenty20 was the chosen title. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket. Historical Dates of Twenty20 1) Twenty20 Introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. 2) On 10th January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers. It drew a sell-out crowd of 20, 700. 3) Starting 11th July 2006 19 West Indies regional teams competed in what was named the Stanford 20/20 tournament. The event has been financially backed by billionaire Allen Stanford who gave at least US$28,000,000 funding money. West Indies legends also backed the programme, and several "looked after" the teams during their stay in and around the purpose built ground in Antigua. It was intended that the tournament would be an annual event. Guyana won the inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by 5 wickets. The top prize for the winning team was US$1,000,000, but other prizes were given throughout the tournament, such as play of the match (US$10,000) and man of the match (US$25,000). 4) On 1st November 2008 the Superstars West Indies team (101-0/12.5 overs) beat England (99/all out) by 10 wickets. England slumped to 33-4 and then 65-8 after 15 overs before Samit Patel's 22 took them to 99 in 19.5 overs, still easily their lowest Twenty20 total. Chris Gayle scored an impressive 65 runs not out. 5) On 5th January 2007 Queensland’s Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The Gabba, Brisbane. A crowd of 11,000 was expected based on pre-match ticket sales. However, an unexpected 16,000 turned up on the day to buy tickets, causing disruption and confusion for surprised Gabba staff as they were forced to throw open gates and grant many fans free entry. Attendance reached 27,653. 6) For 1st February 2008's Twenty20 match between Australia and India, 84,041 people attended the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground involving the Twenty20 World Champions against the ODI World Champions. 7) Twenty20 attracted billions of fans to the game through the Indian Premier League.   The first Indian Premier League which was staged in India in 2008 changed the face of the game. The league involved over hundreds of players contracted and over billion dollars investment. It was won by Rajasthan Royals with the Chennai Super Kings finishing as runners-up. 8) The second edition was staged in South Africa which was won by Deccan Charges beating the Royal Challengers in the final. 9) The third edition was played in India despite the many challenges and controversies surrounding the league which was won by the Chennai Super Kings with Mumbai Indians finishing as the runners-up. 10) On 17th February 2005 Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's full international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland. 11) The first Twenty20 international in England was played between England and Australia at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire on the 13th June 2005, which England won, by a record margin of 100 runs. 12) On 9th January 2006 Australia and South Africa met in the first international Twenty20 game in Australia. In a first, each player's nickname appeared on the back of his uniform, rather than his surname. Since its inception the game has spread around the cricket world. On most international tours there is at least one Twenty20 match and most Test-playing nations have a domestic cup competition. The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was played in South Africa in 2007 with India winning by five runs against Pakistan in the final. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 defeating Sri Lanka by eight wickets. England won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 defeating Australia in the final by 7 wickets. In June 2009, speaking at the annual Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's, a former Australian wicket-keeper pushed for Twenty20 to be made an Olympic Sports. "It would," he said, "be difficult to see a better, quicker or cheaper way of spreading the game throughout the world." History of Horse Racing – 12th. Century England I thought as English Horse Races are famous worldwide I thought my article on the earliest English horse races would be of interest to horse lovers and readers from all over world.  The origins of modern racing lies in the 12th century, when English knights returned from the Crusades with swift Arab horses. Over the next 400 years, an increasing number of Arab stallions were imported and bred to English mares to produce horses that combined speed and endurance. Matching the fastest of these animals in two-horse races for a private wager became a popular diversion of the nobility. Horse racing began to become a professional sport during the reign (1702-14) of Queen Anne, when match racing gave way to races involving several horses on which the spectators wagered. Racecourses sprang up all over England, offering increasingly large purses to attract the best horses. These purses in turn made breeding and owning horses for racing profitable. With the rapid expansion of the sport came the need for a central governing authority. In 1750 racing's elite met at Newmarket to form the English Jockey Club, which to this day exercises complete control over English racing. The English Jockey Club wrote complete rules of racing and sanctioned racecourses to conduct meetings under those rules. Standards defining the quality of races soon led to the designation of certain races as the ultimate tests of excellence. Since 1814, five races for three-year-old horses have been designated as "classics." Three races open to male horses (colts) and female horses (fillies), make up the English Triple Crown: the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby (see DERBY, THE), and the St. Leger Stakes. Two races, open to fillies only, are the 1,000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks. The Jockey Club also took steps to regulate the breeding of racehorses. James Weatherby, whose family served as accountants to the members of the Jockey Club, was assigned the task of tracing the pedigree, or complete family history, of every horse racing in England. In 1791 the results of his research were published as the Introduction to the General Stud Book. From 1793 to the present, members of the Weatherby family have meticulously recorded the pedigree of every foal born to those racehorses in subsequent volumes of the General Stud Book. By the early 1800s the only horses that could be called "Thoroughbreds" and allowed to race were those descended from horses listed in the General Stud Book. Thoroughbreds are so inbred that the pedigree of every single animal can be traced back father-to-father to one of three stallions, called the "foundation sires." These stallions were the Byerley Turk, foaled c.1679; the Darley Arabian, foaled c.1700; and the Godolphin Arabian, foaled c.1724. Overseas Horse Racing The British settlers brought horses and horse racing with them to the New World, with the first racetrack laid out on Long Island as early as 1665. Although the sport became a popular local pastime, the development of organized racing did not arrive until after the Civil War. (The American Stud Book was begun in 1868.) For the next several decades, with the rapid rise of an industrial economy, gambling on racehorses, and therefore horse racing itself, grew explosively; by 1890, 314 tracks were operating across the country. In 1894 the America's most prominent track and stable owners met in New York to form an American Jockey Club, modelled on the English Jockey Club, which soon ruled racing with an iron hand. History of The Grand National – England 1839 I thought as The Grand National is an Iconic English  Horse race, I thought it would be interesting to fans of English Horse racing to know its history. The origins of the Grand National can be traced back to the first official races at Aintree which were initiated by the owner of Liverpool's Waterloo Hotel, Mr William Lynn. Lynn who leased the land from Lord Sefton, built a course, built a grandstand and staged the first Grand National on Tuesday February 26th 1839 and Lottery became the first winner of The Grand National. In those days the field had to jump a stone wall (now the water jump), cross a stretch of ploughed  land and finished over two hurdles. The Grand National in the days of the Topham family owned substantial tracts of land around Aintree and had been involved with the management of the course since the early years of the Aintree Meeting. In 1949 Lord Sefton sold the course to the Tophams who appointed ex-Gaiety Girl Mirabel Topham to manage it. Mrs Topham built a new track within the established National Racecourse and named it after Lord Mildmay, a fine amateur jockey and lover of the Grand National. The Mildmay course opened in 1953, the same year as the motor circuit which still encircles the track. The motor circuit was another of Mrs Topham's ideas and it quickly gained a reputation as one the best in the world hosting a European Grand Prix and five British Grand Prix. Stirling Moss won his first Grand Prix on it in 1955 while Jim Clark won the 1962 event. Aintree Racecourse suffered some lean times in the post-war years and in 1965 it was announced that the course would be sold to a property developer. In 1973 the Tophams finally sold the course to property developer Bill Davies who gave a commitment to keep the race going however he was not a real racing fan. As a result the attendance at the 1975 Liverpool Grand National was the smallest in living memory (Davies had tripled the admission price) and the great race reached its lowest point. Ladbrokes, the bookmaker made a bold bid in 1975 and signed an agreement with Davies allowing them to manage the Grand National. Ladbrokes, like all true racing professionals, had a genuine love for the National and were determined to keep it alive. Their task stretched over the next eight years and they set about it admirably but Davies was reluctant to renew their contract. He was determined to sell Aintree. Racing and the public in general finally realised that after so many years of "crying wolf" the threat was serious and a huge campaign was launched to rescue the race once and for all. Donations from the public helped the Jockey Club pay Davies' price and in early '83 he finally sold the racecourse. That year the Grand National was sponsored by the Sun newspaper but in '84 Seagram Distillers stepped in to provide the solid foundation on which Aintree's revival has been built. The last Seagram-sponsored National was in 1991 when the race was won by a horse which chairman Straker twice had the opportunity to buy; the horse's name was Seagram. The Seagram subsidiary, Martell, took over sponsorship in 1992. Martell backs the whole three-day Grand National meeting. Around 100,000 people will be at Aintree to watch the top horses battle for honours. By far the most successful and my favourite horse in Grand National history was Red Rum, the only horse to win three times, in 1973, 1974, and in 1977. He also came second in the two intervening years, 1975 and 1976. In 1973, he beat the champion Crisp who had to carry 12 stone, in what is arguably the most memorable Grand National of all time. Aintree racecourse has overcome all the obstacles and today enjoys its most successful period in modern times. Future plans include a new grandstand, a Heritage Centre and a strong ambition to establish Aintree as an international tourist attraction on non-race days. Below is a list of the Past Winners of the Grand National: Year 1839 Lottery                  1840 Jerry                     1841 Charity                  1842 Gay Lad                1843 Vanguard  1844 Discount   1845 Cure-All     1846 Pioneer 1847 Mathew     1848 Chandler   1849 Peter Simple         1850 Abd-El-Kader 1851 Abd-El-Kader        1852 Miss Mowbray       1853 Peter Simple        1854 Bourton 1855 Wanderer  1856 Freetrader 1857 Emigrant   1858 Little Charley 1859 Half Caste 1860 Anatis                   1861 Jealousy   1862 Huntsman 1863 Emblem    1864 Emblematic           1865 Alcibiade  1866 Salamander 1867 Cortolvin   1868 The Lamb  1869 The Colonel           1870 The Colonel 1871 The Lamb  1872 Casse Tete            1873 Disturbance          1874 Reugny 1875 Pathfinder 1876 Regal                    1877 Austerlitz   1878 Shifnal 1879 The Liberator         1880 Empress   1881 Woodbrook          1882 Seaman 1883 Zoedone   1884 Voluptuary            1885 Roquefort 1886 Old Joe 1887 Gamecock            1888 Playfair                 1889 Frigate                  1890 Ilex 1891 Come Away          1892 Father O'Flynn 1893 Cloister                 1894 Why Not   1895 Wild Man From Borneo 1896 The Soarer            1897 Manifesto 1898 Drogheda 1899 Manifesto 1900 Ambush II 1901 Grudon                 1902 Shannon Lass 1903 Drumcree  1904 Moifaa                  1905 Kirkland    1906 Ascetic's Silver 1907 Eremon     1908 Rubio                   1909 Lutteur III   1910 Jenkinstown 1911 Glenside   1912 Jerry M                 1913 Covertcoat            1914 Sunloch 1915 Ally Sloper            1 1916 1916–18 see below:: For three years during World War 1, the Grand National could not be run at Aintree, and so a substitute event was held at another racecourse, Gatwick. This venue is now defunct, and it is presently the site of Garwick Airport. The course was modified to make it similar to Aintree, and the races were contested over the same distance, with one less fence to be jumped. The 1916 running was titled the Racecourse Association Steeplechase, and for the next two years it was known as the War National. Year                                                     Winner Past Winners of the Grand National – Contd – 1919     Poethlyn           1920     Troytown           1921     Shaun Spadah  1922     Music Hall 1923     Sergeant Murphy           1924     Master Robert   1925     Double Chance 1926     Jack Horner      1927     Sprig                1928     Tipperary Tim    1929     Gregalach 1930     Shaun Goilin                 1931     Grakle               1932     Forbra 1933     Kellsboro Jack  1934     Golden Miller                 1935     Reynoldstown 1936     Reynoldstown   1937     Royal Mail         1938     Battleship 1939     Workman          1940     Bogskar            1941     1941–45 no race [b] 1946     Lovely Cottage  1947     Caughoo           1948     Sheila's Cottage            1949     Russian Hero 1950     Freebooter        1951     Nickel Coin       1952     Teal                              1953     Early Mist 1954     Royal Tan         1955     Quare Times      1956     E.S.B.                          1957     Sundew 1958     Mr What            1959     Oxo                  1960     Merryman II                   1961     Nicolaus Silver 1962     Kilmore 1963     Ayala                1964     Team Spirit                   1965     Jay Trump 1966     Anglo               1967     Foinavon          1968     Red Alligator                 1969 Highland Wedding 1970     Gay Trip            1971     Specify 1972     Well to Do                    1973     Red Rum 1974     Red Rum          1975     L'Escargot        1976     Rag Trade                     1977     Red Rum 1978     Lucius               1979     Rubstic 1980     Ben Nevis                     1981     Aldaniti 1982     Grittar               1983     Corbiere            1984     Hallo Dandy                  1985     Last Suspect 1986     West Tip           1987     Maori Venture    1988     Rhyme 'n' Reason         1989     Little Polveir 1990     Mr Frisk            1991     Seagram           1992     Party Politics                1993     race void [c] 1994     Miinnehoma      1995     Royal Athlete                1996     Rough Quest                 1997     Lord Gyllene 1998     Earth Summit    1999     Bobbyjo           2000     Papillon            2001     Red Marauder 2002     Bindaree           2003     Monty's Pass                2004     Amberleigh House         2005     Hedgehunter 2006     Numbersixvalverde        2007     Silver Birch       2008     Comply or Die   2009     Mon Mome 2010     Don't Push It                 2011     Ballabriggs       2012     Neptune Collonges        The 1843 winner Vanguard was trained at Lord Chesterfield's private stables at Bretby Hall. The race was abandoned from 1941 to 1945 because of World War II the 1993 running was declared void because some of the horses failed to be called back after a false start. Unofficial winners Pre-1839 the first official running of the "Grand National" is now considered to be the 1839 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase. There had been a similar race for several years prior to this, but its status as an official Grand National was revoked sometime between 1862 and 1873. Year  and   Winner’s 1836                 The Duke          1837     The Duke          1838     Sir William The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race – It's Fun History I thought it would be of interest to write this article about the history of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race as it’s one of the most famous boat races in the world and is one of England's greatest sporting Icon competitions. The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club. The teams comprised of eight rowers in each team with a cox in the bow who would control the speed of the boat. The race is between competing eights, each spring on the Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April. The formal title of the event is the Xchanging Boat Race, and it is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The event is a popular one, not only with the alumni of the universities, but also with rowers in general and the public. An estimated quarter of a million people watch the race live from the banks of the river, around seven to nine million people on TV in the UK, and an overseas audience estimated by the Boat Race Company at around 120 million, which would make this the most viewed single day sporting event in the world. However, other sources estimate that the international audience is below 20 million. Members of both teams are traditionally known as blues and each boat as a “Blue Boat” with Cambridge in light blue and Oxford dark blue. The first race was in 1829 and it has been held annually since 1856, with the exception of the two world wars. Although the heavyweight men's eights are the main draw, the two universities compete in other rowing boat races. The main boat race is preceded by a race between the two reserve crews (called Isis for Oxford and Goldie for Cambridge). The women's eights, women's reserve eights, men's lightweight eights and women's lightweight eights race in the Henley Boat races a week before the men's heavyweight races. There is also a 'veterans' boat race, usually held on a weekday before the main Boat Race, on the Thames between Putney and Hammersmith. Commonwealth Games – The Friendly Games The Commonwealth games is a sporting event that appears every 4 years and over 70 countries are represented. The Commonwealth Games are called the friendly games and the atmosphere is completely different to the Olympics. The sporting competition brought together the members of the old British Empire was first proposed by the Reverend Astley Cooper in 1891 when he wrote an article in The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing the goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire.". In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held in come London to celebrate the Coronation of King George V. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championships was held in which teams from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom competed in events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming and athletics. In 1928, a key Canadian athlete, Bobby Robinson, was given the task of organizing the first ever Commonwealth Games. These Games were held in 1930, in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and saw the participation of 400 athletes from eleven countries. All other nations march in English alphabetical order, except that the first nation marching in the Parade of Athletes is the host nation of the previous games, and the host nation of the current games marches last. In 2006 countries marched in alphabetical order in geographical regions. Since then, the Commonwealth Games have been held every four years, except for the period during the Second World War. The Games have been known by various names such as the British Empire Games, Friendly Games and British Commonwealth Games. Since 1978, they have been known as the Commonwealth Games. Originally having only single competition sports, the 1998 Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur saw a major change when team sports such as cricket, hockey and netball made their first appearance. In 2001, the Games Movement adopted the three values of Humanity, Equality and Destiny as the core values of the Commonwealth Games. These values inspire and connect thousands of people and signify the broad mandate for holding the Games within the Commonwealth. The Games were originally known as the British Empire Games. The first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada. The 10th Commonwealth Games were held at Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974, the 11th in Edmonton (Canada) in 1978, the 12th in Brisbane (Australia) in 1982, the 13th in Edinburgh (Scotland) in 1986, the 14th in Auckland (New Zealand) in 1990 and the 15th in Victoria (Canada) in 1994, where about 3,350 athletes from a record 64 nations (including South Africa, which joined the family of Commonwealth athletes after 36 years) participated. Namibia also, which gained its independence in 1990, made its debut while Hong Kong made its final appearance in the Games before being ceded to China in 1997. Table of Past Commonwealth Games ...................Venue.............                  Year........Number of Countries 1 Hamilton, Canada                   1930               11 2 London, England                                 1934               16 3 Sydney, Australia                   1938               15 4 Auckland, N Z                        1950               12 5 Vancouver, Canada                1954               24 6 Cardiff, Wales                        1958               35 7 Perth, Australia                       1962               35 8 Jamaica, West Indies              1966                34 9 Edinburgh, Scotland               1970                 42 10 Christchurch, N Z                  1974                 38 11 Edmonton, Canada               1978              48 12 Brisbane, Australia                1982              47 13 Edinburgh, Scotland             1986             26 14 Auckland, N Z                       1990              55 15 Victoria, Canada                   1994               64 6 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia                      1998               70 17 Manchester, England            2002               72 18 Melbourne, Australia             2006               76 19 New Delhi, India                    2010                 72 20 Glasgow, Scotland               2014 After Olympics, Commonwealth Games is the second largest sports festival in the world. The Games are held once in four years but only in between the Olympic years. The three nations to have hosted the games the most number of times are Australia (4), Canada (4), and New Zealand (3). Furthermore, five editions have taken place in the countries within the United Kingdom. Two cities have held the games on multiple occasions: Auckland (1950 and 1990), and Edinburgh (1970 and 1986). After the Olympics the Commonwealth Games is the second largest sports festival in the world. The Games are held once in four years but only in between the Olympic years. Darts – British 16th Century History Britain is famous for the game of Darts. I thought it would be of interest to write this article about Darts – It's English beginnings and history. The sport of darts began as training in the martial arts, (well, the martial art of archery). Darts began in Medieval England. Historians surmise, because they don't know for certain, that those teaching archery shortened some arrows and had their students throw them at the bottom of an empty wine barrel. It is said that darts even came to the new world on the Mayflower. Darts in America didn't really become popular until the late nineteenth century when immigrants from England came over and brought the game with them. Like much of American History, the roots of darts in America can be traced to the Pilgrims. These hardy colonizers were reputed to have played the game on the Mayflower as it made its ocean crossing. Like the game of horseshoes it was then played avidly in America whenever leisure time was available. In fact the game of darts that we know today originated in English pubs hundreds of years ago and is still called English darts by many when referring to the modern day game of darts. The fact that the bottom of an empty wine barrel was used is a clue to how the game developed into a pastime. It is thought that the soldiers took their shortened arrows with them to the local drinking establishment to both exhibit their skill and have fun at the same time. When the bottoms of wine barrels proved to be inconvenient or in short supply, some inventive dart thrower brought in a cross-section of a moderate sized tree. The "board" provided rings, and when it dried out, the cracks provided further segmentation. This cracked and dried board began to evolve into what we think of as the current dart board. A game as fun as darts could not be hidden from the upper classes and they soon put their own stamp on the game. The oft married Henry VIII was reputed to enjoy the game immensely. So much so, that he was given a beautifully ornate set by Anne Boleyn. However, darts remained largely an Anglo-American sport until the Victorian age when it was spread world-wide by the great expansion of the British Empire. It seems that the "sun never set on the British Empire". At the same time, there was never a time when a dart was not in the air. Many native populations were exposed to the game and found enjoyment in it. The international throwing line of 7 ft. 9 1/4 inches was established in the 1970s to make it standard for international competitions; depending on the country (or at times, even the venue), the throwing line was anywhere from 7 ft. 6 in. to 8 ft. Also, throughout the early part of the 20th  century, there were many different types of dartboards until the 'clock' board became the standard...It really wasn't until after WWII that many of the rules of darts became standardized. Now people all around the world can enjoy the sport of darts in international competitions, in leagues, or in private parties and all be on an equal footing. So the next time you put your toe to the line and raise a dart to the board, remember that there is a rich history behind this engrossing sport. The throwing distance also became standardized during this time. There was a brewery named Hockey and Sons who supplied beer to much of the South west of England. The length of three Hockey and Sons kegs placed end to end became the standard throwing distance. This is generally believed to be where the phrase "toeing the hockey" comes from. It was also during this time that the game really started to gain in popularity, especially in pubs. There is a fun story that happened in 1908. At this time, in England, games of chance were illegal and a pub owner in Leeds was brought into court for allowing darts to be played there because it was believed to be a game of chance. If the legend is true, when the pub owner appeared in court he brought along a dartboard and some darts. He then asked one of the officers of the court to name a number on the board, the officer obliged and the pub owner then hit that number with three darts. The pub owner then challenged anyone in the court to do the same. A court clerk attempted and failed and the judge immediately dismissed the case because it was obviously a game of skill and not of chance. As the game grew more popular, more pub owners put up dartboards and the game continued to spread and gain in popularity. Naturally, as more and more people played, they started to form leagues and organizations. The very first organization was formed in 1924 in England. An English newspaper started sponsoring local competitions which later grew into regional competitions and then national tournaments. At one point the game grew so popular that the Scottish government tried to ban the game in pubs, saying that it encouraged bad habits. The public didn't stand for it and the ban never took place. The game continued to grow in popularity in the twentieth century. Annual tournaments were held in England sponsored by the News of the World newspaper; these tournaments really helped to boost the popularity of the game and these tournaments ran from 1947 to 1990. During this time the game was also growing in popularity in Great Britain and in America. In the mid-seventies darts had become so popular in Great Britain that the tournaments were being televised. With this kind of publicity the game was turning into a serious sport with professional players. This led to more players and larger prizes at the tournaments. This huge growth of popularity led to the creation of major national organizations that governed the tournaments, promoted the sport, and attracted more sponsors. The first of these organizations was the British Darts Organization which was founded in 1973. The American Darts Organization followed in 1975, as well as dozens of other countries. There is also the World Dart Federation (WDF) which almost all the national darts organizations belong to; the WDF was formed in 1976 and is considered the official governing body for the sport of darts. Technology hasn't ignored the game either. Today we have electronic dartboards which can keep score automatically for you, have dozens of games built into them, electronic scoreboards, and some of the boards will even talk to you. These technologic advancements have only furthered the popularity of the sport making the game much more accessible. World's First Football Chant – by Edward Elgar As football is England's favourite sport and is called England's national game I thought I would write about the World's First Football Chant – by Edward Elgar who was born in the small village of Lower Broadheath outside Worcester, England on 2nd June 1857. It has recently come to light that Elgar wrote music to the world's first football chant for his favourite football team Wolverhampton Wanderers which was called “He Banged The leather for Goal” ( The Leather was shorthand for the Football which was made of leather and if you tried to head it when wet, it nearly took your head off )!! Elgar went to his first football match in February 1898 and became hooked on the atmosphere and the football and became a fan of Wolves for the rest of his life. Edward Elgar was an English Composer who was famous for his orchestral works including the “Land of Hope and Glory”, “Enigma Variations”, the “Pomp and Circumstance Marches”, “concertos for violin and cello” and two symphonies. He also composed oratorios, including “The Dream of Gerontius”, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the Kings Music in 1924. Despite the fluctuating critical assessment of the various works over the years, Elgar's major works taken as a whole have in the twenty-first century recovered strongly from their neglect in the 1950s. The Record Guide in 1955 could list only one currently-available recording of the First Symphony, none of the Second, one of the Violin Concerto, two of the Cello Concerto, two of the Enigma Variations, one of Falstaff, and none of The Dream of Gerontius. Since then there have been multiple recordings of all the major works. More than thirty recordings have been made of the First Symphony since 1955, for example, and more than ten of The Dream of Gerontius. Similarly in the concert hall, Elgar's works, after a period of neglect are once again frequently programmed. The Elgar Society's website, in its diary of forthcoming performances, lists performances of Elgar's works by orchestras, soloists and conductors across Europe, North America and Australia. Edward Elgar died on the 23rd February 1934. Elgar's statue at the end of Worcester High Street stands facing the cathedral, only yards from where his father's shop once stood. When I visited Malvern in 2011 I came across another fab statue of the composer at the top of Church Street in Malvern, overlooking the town and giving visitors an opportunity to stand next to the composer in the shadow of the Hills that he so often regarded. In September 2005, a third statue sculpted by Jemma Pearson was unveiled near Hereford Cathedral in honour of his many musical and other associations with that city. It features Elgar with his bicycle. English Football - It's History from 1280 AD Our national game is Football which it is believed was first played over 1,000 years ago in English villages up and down the country. There are stories that villager's played against villager's and the aim of the game was to get the ball passed the opposing village boundary line. The rules included kicking, punching, scratching the opposition over and above the kicking of the ball. 1280 AD - Earliest form of ball kicking The earliest recorded form of ball kicking was recorded in England in 1280 AD at Ulgham near Ashington in Northumberland. A player was killed by running into an opposing player’s dagger. 1314 AD - The first banning of Football In 1314, comes the earliest reference to a game called football when Nicholas de Farndone Lord Mayor of the City of London issued a decree on behalf of King Edward II banning football. It was written in the French used by the English upper classes at the time. A translation reads: "For as much as there is great noise in the city caused by hustling over large foot balls in the fields of the public from which many evils might arise which God forbid: we command and forbid on behalf of the king, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city in the future." 1409 AD – First banning of betting on Football In 1409 King Henry IV of England gives us the first documented use of the English word "football" when issued a proclamation forbidding the levying of money for "foteball". 1481 AD - Earliest description of Football Game At the end of the 15th century comes the earliest description of a football game. This account in Latin of a football game contains a number of features of modern football and comes from Cawston, Nottinghamshire, England. It is included in a manuscript collection of the miracles of King Henry VI of England. Although the precise date is uncertain it certainly comes from between 1481 and 1500. This is the first account of an exclusively "kicking game" and the first description of dribbling. "The game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking it and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet... kicking in opposite directions" The chronicler gives the earliest reference to a football field, stating that: "The boundaries have been marked and the game had started. 1526 AD - First Football Boots In 1526 comes the first record of a pair of football boots occurs when Henry VIII of England ordered a pair from the Great Wardrobe in 1526. Unfortunately these are no longer in existence. 1581 AD - First organised Team Sport In 1581 comes the earliest account of football as an organised team sport. Richard Mulcaster, a student at Eton College in the early 16th century and later headmaster at other English schools provides the earliest references to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Mulcaster's "footeball" had evolved from the disordered and violent forms of traditional football: [s]ome smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to try their strength: nor should ring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges. Mulcaster also confirms that in sixteenth century England football was very popular and widespread: it had attained "greatness. .. [And was] much used ... in all places" Despite this violence continued to be a problem. For example, the parish archives of North Moreton, Oxfordshire for May 1595 state: "Gunter's son and ye Gregory’s fell together by ye years at football. Old Gunter drew his dagger and both broke their heads, and they died both within a fortnight after." 1600 AD - First reference to Scoring a Goal the first direct references to scoring a goal come from England in the 1600s. For example, in John Day's play 'The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green (performed circa 1600; published 1659): "I'll play a goal at camp-ball" (an extremely violent variety of football, which was popular in East Anglia. Similarly in a poem in 1613, Michael Drayton refers to "when the Ball to throw, and drive it to the Goole, in squadrons forth they goe". 1602 AD – First reference to Passing the Ball  In 1602 the earliest reference to a game involving passing the ball comes from Cornish hurling. In particular Carew tells us that: "Then must he cast the ball (named Dealing) to some one of his fellowes". In this case, however, the pass is by hand, as in rugby football. Although there are other allusions to ball passing in seventeenth century literature, this is the only one which categorically states that the ball was passed to another member of the same team. There are no other explicit references to passing the ball between members of the same team until the 1860s, however, in 1650 English puritan Richard Baxter alludes to player to player passing of the ball during a football game in his book Everlasting Rest: "like a Football in the midst of a crowd of Boys, tost about in contention from one to another". 1608 AD – Outlawing of Football in Cities Football continued to be outlawed in English cities, for example the Manchester Lete Roll contains a resolution, dated 12 October 1608: "That whereas there hath been heretofore great disorder in our towne of Manchester, and the inhabitants thereof greatly wronged and charged with makinge and amendinge of their glasses windows broken yearlye and spoiled by a company of lewd and disordered that unlawful exercise of playing with the football in ye streets of ye said toune breaking many men's windows and glasses at their pleasures and other great enormities. Therefore, wee of this jury doe order that no manner of psons hereafter shall play or use the footeball in any street within the said toune of Manchester, suspend to everyone that shall so use the same for every time played". Although football was frequently outlawed in England, it remained popular even with the ruling classes. For example, during the reign of King James I of England James Howell mentions how Lord Willoughby and Lord Sunderland enjoyed playing football, for example: “Lord Willoughby, and he, with so many of their servants ... played a match at foot- ball against such a number of Countrymen, where my Lord of Sunderland being busy about the ball, got a bruise in the breast. 1624 AD – First concept of Football Teams the concept of football teams is mentioned by English Poet Edmund Waller in c1624: He mentions an "a sort [i.e. company]of lusty shepherds try their force at football, care of victory... They ply their feet, and still the restless ball, Toss'd to and fro, is urged by them all". The last line suggests that playing as a team emerged much earlier in English football than previously thought. 1638 AD - Popularity of Football Football continued to be popular throughout seventeenth century England. For example in 1634 Davenant is quoted (in Hones Table-Book) as remarking, "I would now make a safe retreat, but methinks Jam stopped by one of your heroic game called football; which I conceive (under your favour) not very conveniently civil in the streets, especially in such irregular and narrow roads as Crooked Lane. Yet it argues your courage, much like your military pastime of throwing at cocks, since you have long allowed these two valiant exercises in the streets". Similarly in 1638 Thomas Randolph suggests this in the following lines from one of his plays: "Madam, you may in time bring down his legs to the just size, now overgrown with playing too much at foot-ball". 1660 AD – First Objective study of Football  In 1660 comes the first objective study of football, given in Francis Willughby's Book of Sports, written in about 1660. This account is particularly noteworthy as he refers to football by its correct name and is the first to describe the following: goals and a pitch ("a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals"), tactics ("leaving some of their best players to guard the goal"), scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a law of football: "They often break one another's shins when two meet and strike both together against the ball, and therefore there is a law that they must not strike higher than the ball". His book includes the first (basic) diagram illustrating a modern football pitch. Football continued to be played in the later seventeenth century, even in cities such as London. The great diarist Samuel Pepys, for example, states in 1665 that in a London street "the street being full of footballs" 1840's AD - Codified Football England was the first country in the world to develop codified football, coming about from a desire of its various public schools to compete against each other. Previously, each school had its own rules, which may have dated back to the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. The first attempts to come up with single codes probably began in the 1840s, with various meetings between school representatives attempting to come up with a set of rules with which all would be happy. The first attempt was The Cambridge Rules, created in 1848; others developed their own sets, most notably Sheffield F.C. (1855) and J.C. Thring(1862). These were moulded into one set in 1863 when the Football Association was formed; though some clubs continued to play under the Sheffield Rules 1878, and others dissented to form Rugby Union instead. The 1863 rules of the Football Association provides the first reference in the English Language to the verb to "pass" a ball. 1866 AD – First Player to be Ruled Offside C.W.Alcock became the first footballer ever to be ruled off side on 31 March 1866, confirming that players were probing ways of exploiting the new off side rule right from the start. The offside rule was introduced in 1866 into the Football Association rules. It was almost identical to the one that had been part of the Cambridge Rules. The early Sheffield Rules were particularly important as their offside system allowed poaching or sneaking and thus demonstrated the use of the forward pass: Players known as "kick through" were positioned permanently near the opponent’s goal to receive these balls. According to C.W. Alcock the Sheffield style gave birth to the modern passing game. The Sheffield Rules of 1862later included both crossbars and half time and free kicks were introduced to their code in 1866. 1867 AD – The Oldest Football Cup in the World  The Youdan Cup was an association football competition played in Sheffield, England. A local theatre owner Thomas Youdan sponsored the competition and provided the trophy. The trophy itself was made of silver, and although Thomas Youdan awarded a £2 prize to the winner of a competition to design the trophy, it was not completed in time to be presented on the day to the winners. The format of the competition was drawn up by a committee and played under Sheffield Rules. The first two rounds were on a knock-out basis, however the final was contested between three teams playing each other in turn. The final was played at Bramell Lane, Sheffield on 5 March 1867 and attracted 3,000 spectators, each paying 3d admission. The game used the concept of 'rouges' (a rouge was scored when an attempt at goal, using a goal only 4 yards wide, missed, but would have gone into an 8 yard wide goal: rouges were only considered in the case of a drawn match), and Hallam beat Norfolk and Mackenzie to finish first, while Norfolk beat Mackenzie and finished second. The Runners-up were presented with a two-handed silver goblet encircled with athletic figures that had been purchased with the proceeds of the gate money and had been completed. Sadly Youdan was unable to present it personally as he was ill. 1870 AD – The first International  England was home to the first ever international football match on the 5 March 1870. The first match ended in a draw and was one of a series of four matches between representatives of England and Scotland at The Oval, London. These matches were arranged by the Football Association, at the time the only national football body in the world. The origin of these games came in 1870 when CW Alcock challenged home-grown contenders in Scotland against an English eleven. These challenges were issued in Scottish newspapers, including the Glasgow Herald. He received no response to these adverts. One response to Alcock's challenges illustrates that soccer was eclipsed in Scotland by other codes: "Mr Alcock's challenge to meet a Scotch eleven on the borders sounds very well and is doubtless well meant. But it may not be generally well known that Mr Alcock is a very leading supporter of what is called the "association game"...devotees of the "association" rules will find no foemen worthy of their steel in Scotland". As a result he was forced to draw upon London-based players with Scottish origins. One notable Scottish player of the 1870 and 1871 games was Smith, a player of Queens Park FC. This suggests that southern teams were not so isolated from Glasgow players and style of play as originally thought. Alcock was categorical that although most players were London based, this was due to lack of response from north of the border: "I must join issue with your correspondent in some instances. First, I assert that of whatever the Scotch eleven may have been composed the right to play was open to every Scotchman [Alcock's italics] whether his lines were cast North or South of the Tweed and that if in the face of the invitations publicly given through the columns of leading journals of Scotland the representative eleven consisted chiefly of Anglo-Scots ... the fault lies on the heads of the players of the north, not on the management who sought the services of all alike impartially. To call the team London Scotchmen contributes nothing. The match was, as announced, to all intents and purposes between England and Scotland". The first official ( i.e. currently recognised by FIFA) international match would take place between Scotland and England on November 30th. 1872. This match was played under the Football Association rules. 1871 AD – The F.A.Cup the F.A. Cup was the first nationally organized competition. A knockout cup, it began 1871, with the first winners being the Wanderers. In those days professionalism was banned, and the cup was dominated by service teams or old schoolboys' teams (such as Old Estonians). In the early 1870s the modern team passing game was invented by the Sheffield FC, Royal Engineers A.F.C. and Scottish players of the era from Queens Park FC. This was the predecessor to the current passing, defensive game which was known as the Combination Game and was spread around the world by British expatriates. 1888 AD – Worlds First Football League  The new professionals needed more regular competitive football in which they could compete, which led to the creation of the Football league in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor . This was dominated by those clubs who had supported professionalism, and the twelve founding members consisted of six from Lancashire (Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Accrington, Everton and Preston North End) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Nott’s County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). No sides from the South or London initially participated. Preston North End won the first ever Football League championship without losing any of their 22 fixtures, and won the FA Cup to complete the double. They retained their league title the following year but by the turn of the 20th century they had been eclipsed by Aston Villa, who had emulated Preston's double success in 1897. Other Midlands sides, such as Wolves (1893 FA Cup winners) and West Bromwich Albion (1888 & 1892 FA Cup winners) were also successful during this era, as were Blackburn Rovers, who won five FA Cups in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1892 a second division was added and in 1920 a third division was added. 1891 AD – Creation of Football Net In 1891 Liverpool engineer John Alexander Brodie invented the football net. 1991- Present In 1991 the English Premier league was formed of 20 clubs and with its links to Sky television and the increase in revenues by 2001 The Premier league was the richest league of any kind of sports in the world. At the present day, the league's TV rights have reached over 2 Billion Pounds. The argument at present is when technology will be used around the goal to confirm problem goals by Video replay. It always amazes me how from a little Island like England we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. English Football Premier League – History I have decided to write the history of the Premier League as it is the world's most popular and valuable league of any sporting kind. Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries, frequently on networks owned and/or controlled by Newscorp who also own Sky Sports. In China a Premier League match is watched from between 200-400 Million people. The Premier League is watched by many countries around the world including : United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. In 1992 the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27th  May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster gate. This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League ( Since 1888) that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained on the same terms as between the old First and Second Divisions. There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Football League Championship and the top two teams from the Championship, together with the winner of play-offs involving the third to sixth placed Championship clubs, are promoted in their place. As of the end of the 2009–10 season, there had been 18 completed seasons of the Premier League. The league held its first season in 1992-93 and was originally composed of 22 clubs. The first ever Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United. Due to insistence by FIFA, the international governing body of football, that domestic leagues reduce the number of games clubs played, the number of clubs was reduced to 20 in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted. The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007. British Television rights alone for the period 2010 to 2013 have been purchased for £1.782 billion. Worldwide Television rights were sold for the 2010 to 2013 season for over £600 Million which added to the British rights total £2.282 Billion over 3 years. This has created the most watched and valuable league in the world. English Rugby – History Imbued in English culture is a love and creator of Sports of all kinds. One of our favourite sports is Rugby Football which it is believed was first played in English villages up and down the country. There are stories that villager's played against villager's and the aim of the game was to get the ball passed the opposing village boundary line. The rules included kicking, punching, scratching the opposition over and above the running with the ball and kicking of the ball. While it is true that such games as Rugby did exist for centuries, there may be a kernel of truth to the William Webb Ellis legend that a football match was being played when Web Ellis picked up the ball and created Rugby. As far as most historians can tell, the earliest form of football with much similarity to rugby as we know it today, did originate at Rugby School around Ellis's time. Whether he was the actual creator of the game or the game simply evolved into something like the modern game during his time is still a point for debate. Most probable is the slightly different version of the legend that the English Rugby Union relates. According to the English Rugby Union, the type of football played at Rugby School in Ellis's time was not soccer, but a game with a mixture of both soccer and rugby rules. Handling the ball was prohibited unless the ball was airborne, when the player was permitted to catch it. After catching the ball he would stand still, as did all the other players, and had the option of kicking it wherever he chose, or placing it on the ground and kicking for goal. It is also very important to remember that in those days at English Public Schools, students often developed their own rules for the games of football they played on the spot as there was very little official refereeing. So it is possible that William Webb Ellis did in fact pick up the ball and run with it during an impromptu game of football, which set an example for others. But one thing does remain, it is highly dubious that rugby originated from soccer as we know it today. It is far more likely, and most historians tend to agree, that both rugby and soccer developed roughly side by side as rules became more formalized and documented. Whatever the case, the story of William Webb Ellis is too good not to be held on to and cherished. William Webb Ellis has an official headstone on the grounds of Rugby School with the following inscription: "This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis who with a fine disregard for the rules of football, as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the Rugby game A.D. 1823" By the 1840s running with the ball had become the norm, and by the 1870s rugby clubs had sprung up all over England and in the colonies. But just as it was during the earliest days at the public schools, different rules were being used by different clubs with no official codification of the rules being laid down. To try and remedy this situation and provide a more uniform set of laws, a meeting was held in January 26, 1871, attended by the representatives of 22 clubs. It was at this meeting that the Rugby Football Union was founded. The meeting was called by Edwin Ash, then secretary of the Richmond Club. He sent a letter to the newspapers which stated: "Those who play the rugby type game should meet to form a code of practice as various clubs play to rules which differ from others, which makes the game difficult to play". Following the founding of the Rugby Football Union, a committee was formed consisting of three ex-Rugby School pupils who were invited to formulate a set of laws to help govern and unify the game. By June 1871 they had accomplished their task. Soon after the Scottish members of the Union challenged the English to a match. This was by all accounts the first international match between England and Scotland, perhaps between anyone, and took place at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh on March 27, 1871, resulting in a win to Scotland. The "Great Schism" and the Start of Rugby League. The rugby football union at this time believed strongly in maintaining the games amateur status. Despite this commitment, in 1893 reports of some players in the north of England receiving payments for playing reached the RFU, and it attempted to obtain evidence. The Union set up an inquiry into the matter, but was warned that if the club involved was punished, all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire would secede from the Rugby Football Union. The inquiry went ahead and the club concerned was suspended. Two general meetings resulted at which the Northern Unions lobbied for the right to pay player "broken time" wages to help cover any lost wages players incurred by skipping work to play in matches. It is important to note that many of the Northern Union clubs had a strong mining and blue collar constituency and lost pay was a serious concern for them. The Northern Union's request was denied and in August 1895 twenty two of the northern clubs seceded from the Rugby Football Union and formed the Northern Union, later to become known as the Rugby League. The Rugby League quickly adopted rules to make the game more attractive to spectators in order to draw crowds to help pay the men's broken time wages. This is where the reduction of players to 13 came into effect as well as the move to a multiple downs style of play. As a result, Rugby League is very distinctive from Rugby Union in both appearance and strategies employed. Rugby Union Becomes Professional As the years wore on, the IRB and the Rugby Football Union clung to their amateur roots and traditions tightly, but there were growing cries from around the globe to turn professional. Ironically many of these reasons shadow the reason the Northern Union split away in the first place, namely increased demands on player’s time as well as increased media attention on the sport and revenues generated as a result. Many felt it was simply unfair to have so much money generated and the players receive none of it in spite of all of their sacrifices for club and country. Along with this was a growing "hidden professionalism" in Rugby Union. While open air payments were unlikely, it became clear that most players were receiving a number of perks for playing such as houses, cars, and other under the table deals. Realizing that the sport needed to move to a professional model if it was to remain intact, the IRB and RFU accepted professionals in Rugby Union in August 1995. Snooker and Billiards – History One of the most popular British sports is Snooker and Billiards which It is believed was first played over a 600 years ago by British Soldiers. 1470 - Billiard tables evolved as a replacement to the lawn of a croquet game. Although billiards tables initially could only afforded by nobility and the rich. 1516-1558 - It was reported that Bloody Queen Mary of Scotland 1516 – 1558 had a Billiards Table and was a great fan of the game. 1674 - The first book discussing about the rules of Billiard was named as `The Complete Gamester` and was written by Charles Cotton. The book was published in England in the year 1674. Almost all the towns in England had public Billiard Tables, during that period. Billiards became quite familiar to the public and several writers of that period also started to mention about the game in their writings. 1875 - It was in 1875 that Neville Chamberlain ( No, not that Appeasement British Prime Minister ) created snooker. During the rainy season, young officers spent much of their time in the billiards room, and several of the games they played allowed for gambling. Two of the most popular games were ' pyramids' and 'black pool’. There were 15 reds, arranged in a pyramid, and each time a player potted a red his opponent had to pay a forfeit. In 'black pool', each player had a different coloured cue ball, and when an opponent potted potted it they had to pay a fee to re-join the game. If the opponent potted the black ball after an opponent’s ball, the fee was greater. Chamberlain combined elements of these two games to create a new game, which he persuaded his fellow officers to try. One day, when a player missed an easy shot, Chamberlain remarked that he was a 'snooker' - this was slang for a new recruit at Woolwich Military Academy. Chamberlain went on to say that they were all snookers at this game, and the name stuck. Chamberlain had various postings throughout India, and introduced the game wherever he went. He was stationed in Madras from 1881 to 1885 and the game became very popular at the Ootacamund Club there. This is where the rules were worked out in detail for the first time. During a visit to India in 1885, John Roberts, the world billiards champion, sought out Chamberlain in order to learn the game of snooker. He then introduced the game to England. Chamberlain was promoted to captain in 1885, major shortly afterwards, and lieutenant-colonel in 1887. He was military secretary to the Kashmir government between 1890 and 1897, when he reorganised the Kashmir army. In 1899 he was promoted to colonel. As well as India, Chamberlain also served in South Africa and Ireland. He died at his home in Ascot in 1944. The Name Snooker received its name in the 1800's by the British Armed Force who always called losing players "snooker". The name stuck and the billiards game has remained under the same name of snooker for all of these years. The first organized tournament which was played wasn't until 1916 when snooker introduced the Amateur English Championships. The World Snooker Championships was released soon after with the help of Joe Davis in 1927. Throughout the 1930's snooker quickly became the most popular billiards game played throughout many countries. 1885 - The first governing body of the game, the English Billiards Association was formed in the UK in 1885, a period that saw a number of sporting bodies founded across the British sporting world. By the mid-20th century, the principal sanctioning body was the Billiards Association and Control Council (later the Billiards and Snooker Control Council). 1927 - The history of Billiards in India can be traced back to the first half of the nineteenth century, when the British rulers were ruling India. The game was brought to India by the British armed services. British Boxing – It's History One of the most popular British sports is Boxing which It is believed was first played over a 500 years ago in English villages up and down the country. British Prize Fighting was popular in the 16th century in England and became especially popular during the championship reign of James Figg, who held the heavyweight title from 1719 through 1730. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury, and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used. It should be noted, that this earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mar. Figg's time, in addition to fist fighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. Boxing became a workingman's sport during the Industrial Revolution as prize-fights attracted participants and spectators from the working class. Organization was minimal at first, and the bouts of those eras resembled street fights more than modern boxing. The second heavyweight champion, Jack Broughton of England, drew his own set of rules for his own fights, and these were recognized in 1743. They outlawed some of the gorier aspects that the sport had acquired, such as hitting below the belt line. Instead of a ring of spectators--hence, the name ring--Broughton insisted upon a squared-off area. His rules governed what is known as the "bareknuckle era." In 1866 the Marquis of Queensberry gave his support to a new set of rules, which were named in his honour. These rules limited the number of 3-minute rounds, eliminated gouging and wrestling, and made the use of gloves mandatory. Bareknuckle bouts did not cease immediately but did begin to decline. A new era dawned in 1892, when James J. CORBETT defeated the last of the great bare-fisted fighters, John L. SULLIVAN, under the new rules With the growing popularity of boxing, especially in the United States, weight classes other than the unlimited heavyweights emerged. These classes became popular as world championships were held at the new weights. Currently, there are eight major professional divisions: flyweight (up to 112 lb./50.8 kg); bantamweight (118 lb./53.5 kg); featherweight (126 lb./57.2 kg); lightweight (135 lb./61.2 kg); welterweight (147 lb./66.7 kg); middleweight (160 lb./72.6 kg); light heavyweight (175 lb./79.4 kg); and heavyweight (unlimited). In recent years there has been some recognition of junior weights, or between-weights, such as junior lightweight and cruiserweight. Because of its violent nature and its identification with betting, boxing has had a controversial history. There have been periodic efforts to outlaw the sport. In 1867, the Marquis of Queensbury Rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights. Middleweights and Heavyweights. The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquis of Queensbury, whose name has always been associated with them. The June 1894 Leonard–Cushing bout. Each of the six one-minute rounds recorded by the Kinetograph was made available to exhibitors for $22.50. Customers who watched the final round saw Leonard score a knockdown. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with one minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As a result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive manoeuvres such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to more modern stance in which the torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face. The English case of Rv. Coney in 1882 found that a bare knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans. Throughout the early twentieth century, boxers struggled to achieve legitimacy, aided by the influence of promoters like Tex Rickard and the popularity of great champions from John L. Sullivan to Jack Dempsey. Shortly after this era, boxing commissions and other sanctioning bodies were established to regulate the sport and establish universally recognized champions. Golf – Its British History One of Britain's favourite Sports is Golf which It is believed a form of ball and club sport called 'Paganica' was first played in Londinium ( London, England ) by the Romans over 1500 years ago. Whilst the argument continues on who first invented the sport of Golf, the one certain fact concerning the origins of golf, is that golf was first played in Scotland in the form we know of today. It would appear that in around 1353, golfers adopted the principle of allowing each team to hit a second uninterrupted shot. Previously, teams of players would alternate hitting a ball back and forth across the links in Fife. The history of golf shows that golf also rapidly acquired such a popularity, that it eclipsed the sport of archery. Archery was so vital to Scotland's national defence, that the playing of golf in Scotland was made a criminal offence punishable by hanging. The modern game of golf we understand today is generally considered to be a Scottish Invention, as the game was mentioned in two 15th-century Acts of the Scottish Parliament, prohibiting the playing of the game of golf because it was taking time from archery practice, which was necessary for national defence. The modern game of golf originated and developed in Scotland: the first permanent golf course originated in Scotland, as well as membership in the first golf clubs. The very first written rules originated there, as did the establishment of the 18-hole course. The first formalized tournament structures developed and competitions were held between various Scottish cities. Before long, the modern game of golf had spread from Scotland to England and from there to the rest of the world. The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Old Links at Musselburgh Links. Evidence has shown that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672, although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567. In 1603 James VI of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England. He and his courtiers played golf at Blackheath, London, from which the Royal Blackheath Golf Club traces its origins. There is evidence that Scottish soldiers, expatriates and emigrants took the game to British colonies and elsewhere during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The Royal Calcutta Golf Club and the club at Pau in south western France are notable reminders of these excursions and are the oldest golf clubs outside the British Isles and the oldest in continental Europe respectively. However, it was not until the late 19th century that Golf became more widely popular outside of its Scottish home. By the 1860s there were regular services from London to Edinburgh. The royal enthusiasm for Scotland, the much improved transport links and the writings of Sir Walter Scott caused a boom for tourism in Scotland and a wider interest in Scottish history and culture outside of the country. This period also coincided with the development of the Gutty; a golf ball made of Gutta Percha which was cheaper to mass produce, more durable and more consistent in quality and performance than the feather filled leather balls used previously. Golf began to spread across the rest of the British Isles. In 1864 the golf course at the resort of Westward Ho! became the first new course in England since Blackheath. In 1880 England had 12 courses, rising to 50 in 1887 and over 1000 by 1914. The game in England had progressed sufficiently by 1890 to produce its first Open Championship, John Ball. The game also started to spread further across the British Commonwealth and at British Tourist destinations. By the 1880s golf clubs had been established in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Singapore followed in 1891. Courses were also established in several continental European resorts for the benefit of British visitors. The word golf was first mentioned in writing in 1457 on a Scottish Parliamentary Statute on forbidden games as gouf, possibly derived from the Scots word goulf (variously spelled) meaning "to strike or cuff". This word may, in turn, be derived the Dutch word Kolf, meaning "bat," or "club," and the Dutch sport of the same name. Timeline of the history of golf from 150 AD to 1900 AD: ·       150 AD ball and club sport called 'Paganica' was first played in Londinium ( London, England ) by the Romans. ·       1354 - The first recorded reference to "chole", the probable antecedent of golf. It is a derivative of hockey played in Flanders. ·       1421 - A Scottish regiment aiding the French against the English at the Siege of Bauge is introduced to the game of chole. Hugh Kennedy, Robert Stewart and John Smale, three of the identified players, are credited with introducing the game in Scotland. ·       1457 - Golf, along with football, is banned by the Scots Parliament of James II to preserve the skills of Archery by prohibiting gowf on Sundays because it has interfered with military training for the wars against the English. ·       1470 - The ban on golf is reaffirmed by the Parliament of James III. ·       1491 - The golf ban is affirmed again by Parliament, this time under James IV. ·       1502 - With the signing of the Treaty of Glasgow between England and Scotland, the ban on golf is lifted. ·       James IV makes the first recorded purchase of golf equipment, a set of golf clubs from a bow-maker in Perth. ·       1513 - Queen Catherine, queen consort of England, in a letter to Cardinal Wolsey, refers to the growing popularity of golf in England. ·       1527 - The first commoner recorded as a golfer is Sir Robert Maule, described as playing on Barry Links, Angus (near the modern-day town of Carnoustie). ·       1552 - The first recorded evidence of golf at St. Andrews, Fife. ·       1553 - The Archbishop of St Andrews issues a decree giving the local populace the right to play golf on the links at St. Andrews. ·       1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, seen playing golf shortly after the death of her husband Lord Darnley, is the first known female golfer. ·       1589 - Golf is banned in the Blackfriars Yard, Glasgow. This is the earliest reference to golf in the west of Scotland. ·       1592 - The Royal Burgh of Edinburgh bans golfing at Leith on Sunday "in tyme of sermonis." (Eng.: sermons) ·       1618 - Invention of the featherie ball. ·       King James VI of Scotland and I of England confirms the right of the populace to play golf on Sundays. ·       1621 - First recorded reference to golf on the links of Dornoch (later Royal Dornoch), in the far north of Scotland. ·       1641 - Charles I is playing golf at Leith when he learns of the Irish rebellion, marking the beginning of the English Civil War. He finishes his round. ·       1642 - John Dickson receives a licence as ball-maker for Aberdeen. ·       1659 - Golf is banned from the streets of Albany, New York-the first reference to golf in America. ·       1682 - In the first recorded international golf match, the Duke of York and John Paterstone of Scotland defeat two English noblemen in a match played on the links of Leith. ·       Andrew Dickson, carrying clubs for the Duke of York, is the first recorded caddy. ·       1687 - A book by Thomas Kincaid, Thoughts on Golve, contains the first references on how golf clubs are made. ·       1721 - Earliest reference to golf at Glasgow Green, the first course played in the west of Scotland. ·       1724 - "A solemn match of golf" between Alexander Elphinstone and Captain John Porteous becomes the first match reported in a newspaper. Elphinstone fights and wins a duel on the same ground in 1729. ·       1735 - The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed.[1] ·       1743 - Thomas Mathison's epic The Goff is the first literary effort devoted to golf. ·       1744 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is formed, playing at Leith links. It is the first golf club. ·       The Royal Burgh of Edinburgh pays for a Silver Cup to be awarded to the annual champion in an open competition played at Leith. John Rattray is the first champion. ·       1754 - Golfers at St. Andrews purchase a Silver Cup for an open championship played on the Old Course. Bailie William Landale is the first champion. ·       The first codified Rules of Golf published by the St. Andrews Golfers (later the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews). ·       1759 - Earliest reference to stroke play, at St. Andrews. Previously, all play was match. ·       1761 - The Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society of Edinburgh is formed.[2] ·       1764 - The competition for the Silver Club at Leith is restricted to members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. ·       The first four holes at St. Andrews are combined into two, reducing the round from twenty-two holes (11 out and in) to 18 (nine out and in). St. Andrews is the first 18-hole golf course, and sets the standard for future courses. ·       1766 - The Blackheath Club in London becomes the first golf club formed outside of Scotland. ·       1767 - The score of 94 returned by James Durham at St. Andrews in the Silver Cup competition sets a record unbroken for 86 years. ·       1768 - The Golf House at Leith is erected. It is the first golf clubhouse. ·       1773 - Competition at St. Andrews is restricted to members of the Leith and St. Andrews societies. ·       1774 - Thomas McMillan offers a Silver Cup for competition at Musselburgh, East Lothian. He wins the first championship. ·       The first part-time golf course professional (at the time also the greenkeeper) is hired, by the Edinburgh Burgess Society. ·       1780 - The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen (later the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club) is formed. ·       1783 - A Silver Club is offered for competition at Glasgow. ·       1786 - The South Carolina Golf Club is formed in Charleston, the first golf club outside of the United Kingdom. ·       The Crail Golfing Society is formed. ·       1788 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers requires members to wear club uniform when playing on the links. ·       1797 - The Burntisland Golf Club is formed. ·       The town of St. Andrews sells the land containing the Old Course (known then as Pilmor Links), to Thomas Erskine for 805 pounds. Erskine was required to preserve the course for golf. ·       1806 - The St. Andrews Club chooses to elect its captains rather than award captaincy to the winner of the Silver Cup. Thus begins the tradition of the Captain "playing himself into office," by hitting a single shot before the start of the annual competition. ·       1810 - Earliest recorded reference to a women's competition at Musselburgh. ·       1820 - The Bangalore Club is formed. ·       1824 - The Perth Golfing Society is formed, later Royal Perth (the first club so honored). ·       1826 - Hickory imported from America is used to make golf shafts. ·       1829 - The Dum Dum Golfing Club, later Calcutta Golf Club (and later still Royal Calcutta) is formed. ·       1832 - The North Berwick Club is founded, the first to include women in its activities, although they are not permitted to play in competitions. ·       1833 - King William IV confers the distinction of "Royal" on the Perth Golfing Society; as Royal Perth it is the first Club to hold the distinction. ·       The St. Andrews Golfers ban the stymie, but rescind the ban one year later. ·       1834 - William IV confers the title "Royal and Ancient" on the Golf Club at St. Andrews. ·       1836 - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers abandons the deteriorating Leith Links, moving to Musselburgh. ·       The longest drive ever recorded with a feathery ball, 361 yards, is achieved by Samuel Messieux at Elysian Fields. ·       1842 - The Bombay Golfing Society (later Royal Bombay) is founded. ·       1844 - Blackheath follows Leith in expanding its course from five to seven holes. North Berwick also had seven holes at the time, although the trend toward a standard eighteen had begun. ·       1848 - Invention of the "guttie," the gutta-percha ball. It flies farther than the feathery and is much less expensive. It contributes greatly to the expansion of the game. The Bangalore golf club was formed in 1868 and not 1820 as stated in timeline.[ 1851–18601851 The Prestwick Golf Club is founded. 1856 The Royal Curragh Golf Club is founded at Kildare, the first golf club in Ireland. Pau Golf Club is founded, the first on the Continent. A rule change is enacted that, in match play, the ball must be played as it lies or the hole be conceded. It is the last recorded toughening of the rules structure. 1857 "The Golfer's Manual", by "A Keen Hand" (H. B. Farnie), is published. It is the first book on golf instruction. The Prestwick Club institutes the first Championship Meeting, a foursomes competition at St. Andrews attended by eleven golf clubs. George Glennie and J.C. Stewart win for Blackheath. 1858 The format of the Championship Meeting is changed to individual match play and is won by Robert Chambers of Bruntsfield. Allan Robertson becomes the first golfer to break 80 at the Old Course, recording a 79. The King James VI Golf Club is founded in Perth, Scotland. 1859 The first Amateur Championship is won by George Condie of Perth. Death of Allan Robertson, the first great professional golfer. [edit] 1860–18701860 The Prestwick Club institutes a Professional Championship played at Prestwick; the first Championship Belt is won by Willie Park, Snr. 1861 The Professionals Championship is opened to amateurs, and the Open Championship is born. The first competition is won by Old Tom Morris. 1864 The North Devon Golf Club is founded at Westward Ho! 1867 The Ladies' Golf Club at St. Andrews is founded, the first golf club for women. 1869 The Liverpool Golf Club is founded at Hoylake, later Royal Liverpool. Young Tom Morris, age 17, wins the first of four successive Open Championships. His streak would include an 11-stroke victory in 1869 and a 12-stroke victory in 1870 (in a 36-hole format). His 149 in the 1870 Open over 36 holes is a stroke average that would not be equalled until the invention of the rubber-cored ball. [edit] 1870–18801870 Young Tom Morris wins his third consecutive Open Championship, thus winning permanent possession of the Belt. The Royal Adelaide Golf Club is founded, the first golf club in Australia. 1871 The Otago Golf Club is formed, the first club in New Zealand. 1872 The Open Championship is reinstituted when Prestwick, St. Andrews and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers offer a new trophy, with the Open Championship to be hosted in rotation by the three clubs. Young Tom Morris wins his fourth consecutive Open Championship. 1873 The Christchurch Golf Club is formed, the second club in New Zealand. The Royal Montreal Golf Club is formed, the first club in Canada. The Open Championship is held for the first time at the Old Course. 1875 The Oxford and Cambridge University Golf Clubs are founded. Young Tom Morris dies at age 24. He did not emotionally recover from the death of both his wife and their daughter in childbirth earlier that year. Vesper Country Club is formed in Tyngsboro, MA. 1878 The first University Match is played at Wimbledon, won by Oxford. 1880–18901881 Royal Belfast is founded. The use of moulds is instituted to dimple the gutta-percha ball. Golfers had long noticed that the guttie worked in the air much better after it had been hit several times and scuffed up. 1883 Bob Ferguson of Musselburgh, losing The Open in extra holes, comes one victory shy of equalling Young Tom Morris' record of four consecutive titles. Ferguson ends up later in life penniless, working out of the Musselburgh caddy-shack. 1884 The Oakhurst Golf Club is founded at White Sulphur Springs. The first hole at The Homestead survives from this course and is the oldest surviving golf hole in America. 1885 The Amateur Championship is first played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake. The Royal Cape Golf Club is founded at Wynberg, South Africa, the first club in Africa. 1886 A.J. Balfour is appointed Chief Secretary (Cabinet Minister) for Ireland; his rise to political and social prominence has an incalculable effect on the popularity of golf, as he is an indefatigable player and catalyses great interest in the game through his writing and public speaking. 1887 "The Art of Golf" by Sir Walter Simpson is published. 1887 The Foxburg Country Club is founded in Foxburg, Pennsylvania, the oldest golf course in the United States in continuous use in one place. 1888 Kebo Valley Golf Club is the 8th oldest Golf course in the US. 1888 The St. Andrew's Golf Club is founded in Yonkers, New York, the oldest surviving golf club in America. [edit] 1890–19001890 John Ball, an English amateur, becomes the first non-Scotsman and first amateur to win The Open Championship. Bogey is invented by Hugh Rotherham, as the score of the hypothetical golfer playing perfect golf at every hole. Rotherham calls this a "Ground Score," but Dr. Thomas Brown, honorary Secretary of the Great Yarmouth Club, christens this hypothetical man a "Bogey Man," after a popular song of the day, and christens his score a "Bogey." With the invention of the rubber-cored ball golfers are able to reach the greens in fewer strokes, and so bogey has come to represent one over the par score for the hole. 1891 The Golfing Union of Ireland is founded on 12 October 1891 and is the oldest Golfing Union in the world. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is founded on Long Island. Warkworth Golf Club is founded in Northumberland, designed by Old Tom Morris 1892 Palmetto Golf Club established in Aiken, South Carolina. Glen Arven Country Club golf course established in Thomasville, Georgia USA; the oldest course still in use in Georgia. Gate money is charged for the first time, at a match between Douglas Rollard and Jack White at Cambridge. The practice of paying for matches through private betting, rather than gate receipts and sponsorships, survives well into the 20th Century as a "Calcutta," but increasingly gate receipts are the source of legitimate prize purses. The Amateur Golf Championship of India and the East is instituted, the first international championship event. 1893 The Ladies' Golf Union of Great Britain and Ireland is founded and the first British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship won by Lady Margaret Scott at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. The Irish Ladies' Golf Union is founded and is the oldest Ladies Golf Union in the world. The Chicago Golf Club opens the United States' first 18-hole golf course on the site of the present-day Downers Grove Golf Course. The Chicago Golf Club moved to its current location in 1895. Victoria Golf Club is formed and remains the oldest course west of the Mississippi on its original site. The Segregansett Country Club opens in Taunton, Massachusetts. This course is still in operation. 1894 The Open is played on an English course for the first time and is won for the first time by an Englishman, J.H. Taylor. Taylor, along with Harry Vardon and James Braid (together known as the Great Triumvirate) would dominate the Open Championship for the next two decades. The United States Golf Association is founded as the Amateur Golf Association of the United States. Charter members are the Chicago Golf Club, The Country Club, Newport Country Club, St. Andrew's Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Tacoma Golf Club is founded, the first golf club on the US Pacific Coast. 1895 The U.S. Amateur Championship is instituted, with Charles B. Macdonald winning the inaugural event. The first United States Open is held the following day, with Horace Rawlins winning. July 6, 1895 - Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course opens - the first public golf course in America. The pool cue is banned as a putter by the USGA. The U.S. Women's Amateur is instituted. Mrs. Charles S. Brown (née Lucy N. Barnes)[1] is the first winner. 1896 Harry Vardon wins his first British Open. 1897 The first NCAA Championship is held. Louis Bayard, Jr. is the winner. "Golf", America's first golfing magazine, is published for the first time. 1898 The term "birdie" is coined at Atlantic C.C. from "a bird of a hole." Freddie Tait, betting he could reach the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club clubhouse from the clubhouse at Royal St George's Golf Club - a three mile distance - in forty shots or less, puts his 32nd stroke through a window at the Cinque Ports club. The Haskell ball is designed and patented by Coburn Haskell. It is the first rubber-cored ball. Church Stretton Golf Club is founded, the oldest 18-hole course in Shropshire and one of the highest courses in England and the United Kingdom. 1899 The Western Open is first played at Glenview G.C., the first tournament in what would evolve into the PGA Tour. 1900 Walter Travis wins the first of his three U.S. Amateur Championships. Harry Vardon wins the U.S. Open, the first golfer to win both the British and U.S. Opens. Golf is placed on the Olympic calendar for the 2nd Games at Paris. It always amazes me how from a little Island like Britain we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This has given me an interest in British history and the sports us brits have created. The Ryder Cup Golf Competition – History The Ryder Cup Matches, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, span 34 competitions over 77 years. The origin of the idea to stage international matches between the best American professionals and those of Great Britain. Ryder was an Englishman from St Albans in Hertfordshire, who made his fortune selling penny seed packets. Before the matches at Wentworth, Ryder had engaged the British star Abe Mitchell as his personal golf tutor. Mitchell beat the reigning British Open Champion Jim Barnes, 8 and 7, in the singles, and then partnered with George Duncan in the foursomes to beat Hagen and Barnes, 9 and 8. After the matches, Ryder had tea with British Team Members George Duncan and Mitchell. Also joining them were Hagen and American teammate Emmett French. Duncan suggested Ryder provide a trophy and encourage the establishment of matches on a regular basis. Ryder agreed at once and commissioned the design of the gold chalice that bears his name and Mitchell's likeness on the top. Few amateurs who took up golf after their 50th birthday have left as many positive impressions upon the game as Samuel Ryder. Born in 1858, he was the son of a Manchester corn merchant and educated at Manchester University. His father doubted the wisdom of his son's plans to sell penny seed packets to English garden lovers. The young Ryder decided he would go into business on his own, moved south to St Albans in Hertfordshire and formed the Heath and Heather Seed Company. His business quickly prospered, and in 1906 his social standing improved to the point where he was elected mayor of St Albans. He became ill due to overwork, and fresh air and light exercise were prescribed as part of the cure. He was encouraged to take up golf. Reared on music and cricket, Ryder at first spurned the idea, but later relented. Ryder first enlisted a professional named Hill from a local nine-hole course to guide him through his golf fundamentals. Later, Ryder employed Mitchell as his exclusive instructor at an annual fee of £1,000. Ryder practiced rain or shine, six days a week (never on Sunday), for a year. He was given instruction at Marlborough House, his home, on driving and iron shots, and he hit chip shots over a hedge in the paddock. He followed up with putting. After his rigorous practice regimen, Ryder decided he could apply for membership at Verulam Golf Club. By age 51, he boasted a six handicap and joined the Verulam Golf Club in St Albans in 1910. Within a year he was elected Captain of the club, and later held the title in 1926 and '27. He sponsored a Heath and Heather Tournament in 1923, which was restricted to professionals. Among the field was Mitchell, a former gardener himself, and considered one of the finest players in Great Britain to have ever won an Open Championship. Ryder relished the 1926 unofficial international match between the Americans and British at Wentworth, watching Mitchell and Duncan defeat Hagen and Barnes. "Why can't they all get to know each other?" said Ryder. "I will give £5 to each of the winning players, and give a party afterwards, with champagne and chicken sandwiches." Later that evening in a pub, Duncan turned to Ryder and said, "This is wonderful. It's too bad we don't have a match like this which is official." "Why not?" Ryder asked. Soon, the deed of gift was drafted with Ryder agreeing to donate a solid gold cup, worth £250. The cup was designed by Mappin & Webb Company. Ryder insisted that a golfing figure adorn the lid and that it resemble Mitchell. The first official Ryder Cup Matches were arranged for June 3-4, 1927, at the Worcester (Mass.) Country Club. An appeal for £3,000 to finance the first British Ryder Cup Team was met with apathy and fell £500 short of the goal, but Ryder made up the deficit. After Ryder, the biggest single contribution was £210 from the Stock Exchange Golf Society. With no Order of Merit money-winning list available, the famed British triumvirate of Harry Vardon, James Braid and James Taylor acted as team selection committee. Samuel Ryder, who would serve two terms as mayor of St Albans, lived to see two Ryder Cup Matches on his home soil. While celebrating the holidays with his family in London, he died of a massive haemorrhage on January 2, 1936. He was 77. His eldest daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Claisen, sent her father's favourite mashie (5-iron) to be placed in his coffin. Another of his daughters, Mrs. Thomas Scarfe, took over the family business. However, she never shared her father's passion for golf. Ryder's youngest daughter, Joan, was her father's constant companion at all his golfing events. She witnessed all Ryder Cup Matches in Great Britain, and once in America, in 1983, when the US edged the Europeans at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In 1981, Joan met the Duke of Kent at the Matches at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England. She told the royal guest that her father had been surprised by the success of the Matches. "He had the idea that when the Americans came over for a match he would give a 'small friendly lunch party' to both teams," said Joan. The Duke gazed at the spectators swarming near the 18th green, and said: "I wonder what your father would think of this little lunch party!" Joan Ryder's final appearance at The Ryder Cup Matches was at The De Vere Belfry in 1985. She called that edition of The Matches "the most exciting ever." Later that year, she died at her home in Sussex at age 81. War-Torn Matches With the outbreak of World War II, The Ryder Cup Matches were suspended from 1939-45, and the US retained the trophy from its 1937 victory. However, the United States continued the spirit of The Matches by selecting a ten-member team that participated in "challenge" matches to raise funds for the American Red Cross, various service organizations and other war-related efforts. With The 1939 Ryder Cup Matches cancelled, challenge competitions were arranged from 1940- 43, with two at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, Michigan, in 1940 and 1942: at Detroit Golf Club, in 1941: and at Plum Hollow Country Club in 1943. The Ryder Cup Team, which had various members during that period, won four of the five challenge matches. Walter Hagen captained the 1939, '40 and '41 Ryder Cup Teams, while Craig Wood captained the Team in 1942 and 1943. There was no competition in 1939, though The Matches were set for Ponte Vedra Country Club in Florida in November of that year. The 1939 US selections were repeated in 1940 in a challenge match at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, against Gene Sarazen's Challengers. Sarazen, who was left off The Ryder Cup Team, challenged Hagen by assembling a team that included Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret and Craig Wood. In 1939, The Professional Golfers Association of Great Britain had selected eight players and Captain Henry Cotton before war interrupted further plans. The eight players named were: Jimmy Adams, Dick Burton, Sam King, Alf Padgham, Dai Rees, Charles Whitcombe and Reg Whitcombe. The remaining two members were never filled. During the war, the exhibition matches brought together the greatest players of the era, including amateur Bobby Jones who led his team to an 8 1/2 to 6 1/2 upset of the Ryder Cup Team, August 23-24, 1941, at Detroit Golf Club. Europeans join the Fight for the Cup In 1973, The Matches were contested for the first time in Scotland at historic Muirfield. The PGA of Great Britain altered its selection procedure by having eight players chosen from a year-long points system and four by invitation. During The 1977 Matches at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Jack Nicklaus approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgency to improve the competitive level of The Matches. The issue had been discussed earlier the same day by both Past PGA President Henry Poe and British PGA President Lord Derby. Nicklaus pitched his ideas, adding: "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if The Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige." The changes in team selection procedure were approved by descendants of the Samuel A. Ryder family along with The PGA of America. The major change was expanding selection procedures to include players from the British PGA European Tournament Division Order of Merit, and "that European Members be entitled to play on the team." This meant that professional players on the European Tournament Players Order of Merit could be natives and residents of countries other than the British Isles, as long as they were from continental Europe. The recommendation and succeeding approval of the new selection process followed another American victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1977. The first Ryder Cup Matches under the expanded European selection format were played at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The first two Europeans to make the overseas squad were a pair of Spaniards-Severiano Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. Ballesteros has gone on to become one of the all-time winners in The Matches. He has a record of won 20, lost 12 and halved five and has earned 22 1/2 points in 37 Ryder Cup Matches. The move to include the continental players was a major step in upgrading the Ryder Cup competitive level. The US had won all but one outing from 1959 to 1977, being tied, 16-16, in a memorable duel in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. Expanding the selection procedure to include The European Tour provided the British PGA with a much greater pool of talent from which to select their Team. The European Tour Order of Merit also ensured a team comprised of golfers who were playing their best at the time of selection. The effect of this continental Tour, with its varying types of golf courses, climates, food, language and customs, was to produce players of unprecedented durability. They possessed the technique and confidence to deal with all course situations and make The Ryder Cup Matches even more of a quality event. Ryder Cup Format Changes: From the beginning of the series through 1959, The Ryder Cup competition was comprised of four foursomes (alternate shot) matches on one day and eight singles matches on the other day, each of 36 holes. The format was changed in 1961, to provide four 18-hole foursomes matches the morning of the first day, four more foursomes that afternoon, eight 18-hole singles the morning of the second day and eight more singles that afternoon. One point was at stake in each match, so the total number of points was doubled to 24. In 1963, fourball (better-ball) matches were added for the first time, boosting the total number of points available to 32. The format was altered again in 1977, this time with five foursomes on opening day, five four-ball matches on the second day, and 10 singles matches on the final day. This reduced the total points to 20. In 1979, when the Great Britain & Ireland Team was expanded to include players from European countries, the format was revised to provide four fourball and four foursomes matches the first two days and 12 singles matches on the third day. The total points awarded were 28. This format still continues today and for the foreseeable future. The Ryder Cup Matches were interrupted for the second time in history following the September 11, 2001, attack upon America. Some eight days following the tragedy, The 2001 Matches were rescheduled, with all future competitions conducted in even-numbered years. English Field Hockey - 1363 AD History One of our favourite games is Field Hockey which It is believed as a club and ball game was first played over 800 years ago by English Royalty. The word 'hockey' was recorded in 1363 when Edward III of England issued the proclamation: "moreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games". The modern game grew from English public schools in the early 19th century. The first club was in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London, but the modern rules grew out of a version played by Middlesex cricket clubs for winter sport. Teddington Hockey Club formed the modern game by introducing the striking circle and changing the ball to a sphere from a rubber cube. The Hockey Association was founded in 1886. The first international took place in 1895 (Ireland 3, Wales 0) and the International Rules Board was founded in 1900. Hockey was played at the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. It was dropped in 1924, leading to the foundation of the (FIH) as an international governing body by seven continental European nations, and hockey was reinstated in 1928. Men's hockey united under the FIH in 1970. The two oldest trophies are the Irish Seniors Cup, which 1st XI teams compete for, and the Irish Junior Cup. The game had been taken to India by British servicemen and the first clubs formed in Calcutta in 1885. The Beighton Cup and the Aga Khan tournament commenced within ten years. Entering the Olympics in 1928, India won all five games without conceding a goal and won from 1932 until 1956 and then in 1964 and 1980. Pakistan won in 1960, 1968 and 1984. In the early 1970s artificial turf began to be used. Synthetic pitches changed most aspects of hockey, gaining speed. New tactics and techniques such as the Indian Dribble developed, followed by new rules to take account. The switch to synthetic surfaces ended Indian and Pakistani domination because artificial turf was too expensive—in comparison to the wealthier European countries—and since the 1970s Australia, The Netherlands and Germany have dominated at the Olympics. Women's hockey was first played at British universities and schools, and the first club, Molesey Ladies, was founded in 1887. The first national association was the Irish Ladies Hockey Union in 1894 and though rebuffed by the Hockey Association, women's hockey grew rapidly around the world. This led to the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1927, though this did not include many continental European countries where women played as sections of men's associations and were affiliated to the FIH. The IFWHA held conferences every three years, and tournaments associated with these were the primary IFWHA competitions. These tournaments were non-competitive until 1975. By the early 1970s there were 22 associations with women's sections in the FIH and 36 associations in the IFWHA. Discussions started about a common rule book. The FIH introduced competitive tournaments in 1974, forcing the acceptance of the principle of competitive hockey by the IFWHA in 1973. It took until 1982 for the two bodies to merge, but this allowed the introduction of women's hockey to the Olympic games from 1980 where, as in the men's game, The Netherlands, Germany, and Australia have been consistently strong. Badminton and its English History One of England’s popular games is Badminton which is played by over 1 million people every week. Badminton was originally an English game called "The battledore and shuttlecock Game", an English game about which there are many references as far back as the 1400's. As early as 1860, Isaac Spratt, a London toy dealer, published a booklet, Badminton Battledore - a new game, but unfortunately no copy has survived. The beginnings of Modern Badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British India, where it was created by British military officers stationed there. Early pictures show Englishmen adding a net to the traditional English game of battledore and shuttlecock. Being particularly popular in the British garrison town Poona (now Pune), the game also came to be known as Poona. Initially, balls of wool were preferred by the upper classes in windy or wet conditions, but ultimately the shuttlecock stuck. This game was taken by retired officers back to England where it developed and rules were set out. The new sport was definitively launched in 1873 at Badminton House, Gloucester, England and owned by the Duke of Beufort ( The same house and grounds used every year for the Badminton Horse Show ). During that time, the game was referred to as "The Game of Badminton," and the game's official name became Badminton. The game uses Shuttlecocks which are made up of nylon and feathers instead of balls. Shuttlecocks have been used in English games since the 8th Century. Until 1887, the sport was played in England under the rules that prevailed in British India. The Bath Badminton Club standardized the rules and made the game applicable to English ideas. The basic regulations were drawn up in 1887. In 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first set of rules according to these regulations, similar to today's rules, and officially launched badminton in a house called "Dunbar" at 6 Waverley Grove, Southsea, Portsmouth, England on September 13th  of that year. They also started the All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition held in the world, in 1899. The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934 with the following countries: ·       Canada, Denmark, England, France, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The BWF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally. I would image during the last 800 years my family have been playing the many sports developed and created in England and may have led to my family's interest in most sports played in England and given to the world. My older brother Mark is a good example of our sporting prowess. When my brother was 11 years of age and onwards he represented his school in Cricket, Football, Tennis, Badminton, Athletics and when he was 15 years of age him had a Football trial with Portsmouth Football Club and at 16 years of age played for Hampshire juniors at Cricket. It always amazes me how from a little Island like England we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This has given me an interest in English history and the sports England have created. Table Tennis and Its English History England’s favourite games is Table Tennis. It was initially an after dinner past time and originated as a common sport in England during the 1800s and was commonly known then as "wiff-waff". Its history goes back to Real Tennis played by the English Royal Family in the 1150's. In the 1800's the game was played when a row of books were to stood up along the centre of the table as a net, two more books served as rackets and were used to continuously hit a golf-ball from one end of the table to the other. Later, table tennis was played with paddles made of cigar box lids and balls made of champagne corks. Eventually, table tennis evolved into the modern game in Europe and the United States. The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early rackets were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "wiff-waff" and "Ping-pong". A number of sources indicate that the game was first brought to the attention of Hamley's of Regent Street under the name "Gossima". The name "ping-pong" was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd. trademarked it in 1901. The name "Ping-Pong" then came to be used for the game played by the rather expensive Jaquesses equipment, with other manufacturers calling theirs table tennis. A similar situation arose in the United States. The next major innovation was by James Gibb, a British enthusiast of table tennis, who discovered novelty celluloid balls in 1901 and found them to be ideal for the game. This was followed by E. C. Goode who in 1901 invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 when table tennis tournaments were being organized, books on table tennis were being written, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. During the early 20th century the game was banned in Russia due to a belief that was held by the rulers at the time that playing the game had an adverse effect on players' eyesight. In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official world championship in 1927. Table tennis was introduced as an Olympic sport at the Olympics in 1988. In the 1950s rackets that used a rubber sheet combined with an underlying sponge layer changed the game dramatically, introducing greater spin and speed. These were introduced to Britain by the sports goods manufacturers S.W. Hancock Ltd. The use of speed glue increased the spin and speed even further, resulting in changes to the equipment to "slow the game down". There is a move towards reviving the table tennis game that existed prior to the introduction of sponge rubber. Classic table tennis like Liha or "hardball" table tennis players reject the speed and spin of reversed sponge rubber, preferring the 1940–60s play style, with no-sponge, short-pimpled rubber equipment, when defence is less difficult by decreasing the speed and eliminating any meaningful Magnus effect of spin. Because hardbat killer shots are almost impossible to hit against a skilled player, hardbat matches focus on the strategic side of table tennis, requiring skilful manoeuvring of the opponent before an attack can be successful. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) worldwide governing body with national bodies responsible for the sport in each country. There are other local authorities applicable as well. List of Members of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) The European Table Tennis Union is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Europe. The English Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in England. The Irish Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Ireland. The Polish Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Poland. ·The Scottish Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Scotland. The Table Tennis Association of Wales is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Wales. The Canadian Table Tennis Association is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Canada.  The USA Table Tennis (USATT): national governing body for table tennis in the United States. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is the governing body for table tennis in India. It always amazes me how from a little Island like England we created and gave the world over 100 sports and games that have dominated the world. My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th. Century AD. This has given me an interest in English history and the sports England have created. English Lawn Tennis – History One of our favourite summer games is Lawn Tennis which It is believed a form called Real Tennis was first played over 500 years ago by English Royalty. Royal interest in Real Tennis began with Henry V (1413–22) but it was Henry VIII (1509–47) who made the biggest impact as a young monarch, playing the game with gusto at Hampton Court on a court he had built in 1530, and on several other courts in his palaces. It is believed that his second wife Anne Boleyn was watching a game of real tennis when she was arrested and that Henry was playing tennis when news was brought to him of her execution. During the reign of James I (1603–25), there were 14 courts in London. Today Real Tennis is still played at Hampton Court including by English Royalty like Prince Edward. In England, during the 18th century and early 19th century as real tennis became less popular, three other racquet sports emerged: Racquets, Squash Racquets and Lawn Tennis (the modern game). Its establishment as the modern sport can be dated to two separate inventions. Between 1859 and 1865, in Birmingham, England, Major Harry Gem, a solicitor combined elements of the game of rackets and played it on a croquet lawn in Edgbaston .  In 1872, he moved to Leamington Spa and in 1874, with two doctors from the Warneford Hospital, founded the world's first tennis club. The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall. In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised a similar game for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd in Llanelidan, Wales. He based the game on the older Real tennis. At the suggestion of Arthur Balfour, Wingfield named it "lawn tennis," and patented the game in 1874 with an eight-page rule book titled "Sphairistike or Lawn Tennis", but he failed to succeed in enforcing his patent. Dates of first Tennis Grand Slams 1877 Wimbledon Championships and played on grass. 1881 US Open Championships and played on grass until in 1977 on clay court 1891 French Open Championships and played on grass until 1912 on clay court. 1905 Australian Open Championship and played on grass until 1988 on hard court. In 1877 the All England Croquet Club formally changed its name to the All England Croquet Lawn tennis Club and held the first Lawn tennis Championship in July 1877. The referee was Henry Jones who devised the rules for the tournament with the help of a 2 man committee. Players were made to change ends after each set , matches were the best of 5 sets. Twenty two men entered the first championship. The shape of the court changed from hourglass to the modern rectangular. The net was 5ft high at the posts and in the 3 ft. 3in at the centre. The first champion was Spencer Gore. The Sport 0f Squash - its English Historical Beginnings One of our favourite summer games is "Squash" which It is believed originated from Royal Tennis played over 500 years ago by English Royalty. Squash is an individual or pairs game where players use a racquet to hit a small rubber ball around a four-walled court. The origin of the game of "Squash" seems to originate from the English game called "Squash Rackets" and "Rackets and Fives" which evolved with a number of influences shaping its creation. The first known reference to a rebounding ball game was made by an English schoolmaster in 1581. The prisoners in "The Fleet Prison", London, mainly debtors, took their exercise by hitting a ball against walls, of which there were many, with rackets and so started the game of "Rackets". Rackets progressed, by some strange route, to Harrow and other select English schools from about 1820 and it was from this source that the sport of Squash, or Squash Rackets, developed. In 1865, a game which had evolved from the English game of "Rackets and Fives" which was played in an enclosed court at the Harrow school. Several young boys in England began playing a game similar to squash (though squash had not been formally invented at the time) at the Harrow Boarding School in London. In the early 19th century, when the boys noted that puncturing a rackets' ball caused it to squash when hitting the wall, allowing a greater variety of shots. This led to the building of similar courts at Rugby, and at other private houses and clubs and "Squash" was officially created By the end of the century it had spread to Britain's other private schools as well as Oxford and Cambridge universities. In 1908 a squash sub-committee of the Tennis and Rackets Association was formed to regulate the sport. In 1923, a meeting was called to resolve the discrepancies in how the game of squash was played. At the time, squash competitions were held at several English clubs across Britain. The meeting requested representatives from each of these clubs to attend. A committee (called the "Squash Rackets Representative Committee") was formed and a set of squash standards were established. Court size, ball speed and various rules of play were codified. Today, most of the squash tournaments played throughout England adhere to these codified standards. Since 1923, international competitions have taken place. During the previous 20 years, squash had progressed quickly from an obscure game played by young boys throughout England's boarding schools to a standardized sport with a committee overseeing tournaments in Britain, England, the U.S. and other countries. Today, squash is played by over 15 million people and it's enjoyed by players and fans throughout 150 countries. The Time Line of Squash: 19th century: A game called 'Rackets' is developed in a London prison 1830 Squash invented at Harrow School 1864 The first four squash courts are built at Harrow 1907 National squash associations start to be set up 1912 First professional championship held in England 1966 International Squash Rackets Association (ISRF) founded 1985 ISRF amalgamated with the Women's International Squash Federation 1992 ISR becomes the World Squash Federation (WSF) 1998 Squash featured in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. The Sport of "Squash" started being played at the British Commonwealth Games in 1998 and thereafter every 4 years. History of Cribbage – An English Iconic Game I thought as the Game of Cribbage was invented by us English and is played Worldwide I thought I would tell its history. The most famous cribbage player of all, as described by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist: "Mr Toby Crackit swept up his winnings [at cribbage] and crammed them into his waist-coat pocket." According to John Aubrey who was a 17th Century English antiquary and writer, cribbage was created by the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, as a derivation of the game “Noddy”. While noddy has disappeared, crib has survived, virtually unchanged, as one of the most popular games in the English Speaking world. The objective of the game is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121 Points are scored for card combinations that add up to fifteen, and for pairs, triples, quadruples, runs and flushes. Cribbage, or crib, is a card game traditionally for two players, but commonly played with three, four or more, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbage board used for score keeping, the eponymous crib or box (a separate hand counting for the dealer), two distinct scoring stages (the play and the show) and a unique scoring system including points for groups of cards that total fifteen. Rules 1) The players cut for first deal, and the dealer shuffles and deals five or six cards to each player, depending on the number of players. For two players, each is dealt six cards; for three or four players, each is dealt five cards. In the case of three players, a single card is dealt face down in the centre of the table to start the crib. Once the cards have been dealt, each player chooses four cards to retain, then discards the other one or two face-down to form the "crib" which will be used later by the dealer. At this point, each player's hand and the crib will contain exactly four cards. The player on the dealer's left cuts the deck and the dealer reveals the top card, called the "starter". If this card is a jack the dealer scores two points for "his heels", also known as "his nibs". 2) Starting with the player on the dealer's left, each player lays one card in turn onto a personal discard pile, stating the cumulative value of the cards laid (for example, the first player lays a five and says "five", the next lays a six and says "eleven", and so on), without the total going above 31. Once no more cards can be played, the cumulative position is reset to zero and those players with cards remaining repeat the process until all players' cards have been played. Players score points during this process for making a total of fifteen, for reaching exactly, or as close as possible to a total of thirty-one, for runs and for pairs. Players choose the order in which to lay their cards in order to maximize their score; experienced players refer to this as either good or poor "pegsmanship". If one player reaches the target (usually 61 or 121), the game ends immediately and that player wins. 3) Once the play is complete, each player in turn receives points based on the content of his hand in conjunction with the starter card. Points are scored for combinations of cards totalling fifteen, runs, pairs, flushes and having a Jack of the same suit as the starter card ("one for his nob [or nobs or nibs]"). The dealer scores his hand last and then turns the cards in the crib face up. These cards are then scored by the dealer as an additional hand in conjunction with the starter card. Scores between 0 and 29 are all possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27.Players may refer colloquially to a hand scoring zero points as having a score of nineteen. 4) Visually, cribbage is known for its scoring board - a series of holes ("streets") on which the score is tallied with pegs (also known as "spilikins"). Scores can be kept on a piece of paper, but a cribbage board is almost always used, since scoring occurs throughout the game, not just at the conclusion of hands as in most other card games. Points are registered as having been scored by "pegging" along the crib board. Two pegs are used in a leapfrog fashion, so that if a player loses track during the count one peg still marks the previous score. Some boards have a "game counter", with many additional holes for use with a third peg to count the games won by each side. The most famous cribbage player of all, as described by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist: "Mr Toby Crackit swept up his winnings [at cribbage] and crammed them into his waist-coat pocket."  History of English Lawn Bowls I thought as Green Bowls is popular worldwide and was invented by us English I thought I would tell its history.One of the most famous stories concerning Bowls was On 19th July 1588 Captain Thomas Fleming in the Golden Hinde, glimpsed the Armada through the swirling morning mist off the Lizard and raced for Plymouth, Lord Howard’s home port. Fleming came up the channel into Plymouth with the afternoon tide to find Sir Francis Drake playing bowls with his officers on the Ho, high above the harbour. On hearing of Fleming’s sighting Drake insisted on continuing with the game. Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls, called bowls, so that they stop close to a smaller—normally white—bowl called the "jack" or "kitty". Bowls, either flat- or crown-green, is usually played outdoors, on grass and synthetic surfaces. Flat-green bowls can also be played indoors on synthetic surfaces. Both variants are collectively known as "lawn bowls". It is most popular in Australia, New Zealand (where the natural playing surface is cotula), the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealth nations. It has been traced certainly to the 13th century and conjecturally to the 12th century with William Fitzstephen (d. About 1190 AD). In his biography, Thomas Becket gives a graphic sketch of the London of his day and writing of the summer amusements of the young men, says that on holidays they were "exercised in Leaping, Shooting, Wrestling, Casting of Stones [in jactu lapidum], and Throwing of Javelins fitted with Loops for the Purpose, which they strive to fling before the Mark; they also use Bucklers, like fighting Men." It is commonly supposed that by jactus lapidum, Fitzstephen meant the game of bowls, but though it is possible that round stones may sometimes have been employed in an early variety of the game - and there is a record of iron bowls being used, though at a much later date, on festive occasions at Nairn, - nevertheless the inference seems unwarranted. The jactus lapidum of which he speaks was probably more akin to the modern "putting the weight," once even called "putting the stone." It is beyond dispute, however, that the game, at any rate in a rudimentary form, was played in the 13th century. A manuscript of that period in the royal library, Windsor (No. 20, E iv.), contains a drawing representing two players aiming at a small cone instead of an earthenware ball or jack. The world's oldest surviving bowling green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green which was first used in 1299 AD. Another manuscript of the same century has a crude but spirited picture which brings us into close touch with the existing game. Three figures are introduced and a jack. The first player's bowl has come to rest just in front of the jack; the second has delivered his bowl and is following after it with one of those eccentric contortions still not unusual on modern greens, the first player meanwhile making a repressive gesture with his hand, as if to urge the bowl to stop short of his own; the third player is depicted as in the act of delivering his bowl. As the game grew in popularity, it came under the ban of king and parliament, both fearing it might jeopardise the practice of archery, then so important in battle. Statutes forbidding it and other sports were enacted in the reigns of King Edward III, King Richard II and other monarchs. Even when, on the invention of gunpowder and firearms, the bow had fallen into disuse as a weapon of war, the prohibition was continued. The discredit attaching to bowling alleys, first established in London in 1455, probably encouraged subsequent repressive legislation, for many of the alleys were connected with taverns frequented by the dissolute and gamesters. The word "bowls" occurs for the first time in the statute of 1511 in which Henry VIII confirmed previous enactments against unlawful games. By a further act of 1541 - which was not repealed until 1845 - artificers, labourers, apprentices, servants and the like were forbidden to play bowls at any time except Christmas and then only in their master's house and presence. It was further enjoined that any one playing bowls outside his own garden or orchard was liable to a penalty of 6s. 8d., while those possessed of lands to the yearly value of £100 might obtain licences to play on their own private greens. Bowls is popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and parts of the United States. It is also gaining momentum in Japan. Because of its competitiveness, skill and the fact that it is a non-contact sport, the game suits people from teen years through to their nineties. However, there is a considerable professional competition with many younger men and women playing. Since the 1990's, the sport has developed in Denmark as well. The World Championships are held in the UK annually and the £100,000 competition is watched by 3 million viewers on BBC TV. Today the sport is played in over 50 countries with more than 50 member national authorities. 
i don't know
William Booth, a former Methodist Preacher who lived from 1829 to 1912 is probably best remembered for being the founder of which charity organisation in 1865 ?
Church History Review – Bite-sized chunks of yesterday to inspire faith today, with Lex Loizides Lex Loizides 2 Comments An adventure in the world’s most beautiful city. [i] In November 1875 three individuals met for prayer in Long Street, Cape Town. They wanted to start a church. CH Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher After getting some advice they wrote to CH Spurgeon in London, who had begun a Pastor’s training college, and asked if he could send someone to lead the church-planting initiative. Spurgeon responded warmly and selected William Hamilton. Hamilton was clearly a leader amongst his peers and committed to evangelism. It was said of him, a ‘harmony between Calvinistic theology, evangelical activism, and Christian piety was a characteristic feature of Mr Hamilton’s ministry.’ On the basis of this faith-filled request from just three Christians, Hamilton got organised and set sail from London. The first Baptist Union leaders in South Africa The first Baptists had arrived in 1820 and had begun congregations in Grahamstown and other places. William Hamilton’s arrival represented a possible breakthrough in Cape Town itself. The man for Cape Town, William Hamilton Three months at sea After a three-month voyage, he arrived in Cape Town in November 1876 (a full year after Spurgeon received the letter of request). It’s difficult to imagine what a three-month journey by ship must have been like. But, considering missionary travels in the 19th century, we ought probably to be a little more gracious at the occasional forty-minute delay before our 12 hour flights to Europe. Hamilton held a meeting on the 12th November in the Temperance Hall, Long Street which gathered 60 curious people. Long Street, Cape town, c.1860 The church was constituted on the 19th November 1876 when just nine people agreed to become members by signing this covenant statement: ‘We do hold that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be our only rule of faith and guidance. The Scriptures teach the doctrines of the Trinity, man’s fall, redemption by the substitution of the Son of God, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit; the final judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; the eternal reward of the righteous and eternal punishment of the wicked. While God, in His sovereign mercy, can call whom he will, the world is invited to embrace the Gospel. The Church of Christ, as set forth in the New Testament, is composed of those who trust alone to Christ for salvation, profess His name before the world, and obey the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We shall endeavour to the utmost of our ability to further the cause of God among us by fervent prayer, diligent attendance on the means of grace, pecuniary assistance in support of the Ministry, and by trying to get others to attend the house of God.’ Sunday Services Soon the church grew and Hamilton was formally appointed as Pastor. Regular prayer meetings were held in a ‘portrait saloon’ in Caledon St, and Sunday services were started in the Oddfellows’ Hall in Plein Street. Plein Street, Cape Town, c.1870 Fruitfulness in evangelism Hamilton’s evangelistic zeal bore much fruit in Cape Town. Twenty-six conversions were reported as having taken place at one evening meeting. After a few years the church had grown to such an extent that they were able to build their first church facility. The site they chose was in Wale Street. The construction of the building took a while but was finally completed in 1882. I had discovered this building before relocating to Cape Town in my copy of Spurgeon’s The Sword and the Trowel. Like Spurgeon’s sermons, the Sword and the Trowel was bound into annual volumes Here is Spurgeon’s announcement of the completion of the Wale Street building: Wale Street Baptist Church, an engraving printed in Spurgeon’s the Sword and the Trowel The text, written by Spurgeon, reads: ‘Most of our readers must be familiar with the story of Mr. Hamilton’s work in Cape Town; for our pages have often contained notices of his self-denying and arduous labours. Leaving the Pastors’ College in 1876, he accepted an invitation from a small company of baptized believers, who desired to form a church upon what they considered the principles of the New Testament. For some years, in various halls and with varying success, the work was prosecuted with great vigour; and at last on March 9th, 1882, the pastor had the inexpressible delight of preaching in the new chapel, of which an engraving is given above.’ Wale Street, Cape Town, c.1880. Hamilton’s building is clearly visible on the left. The Wale Street church building by local artist Desmond Martin Spurgeon later said of Hamilton, ‘He has accomplished marvels, and has often made our heart to sing for joy.’ [ii] It was also said of him, ‘He was quite something new in the religious world of the Cape. He was unconventional both in dress and manner, and of boundless zeal and energy. He got quickly to work, and found quite a number of people interested in his mission.’ [iii] Wale Street before and after… Hamilton not only preached in the city centre but also in the suburbs. As I searched in the National Archives, at the National Library and online, not only did I discover Hamilton’s amazing story, but also that it was his preaching that led to formation of Wynberg Baptist Church. That was of particular interest because in 1983 a number of idealistic young people from Wynberg Baptist Church launched out and began what was to become Jubilee Community Church. So, in a very real sense – in a manner where you can trace a direct connection – the roots of both Jubilee Community Church and Cape Town Baptist Church go back to the pioneer evangelist William Hamilton. More growth The congregation outgrew the Wale Street building and, in the middle of the last century, moved to a site that stretches between Kloof and Orange Street where they enjoyed decades of fruitful ministry until falling somewhat into decline. The pastor and congregation reached out to the leadership of Jubilee to see if we could join hands and enter a new season of revitalisation and growth. Amazingly, the collaboration has worked and has become a story of unity, peace and strength which we trust will benefit the city. Re-united The continuity of our history, the strength of two churches coming, as it were, back together; of 140 years of faithful prayer and evangelism, should give us an awareness of the faithfulness of God, and a momentum that is from God. The strong encouragements we have received from former members of the two Baptist congregations that met on this site have been overwhelming. The present congregation feels as though we are being carried by generations of prayers, of faith, of giving, of longing. We are not merely having a go at something in the city-centre. God is at work! Jubilee Community Church, Kloof Street, Cape Town   This is a new beginning. We are trusting God to enable us to renovate the larger auditorium space and grow beyond our current 180-200 or so up to a significant size that will be a blessing to the city and a testimony to God’s grace. Spurgeon wrote to Hamilton several times. As far as we know, no letter of has been preserved. But I found a line from one of Spurgeon’s letters which simply said, ‘My heart is thoroughly with your work.’ But this is not a story about dead heroes. Paul reminds us that one plants, another waters, but it is God who gives the growth. And it’s God who has preserved this city-centre space for the preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, on the 19th November – the 140th anniversary – we give thanks, because we’re not only part of a current expression of the church in Cape Town, we’re also joining with one hundred and forty years of history in our city, and we’re joyfully aligning ourselves with the faithfulness of a gracious God. ©2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review Lex Loizides 2 Comments I’m about to move my office out of a suburb of Cape Town into the city centre. It’s an exciting time. We’re launching a congregation of Jubilee Community Church in the heart of Cape Town and we’re ready to go! There has been, in recent years, a much-needed focus on cities. Christians have been moving steadily away from the city centres and into the suburbs, often leaving the city without a strong witness. Yet, we’re told, that the creative culture-making heartbeat (the heart that sends its influence to the rest of our culture) is right back in the place the believers left. If we reach the cities (so the argument goes) there will be a ‘trickle down’ effect that will effect the rest of society. Donnie Griggs, Lead Pastor at One Harbor Church, Morehead City, NC Small Town Jesus by Donnie Griggs is a robust response. Griggs, who pastors a large church in Morehead City, North Carolina (a town of about nine thousand) raises a banner for the myriad of small towns that may, therefore, seem less significant. While not denying the importance of cities, he makes a plea for the importance of mission to smaller towns. He speaks from his own experience of being known and getting to know the folk in Morehead, while seeking to build a church that cares for its community and is engaged in a wider mission. Now, why would I spend time reading a book devoted to mission in small towns when I am about to relocate my work space into the heart of the world’s most beautiful city (I could easily support that assertion with sources, but it’s just a fact). And – I’ll go further – why am I recommending this book to you, whatever size town you’re in, but especially if you live in a city? Cape Town City Hall Being a Good Local Simply for this reason: that I have realised, both as I’ve been traveling into the city regularly over the last year, and as I’ve read Donnie’s book, that, in my section of the city centre, I need to become a local. That’s not something we tend to think of in our cities. We have the dubious luxury of being anonymous much of the time. We expect speed. We expect quality. If something’s not good we complain. And we complain properly. We’ll put a bad review online. We’re helping raise standards by complaining. Griggs has a technical term for this that’s worth remembering. It is called ‘being a jerk’. Hmm. Maybe it’s time to change. Here are a few pointers Griggs gives for being a good local in a small town. I want to encourage you to take these on board in your locality especially if you’re in the city centre. And feel free to add your own thoughts and comments below. Let’s learn from each other. Your reputation matters in a small town Things are really close in a village or town. Yet, in the city, you can also develop a different kind of reputation by deliberately seeking to serve those around your work space. Be different from those who rush by. Do good in the city. Be honest. Build a good reputation by being consistently compassionate. Learn to Enjoy Small Talk In the city, people are often in a rush. But people are also incredibly lonely. Slow down and look around. You’ll see lots of people who are alone and who would benefit from your friendship. Cape Town is not a European city. It is an African city with a lot of Europe in it. People are very open to making connections. There’s a warmth that you sometimes don’t feel in a European city. Griggs writes, that ‘always acting like you have somewhere better to be will eventually lead to unnecessarily offending’ people. That’s good for your city too, even if the rush is tolerated. Shop Local as much as possible He writes, ‘I would encourage you to see shopping local as an opportunity to become a good local.’ Whether it’s caterers, lunchtime appointments in the city, printing, or just where you regularly purchase coffee or church refreshments, I want the businesses in my section of Cape Town to know we’re part of the neighbourhood. We’re buying local and eating local because we are local. Griggs talks a lot about loving local food and then there’s a whole section about soft-shell crabs. Normally you’d expect an editor’s intervention but these guys in Morehead City love their soft-shell crabs. Donnie Griggs out on the boat Don’t be a Jerk (It’s worth mentioning again) He prefaces this section helpfully by noting, ‘I’m not saying that everyone who lives in a big city is a jerk.’ Followed by the word, ‘But…’ and then so helpfully corrects how, even we as Christians, can act in an unnecessarily discourteous way when dealing with folks in a city. But, ‘in a small town, you should take every opportunity to be kind and courteous.’ There’s a danger in city life because we probably won’t see a person again, and can therefore treat them with less respect than they deserve, especially if they’re serving us poorly. In a small town our bad responses will get known very quickly. But that behaviour is no less acceptable in the city. And will also be known. You reap what you sow. As in the town and suburb, so in the city, a Christian’s rudeness can have a deadening effect on mission. Be a Blessing I am taking this on board for our city site: ‘When considering how you can engage the culture of your small town with the gospel, please don’t just settle for contextualized church programs and church facilities. Love where you live and serve where you live. Let everyone know that you really care about them, whether they come to your church or not.’ Donnie has written a highly readable book with a great and simple message: be a blessing to your town. Be deliberate and consistent. I want to add that, if you’re in the city, see your section of the city, whether you work there each day, or whether you live there, as your own locality, your own small town within the city, and act accordingly. Small Town Jesus is available on Amazon here Jubilee Community Church’s City Congregation will begin meeting on Sundays from 25th September, 10.30am, 33 Kloof Street, Cape Town For a 30-Day Prayer Guide to pray for the launch of the site click here ©2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review   The Blood and Fire flag on a centenary British postage stamp The Salvation Army were a passionate, experience-focussed, transformative force in the Victorian world. Ever wondered why the motto was ‘Blood and Fire’? Was that just because those are battle-sounding words and would suggest a military style resolve? That was partly true. But actually they were carefully chosen for theological reasons. The blood referred to the centrality of the death of Christ on the cross. This was to be preached always and everywhere. The blood of Jesus was able to cleanse the worst sinner from their sin. Most modern-day Christians would probably guess that connection without knowing the history. But what’s the fire? And why is it side by side with the blood? The fire referred to the Holy Spirit appearing ‘as tongues of fire’ upon the early believers on the day of Pentecost. This fire was a current reality, to be received and experienced then and there by Salvationists or anyone who was seeking God in their meetings. Understandably, among the Victorian church leaders, it was the fire that caused more problems. Mainstream leaders could just about tolerate working class people preaching about the cross and even hell, but the prospect of people attending meetings where they might act (or possibly be encouraged to act) in an undignified way was unacceptable. What was going on? There’s no soft approach into the descriptions of these meetings. Harold Begbie, in his two-volume biography of William Booth, interviewed Bramwell (Booth’s son and successor) about this business of ‘the fire’. From an early date, some Salvation Army meetings were characterised by people having dramatic spiritual experiences. It is worth noting that neither William nor Bramwell tried to shut these meetings down, or restrict the possibility of these things happening. In fact, they became part of the movement across Britain. The Booths didn’t encourage a free-for-all, but within the highly structured context of their organisation they believed people were truly meeting with God. Bramwell Booth with his father William. They were bearded men. Begbie writes, [Bramwell] describes how men and women would suddenly fall flat upon the ground, and remain in a swoon or trance for many hours, rising at last so transformed by joy that they could do nothing but shout and sing in an ecstasy of bliss… He saw bad men and women stricken suddenly with an overmastering despair, flinging up their arms, uttering the most terrible cries, and falling backward, as if dead–supernaturally convinced of their sinful condition. The floor would sometimes be crowded with men and women smitten down by a sense of overwhelming spiritual reality, and the workers of the Mission would lift their fallen bodies and carry them to other rooms, so that the Meetings might continue without distraction. Doctors were often present at these gatherings. Conversions took place in great numbers; the evangelists of the Mission derived strength and inspiration for their difficult work; and the opposition of the world only deepened the feeling of the more enthusiastic that God was powerfully working in their midst. [i] And there’s more. But let’s ease into these startling phenomena one step at a time… More next time. For the first instalment of the Salvation Army Story click here ©2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:343 Share this: Salvation Army matches (cover) I fell in love with the Salvation Army nearly thirty years ago. My affection arose from two main causes. First, the whole body of that church movement were consistently committed to evangelism. Everyone was involved. Everyone was on mission. They believed they had found the key to transformation – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because every person needs what Jesus Christ offers they were unrelentingly merciful. Secondly, their commitment to alleviating the plight of the poor and their commitment to issues of social justice; whether clothing someone or launching a rival match making factory which didn’t poison the workers. An ad for the phosphorus-free Salvation Army matches The unashamed combination of those two impulses was utterly inspiring (the match factory produced boxes of matches called ‘Lights in Darkest England’). Salvation Army matches But beyond my admiration for the range of their engagements and their tenacity, a number of questions inevitably arose. How did this Christian movement so effectively reach those that ‘normal’ churches were largely failing to reach? How did they manage to draw the commitment of a myriad of volunteers and produce sustainable NGOs to meet such a variety of needs? How were they able to go into cities, towns and even villages and preach with unswerving boldness, a raw, compassionate, come-to-Christ-now message, and see thousands converted? And, in the face of bitter, violent opposition, what was the secret of their battlefield bravery? Hallelujah wind-ups and glory fits As I continued to read extensively, and particularly the early material, I found a few clues. Have you ever heard of a ‘Hallelujah Wind-Up’? That was the name given to a moment in a meeting so charged with spiritual vitality that the spring almost breaks and catapults workers out into the harvest? No? Neither had I. Shhh…let’s not speak too loudly of what Salvationists would affectionately refer to as ‘Glory fits.’ Hilarious and intriguing. Hallelujah wind-ups; glory fits. This quintessentially Victorian working-class movement developed wonderfully non-religious sounding names for their experiences in prayer. In these next few posts, we’ll dust off the old books and visit the early days that were so full of power. And we’ll find a source of power that Bramwell Booth considered to be the very same dynamic  manifest on the day of Pentecost. [i] Warning! In reviving these stories, I’m not suggesting we imitate styles or phrases, nor are we looking for a formula. Terms and Conditions apply. However, if you are a Christian, you may experience a thirst for a new season of refreshing and empowering. May it carry us to the place of persistent prayer. ‘Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.’ Psalm 68:28 More next time… For the first part of the Salvation Army story click here ©2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:343 Share this: Lex Loizides 1 Comment William Booth in 1884 In 1880 William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army, was invited to speak at the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in the UK. This was a generous invitation since it was well known that he had left Methodism to begin a more rigorous evangelistic ministry. Although he had been operating independently for several years, his organisation had only formally adopted the name The Salvation Army three years earlier. During his message to the conference he explained the impulse that created his evangelism and church-planting movement and gave four keys to their continued success. A Gospel emphasis that drew non-believers and leaders to the work ‘I was told that ninety-five in every hundred of the population of our larger towns and cities never crossed the threshold of any place of worship, and I thought, ‘Cannot something be done to reach these people with the Gospel?’ Fifteen years ago I thus fell in love with the great crowds of people who seemed to be out of the pale of all Christian Churches. It seemed to me that if we could get them to think about Hell they would be certain to want to turn from it. If we could get them to think about Heaven they would want to go there. If we could get them to think about Christ they would want to rush to His open arms. I resolved to try, and ‘The Salvation Army’ is the outcome of that resolution. In August, 1877, we had 26 Stations. We have now, in 1880, 162. In 1877, we had 35 Evangelists. We have now 285 Evangelists, or, as we now call them, Officers, and in many instances they have the largest audiences in the towns where they are at work. We have got all those Officers without any promise or guarantee of salary, and without any assurance that when they reach the railway station to which they book they will find anybody in the town to sympathise with them. The bulk would cheerfully and gladly go anywhere.’ Key #1 The Gospel to the needy ‘If asked to explain our methods, I would say: Firstly, we do not fish in other people’s waters, or try to set up a rival sect. Out of the gutters we pick up our converts, and if there be one man worse than another our Officers rejoice the most over the case of that man. When a man gets saved, no matter how low he is, he rises immediately. His wife gets his coat from the pawn-shop, and if she cannot get him a shirt she buys him a paper front, and he gets his head up, and is soon unable to see the hole of the pit from which he has been digged, and would like to convert our rough [meeting place] into a chapel, and make things respectable. That is not our plan. We are moral scavengers, netting the very sewers. We want all we can get, but we want the lowest of the low.’ Key #2 Contextualisation and flexibility ‘Secondly. We get at these people by adapting our measures. There is a most bitter prejudice, amongst the lower classes, against churches and chapels. I am sorry for this; I did not create it, but it is the fact. They will not go into a church or chapel; but they will go into a theatre or warehouse, and therefore we use these places. In one of our villages we use the pawnshop, and they gave it the name of ‘The Salvation Pawnshop,’ and many souls were saved there. Let me say that I am not the inventor of all the strange terms that are used in The Army. I did not invent the term ‘Hallelujah Lassies.’ When I first heard of it I was somewhat shocked; but telegram after telegram brought me word that no buildings would contain the people who came to hear the Hallelujah Lassies. Rough, uncouth fellows liked the term. One had a lassie at home, another went to hear them because he used to call his wife ‘Lassie’ before he was married. My end was gained, and I was satisfied.’ Key #3 Getting new believers involved immediately in evangelism ‘Thirdly. We set the converts to work. As soon as a man gets saved we put him up to say so, and in this testimony lies much of the power of our work. One of our lassies was holding a meeting in a large town the other day when a conceited fellow came up to her saying, ‘What does an ignorant girl like you know about religion? I know more than you do. I can say the Lord’s Prayer in Latin.’ ‘Oh, but,’ she replied, ‘I can say more than that. I can say the Lord has saved my soul in English.” [This comment caused loud laughter and cheering in the meeting] Key #4 Hard work ‘Lastly, we succeed by dint of hard work. I tell my people that hard work and holiness will succeed anywhere.’ [i] Booth as a multi-site church leader If Booth’s Salvation Army ‘stations’ in London alone were considered congregations of a multi-site church we would be celebrating him as the pastor of the largest protestant church in the 19th century. That, of course, wasn’t his goal. He was determined to see more stations planted and more of those outside the orbit of the church’s influence coming into a relationship with God and a transformed life. Getting the gospel to those who need it; being flexible in our strategies; including new converts in evangelism; working hard to keep moving forward into the mission. Of course, more than these four principles were necessary to form a church-planting movement. And more than these are necessary for growing a healthy church. But how are you applying these four in your setting? More next time… For the first part of the story of the Salvation Army click here ©2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [i] George Railton, General Booth (London: Hodder and Stoughton 1912) p.76-78 Share this: The teenage founders, Jack Addie and Joe Ludgate The Salvation Army in Canada Before long, the Salvationists were spreading. If they were determined enough to try the zaniest ideas on British audiences, they were willing to travel long distances to take their message elsewhere. I read this short account of the work of Abbie Thompson in 1883. She was a 19yr old Salvation Army Captain who sought to bring the gospel to Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I’ll let the statement stand on its own, except to give a brief introduction by quoting from two contemporary sources, both of which are hilarious. The Salvation Army had already ‘opened fire’ in Canada, and were not altogether well received. Their youthful working-class roots were difficult to conceal and some didn’t like it. After all, the two founding officers were still teenagers. On November 8th 1882, the Toronto Globe recorded, Rev Mr.Bray of Montreal, is opposed to The Salvation Army and its methods. The Reverend gentleman particularly objects to the hymnology of the Army, portions of which contain, in his opinion, very little of religious fervour. Certainly it is hardly possible to escape the conclusion that there is something irreverent in the hymn, "Elijah was a jolly old man, and was carried off to heaven in a fiery van." Yet its intent is good. It is designed to convey to the untutored mind a biblical truth in language suited to the capacities of the persons on whose behalf The Salvation Army labours. The amazing Abbie Thompson Abbie Thompson made her first appearance in 1883. The Toronto Mail actually made reference to her arrival: (Kingston) This morning a trunk arrived from the Cape upon which were written the words ”Captain Abbie Thompson” “Hallelujah” “Fire”. The Customs officer eyed it suspiciously, and thought of dynamite, infernal machines, and fenians. He refused to search it, and ordered its removal to the warehouse to await its owner. [i] 12,000 attending each night! Richard Collier puts this early work in Canada in a condensed but baffling paragraph: And Canada, where two like-minded pioneers had begun on their own initiative, needed organisers too. From May, 1882, when Jack Addie, an eighteen-year-old dry goods salesman and Joe Ludgate, a clothes presser, paraded the streets of London, Ontario, in blue tunics and helmets like British bobbies, The Army’s cause spread like fire under a leaning wind. At Bowmanville, where every leading citizen became a local officer, new ordinances soon forbade men swearing in the streets. At Guelph, one-ninth of the entire population were Salvationists. When Captain “Hallelujah Abbie” Thompson, a vivacious nineteen-year-old brunette, began drawing crowds of 12,000 a night, a sharp-witted Kingston, Ontario, cosmetics manufacturer was quick to cash in. Swiftly he launched a new line in toiletries – “Hallelujah Abbie Soap.” [ii] Booth seemed entirely confident in his young, energetic, working-class leaders. And their ability to attract large crowds is almost baffling. Perhaps we are too keen to polish up our new leaders or wait a little too long. Perhaps we could learn a little from history and release more of that youthful energy into ministry (just wait ‘til we get to Spurgeon). More next time…. For the first post in this series on the Salvation Army  click here ©2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review The first Salvation Army Brass Band. How will they hear without a preacher? Paul’s stirring exhortation to evangelism in Romans 10 [i] was deeply woven into every aspect of the early Salvation Army. William Booth and Elijah Cadman aimed to build an evangelistically vigorous organisation. Their approach wasn’t based on the ‘openness’ of the non-believers they felt called to serve. And Booth wasn’t sympathetic to his leaders’ complaints about this or that town being a ‘hard place’. Rather, they should use every possible means to reach people with the gospel. Why should the devil have all the good tunes? The development of decent musical bands was a key to their success. Rather than just ‘giving out a hymn’ a cappella as the older Methodists would do, the Salvationists developed bands that could quickly draw a crowd. The music was modern, and the musicians often shamelessly (and humorously) replaced the words of popular music-hall and pub songs with Christian lyrics. A famous example was ‘Storm the Forts of Darkness, Bring them Down’ which had replaced the well-known, ‘Here’s to Good Old Whisky, Knock it Down!’ (See below if you’re interested in the songs)  [ii] Today there’d be questions about copyright infringement, but when Booth discovered what his musicians were doing, he asked, ‘Why should the devil have all the best tunes?’ By the early 1880s there were 400 Salvation Army bands seeking to gain attention for the evangelistic preaching that would follow. Getting the attention of the uninterested masses But the evangelists didn’t rely on music – they would try just about anything to get a hearing. Richard Collier in his classic biography of Booth, The General Next to God, lists just some Salvation Army strategies. [iii] In considering these we mustn’t miss the underlying determination of this missional movement to reach those who would never come to church. Having said that, a ‘Do not try this at home’ notice is probably advisable. Sometimes ‘Dodgy’ was the order of the day. First up, something that shocked Booth: the announcement to come and watch ‘The Hallelujah Lasses’. Collier writes, ‘No building on Tyneside could contain the crowds flocking to hear “The Hallelujah Lasses.” Miners and dock-workers, used to calling their own wives “lassie” were moved to hear more about this strange new religion.’ Lieutenant Theodore Kitching rode into Scarborough on a crimson-draped donkey while ringing the school bell to get a crowd. Sometimes he attended the open-air meetings disguised, and in full make-up, as a drunk to create a scene. Jumping off the Pier! Captain John Lawley dived – mid-sermon – into the sea from a pier, in order to illustrate the ‘boundless ocean of God’s love’. He carried on preaching from the sea. James Dowdle, the six-foot ‘Saved Railway Guard’, slammed his violin case down on a busy sidewalk and shouted, ‘Stand back! It might go off!’ Then as people gathered he opened it slowly, took out the violin and played. [NOT recommended today in almost any context anywhere in the world!] One Salvationist toured the streets dressed as John the Baptist; bearded, robed, bare-footed and all. Today we’d just think he was a hipster going to get his morning Latte. One former violent criminal, dressed again in his prison clothes and preached in the street. The Lingerie Lasses! Not to be outdone, the Hallelujah Lasses ‘drew record crowds parading the streets wearing their nightgowns over their uniforms’. Collier says Booth suggested it. [iv] That’s an odd one. In Leicester, Captain William Corbridge handed out realistic-looking railway tickets which read, ‘Hallelujah Railway – Leicester to Heaven’. One led a live calf through the street, some beat frying pans with rolling-pins. One nutcase spent a week of winter evening lying silently in the snow, and, at the end of the week, when a large crowd had gathered around him jumped up to and preached the gospel. Raising the Dead! Some carried a coffin through the town. Once they had gained a sympathetic crowd they then scared the life out of them by having the man inside the coffin suddenly throw open the lid, sit up and preach the resurrection to them. This sounds crazy, but one genuinely huge Victorian celebrity was a Salvation Army leader called Eliza, a ‘factory girl’ from Nottingham, who would ride through the streets with streamers trailing from her hair and clothes and proclaiming ‘I am Happy Eliza!’ There were even sweets named after her. But maybe more about her later. These determined evangelists rented huge billboards to advertise their meetings, and also spoke one-on-one to thousands. We may not imitate their methods but surely, Pastors, in a day when apathy is the norm, we ought to imitate their faith? [v] More next time. For the first post in this series on the Salvation Army click here © 2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [ii] For a new version of the old Salvation Army song see: https://soundcloud.com/lex-loizides/save-the-lost-ccli-song-no For a rendering of the original whisky song see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92iaBztkfjM [iii] Richard Collier, The General Next to God (Glasgow: Fontana/Collins 1965) p.66f The original proof. The Christian Mission is a volunteer army. Names In 1865 Booth and his team set up headquarters in Whitechapel, London. But they had difficulty deciding on a suitable name. Here are the early variations they used: ‘The East London Christian Revival Society’ (it’s quite an accomplishment to create a name from which even the most diligent can’t force some kind of acronym). This soon became ‘The East London Christian Mission’. This was definitely better but, as George Railton tells us [i] , they had to drop ‘East London’ because the work was so successful they opened mission sites outside London. ‘East London’ was now only one sphere of their activity. Finally, ‘The Christian Mission’ remained. And they kept it for a while but there was an obvious problem with this name. Theirs was one among many good and definitely ‘Christian’ missions operating in England and, by defining their mission as the Christian one, the name seemed to imply haughtiness on their part and a snub towards the others. So for six years [ii] they were in a kind of awkward limbo. A dynamic work with a not very helpful name. Another interesting intermediary link in the evolution of the Salvation Army’s name was that Booth was then called the General Superintendent. When they became The Salvation Army the shift to General was easy. Not a Church but an Army! William Booth recalls, After a while the work began to spread and show wonderful promise, and then, when everything was looking like progress a new trouble arose…Some of the evangelists whom I had engaged to assist me rose up and wanted to convert our Mission into a regular Church…They wanted to settle down in quietness. I wanted to go forward at all costs…so I called them together and said, ‘My comrades, the formation of another Church is not my aim. There are plenty of churches. I want to make an Army.’ He then offered to help those who wanted to leave to find work amongst the churches, but all decided to stay. By 1878 (13 years from the formation of the London Mission) they had grown to 80 mission sites, which they didn’t name as churches but Stations, and then later – in keeping with army-sounding designations – ‘corps’. The growth was phenomenal. By 1880, they had 162 Stations. They weren’t just fussing over names – there was such growth behind them that the name had to encapsulate the spirit of what was quickly being recognised as a missionary movement. Remember, their appeal was not to Christians who were restless and unhappy in their churches – their first aim, and the primary pool from which they gained members, was to reach the unbelieving working classes who had no interest in church-going. A Volunteer Army? Richard Collier writes, Early one morning in May 1878…Bramwell and Railton were summoned to Booth’s bedroom for the day’s instructions. As Booth, who was recovering from flu, paced the floor in a long yellow dressing gown and felt slippers, Railton scanned the proofs of the pink eight-page folder which was the Mission’s annual report. It’s preliminary was bold and succinct: THE CHRISTIAN MISSION of the Rev. William Booth is A VOLUNTEER ARMY Recruited from amongst the multitudes who are without God and without hope in the world… At this time the Volunteers, a part-time citizens’ Army … were a favourite butt of cartoonists. Bramwell, aged twenty-two, was stung by the imputation. ‘Volunteer!’ he exclaimed … ‘Here, I’m not a volunteer. I’m a regular or nothing!’ Booth stopped dead in his tracks … Abruptly, he crossed to where Railton sat, taking the pen out of his hand. He struck decisively through the word ‘volunteer’ and substituted the word ‘Salvation.’ Simultaneously, they scarecely knew why, Bramwell and Railton leapt from their chairs, crying, ‘Thank God for that!’ [iii] The corrected proof. The Christian Mission is a Salvation Army! The Salvation Army it is then… More next time For the first post in this series on the Salvation Army click here © 2016 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [i] George Railton, General Booth (London: Hodder and Stoughton 1912) p.68 Lex Loizides Leave a comment Not for Nutters Evangelistic leaflets (what used to be called ‘tracts’) have seriously fallen out of favour over the last thirty or forty years. For many Christians the very word ‘tract’ conjures up images of nutters on street corners shouting at passers-by or holding up boards which warn of Coming Doom! Those attracting attention by doing such things presumably also press little explanatory leaflets into the palm of any hapless shopper who shows the tiniest glimmer of interest. Later the tracts will be collected by street cleaners. Well OK. But I am enthusiastic about tracts not because I fit that personality type. What I’m suggesting is a different type of tract – it’s a personal one. Something written by you. And the kind of encounter in which you would offer someone your own personal tract is not impersonal or forced but friendly. Brief Encounters I’m speaking about those brief moments where you meet someone – a complete stranger – and a few words might be exchanged, perhaps of thanks, and off you go into the rest of your day: you purchase something at a store; you pay for your meal at a restaurant; you speak with a teller at the bank. I concede that these moments of friendly encounter don’t strike every follower of Christ as a potential opportunity to share the gospel. In fact an attempt to merely speak about your faith then and there would usually feel awkward. We meet several of these strangers every day. They are usually serving us and yet don’t feel the need to serve them. Why? An Opportunity for Light to Break in A young woman in our church in Missouri asked Jo and I to pray for her. She was genuinely distraught. She told us that she works in MacDonald’s and that it was wearing her down. She felt that customers had no respect for her, they were rude and impatient. Added to that, they were hungry and irritable and if she made any mistakes they were utterly unforgiving. Customer after customer, hour after hour, day after day. It was soul-destroying. Obviously we prayed for her, but I thought to myself, what a difference Christians could make! Instead of moaning about how slowly they were being served they could serve the person with a smile and a simple word of encouragement. What a difference that might make to a discouraged person’s day. And then if they were able to add to that encouragement by giving the person their own story of how God’s grace has impacted their lives they certainly would be ‘making the most of every opportunity’ (Eph 5.16). Lex’s Personal Tract That’s what personal tracts are about. They’re not for your work colleagues or those who are already your friends. They’re for those chance encounters, where your willingness to serve might be the only moment of light breaking into someone’s darkness. Check out this amusing 18 minute video to find out how you can write and produce your own. And please feel free to leave a comment on your own adventures. ©2015 Lex Loizides William Booth preaching Rapid conversions When William and Catherine Booth moved into the east end of London in 1865 their goal was to preach the Christian message and bring people to faith in Christ. The plan was that any converts would join existing churches. But it didn’t really work out like that. Booth’s preaching was dynamic and urgent. Many, who would never go to church, heard him and many hundreds were converted. But after their conversion they still wouldn’t go to the churches and, if they did, the churches didn’t seem to want them. Booth began to look for meeting halls and somewhere to create a headquarters for the London mission. But he needed funds. One minister, writing for a Christian magazine, describes a meeting he attended with William Booth one Sunday afternoon. I’ve edited down his article but it gives us a flavour of the amazing power of the Holy Spirit working in a context of consistent evangelism. The structure of the meeting was that, after an introduction, several people would briefly tell of their experience of conversion or of adventures in evangelism and then a hymn would be sung, followed by yet more testimonies. At the end Booth preached and prayed. As you read through this abbreviated account of the meeting, maybe you could pray for similar evangelistic zeal to characterise your life and the life of your church, and that God would similarly begin to bring large numbers of people to a personal and life-changing faith in Christ. Here we see personal boldness in evangelism, conversations happening in homes, and in the streets. There are several references to the effective use of tracts (short, easy to read leaflets or brochures which explain the gospel) as well as public preaching. Perhaps one of the reasons the churches used to ‘reap’ more was that, quite simply, they ‘sowed’ more. Enjoy! The Experience Meeting ‘On the afternoon of Sunday, January 31st, I was able to see some of the results of William Booth’s work in the East of London, by attending his Experience Meeting, held in the East London Theatre. About 2 o’clock some of his helpers and Converts went out from the Mission Hall, where they had been praying together, and held an Open-Air Meeting in front of a large brewery opposite the Hall. The ground was damp and the wind high, but they secured an audience, and then sang hymns along the road, till they came to the theatre, taking in any who chose to follow them. Probably about five hundred were present, though many came in late. The Meeting commenced at three, and lasted one hour and a half. During this period fifty-three persons gave their experience, parts of eight hymns were sung, and prayer was offered by four persons. After singing Philip Philips’ beautiful hymn, ‘I will sing for Jesus,’ prayer was offered up by Mr. Booth and two others. A young man rose and told of his conversion a year ago, thanking God that he had been kept through the year. A negro, of the name of Burton, interested the Meeting much by telling of his first Open-Air Service, which he had held during the past week in Ratcliff Highway, one of the worst places in London. He said, when the people saw him kneel in the gutter, engaged in prayer for them, they thought he was mad. A middle-aged man, a sailor, told how he was brought to Christ during his passage home from Colombo. One of the tracts, entitled, ‘John’s Difficulty,’ was the means of his conversion. A cabman said he used to be in the public-houses constantly; but he thanked God he ever heard William Booth, for it led to his conversion. Three young men then spoke. The first, who comes five miles to these Meetings, told how he was lost through the drink, and restored by the Gospel; the second said he was unspeakably happy; the third said he would go to the stake for Christ. A sister spoke of her husband’s conversion, and how they were both now rejoicing in God. A young man testified to the Lord having pardoned his sins in the theatre on the previous Sunday. Two sailors followed. The first spoke of his conversion through reading a tract while on his way to the Indies four months ago. The other said he was going to sea next week, and was going to take some Bibles, hymns, and tracts with him, to see what could be done for Christ on board. A young man of the name of John, sometimes called ‘Young Hallelujah,’ told of his trials while selling fish in the streets; but he comforted himself by saying, ”Tis better ‘an before.’ He had been drawn out in prayer at midnight on the previous night, and had dreamed all night that he was in a Prayer Meeting. A converted thief told how he was ‘picked up’ and of his persecutions daily while working with twenty unconverted men. A man who had been a great drunkard, said, ‘What a miserable wretch I was till the Lord met with me! I used to think I could not do without my pint, but the Lord pulled me right bang out of a public-house into a place of worship.’ A young woman said: ‘I well remember the night I first heard Mr. Booth preach here. I had a heavy load of sin upon my shoulders. But I was invited to come up the stage. I did so, and was pointed to Jesus, and I obtained peace.’ Another told of his conversion by a tract, four years ago, on his passage to Sydney. ‘To my sorrow,’ he said, ‘I became a backslider. But I thank God He ever brought me here. That blessed man, Mr. Booth, preached, and I gave my heart to God afresh. I now take tracts to sea regularly. I have only eighteen shillings a week, but I save my tobacco and beer money to buy tracts.’ A stout man, a navvy, who said he had been one of the biggest drunkards in London, having briefly spoken, was followed by one known as ‘Jemmy the butcher,’ who keeps a stall in the Whitechapel Road. Some one had cruelly robbed him, but he found consolation by attending the Mission Hall Prayer Meeting. Two young lads, recently converted, having given their experience, a dock labourer, converted seventeen months ago, asked the prayers of the Meeting for his wife, yet unconverted. A young woman gave her experience very intelligently. It was a year and a half since she gave her heart to the Saviour; but her husband does not yet come with her. The experience of an old man, who next spoke, was striking. Mr. Booth had announced his intention, some time back, of preaching a sermon on ‘The Derby,’ at the time of the race that goes by that name. This man was attracted by curiosity, and when listening compared himself to a broken-down horse. This sermon was the means of his conversion. A young man told how his sins were taken away. He worked in the city and, through a young man talking to him in the street, he was able to see the way of Salvation, and rejoice in it. He used to fall asleep generally under preaching. ‘But here,’ he said, ‘under Mr. Booth, I can’t sleep.’ A blind girl, whom I had noticed earlier singing heartily in the street, told of her conversion. Then Mr. Booth offered a few concluding observations and prayed. The Meeting closed by singing. Such is a brief outline of this most interesting Meeting, held Sunday after Sunday. I could not but wonder at the change which had come over the people. The majority of those present, probably nearly five hundred, owed their conversion to the preaching of Mr Booth and his helpers. In the evening I preached in the Oriental Music Hall, High Street, Poplar, where five or six hundred persons were assembled. This is one of the more recent branches of Mr. Booth’s work, and appears to be in a very prosperous condition. I found two groups of the helpers singing and preaching in the streets, who were only driven in by the rain just before the Meeting commenced inside. This is how the people are laid hold of. Shall this good work be hindered for the want of a few hundred pounds?’i More next time. For the first part of the Salvation Army story click here i. George Railton, General Booth (London: Hodder and Stoughton 1912) 59-64 © 2015 Lex Loizides / Church History Review Share this: Lex Loizides 1 Comment The young William Booth – done up nice and proper for a picture After a year working in East London, Booth had managed to gather about 60 people. This was a ‘mission’ rather than a church, the focus being on evangelism and not on Christian worship as such. Booth and Barnardo One of Booth’s early partners in the East End of London was soon to leave him: Thomas Barnardo, then a medical student, but who soon founded the impressive Barnardo’s charity, which opened schools and orphanges for abandoned children and is still operating today. Generously, Booth said, ‘You look after the children and I’ll look after the adults – and together we’ll convert the world.’ [i] Early skirmishes and victories One of Booth’s earliest converts became his first bodyguard. Peter Monk, an Irish prizefighter, was an imposing figure and accompanied Booth to evangelistic meetings. But one bodyguard is apparently not always enough. Richard Collier records that disturbances were frequent at Booth’s early London meetings. Mrs Eliza Trotman narrowly escaped death when some yobs fired a train of gunpowder at her, causing her clothes to catch fire. Peter Monk, the ‘General’s Boxer’, would walk up and down the meeting place staring menacingly at trouble-makers to keep them quiet while Booth was preaching. Booth’s operation gradually became successful. The famous evangelist Gypsy Smith was converted and trained for ministry by Booth when he was only seventeen. Smith was one of numerous young, poor, uneducated men who became the chief evangelists in London. While others were wowing crowds with oratory, these unschooled, rough, preachers were somehow able to reach those who would never approach church or chapel. Young people released into leadership It may seem crazy to us, but Booth had little choice. He worked with those God gave him – and they were often young. Very young. Gypsy Smith was rejected when he was sent by Booth to Chatham in Kent. Even the other new converts thought a seventeen-year-old way too young to be a leader. Smith’s answer? ‘If you let me stop here awhile I shall get older. [And] if I haven’t any more whiskers than a gooseberry I have got a wife.’ [ii] Booth began to send these young preachers to different locations across London and beyond. Careful not to call them ‘churches’, in the early days they were known simply as ‘mission stations.’ They were led – overwhelmingly – by those in their twenties, or younger (more of that in a later post). Booth was clear: he did not want settled congregations enjoying their favourite preacher: He wanted evangelists on a mission to reach their cities – ‘Godly go-ahead dare-devils.’ [iii] We could probably do with a few more of them today. More next time… For the first post in this series on the Salvation Army click here © 2015 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [i] Richard Collier, The General Next to God (Glasgow: Fontana/Collins 1965) p.42 [ii] ibid p. 46 William Booth preaching in a marquee 1865 is a landmark year for historians, friends and members of the Salvation Army. It was in July, 1865, that William and Catherine Booth finally moved to the capital city of England and of the British Empire. Catherine had already ministered effectively at an outreach to prostitutes . William was eager to preach the Christian message among those who seemed most resistant to it: the working classes. The decision was made but the strategy wasn’t yet clear. Darling, I’ve found my destiny! Richard Collier, in his superb biography of Booth, The General Next to God, paints Booth’s turning point skilfully: He came up the Mile End Road, East London … Outside the drab red-brick façade of The Blind Beggar tavern he halted. From beneath his arm he drew a book and … gave out the verse of a hymn. In an instant faces were glued to the pub’s glass windows; a ragged unwashed throng pressed curiously about the stranger … ‘There is a heaven in East London for everyone,’ they heard him cry, ‘for everyone who will stop and think and look to Christ as a personal Saviour.’ From the pub there came only a spattering volley of jeers and oaths … Then from the rear a rotten egg came whizzing to find its mark and the subtle spell was broken. With the yolk trickling slowly down his pallid cheek the stranger paused, and prayed. Then, pulling his hat over his eyes, he walked rapidly westwards … Towards midnight, as Catherine later recalled, a key grated abruptly in the lock and Booth, his eyes shining, strode into the living-room. ‘Darling,’ were the first words that burst from his lips, ‘I’ve found my destiny!’ [i] Booth was deeply concerned for the unchurched. Evangelical churches in the city seemed to be doing well, but there was a vast multitude of those who were utterly apathetic about God, faith, or Christian ethics. More than two-thirds of the working classes never come to church Booth could see the poverty and the bitterness that went along with it: The moral degradation and spiritual destitution of the teeming population of the East of London are subjects with which the Christians of the metropolis are perfectly conversant. More than two-thirds of the working-classes never cross the threshold of church or chapel, but loiter away the Sabbath in idleness, spending it in pleasure-seeking or some kind of money-making traffic. Consequently, tens of thousands are totally ignorant of the Gospel; and, as they will not attend the means ordinarily used for making known the love of God towards them, it is evident that if they are to be reached extraordinary methods must be employed. [ii] Both William and Catherine were extraordinarily hard-working. They rarely seemed to rest. And so, with no regular form of income, William set about organising campaigns, tent missions, evangelistic outreaches ­– irrespective of the likelihood of a positive response. A passionate determination for mission His passion and urgency to communicate the love of God to ‘dying men’ became the driving force of the remainder of his life, and of the organisation that would soon come to birth: The Salvation Army. He later wrote, When I saw those masses of poor people, so many of them evidently without God or hope in the world, and found that they so readily and eagerly listened to me, following from Open-Air Meeting to tent, and accepting, in many instances, my invitation to kneel at the Saviour’s feet there and then, my whole heart went out to them. I walked back to our West-End home and said to my wife: ‘O Kate, I have found my destiny! These are the people for whose Salvation I have been longing all these years. As I passed by the doors of the flaming gin-palaces to-night (sic) I seemed to hear a voice sounding in my ears, “Where can you go and find such heathen as these, and where is there so great a need for your labours?” And there and then in my soul I offered myself and you and the children up to this great work. Those people shall be our people, and they shall have our God for their God.’ [iii] Is there such a passion for those who are so indifferent to the Christian message today? Is there such a longing, such a willingness to sacrifice, to work, to pray, to preach, in order to see lives turn to Christ in our day? As churches organise for mission in the great cities of the world, may we not take early discouragements to heart. May the great churches in our cities not only focus on those who are already open to our message; may they find a resolve to reach those who have already written Christianity off. A rotten egg smacked Booth on the side of his face. As he walked home at midnight a conviction was born in his heart – the Gospel must be preached – ‘That night,’ he later declared, ‘The Salvation Army was born.’ [iv] More next time… To read the whole William Booth story begin here ©2015 Lex Loizides / Church History Review [i] Richard Collier, The General Next to God (Glasgow: Fontana/Collins 1965) 15,19 [ii] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:302 [iii] George Railton, General Booth (London: Hodder and Stoughton 1912) 56 Catherine Booth with her growing family Evangelistic Success By 1863 the William and Catherine Booth had spent 18 months in Cornwall. William had been preaching persuasively among the churches and became known as a ‘Revivalist’ (the Primitive Methodists at the time warned against them). But 7000 people had been added to the churches as a direct result of Booth’s evangelistic preaching in that short time! [i] From Cornwall the Booths travelled to Cardiff and, finding that some of the larger churches were unwilling to offer their facilities, Booth adopted a strategy which later became the norm in the Salvation Army, they used non-religious buildings. His evangelistic campaign in Cardiff took place in a circus. [ii] The need to ‘settle’ Although he continued to see some success evangelistically he also began battling depression. He needed to settle. His wife was battling sickness. Their children were growing. Their future was still uncertain. Catherine, writing from Leeds to her mother, describes their frustration: ‘Well, we must labour and wait a little longer, it may be the clouds will break and surround us with sunshine. Anyway, God lives above the clouds, and He will direct our path. If the present effort disappoints us I shall feel quite tired of tugging with the churches, and shall insist on William taking a hall or theatre somewhere. I believe the Lord will thrust him into that sphere yet. We can’t get at the masses in the chapels…I think I shall come and try in London before long.’ [iii] The Midnight Movement In 1865 Catherine was invited to take part in a mission in London itself. Hosted by the ‘Midnight Movement’, it was an outreach to prostitutes in the South East but was open to all (the adverts included, ‘Come and hear a Woman preach’). The needs of the ‘fallen women’, and of the poor generally, ‘made an instant and overwhelming appeal to her heart.’ [iv] The Wesleyan Times reported on the meetings, commenting that Booth ‘identified herself with [the prostitutes] as a fellow sinner, showing that if they supposed her better than themselves it was a mistake, since all had sinned against God. This, she explained, was the main point, and not the particular sin of which they might be guilty. Then the Saviour was exhibited as waiting to save all alike, and the speaker urged all of them, by a variety of reasons, to immediate decision.’ The Sex Trade as Slavery Catherine Booth was not only committed to bringing these individual women to life-change through faith in Christ, but she began agitating against the evil of sexual slavery in London. One commentator writes, ‘Her indignation knew no bounds that public opinion should wink at such cruel slavery, while professing to be shocked at the scarcely more inhuman brutality that bore the name in other lands. The paltriness of the efforts put forth to minimize the evil staggered her, and the gross inequality with which society meted out its punishments to the weaker sex, allowing the participators in the vice to escape with impunity, incurred her scathing denunciations.’ [v] This mission trip, provoking, as it did, the passion of Catherine Booth was enough to help bring the Booths to a decision as to where they should settle next. With no backing, little money, but a conviction that the gospel could transform the lives of those who found themselves in the most desperate of situations, in 1865 they moved to the Empire’s capital city, London. For the first post in the series on the Salvation Army click here © 2015 Lex Loizides Church History Review [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:258 Lex Loizides Leave a comment Xenophobic violence in South Africa (pic. from Rand Daily Mail ) With further news of attacks on foreigners, and increasing numbers of foreigners being displaced in South Africa, I am reposting this article/review in the hopes that it will stir us to protect those who are South Africa’s guests. News  reports  today said that around 360 Malawians are stranded in South Africa having lost their homes and possessions including their passports. Thousands of foreigners are presently in transit camps. George Bizos’ autobiography, ‘Odyssey to Freedom’ George Bizos’ story is one of courage and tolerance and teaches us to value South Africa’s guests. He arrived as a refugee and went on to become Nelson Mandela’s famous lawyer; a true nation-builder. Click here for the story ©2015 Lex Loizides / Church History Review   Lex Loizides 1 Comment Cornwall (ca 1850) by J Arthur They left. William and Catherine Booth had endured enough shenanigans at the hands of jealous and controlling leaders. They felt they had to get out. So in 1861 they stepped into the unknown. William was sure of one thing – that he must preach the gospel in England. He didn’t wait long. A friend within the Methodist New Connexion invited him to conduct a series of evangelistic meetings in the South West. So William and Catherine left their temporary digs in Brixton and travelled, at their own expense, to Cornwall. Booth’s preaching – fiery, passionate, compelling – soon got a response. The ‘Penitent Form’ There was controversy surrounding his decision to call those who were responding to the gospel to the front of the meeting hall. Those in need were identifying themselves publicly. This appeared to be the only response option he offered and didn’t seem to respect peoples’ privacy. Booth called for a ‘right now’ kind of response, which to some seemed rough and sudden. Surely people needed time to think over these things. But he was adamant that his method was useful in both identifying those whom his message had impacted and helping the respondent understand their both their need and ability to respond. This whole process he called the ‘penitent form’. That’s an almost incomprehensible term now, but basically it followed a school-room idea of forms (classes/years) sitting on certain benches in rows. The ‘penitent form’, then, was a vacant bench at the front of the meeting where those who wanted to repent of their sins and turn to Christ could identify themselves and receive prayer. This method of publicly calling for a response to the evangelistic message was already popular amongst Methodists in both England and America, and was adopted by the American preacher Charles Finney. ‘The people crowded around’ The key issue for us, however, is not really the method but the gospel that produced such an amazing response. Booth writes of one meeting, ‘We had the greatest difficulty to clear sufficient space for a penitent-form, and when we had, the people crowded up and around, and the prayers of those in distress, the shouts of those who had obtained deliverance, and the sympathetic exhortations and exultations and congratulations of those who stood round, all united made the most confounding medley I ever listened to. Again and again I endeavoured to secure order, but it was of no avail, and at length I concluded to let it go for the evening, doing as well as we could.’ [i] The invitations for Booth to preach began to come in quickly and soon more and more chapels were hosting evangelistic meetings where similar scenes were taking place. In fact, Booth soon found himself in the midst of a hugely successful work. Why then, did he suddenly, in the midst of success, find himself depressed and in difficulties, and hungry for more? We’ll look at his struggle next time… © 2015 Lex Loizides – Church History Review [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:256 Share this: William Cowper We’re going back to the 18th century today, just briefly. As I sat reading a selection of William Cowper’s poetry this morning I wondered how many people still read him. He is not a difficult poet and may be unfairly overlooked these days because he is overtly Christian. The Poetry Foundation’s main article on him states, ‘William Cowper was the foremost poet of the generation between Alexander Pope and William Wordsworth and for several decades had probably the largest readership of any English poet.’ [i] Cowper was a contemporary of William Wilberforce and a friend of John Newton. He was too young to have seen much of the early years of Whitefield and Wesley’s preaching but was certainly impacted by the gospel message they preached. His huge popularity as a poet existed not only because his Christian hymns were popular in the churches, but because of his notable skill as a poet. I am reprinting here a section of his beautiful poem To Mary. In their later years Mary Unwin and Cowper had been engaged and the love between them was very tender although they never married. He was at her side as her health declined in her final illness. These verses take us right to her bedside. We see his devotion to her even though she can no longer communicate verbally, we share the thrill of her minute but definite responses to his love. No wonder Tennyson said that this poem was too touching, too moving, to be read out loud. To Mary Like language utter’d in a dream; Yet me they charm, whate’er the theme, My Mary! Thy silver locks, once auburn bright, Are still more lovely in my sight Than golden beams of orient light, My Mary! For could I view nor them nor thee, What sight worth seeing could I see? The sun would rise in vain for me, My Mary! Partakers of the sad decline, Thy hands their little force resign; Yet gently prest, press gently mine, My Mary! And then I feel that still I hold A richer store ten thousandfold Than misers fancy in their gold, My Mary! I suppose the ‘wow’ moment for me was the intensely touching lines, as Cowper sits by the bedside of his dying love. ‘Partakers of the sad decline, Thy hands their little force resign; Yet gently prest, press gently mine…’ It reminds me of a comment Billy Graham made about his wife Ruth when she was bedridden, how they could experience such ecstatic romance by simply staring into each other’s eyes for long periods of time and know their love was as complete and fulfilling as it could ever be. Read Cowper’s lines again. And maybe grab hold of some of his poetry from your local bookstore. ©2015 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog     Take a Closer Look at the Claims of Christ. New on Kindle! Take a Closer Look is an easy to use resource to help explain who Jesus is, why He came and how someone can begin following Him. Included are many faith-inspiring verses from the Gospel of John, helpful questions, and a chapter which seeks to help the person envision what life may look like for them were they to become a follower of Christ. It’s designed to be used one-on-one but is ideal for individual use. Many have come to a lasting faith in Jesus through this study. ‘Take a Closer Look’ http://amzn.to/1ufMzys (US store) ‘Take a Closer Look’ http://amzn.to/1yzbjlk (UK store) Dirk Jongkind ‘When John wrote his book about Jesus more than 1900 years ago, he wanted people to understand who this Jesus really was and why he deserves our trust and commitment. Lex Loizides takes the modern reader by the hand with exactly the same purpose as John had and explains who Jesus is using the words that John wrote down so long ago. If you want to know about Jesus then ‘Take a Closer Look’ is an excellent guide – it is faithful to the original sources.’ Dr. Dirk Jongkind , Research Fellow in New Testament Text and Language, St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge Terry Virgo ‘When your curiosity is aroused and the light seems to be beckoning you out of darkness, how superb to have an outstanding aid like this which can, as it were, take you by the hand and lead you to the truth you’re beginning to long for.’ Gert Hijkoop, Pastor, Wijnstokgemeente, Berkel en Rodenrijs , Netherlands Ian Galloway Speaking as a busy pastor I totally recommend ‘Take a Closer Look’. I really enjoying doing them. I just love sitting down with people and seeing them start to engage personally with Jesus. The simplicity of the study, the focus on Jesus, and the ease with which it can be arranged make it a brilliant resource. Everyone should use this! Ian Galloway, Pastor, City Church , Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Samir Deokuliar ‘Take a Closer Look’ is a clear and crisp description of why one should consider Jesus. I have used this book (in Hindi) over the years to facilitate discussions in small groups. The claims and questions posed in the book are thought provoking and have helped healthy discussions. Highly recommended. Samir Deokuliar , TV Presenter and Pastor , Dwaar , Delhi, India Stephen van Rhyn I have found ‘Take a Closer Look’ to be a fantastic tool for introducing seekers to Christ and helping them cross the line of faith and follow Him. If you are looking for a relevant, Biblical and accessible study on Christ for seekers look no further. Steve van Rhyn, Advance Network of Churches , Pastor, Jubilee Community Church , Cape Town, South Africa Take a closer look is a great resource, that we have used in our church for a number of years, with success. It is particularly useful when you have an individual who is unclear on their faith, and you feel that what they need is a one-to-one short course over coffee. It is non-threatening, focusing on the gospel of John, and very accessible for young and old. Matthew Clifton-Brown, Pastor, Kings Church Edinburgh , Scotland One of the most important months of my life was going through ‘Take a Closer Look’ in the early 1990s. I knew nothing about Christianity, so understanding the basics was vital to making an informed decision. 20 years later I still have very fond memories of that life-defining time! I’d recommend ‘Take A Closer Look’ to anyone that wants to make their own choice about whether to accept Jesus’ claims. Martin Cooper , Worship Leader, Songwriter, Teacher, British & Irish Modern Music Institute, UK As a non-believing teenager unsure of what to make of Christianity, ‘Take a Closer Look’ (which I couldn’t put down and read in one sitting) gave me what I needed to make an informed decision. It is a clear explanation of what Jesus said about himself and his work, and what this means for our individual lives. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand what Jesus taught. Vincent van Bever Donker, Oxford English Centre, Oxford  I have used these lessons for people from different religious, educational and social backgrounds for over 15 years and found it very effective to lead them to Jesus Christ. I have found it a great one-on-one tool for a person interested in knowing Jesus. We have used it as a wonderful tool to help people open up as they seek to become Christians. Joy-Anne Philip, Cochi, Kerala, India Scriptural, practical, fruitful and flexible way of sharing Jesus with 1-10+ people at a time. Many lives have been transformed by this helpful tool. Mike Sprenger , Evangelist, UK ‘Take a Closer Look’ is an excellent tool from the heart of an evangelist which will be a help and a blessing to all those who have a heart for the unsaved. Simple but profound. Don Smith , veteran church planter, UK ‘Take a Closer Look’ is a helpful resource that helps me walk someone from objections to the faith to coming to faith in Christ.  It is short, accessible and yet proclaims the truth about Jesus powerfully. I trust that this new digital version will help equip believers to reach out to many more of their friends. Gareth Bowley, Pastor, Oasis Church, Amazimtoti, South Africa ©2015 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog Share this: Lex Loizides 4 Comments William and Catherine Booth and their family Long before William Booth was known as the General of the Salvation Army he was known as a Methodist Evangelist. He was passionate, fiery, insistent on results. And he remained an Evangelist until his death. He seemed to know little embarrassment when dealing with the subject of hell (once famously saying he wished that preachers would get just five minutes at the gates of hell in order to arouse their compassion). Mercy! Have you heard the word? But he was also a preacher of Christian compassion: ‘Mercy! Have you heard the word? Have you felt its power? Mercy! Can you describe its hidden, unfathomable meaning? Mercy! Let the sound be borne on every breeze! Mercy! Shout it to the world around until there is not a sin-unpardoned, a pollution-spotted, a Hell-marked spirit unwashed, unsanctified! Until there is not a sign of the curse in existence, not a sorrow unsoothed, not a tear unwiped away! Until the world is flooded with salvation and all men are bathing in its life-giving streams!’ [i] He might well have become a popular local pastor, as the great CH Spurgeon became at about the same time. But Booth felt the same itinerating pull of his Methodist forefathers, who had said, ‘The whole world is now my parish! My Horizon was smaller and needed less to fill it! Reflecting in later years on the invitation to pastor a church, he wrote, ‘The Spalding people welcomed me as though I had been an angel from Heaven, providing me with every earthly blessing within their ability, and proposing that I should stay with them forever! They wanted me to marry [Catherine] right away, offered to furnish me a house, provide me with a horse to enable me more readily to get about the country, and proposed other things that they thought would please me. With them I spent the happiest eighteen months of my life. Of course my horizon was much more limited in those days than it is now, and consequently required less to fill it.’ [ii] After his marriage to Catherine Mumford in 1855, and his continued success as a traveling evangelist, his role amongst the Methodist new Connexion began to be debated by his peers. Local Methodist pastors were not entirely happy with Booth riding into town, preaching up a storm, getting their congregants ‘saved’ and then disappearing in a cloud of glory. He needed to be brought into line. The infighting is painful to read, but, in the end, the Methodists made it so uncomfortable for the Booths that they felt they had no option but to resign. The Booths break away from Methodism Catherine, writing to her parents, expressed their resolute determination to break free (there is, of course, an irony in this, as the Salvation Army later had to defend itself against charges of inflexibility): ‘I do not see any honourable course for us but to resign at once and risk all (if trusting in the Lord for our bread in order to do what we believe to be His will ought to be called a risk).’ [iii] The break finally came in 1861. At the final meeting where their future was to be decided, a compromise was offered to them but which was unacceptable to Booth. Catherine was seated in the gallery above the proceedings and when Booth took a glance upward to her, she called out ‘Never!’ Booth stood up and waved his hat towards the door, while shouts of ‘Order! Order!’ rang out. He walked across the chapel floor where he met his wife at the foot of the stairs to the gallery, embraced her, and then walked out of the meeting and into their future. It was a future that held continued evangelistic fruit for them both, but one which later drew thousands of others into that fruitfulness. But more of that later… ©2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:92 Lex Loizides 2 Comments This page includes 8 AUDIO LINKS AND 5 VIDEOS  After a hugely successful first trip to Cape Town and Gauteng last year, Professor John Lennox returned in Sept 2014. Professor John Lennox’s Cape Town schedule   Accompanied by his brother, Gilbert , John arrived to a beautiful day in Cape Town, lunching at the famous Kirstenbosch Gardens.   Both John and his brother are keen photographers  and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing beauty of Cape Town. John also enjoyed Cape Town hospitality at the Steenburg Estate  in the evening. Dinner with Hugo, Karen, Lex and Jo   Prof John Lennox at the University of Cape Town John gave two lunchtime lectures to a packed lecture theatre on the subject ‘Is God a Delusion?’ Here’s the first lecture: ‘Is God a Delusion, Part One (UCT)’   ‘Is God a Delusion?’ with John Lennox at UCT The students were genuinely enjoying Prof Lennox’s wit   Continuing to explain outside the lecture theatre… The crowds increased for the second lecture, so that I was totally unable to get pictures from a different angle! Even before the lecture began it was obvious that this was a main event for UCT that day.   More students streamed in, completely filling the stairs, standing at the back and even sitting over the edges! Here’s the second lecture: ‘Is God a Delusion, part two (UCT)’   Combined Jubilee/Common Ground ‘OneLife’ event [AUDIO links below] Well over 1000 people arrived to hear Prof Lennox at an event called ‘OneLife’ which is an event that seeks to help Christian engage their Christianity with their working life, breaking down a sacred/secular divide. In the plenary session, John was given the title, ‘Thinking Christians in a Changing World’ (although he suggested he’d like to change it to ‘Changing Christians in a Thinking World’!). Over 1000 people crammed into the Jubilee Centre to hear Prof Lennox John Lennox on ‘Thinking Christians in a Changing World’ CLICK HERE to listen (or download) ‘Thinking Christians in a Changing World’ It was difficult to see how we could get more people in! Prof Lennox also spoke to medical professionals on the challenge of bioethics CLICK HERE to listen to (or download) ‘Bioethics: Challenges in the 21st Century’   Prof. Lennox at the Diocesan College (Bishops) in Rondebosch As to with each of the meetings in which Prof Lennox spoke, there was both laughter and serious thinking on the part of the audience. After a gracious introduction by the new Headmaster Prof Lennox challenged the boys to be intellectually rigourous and follow where the evidence leads. John arriving at Bishops Prof Lennox speaking to over 600 boys and staff at Bishops   Relaxing in Cape Town with Gilbert and John Lennox Following an email request, radio talk show host John Maytham was very keen to have John on his afternoon show. The result was less of an interview and more a frank exchange between two opposing positions. The interview lasted for just over 22 minutes and Prof Lennox felt it was one of the best he’d ever done. In the lead up to the interview Maythem mentions that there had been ‘huge interest’.   John Lennox being interviewed by John Maytham at Cape Talk Radio John Maytham with Prof John Lennox Is God a Delusion? Event in Fish Hoek This event, hosted by Murray Anderson, was a combined churches event including King of Kings Baptist, Common Ground, St Peter’s and Tokai Community Church. For AUDIO PART 2 CLICK HERE Prof Lennox answered the most popular objections to the Christian Faith drawn from an online survey. Prof Lennox answers common objections to the Christian Faith Prof Lennox in Fish Hoek   Prof Lennox addressed business leaders in Cape Town One of the highlights of Prof Lennox’s Cape Town visit was a sold out breakfast for some of Cape Town’s most influential business leaders. The breakfast was organised by Accelerate Cape Town and held at Deloitte’s. John has spoken numerous times for the Said Business School in Oxford, as well as speaking for several multi-national corporations and companies. His subject was ‘Smart Cities: Smart Ethics’, and was followed by a Q&A. Prof Lennox speaks to a group of business people drawn together by Accelerate Cape Town Prof Lennox addresses business leaders in Cape Town   Prof Lennox at Stellenbosch University Once again Prof Lennox addressed an eager audience at Stellenbosch University on the subject ‘Should the New South Africa Embrace the New Atheism?’ Click on the image below to  hear the AUDIO    Prof Lennox addresses students at Stellenbosch University On Saturday 13th I hosted two Q&A sessions (of one hour each) with Prof Lennox, asking questions and objections ranging from the reliability of Scripture, the challenge of Reason v. Revelation; questions regarding the Bible and the ‘Big Bang’; the age of the universe, the age of the earth, and the standard evolutionary narrative. Some of his answers were controversial, as you’ll hear. Audience members were able to interrupt via twitter (which was both fun and taxing on the interviewer). Both sessions are included on a single file (58MB), at the moment, but well worth downloading so you can listen later. To hear AUDIO of ‘The God Question’ interview click the image below The God Question with Prof John Lennox Hundreds turned out to hear Prof John Lennox answer tough questions Lennox, with characteristic good humour, relished the opportunity to answer objections Prof Lennox answered several questions sent in via facebook & twitter   John also spoke at the multi-racial  Jubilee Community Church in Cape Town ‘In the beginning God…’ Prof Lennox and UCT Prof Kelly Chibale in conversation after lunch 6.30am – ‘Let us make Man in Our image…’ a look at issues arising from Genesis 2 & 3 Prof John Lennox at Jubilee Community Church, Cape Town   Prof Lennox at North West University, South Africa Prof Lennox lecturing on God: Rendered Irrelevant? Has science buried God? to about 3500 people in the Amphitheater on the Potchefstroom campus of North West University. (15 Sept)   Prof Lennox at Oosterlig Church, Pretoria Prof Lennox at Oosterlig Church   Prof Lennox at Moreleta Church, Pretoria Prof Lennox at Moreleta Church, Pretoria   Debate with Eusebius McKaiser Prof Lennox’s most widely publicised meeting in the Gauteng area was his discussion with radio talk show host Eusebius McKaiser. PART ONE of the video is here: PART TWO: Lex Loizides Leave a comment The young William Booth This passionate exhortation by William Booth has often been misquoted. At least certain punchy phrases have been lifted out of context. In one sense he hasn’t helped himself by referring to all gospel-sharing as ‘preaching’. But it’s clear that he is differentiating between the general call on every Christian to witness to those who don’t know Christ and the specific call which some experience and which tends to lead them into and confirm them as public preachers and teachers of the Bible. He is exasperated by the silence of ordinary, good Christians when it comes to evangelism. While some phrases are certainly clumsy, let’s not miss the passion: – We need to become aware of those who don’t yet realise that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). – We need to have an appropriate understanding of eternal realities and the eternal consequences of someone’s rejection of Christ. – We need to become ‘unselfish’ and start serving people evangelistically. – If the gospel is true, love should compel us to initiate contact, communication, relationships. – While there is a special call to vocational ‘ministry’ for some, we are all called to ‘preach’ the gospel. For some, even if they haven’t been specially ‘called to ministry’ they can still seek God for it (Booth was always looking for more leaders). You may not be a Salvationist. You may not like aspects of Booth’s theology. But every Christian should feel stirred and sharpened by Booth’s words: How can anybody with spiritual eyesight talk of having no call? ‘How can anybody with spiritual eyesight talk of having no call, when there are such multitudes around them who never hear a word about God, and never intend to; who can never hear, indeed, without the sort of preacher who will force himself upon them? Are you spiritually healthy if you have no compassion? ‘Can a man keep right in his own soul, who can see all that, and yet stand waiting for a ‘call’ to preach? Would they wait so for a ‘call’ to help anyone escape from a burning building, or to snatch a sinking child from a watery grave? Does not growth in grace, or even ordinary growth of intelligence, necessarily bring with it that deepened sense of eternal truths which must intensify the conviction of duty to the perishing world? Does not an unselfish love, the love that goes out towards the unloving, demand of a truly loving soul immediate action for the salvation of the unloved? And are there not persons who know that they possess special gifts, such as robust health, natural eloquence or power of voice, which specially make them responsible for doing something for souls? If you’ve been called by God obey Him! ‘And yet I do not at all forget, that above and beyond all these things, there does come to some a special and direct call which it is particularly fatal to disregard, and peculiarly strengthening to enjoy and act upon. I believe that there have been many eminently holy and useful men who never had such a call; but that does not at all prevent anyone from asking God for it, or blessing Him for His special kindness when He gives it.’ [i] More next time… For the first post in this series on the Salvation Army click here   © 2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog     [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:84 Share this: Lex Loizides 3 Comments William Booth the reader! When William Booth taught his fellow ‘soldiers’ in the Salvation Army certain key principles, one of those he emphasized continually was the importance of being able to genuinely influence people towards faith in Christ. So far so good. Most Christian leaders would agree. We’re only playing if we’re only publishing. CH Spurgeon, while coming from a different theological viewpoint from Booth, was also unapologetic about the need for results. Souls need to be saved. And so Booth includes in his own story the fact that, certainly in the mid-19th Century, formal theological training didn’t help equip him in his evangelistic Mission. Booth moves to the Methodist New Connexion After Booth arrived in London in 1849 he joined a Methodist church and began preaching with some success. Discouraged by the lack of missional intentionality, he joined the Methodist New Connexion, and was encouraged to seek ordination. Booth at this time was sent to preach for churches that were losing numbers, and for whom it was felt little could be done. He’d go for two weeks at a time, preaching each evening with much success, sometimes drawing the positive attention of the local press. There was no doubt that he was a gifted evangelist, but he had no formal training for ministry. He had not even completed High School let alone received a University education. Booth was self-conscious about this deficiency and asked if he might study under a theologian within the New Methodist Connexion denomination. Surely theological training would help him in the mission. Give me a chance His prayer was, ‘Give me a chance of acquiring information, and of learning how more successfully to conduct this all important business of saving men to which Thou hast called me, and which lies so near my heart.’ [i] Disarmingly, Booth writes, ‘But instead of better qualifying me for the work of saving men, by imparting to me the knowledge necessary for this task I was set to study Latin, Greek, various sciences, and other subjects, which, as I saw at a glance, could little help me in the all-important work that lay before me…’ [ii] Nevertheless he kept studying until the day finally came when his tutor would hear and assess his preaching. Booth knew he would be evaluated on theological content and not necessarily evangelistic impact. The occasion was a regular evening service in a church. And there were non-believers there. It was soon clear that this could be no practice run. In his mind the mission always trumps any ‘in-house’ priority, which in this instance, was his own future prospects. Booth: ‘I saw him seated…at the end of the church…I realized that my future standing in his estimation, as well as my position would very much depend on the judgement he formed of me on that occasion… I knew that my simple, practical style was altogether different from his own, and of the overwhelming majority of the preachers he was accustomed to approve… I saw dying souls before me… [But] I saw dying souls before me, the gates of Heaven wide open on the one hand, and the gates of Hell open on the other, while I saw Jesus Christ with His arms open between the two, crying out to all to come and be saved. My whole soul was in favour of doing what it could to second the invitation of my Lord, and doing it that very night. I cannot now remember much about the service, except the sight of my Professor, with his family around him, a proud, worldly daughter sitting at his side. I can remember, however, that in my desire to impress the people with the fact that they could have Salvation there and then, if they would seek it, and, to illustrate their condition, I described a wreck on the ocean, with the affrighted people clinging to the masts between life and death, waving a flag of distress to those on shore, and, in response, the life-boat going off to the rescue. And then I can remember how I reminded my hearers that they had suffered shipwreck on the ocean of time through their sins and rebellion; that they were sinking down to destruction, but that if they would only hoist the signal of distress Jesus Christ would send off the life-boat to their rescue. Then, jumping on the seat at the back of the pulpit, I waved my pocket-handkerchief round and round my head to represent the signal of distress I wanted them to hoist, and closed with an appeal to those who wanted to be rescued to come at once, and in the presence of the audience, to the front of the auditorium. That night twenty-four knelt at the Saviour’s feet, and one of them was the proud daughter of my Professor.’ [iii] The brief but happy review The next day Booth met with his tutor for the review. ‘My dear Sir,’ the tutor said, ‘I have only one thing to say to you, and that is, go on in the way you have begun, and God will bless you.’ Booth didn’t complete his studies with the New Methodist Connexion. He writes, ‘I had hardly settled down to my studies before I got into a red-hot Revival in a small London church where a remarkable work was done. In an account of this effort my name appeared in the church’s Magazine, and I was invited to conduct special efforts in other parts of the country. This, I must confess, completely upset my plans once more, and I have not been able to find heart or time for either Greek or Latin from that day to this.’ [iv] Neither Booth, nor the Salvation Army were anti-education, but in terms of equipping men and women for evangelistic effectiveness, he was adamant that men and women should be appropriately equipped for effective ministry. And that meant a blend of standard education as well as specific equipping to bring people to faith in Christ. An old Pentecostal preacher is quoted as saying, ‘In all yer learnin’, get the fire!’ Sound advice. Get the learning but get the skills too. And Booth would agree: Get the fire! To read Booth’s impassioned plea for all Christians to witness click here For the first post in the Salvation Army story click here © 2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog   [i] Quoted by George S Railton, General Booth, (St Albans: The Salvation Army Printing Works, 1912) p.41 Lex Loizides Leave a comment Artist’s depiction of a 19th Century London Pawnbroker’s shop front. Booth was an apprentice pawnbroker in London. At 19 William Booth moved to London. It was 1849. Like many others from the rural areas, he needed to find work. His sister and her family lived in London, but her drunken husband would not allow Booth to stay with them for any length of time. ‘He arrived in London as a seeker of work, the son of a poor and struggling mother in the provinces, with no influence, with no money, and with no friends.’ [i] He was alone in a very crowded city, where poverty and sickness were on every side. As had been the case in Nottingham, his own experiences of personal need combined with his compassionate observation of the needs of others, would shape his future ministry. Booth’s biographer, Harold Begbie gives us a description of London that is both vivid and powerful. And before we press on too much further with the story of The Salvation Army and how they began to actually sought to solve some of these problems, let’s read Begbie’s account with our own cities in mind. While there clearly are differences, aren’t his descriptions of mid-nineteenth century London unnervingly familiar to those of us living in the great cities of the world today? And don’t we need some present-day William and Catherine Booths to rise up? Don’t we need many more modern-day Salvation Armys to get to work and engage with the pressing issues of the major cities of the world? London in 1849 ‘It is difficult for the modern mind to conceive truly of the England of that period. Humanitarianism, which has become with us, if not a passion and a religion, at least good manners, was then regarded as the misguided hobby of a few fussy and mischief-making philanthropists… Little concern was shown by the churches or the chapels for the bodies of men. No shame was felt for such a term as ‘Ragged Schools.’ There was no system of national education, factory legislation permitted children to work for ten hours a day, there was no real inspection of these insanitary places, no idea of housing reform, no provision for poverty but the execrable Poor-House. Few agencies existed for ministering to the physical needs of the poor, the mental needs of the uneducated, the spiritual needs of the sunken masses, the most elemental needs of perishing children… The phrase ‘social conscience’ had not been invented; men were satisfied with, accepted as a God ordained system of human government, a state of individualism which trod millions underfoot for the enrichment of tens.’ [ii] Booth’s response began with the somewhat awkward method of simply standing up and preaching to crowds, if he could gather them. Although our specific methodology may differ according to our context, as followers of Christ, the passionate proclamation of the gospel of Christ must also be central – as central as it was for Booth and the early Salvation Army. But I jump ahead. For now, take a closer look at your city, your town. How can you reach the majority of the residents there with the gospel? What initiatives are in place in your city to tackle poverty, vice, greed, homelessness, violence? Let us know! To read Booth on the balance between Education and Evangelism click here For the first post in the Salvation Army series click here [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:77 [ii]  HB 1:74 © 2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog Share this: Lex Loizides 1 Comment London in the 1870s William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army, was first and foremost an Evangelist; a preacher of the gospel. He was famous for his untiring zeal. He described himself as red-hot and he wanted to reproduce red-hot evangelists, preaching the gospel and winning thousands to Christ. And it was this passion for evangelism that sustained his mission to serve the poor effectively (but more of that later). Saved to Save! Sarah Osborne (nee Butler), a close friend of the Booth family, gives this amazing description of him: ‘He was the most earnest and enthusiastic man I ever knew – he was really burning, really on fire to save souls. He used to say that we were saved to save. He could not stand people who said their souls were saved and who did nothing to save other people.’ [i] As a relatively new convert, he was determined to reach others with the good news he had found and began preaching in the streets and at small ‘cottage meetings’ in peoples homes. Not Satisfied with a Few Responses and Positive Feedback These early efforts did get some fruit but he was not satisfied. He writes, ‘Oh, the stagnation into which I had settled down, the contentment of my mind with the love offered me at every turn by the people! I still aimed at the Salvation of the unconverted and the spiritual advance of my people, and still fought for these results. Indeed, I never fell below that. And yet if the After-Meeting was well attended, and if one or two Penitents responded, I was content, and satisfied myself with that hackneyed excuse for so much unfruitful work, that I had ‘sown the seed.’ Having cast my bread on the waters, I persuaded myself that I must hope for its being found by and by. But I heard of a Rev. Richard Poole who was moving about the country, and the stories told me of the results attending his services had aroused in me memories of the years gone by, when I thought little and cared less about the acceptability of my own performances, so long as I could drag the people from the jaws of Hell. I resolved to go and hear him…When I had heard him preach from the text, ‘Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the salvation of God,’ and had observed the blessed results, I went to my own chamber – I remember that it was over a baker’s shop – and resolved that, regardless of man’s opinions, and my own gain or position, I would ever seek the one thing. Whilst kneeling in that room, there came into my soul a fresh realisation of the greatness of the opportunity before me of leading men and women out of their miseries and their sin, and of my responsibility to go in for that with all my might. In obedience to the heavenly vision, I made a consecration of the present and future, of all I had, and hoped to have, to the fulfilment of this mission, and I believe God accepted the offering.’ [ii] To read Booth’s description of 19th city-life (and similarities with the poor in cities today)  click here For the first post in the Booth/Salvation Army series click here © 2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog   [i] Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth: The Founder of the Salvation Army (2 vols. London: MacMillan, 1920) 1:49 [ii] Quoted by George S Railton, General Booth, (St Albans: The Salvation Army Printing Works, 1912) p.39-40 Share this: Gandhi, the controversial biography A Review, with quotes, of Jad Adams’ biography of the much-loved Mohandas Gandhi. This biography of one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century is impossible to put down. It’s a fresh look at the man through his own writings and the testimony of those closest to him. One aspect of the book, unsurprisingly, dominated the reviews: Gandhi’s risqué experiments in testing his own commitment to Brahmacharya (celibacy).  The claim is that the presence of the two young women who regularly slept in his bed was necessary in order to test that commitment and thus help preserve his spiritual power for the benefit of others. Astonishing as that may sound, there’s much more to the book than that… To read the review click here © 2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog Share this: An illustration of clothes distribution to England’s poor, circa 1849 Although William Booth’s conversion experience was relatively undramatic the results were not. During a message to young Salvation Army officers Booth stirred them to action by describing his own early adventures in evangelism: Surprising Success ‘God…led me out to work for Him, after a fashion which, considering my youth and inexperience, must be pronounced remarkable. While recovering from [an] illness, which left me far from strong, I received a note from a companion, Will Sansom, asking me to make haste and get well again, and help him in a Mission he had started in a slum part of the town. No sooner was I able to get about than I gladly joined him. The Meetings we held were very remarkable for those days. We used to take out a chair into the street, and one of us mounting it would give out a hymn, which we then sang with the help of, at the most, three or four people. Then I would talk to the people, and invite them to come with us to a Meeting in one of the houses. Hard Work as a Volunteer How I worked in those days! Remember that I was only an apprentice lad of fifteen or sixteen. I used to leave [work] at 7 o’clock, or soon after, and go visiting the sick, then these street Meetings, and afterwards to some Meeting in a cottage, where we would often get some one saved. After the Meeting I would often go to see some dying person, arriving home about midnight to rest all I could before rising next morning in time to reach my place of business at 7 A.M. That was sharp exercise! Mobile devotionals How I can remember rushing along the streets during my forty minutes’ dinner-time, reading the Bible or C. G. Finney’s Lectures on Revivals of Religion as I went, careful, too, not to be a minute late. And at this time I was far from strong physically; but full of difficulties as those days were, they were nevertheless wonderful seasons of blessing, and left pleasant memories that endure to this hour. ‘Slow down, young man!’ The leading men of the church to which I belonged were afraid I was going too fast, and gave me plenty of cautions, quaking and fearing at my every new departure; but none gave me a word of encouragement. And yet the Society of which for those six apprentice years I was a faithful member, was literally my heaven on earth. Truly, I thought then there was one God, that John Wesley was His prophet, and that the Methodists were His special people. The church was at the time, I believe, one thousand members strong. Much as I loved them, however, I mingled but little with them, and had time for but few of their great gatherings, having chosen the Meadow Platts as my parish, because my heart then as now went out after the poorest of the poor. My conversion made me into a Preacher of the Gospel Thus my conversion made me, in a moment, a preacher of the Gospel. The idea never dawned on me that any line was to be drawn between one who had nothing else to do but preach and a saved apprentice lad who only wanted ‘to spread through all the earth abroad,’…the fame of our Saviour. No professionals – we are all soldiers in Christ’s mission I have lived, thank God, to witness the separation between layman and cleric become more and more obscured, and to see Jesus Christ’s idea of changing in a moment ignorant fishermen into fishers of men nearer and nearer realisation. But I had to battle for ten of the best years of my youth against the barriers the Churches set up to prevent this natural following of the Lamb wherever He leads. Resisting clerical pretence At that time they all but compelled those who wished to minister to the souls of men to speak in unnatural language and tones, and adopt habits of mind and life which so completely separated them from the crowd as to make them into a sort of princely caste, whom the masses of every clime outwardly reverenced and inwardly despised. Lad though I was, a group of new Converts and other earnest souls soon gathered around me, and greater things seemed to be ahead…’ [i] For the next post, on William Booth’s amazing zeal click here For the first post in the Booth series click here ©2014 Lex Loizides / Church History Blog [i] Quoted by George S Railton, General Booth, (St Albans: The Salvation Army Printing Works, 1912) p.16-18 Share this:
The Salvation Army
Which painting of 1851 by Sir Edwin Landseer features a great stag/deer which stands on a rise among cloud-covered mountains?
Nottinghamshire history > Men of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (1924) < Previous | Contents | Next > LAY WORKERS. ANNE AYSCOUGH, otherwise Askew, the Martyr (1521-1546) local tradition says was born, or spent her early life, at Nuthall. Her father was Sir William Ayscough, Lord of Nuthall, Basford, and other places, who was knighted in 1513, and her mother,—nee Elizabeth Wrottesley—having died, Sir William, who had a house at Stallingborough, went and lived at his second wife's residence at South Kelsey, near Grimsby. No registers are available. The marriage settlement is dated in 1522, the year after Anne's birth. It is said Anne was compelled to marry when 15 a man named Kyme, a zealous Roman Catholic, who having turned her out of doors, she went up to London to sue for a separation, but was arrested on a charge of heresy. Twelve pages of Fox's "Book of Martyrs" are occupied with her persecutions, sham trials, and martyrdom. She was burnt at Smithfield, July 25th, 1546, being in the twenty-fifth year of her age, distinguished for her wit, beauty, learning and religion. "THE PILGRIM FATHERS," (1608) so called, had their origin in Nottinghamshire. Three of their early leaders must be named:— WILLIAM BREWSTER, Scrooby Post. REV. JOHN ROBINSON, Sturton-le-Steeple. WILLIAM BRADFORD, Austerfield. WILLIAM BREWSTER, (1566 (?) -1643). His father was a farmer, agent to the Archbishop of York, and Post for the supply of horses for travellers between Tuxford and Doncaster. The son, who must have had some tuition in Latin, was sent to Cambridge University, after which he entered the service of Mr. Davison, Secretary of State, where he was "so discrete and faithful as he trusted him above all other that were about him, and only employed him in all matters of greatest trust and secrecie." (Bradford). Here he became the subject of a spiritual awakening, and when he returned to Scrooby to take charge of the Post business, it was like a transfer to an ice-house. Many centuries before, in Saxon times, the Archbishops of York possessed the patronage of the rectory of Sutton and Scrooby, but as the rector lived at the former place, five miles to the South, the latter stood the chance of neglect, except when the Archbishops were there. Brewster endeavoured to obtain "godly " preachers in the churches, and ultimately Separatists meetings were held in some part of the former Archbishop's manor house. Persecution arose, and Brewster and others fled to Holland, where he, after much poverty, became a teacher of Latin and English to the sons of gentlemen, and then assisted in compiling and printing books for export. After some years the Pilgrims left in the "Mayflower," and formed a colony in what is now part of the United States, where for many years Brewster acted as the minister, teaching twice "every Sabbath, and that both powerfully and profitably," and during the week working on the land. He appears to have been a man who fitted himself for whatever might happen, and adapted himself to circumstances, but always with an eye to promoting the good of others. REV. JOHN ROBINSON, (1575 (?) -1625), M.A., after taking the full course at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, graduated, secured a fellowship, was duly ordained, and later, on conscientious grounds, renounced his orders, and became what we should call a Noncom-formist Minister. In 1603 he was married in Greasley Church, the entry being, "Mr. John Robinson and Mistress Bridget Whyte 15 Feb. 1603." He was minister to a congregation at Norwich, and leaving there he became a colleague with the Rev. Richard Clyfton, who after being Rector of Babworth became the senior pastor of the congregation at Scrooby. When it was dispersed he (Robinson) went with the pilgrims to Amsterdam and Leyden, and had under his charge 300 communicants. Practically he had the care of the community while it was in Holland, and he remained with the majority when the minority left in the "Mayflower." He was exceedingly helpful to his people, and wrote sixty-two non-controversial essays. WILLIAM BRADFORD, (1590-1657), was the son of a farmer at Austerfield, one mile across the Yorkshire border, but anciently a part of the parish of Blyth. He was accustomed to attend the meetings at Scrooby, and went with the rest to Holland, he being then about seventeen years of age. He obtained employment as a fustian worker and as a silk dyer and worker. Out of working hours he learned to think and speak in Dutch, to talk in French; he mastered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and became skilled in history, antiquity, and philosophy. "But," says Cotton Mather, "the crown of all was his holy, prayerful, watchful, and spiritual walk with God." When the Plymouth Colony was established William Bradford was appointed Governor, and thirty-six years of wise administration followed, he being elected to office annually. He wrote several books, the principal being "History of the Plymouth Plantation." He had in earlier life fitted himself for the use of power, the tide at length rose to the flood of opportunity, and led "on to fortune" (Shakespeare) of usefulness. It must not, however, be assumed that his "government" was according to our modern ideas. Religious liberty was not then understood. GEORGE FOX, (1624-1690), the Founder of the Society of Friends, was born at Drayton, in Leicestershire. His connection with Nottinghamshire was partly in his early labours in the Vale of Belvoir. In Nottingham, in 1649, after interfering with a service at St. Mary's Church, then conducted in the Presbyterian form, he was imprisoned in the Town Gaol, a horrible place; this, his first imprisonment, leading to the conversion of the Sheriff, who went into the Market and preached repentance, and later he frequently stayed at the house of the Sheriff, John Reckless, No. 1, Spaniel Row. When imprisoned at Derby in 1650, he was described as "late of Mansfield in the County of Nottingham," he having lived for some time at Mansfield Woodhouse, and worked at his trade as a shoemaker. According to Crosse, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker at Nottingham (D.N.B.) In estimating the value of the work and testimony of George Fox a discriminating judgment is necessary, otherwise the permanent value will be lost in the temporary fire and smoke. The peculiar dress, the lack of courtesy in keeping the hat on in company, the singularities of speech, the interference with other people's worship—then conducted in the Presbyterian form—all these, and much more, may be dispensed with as unwise and improper, but this must not blind us to the fact that George Fox revived the scriptural doctrine of communion with God by the Spirit of God dwelling in, and working through, the individual soul, and the further scriptural requirement that the spiritual life must be manifested by purity and simplicity of life, by self denial, by active efforts to promote the good of others, rather than by forms and ceremonies. Hence his work among prisoners, and his protests against oppression. JAMES PARNELL, (1636-1656), Quaker Martyr, was born at East Retford, and in the church register he is described as the "sonne of Thomas Parnell and Saray his wife." In the list of aldermen for the borough of East Retford for 1607, thirty years before James was born, are the names of Henry and Richard Parnell, both being described as "gentlemen," which Mr. F. C. Atter regards as establishing the young man as probably of gentle birth or breeding, of good church people, and he received his early training at the old Retford Grammar School. When about sixteen he, being in Carlisle, visited George Fox, who was then in gaol there, and he became a converted lad, and afterwards a minister, "speaking with great fluency and power." Two years later he was imprisoned at Cambridge, and then went into Essex, and for a riot in Great Coggleshall Church, in which he was in some way concerned, he was fined at Colchester forty pounds, and in default, was committed to gaol there, where after a year's imprisonment he died. He was treated with the utmost barbarity, being lodged in a hole in the wall reached partly by a ladder, and above pulled up by a rope. He is described by Besse as "a strong man in Christ," "with a remarkable Innocence, Patience, and Magnanimity." He died a prisoner in the Castle, and his name appears in the Martyrs' Memorial in Colchester Town Hall. "JOHN GRATTON, (1642-1712) a Derbyshire 'Quaker,' Preacher and Prophet of the XVIIth Century"—such is the title of a pamphlet by Mrs. Manners—was born at Bonsall, and was well educated, his home for forty years being at Monyash and in 1707 he and his wife went to reside with their daughter at Farnsfield, where he was afterwards laid to rest in the Burying Place of Friends by the Meeting House. As a youth he kept his father's sheep, but was apprenticed to a tallow chandler. When about thirty he married, passed through a spiritual crisis of conviction and conversion, and joined the Quakers. He then opened his house for meetings, and began to testify, journeying through the shires of Derby, Nottingham and Chester holding meetings; was summoned and fined and his goods distrained for his preaching; was arrested under a writ de excommunicato capiendo, and imprisoned in Derby gaol more than five and a half years, but was frequently allowed by his gaoler to go out, always returning according to promise. On the passing of the Toleration Act he was discharged, and returned home. He then devoted twenty years to mission work throughout England. The testimony of those who knew him was, "One of the Lord's Worthies." SUTTON IN ASHFIELD STOCKING MAKERS— a band of them—in 1756 removed to Leicester, and subscribed £50 for the purchase of a barn and site, in Harvey Lane, in which religious services were held, and four years afterwards they built a chapel thereon. Thirty years later it was enlarged, for Mr. Carey was then the minister. He subsequently went to India, and became the pioneer and life-long translator for mission work in that country. There was a further enlargement of the chapel in 1809, when the eloquent and famous Baptist divine, the Rev. Robert Hall, was the minister. Those Sutton Stocking makers could not do much, but their little formed a necessary step for thousands to be blessed through more able men. MATTHEW BAGSHAW, (d. 1803), lived in Crossland Place, Narrow Marsh, Nottingham, and deserves to be remembered for his ingenuity. He was a zealous Methodist, and in 1757 wanted people to hear the Rev. John Wesley preach indoors, but there were no halls, chapels, or schoolrooms available, and the churches were closed against him. The great crowd could hear in the open air, but a few chosen souls must be further taught and edified within doors, so Matthew, whose house was on the western side of the yard, broke through the chamber floor, and made a large opening into the room below. In the upper room he placed the men, in the lower room the women, and the preacher was so fixed that he could preach to crowded audiences upstairs and down at the same time. Matthew was committed by the Mayor to the House of Correction for keeping a conventicle; but the people went with him to prison, and turned the gaol into a conventicle, and the keeper of the prison complained to the Mayor, who discharged them, but a resolute Quaker said he would not go until Matthew was set at liberty, so the Mayor gave way, and they went back to Matthew's house for praise and prayer. (Harwood's History, pp. 10 and 32). Matthew remained a constant worker for nearly half a century after this. He must have prospered, for when he died his residence was in Charlotte Street (east of Shakespeare Street), whence an immense multitude followed him to his grave. He usually wore a three cornered hat, and large bushy wig, which gave him an antique appearance. He died in 1803. (Harwood, p. 115). "Dinah Morris" is better known than ELIZABETH TOMLINSON, and yet they represent the same person, although the latter name was known seventy or eighty years before the former was thought of. The facts are as follows: The Rev. William Bramwell was, about 1799 and later, the Methodist Minister at Halifax Place Chapel, Nottingham. He was a mighty revivalist preacher, and during his stay in the circuit six hundred names were added to the roll of members. He had as an assistant Mary Barritt,. for those were days before the Methodist Conference had put its ban upon Women Ministry. Mr. Bramwell said he "never knew any one man so much blessed in the salvation of souls as this young woman." One of her converts was Elizabeth Tomlinson, a girl who worked as a lace mender, and who became a devout worker and preacher, accustomed to address religious meetings. According to Mr. J. W. Russell, who has investigated local records, she ministered to the comfort and aid of Mary Voce, the prototype of "Hetty Sorrel" who was hanged at Gallows Hill, Mansfield Road, Nottingham, in 1802, and the cart containing the malefactor and Elizabeth Tomlinson as comforter was followed to the gallows by Methodists singing hymns. Elizabeth Tomlinson went into the villages for mission purposes, and so became acquainted in Derbyshire with the Evans family. She was in 1804 married at St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, to Samuel Evans, the uncle of Miss Evans, authoress of "Adam Bede, published in 1868, under the assumed name of "George Eliot." The married couple removed to Derbyshire, and afterwards lived at Wirksworth, where "George Eliot" visited her aunt and heard her story. In the Wesleyan Chapel at Wirksworth is a marble tablet to the memory of the worthy pair. (J. W. Russell). MRS. MARY TATHAM, nee Strickland, was the wife of Thomas Tatham, a Grocer, in Middle Pavement, Nottingham. When Thomas wrote Mary with a definite love proposal, she replied with a dead refusal, and as soon as she had posted the letter, womanlike, she was sorry she had written it. He would not take a denial, and wrote again, and then she wrote parleying. He went and conquered, and this was followed by fifty years of happy married life, and twelve children born. He was the most active promoter of the building of Halifax Place Wesleyan Chapel, which was opened in 1798 by the Rev. Coke, LL.D. and Thomas Tatham went far and wide in begging the money to pay for it. Mrs. Tatham for forty years was a class leader, or guide, having three classes, which combined generally consisted of at least sixty persons. She was a woman of great ability, with self-reliance, unyielding, but modified by great benevolence. Her weaknesses were the puritanical limitations of the times. She was too heavenly minded to train her daughters in the household duties to fit them for their future lives. They must have no company but what was strictly religious, and the pursuit of knowledge was little valued. Her memoir was published by the celebrated Rev. J. Beaumont, M.D., in a book of over 400 pages, and having a good portrait, in which is displayed a large collar of real lace. She died in 1837. A verse of a hymn commonly sung at the time reflects a narrowness of view which surely is more limited than the requirements of "God our Saviour who willeth that all men should be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth;''— Nothing is worth a thought beneath But how I may escape the death That never, never dies. How make mine own election sure, And when I fail on earth secure A mansion in the skies!" JOHN PIGGIN, (1793-1880), Hucknall, was a butcher. "He was a remarkable man for the good that he wrought in the parish." So says the Hucknall Historian, Mr. Beardsmore. He was for many years Superintendent of a Sunday School with three hundred scholars, and devoted his life to their welfare. He would put his hand on a boy's head and talk of his responsibility and welfare in a way never to be forgotten. He was generous to the poor with his meat. THOMAS COOPER, (1805-1882 (?)) the Chartist poet and writer, was born at Leicester, and apprenticed to a shoemaker at Gainsborough. He taught himself four languages, and at twenty-three was a school master and Methodist local preacher. He became active as a lecturer, and writer of social and political tracts, and was imprisoned in Stafford gaol two years on a charge of conspiracy and sedition. He became a sceptic in matters of religion, and wrote and published five or six books. The persecution ceased, and with it the scepticism, and he lectured on the evidences of Christianity. In 1872 he published an Autobiography. Instead of further particulars, I will here give from memory an illustration I heard him use in the Exchange Hall, Nottingham, more than fifty years ago. He was then the minister of a chapel, or room, at Lenton, was a good speaker, his attitude carrying conviction of sincerity, and his arguments and illustrations were forcible. He was endeavouring to show that when the evils afflicting the community had been exposed, and the public conscience aroused, time was required' to devise a remedy, and patience in carrying it out. "I will," he said, "give you an illustration of what I mean. In a house I occupied I was much troubled with rats. I found they came into the house through a hole over the sink-stone. I thereupon set on the sink a tub full of water, and a small thin board resting on the hole, and so poised that a rat venturing on to the board would be tipped into the water. One evening I was sitting in the room reading, when I heard a splash, and knew that my trap had succeeded. I seized the lamp and a poker and rushed into the kitchen to kill the rat, who, alarmed by my energy, by a violent effort got out of the water and escaped. I had taken the steps necessary for its destruction, and had I had patience it would have quietly drowned, but by my impatience I defeated my own purpose. The evils abounding among the people distressed me, I took what I believed were the right steps to ensure their removal, but having done so I lacked patience, and it may be to some extent injured my cause.'' In a local album, on 26th September, 1882, he wrote the verse:— "Happy .... to cry in death, Behold, behold the Lamb!" WILLIAM B. CARTER, (d. 1887, aged 85), a lace manufacturer of Hounds Gate, Nottingham, was an active worker in connection with Halifax Place Chapel. He became a local preacher in 1827, and so continued for sixty years. He was President of the Nottingham Sunday School Union in 1860, when it celebrated its Jubilee, and he wrote a "History" of its operations, occupying 192 pages. A man of great activity and earnestness, he for many years devoted his entire time to religious and social work. MRS. ELIZABETH CHALMERS, (d. 1900) nee Large, married a Mr. Harrison who resided at Retford, and after nearly twenty years of happily wedded life he died. The Rev. James Chalmers (1841-1901) who was an ordained Missionary to the South Seas, sent in 1865 by the London Missionary Society, after some years service was transferred to New Guinea, where his wife, after much service and suffering, died. Several years later (1886) he revisited the old country, and sojourned with the Harrisons, at Retford. Shortly after Mr. Harrison died, and before Mr. Chalmers returned to his work in New Guinea an engagement had been made between himself and Mrs. Harrison. She having agreed to share his work and its dangers, the year following sailed for Australia, where he met her, and they were married (1888). She entered fully into the duties, privileges, and privations of missionary life in the New Guinea climate. When he, as pioneer and Superintendent of many stations, went long voyages and journeys, she carried on the work at the home stations, directing the native teachers. In 1894-5 they paid a visit to England, for the climate with its malarial fevers frequently recurring made change requisite. They returned to their work, and she in 1900 succumbed to the treacherous climate, and died on board the mission ship. He continued his missionary journeys and voyages, opening new stations, when on going ashore with twelve others they were all massacred, their heads cut off, and their bodies eaten by the cannibals. "The Great-Heart of New Guinea," as he was called, must be classed with John Williams, William Carey, Robert Moffatt, David Livingstone, and others of equal rank. New Guinea (Papua) the second largest island in the world, is now allocated to the Australian Commonwealth, the German part having been conquered in the Great War. (See "James Chalmers, His autobiography and letters," by R. Lovett, Religious Tract Society). WILLIAM J. BAKER, (1853-1902) was a Lace Dresser in Nottingham. He had in 1885 a class of forty to fifty men, in connection with the Derby Road Chapel (of which he was a Deacon) who met on Sunday afternoons, and they decided to form a Sunday Morning Institute, in imitation of the schools under the care of Alderman White, at Birmingham. They assembled in the Mechanics' Lecture Hall, and later in the Social Guild; active helpers being Messrs. Humphrey, Cooper, Jowett, Atkin, Richardson, Johnson, Bolton, and Brown. In 1888 the use of the University College building was offered them by the Mayor, Alderman Lindley, and the membership rose from over 500 men to 650. The objects were Bible reading, thrift, and self-help, to help social movements, promote fellowship and brotherhood. The financial operations included a Savings Bank, a Sick and Annual, a Benevolent Fund, charitable objects. On Mr. Baker's tomb in the General Cemetery is inscribed the motto:— "No shadows yonder; all light and song." DR. J. S. BOLTON, (d. 1923) became President of the class, and for many years did an exceedingly useful work. He took a special part in "Hope for the Inebriate" movement and published a pamphlet thereon. He was President of the Temperance Federation combining many societies engaged in that department of work. He devoted much time and benevolent effort among the poor. He had some peculiar views with which we are not concerned. To the Men's Sunday Morning Institute must be given the credit of first aid to the Cripples Guild. JAMES BACON, (1816 (?) -1903) was a hatter in Bottle Lane, Nottingham, and later in Bridlesmith Gate, where his name appears in one of Mr. T. Hammond's sketches. Outside his occupation he may be taken as an example of a man with very limited advantages devoting his life to the public good. At six years of age he began to wind cotton for a framework-knitter, and later was bound apprentice for seven years to a hatter. He went to East Street Sunday School, but was expelled for laughing, and drifted into doubtful company, and in evening hours became a proficient dancer at public house ball rooms. At eighteen the spiritual crisis of his life came, and was effectual. Now he devoted his spare time to self-education by reading and study, and became a Primitive Methodist Sunday School teacher, and then a local preacher, and he spoke thoughtfully, concisely, and fluently in the villages round Nottingham, in hie later years being thus occupied forty Sundays in a year. In 1884 a jubilee testimonial was presented to him, congratulating him on his fifty years experience an work. He died at eighty-seven. In his old age he was fond of telling with glee of his early troubles and their overcoming. "My wife died over the seventh childbirth, and I was left with a house full of young children, whose support required me to work every hour. What was I to do? I must marry again, and that quickly, for someone to look after the children. But who could I get to be a martyr in bringing up another's children? I must try to find a woman who would not be likely to have any of her own after our marriage. Now in my class meeting were three women, sisters, of good mind, heart, and life, healthy and strong. The first had married, but had no children; the third likewise. If I married the middle one she, like her sisters, would probably have no children. I married her, and she gave birth to thirteen." A hearty laugh followed his little tale, in which he joined. THOMAS DALLEY, (1827-1907) was born and lived at Stapleford, being occupied in a Lace manufacturing warehouse, and for twenty-five years in absolute control of the business. His father was a stem Puritan of the olden type, who would not let his son learn and repeat at Lady Warren's School the baptismal part of the Church catechism, and so he and a dozen other boys walked daily two-and-a-half miles to an excellent school at Trowell Moor, kept by Mr. Hall, an ideal man. The boys became a cricket club of themselves, a game that Thomas Dalley enjoyed all through life. His mother was a woman of high purpose, who had lived in Germany, and hence came a wider outlook than usual, and books of the best class in prose and poetry. He joined a Methodist Church at seventeen, and became a member of a young men's class for the study of theology, and in after years he was President of such a class, meeting weekly, and exercising themselves in the art of speaking, and thus they became preachers. At nineteen he was a local preacher, and so continued fifty-eight years, during which it was estimated that he had preached two thousand times, and travelled ten thousand miles in doing so, chiefly walking. Here is a specimen of his work of which he kept a record:—"A Sabbath day at Hucknall: walked from Stapleford (10 miles) preached twice; led a class; addressed the school; conducted prayer meeting. Walked home." After fifty years of public service he and his lifelong friend John Harrison, the organist—a most worthy man—received equal honour by being each presented with a handsome armchair. His was an evening without clouds, with an excellent wife (nee Attenborough, of Hyson Green) with a hospitable home, with books, and flowers, and grand-children, his was the "light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." From the Rev. F. H. Robinson's "Life of Thomas Dalley." JOHN BUCK, (1841-1911) was a Shetland and Silk Shawl manufacturer, at Hucknall, which business he established and it prospered. He was, however, much more. In his early days he felt the pinch of poverty, for Stocking Makers earned only about ten shillings a week, paid late on Saturday nights, and much schooling was out of the question. He joined the militia, and later became a Baptist, a Sunday School teacher, and then Superintendent, in which work he continued with zeal and enjoyment forty-three years. He with others formed a Temperance Society, became a local preacher, and frequently gave lectures or talks on homely subjects, such as, "Odd Sticks," "Dig your own Garden," "They say: What do they say? Let them say." He had a rich vein of humour, seeing things in a queer way, and driving home commonsense truths. His services were in great request over a wide area. He served his church as Deacon, and the public as Overseer, and on the School and Burial Boards. ("Dispatch"). WILLIAM BOOTH, (1829-1912), Founder and General of the Salvation Army, was born at No. 12, Notintone Place, Sneinton. His father was a speculating builder, who having built small houses about the time of the great lace boom, when the slump set in (1825) was reduced to poverty. His mother was a splendid character, whose piety, energy, and self-reliance never forsook her. She lived for her children. At thirteen he was taken from school, and bound apprentice to a pawnbroker, in Goose Gate, Nottingham, for six years, without wages, and worked from early morning to late evening, and especially on Saturdays. At fifteen he began to attend at Wesley Chapel, Broad Street, which was then the most energetically worked, and by far the largest chapel in the town. (The Sunday School had in 1844, 547 teachers and scholars). Soon after joining, the spiritual crisis in his experience came, and his decision for God included a determination to work for the salvation of the poorest people by outdoor preaching and otherwise. In 1846 an American Evangelist, the Rev. James Caughey, held revival services in the chapel, which was nightly packed, and so continued for six weeks, during which young Booth received his inspiration for evangelistic work. At nineteen, when his apprenticeship was completed, he went to London, and got a situation which involved working in the shop until midnight on Saturdays, but he would not work beyond that hour, and was thereupon dismissed, but within a week was restored, and left in charge of the business. He still continued very active in street preaching, and when twenty-three (1852) he entered the Methodist ministry. In 1855 he married Catherine Mumford, who was a true helpmeet, a wise counsellor, and a tower of strength to him. In the ministry he constantly desired revival efforts and conversions. He wanted roving commissions to go to towns where required, and the denominational requirements of ordinary routine work hampered him, and therefore, in 1861, having resigned his position as a minister, he commenced to travel as a Revivalist, and four years later, 1865, began Mission Work in the East of London, which in 1878 developed into the Salvation Army. Mrs. Booth, whose first pamphlet was on "Female Ministry," continued at intervals publishing books and papers helpful to the work, and in 1879 the "War Cry" was established. Now began an effort to establish the Salvation Army in every part of the world. In 1887 the 1000th British Corps was formed, as well as the first Slum Settlement. 1890 was to the Army an important year, for then Mrs. Booth died, and a Funeral Service being held in Olympia, 36,000 persons were present. "The Darkest England and the Way Out," was then published, and £100,000 was subscribed to carry out the scheme, but the £30,000 a year which the General wanted for the work was never reached. The Schemes actually carried out included operations:'— (a) For the Starving, with eight departments; (b) For the Drunkard; (c) For the Paupers; (d) For the Unemployed; (e) For the Homeless; (f) For the Criminals; (g) For the Daughters of Shame; (h) Slum Work; (i) For the Sick; (j) For the Lost; (k) Preventive and Protective Work for young girls; (1) Anti-Suicide Bureaux; (m) The Home League; (n) Land Schemes, including Emigration, Land and Farm Colonies, and Small Holdings; (o) Deep Sea Brigades; (p) Training Colleges; (q) Students' Homes; (r) Working Men's Associations; (s) Village Banks. The total number of the Social Institutions were nine hundred and fifty-four, but the General deplored many shortcomings and unfulfilled dreams. (See "General Booth," by G. S. Railton p. 197). Partial failures are common to every effort. During the last twenty years of his life, in addition to all the vast operations of the Army at home, and all its affiliations, in nearly every year the General visited in the countries in Europe, or in Africa, or Asia, or America, or Australia, and many of them several times, inspecting the work, and cheering the workers, and each year the movement extended to additional countries. The opposition and persecutions of the eighties were exchanged for the honours of the new century, in which he was received by President Roosevelt, King Edward VII., and Queen Alexandra; Oxford University made a D.C.L. The Cities of London and Nottingham gave him their Freedom. The Kings of Norway and Denmark, the Queen of Sweden, the Emperor of Japan, the present King and Queen of England, in succession received him. His eightieth birthday was celebrated in 1909 in the Royal Albert Hall. His motor car trips were like triumphal processions of hard work and honour. By an accident he lost the sight of one eye, an operation in 1912 was followed by a complete loss of sight, and on August 20th, he laid down his sword. Now here is a man who with many drawbacks overcame them all, and made not only a name, but a great fact, for which millions of people throughout the world will thank God that William Booth was born. With poverty in early life, with a limited education, with a disagreeable occupation, with practically no time for recreation, with very straitened circumstances, with downright hard work, with opposition and persecution, he overcame all obstacles, and with the energy of a giant he worked in youth, in middle life, in old age, and accomplished a marvellous result. We may criticise his methods; we may object to the one man domination, but we must admire the tenacity of purpose, the power of inspiring a multitude of workers, and the results in many lands with the masses in the lowest circles. There is no doubt there was a strong faith in God, and there was a strong faith in William Booth—he was called to it; he could do it, it should be done. He was not a "saint" of the ancient type, the driving force was too strong for that: his wife was more saintly than he, but to him—cold indifference, a lack of dignity, opposition, persecution, made no difference. With a Board of Directors the work would have been hampered, plans discussed and reported on for further consideration and ultimate adoption, but with one man only to consider, decision could be immediate, and a telegram despatched for action. One change, from personal observation, I must note. I heard him preach when a young man, tall, slim, with jet black hair. With fiery energy he urged the necessity of being born again by the Spirit of God, and this he through life insisted on, but then salvation was for deliverance from future damnation. Fifty years afterwards I heard him once more, and the message was the same, but salvation for service was the theme. He had grown, and the life corresponded with the message. Some idea of the extent of the operations of The Salvation Army may be obtained by consideration of its Expenditure, and financial position, as revealed by a perusal of the Annual Accounts of its Central Funds audited by Messrs. Knox, Cropper & Co., Chartered Accountants. The General Income and Expenditure Account for the year 1922 reached a total of £145,619; for General Purposes associated with the Foreign Work, the sum of £44,710 was expended; whilst Work in other lands (dealt with under the heading of the Foreign and Colonial Territories Fund) accounted for an expenditure of £211,666. The Balance Sheet reveals a total of £1,832,847. THOMAS CECIL SMITH WOOLLEY, (1853-1913) of South Collingham, Land Agent, was the eighth child in a family of fourteen. He was educated at Newark Grammar School, Brighton College, and King's College, London. His recreations included boating, swimming, football; he was a good rider, fond of singing, music, and poetry. In 1873 he went into his father's office, and four years later became a partner, his work being the management of land estates, large and small, and situate in various parts of the country, involving much travelling, catching trains, and so living with Brad-shaw's Time Tables, a bicycle, and a mass of correspondence, estimates, valuations, tenancies, etc. He fitted up a cottage, and it became a museum. He joined the local Volunteers, and became Captain, Major, and on retiring, honorary Lieut.-Colonel. He took an active interest in education, and became a member of the County Education Committee. He made excavations for Roman remains at Brough (Crocolana) and collected many objects which are in Newark Museum. He aided and advised on Church architecture and restoration, and was on various Church Diocesan Committees, but the work to which he devoted his life was in an outlying and neglected part of the parish, Brough and Danethorpe. Here, with the concurrence of the Vicar, and a licence as Lay Reader from the Bishop, he held religious services and Sunday School in the kitchen of a farmhouse; in a barn; then in a Mission Church, which was built at a cost of £550, followed by Club Reading Room, and both buildings were well used for the usual services, Sunday and Night Schools, a Men's Bible Class, Choir practices, a Penny Bank, a Lending Library, a Pig Club, etc. He played with the lads, he visited the houses. He was assisted by his sister, and one of his clerks, and this work he continued thirty-seven years. Then came the end. He was cycling from a meeting on a very dark night, accidentally ran into a boy, was pitched on to his head, never recovered consciousness, and, to use the words of the Bishop, "without pain, without suffering, and without sorrow, he entered into that Presence which to him was so dear." (See "Cecil Woolley, a Memoir," by W. H. Mason). JOHN ROGERS, (1827 (?) -1917) lived at No. 4, Tennyson Street, Nottingham, many years, and died in his ninetieth year. He had long been associated with the firm of Henry Ashwell & Co., Ltd., Hosiery Bleachers, Mrs. Ashwell being his sister. Outside business matters he was actively associated with the Derby Road Baptist Sunday Schools. He, for ten years, conducted an experimental higher grade Sunday School for middle class children in connection with the late Dr. Cox, in the Mansfield Road Baptist Chapel. He was President of the Nottingham Sunday School Union in 1882. His hobbies were the construction of organs and hymnology. He was fond of telling his experiences when as a youth he was apprenticed to the late William Dearden, printer and bookseller, and churchwarden of St. Mary's. At that time (1842) the tower of the church showed signs of falling, and he, the indoor apprentice of the churchwarden, had to watch, and report on the danger and the steps taken to prevent the feared mischief. In after life he was fond of travel on the continent, and, being extremely careful to show reverence in Roman Catholic churches, he was at Rheims shown an underground church of the second century. A well read man, of cultivated tastes, his "den," as he called his study, was filled with books of value. He considered that he was the twelfth or thirteenth generation from the Rev. John Rogers, who, as Thomas Matthew, translated the Bible, and was burnt as a martyr at Smithfield, in 1555. Mr. Rogers' collection of old Bibles was, after his death, sold at Sotheby's, and nine of them fetched a total of £532 10s. Od. The so-called "Matthew" Bible was bought by the Quaritch firm for £205. A nearly perfect copy of the first issue of the "Authorised Bible," 1611, brought £160, and the "Bishops'" Bible of 1568, £64. HENRIETTA CAREY who died on July 28th, 1920, was the grand-daughter of Alderman George Carey, who before the building of Wesley Chapel in Broad Street, Nottingham, lived in the mansion in Heathcote Street (then Beck Lane) and the site of the huge chapel was the "vista" to the house. One of his daughters Sophia, married Philip James Bailey, the author of "Festus." The eldest son of the Alderman was HENRY CAREY, who died in 1894 and who was one of the builders of the chapel referred to, and for a long generation was one of its main pillars, he having two classes of young men to whose welfare he devoted much time. General Booth was a member of his class. Henry Carey had two sons and five daughters. One of the former, William Henry Carey, was Sheriff of Nottingham in 1907 and his wife has long been actively connected with the Young Women's Christian Association. All the daughters of Henry Carey entered heartily into social work, but Henrietta Carey excelled. For nearly half a century she was fully occupied in social and religious work, not by fits and starts, but with the regularity of the clock, yet without its limitations, for method was life to her, and her name might well have been Duty. Her work was largely connected with two Societies, namely, "The Nottingham Town and County Social Guild," and the "Nottingham and Notts. Convalescent Homes," with both of which she continued to work until her death. In 1875-6 the former Society was founded by her sisters and herself, with Mrs. Bowman-Hart and others. Its object was the social betterment of the people, and much of the work undertaken in its earlier years has since been incorporated in the ordinary operations of the Corporation, the Board of Guardians, and other bodies. Charity Organization, Convalescent Homes, a Provident Society, a Wood-carving Class, a blanket loan association, rent collecting of cottage houses, a sanitary association joining an interest in the domestic and social welfare of the tenants, one branch of the work being the arranging of competitions for the cleanest homes, the prettiest window flower boxes, etc., by means of which many workmen's dwellings were transformed. Of the Convalescent Homes at Castle Donnington and at or near Skegness she was the controller for many years, and worked incessantly in connection with them. "Life's race well run, Life's crown well won, Now cometh rest." EMMA KNIGHT was the sister of Mr. William E. Knight, J.P. of Newark, and became the wife of the Rev. James E. Moulton, one of four distinguished sons of the Rev. James E. Moulton, a Wesleyan Minister: the first—William F. becoming Head Master of Leys School, Cambridge, and a famous Greek Testament scholar: the second—John F., Senior Wrangler at Cambridge, and later Lord Moulton, G.C.B., F.R.S.: the third—Richard G, Professor of Literary Interpretation in the University of Chicago: and the fourth—James E., became a notable missionary known as "Moulton of Tonga." Miss Knight being the joint proprietor of a Ladies' School at Castle Donington, there met Mr. Moulton, and when he became a Wesleyan Minister, and was designated as a missionary to Fiji, but sent to Tonga, she in 1864 followed him, and they were married at Sydney. He founded a college of higher education, from the pupils of which all government officers were chosen, and he so trained a native choir that they rendered "The Messiah" with credit. He translated the Bible into the native tongue, and rendered other great services during forty-four years work, dying in 1909. His wife bore him three sons and three daughters, and one of the former wrote his father's biography. She died in 1920, aged eighty-two. THOMAS SHEPHERD, (d. 1924, aged 87) shoemaker, for some sixty-five years of his life was devoted to the work now carried on at Palin Street Baptist Chapel, Hyson Green, as chorister, teacher, deacon, superintendent of the Infants Sunday School, and he was always a reliable and constant worker. He taught in the Infants' Department until he was eighty-three years of age. He received from the Sunday School Union the gold diploma for long service. One of his scholars was the present minister of the church, who preached his "Funeral Sermon" from the text, "He was a good man." In business he was always dependable, and in disposition "sweet reasonableness" was his aim.
i don't know
Which two word titled film of 1971 sees Barry Newman as a car delivery seviceman named Kowalski who takes control of a 1970 Dodge Challenger car to take him from Colorado to San Francisco?
VISUP: April 2015 -- Primal Scream , " Long Life " Welcome to the third and final installment in my examination of the 1971 cult road movie Vanishing Point . With the first installment I briefly addressed the curious backgrounds of several of the individuals involved in the film as well as its enigmatic opening moments. With part two I began to get into the film in earnest, and broke down the early symbolism associated with its two lead characters, Kowalski ( Barry Newman ) and Super Soul ( Cleavon Little ). Effectively the former is a veteran and ex-police officer who had washed out of race car driving and has been coasting through life as a car delivery driver for the past few years. The latter is a blind African-American DJ operating from Goldfield, Nevada and a man with more than a few metaphysical leanings. Kowalski embarks upon what is seemingly a pointless cross country chase with police in Colorado, Nevada and California (Utah seems to have mysteriously vanished in this film) while Super Soul aids him via the airwaves. Kowalski (top) and Super Soul (bottom) For years this film has typically been dismissed as a "B-movie," but instances such as Super Soul referencing Brahman and his seeming ability to communicate with Kowalski telepathically in a film that largely goes for gritty realism tipped off the more astute viewers that there was something strange about this picture. This has led to a reevaluation of the film in recent years that hailed it as a classic of 1970s nihilism and existentialism even if it was allegedly "dated." In point of fact, this film has aged remarkably well and even seems down right prophetic in parts (especially in how Kowalski's chase becomes a gross media spectacle, thus echoing the rise of reality TV). And while the film certainly has its fair amount of nihilism and existentialism, these labels are far to narrow to encompass such a sweeping film. In point of fact, this film is a kind of psychodrama in which many motifs of the most ancient myths are transplanted into a fairly contemporary American setting. I already began to delve into this a bit in the prior installment and shall continue on that particular course here. So let's get to it. The chase begins at some point in Colorado when Kowalski refuses to pull over a for a motorcycle cop. This leads to a chase involving another officers that Kowalski easily wins. Soon other police officers join the chase and Kowalski finds himself using a construction zone and either lane on the highway to allude them. During this series of encounters he passes the exit sign for No Name, Colorado and even uses No Name Creek during one instance in the film. The use of No Name here is most interesting as Kowalski's first name is never revealed throughout the film. In the ancient world names were thought to hold tremendous power. "It should also be observed that some aspects of the invocation of the Name derived from the symbolism of sound and language. In fact, in Indian teaching, the Name (nama) is no different from the sound (shabda). The name of something is 'the sound produced by the activity of the mobile forces which comprise it....' Furthermore, to pronounce a name is in some sense effectually to 'create' or 'present' it. Name (nama) and form (rupa) determine its nature. Hence it is simple to deduce that naming a person or thing is the same as taking control of them. For this reason the Ancient Chinese attached enormous importance to the correct designation since the universal order derived from them. The School of Names ... carried these consequences to their extremes. Genesis 2: 19 also states that Adam was entrusted with the task of naming all living creatures. This was to grant him power over them and this power remains one of the characteristics of the paradisal state. "The ancient Egyptians believed that 'the personal name was much more than a means of identification.' It was an essential part of the person. The Egyptians believed in the creative and compelling power of the word. The name was a living thing.' All characteristics of the symbol recur in names. (1) They are 'full of significance'; (2) when writing or speaking the name of a person, that person 'is given life and survival,' which corresponds to the dynamics of the symbol; (3) knowledge of the name 'gives power' over that person, which corresponds to the magical aspects, the mysterious bond of the symbol. Knowledge of the name is part of the ritual of conciliation, casting spells, destroying, taking possession of and so on, and the phrase 'his name will no more be among the living' was the most extreme form of  the death-sentence... "Belief in the power of the name was not something exclusively Chinese, Egyptian or Jewish, it is part of primitive thought-processes. To know a name and to utter it correctly is to be able to exercise power over a person or thing..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 694) Kowalski's name is seemingly unutterable as well. A police officer reading out his background remarks "Christian name, Christian name my flat foot, what is that?" after searching for a first name. In a celebrated deleted scene featuring Charlotte Rampling as a mysterious hitchhiker, Kowalski states "first, last and only" when questioned about his full name. As with many things concerning the film, it drops no hint as to why Kowalski only goes by one name and how he has managed to conceal the full extent of his name. In our present society the knowledge of an individual's full name certainly gives authority figures a certain power over the individual, but Kowalski's record is largely open (aside from his time as a cop) outside of his name. Perhaps he does indeed put stock in the ancient notion that knowing something's true name grants power over it. But moving along. In the midst of his initial confrontation with the police Kowalski flashes back to his time as a motorcycle racer. During this sequence the number 28 is prominently displayed on the back of Kowalski's jacket and is clearly his racing number. The number 28 is typically associated with the moon due to the 28-day, 13-month calendar that was in use during the ancient lunar civilizations. It does, however, have some interesting solar associations. "That the Osirian year originally consisted of thirteen twenty-eight day months, with one day over, is suggested by the legendary length of Osiris's reign, namely twenty-eight years – years in mythology often stand for days, and days for years – and by the numbers of pieces into which he was torn by Set, namely thirteen apart from his phallus which stood for the extra day. When Isis reassembled the pieces, the phallus had disappeared, eaten by a letos-fish. This accounts for the priestly fish-taboo in Egypt, relaxed only one day in the year." (The White Goddess, Robert Graves, pg. 381n)  Osiris Osiris was very much a solar figure (at least in his latter incarnations) despite his association with the lunar calendar. His dismemberment and reassembly by Isis is a metaphor for the initiatory process that the candidate undergoes. As was noted in part two , Kowalski is very much a solar figure and one who seems to have undergone a kind of incomplete initiation. In this context his association with the number twenty eight is then quite apt. Nor is the appearance of 28 in this particular flashback Kowalski's only link to the number as well. The license plate for his Dodge Challenger is OA-5599. The numbers 5599 add up to 28. The appearance of the numbers five and nine are interesting here as well. Five is the number of balance and harmony as well as the symbol of humanity itself. It also stands for the phenomenal world, something Kowalski is attempting to escape. The associations with the number nine is even more interesting. Consider: "Since three is the number of innovation, its square stands for universality. It is significant that, in so many folktales drawn from all over the world, the  supernumerary, infinity, is expressed by such  repetitions of the number nine as the 999,999 Fravashis who, the Ancient Iranians believed, watched over the semen of Zoroaster, from which all prophets were to spring. The ouroboros, the serpent which bites its own tail and the image of the return of the manifold to the one and hence of primeval and of final Oneness, is related geographically to the way the number nine is denoted in many alphabets such as the Tibetan, Persian, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arminian and so on. The mystical meaning of nine relates it, too, to what the Sufis term haqq, the final stage of the way, bliss leading to fana, the annihilation of the individual and the rediscovery of the whole, or, as Allendy has it, 'the loss of personality in universal love.' Indian tradition defines more clearly the redemptive meaning of the symbol nine through the nine successive incarnations of Vishnu who, each time, offered his life for the salvation of mankind. Similarly, according to the Gospels, Jesus was crucified at the third hour; his death agonies began at the sixth hour (dusk), and he died in the ninth hour. Claude de Saint-Martin considered that in nine the physical body and all its properties were annihilated. Allendy concludes that Freemasons have made it the internal number of immortality, nine masters discovering the grave and body of Hiram... "Nine being the last of a series of figures heralds both an end and a fresh beginning, that is to say, a removal to a new plane. This notion of rebirth and germination in association with that of death is, as we have shown, recurring in the concepts of symbolic properties of the number held in several different cultures. As the last of the numbers in the manifested universe, it starts the phase of transmutations. It gives expression to the end of the cycle, the completion of a journey, the tying of a knot." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 705-705) This is certainly most fitting for Kowalski's circumstances as the film opens and indeed he is in a cycle that serves as both an end and a beginning and one that will include both death and rebirth. In addition to the license's plate number, Kowalski also sports the closely related number three on his race car. But moving along. At one point during Kowalski' trek in Colorado he is challenged by a fellow motorist in a Jaguar. Kowalski predictably wins in good order by beating the Jaguar to a one way bridge and forcing the vehicle into a near by river bed as his Challenger clears the bridge. A Dodge Challenger is of course a most apt vehicle for Kowalski as he is indeed a challenger and the presence of a Jaguar at this juncture is also interesting. The animal for which the car is anted has some interesting symbolic associations. "The Maya... regarded the jaguar as being, above all, a god of the underworld, the highest incarnation of the internal powers of the Earth. The jaguar was the god of the number nine, a manifestation of the land 'below.' As lord of that Underworld he sometimes undertook the duties of conductor of souls. At dusk, the Earth is depicted as swallowing the sun, the letter within the open jaws of a jaguar. Lastly the jaguar became a solar deity corresponding with the sun's night journey. When the sun is depicted as a jaguar it is the black sun." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 551) Kowalski racing the Jaguar As was noted in part two , Kowalski bears many of the characteristic of the solar savior. And indeed the Jaguar did attempt to figuratively devour him, but he escapes from its clutches. But the moment does provide a key point in Kowalski's (the sun) journey for he still finds the humanity to stop and check on the driver despite approaching police cars. When Kowalski arrives in Nevada things really start getting fun. After some more games with the police, Kowalski seeks refuge in the desert. He takes the Challenger off road and precedes to wander aimlessly for hours. The desert is of course littered with associations. It is both a place of demons and enlightenment, a concept incorporated into Christianity via Christ's forty days in the desert and the temptations of Saint Anthony , among others. In Egyptian mythos the desert was closely associated with Set , the revival of Osiris. As Kowalski is linked with Osiris, this is most apt. Set As Kowalski wanders the desert, he retraces his path. The Challenger forms pristine X's against the barren backdrop. The represents a reoccurrence of the crossroads motif first discussed in the second installment of this series. at the crossroads again Eventually Kowalski comes upon a grizzled Prospector ( Dean Jagger ). He saves the driver from a rattlesnake and then assists Kowalski in hiding his vehicle from a police helicopter. The Prospector delivers his musings in a highly eccentric manner, at times hinting mental instability, but always making a certain kind of sense. This figure is a prototype of the " wise old man " archetype. "The frequency with which the spirit-type appears as an old man is about the same in fairytales as in dreams. The old man always appears when the hero is in a hopeless and desperate situation from which only profound reflection or a lucky idea – in other words, a spiritual function or an endopsychic automatism of some kind – can extricate him. But since, for internal and external reasons, the hero cannot accomplish this himself, the knowledge needed to compensate the deficiency comes in the form of a personified thought , i.e., in the shape of this sagacious and helpful man..." (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, CG Jung, pgs. 217-218) A few paragraphs later Jung further elaborates on the wise old man archetype, noting: "Often the old man in fairytales ask questions like who? why? whence? and whether? for the purpose of inducing self reflection and mobilizing the moral forces, and more often still he gives the necessary magical talisman, the unexpected and improbable power to succeed, which is one of the peculiarities of the unified personality in good or bad alike. But the intervention of the old man – the spontaneous objectivation of the archetype – would seem to be equally indispensable, since the conscious will by itself is hardly ever capable of uniting the personality to the point where it acquires this extraordinary power to succeed. For that, not only in fairytales but in life generally, the objective intervention of the archetype is needed, which checks the purely affective reactions with a chain of inner confrontations and realizations. These cause the who? where? how? why? to emerge clearly and in this wise bring knowledge of the immediate situation as well as the goal. The resultant enlightenment and untying of the fatal tangle often has something  positively magical about it – an experience not unknown to the psychotherapist. "The tendency of the old man to set one thinking also takes the form of urging people to 'sleep on it.' Thus he says to the girl who is searching for her lost brothers: 'Lie down:  morning is cleverer than evening.' He also sees through the gloomy situation of the hero who has got  himself into trouble, or at least can give him such information as will help him on his journey..." (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, CG Jung, pgs. 220-221) the prospector This is very much the role the Prospector plays in Vanishing Point. He appears just as Kowalski seems to have lost confidence in his actions and he does indeed give him a variation on "sleep on it": After becoming aware of an approaching police helicopter, the Prospector tells Kowalski that the best away to get away from something is to dig in. Kowalski follows this advise literally, and uses the desert to camouflage the Challenger so that the police helicopter is unable to spot. Later on, as Kowalski realizes he cannot physically elude the police and society at large, he seems to opt for the Kingdom within, as the old 13th Floor Elevators song proclaims. But more on that in a moment. After helping Kowalski avoid the police the Prospector takes him to a fringe  Pentecostal sect holding a revival service in the desert so as to procure gas for the Challenger. The leader of this sect is referred to as "J. Hovah" ( Severn Darden ) and had previously worked his trade by speaking in tongues to poisonous snakes. But now the revival camp is no longer interested in the snakes as it has a rock band to perform for the congregation instead. Superficially this sequence is clearly meant as a dig at the then-emerging Jesus freak movement , which was fast pushing the hippies out of California at the time. Many perceived the Jesus freak movement as a reactionary counter to the 1960s counterculture as well as a commercialization of Christianity. Both prospects are entertained in Vanishing Point. Despite peace and love symbols all over the revival and a multiracial band, J. Hovah chastises the Prospector for bringing a stranger to the revival, reminding him that their meetings are closed to the public. And while previously the congregation had expressed its faith by handling and communicating with deadly snakes, now they simply listen to the feel good sounds of the (highly fashionable) house band. The Prospector naturally gives Kowalski a few final words of wisdom before they go their separate ways. From there Kowalski makes for the California border, but stops after he encounters a biker on the highway named Angel ( Timothy Scott ) who offers him some speed. The name of this character proves to be quite apt for he becomes a kind of guardian angel for Kowalski, guiding him past a police road block and into the Golden State. But before all of that Angel takes Kowalski back to his groovy little hippie pad in the desert where his girlfriend ( Gilda Texter ) rides around naked upon a motorcycle. After hooking up Kowalski with more bennies he takes off on his bike to check on the road to the border. Kowalski is left with the naked rider, who offers him anything he desires. Kowalski of course turns her advances down but accepts a "straight" smoke. While they're conversing Kowalski is shown standing before the side of building with an ankh prominently painted upon it. The symbolism of the ankh is quite apt for this juncture of the film. Consider: "Gods, kings and Isis (almost invariably) are depicted holding the ankh to show that they command the powers of life and death and that they are immortal. The dead also carry it at the time their souls are weighed ... Or when they are aboard the boat of the Sun God, as a sign that they seek the same immortality from the gods. Furthermore the ankh symbolized the spring from which flow divine virtues and the elixir of immortality. Therefore to hold the ankh was to drink from that well. It was sometimes held upside down by the loop – especially in funeral rites when it suggested the shape of a key and in reality was the key which opened the gateway of the tomb into the Fields of Aalu, the realm of eternity..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 27-28) And Kowalski is well on his way to immortality at this point -indeed, it is his only escape. By the time he reaches California he is obviously running out of West to elude the cops in. But beyond that, his escape has deteriorated into a gross media spectacle by this point. Reporters descend on Cisco , the location police have chosen for the final showdown, like locus determined to reduce Kowalski's run into another quirk of consumerism. He is thus fast becoming a parody of himself in addition to running out of physical space. After some brief ruminations he choses the only path of escape left to him --either suicide or ascension , depending upon one's point of view. Kowalski finds himself surrounding by police, with the raod before him blocked by two bulldozers. As he speeds towards the bulldozers a crack of light appears between the vehicles. This makes Kowalski break out into a wide smile and speed headlong into the dozers, sending the Challenger into an air-born fireball. This ending has long infuriated and baffled viewers in equal measures for both its suddenness and the seeming senselessness of it. But astute viewers have long surmised that there was more to this sequence than a suicide. note the light appearing between the two bulldozers, the actual "vanishing point" of the film's titleCertainly director Richard C. Sarafian seemed quite certain that something more profound than mere death unfolded in the film's final moments. In an interview towards the end of his life the director stated : "And so that was taken, again, from a concept that's maybe a little bit too esoteric, in terms of a German mathematician by the name of Möbius who wrote about time as a strip; he took a ribbon and twisted it and then tied the ends together; what you get is an elliptical band.  So that the end of it, that there is no end to the road, that we go on, and to another dimension maybe.  So it's very hopeful, maybe, very spiritual kind of--as far as that.  [Then studio head] Richard Zanuck said to me, 'Richard, does he die in the end?'  I told him, I said, 'Mr. Zanuck, it depends on your…your view.'  There was a second ending that was never added, which he wouldn't accept.  And that ending was that when Kowalski heads for the crack between the two bulldozers…it was soundless.  And visually it's the same, but Super Soul goes, 'Yeah,' and celebrates the moment.  So when he screened the picture, he said 'Oh, Richard, he's got to die.'  I said, 'Well, OK, Mr. Zanuck.' And I think the spirit, at least in terms of what I wanted to say was, you know, as Kim Carnes sings in the end credits, 'Nobody knows, nobody sees, till the light of life is ended and another soul goes free.'  Now, if I tried to explain that to the head of a studio, they'd throw a net over you. So for me it was like sneaking under the tent while the devil had his back turned. What I think is that maybe I've allowed the audience to see it through their own prism in terms of what it's about, you know." Suicide, while rare, was occasionally practiced by Gnostics and Cathars and even Jainists and  Buddhists . In the case of the former two ideologies, there was a perception of the material world as evil and death as relief from this earthly hell. The Cathars had a ritual known as Endura that was a kind of suicide trough fasting occasionally practiced, for instance. Kowalski himself has also reached such conclusions concerning the material world by this point and choses to depart his mortal coil. Tellingly, there does not appear to be a body in the Challenger when police are finally able to go through the wreckage. And it is here that I shall wrap things up. Hopefully this series has inspired its readers to give this forgotten classic of 70s cinema another viewing. And don't stop there --the Primal Scream album inspired by the film that was mentioned in the first installment makes an excellent companion piece. And with that I shall sign off for now --Until next time dear readers. -" Star ", Primal Scream Welcome to the second installment in my examination of the legendary 1971 cult road movie Vanishing Point . The picture follows an enigmatic protagonist named Kowalski ( Barry Newman ) as he travels west in a supped up Dodge Challenger avoiding police obstacles along the way. The film is often described as "nihilistic" and " existential " due the seeming pointlessness of Kowalski's situation: he is effectively in an impossible race in which he has no chance of victory that is entirely of his own creation. But, as I began to ramble on in the first installment , its rather narrow to dismiss this film as simply "existential" and down right criminal to knock it as "another B-movie." In point of fact, this film has a deep esoteric context that has rarely been explored by "serious" film fans. Also noted in the first installment was the curious background of some of the players involved in the film as well as its curious opening moments. I left off with the celebrated freeze frame in which Kowalski seems to pass himself in the Dodge Challenger as an earlier version of himself in a black Chrysler crosses his path. From there the film, which opened on a Sunday morning in Cisco, California , cuts back to Friday night in Denver, Colorado as Kowalski is delivering the black Chrysler to the auto delivery service that he is employed by. Of special interest to the astute viewer is the name of this car delivery service: Argo's Car Delivery. The word " Argo " is of course quite mythologically loaded due to the tale of Jason and the Argonauts . The name of the ship that carried Jason and his merry band was of course Argo, and this brings up some interesting associations. "The ship that would carry the band of fifty sailors, all the available heroes of the generation before the Trojan War, was, like the talking Ram, itself a piece of inspiration. It was the first ship of that size ever constructed, or if not the first, at least the second:  for some tellers recalled that the fifty Danaid maidens, who were pursued up from Africa by the fifty sons of Egypt, must  have had ships of similar size, to sail the narrow waters of the subterranean aquifer to the surface at the sacred Spring of Lerna, on the coast just south of Argos. Yes, what coincidence! Argos, the town that bears the name of the herder of the estrual cow maiden Io; and Argo, itself merely the feminine of the same name, for ships are female. And no ordinary ship was the Argo, for like the Ram, it spoke, resounding and offering counsel: Athena had brought a timber oak from Zeus's prophetic growth at Dodona to be fashioned into the masthead. A relic of it, as it was thought, still existed at the time of the Latin poets Martial, over millennium and a half later. And numbered amongst the crew was the prophet Orpheus, by all accounts an unlikely shipmate in such a company of athletic heroes, except for his experience as a shaman. "The name of the ship was derived from argos, meaning 'glistening,' which could also describe something so fast that all you see is a glistening blur, a flickering of light, but glistening is the primary significance, reflecting light, sleek and plump white, amongst other things – a cow; or like the bright 'eyes' of the 'All-eyed' Panoptes, the epithet of the herder Argos, who is named for the this glistening vision, with his hundred eyes..." (The Apples of Apollo, Ruck, Staples, Heinrich, pgs. 112-113) The association of argos with glistening and white is especially appropriate for the Dodge Challenger that Kowalski departs from the car delivery agency with. And like the mythological Argo, the Challenger at times appears to talk to Kowalski via its radio, specifically through a (telepathic) dialogue he has with a blind DJ known as Super Soul ( Cleavon Little ). Its also interesting to note that the above-mentioned Io had been a priestess of Hera in the town of Argos before she was seduced by Zeus and promptly turned into a cow after the goddess became aware of the affair. The radio station Super Soul operates out of is called KOW, pronounced "cow." But more on that in a moment. Jason himself is especially apt for Kowalski as well for the chief Argonaut was closely associated with the sun. "... The story of the Ark is probably derived from an Asianic icon in which the Spirit of the Solar Year is shown in a moon-ship, going through his habitual New Year changes – bull, lion, snake and so on; and the story of the Whale from a similar icon showing the same Spirit being swallowed at the end of the year by the Moon-and-Sea-goddess, represented as a sea-monster, to be presently re-born as  a New Year fish, or finned goat. The sea-monster Tiamat who, in early Babylonian mythology, swallowed the Sun-god Marduk (but whom he later claimed to have killed with his sword) was used by the author of the Book of Jonah to symbolize the power of the wicked city, mother of harlots, that swallowed and then spewed up the Jews. The icon, a familiar one on the Eastern Mediterranean, survived in Orphic art, where it represented a ritual ceremony of initiation: the initiate was swallowed by the Universal Mother, the sea-monster, and re-born as an incarnation of the Sun-god. (On one Greek vase the Jonah-like figure is named Jason, because the history of his voyage in the Argo had by that time been attached to the signs of the zodiac around which the sun makes its annual voyage...)" (The White Goddess, Robert Graves, pgs. 480)  Jason As was noted in part one , Kowalski has undergone a kind of incomplete initiation at the onset of the film, one of the heroic variety. He is closely associated with the sun, making him a kind of solar savior, as was Jason . The solar savior myth has been present in Western culture for centuries now and has become especially prevalent in the post-WWII years in these United States. The great Christopher Knowles breaks it down thus : "The defining hallmark of our modern mythology, and a theme we've looked at in depth on this blog, is the Solar Savior. Again, this is a theme taken from the ancient Mystery cults and midwifed into our modern culture through secret societies and occult groups. "More precisely, the rolue of solar savior corresponds to the Age of Horus, announced by Aleister Crowley in the early 20th Century. His prophecies of the Age have been remarkably accurate in many ways, less so in others. "As I wrote in Our Gods Wear Spandex, the solar savior theme burst back into the public consciousness via heroes like Superman and Captain Marvel, both explicitly and consciously modeled on Hercules, the most widely regarded solar savior of the pre-Christian world, a figure whose fame survived the Church and was acknowledged by groups as disparate as Egyptian and Phoenican pagans, Gnostics, and Medieval Alchemists. Hercules was a symbol of inspiration for Renaissance painters, a symbol of a reawakened Europe.  "The Italian sword and sandal movies, which enjoyed a great deal of success in the late 50s and early 60s brought a tidal wave of pagan imagery and myth-themes to the mass consciousness and are under-valued in today's culture.   "The rich and lusty paganism they invigorated postwar culture with was swamped by dreary, life-denying materialism and postmodernism in the mid to late 60s and 70s, but their influence simply fed into junk culture; heavy metal, sword and sorcery gaming, novels and comics and other pursuits unnoticed by the cosmopolitan mindset that dominated respectable discourse. Concurrent with the sword and sandal craze was the Tolkien revival. Needless to say these sword and sandal films were filled with solar saviors such as Hercules and Jason." Hercules , easily the most well known solar savior Vanishing Point of course came out right in the midst of this craze and it seems that on some level the creative team behind the film was well aware of the film's ties to some of humanity's most ancient story telling. Some may object to my linking Kowalski, who is often described as a thoroughly nihilistic protagonist (or even anti-hero) to the solar heroes of old, but I think this would be a mistake. It is not, after all, Kowalski who is nihilistic so much as the materialistic hell he finds himself trapped in. The occupations that Kowalski has consistently sought out --soldier, police man, race driver --are all careers requiring ample amounts of heroism (at least in theory). And throughout the film, Kowalski is shown as a figure with a firmly entrenched code of honor --he blows this whistle on the corrupt police department he works for, he always stops to check on the well being of drivers who crash trying to catch him, etc. The problem is that the world he inhabits has no honor --the war he fights in is one driven by greed and corruption, as is the police department he works for. His career as an race driver is nothing but a gross consumerist spectacle in which the audience is only moved by the sight of crashing cars. If anything, Kowalski is an old school hero driven by higher principals who is condemned to a world of nihilism and godless materialism. And this is the underlining factor that drives his endless search for more speed. And that brings up one final point that should be made about the mythological Jason before moving along. Kowalski Jason was also what researchers Carl A.P. Ruck , Blaise Daniel Staples and Clark Heinrich dubbed a "drug man" in their brilliant The Apples of Apollo due to the obvious parallels the Argonauts myths have with the ritualistic use of entheogens . Kowalski himself does not dabble in entheogens (outside one incident that occurs during Charlotte Ramping 's deleted scene) but he is surely a drug man as the next sequence reveals. On his way out of Denver Kowalski drops in on his drug dealer for more bennies before embarking upon his journey to the " Golden State " (har har). The dealer in turn is operating near store known as the "Drug Center." It is only after Kowalski has re-upped on bennies that his journey begins in earnest. From here the film shifts gears a bit and wanders to Goldfield, Nevada , where the film's other major character resides: "Super Soul," a blind DJ who broadcasts out of a local station known as KOW, as noted above. When we are first introduced to Super Soul, he is walking to work with the assistance of his trusty seeing-eye dog. A mountain is prominently displayed in the background as Super Soul makes his way through the sparsely populated streets of Goldfield. There is of course an air of the sage descending from the mountain a la Moses in this image. Nor is it the only curious symbol in this sequence. Naturally his station is located at a crossroads in the former boom town of Goldfield. Crossroads are of course loaded with symbolism. "The importance of the crossroads as a symbol is universal. It is connected with the essence of the crossroads itself, two paths intersecting to create the centre of the world, and the true centre of the world for whoever stands where they meet. Being the place of all places for revelations and manifestations, crossroads are haunted by spirits, generally terrifying, which it is in the interest of human beings to propitiate. Whatever the tradition, it was the custom to set up at crossroads obelisks, altars, stones, chapels and inscriptions, since they are places where people stopped to think. They are also places where one passes from one world to another, from one life to another and from life to death." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 257) It is of course most fitting that Super Soul crosses a crossroads before his life intersections with Kowalski's, whom he will some become closely connected to. And the location of KOW at a crossroads where the station is used to aid Kowalski in his journey from one world to another is especially apt. The same could also be said of the presence of a dog at Super Soul's side during his introductory sequence and at other points throughout the film. Dogs are associated with crossroads due to their ties to the Greek goddess Hekate . She was a threefold goddess and known as 'the Goddess of the Crossroads' among the Greeks. She was known to appear at times in the form of a she-wolf and dogs were frequently sacrificed in her honor at crossroads. Hekate Super Soul's blindness is also quite fitting for his character as well. Consider: "For some, blindness means ignorance of the real state of things, denial of the obvious and hence madness, stupidity and irresponsibility. To others,  the blind are those who ignore the deceitful shows of this world, and thanks to this are privileged to know its secret reality, too deeply buried to be discerned by ordinary humanity. The blind share the godhead, they are inspired: poets, wonder-workers, seers. Such, in short, are the two aspects, blessed and cursed, positive and negative, of the symbolism of blindness; and all traditions, myths and customs waiver between them. This means that blindness, which is often a punishment of the gods, bears some relation to the ordeals of initiation... Similarly folklore is full of blind musicians, bards and singers treated as inspired beings. "This is no doubt the reason why sculptors portrayed Homer as a blind man and tradition made blindness the symbol of the wandering poet, the rhapsodist, bard, trouvere and troubadour. Yet here again we keep within the bounds of allegory. Old men are also depicted as blind: in their case blindness symbolizes the wisdom of old age. Prophets are usually blind as well, as if their eyes needed to be closed to physical light for them to perceive the light of the godhead..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 99-100) Super Soul Super Soul is very much in the seer category as far as blindness goes. There is also a bit of the poet to his character as well as an echo of Homer , for he is the one who transforms Kowalski's story into the stuff of myths. And as a DJ he is associated with music throughout, his bard-ness thus covered. Despite being played by a younger actor the character bears many similarities to the wise old man archetype and is depicted as being very sage-like throughout the film. It is Super Soul, in touch with a higher reality, who guides our hero on his allegorical journey through the Valley of Death into the "Golden State" (which Super Soul mistakenly refers to as the Sunshine State as though the solar symbolism was not already obvious enough). Super Soul is very much an initiated figure as his name implies. His seeming ability to communicate to Kowalski telepathically is but one sign of the higher plane he exists upon. The desk in his DJ station is littered with impressive looking volumes as though he is constantly in search of more knowledge. Probably the most quoted lines from this film is a brief monologue delivered by Super Soul littered with metaphysical significance: "And there goes the Challenger, being chased by the blue, blue meanies on wheels. The vicious traffic squad cars are after our lone driver, the last American hero, the electric centaur, the, the demi-god, the super driver of the golden west! Two nasty Nazi cars are close behind the beautiful lone driver. The police numbers are gettin' closer, closer, closer to our soul hero, in his soul mobile, yeah baby! They about to strike. They gonna get him. Smash him. Rape... the last beautiful free soul on this planet... "But, it is written, if the evil spirit arms the tiger with claws, Braham provided the dove with wings. Thus spoke the super guru..." The researcher is unaware of where it is specifically written that Braham provided the dove with wings to counter the claws the tiger received from the evil spirit, but certainly there were not many road movie from around this time (or afterwards) in which Braham was invoked. Super Soul's description of Kowalski as "the electric centaur" is most interesting as well within symbolic context of the mythological creatures. "Iconographically, centaurs are generally depicted with an expression of sorrow on their faces. They symbolize lust, with all the brute violence which can reduce mankind to the level of beasts unless it is counterbalanced by spiritual strength. They are a striking image of the twofold nature of mankind --half god, half beast... They are the antithesis of the horseman, who tames and masters the elemental forces, while the centaurs, with the exception of Chiron and his brothers, are ruled by wild, untrammelled instinct. They are also an image of the unconscious, an unconscious which gains mastery of the personality, subjecting it to its own impulses and eliminating inner conflict." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 173) Kowalski is certainly a creature of instinct, driving the Challenger as though it were the lower part of his body. In a way then he is a true "electric centaur" and in desperate need of spiritual strength which Super Soul attempts to broadcast to Kowalski's "Soul mobile." And what of the golden West? Cerainly it has been at the heart of much speculation. "... the Mohave desert, which is, for the Freemasons, the cosmic graveyard of the West, the final destiny of Anubis, the celestial jackal, otherwise known as Sirius."  (Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare, Michael A. Hoffman II, pg. 54) We have already noted allusions to Sirius earlier. And of course Kowalski ventures into the Mohave later on the allude the cops. Is this then a trip into America's "cosmic graveyard"? These answers and more in the enxt installment dear reader. Stay tuned. --" Burning Wheel ," Primal Scream The 1971 road movie Vanishing Point is easily one of the most enigmatic films to spring from an especially fertile era. Your humble writer first became aware of it some time around 1997 when the Primal Scream album named after the film was released . This particular record would go on to become one of my all time favorite albums and it probably goes without saying, but I became most curious concerning its inspiration. It would be several years until I tracked down the film to which the Scream album was intended to be a kind of alternative soundtrack too, but I was not disappointed and have only gained more reverence for the film as the years have gone by and my tastes have become more esoteric-leaning. Superficially the movie is a kind of revved up take on Easy Rider , with ample doses of counterculture angst to supplement the film's legendary chase sequences. But while Rider still maintains a certain degree of reverence from aging baby boomers due to its (largely dated) social commentary, Point is usually dismissed as a minor cult movie mainly appealing only to B-movie fans and gearheads. This is a truly tragic state of affairs as Vanishing Point is not only better made and far more adrenaline inducing film, but also a far deeper one. Given the pedigree of some of the individuals behind Point, this is hardly surprising. Consider screenwriter "Guillermo Cain." This is actually a pseudonym for the legendary Cuban author  Guillermo Cabrera Infante . Infante's parents had been founding members of the Cuban Communist Party and during his youth had clashed with the Batista regime . After the Communist revolution, Infante was appointed head of the Instituto del Cine as well as Lunes de Revolución, a supplant to the Communist newspaper Revolución. By 1961 his star was beginning to fade, however. Infante was removed as head of the nation's film institute and Lunes de Revolución was shut down by Castro himself. From 1962 until 1965 he served as a Cuban cultural attache in Brussels before finally going into exile at the end of 1965. Infante  A year later he published the experimental, Joycean novel Tres Tristes Tigres that received extensive critical acclaim. Thus, by 1971 Infante was a prominent Cuban exile in addition to an emerging literary talent who had generated much respect and praise from "serious" cultural connoisseurs. That he would, at this point, opt to pen this bizarre, Kerouac -derived road movie has baffled many. Reportedly drastic changes were made to the film after filming began that greatly diminished the allegorical nature of the script. An old article from Car Review in which star Barry Newman had been extensively interviewed  noted : "[Newman:] 'I was in Austria filming The Salzburg Connection while they were editing Vanishing Point, and I received a call from my agent in New York. He had just seen a screening of Vanishing Point and said they cut it up and made it look like a "B" movie. They cut out the Rampling scenes because they were afraid the audience wouldn't understand what happened to the girl in the car; why was she suddenly not there? That was their explanation.' "In its final form, Vanishing Point bears little resemblance to the Guillermo Cain screenplay, which was loosely based on two real life events. The movie was released without the Rampling scenes, and the 107 minute version was never shown. Vanishing Point premiered in late January of 1971 in an edited state that bore little resemblance to the original version." Regardless, what ended up on screen still leaves the attune viewer with much to ponder. In addition to Infante, the film features another major curiosity behind the scenes: Its executive producer, Michael Pearson . Pearson's full name is Michael Orlando Weetman Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray. He is presently believed to be worth about half a billion dollars  (apparently the old boy has fallen on hard times of late as his estate was valued at nearly a billion only a few years ago) and is approximately the 65th richest person in the UK . Pearson has apparently worn many hats over the course of his life. He dabbled in farming and finance, having worked in the City of London . He also found the time to enlist in the British Army before he took up the mantle of film producer. Viscount Cowdray As the head of Cupid Productions he bequeathed to the world two films of note: Vanishing Point and Sympathy for the Devil , a documentary featuring the Rolling Stones and directed by the legendary French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard . The Stones have of course been the subject of much controversy and speculation during the heyday in the 1960s. They were of course linked to the notorious Laurel Canyon scene , as David McGowan explained before here . After 1971 Pearson seems to have retired from film all together, and has apparently focused on whatever interests extremely wealthy nobles may pursue. Reportedly he is a non-practicing Buddhist and has been a trustee of the Tibet House Trust for more than 20 years. Certainly the Viscount seems to have a keen interest in metaphysics, one of which he passed on to his children. In this context we may partly discern what would have drawn such a figure to what many perceive as a B-grade chase movie. Besides the enigmas of Infante and the Viscount, the film featured a highly skilled crew. Stunt coordinator and driver Carey Loftin is justly regarded as a legend. He first made waves with his work on Bullitt and would contribute his talents to a host of films such as The Getaway , The French Connection , Diamonds Are Forever , Big Trouble in Little China and many more. Then there was cinematographer John A. Alonzo, who would go on to be nominated for an Oscar several years later for his work on Chinatown . He would also shoot Scarface . Loftin (top) and Alonzo (bottom) But while Loftin and Alonzo went on to bigger and better things, director Richard C. Sarafian and star Barry Newman were not so fortunate despite the stellar work of either on the film. Sarafian, a longtime associate of Robert Altman who married the famed director's sister, would see his career fade away into irrelevancy with a slew of mediocre genre pictures during the late 1970s and 1980s. Sarafian, an Armenian, never seems to have tackled an esoteric film again. Sarafian Star Barry Newman did not fair much better. A stag actor, Newman would first gain acclaim for the 1970 film The Lawyer before taking the leading role in Vanishing Point the next year. Newman was not Sarafian's original choice, but rather Gene Hackman . The studio preferred an unknown, however, and Newman got the call. His turn as Kowalski is easily the actor's most iconic role, one of which he never came close to emulating. Newman would continue to appear in film's sporadically for the next few decades in between work on the stage and television. Its telling that his most well known part outside of Vanishing Point is in The Limey , a role that consciously played homage to Newman's work on Vanishing Point. Barry Newman sporting his Kowalski shades in The Limey So while Sarafian and Newman would never be able to catch lightening in a bottle again, they were certainly the right individuals for the time and place in which Vanishing Point was brought to life. And lightening it is. The picture concerns Kowalski (Newman), a veteran, former cop and race car driver now reduced to working as a car delivery man. One day he seems to suffer a breakdown and takes off on a high speed chase that eventually encompasses three states before his final showdown with police in California. The iconic ending of the film has both startled, perplexed and angered viewers in equal measures for years and has spawned much ruminating. Superficially it seems utterly senseless, but then again, so is everything about the film. After all, Kowalski doesn't even need to make the run in the first place. He arrives in Denver around midnight on Friday dropping off his latest charge. His boss, Sandy, begs him to take the weekend off and come back on Monday, but Kowalski insists on immediately heading out on another run. Sandy gives in and hands over the keys to a supped up Dodge Challenger and a Monday deadline for delivering the vehicle to San Francisco. This is of course ample time for the run, but then Kowalski drops in on his drug dealer for some more bennies . In the process he makes a bet that he can deliver the vehicle in San Francisco by 3:00 PM the next day --roughly fourteen hours for a drive that is apparently close to twenty in this day and age. Kowalski's drug dealer is not especially enthusiastic about the wager and tries to talk him out of it but to no avail --Kowalski sets off on a voyage in which his objective can only be accomplished by driving like a bat out of hell. The stage is thus set for the epic chase that follows, even though Kowalski is seemingly the only one who understands the logic of the whole ordeal. Kowalski scoring some speed At least, on a practical, materialistic plane. But when one begins to analyze the symbolism and commentary present throughout the film, a profound esoteric meaning becomes evident. The viewer is tipped off to this from a very early on. The picture opens at the literal ending, in the town of Cisco, California where a roadblock is being prepared for Kowalski. Spectators are gathering as are the media. Amusingly a CBS news van is prominently displayed at this juncture --CBS of course having a logo that bears some resemblance to the All Seeing Eye . This may be intentional as the All Seeing Eye is closely linked to the Third Eye , the symbolism of which in its Hindu form is especially appropriate for Vanishing Point. "Unifying perception is the function of the 'third eye,' the eye in Shiva's forehead. If the two bodily eyes correspond to the Sun and the Moon, the third eye corresponds to fire.  Its glance reduces everything to ashes. In other words, simultaneity, its expression of a non-dimensional present, destroys manifestation. This is the 'Eye of Wisdom'  (prajnachaksus) or  Buddhist 'Eye of Dharma' (dharmachaksus) which is set on the bounds of unity and multiplicity, of emptiness and non-emptiness, and is therefore able to apprehend them simultaneously. It is, in fact, an organ of inward vision and, as such, an exteriorizationof the 'eye of the heart.' This unitive vision is expressed in Islam by the 'breaking of the barriers of the two eyes' of the letter ha, it's two curlicues being symbols of duty and division. The third eye is indicative of a superhuman state, one in which clairvoyance has achieved its perfection as well, at a higher level, as a share in the properties of the Sun." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 363) the CBS van Kowalski seems to exist in a kind of superhuman state in which he forgoes virtually all material needs --food, drink, rest, sex --save for bennies. He also displays a telepathic connection with another illuminated soul (har har) as the film unfolds. What's more, Kowalski is very much linked to the Sun throughout the film and is thus a kind of solar hero . But more on that later. After witnessing the massive road block California police have set for him in Cisco, Kowalski briefly tries to allude the pursuing patrol cars before retreating into the desert. There he briefly stops in an abandoned auto yard to contemplate his options. This setting effectively doubles as a graveyard and it is thus quite fitting that Kowalski appears to accept his fate here amongst these tombs of chrome. The tomb, of which these abandoned cars certainly evoke, has at times been associated with rebirth. "Jung related the tomb to the female archetype, like everything which embraces or enfolds. It is a place of safety, birth, growth and comfort. The tomb is the place in which the body either changes into spirit or prepares for its rebirth. Yet it is also the abyss in to which the being is swallowed up in ineluctable and transitory darkness. The mother and her symbols are both loving and fearful. "Dreaming of tombs betrays a graveyard within – repressed desires, lost loves, failed ambitions, memories of happier times and so on. They seem dead but, in psychological terms, are not completely dead, they lead a twilit life in the tombs of the unconscious..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 1014)  While Kowalski does not dream of tombs, here he surrounds himself with symbolic ones. They quite aptly allude to the back story that will unfold over the course of the film detailing Kowalski's lost love, failed ambitions and happier times. In a sense this sequence thus represents Kowalski's final break with his past. He is now ready to move on to the next stage and returns to the Challenger in preparation for it. Kowalski contemplates his options in the junk (grave) yard with the rising sun prominently in the background From this point he races back to the road block, his final destination set. As he closes in on it a black Chrysler approaches from the other direction. The screen freezers and contrasts Kowalski's white Challenger as it prepares to pass the black Chrysler. There is of course the obvious foreboding of death that the black vehicle proclaims as well as the black and white symbolism of the two cars. Reportedly the color white was chosen for the Dodge Challenger purely to make it stand out and  easily visible to the audience and has no symbolic significance . And yet Kowalski is shown in a white shirt (along with blue jeans) throughout the film as well. This is in keeping with the theme of rebirth present throughout the film --candidates for an initiatory rebirth were frequently outfitted in pure white garments. Kowalski approaching the black vehicle at this juncture also echoes the alchemical conception of putrefaction, which was frequently symbolized by black. "In alchemy is found again the perpetuation of the Universal Mystery; for surely as Jesus died upon the cross, Hiram (CHiram) at the west gate of the Temple, Orpheus on the banks of the river Hebros, Christna on the banks of the Ganges, and Osiris in the coffin prepared by Typhon, so in alchemy, unless the elements first die, the Great Work cannot be achieved. The stages of the alchemical procession can be traced in the lives and activities of nearly all the world Saviors and teachers, and also among the mythologies of several nations. It is said in the Bible that 'except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' In alchemy it is declared that without putrefaction the Great Work cannot be accomplished. What is it that dies on the cross, is buried in the tomb of the Mysteries, and that dies also in the retort and becomes black with putrefaction? Also, what is it that does the same thing in the nature of man, that he may rise again, phoenix-like, from his own ashes (caput mortuum)?" (The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall, pg. 506) Presumably Kowalski had discerned the answers to these questions before his own immolation. In this context then the black Chrysler is not just an omen of his pending death, but also the rebirth that shall soon follow it. The film adds a further layer of subtext to this image by making the Challenger disappear before the Chrysler and then cutting to Denver on Friday night just as Kowalski is getting into town with his prior charge. It is thus revealed that Kowalski is also the driver the Chrysler and that in the freeze frame he was confronted with both his past and future. One is reminded of the symbolism of the ouroboros in this instance as Kowalski seems to be consuming his own tail in a closed cycle of development in which his flight never ends, but is repeated over and over gain for all eternity. the two cars approaching one another There is of course an element of the legend of Sisyphus in this image as well and this is no doubt one of the chief reasons why this film is often described as "existential ." Is Kowalski, like the protagonist of the famed existential comedy Groundhog Day , condemned to repeat his cross state chase over and over gain for eternity, or till he at least gets it right? I suspect not, with this image chiefly symbolizing what Kowalski is escaping from. Thus it is a kind of final goodbye to the life he knew and the material plane on the whole. It is also the inevitable end of an initiatory journey. And Kowalski himself is very much an initiate, though he almost surely did not intentionally set out to be one. Throughout the film it is implied that Kowalski's life changed decisively because of his time in Vietnam, where he was wounded in combat. Clearly this was a transforming moment and one that lead to a certain kind of initiation. "...  It follows that we find a gap analogous to that which exists between initiation and  investiture. Investiture corresponds to what in the West was knightly ordination and to what in other areas was the ritual initiation typical of the warrior caste; initiation (a realization of a more direct, individual, and inner nature) corresponds to heroic action in a traditional, sacral sense, which is connected to doctrine such as that of the 'holy war' and of the mors triumphalis." (Revolt Against the Modern World, Julius Evola, pg. 79) In other words Kowalski has inadvertently undergone what is known as a heroic initiation, one of which typically brought about by combat and much revered by left-hand path practitioners such as the vile Baron Julius Evola . But in this case Kowalski realized the conflict that brought about his initiation was anything but holy, leaving the process incomplete. Since that time Kowalski seemingly attempted to recapture the moment he experienced in war over and over again --as a police officer, as a race driver, an "auto clown" and finally as an outlaw. This has led many critics to dismiss Kowalski as simply a thrill junkie trying to replicate the high he experienced in Vietnam. And this explanation may well have sufficed had the film been a mere "B-movie" and not littered with the allegorical symbolism that it is. But these signs point to something far deeper than speed that Kowalski is searching though speed is certainly his preference for achieving what it is he is searching for. And it is here that I shall wrap things up for now. In the next installment I shall begin to breakdown Kowalski's journey in earnest. Stay tuned dear reader. The Stoner Rock Mysteries: Shrinebuilder As regular readers of this blog are aware, your humble author is quite taken with a genre commonly referred to as " stoner rock ," something of catchall term that includes styles such as doom , sludge and drone metal, desert and retro rock, post-metal , occult rock, heavy psych and so on. This genre has shown itself to be especially synchro-mystical, what with its allusions to metaphysics, mythology, entheogens and litanies of pop culture references to sci-fi, fantasy and horror. For a more in depth discussion on these points, check here . The band for consideration in this discussion is very much a part of the stoner rock universe, effectively constituting a kind of super group (or at least as super as a group can be comprised of largely underground musicians). While so much of mainline heavy rock was bogged down with teenage mopping and faux Satanism for the past few decades, the artists who comprise Shrinebuilder were busy exploring a host of sophisticated esoteric topics in the same time frame. They include: And drummer/some time vocalist Dale Crover of the Melvins (and parts of Nirvana 's Bleach album). from left to right: Cisneros, Wino, Kelly and Crover Regular readers of this blog should recognize a few familiar names above. Neurosis' mind-bending and highly influential catalog was already considered at length before here while a run down of the Wino bands can be found here . Most recently I considered Cisneros' work with Sleep and Om . So, tackling Shrinebuilder at this point is a natural progression. The band originates from some time in the early 2000s, just as Al Cisneros was beginning to get back into music after an extended layoff spanning from the late 90s into the early part of the next decade. Originally Shrinebuilder was conceived of as a power trio with Cisneros, original Sleep and Om drummer Chris Hakius and Wino on guitar and vocals. Apparently the group's name derived from an Om song called "Rays of the Sun/To the Shrinebuilder" that was released as a split with Current 93 on Kelly's Neurot label in 2006. At some point in the middle of the decade Cisneros approached Kelly about signing on. Then, just as the group was set to begin writing in earnest, Hakius retired from music. Thus, the way was paved for the Dale Crover to step in as the group's drummer shortly before they began recording their debut album . Unsurprisingly, Cisneros was the guiding visionary of the band . His metaphysical bent is evident across the board, but especially in the group's lyrics (reportedly Cisneros and Kelly, who also regularly deals with esoteric themes, wrote the bulk of the lyrics on the debut). However, Cisneros largely shunned the spotlight over the course of the group's self-titled debut: His lead vocals are limited to album's second and fifth tracks while his bass only occasionally rises above Wino and Kelly's monolithic guitars (excluding " Blind For All to See ," the one really bass driven track on this album). Cisneros This left plenty of room for the other band members to put their own signatures onto the group's debut (and likely only) studio album. While Kelly doesn't seem to have contributed much musically, his vocals grace every song on the album and his trademark bludgeoning riffs are ever present. Wino seems to have written a fair amount of the music, including the oh-so Om-like " Pyramids of the Moon ", as well as contributing heavily to the " Architect " and " The Science of Anger ". He also splits lead vocals with Kelly on the latter to two tracks, as well as opener " Solar Benediction ," and contributed much of the lead guitar (at least as far as this researcher can tell). Crover was a late addition, but his trademark polyrhythmic drumming is present throughout and his chant-like backup vocals (often in conjunction with Cisneros') provide an exotic layer to the proceedings The final lineup had yet to play with one another until literally the night before the group was set to enter the studio to record the self-titled debut . At the onset of the recording sessions the group only had vague outlines of most songs and used the previous night's rehearsal to begin constructing song structures in earnest. This, combined with the general failings of super groups, would spell disaster for most records. Everything about the album seemed to cry out "Rush job!" And yet it worked. Certainly few who listened to Shrinebuilder for the first time were blown away by the album as they likely were by records released by the outfits whom provided the nucleus of the band. Indeed, many listeners seem to have found the album rather underwhelming: while Shrinebuilder had certainly avoided embarrassing themselves, there was nothing especially groundbreaking to the album. Each member stuck within their respective comfort zone and the sound that emerged reflected each aspect of the contributors without altering anyone's signature sound. the much anticipated debut album So, novelty was not much a factor in the success of Shrinebuilder other than the obvious novelty of this particular lineup playing together. But while the album offered up nothing especially new, it showcased four of the best musicians in their respective genres at the top of their craft. While these songs may not grab one by the ear right off the bat, repeated listening reveal a strong batch of epic-length songs with any number of subtle layers surrounding them. Note, for instance, the gorgeous acoustic picking (courtesy of Wino) that appears during the final minutes of "Solar Benediction" or the otherworldly chants that appear midway through "Pyramid of the Moon." These are the types of little details that help push these songs over the top while also illustrating to total mastery of their respective crafts these four musicians possessed at the time this album was recorded. But moving along. The album opens with "Solar Benediction," a track largely composed by Cisneros and which appears to be one of the earliest Shrinebuilder songs. Driven by a lumbering groove the invokes Sleep, Om and Neurosis in equal measures, Wino and Kelly trade verses in striking contrast before the song settles into a tranquil instrumental section. The track details a journey through initiation , a theme many of the musicians of Shrinebuilder have addressed at length before. Specifically, the song proclaims a journey of the soul spanning " Jericho onward through wailing gods and barren scapes of flesh." This echoes the Gnostic disillusionment with both the flesh as well the illusionary nature of the world. From here comes "Pyramid of the Moon," the group's first single. The song opens with a deliberate groove over which Wino and Kelly layer various effects-laden guitars. The song slowly builds, and is especially punctuated during its midsection by the chant-like backing vocals of Cisneros and Crover. The last section of the song is possibly the most Om-like moment on the album, and it is fitting that Cisneros takes the mic for the album's climatic groove. The song title of course evokes numerous conspiracy theories concerning bases on the moon and certainly the song's chief songwriter, Wino, has a penchant for the sort of thing . B ut the lyrics were primarily the work of Kelly on this track and he shuns ancient astronaut musings. Instead, the song becomes a kind of ode to the destruction humanity has wrought upon the Earth in its quest to reach the stars. Dryly Kelly intones: "The walls of crows spread seed/To the earth for our feast of withering souls and reason/ We turn to the moon/ Sets upon sea of light." At this point Cisneros takes up the vocals and offers some musings about "Ascend freedom/Transference/Fuse the watcher at Jericho" and so forth. But in the context of the song, this transference rings hollow. I suppose this warranted the inclusion of Jericho. But moving along. the legendary city of Jericho is referenced twice on Shrinebuilder Track three, "Blind for All to See," is the most mellow and atmospheric song on the album. The track is driven by a rolling Cisneros bass line over which Kelly and Wino subtly layer trippy leads. Lyrically this track seems to deal with the suffocating militarism in American society and the spiritual waste land it has left in its wake. Kelly sneers "They're leading on to the warship plane/On to the light/ Give us solitude/Give us in the reign/Watch the bow reach/ To the glowing gods/Through the astral plane/Blind for all to see." Perhaps then as technology becomes interchangeable from magic, it threatens to totally consume the gods and all planes as well? Kelly Next comes "The Architect," one of the most compelling songs on the album. The song title of course echoes the Masonic notion of God as "the Great Architect " and is also consistent with the stone mason imagery evoked by the name Shrinebuilder itself. This was another Wino-lead song and is the closet the album comes to sounding like one of the Wino bands. It also takes up the theme of initiation first introduced in "Solar Benediction." Over a dragging groove Wino opens up the song moaning "From labyrinthine dream be released/Apprehends state, form, and time/Rise Farid." "Farid" is likely a reference to the Persian Sufi poet  Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm , better known by his pen name of Farīd ud-Dīn. Farid's most well known work is called The Conference of the Birds . Cisneros named the second Om album after this work and has made reference to it at times . Farid ud-Din From here the song goes on to the path the initiate seeks so as to escape the Demiurgic world, Wino stating: "The astral field's perceived/And permutations feed/The Initiate set free/The rising entropy/That wields the freeing blade/And asks of Mercury... /When is the waking hour?" Mercury is of course the god of magic and was especially revered within the Mysteries in his Greek form of Hermes . After a few more "when is the waking hours?" it fades out into an effects-laden bass solo that would do Geezer Butler himself proud. The album closes with "The Science of Anger", another Wino track. Apparently this song was partly inspired by Wino's then-failing marriage (he was divorced shortly thereafter) but part of the lyrics were provided by Kelly. The song seems to become an ode to how a poisonous relationship can derail the spiritual path one has set out upon. Wino Or at least this is my interpretation of the lines that come after the more personal opening verse: "Psyche binds to the golden host/Exhortations O Solaris/The heirophant rite begins/Translucent jewel of Osiric line/Distant tide surging through my soul/Stirring the blood of my fathers pain." A heirophant was a priest in ancient Greece charged with interpreting sacred mysteries (in Attica this was the title of the chief priest of the Eleusinian Mysteries ) while the Egyptian god  Osiris had his own highly popular Mystery School in the ancient world. Thus, this would seem to indicate the narrator is back on the path of initiation. Osiris Fittingly, the song and the album itself ends with another Cisneros dominated-section with chant-like backing vocals. As though rising above some warped monestary, Cisneros concludes the album by observing "For warmth I'm yearning/The destroyer's touch/Blackout til dawn/Absolution/Toward the sun I send/Purified and wash errant perception." And indeed, one certainly feels purified by album's end. And so concludes Shrinebuilder's debut and essentially the band's brief run. The debut was released in late 2009 and after playing sporadic shows in 2010 and 2011 the group went on hiatus. With the busy schedules of all four members, fans assumed this was merely a break so that the various members could refocus on their main groups before a sequel was forth coming. But by 2012 uncertainty began to emerge as to the future of Shrinebuilder. Then in 2014 Wino seemingly announced the death of the band when he stated during an interview ; "...Cisneros is insane so Shrinebuilder is not going to happen..." Thus, the band ends as mysteriously as it began. After years of rumblings in the underground of its existence the group briefly emerged like some mythological creature of old, performed wonders and then disappeared back into the ether under a cloak of even more mystery. I suppose this is as fitting a conclusion as such a group could hope for. And with that I shall wrap things up for now. Until next time dear reader.
Vanishing point
In which city was Martin Luther King assassinated in 1968 ?
VISUP: April 2015 -- Primal Scream , " Long Life " Welcome to the third and final installment in my examination of the 1971 cult road movie Vanishing Point . With the first installment I briefly addressed the curious backgrounds of several of the individuals involved in the film as well as its enigmatic opening moments. With part two I began to get into the film in earnest, and broke down the early symbolism associated with its two lead characters, Kowalski ( Barry Newman ) and Super Soul ( Cleavon Little ). Effectively the former is a veteran and ex-police officer who had washed out of race car driving and has been coasting through life as a car delivery driver for the past few years. The latter is a blind African-American DJ operating from Goldfield, Nevada and a man with more than a few metaphysical leanings. Kowalski embarks upon what is seemingly a pointless cross country chase with police in Colorado, Nevada and California (Utah seems to have mysteriously vanished in this film) while Super Soul aids him via the airwaves. Kowalski (top) and Super Soul (bottom) For years this film has typically been dismissed as a "B-movie," but instances such as Super Soul referencing Brahman and his seeming ability to communicate with Kowalski telepathically in a film that largely goes for gritty realism tipped off the more astute viewers that there was something strange about this picture. This has led to a reevaluation of the film in recent years that hailed it as a classic of 1970s nihilism and existentialism even if it was allegedly "dated." In point of fact, this film has aged remarkably well and even seems down right prophetic in parts (especially in how Kowalski's chase becomes a gross media spectacle, thus echoing the rise of reality TV). And while the film certainly has its fair amount of nihilism and existentialism, these labels are far to narrow to encompass such a sweeping film. In point of fact, this film is a kind of psychodrama in which many motifs of the most ancient myths are transplanted into a fairly contemporary American setting. I already began to delve into this a bit in the prior installment and shall continue on that particular course here. So let's get to it. The chase begins at some point in Colorado when Kowalski refuses to pull over a for a motorcycle cop. This leads to a chase involving another officers that Kowalski easily wins. Soon other police officers join the chase and Kowalski finds himself using a construction zone and either lane on the highway to allude them. During this series of encounters he passes the exit sign for No Name, Colorado and even uses No Name Creek during one instance in the film. The use of No Name here is most interesting as Kowalski's first name is never revealed throughout the film. In the ancient world names were thought to hold tremendous power. "It should also be observed that some aspects of the invocation of the Name derived from the symbolism of sound and language. In fact, in Indian teaching, the Name (nama) is no different from the sound (shabda). The name of something is 'the sound produced by the activity of the mobile forces which comprise it....' Furthermore, to pronounce a name is in some sense effectually to 'create' or 'present' it. Name (nama) and form (rupa) determine its nature. Hence it is simple to deduce that naming a person or thing is the same as taking control of them. For this reason the Ancient Chinese attached enormous importance to the correct designation since the universal order derived from them. The School of Names ... carried these consequences to their extremes. Genesis 2: 19 also states that Adam was entrusted with the task of naming all living creatures. This was to grant him power over them and this power remains one of the characteristics of the paradisal state. "The ancient Egyptians believed that 'the personal name was much more than a means of identification.' It was an essential part of the person. The Egyptians believed in the creative and compelling power of the word. The name was a living thing.' All characteristics of the symbol recur in names. (1) They are 'full of significance'; (2) when writing or speaking the name of a person, that person 'is given life and survival,' which corresponds to the dynamics of the symbol; (3) knowledge of the name 'gives power' over that person, which corresponds to the magical aspects, the mysterious bond of the symbol. Knowledge of the name is part of the ritual of conciliation, casting spells, destroying, taking possession of and so on, and the phrase 'his name will no more be among the living' was the most extreme form of  the death-sentence... "Belief in the power of the name was not something exclusively Chinese, Egyptian or Jewish, it is part of primitive thought-processes. To know a name and to utter it correctly is to be able to exercise power over a person or thing..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 694) Kowalski's name is seemingly unutterable as well. A police officer reading out his background remarks "Christian name, Christian name my flat foot, what is that?" after searching for a first name. In a celebrated deleted scene featuring Charlotte Rampling as a mysterious hitchhiker, Kowalski states "first, last and only" when questioned about his full name. As with many things concerning the film, it drops no hint as to why Kowalski only goes by one name and how he has managed to conceal the full extent of his name. In our present society the knowledge of an individual's full name certainly gives authority figures a certain power over the individual, but Kowalski's record is largely open (aside from his time as a cop) outside of his name. Perhaps he does indeed put stock in the ancient notion that knowing something's true name grants power over it. But moving along. In the midst of his initial confrontation with the police Kowalski flashes back to his time as a motorcycle racer. During this sequence the number 28 is prominently displayed on the back of Kowalski's jacket and is clearly his racing number. The number 28 is typically associated with the moon due to the 28-day, 13-month calendar that was in use during the ancient lunar civilizations. It does, however, have some interesting solar associations. "That the Osirian year originally consisted of thirteen twenty-eight day months, with one day over, is suggested by the legendary length of Osiris's reign, namely twenty-eight years – years in mythology often stand for days, and days for years – and by the numbers of pieces into which he was torn by Set, namely thirteen apart from his phallus which stood for the extra day. When Isis reassembled the pieces, the phallus had disappeared, eaten by a letos-fish. This accounts for the priestly fish-taboo in Egypt, relaxed only one day in the year." (The White Goddess, Robert Graves, pg. 381n)  Osiris Osiris was very much a solar figure (at least in his latter incarnations) despite his association with the lunar calendar. His dismemberment and reassembly by Isis is a metaphor for the initiatory process that the candidate undergoes. As was noted in part two , Kowalski is very much a solar figure and one who seems to have undergone a kind of incomplete initiation. In this context his association with the number twenty eight is then quite apt. Nor is the appearance of 28 in this particular flashback Kowalski's only link to the number as well. The license plate for his Dodge Challenger is OA-5599. The numbers 5599 add up to 28. The appearance of the numbers five and nine are interesting here as well. Five is the number of balance and harmony as well as the symbol of humanity itself. It also stands for the phenomenal world, something Kowalski is attempting to escape. The associations with the number nine is even more interesting. Consider: "Since three is the number of innovation, its square stands for universality. It is significant that, in so many folktales drawn from all over the world, the  supernumerary, infinity, is expressed by such  repetitions of the number nine as the 999,999 Fravashis who, the Ancient Iranians believed, watched over the semen of Zoroaster, from which all prophets were to spring. The ouroboros, the serpent which bites its own tail and the image of the return of the manifold to the one and hence of primeval and of final Oneness, is related geographically to the way the number nine is denoted in many alphabets such as the Tibetan, Persian, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arminian and so on. The mystical meaning of nine relates it, too, to what the Sufis term haqq, the final stage of the way, bliss leading to fana, the annihilation of the individual and the rediscovery of the whole, or, as Allendy has it, 'the loss of personality in universal love.' Indian tradition defines more clearly the redemptive meaning of the symbol nine through the nine successive incarnations of Vishnu who, each time, offered his life for the salvation of mankind. Similarly, according to the Gospels, Jesus was crucified at the third hour; his death agonies began at the sixth hour (dusk), and he died in the ninth hour. Claude de Saint-Martin considered that in nine the physical body and all its properties were annihilated. Allendy concludes that Freemasons have made it the internal number of immortality, nine masters discovering the grave and body of Hiram... "Nine being the last of a series of figures heralds both an end and a fresh beginning, that is to say, a removal to a new plane. This notion of rebirth and germination in association with that of death is, as we have shown, recurring in the concepts of symbolic properties of the number held in several different cultures. As the last of the numbers in the manifested universe, it starts the phase of transmutations. It gives expression to the end of the cycle, the completion of a journey, the tying of a knot." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 705-705) This is certainly most fitting for Kowalski's circumstances as the film opens and indeed he is in a cycle that serves as both an end and a beginning and one that will include both death and rebirth. In addition to the license's plate number, Kowalski also sports the closely related number three on his race car. But moving along. At one point during Kowalski' trek in Colorado he is challenged by a fellow motorist in a Jaguar. Kowalski predictably wins in good order by beating the Jaguar to a one way bridge and forcing the vehicle into a near by river bed as his Challenger clears the bridge. A Dodge Challenger is of course a most apt vehicle for Kowalski as he is indeed a challenger and the presence of a Jaguar at this juncture is also interesting. The animal for which the car is anted has some interesting symbolic associations. "The Maya... regarded the jaguar as being, above all, a god of the underworld, the highest incarnation of the internal powers of the Earth. The jaguar was the god of the number nine, a manifestation of the land 'below.' As lord of that Underworld he sometimes undertook the duties of conductor of souls. At dusk, the Earth is depicted as swallowing the sun, the letter within the open jaws of a jaguar. Lastly the jaguar became a solar deity corresponding with the sun's night journey. When the sun is depicted as a jaguar it is the black sun." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 551) Kowalski racing the Jaguar As was noted in part two , Kowalski bears many of the characteristic of the solar savior. And indeed the Jaguar did attempt to figuratively devour him, but he escapes from its clutches. But the moment does provide a key point in Kowalski's (the sun) journey for he still finds the humanity to stop and check on the driver despite approaching police cars. When Kowalski arrives in Nevada things really start getting fun. After some more games with the police, Kowalski seeks refuge in the desert. He takes the Challenger off road and precedes to wander aimlessly for hours. The desert is of course littered with associations. It is both a place of demons and enlightenment, a concept incorporated into Christianity via Christ's forty days in the desert and the temptations of Saint Anthony , among others. In Egyptian mythos the desert was closely associated with Set , the revival of Osiris. As Kowalski is linked with Osiris, this is most apt. Set As Kowalski wanders the desert, he retraces his path. The Challenger forms pristine X's against the barren backdrop. The represents a reoccurrence of the crossroads motif first discussed in the second installment of this series. at the crossroads again Eventually Kowalski comes upon a grizzled Prospector ( Dean Jagger ). He saves the driver from a rattlesnake and then assists Kowalski in hiding his vehicle from a police helicopter. The Prospector delivers his musings in a highly eccentric manner, at times hinting mental instability, but always making a certain kind of sense. This figure is a prototype of the " wise old man " archetype. "The frequency with which the spirit-type appears as an old man is about the same in fairytales as in dreams. The old man always appears when the hero is in a hopeless and desperate situation from which only profound reflection or a lucky idea – in other words, a spiritual function or an endopsychic automatism of some kind – can extricate him. But since, for internal and external reasons, the hero cannot accomplish this himself, the knowledge needed to compensate the deficiency comes in the form of a personified thought , i.e., in the shape of this sagacious and helpful man..." (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, CG Jung, pgs. 217-218) A few paragraphs later Jung further elaborates on the wise old man archetype, noting: "Often the old man in fairytales ask questions like who? why? whence? and whether? for the purpose of inducing self reflection and mobilizing the moral forces, and more often still he gives the necessary magical talisman, the unexpected and improbable power to succeed, which is one of the peculiarities of the unified personality in good or bad alike. But the intervention of the old man – the spontaneous objectivation of the archetype – would seem to be equally indispensable, since the conscious will by itself is hardly ever capable of uniting the personality to the point where it acquires this extraordinary power to succeed. For that, not only in fairytales but in life generally, the objective intervention of the archetype is needed, which checks the purely affective reactions with a chain of inner confrontations and realizations. These cause the who? where? how? why? to emerge clearly and in this wise bring knowledge of the immediate situation as well as the goal. The resultant enlightenment and untying of the fatal tangle often has something  positively magical about it – an experience not unknown to the psychotherapist. "The tendency of the old man to set one thinking also takes the form of urging people to 'sleep on it.' Thus he says to the girl who is searching for her lost brothers: 'Lie down:  morning is cleverer than evening.' He also sees through the gloomy situation of the hero who has got  himself into trouble, or at least can give him such information as will help him on his journey..." (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, CG Jung, pgs. 220-221) the prospector This is very much the role the Prospector plays in Vanishing Point. He appears just as Kowalski seems to have lost confidence in his actions and he does indeed give him a variation on "sleep on it": After becoming aware of an approaching police helicopter, the Prospector tells Kowalski that the best away to get away from something is to dig in. Kowalski follows this advise literally, and uses the desert to camouflage the Challenger so that the police helicopter is unable to spot. Later on, as Kowalski realizes he cannot physically elude the police and society at large, he seems to opt for the Kingdom within, as the old 13th Floor Elevators song proclaims. But more on that in a moment. After helping Kowalski avoid the police the Prospector takes him to a fringe  Pentecostal sect holding a revival service in the desert so as to procure gas for the Challenger. The leader of this sect is referred to as "J. Hovah" ( Severn Darden ) and had previously worked his trade by speaking in tongues to poisonous snakes. But now the revival camp is no longer interested in the snakes as it has a rock band to perform for the congregation instead. Superficially this sequence is clearly meant as a dig at the then-emerging Jesus freak movement , which was fast pushing the hippies out of California at the time. Many perceived the Jesus freak movement as a reactionary counter to the 1960s counterculture as well as a commercialization of Christianity. Both prospects are entertained in Vanishing Point. Despite peace and love symbols all over the revival and a multiracial band, J. Hovah chastises the Prospector for bringing a stranger to the revival, reminding him that their meetings are closed to the public. And while previously the congregation had expressed its faith by handling and communicating with deadly snakes, now they simply listen to the feel good sounds of the (highly fashionable) house band. The Prospector naturally gives Kowalski a few final words of wisdom before they go their separate ways. From there Kowalski makes for the California border, but stops after he encounters a biker on the highway named Angel ( Timothy Scott ) who offers him some speed. The name of this character proves to be quite apt for he becomes a kind of guardian angel for Kowalski, guiding him past a police road block and into the Golden State. But before all of that Angel takes Kowalski back to his groovy little hippie pad in the desert where his girlfriend ( Gilda Texter ) rides around naked upon a motorcycle. After hooking up Kowalski with more bennies he takes off on his bike to check on the road to the border. Kowalski is left with the naked rider, who offers him anything he desires. Kowalski of course turns her advances down but accepts a "straight" smoke. While they're conversing Kowalski is shown standing before the side of building with an ankh prominently painted upon it. The symbolism of the ankh is quite apt for this juncture of the film. Consider: "Gods, kings and Isis (almost invariably) are depicted holding the ankh to show that they command the powers of life and death and that they are immortal. The dead also carry it at the time their souls are weighed ... Or when they are aboard the boat of the Sun God, as a sign that they seek the same immortality from the gods. Furthermore the ankh symbolized the spring from which flow divine virtues and the elixir of immortality. Therefore to hold the ankh was to drink from that well. It was sometimes held upside down by the loop – especially in funeral rites when it suggested the shape of a key and in reality was the key which opened the gateway of the tomb into the Fields of Aalu, the realm of eternity..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 27-28) And Kowalski is well on his way to immortality at this point -indeed, it is his only escape. By the time he reaches California he is obviously running out of West to elude the cops in. But beyond that, his escape has deteriorated into a gross media spectacle by this point. Reporters descend on Cisco , the location police have chosen for the final showdown, like locus determined to reduce Kowalski's run into another quirk of consumerism. He is thus fast becoming a parody of himself in addition to running out of physical space. After some brief ruminations he choses the only path of escape left to him --either suicide or ascension , depending upon one's point of view. Kowalski finds himself surrounding by police, with the raod before him blocked by two bulldozers. As he speeds towards the bulldozers a crack of light appears between the vehicles. This makes Kowalski break out into a wide smile and speed headlong into the dozers, sending the Challenger into an air-born fireball. This ending has long infuriated and baffled viewers in equal measures for both its suddenness and the seeming senselessness of it. But astute viewers have long surmised that there was more to this sequence than a suicide. note the light appearing between the two bulldozers, the actual "vanishing point" of the film's titleCertainly director Richard C. Sarafian seemed quite certain that something more profound than mere death unfolded in the film's final moments. In an interview towards the end of his life the director stated : "And so that was taken, again, from a concept that's maybe a little bit too esoteric, in terms of a German mathematician by the name of Möbius who wrote about time as a strip; he took a ribbon and twisted it and then tied the ends together; what you get is an elliptical band.  So that the end of it, that there is no end to the road, that we go on, and to another dimension maybe.  So it's very hopeful, maybe, very spiritual kind of--as far as that.  [Then studio head] Richard Zanuck said to me, 'Richard, does he die in the end?'  I told him, I said, 'Mr. Zanuck, it depends on your…your view.'  There was a second ending that was never added, which he wouldn't accept.  And that ending was that when Kowalski heads for the crack between the two bulldozers…it was soundless.  And visually it's the same, but Super Soul goes, 'Yeah,' and celebrates the moment.  So when he screened the picture, he said 'Oh, Richard, he's got to die.'  I said, 'Well, OK, Mr. Zanuck.' And I think the spirit, at least in terms of what I wanted to say was, you know, as Kim Carnes sings in the end credits, 'Nobody knows, nobody sees, till the light of life is ended and another soul goes free.'  Now, if I tried to explain that to the head of a studio, they'd throw a net over you. So for me it was like sneaking under the tent while the devil had his back turned. What I think is that maybe I've allowed the audience to see it through their own prism in terms of what it's about, you know." Suicide, while rare, was occasionally practiced by Gnostics and Cathars and even Jainists and  Buddhists . In the case of the former two ideologies, there was a perception of the material world as evil and death as relief from this earthly hell. The Cathars had a ritual known as Endura that was a kind of suicide trough fasting occasionally practiced, for instance. Kowalski himself has also reached such conclusions concerning the material world by this point and choses to depart his mortal coil. Tellingly, there does not appear to be a body in the Challenger when police are finally able to go through the wreckage. And it is here that I shall wrap things up. Hopefully this series has inspired its readers to give this forgotten classic of 70s cinema another viewing. And don't stop there --the Primal Scream album inspired by the film that was mentioned in the first installment makes an excellent companion piece. And with that I shall sign off for now --Until next time dear readers. -" Star ", Primal Scream Welcome to the second installment in my examination of the legendary 1971 cult road movie Vanishing Point . The picture follows an enigmatic protagonist named Kowalski ( Barry Newman ) as he travels west in a supped up Dodge Challenger avoiding police obstacles along the way. The film is often described as "nihilistic" and " existential " due the seeming pointlessness of Kowalski's situation: he is effectively in an impossible race in which he has no chance of victory that is entirely of his own creation. But, as I began to ramble on in the first installment , its rather narrow to dismiss this film as simply "existential" and down right criminal to knock it as "another B-movie." In point of fact, this film has a deep esoteric context that has rarely been explored by "serious" film fans. Also noted in the first installment was the curious background of some of the players involved in the film as well as its curious opening moments. I left off with the celebrated freeze frame in which Kowalski seems to pass himself in the Dodge Challenger as an earlier version of himself in a black Chrysler crosses his path. From there the film, which opened on a Sunday morning in Cisco, California , cuts back to Friday night in Denver, Colorado as Kowalski is delivering the black Chrysler to the auto delivery service that he is employed by. Of special interest to the astute viewer is the name of this car delivery service: Argo's Car Delivery. The word " Argo " is of course quite mythologically loaded due to the tale of Jason and the Argonauts . The name of the ship that carried Jason and his merry band was of course Argo, and this brings up some interesting associations. "The ship that would carry the band of fifty sailors, all the available heroes of the generation before the Trojan War, was, like the talking Ram, itself a piece of inspiration. It was the first ship of that size ever constructed, or if not the first, at least the second:  for some tellers recalled that the fifty Danaid maidens, who were pursued up from Africa by the fifty sons of Egypt, must  have had ships of similar size, to sail the narrow waters of the subterranean aquifer to the surface at the sacred Spring of Lerna, on the coast just south of Argos. Yes, what coincidence! Argos, the town that bears the name of the herder of the estrual cow maiden Io; and Argo, itself merely the feminine of the same name, for ships are female. And no ordinary ship was the Argo, for like the Ram, it spoke, resounding and offering counsel: Athena had brought a timber oak from Zeus's prophetic growth at Dodona to be fashioned into the masthead. A relic of it, as it was thought, still existed at the time of the Latin poets Martial, over millennium and a half later. And numbered amongst the crew was the prophet Orpheus, by all accounts an unlikely shipmate in such a company of athletic heroes, except for his experience as a shaman. "The name of the ship was derived from argos, meaning 'glistening,' which could also describe something so fast that all you see is a glistening blur, a flickering of light, but glistening is the primary significance, reflecting light, sleek and plump white, amongst other things – a cow; or like the bright 'eyes' of the 'All-eyed' Panoptes, the epithet of the herder Argos, who is named for the this glistening vision, with his hundred eyes..." (The Apples of Apollo, Ruck, Staples, Heinrich, pgs. 112-113) The association of argos with glistening and white is especially appropriate for the Dodge Challenger that Kowalski departs from the car delivery agency with. And like the mythological Argo, the Challenger at times appears to talk to Kowalski via its radio, specifically through a (telepathic) dialogue he has with a blind DJ known as Super Soul ( Cleavon Little ). Its also interesting to note that the above-mentioned Io had been a priestess of Hera in the town of Argos before she was seduced by Zeus and promptly turned into a cow after the goddess became aware of the affair. The radio station Super Soul operates out of is called KOW, pronounced "cow." But more on that in a moment. Jason himself is especially apt for Kowalski as well for the chief Argonaut was closely associated with the sun. "... The story of the Ark is probably derived from an Asianic icon in which the Spirit of the Solar Year is shown in a moon-ship, going through his habitual New Year changes – bull, lion, snake and so on; and the story of the Whale from a similar icon showing the same Spirit being swallowed at the end of the year by the Moon-and-Sea-goddess, represented as a sea-monster, to be presently re-born as  a New Year fish, or finned goat. The sea-monster Tiamat who, in early Babylonian mythology, swallowed the Sun-god Marduk (but whom he later claimed to have killed with his sword) was used by the author of the Book of Jonah to symbolize the power of the wicked city, mother of harlots, that swallowed and then spewed up the Jews. The icon, a familiar one on the Eastern Mediterranean, survived in Orphic art, where it represented a ritual ceremony of initiation: the initiate was swallowed by the Universal Mother, the sea-monster, and re-born as an incarnation of the Sun-god. (On one Greek vase the Jonah-like figure is named Jason, because the history of his voyage in the Argo had by that time been attached to the signs of the zodiac around which the sun makes its annual voyage...)" (The White Goddess, Robert Graves, pgs. 480)  Jason As was noted in part one , Kowalski has undergone a kind of incomplete initiation at the onset of the film, one of the heroic variety. He is closely associated with the sun, making him a kind of solar savior, as was Jason . The solar savior myth has been present in Western culture for centuries now and has become especially prevalent in the post-WWII years in these United States. The great Christopher Knowles breaks it down thus : "The defining hallmark of our modern mythology, and a theme we've looked at in depth on this blog, is the Solar Savior. Again, this is a theme taken from the ancient Mystery cults and midwifed into our modern culture through secret societies and occult groups. "More precisely, the rolue of solar savior corresponds to the Age of Horus, announced by Aleister Crowley in the early 20th Century. His prophecies of the Age have been remarkably accurate in many ways, less so in others. "As I wrote in Our Gods Wear Spandex, the solar savior theme burst back into the public consciousness via heroes like Superman and Captain Marvel, both explicitly and consciously modeled on Hercules, the most widely regarded solar savior of the pre-Christian world, a figure whose fame survived the Church and was acknowledged by groups as disparate as Egyptian and Phoenican pagans, Gnostics, and Medieval Alchemists. Hercules was a symbol of inspiration for Renaissance painters, a symbol of a reawakened Europe.  "The Italian sword and sandal movies, which enjoyed a great deal of success in the late 50s and early 60s brought a tidal wave of pagan imagery and myth-themes to the mass consciousness and are under-valued in today's culture.   "The rich and lusty paganism they invigorated postwar culture with was swamped by dreary, life-denying materialism and postmodernism in the mid to late 60s and 70s, but their influence simply fed into junk culture; heavy metal, sword and sorcery gaming, novels and comics and other pursuits unnoticed by the cosmopolitan mindset that dominated respectable discourse. Concurrent with the sword and sandal craze was the Tolkien revival. Needless to say these sword and sandal films were filled with solar saviors such as Hercules and Jason." Hercules , easily the most well known solar savior Vanishing Point of course came out right in the midst of this craze and it seems that on some level the creative team behind the film was well aware of the film's ties to some of humanity's most ancient story telling. Some may object to my linking Kowalski, who is often described as a thoroughly nihilistic protagonist (or even anti-hero) to the solar heroes of old, but I think this would be a mistake. It is not, after all, Kowalski who is nihilistic so much as the materialistic hell he finds himself trapped in. The occupations that Kowalski has consistently sought out --soldier, police man, race driver --are all careers requiring ample amounts of heroism (at least in theory). And throughout the film, Kowalski is shown as a figure with a firmly entrenched code of honor --he blows this whistle on the corrupt police department he works for, he always stops to check on the well being of drivers who crash trying to catch him, etc. The problem is that the world he inhabits has no honor --the war he fights in is one driven by greed and corruption, as is the police department he works for. His career as an race driver is nothing but a gross consumerist spectacle in which the audience is only moved by the sight of crashing cars. If anything, Kowalski is an old school hero driven by higher principals who is condemned to a world of nihilism and godless materialism. And this is the underlining factor that drives his endless search for more speed. And that brings up one final point that should be made about the mythological Jason before moving along. Kowalski Jason was also what researchers Carl A.P. Ruck , Blaise Daniel Staples and Clark Heinrich dubbed a "drug man" in their brilliant The Apples of Apollo due to the obvious parallels the Argonauts myths have with the ritualistic use of entheogens . Kowalski himself does not dabble in entheogens (outside one incident that occurs during Charlotte Ramping 's deleted scene) but he is surely a drug man as the next sequence reveals. On his way out of Denver Kowalski drops in on his drug dealer for more bennies before embarking upon his journey to the " Golden State " (har har). The dealer in turn is operating near store known as the "Drug Center." It is only after Kowalski has re-upped on bennies that his journey begins in earnest. From here the film shifts gears a bit and wanders to Goldfield, Nevada , where the film's other major character resides: "Super Soul," a blind DJ who broadcasts out of a local station known as KOW, as noted above. When we are first introduced to Super Soul, he is walking to work with the assistance of his trusty seeing-eye dog. A mountain is prominently displayed in the background as Super Soul makes his way through the sparsely populated streets of Goldfield. There is of course an air of the sage descending from the mountain a la Moses in this image. Nor is it the only curious symbol in this sequence. Naturally his station is located at a crossroads in the former boom town of Goldfield. Crossroads are of course loaded with symbolism. "The importance of the crossroads as a symbol is universal. It is connected with the essence of the crossroads itself, two paths intersecting to create the centre of the world, and the true centre of the world for whoever stands where they meet. Being the place of all places for revelations and manifestations, crossroads are haunted by spirits, generally terrifying, which it is in the interest of human beings to propitiate. Whatever the tradition, it was the custom to set up at crossroads obelisks, altars, stones, chapels and inscriptions, since they are places where people stopped to think. They are also places where one passes from one world to another, from one life to another and from life to death." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 257) It is of course most fitting that Super Soul crosses a crossroads before his life intersections with Kowalski's, whom he will some become closely connected to. And the location of KOW at a crossroads where the station is used to aid Kowalski in his journey from one world to another is especially apt. The same could also be said of the presence of a dog at Super Soul's side during his introductory sequence and at other points throughout the film. Dogs are associated with crossroads due to their ties to the Greek goddess Hekate . She was a threefold goddess and known as 'the Goddess of the Crossroads' among the Greeks. She was known to appear at times in the form of a she-wolf and dogs were frequently sacrificed in her honor at crossroads. Hekate Super Soul's blindness is also quite fitting for his character as well. Consider: "For some, blindness means ignorance of the real state of things, denial of the obvious and hence madness, stupidity and irresponsibility. To others,  the blind are those who ignore the deceitful shows of this world, and thanks to this are privileged to know its secret reality, too deeply buried to be discerned by ordinary humanity. The blind share the godhead, they are inspired: poets, wonder-workers, seers. Such, in short, are the two aspects, blessed and cursed, positive and negative, of the symbolism of blindness; and all traditions, myths and customs waiver between them. This means that blindness, which is often a punishment of the gods, bears some relation to the ordeals of initiation... Similarly folklore is full of blind musicians, bards and singers treated as inspired beings. "This is no doubt the reason why sculptors portrayed Homer as a blind man and tradition made blindness the symbol of the wandering poet, the rhapsodist, bard, trouvere and troubadour. Yet here again we keep within the bounds of allegory. Old men are also depicted as blind: in their case blindness symbolizes the wisdom of old age. Prophets are usually blind as well, as if their eyes needed to be closed to physical light for them to perceive the light of the godhead..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 99-100) Super Soul Super Soul is very much in the seer category as far as blindness goes. There is also a bit of the poet to his character as well as an echo of Homer , for he is the one who transforms Kowalski's story into the stuff of myths. And as a DJ he is associated with music throughout, his bard-ness thus covered. Despite being played by a younger actor the character bears many similarities to the wise old man archetype and is depicted as being very sage-like throughout the film. It is Super Soul, in touch with a higher reality, who guides our hero on his allegorical journey through the Valley of Death into the "Golden State" (which Super Soul mistakenly refers to as the Sunshine State as though the solar symbolism was not already obvious enough). Super Soul is very much an initiated figure as his name implies. His seeming ability to communicate to Kowalski telepathically is but one sign of the higher plane he exists upon. The desk in his DJ station is littered with impressive looking volumes as though he is constantly in search of more knowledge. Probably the most quoted lines from this film is a brief monologue delivered by Super Soul littered with metaphysical significance: "And there goes the Challenger, being chased by the blue, blue meanies on wheels. The vicious traffic squad cars are after our lone driver, the last American hero, the electric centaur, the, the demi-god, the super driver of the golden west! Two nasty Nazi cars are close behind the beautiful lone driver. The police numbers are gettin' closer, closer, closer to our soul hero, in his soul mobile, yeah baby! They about to strike. They gonna get him. Smash him. Rape... the last beautiful free soul on this planet... "But, it is written, if the evil spirit arms the tiger with claws, Braham provided the dove with wings. Thus spoke the super guru..." The researcher is unaware of where it is specifically written that Braham provided the dove with wings to counter the claws the tiger received from the evil spirit, but certainly there were not many road movie from around this time (or afterwards) in which Braham was invoked. Super Soul's description of Kowalski as "the electric centaur" is most interesting as well within symbolic context of the mythological creatures. "Iconographically, centaurs are generally depicted with an expression of sorrow on their faces. They symbolize lust, with all the brute violence which can reduce mankind to the level of beasts unless it is counterbalanced by spiritual strength. They are a striking image of the twofold nature of mankind --half god, half beast... They are the antithesis of the horseman, who tames and masters the elemental forces, while the centaurs, with the exception of Chiron and his brothers, are ruled by wild, untrammelled instinct. They are also an image of the unconscious, an unconscious which gains mastery of the personality, subjecting it to its own impulses and eliminating inner conflict." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 173) Kowalski is certainly a creature of instinct, driving the Challenger as though it were the lower part of his body. In a way then he is a true "electric centaur" and in desperate need of spiritual strength which Super Soul attempts to broadcast to Kowalski's "Soul mobile." And what of the golden West? Cerainly it has been at the heart of much speculation. "... the Mohave desert, which is, for the Freemasons, the cosmic graveyard of the West, the final destiny of Anubis, the celestial jackal, otherwise known as Sirius."  (Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare, Michael A. Hoffman II, pg. 54) We have already noted allusions to Sirius earlier. And of course Kowalski ventures into the Mohave later on the allude the cops. Is this then a trip into America's "cosmic graveyard"? These answers and more in the enxt installment dear reader. Stay tuned. --" Burning Wheel ," Primal Scream The 1971 road movie Vanishing Point is easily one of the most enigmatic films to spring from an especially fertile era. Your humble writer first became aware of it some time around 1997 when the Primal Scream album named after the film was released . This particular record would go on to become one of my all time favorite albums and it probably goes without saying, but I became most curious concerning its inspiration. It would be several years until I tracked down the film to which the Scream album was intended to be a kind of alternative soundtrack too, but I was not disappointed and have only gained more reverence for the film as the years have gone by and my tastes have become more esoteric-leaning. Superficially the movie is a kind of revved up take on Easy Rider , with ample doses of counterculture angst to supplement the film's legendary chase sequences. But while Rider still maintains a certain degree of reverence from aging baby boomers due to its (largely dated) social commentary, Point is usually dismissed as a minor cult movie mainly appealing only to B-movie fans and gearheads. This is a truly tragic state of affairs as Vanishing Point is not only better made and far more adrenaline inducing film, but also a far deeper one. Given the pedigree of some of the individuals behind Point, this is hardly surprising. Consider screenwriter "Guillermo Cain." This is actually a pseudonym for the legendary Cuban author  Guillermo Cabrera Infante . Infante's parents had been founding members of the Cuban Communist Party and during his youth had clashed with the Batista regime . After the Communist revolution, Infante was appointed head of the Instituto del Cine as well as Lunes de Revolución, a supplant to the Communist newspaper Revolución. By 1961 his star was beginning to fade, however. Infante was removed as head of the nation's film institute and Lunes de Revolución was shut down by Castro himself. From 1962 until 1965 he served as a Cuban cultural attache in Brussels before finally going into exile at the end of 1965. Infante  A year later he published the experimental, Joycean novel Tres Tristes Tigres that received extensive critical acclaim. Thus, by 1971 Infante was a prominent Cuban exile in addition to an emerging literary talent who had generated much respect and praise from "serious" cultural connoisseurs. That he would, at this point, opt to pen this bizarre, Kerouac -derived road movie has baffled many. Reportedly drastic changes were made to the film after filming began that greatly diminished the allegorical nature of the script. An old article from Car Review in which star Barry Newman had been extensively interviewed  noted : "[Newman:] 'I was in Austria filming The Salzburg Connection while they were editing Vanishing Point, and I received a call from my agent in New York. He had just seen a screening of Vanishing Point and said they cut it up and made it look like a "B" movie. They cut out the Rampling scenes because they were afraid the audience wouldn't understand what happened to the girl in the car; why was she suddenly not there? That was their explanation.' "In its final form, Vanishing Point bears little resemblance to the Guillermo Cain screenplay, which was loosely based on two real life events. The movie was released without the Rampling scenes, and the 107 minute version was never shown. Vanishing Point premiered in late January of 1971 in an edited state that bore little resemblance to the original version." Regardless, what ended up on screen still leaves the attune viewer with much to ponder. In addition to Infante, the film features another major curiosity behind the scenes: Its executive producer, Michael Pearson . Pearson's full name is Michael Orlando Weetman Pearson, 4th Viscount Cowdray. He is presently believed to be worth about half a billion dollars  (apparently the old boy has fallen on hard times of late as his estate was valued at nearly a billion only a few years ago) and is approximately the 65th richest person in the UK . Pearson has apparently worn many hats over the course of his life. He dabbled in farming and finance, having worked in the City of London . He also found the time to enlist in the British Army before he took up the mantle of film producer. Viscount Cowdray As the head of Cupid Productions he bequeathed to the world two films of note: Vanishing Point and Sympathy for the Devil , a documentary featuring the Rolling Stones and directed by the legendary French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard . The Stones have of course been the subject of much controversy and speculation during the heyday in the 1960s. They were of course linked to the notorious Laurel Canyon scene , as David McGowan explained before here . After 1971 Pearson seems to have retired from film all together, and has apparently focused on whatever interests extremely wealthy nobles may pursue. Reportedly he is a non-practicing Buddhist and has been a trustee of the Tibet House Trust for more than 20 years. Certainly the Viscount seems to have a keen interest in metaphysics, one of which he passed on to his children. In this context we may partly discern what would have drawn such a figure to what many perceive as a B-grade chase movie. Besides the enigmas of Infante and the Viscount, the film featured a highly skilled crew. Stunt coordinator and driver Carey Loftin is justly regarded as a legend. He first made waves with his work on Bullitt and would contribute his talents to a host of films such as The Getaway , The French Connection , Diamonds Are Forever , Big Trouble in Little China and many more. Then there was cinematographer John A. Alonzo, who would go on to be nominated for an Oscar several years later for his work on Chinatown . He would also shoot Scarface . Loftin (top) and Alonzo (bottom) But while Loftin and Alonzo went on to bigger and better things, director Richard C. Sarafian and star Barry Newman were not so fortunate despite the stellar work of either on the film. Sarafian, a longtime associate of Robert Altman who married the famed director's sister, would see his career fade away into irrelevancy with a slew of mediocre genre pictures during the late 1970s and 1980s. Sarafian, an Armenian, never seems to have tackled an esoteric film again. Sarafian Star Barry Newman did not fair much better. A stag actor, Newman would first gain acclaim for the 1970 film The Lawyer before taking the leading role in Vanishing Point the next year. Newman was not Sarafian's original choice, but rather Gene Hackman . The studio preferred an unknown, however, and Newman got the call. His turn as Kowalski is easily the actor's most iconic role, one of which he never came close to emulating. Newman would continue to appear in film's sporadically for the next few decades in between work on the stage and television. Its telling that his most well known part outside of Vanishing Point is in The Limey , a role that consciously played homage to Newman's work on Vanishing Point. Barry Newman sporting his Kowalski shades in The Limey So while Sarafian and Newman would never be able to catch lightening in a bottle again, they were certainly the right individuals for the time and place in which Vanishing Point was brought to life. And lightening it is. The picture concerns Kowalski (Newman), a veteran, former cop and race car driver now reduced to working as a car delivery man. One day he seems to suffer a breakdown and takes off on a high speed chase that eventually encompasses three states before his final showdown with police in California. The iconic ending of the film has both startled, perplexed and angered viewers in equal measures for years and has spawned much ruminating. Superficially it seems utterly senseless, but then again, so is everything about the film. After all, Kowalski doesn't even need to make the run in the first place. He arrives in Denver around midnight on Friday dropping off his latest charge. His boss, Sandy, begs him to take the weekend off and come back on Monday, but Kowalski insists on immediately heading out on another run. Sandy gives in and hands over the keys to a supped up Dodge Challenger and a Monday deadline for delivering the vehicle to San Francisco. This is of course ample time for the run, but then Kowalski drops in on his drug dealer for some more bennies . In the process he makes a bet that he can deliver the vehicle in San Francisco by 3:00 PM the next day --roughly fourteen hours for a drive that is apparently close to twenty in this day and age. Kowalski's drug dealer is not especially enthusiastic about the wager and tries to talk him out of it but to no avail --Kowalski sets off on a voyage in which his objective can only be accomplished by driving like a bat out of hell. The stage is thus set for the epic chase that follows, even though Kowalski is seemingly the only one who understands the logic of the whole ordeal. Kowalski scoring some speed At least, on a practical, materialistic plane. But when one begins to analyze the symbolism and commentary present throughout the film, a profound esoteric meaning becomes evident. The viewer is tipped off to this from a very early on. The picture opens at the literal ending, in the town of Cisco, California where a roadblock is being prepared for Kowalski. Spectators are gathering as are the media. Amusingly a CBS news van is prominently displayed at this juncture --CBS of course having a logo that bears some resemblance to the All Seeing Eye . This may be intentional as the All Seeing Eye is closely linked to the Third Eye , the symbolism of which in its Hindu form is especially appropriate for Vanishing Point. "Unifying perception is the function of the 'third eye,' the eye in Shiva's forehead. If the two bodily eyes correspond to the Sun and the Moon, the third eye corresponds to fire.  Its glance reduces everything to ashes. In other words, simultaneity, its expression of a non-dimensional present, destroys manifestation. This is the 'Eye of Wisdom'  (prajnachaksus) or  Buddhist 'Eye of Dharma' (dharmachaksus) which is set on the bounds of unity and multiplicity, of emptiness and non-emptiness, and is therefore able to apprehend them simultaneously. It is, in fact, an organ of inward vision and, as such, an exteriorizationof the 'eye of the heart.' This unitive vision is expressed in Islam by the 'breaking of the barriers of the two eyes' of the letter ha, it's two curlicues being symbols of duty and division. The third eye is indicative of a superhuman state, one in which clairvoyance has achieved its perfection as well, at a higher level, as a share in the properties of the Sun." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 363) the CBS van Kowalski seems to exist in a kind of superhuman state in which he forgoes virtually all material needs --food, drink, rest, sex --save for bennies. He also displays a telepathic connection with another illuminated soul (har har) as the film unfolds. What's more, Kowalski is very much linked to the Sun throughout the film and is thus a kind of solar hero . But more on that later. After witnessing the massive road block California police have set for him in Cisco, Kowalski briefly tries to allude the pursuing patrol cars before retreating into the desert. There he briefly stops in an abandoned auto yard to contemplate his options. This setting effectively doubles as a graveyard and it is thus quite fitting that Kowalski appears to accept his fate here amongst these tombs of chrome. The tomb, of which these abandoned cars certainly evoke, has at times been associated with rebirth. "Jung related the tomb to the female archetype, like everything which embraces or enfolds. It is a place of safety, birth, growth and comfort. The tomb is the place in which the body either changes into spirit or prepares for its rebirth. Yet it is also the abyss in to which the being is swallowed up in ineluctable and transitory darkness. The mother and her symbols are both loving and fearful. "Dreaming of tombs betrays a graveyard within – repressed desires, lost loves, failed ambitions, memories of happier times and so on. They seem dead but, in psychological terms, are not completely dead, they lead a twilit life in the tombs of the unconscious..." (Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pg. 1014)  While Kowalski does not dream of tombs, here he surrounds himself with symbolic ones. They quite aptly allude to the back story that will unfold over the course of the film detailing Kowalski's lost love, failed ambitions and happier times. In a sense this sequence thus represents Kowalski's final break with his past. He is now ready to move on to the next stage and returns to the Challenger in preparation for it. Kowalski contemplates his options in the junk (grave) yard with the rising sun prominently in the background From this point he races back to the road block, his final destination set. As he closes in on it a black Chrysler approaches from the other direction. The screen freezers and contrasts Kowalski's white Challenger as it prepares to pass the black Chrysler. There is of course the obvious foreboding of death that the black vehicle proclaims as well as the black and white symbolism of the two cars. Reportedly the color white was chosen for the Dodge Challenger purely to make it stand out and  easily visible to the audience and has no symbolic significance . And yet Kowalski is shown in a white shirt (along with blue jeans) throughout the film as well. This is in keeping with the theme of rebirth present throughout the film --candidates for an initiatory rebirth were frequently outfitted in pure white garments. Kowalski approaching the black vehicle at this juncture also echoes the alchemical conception of putrefaction, which was frequently symbolized by black. "In alchemy is found again the perpetuation of the Universal Mystery; for surely as Jesus died upon the cross, Hiram (CHiram) at the west gate of the Temple, Orpheus on the banks of the river Hebros, Christna on the banks of the Ganges, and Osiris in the coffin prepared by Typhon, so in alchemy, unless the elements first die, the Great Work cannot be achieved. The stages of the alchemical procession can be traced in the lives and activities of nearly all the world Saviors and teachers, and also among the mythologies of several nations. It is said in the Bible that 'except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' In alchemy it is declared that without putrefaction the Great Work cannot be accomplished. What is it that dies on the cross, is buried in the tomb of the Mysteries, and that dies also in the retort and becomes black with putrefaction? Also, what is it that does the same thing in the nature of man, that he may rise again, phoenix-like, from his own ashes (caput mortuum)?" (The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall, pg. 506) Presumably Kowalski had discerned the answers to these questions before his own immolation. In this context then the black Chrysler is not just an omen of his pending death, but also the rebirth that shall soon follow it. The film adds a further layer of subtext to this image by making the Challenger disappear before the Chrysler and then cutting to Denver on Friday night just as Kowalski is getting into town with his prior charge. It is thus revealed that Kowalski is also the driver the Chrysler and that in the freeze frame he was confronted with both his past and future. One is reminded of the symbolism of the ouroboros in this instance as Kowalski seems to be consuming his own tail in a closed cycle of development in which his flight never ends, but is repeated over and over gain for all eternity. the two cars approaching one another There is of course an element of the legend of Sisyphus in this image as well and this is no doubt one of the chief reasons why this film is often described as "existential ." Is Kowalski, like the protagonist of the famed existential comedy Groundhog Day , condemned to repeat his cross state chase over and over gain for eternity, or till he at least gets it right? I suspect not, with this image chiefly symbolizing what Kowalski is escaping from. Thus it is a kind of final goodbye to the life he knew and the material plane on the whole. It is also the inevitable end of an initiatory journey. And Kowalski himself is very much an initiate, though he almost surely did not intentionally set out to be one. Throughout the film it is implied that Kowalski's life changed decisively because of his time in Vietnam, where he was wounded in combat. Clearly this was a transforming moment and one that lead to a certain kind of initiation. "...  It follows that we find a gap analogous to that which exists between initiation and  investiture. Investiture corresponds to what in the West was knightly ordination and to what in other areas was the ritual initiation typical of the warrior caste; initiation (a realization of a more direct, individual, and inner nature) corresponds to heroic action in a traditional, sacral sense, which is connected to doctrine such as that of the 'holy war' and of the mors triumphalis." (Revolt Against the Modern World, Julius Evola, pg. 79) In other words Kowalski has inadvertently undergone what is known as a heroic initiation, one of which typically brought about by combat and much revered by left-hand path practitioners such as the vile Baron Julius Evola . But in this case Kowalski realized the conflict that brought about his initiation was anything but holy, leaving the process incomplete. Since that time Kowalski seemingly attempted to recapture the moment he experienced in war over and over again --as a police officer, as a race driver, an "auto clown" and finally as an outlaw. This has led many critics to dismiss Kowalski as simply a thrill junkie trying to replicate the high he experienced in Vietnam. And this explanation may well have sufficed had the film been a mere "B-movie" and not littered with the allegorical symbolism that it is. But these signs point to something far deeper than speed that Kowalski is searching though speed is certainly his preference for achieving what it is he is searching for. And it is here that I shall wrap things up for now. In the next installment I shall begin to breakdown Kowalski's journey in earnest. Stay tuned dear reader. The Stoner Rock Mysteries: Shrinebuilder As regular readers of this blog are aware, your humble author is quite taken with a genre commonly referred to as " stoner rock ," something of catchall term that includes styles such as doom , sludge and drone metal, desert and retro rock, post-metal , occult rock, heavy psych and so on. This genre has shown itself to be especially synchro-mystical, what with its allusions to metaphysics, mythology, entheogens and litanies of pop culture references to sci-fi, fantasy and horror. For a more in depth discussion on these points, check here . The band for consideration in this discussion is very much a part of the stoner rock universe, effectively constituting a kind of super group (or at least as super as a group can be comprised of largely underground musicians). While so much of mainline heavy rock was bogged down with teenage mopping and faux Satanism for the past few decades, the artists who comprise Shrinebuilder were busy exploring a host of sophisticated esoteric topics in the same time frame. They include: And drummer/some time vocalist Dale Crover of the Melvins (and parts of Nirvana 's Bleach album). from left to right: Cisneros, Wino, Kelly and Crover Regular readers of this blog should recognize a few familiar names above. Neurosis' mind-bending and highly influential catalog was already considered at length before here while a run down of the Wino bands can be found here . Most recently I considered Cisneros' work with Sleep and Om . So, tackling Shrinebuilder at this point is a natural progression. The band originates from some time in the early 2000s, just as Al Cisneros was beginning to get back into music after an extended layoff spanning from the late 90s into the early part of the next decade. Originally Shrinebuilder was conceived of as a power trio with Cisneros, original Sleep and Om drummer Chris Hakius and Wino on guitar and vocals. Apparently the group's name derived from an Om song called "Rays of the Sun/To the Shrinebuilder" that was released as a split with Current 93 on Kelly's Neurot label in 2006. At some point in the middle of the decade Cisneros approached Kelly about signing on. Then, just as the group was set to begin writing in earnest, Hakius retired from music. Thus, the way was paved for the Dale Crover to step in as the group's drummer shortly before they began recording their debut album . Unsurprisingly, Cisneros was the guiding visionary of the band . His metaphysical bent is evident across the board, but especially in the group's lyrics (reportedly Cisneros and Kelly, who also regularly deals with esoteric themes, wrote the bulk of the lyrics on the debut). However, Cisneros largely shunned the spotlight over the course of the group's self-titled debut: His lead vocals are limited to album's second and fifth tracks while his bass only occasionally rises above Wino and Kelly's monolithic guitars (excluding " Blind For All to See ," the one really bass driven track on this album). Cisneros This left plenty of room for the other band members to put their own signatures onto the group's debut (and likely only) studio album. While Kelly doesn't seem to have contributed much musically, his vocals grace every song on the album and his trademark bludgeoning riffs are ever present. Wino seems to have written a fair amount of the music, including the oh-so Om-like " Pyramids of the Moon ", as well as contributing heavily to the " Architect " and " The Science of Anger ". He also splits lead vocals with Kelly on the latter to two tracks, as well as opener " Solar Benediction ," and contributed much of the lead guitar (at least as far as this researcher can tell). Crover was a late addition, but his trademark polyrhythmic drumming is present throughout and his chant-like backup vocals (often in conjunction with Cisneros') provide an exotic layer to the proceedings The final lineup had yet to play with one another until literally the night before the group was set to enter the studio to record the self-titled debut . At the onset of the recording sessions the group only had vague outlines of most songs and used the previous night's rehearsal to begin constructing song structures in earnest. This, combined with the general failings of super groups, would spell disaster for most records. Everything about the album seemed to cry out "Rush job!" And yet it worked. Certainly few who listened to Shrinebuilder for the first time were blown away by the album as they likely were by records released by the outfits whom provided the nucleus of the band. Indeed, many listeners seem to have found the album rather underwhelming: while Shrinebuilder had certainly avoided embarrassing themselves, there was nothing especially groundbreaking to the album. Each member stuck within their respective comfort zone and the sound that emerged reflected each aspect of the contributors without altering anyone's signature sound. the much anticipated debut album So, novelty was not much a factor in the success of Shrinebuilder other than the obvious novelty of this particular lineup playing together. But while the album offered up nothing especially new, it showcased four of the best musicians in their respective genres at the top of their craft. While these songs may not grab one by the ear right off the bat, repeated listening reveal a strong batch of epic-length songs with any number of subtle layers surrounding them. Note, for instance, the gorgeous acoustic picking (courtesy of Wino) that appears during the final minutes of "Solar Benediction" or the otherworldly chants that appear midway through "Pyramid of the Moon." These are the types of little details that help push these songs over the top while also illustrating to total mastery of their respective crafts these four musicians possessed at the time this album was recorded. But moving along. The album opens with "Solar Benediction," a track largely composed by Cisneros and which appears to be one of the earliest Shrinebuilder songs. Driven by a lumbering groove the invokes Sleep, Om and Neurosis in equal measures, Wino and Kelly trade verses in striking contrast before the song settles into a tranquil instrumental section. The track details a journey through initiation , a theme many of the musicians of Shrinebuilder have addressed at length before. Specifically, the song proclaims a journey of the soul spanning " Jericho onward through wailing gods and barren scapes of flesh." This echoes the Gnostic disillusionment with both the flesh as well the illusionary nature of the world. From here comes "Pyramid of the Moon," the group's first single. The song opens with a deliberate groove over which Wino and Kelly layer various effects-laden guitars. The song slowly builds, and is especially punctuated during its midsection by the chant-like backing vocals of Cisneros and Crover. The last section of the song is possibly the most Om-like moment on the album, and it is fitting that Cisneros takes the mic for the album's climatic groove. The song title of course evokes numerous conspiracy theories concerning bases on the moon and certainly the song's chief songwriter, Wino, has a penchant for the sort of thing . B ut the lyrics were primarily the work of Kelly on this track and he shuns ancient astronaut musings. Instead, the song becomes a kind of ode to the destruction humanity has wrought upon the Earth in its quest to reach the stars. Dryly Kelly intones: "The walls of crows spread seed/To the earth for our feast of withering souls and reason/ We turn to the moon/ Sets upon sea of light." At this point Cisneros takes up the vocals and offers some musings about "Ascend freedom/Transference/Fuse the watcher at Jericho" and so forth. But in the context of the song, this transference rings hollow. I suppose this warranted the inclusion of Jericho. But moving along. the legendary city of Jericho is referenced twice on Shrinebuilder Track three, "Blind for All to See," is the most mellow and atmospheric song on the album. The track is driven by a rolling Cisneros bass line over which Kelly and Wino subtly layer trippy leads. Lyrically this track seems to deal with the suffocating militarism in American society and the spiritual waste land it has left in its wake. Kelly sneers "They're leading on to the warship plane/On to the light/ Give us solitude/Give us in the reign/Watch the bow reach/ To the glowing gods/Through the astral plane/Blind for all to see." Perhaps then as technology becomes interchangeable from magic, it threatens to totally consume the gods and all planes as well? Kelly Next comes "The Architect," one of the most compelling songs on the album. The song title of course echoes the Masonic notion of God as "the Great Architect " and is also consistent with the stone mason imagery evoked by the name Shrinebuilder itself. This was another Wino-lead song and is the closet the album comes to sounding like one of the Wino bands. It also takes up the theme of initiation first introduced in "Solar Benediction." Over a dragging groove Wino opens up the song moaning "From labyrinthine dream be released/Apprehends state, form, and time/Rise Farid." "Farid" is likely a reference to the Persian Sufi poet  Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm , better known by his pen name of Farīd ud-Dīn. Farid's most well known work is called The Conference of the Birds . Cisneros named the second Om album after this work and has made reference to it at times . Farid ud-Din From here the song goes on to the path the initiate seeks so as to escape the Demiurgic world, Wino stating: "The astral field's perceived/And permutations feed/The Initiate set free/The rising entropy/That wields the freeing blade/And asks of Mercury... /When is the waking hour?" Mercury is of course the god of magic and was especially revered within the Mysteries in his Greek form of Hermes . After a few more "when is the waking hours?" it fades out into an effects-laden bass solo that would do Geezer Butler himself proud. The album closes with "The Science of Anger", another Wino track. Apparently this song was partly inspired by Wino's then-failing marriage (he was divorced shortly thereafter) but part of the lyrics were provided by Kelly. The song seems to become an ode to how a poisonous relationship can derail the spiritual path one has set out upon. Wino Or at least this is my interpretation of the lines that come after the more personal opening verse: "Psyche binds to the golden host/Exhortations O Solaris/The heirophant rite begins/Translucent jewel of Osiric line/Distant tide surging through my soul/Stirring the blood of my fathers pain." A heirophant was a priest in ancient Greece charged with interpreting sacred mysteries (in Attica this was the title of the chief priest of the Eleusinian Mysteries ) while the Egyptian god  Osiris had his own highly popular Mystery School in the ancient world. Thus, this would seem to indicate the narrator is back on the path of initiation. Osiris Fittingly, the song and the album itself ends with another Cisneros dominated-section with chant-like backing vocals. As though rising above some warped monestary, Cisneros concludes the album by observing "For warmth I'm yearning/The destroyer's touch/Blackout til dawn/Absolution/Toward the sun I send/Purified and wash errant perception." And indeed, one certainly feels purified by album's end. And so concludes Shrinebuilder's debut and essentially the band's brief run. The debut was released in late 2009 and after playing sporadic shows in 2010 and 2011 the group went on hiatus. With the busy schedules of all four members, fans assumed this was merely a break so that the various members could refocus on their main groups before a sequel was forth coming. But by 2012 uncertainty began to emerge as to the future of Shrinebuilder. Then in 2014 Wino seemingly announced the death of the band when he stated during an interview ; "...Cisneros is insane so Shrinebuilder is not going to happen..." Thus, the band ends as mysteriously as it began. After years of rumblings in the underground of its existence the group briefly emerged like some mythological creature of old, performed wonders and then disappeared back into the ether under a cloak of even more mystery. I suppose this is as fitting a conclusion as such a group could hope for. And with that I shall wrap things up for now. Until next time dear reader.
i don't know
'Erinaceus Europaeus' is the latin name for which common creature?
Common Hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life Learn more about this article Description The hedgehog is one of our most instantly recognisable native mammals, as it is the only British mammal to have spines (2). They are also characterised by their fairly short tails, long legs and small ears (6). Young hedgehogs are born with a coat of soft, white spines, which are underneath the skin to protect the mother during birth, but emerge after a few hours (7). A second coat of dark spines emerges after about 36 hours, and later on a third set develops. By 11 days of age the young hedgehogs can curl into a ball, and after 14 days the eyes open (8). Trusted
Hedgehog (disambiguation)
Sharing its name with a native American tribe, which hairstyle sees both sides of the head shaven leaving a noticeably longer length of hair in the centre?
ADW: Erinaceus europaeus: INFORMATION References Geographic Range Erinaceus europaeus (European hedgehog) is commonly found across Europe and into central Asia. Native to this region, it can be found from the Archipelago of the Azores and as far east as Khazakstan. It is commonly seen in northern Europe, as far as Scandinavia. While it is generally not found south of the Mediterranean Sea, it has been seen in Lebanon. Erinaceus europaeus is also found in New Zealand, where they were introduced in the late 1800s. ( Bogdanov, et al., 2009 ; Brockie, 1959 ; Mathias, et al., 1998 ; "Division of Mammals Collections: Search "Erinaceus europaeus"", 2011 ) Biogeographic Regions 0.00 to 7874.02 ft Physical Description The European hedgehog is a small, round animal with short legs that raise it about 1 inch above the ground. It is plantigrade and has 5 well developed pads and claws on each foot. The first and fifth toes are smaller and weaker than the second, third, and fourth toes. Its coat is white and brown and consists of 3/4 to 1 inch spines, arranged in a radiating pattern, that cover all but its cheeks, throat, stomach, and limbs. Areas not covered in spines are covered in a coarse hair that is yellow-brown in color, though white hedgehogs have been seen. It has an elongated, conical head and snout, a small braincase, a short neck and tail, and well developed eyes and ears. The length of its body ranges from 135 to 265 mm, and males are usually slightly larger than females. The tail is about 20 mm long. ( Burton, 1969 ; Forrest, 1899 ; Gordon, 1904 ; Johnston, 1903 ; Kindahl, 1959 ; Lawrence and Brown, 1973 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Step, 1921 ; Walker, 1968 ) The spines covering the European hedgehog's body have white tips and bases and are covered with alternating brown and black bands. They are hollow and have longitudinal grooves, which decrease their weight. Spines are made of keratin and are attached to the skin in a similar way to hair . Each spine grows from a follicle in the skin that is attached to a small muscle ( arrector pili ) that is used for piloerection. When a hedgehog rolls into a ball, all of the spines can be erected simultaneously, which is made possible by the panniculus carnosis, a sheet of muscle that covers its back. An adult hedgehog usually has around 5,000 spines covering its body. ( Burton, 1969 ; Forrest, 1899 ; Gordon, 1904 ; Johnston, 1903 ; Kindahl, 1959 ; Lawrence and Brown, 1973 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Step, 1921 ; Walker, 1968 ) Erinaceus europaeus has lacteal and permanent teeth. The permanent dentition features widely space upper incisors such that the lower incisors fit between them. The dental formula for E. europaeus is 3/2, 1/1, 2/3, 3/3. ( Burton, 1969 ; Forrest, 1899 ; Gordon, 1904 ; Johnston, 1903 ; Kindahl, 1959 ; Lawrence and Brown, 1973 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Step, 1921 ; Walker, 1968 ) Other Physical Features AnAge Reproduction European hedgehogs are solitary and non-territorial. They begin the mating process when a male encounters a female, at which time the male encircles the female while she lowers her head and makes a variety snorts, grunts, and hisses. If the male is successful in courting the female, he attempts to mount her several times. After numerous copulations, the male leaves the female, and does not provide any parental care to his offspring. He continues to roam alone and attempts to mate with other females until he begins preparing for hibernation. Males and females have multiple mates each season. ( Burton, 1969 ; Hof and Bright, 2010 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Walker, 1968 ) Mating System polygynandrous (promiscuous) Erinaceus europaeus begins mating in late spring (April or May) when the the animal emerges from hibernation. Males, which emerge 3 to 4 weeks before females, expand their home range during mating season to increase chances of finding a mate. When a male finds a mate, he circles her while she lowers her nose and becomes audibly defensive. The male may circle for several hours, making several attempts to mount. If the female continually rejects the male, he eventually leaves to find a receptive female. If she accepts him, she flattens her spines and lowers herself to the ground, which gives the male better access. To copulate, a male climbs onto a female's back and uses his teeth to hold onto her shoulder. Gestation last for about 35 days. Females give birth to four to six offspring per litter, and often have two litters per year. The second litter, which is born later in the year, has a reduced chance of surviving winter. New borns are about 3 inches long and weigh 0.3 to 0.9 oz. At birth, E. europaeus does not appear to have spines, which are concealed beneath their fluid filled skin. 24 hours after birth, the fluid is absorbed and the spines are revealed, and, 2 to 3 days later, the young’s musculature is developed enough to allow it to hold the spines erect. These white adolescent spines are replaced by darker spines after about 1.5 days. Pigmented adult spines replace the first two coats after about 2 to 3 weeks, at which time young begin to open their eyes and learn how to roll into a ball. Young are weaned by 4 to 6 weeks old, after which they become independent of parental care, and are able to mate by about 1 year. ( Bunnell, 2009 ; Burton, 1969 ; Johnston, 1903 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; de Magalhaes and Costa, 2009 ) Key Reproductive Features 10 (high) years Behavior Erinaceus europaeus is nocturnal, predominantly solitary, and non-territorial. It meets intentionally with others only during the mating season, but a social hierarchy may exist such that mature females have dominance over prime feeding sites. Hedgehogs have relatively large home ranges that are difficult to defend, and as such, they roam freely during the night. They tend to rest during the day in shallow nests made of twigs, leaves, grass, pine needles, and other foliage. Each nest is utilized by more than one individual, but never at the same time, and hedgehogs may also share urine sites. Aggressive interactions have not been observed between individuals. ( Burton, 1969 ; Forrest, 1899 ; Jones and Digger, 2009 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Walker, 1968 ) Erinaceus europaeus travels at an average speed of 110 to 220 yards per hour. They are successful swimmers and climbers and are able to squeeze through tight spaces. When threatened, hedgehogs curl into a ball, exposing their sharp spines while protecting their vulnerable underbelly and face. However, hedgehogs prefer to avoid contact with predators by living in areas devoid of predator odors despite an increase in hedgehog population density. ( Burton, 1969 ; Forrest, 1899 ; Jones and Digger, 2009 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Walker, 1968 ) As day length decreases, European hedgehog begin looking for sufficiently insulated hibernation nests. In colder areas, hibernation usually begins in October and lasts until April; in warmer areas, hedgehogs may only hibernate during the coldest of winters. Hedgehogs survive the cold temperatures by storing fat to be used as insulation and as an energy reserve to wake up when necessary. These periodic breaks in hibernation occur every 1 to 2 weeks and last for 1 to 2 days, during which hedgehogs forage for food and urinate. Provided sufficient resources, captive hedgehogs do not hibernate. Key Behaviors 0.1214 km^2 Home Range European hedgehogs require large foraging areas (often no more than 100 acres) due to inconsistent and unreliable distribution of food. When food is more abundant, such as in home gardens or other agroecosystems, European hedgehogs may have a home range as small as 12 to 25 acres. Males generally have home ranges up to twice the size the female’s home range. ( Jones and Digger, 2009 ; Rondinini, 2007 ) Communication and Perception European hedgehogs are not particularly noisy, and make mostly grunting, snorting, and hoarse squeaking sounds. Adults are vocal during mating, while feeding, and occasionally when captured. Young may squeak and whistle while in the nest. Due to its nocturnal behavior, European hedgehogs rely heavily on their senses of smell and hearing. In addition to having a well developed sense of smell, they, like many mammals, have a Jacobson's organ in their palate. The organ may have a role in social behavior as both male and female hedgehogs have a variety of scent glands. While the mechanisms of hearing in E. europaeus have not been well studied, research on a related species, the Long-eared hedgehog , has found it capable of processing high-frequency sounds up to 45kHz. ( Burton, 1969 ; Forrest, 1899 ; Johnston, 1903 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Southern, 1964 ; Step, 1921 ) Communication Channels fruit Predation Predators of the Erinaceus europaeus include dogs, foxes , snakes, large owls , and badgers . To protect themselves, hedgehogs have the ability to curl into a defensive ball that exposes only erected spines. In order to form into a ball, they constriction the panniculus carnosus muscle. When this occurs, the muscles associated with each spine contract, leaving all of the hedgehog’s spines erect. Some predators, such as badgers and foxes , may be able to gain access to the hedgehog by wedging their noses into the crease where the top and bottom of the spiny coat meet. Predators have also been known to drop a balled hedgehog from a height so as to shock or injure the hedgehog long enough for them to take advantage of its exposed underbelly. ( Hof and Bright, 2010 ; Johnston, 1903 ; Rondinini, 2007 ; Vermeulen, et al., 2009 ) Known Predators Archeopsylla erinacei Economic Importance for Humans: Positive Hedgehogs are routinely kept as pets, but the European hedgehog is forbidden as a pet in Europe. Due to their broad diet, hedgehogs may help control insect pests. They have proven useful for the study of numerous diseases including foot and mouth disease, yellow fever, and influenza. Their hair and spines are useful in assessing for environmental pollutants including arsenic, silver, cadmium, lead, cobalt, and Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs). Traditional remedies have incorporated the blood, entrails, or ashes of European hedgehogs, and some rituals involving hedgehogs have been used to cure baldness and predict the weather. Ancient Romans raised hedgehogs for their meat, and they used parts of the hedgehog, especially their spiny coat, for training work animals. ( Burton, 1969 ; D'Havé, et al., 2005 ; D'Havé, et al., 2006 ; Hof and Bright, 2010 ; Southern, 1964 ; Vermeulen, et al., 2009 ) Positive Impacts young are relatively well-developed when born References National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. 2011. "Division of Mammals Collections: Search "Erinaceus europaeus"" (On-line). Accessed April 03, 2011 at http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/mammals/ . Armori, G., R. Hutterer, B. Kryštufek, N. Yigit, G. Mitsain, L. Palomo. 2008. "Erinaceus europaeus" (On-line). IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 2010.4.. Accessed March 19, 2011 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/29650/0 . Beilby, R. 1791. A general history of quadrupeds: The figures engraved on wood By T. Bewick.. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: S. Hodgson, R. Beilby, & T. Bewick. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://find.galegroup.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/ecco/infomark.do?&contentSet=ECCOArticles&type=multipage&tabID=T001&prodId=ECCO&docId=CW3307221348&source=gale&userGroupName=umuser&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE . Bogdanov, A., A. Bannikova, Y. Pirusskii, N. Formozov. 2009. The first genetic evidence of hybridization between West European and Northern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus and E. roumanicus) in Moscow region. Biology Bulletin, 36/6: 647-651. Accessed March 18, 2011 at http://www.springerlink.com/content/p110772hh53p71h7/ . Brockie, R. 1959. Observations of the food of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Science, 2: 121-136. Bunnell, T. 2009. Growth rate in early and late litters of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Lutra, 52/1: 15-22. Burton, M. 1969. The Hedgehog. Worchester and London: Andre Deutch Limited. Covaci, A., R. Verhagen. 2007. Non-destructive pollution exposure assessment in the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus): IV. Hair versus soil analysis in exposure and risk assessment of organochlorine compounds. Environmental Pollution, 145/3: 861-868. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VB5- 4K717WH-1/2/edecd3e3378753bdf6ce7af428123e83 . D'Havé, H., J. Scheirs, V. Kayawe Mubiana, R. Verhagen, R. Blust, W. De Coen. 2006. Non-destructive pollution exposure assessment in the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus): II. Hair and spines as indicators of endogenous metal and As concentrations. Environmental Pollution, 142/3: 438-448. Accessed March 21, 2011 at http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB5-4HP6GF9-5&_user=99318&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000007678&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=99318&md5=e1eddc19725614595973eaef32b307bb&searchtype=a . D'Havé, H., J. Scheirs, R. Verhagen, V. Mubianaa, W. De Coen. 2005. Nondestructive pollution exposure assessment in the european hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus): I. Relationships between concentrations of metals and arsenic in hair, spines, and soil. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 24/9: 2356-2364. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/doi/10.1897/04-597R.1/abstract;jsessionid=3494EA9BD6CC8AEA24695DBB9D387EEB.d03t04 . Forrest, E. 1899. The fauna of Shropshire: being an account of all the mammals, birds, reptiles & fishes found in the county of Salop. With an introduction dealing with the physical features of the county, a copious index, a chapter on the principal naturalists who have done work in connection with the subject, and a short account of the Wild birds protection acts.. Shrewsbury, UK: L. Wilding, Castle Street. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3361250 . Gaglio, G., S. Allen, L. Bowden, M. Bryant, E. Morgan. 2009. Parasites of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in Britain: epidemiological study and coprological test evaluation. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 56/6: 839-844. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://www.springerlink.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/content/aw66l6051n601u56/ . Gordon, W. 1904. Our country's animals and how to know them: A guide to the mammals, reptiles and amphibians of Great Britain. London, UK: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3290968 . Hof, A., P. Bright. 2010. The value of agri-environment schemes for macro-invertebrate feeders: hedgehogs on arable farms in Britain. Animal Conservation, 13/5: 467–473. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2010.00359.x/abstract . Johnston, H. 1903. British Mammals. London, UK: Hutchinson & Co.. Jones, C., K. Moss, M. Sanders. 2005. Diet of hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in the upper Waitaki Basin, New Zealand: Implications for conservation. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 29/1: 29-35. Accessed April 03, 2011 at http://www.nzes.org.nz.proxy.lib.umich.edu/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol29_1_29.pdf . Jones, C., J. Digger. 2009. A first record of latrine use by European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus (Linnaeus, 1758). Mammalia, 73/2: 145-147. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.umich.edu/10.1515/MAMM.2009.018 . Kindahl, M. 1959. The Tooth Development in Erinaceus Europaeus. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, 17/4: 467-489. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://informahealthcare.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/doi/abs/10.3109/00016355908993935 . Lawrence, M., R. Brown. 1973. Mammals of Britain: Tracks, Signs and Trails. London: Blanford Press. Mathias, M., M. Ramalhinho, M. Santos-Reis, F. Petrucci-Fonseca, R. Libios, R. Fons, G. Ferraz de Carvalho, M. Oom, M. Collares-Pereira. 1998. Mammals from the Azores islands (Portugal): An updated overview.. Mammalia, 62: 397-407. Rondinini, C. 2007. Hedgehogs and moonrats. D Macdonald, ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals, Oxford Reference Online Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 03, 2011 at http://www.oxfordreference.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t227.e65 . Southern, H. 1964. Handbook of British Mammals. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications. Step, E. 1921. Animal life of the British Isles: A pocket guide to the mammals, reptiles and batrachians of wayside and woodland. London, UK: Frederick Warne. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t1bk1864b . Verhagen, R., R. Blust. 2005. Nondestructive pollution exposure assessment in the european hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus): I. Relationships between concentrations of metals and arsenic in hair, spines, and soil. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 24/9: 2356-2364. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/doi/10.1897/04-597R.1/abstract;jsessionid=3494EA9BD6CC8AEA24695DBB9D387EEB.d03t04 . Vermeulen, F., N. Van den Brink, H. D'Havé, V. Mubiana, R. Blust, L. Bervoets, W. De Coen. 2009. Habitat type-based bioaccumulation and risk assessment of metal and As contamination in earthworms, beetles and woodlice. Environmental Pollution, 157: 3098-3105. Accessed March 14, 2011 at http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB5-4WH6KRG-2&_user=99318&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000007678&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=99318&md5=d2c703f12864cdc895e0969ffdb61108&searchtype=a . Walker, E. 1968. Mammals of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. de Magalhaes, J., J. Costa. 2009. A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22/8: 1770-1774. Accessed April 03, 2011 at http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Erinaceus_europaeus .
i don't know
What eight letter word do Americans use to describe what we British call a pavement?
20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback - Matador Network 20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback Photo: Katherine Hodgson If we all start using them, these words can be resurrected. DURING MY UNDERGRADUATE studies as a Linguistics major, one of the things that struck me most is the amazing fluidity of language. New words are created; older words go out of style. Words can change meaning over time, vowel sounds shift, consonants are lost or added and one word becomes another. Living languages refuse to be static. The following words have sadly disappeared from modern English, but it’s easy to see how they could be incorporated into everyday conversation. Words are from Erin McKean’s two-volume series: Weird and Wonderful Words and Totally Weird and Wonderful Words . Definitions have been quoted from the Oxford English Dictionary . 1. Jargogle Verb trans. – “To confuse, jumble” – First of all this word is just fun to say in its various forms. John Locke used the word in a 1692 publication, writing “I fear, that the jumbling of those good and plausible Words in your Head..might a little jargogle your Thoughts…” I’m planning to use it next time my husband attempts to explain complicated Physics concepts to me for fun: “Seriously, I don’t need you to further jargogle my brain.” 2. Deliciate Verb intr. – “To take one’s pleasure, enjoy oneself, revel, luxuriate” – Often I feel the word “enjoy” just isn’t enough to describe an experience, and “revel” tends to conjure up images of people dancing and spinning around in circles – at least in my head. “Deliciate” would be a welcome addition to the modern English vocabulary, as in “After dinner, we deliciated in chocolate cream pie.” 3. Corrade Verb trans. – “To scrape together; to gather together from various sources” – I’m sure this wasn’t the original meaning of the word, but when I read the definition I immediately thought of copy-pasting. Any English teacher can picture what a corraded assignment looks like. 4. Kench Verb intr. – “To laugh loudly” – This Middle English word sounds like it would do well in describing one of those times when you inadvertently laugh out loud while reading a text message in class and manage to thoroughly embarrass yourself. 5. Ludibrious Adj. – “Apt to be a subject of jest or mockery” – This word describes a person, thing or situation that is likely to be the butt of jokes. Use it when you want to sound justified in poking fun at someone. “How could I resist? He’s just so ludibrious.” 6. Sanguinolency Noun – “Addiction to bloodshed” – Could be a useful word for history majors and gamers, as in “Genghis Khan was quite the sanguinolent fellow” or “Do you think spending six hours a day playing Postal 2 actually fosters sanguinolency?” 7. Jollux Noun – Slang phrase used in the late 18th century to describe a “fat person” – Although I’m not sure whether this word was used crudely or in more of a lighthearted manner, to me it sounds like a nicer way to refer to someone who is overweight. “Fat” has such a negative connotation in English, but if you say “He’s a bit of a jollux” it doesn’t sound so bad! 8. Malagrugrous Adj. – “Dismal” – This adjective is from Scots and may be derived from an old Irish word that refers to the wrinkling of one’s brow. An 1826 example of its use is “He looketh malagrugorous and world-wearied.” I’m tempted to also make the word into a noun: “Stop being such a malagrug!” 9. Brabble Verb – “To quarrel about trifles; esp. to quarrel noisily, brawl, squabble” – Brabble basically means to argue loudly about something that doesn’t really matter, as in “Why are we still brabbling about who left the dirty spoon on the kitchen table?” You can also use it as a noun: “Stop that ridiculous brabble and do something useful!” 10. Freck Verb intr. – “To move swiftly or nimbly” – I can think of a lot of ways to use this one, like “I hate it when I’m frecking through the airport and other people are going so slow.” For 10 more interesting obsolete words, go to the next page. Get more stuff like this in your inbox! Sign up for our newsletter and get emails of great stories like this. I agree to the Terms of Service Posted In: by Ana Bulnes Paul Sullivan Nice work Heather. I’m an ardent sesquipidalian, but there are lots here I’ve a) never heard of and b) adore. Malagrugrous! Kathy I like freck – nice one. Kench is good too, and I definitely just kenched (is that a correct use of the word and that sounds strange…) in the middle of my class – and I’m the teacher! Heather Carreiro Anandi Premlall Don’t get all jargogled when I deliciate or kench with words corraded from old times. Besides, I’m not thrilled to be ludibrious and if you think so, we might brabble and you’d be subject to my sanguinolency. So when I looketh malagrugorous upon you, better get your freck on jollux. Heather Carreiro Such great words. I also like sisyphean, which isn’t obsolete I suppose, but not that frequently used (I think). Very good word to have for describing (and express frustration over) all the endlessly repetitive activities we do every day 🙂 Benjamin T. I think that many people could have some issues with using a word like twitter-light, since for many these days the root word twitter is merely something you do on the internet and not much else. PatF Speaking of words. What about the everyday words we are losing? Since the explosion of cell phones and texting you, has become “u”, are has become “r”, be has become “b:” It won’t be long before this generation accepts texting shorthand as the official language of the Country. Heather Carreiro Oh Pat – I hope that doesn’t happen! Sadly though I got an email earlier this week from a former student (one hoping to pursue a graduate degree in teaching English) that include “u” and “ur.” K.Michelle As an English major, I worry about that as well. I have to say, though, lately I’ve seen more and more people stop using “text-language,” and go back to more proper terms. I think it was exciting at first to develop a new way to communicate, but I think now more and more people (even those in my 18-25 age group) are becoming annoyed with abbreviated words when texting. I’ll admit, there is *one* word I abbreviate when texting. “Tomorrow” becomes “tmw.” I’m ashamed, but sometimes, when you only have 140 characters, you need those other five! Nice article! Nick Rowlands “Do you fancy a brannigan tonight, or shall we invite a few people over and just deliciate?” “I vote for some chilled deliciation. You know your bibesy rears its head when you drink too much, and you act like a proper hoddypeak.” “I know, but she’s just so illecebrous – she has me all of a widdendream.” “I swear, one of these days I’m gonna quagswagg some sense into you if it kills me!” Fantastic article, Heather! Heather Carreiro Nick, it sounds like you’ve already been using these words! The second example caused me to kench. Fabulous collection of words, must try and work those into my vocabulary! Gail Davis Loved your article!!!!! I thought you may kench to learn my word pronunciation software has less than one third of your wonderful words, and my word speller insists my spelling is flawed! I apologize for the excessive use of exclamation marks , but felt they were warranted in this situation. Heather Carreiro Yes, I had all sorts of red underlining in the word processor when I was working on this article! Jeff Sometimes you can just tell from the way a person writes that they’ve never had a real job. These words are interesting, but most of them are merely synonyms for existing words and don’t add any nuances of meaning. French author Gustave Flaubert believed that in every situation there exists “le mot juste” – only one word that perfectly describes the meaning to be conveyed. In today’s world, too may people use vocabulary to make themselves appear witty or interesting rather than to communicate clearly and effectively. Deborah but Jeff, Flaubert was a Frenchman, and, like many of his fellow citizens, a prescriptive purist about language. If there is one right word for every situation, doesn’t that mean that we should learn more words, so that we have a better chance of finding the truly perfect one in each instance? Especially anyone who has English as her or his native tongue; we can deliciate in the vast range of subtly different words that make up the wonderful hybrid hodgepodge of Brythonic, Germanic, Scandinavian and Romance influences that is the English language. Language can be beautiful as well as functional – can even be both simultaneously. A limited vocabulary doesn’t necessarily promote clarity, and an extensive one needn’t hinder it. Me Kerry-ann I just loved this article – not an English language fanatic because it often jargogles my brain. And next time my husband irritates me by frecking through the shops when I want to stop and look I am going to give him a malagrugrous look! Heather Carreiro For my husband and I it’s the opposite: I try to freck it through the grocery store while he likes to look in every aisle and read all the labels… Abby for my husband and me! (an idea for your next article) thank you for this article, my brain has stretched EvaSandoval I enjoyed this article a lot; in my Sophomore year of High school, a big unit in my World History class was Middle English words. Fascinating! I’m forever besotted by “adam’s ale” (beer), “earth apple” (potato), and “dunderpate” (idiot). Words, words, words – I deliciate in words! Heather Carreiro Charlotte if you like “earth apple” (potato), you might like the Dutch word for potato, I suppose. We still use exactly that, earth apple. Except, of course, in Dutch (aardappel). Middle English sounds very interesting, but unfortunately, as a non-native English speaker, I have difficulties with vocabulary (and everything else that comes with learning new languages) enough as it is. Larry Day The Dutch word for potato is aardappel (earth apple). It has occurred to me that it would be easier to read Middle English if one were bi-lingual in English and Dutch. Cheryl I deliciated in reading this blog post. It also prompted me to kench several times. I’d love to use lots of these words in my everyday speech, but I’m sure I’d make myself ludibrious by jargogling them all. scrochet Well said, more words for my palate to drive my family crazy. joan Looks like a few of us are into scriptitation! We should avoid perissology or the editors will see the $$ signs in our eyes and refuse to read any other syllable we ever submit to them. -J Heather Carreiro In Barbados, we call people who like rum a little too much “bibbers.” Wonder if it came from “bibesy.” Heather Carreiro Wow that’s so interesting! I wonder how you could find out the etymology – seems like there’s a good chance that the two words are related due to the similar meaning. Angie Can’t help but wonder if bibesy is derived from “imbibe”. As soon as I saw the word and definition imbibe came to mind. 🙂 Maggie It’ll probably have come from “Bibet,” the Latin root of Imbibe, which means “to drink” anything (rather than just alcohol). jizzo Bask in my illecebrous glow, as I roam freck, like a ninja in the twitter-light. In this widdendream after a good brannigan, I have been searching for that yemeles hoddypeak George Bush, whilst I might give him a quagswagging. With the weap…ons I’ve been able to corrade, I kench and deliciate with thoughts of revenge. The fate of that ludibrious jollux who perpetuates sanguinolency is malagrugrous. Do not be jargogled, I brabble not. Let this scriptatation be the record. I do apologize if this has become a perissology…now, for some bibesy. Heather Carreiro This made me laugh out loud (well okay the part about the “yemeles hoddypeak” was what got me). That’s talent to be able to use all these words in a single paragraph and make it sound poetic. Surely you deliciate in words. : ) I have already used the word Jargogle 3 times since I read this post…and the funny thing is the almighty spellcheck doesn’t recognize jargogle so it must be dead!! I think freck sounds like an expletive…”this frecking internet connection is frecking weak!” Heather Carreiro Jargogle is one of my favorites too! I’ve been using it all week. Jonscott I deliciated in these words even as I fought to overcome the tendency of my brain to jargogle as I read them. … some even led me to kench. I must admit; at first glance the list does seem like a corraded gathering of nonsense sounds. And one would have to suppress a fear of becoming the ludibrious focus of some uninformed dimwit were these words to be used in certain environs. Still, if the insult were directed at the right sanguinolent individual (particularly someone recently returned frm a brannigan) the outcome, for the unfortunate source of such a jibe, might well be rather malagrugrous. Of course, not being one personally to brabble, my tendency, were I to be in that situation, would be to freck to place of safety rather than remain quagswagging in fear of fisticuffs. Any hoddypeak would know better than to remain! Of course, the circumstance could lead to one experiencing a widdendream resulting in bibesy and, should one over indulge, amoment of yemles – possibly finding some gentleman’s lady illecebrous to the point of behaving inappropriately. Alas this scriptitation, and the fact that it is way beyond twitter-light, appears to have led to a bout of perissology, for which I beg your indulgence. Indy Pingback: Saving the Words « ktravula – a travelogue! () Mary Kay Bearden I loved this article! Like “me” above, I use the word absquatulate often. (as in, my best friend’s husband absquatulated while she was on vacation.) and that’s no bushwa. Another wonderful source for unusual words is Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual and Preposterous words. Heather Carreiro Ooh thanks – hadn’t heard of that book yet. : ) Caspar Wow I love this list I want to use almost every word right away. Heather Carreiro Do it! One reader already challenged another to use all 20 in a poem, and it was done successfully – I was quite impressed. SD Dalton Thank you. Alas, I was not able to get it into one paragraph as your other reader did! 😉 There are so many great words here. I have to go with “deliciate” They often deliciate with a good bottle of wine at their favorite sidewalk cafe. Heather Carreiro Mmmm. I can’t wait to deliciate in the spiced apple bread I’ve got baking in the oven. : ) May I please add ‘aposiopesis, (sp?). The act of going into another room and upon reaching it, forgetting why you came for. Heather Carreiro Jen Bee I just kenched while reading this; I often inadvertently laugh out loud while reading books and always thoroughly embarrass myself. Thankfully there was no one around this time. Jargoggle has to be my favourite though I will be using them all, and definitely squeezing some into my creative dissertation. VRBurton Thanks for the mental workout. To deliciate in the commotion caused by jargogling my students by using new words in a corraded sentence leads me to kench. marian king I hate to brabble, but I had to kench when I read this article. It seems that Heather’s brain may be a bit jargogled: Her malagrugrous use of the English language has led me to the conclusion that, instead of deliciating in antiquated words, Heather would do well to spend her time less yemelesly by brushing up on her present-day language, specifically grammar and spelling. She claims to be a teacher; one would hope she is not a teacher of ENGLISH!! Heather Carreiro I’ve decided to take this comment as a compliment. : ) Current slang does jargogle me – living abroad can do that! Longbowman Very few, if any, of these words are in the dictionary. They aren’t words. Heather Carreiro Hey Sarah, You won’t find these words in a contemporary dictionary because they are obsolete, meaning they’ve gone out of use. You can find them in the Oxford English Dictionary , an amazing resource that also includes words from Early and Middle English. Generally you need to subscribe or have access to a library in order to access the OED. If you read anything in Middle English or even some Early Modern English, you’ll find these words in use. EGB A wonderful piece! However, I am fine when words based on bigoted ethnic stereotypes are reduced to historical curiosities. (Looking at you, “brannigan.”) Heather Carreiro Hi EGB, Thanks for your comment, and I apologize if the choice of the word “brannigan” comes across as offensive. Based on the historical examples of its usage and the etymological details listed in the OED, I didn’t interpret the word as based on ethnic stereotypes, but I admit I’m not an expert on late 19th century and early 20th century North American slang. My intent was not to be reductive, and if you would like to add details here in the comments about why that word is offensive/should NOT be put back into use, please feel free to add them. The conversation is always open and critical feedback welcome! Heather Andrew A few years ago, I heard of a word meaning “to look at someone who has just produced some food in the hopes that you will be offered some.” I have completely forgotten what the word is, but find it applicable several times a day! Anyone know what it is? Christa Fletcher This is such a great article. I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of these definitions. My friends and I circulated your article and created many sentences by playing with the words over IM. I thought I’d share my most recent creation for fun: “Teens love to post about ‘Twilight’ on Twitter during twitter-light.” Thanks for your hard work and wordsmithery! Heather Carreiro Thanks Christa! So glad you enjoyed it. There are many more fun words in those two books by Erin McKeen – the majority listed aren’t obsolete, but they’re all rarely used. I think you’ve created a new tongue twister with that ‘twitter-light’ sentence! TJ Absolutely enjoyed this! I’ve studied English officially for ten years now (I’m 20), but I’ve always thought of it as my second native. I just love how, well, corraded and flexible it is! Jargogling, even 😉 Thanks for the great post! whomichael While I deliciate in corrading odd words , I fear they will jargogle people’s brains. I also fear attaining a ludibrious quality in which even dear friends (but especially hoodypeaks) would kench at my speech, or brabble with me about the l…egitimacy of my vocabulary. This could, in turn, move my personality to a malagrugrous state, and possibly cause a sanguinolency to develop within myself. Or I may depress myself into a bibesy state, chasing brannigan after brannigan, transmorphing myself into a jollux. My mind may then unravel into a widdendream, and I could spend my days frecking around and quagswagging about my house. Although I find old words illecebrous, I swear to never become yemeles in creating perissologous scriptitations to avoid these cruel fates in the twitter-light of my life. Old Man Sedgwick … If we want to reactivate ‘obsolete English words’, I hereby nominate ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Either those, or ‘tri-dapt spraggleflorm’. (The tri-dapt spraggleflorm was basically a brog danker with flumper runks, except that in the tri-dapt spraggleflorm, the hornswoggles were directly connected to the flubs.) Pingback: This x That: Know This: SpaceX Falcon 9 become first commercial… | weeklypop () Crowbar To c-c-c-combo break the pseudo-eloquent posts here that exist solely for the application of the above-mentioned terms in an otherwise superfluous and meaningless text, it is funny to point out that for instance “brabble” is used as a colloquial term with the exact meaning in German to this day, albeit in the Germanisation “brabbeln”. Slugkid Actually, the world sanguinolent is mildly used in spanish, still. I can tell since I’m argentinian. Sanguinary is a nicer word, and it’s pretty much the same. endblink Pingback: 20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback | eChurch Christian Blog () Colin Nicol As a keen Scrabbler I checked to see which of these words were still allowable. No 3. CORRADE, 4. KENCH, 6. SANGUINOLENCY, 9. BRABBLE, 11. BRANNIGAN, 12. PERISSOLOGY and obviously both parts of No. 19. TWITTER & LIGHT, but no hyphens, so not the whole thing are all valid plays in today’s game. What fun! Bring them back….I’m going to use one…..the next post will be on La Boheme….which one to chose. Thanks for writing a great piece. peter my dad calls me jollux but im not fat William Wilgus I imagine they became obsolete because they’re awkward. For example, ‘verbose’ or ‘verbosity’ is much less awkward than ‘perissology’. Alice Dear Heather, Wonderful article (which I deliciated in, fully), and a bass player to boot! (Us’ns gotta stick together, if for nothing else but to keep the guitards at bay!) You’ve shown an eleemosynary streak a mile wide by bringing these agèd orphans back into literary light and life…thank you, and good on ya! Heather Carreiro Thanks Dixon! What kind of bass do you play? Max Entropy James Taranto was on a campaign to bring back “Kerfuffle”. If you can slip it into a sentence, it brings out a round of “what was that?” Heather Carreiro Bring back kerfuffle? I didn’t think it had left. I’ve always used it… “A disorderly outburst or tumult” mk bearden I remember I first heard the word “kerfuffle” a few years ago – then it seemed I heard it many times over the next few months. Haven’t heard it lately, but someone “trying to bring it back” sounds like a true story to me! Casey My math teacher in highschool call the dumbest of the class hoddypeak. I was one of them. I wonder what happened to Mr. Tillman? Pat Fascinating. I’m wondering if “jollux” is the real reason that we say that fat men are “jolly”? Luc I enjoyed the list, and in regards to #15 Bibesy’s origin, I definitely noticed a connection between it and the Latin “bibere,” which means “to drink.” Paul Many of these have a Latin Origin, in fact. Bibesy (bibere = to drink), scriptitation (scriptitare = to write constantly), illecebrous (illeceber = alluring). I have rarely enough a post this much lately. 🙂 Andrea I choose “deliciate”. It will be my New year’s resolution….More opportunities to deliciates, please! Brian McCann I’m thinking that “deliciate” would be something Sarah Palin would say in a hot tub with champagne and chocolate… Heather Carreiro Oh Brian, you just ruined this word for me now that I pictured her saying it in my head. Pingback: 20 Obsolete English words that need to be resurrected post haste « Hands Wide Open () Debaloo I agree with your assessment of “jollux.” I liken it to the fun modern word “chillax.” Hmmm. Maybe adding an “x” just makes works more fun. serenity Heather, One of my favorite words that is little used in the US language is Haver: Verb to haver (third-person singular simple present havers, present participle havering, simple past and past participle havered) 1.(UK) To hem and haw 2.(Scottish) To maunder; to talk foolishly; to chatter; talking nonsense; to babble Pingback: obsolete words that should make a comeback « Thing of the Day () Althea Estey I’m a little jargogled by all the ludibrious brabbling in congress. I wish those hoddypeaks would freck a little, corrade a lot, and stop quagswagging the American people. All the yemeles perrisology in the world is not going to change the fact that it is their job to turn in a budget. Congress seems to be stuck in a widdendream. They should have had this done long before twitter-light Friday. I am sadly pushed into bibesy over it all and find that a brannigan is becoming more and more illecebrous! A little kenching and deliciating sounds like fun. If this isn’t resolved soon, the American people are going to be overcome with sanguinolency and head for DC to take the malagrugorous jolluxes to task. 2 seconds ago · Like Love it! You should send this statement to your senator. Rahul Maurya What a beautiful &meaningfull use of all these forgotten words you have managed to carve out of your brain. Really nice. Sherby You make it seem like that all just came tumbling out of your head on the spur of the moment. Jules9599 A timely and artful display of verbal gymnastics …well done   James H 169 thumbs up and counting. You deserve it! =D cbjimbeam I want to hear Kelsey Grammar read this as Frasier. Kaitlyn Hey linguistics major, the last word should be slowly. Otherwise I enjoyed this post 🙂 Heather Carreiro LOL – totally didn’t notice that. I just wrote it how I would actually say it! Es to brabble is used widely in Holland. We call it ” brabbellen” Ik brabbel – I brabble Mushion  It’s not used in the same context though. Brabble here means squabbling. Brabbelen in Dutch is the same as babbling 😛 Cody Barrus My favorite was ‘brannigan’, I will be sure to use that word soon, particularly in the midst of a brannigan for optimum effect  These words are all so useful. I love the sounds and meanings and am working on incorporating them into my speech. Thekings_za Excellent work, can we consider  maffick [ˈmæfɪk]vb (intr) Brit archaic to celebrate extravagantly and publicly[back formation from Mafeking (now Mafikeng), from the rejoicings at the relief of the siege there in 1900]mafficker  n This is just copypasta Andrew What about ‘fribble’ – one who busies himself to no purpose? And its even more wonderful derivatives, fribblish and fribbledom.   mond5004 Old people would still say fribble-frabble when talking about useless activities or things when I was a kid. It has now made it’s way into the Urban Dictionary and taken on the meaning of “jibberish” Jasper “Twitter-light” sounds more like a Twitter application of some sort. 😛 Jwideman62 Next thing on the App market “TwitterLite” That way you don’t have to see all the ppl who update twitter while on the John. guest Zach Brannigan’s name from Futurama fits him perfectly, I didn’t know that. john pointless article, language evolves and devolves organically, resurrecting words for their own sake serves no purpose Rafiqkathwari “…you are being yemeles…” Linnea I’m a word nerd too, and I loved reading this. Will definitely be using “hoddypeak” and “deliciate” as well as  some of the others as the occasion arises.  Kathryn What about Zemblanity?  It’s the opposite of serendipity and hence means to, unsurprisingly, discover an unhappyness. “Oh, the zemblanity of it all!” Stephanie3235 I love this! But it would be quite helpful if you put the pronuciations in here because I dont want to use to wrd and prononce it wrong. savethewords Apanthropanization — withdrawal from the social world Dodrantal — nine inches in length Squiriferous — gentlemanly Gargamont My mood turns malagrugrous now that we will be unable to freck to your illecebrous corrade. How I long to deliciate and kench while endulging my sanguinolency unto the scant twitter-light! My bibesy compels me to jargogle myself with a ludibrious brannagan, exhibiting renowned yemeles, until I’m found brabbling and quagswagging like a hoddypeak! Please pardon this perissology of a scriptitation. I am after all a jollux in a widdendream. fdvce I might have mis-parsed “bibesy,” from its definition, a too-earnest desire after drink. I thought it meant… handsy after having a few.  Dee i would like to add the word “smote.”  not enough smoting in this day and age. Daniel Dowd I LOVE this list and absolutely agree that malagrug should be a noun. I know a few malagrugs – bunch of Puddleglums, they are. If the word does not find its way into the language naturally, those of a mind to generate literature could always make a fictitious race called the Malagrugs who are interminably morose. Tiggypop free download Great post! I am aware of. From my experience I would say that I can learn many things from many, some unknown. I am not aware of anything around your site. I have bookmark your site. We hope to get better in the future. The eye – thanks! KayelleAllen That was fun! I’m frecking grabbing one of these right now. 😉 Phadenot I think you should think about this amazing word:  Skinflint: a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend Jenny Panchal This stage of my PhD requires scriptitation. There are times when I find my writing full of perissology, which leads me to widdendream! So who can blame me for brabbling on a late Friday afternoon? Oh well, speaking of Friday, don’t you think we should go for a brannigan, Dharmesh and Shashankraj? 😉 Now, this post may make me seem ludibrious, but please admit it… you find me illecebrous instead, don’t you? #confidence2dhighestlevel “Virgilio and Cheryl, hirit na! ;-P” Nikhil Kashyap nice tips! Catherine Holliss This one is a share for Fred Holliss, who loves words as much as I do… Peter Smith No.1 could be updated to Jargoogle. Peter Smith and for Quakers quagswags are what SQIFs have. Khadija Grace Cruzata Garcia very nice… Mika Barrios Good evening ma’am. I couldn’t send you a private message so I would just post it here. This is Mika Barrios of ABSCBN, and I saw a complaint from you regarding PhilHealth. We’re currently doing a story on that. Would it be okay for us to interview you? I can give you my contact number, just send me a FB message here. Thank you 🙂 Khadija Grace Cruzata Garcia Hi Mika..thank you for taking interest in my comment re PhilHealth…I would welcome an interview and share my views on the issue. Regards. Si Baker-Goodwin In my kenching at your post, I inadvertently woke my roommate who is now frecking toward me (ow!) to brabble (double ow!) about that kenching! (muted sounds of… Anngail Levick Smith no good word there for totally totally excellent! Si Baker-Goodwin kenching… Brooke Renee Reeves I am always in a state of scriptitation…but I’ve yet to finish a story. Sidney Huster hello every one I have just met with this prophetharry@ymail. com and I finally find out that he is really a truthful spell caster and so powerful and he is the most powerful spell caster that I have ever met. I wish I have met him on time. my husband have just come back to me and every thing happened just the way prophet harry had said it, I am so happy that I have met with prophet harry and now I have my husband back to my self. if you all that are here have not tried prophet harry just have to do so and get your heart desires fulfilled. stop been doubting I have tested him and I am now a fulfilled woman. Mathew Freeman I enjoyed this, and am wondering which words I might start to use–but “alright” is not correct usage. Ali Starr Hahaha you corrected like a hundred “alright”s for me! Sometimes it takes me a while to catch on 🙂 Jake Serafin Your usage of the comma is not necessary either…. Vasudha Srinivasan I can’t believe how everyword could describe my friendship with my closest friends. Here’s to you heather! “My friends deliciate in the fact that sometimes I tend to jargogle the pronunciation of words. They love corrading stories about me and laugh, no kench, about it relentlessly. And the stories are corraded so freckly! They make me feel so ludibrious that sometimes I feel like could almost be sanguinolent. But of course, it doesn’t help that I always brabble until I am malagrugous. so that just allows them to poke fun at me more. Weirdly, I am very articulate after a brannigan though I may tend towards slight perissology. But atleast I’m not a hoddypeak or a quagswagger after a brannigan! This phenomen should make me bibesy but strangely it has not. My tendency to jargogle also plagues my scriptitation. I am often questioned by my friendless haplessly as to whether I am in a widdendream when in reality, I’m just being yemeles in the way I express myself. But I really know my friends love me and think that this really makes me illecebrous. I mean, these are the same bunch of friends who use “jollux” as a term of endearment. Conor Fennell Well done, Heather. Brannigan would be my favourite. It has a nice Irish ring to it and I will be going on one next Tuesday. About Perissology: would I be pedantic if I suggested your example is tautologous? If it means “more words than necessary” then you cannot say the writer has too much more words than necessary. Sorry! Bonnie Wykoff I LOVED THIS! I am trying to work the words kench, brabble, deliciate, and freck into my everyday conversation! Quagswagging looks and sounds fun, but I don’t have much occasion to use it… Bonnie Wykoff OOPs. And jargogle. LOVED that one! Inessa Valueva Twitter-light sound like hours after the sun goes down spend on Twitter) like in: “It’s dark already and here comes my twitter-light.” lol. Somewhere Or Bust Heading for an illecebrous brannigan with a few hoddypeaks, expect quagswagging and widdendreams from yemeles bibseys by the time it’s twitter-light. Apologies for the perissology and scriptation. Ann Heath Stites Thank you Sallie for sharing. Ann Heath Stites Thank you Sallie for sharing. Josh Steed I think ‘Jargogle’ and ‘Kench’ would be excellent band-names. Jazzman John Clarke We had some close friends who lived outside Birmingham & their surname was Kench -the old Dad was Walter(he had a nicotine-stained moustache) & his daughter’s were Marjorie & Hilda who were like ‘chalk & cheese’.Hilda was a rarity – she passed her Advanced Driving Test when few women actually drove in the UK – she went out with racing drivers once apparently! Jazzman John Clarke We had some close friends who lived outside Birmingham & their surname was Kench -the old Dad was Walter(he had a nicotine-stained moustache) & his daughter’s were Marjorie & Hilda who were like ‘chalk & cheese’.Hilda was a rarity – she passed her Advanced Driving Test when few women actually drove in the UK – she went out with racing drivers once apparently! Cynthia Harris This is wonderful! There are several words on this list that I can work into a project I am working on. Thanks so very much for sharing. Cynthia Harris This is wonderful! There are several words on this list that I can work into a project I am working on. Thanks so very much for sharing. Miriam Climenhaga No share button? That’s okay, I can do it the old fashioned obsolete way by copy and pasting. 😉 Anne Taylor Yes, me too. Thanks for a charming posting. Gregory Wm. Gunn I have employed, and continue to employ some of these obsolete words, and peeps merely think such a lexicon is a Gregorian (Gunnian if you prefer) fabrication. Gregory Wm. Gunn I have employed, and continue to employ some of these obsolete words, and peeps merely think such a lexicon is a Gregorian (Gunnian if you prefer) fabrication. John Hilferty I like “spratling” for a kid. Ellen O’Brien Thanks, John, this is great! Going to share….. Paul Hunnemann I’d much rather use these words than ebonics any ol’day. Matt Slater nah Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Mike Cluff I am not only tempted to use it as noun, Ishall. Malagrug is now in my vocab. Mike Cluff I am not only tempted to use it as noun, Ishall. Malagrug is now in my vocab. Andrea Zuvich I like these so much, I’ve already used three in my newest book! Good stuff! Thanks for this! Kim I would have thought that “Bibesy” is probably related to “imbibe” – a not so common English word, but not redundant yet 🙂 Excellent list! I actually used 7 of these in a post. Thanks so much. You forgot one word which is “Uhtceare”. Julie Anne Mumford Masten link to last 10? – I see others have seen and used them. Simona I also couldn’t find the button/link. So I just went to the address bar and typed 2 at the end of the link. Click enter and that’s it. 😉 Julie Anne Mumford Masten Thanks, worked like a charm! glendower I’d be satisfied if we could just resurrect “yesternight” and get it back into general use. Why does a perfectly good word like this fall out of the language? Matthew Brian Phillips I would like to know more about the history of the word, Brabble, because in all honesty, my family has been using this word for as long as any of the elders can remember. MidlifeSinglemum I liked some of these words though I only saw the first 10 as i couldn’t work out how to get to the next page. Corrade doesn’t do anything for me as I love to use ‘cobble together.’ Also Ludibrious seems superfluous when ludicrous is perfectly good for the same meaning. Deliciate is a winner (my spell check is telling me it doesn’t excist, LOL). I wonder is flick and freck are related, as in flicking though the newspaper. Since “Fracking” has such a bad rep I wouldn’t want to re-introduce “to freck” – they just sound to similar… And “brabble” is part of my vocabulary, so don’t dismiss it or “kench” at it! George Pervestigation should be used. What other word can say ‘thorough investigation’ in one word? benita moyes BEWARE! THESE PEOPLE ARE BIG SCAMS BUT MALAIKA IS REAL. Dr Malaika doesn’t ask for testimonies and he doesn’t charge. His email is [email protected] He is genuine and people get to meet him by luck. But right now am your luck if you meet him. Every other testimonies of spell casters you read here are scams. Dr Malaika lives in Nigeria and I happened to meet him by chance after a friend told me about how he brought back her ex and restored her lost womb. She also told me about how Dr Malaika cures all forms of illness ranging from HIV to Cancer, Fibroid, and Infertility and also Money spells. I followed those other internet testimonies and was hugely scammed to the extent that I wanted to kill myself. Dr Malaika turned my situation around, He made my ex come crawling on his knees to have him back. His email address is [email protected] , mobile: +2348097302201 but please don’t make him know that I published him on net. He is just wonderful and I wish whoever that finds him good luck. Daniel Tregant
Sidewalk
Which actor played the part of Wayne the father in the 1989 film Honey I Shrunk the Kids?
20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback - Matador Network 20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback Photo: Katherine Hodgson If we all start using them, these words can be resurrected. DURING MY UNDERGRADUATE studies as a Linguistics major, one of the things that struck me most is the amazing fluidity of language. New words are created; older words go out of style. Words can change meaning over time, vowel sounds shift, consonants are lost or added and one word becomes another. Living languages refuse to be static. The following words have sadly disappeared from modern English, but it’s easy to see how they could be incorporated into everyday conversation. Words are from Erin McKean’s two-volume series: Weird and Wonderful Words and Totally Weird and Wonderful Words . Definitions have been quoted from the Oxford English Dictionary . 1. Jargogle Verb trans. – “To confuse, jumble” – First of all this word is just fun to say in its various forms. John Locke used the word in a 1692 publication, writing “I fear, that the jumbling of those good and plausible Words in your Head..might a little jargogle your Thoughts…” I’m planning to use it next time my husband attempts to explain complicated Physics concepts to me for fun: “Seriously, I don’t need you to further jargogle my brain.” 2. Deliciate Verb intr. – “To take one’s pleasure, enjoy oneself, revel, luxuriate” – Often I feel the word “enjoy” just isn’t enough to describe an experience, and “revel” tends to conjure up images of people dancing and spinning around in circles – at least in my head. “Deliciate” would be a welcome addition to the modern English vocabulary, as in “After dinner, we deliciated in chocolate cream pie.” 3. Corrade Verb trans. – “To scrape together; to gather together from various sources” – I’m sure this wasn’t the original meaning of the word, but when I read the definition I immediately thought of copy-pasting. Any English teacher can picture what a corraded assignment looks like. 4. Kench Verb intr. – “To laugh loudly” – This Middle English word sounds like it would do well in describing one of those times when you inadvertently laugh out loud while reading a text message in class and manage to thoroughly embarrass yourself. 5. Ludibrious Adj. – “Apt to be a subject of jest or mockery” – This word describes a person, thing or situation that is likely to be the butt of jokes. Use it when you want to sound justified in poking fun at someone. “How could I resist? He’s just so ludibrious.” 6. Sanguinolency Noun – “Addiction to bloodshed” – Could be a useful word for history majors and gamers, as in “Genghis Khan was quite the sanguinolent fellow” or “Do you think spending six hours a day playing Postal 2 actually fosters sanguinolency?” 7. Jollux Noun – Slang phrase used in the late 18th century to describe a “fat person” – Although I’m not sure whether this word was used crudely or in more of a lighthearted manner, to me it sounds like a nicer way to refer to someone who is overweight. “Fat” has such a negative connotation in English, but if you say “He’s a bit of a jollux” it doesn’t sound so bad! 8. Malagrugrous Adj. – “Dismal” – This adjective is from Scots and may be derived from an old Irish word that refers to the wrinkling of one’s brow. An 1826 example of its use is “He looketh malagrugorous and world-wearied.” I’m tempted to also make the word into a noun: “Stop being such a malagrug!” 9. Brabble Verb – “To quarrel about trifles; esp. to quarrel noisily, brawl, squabble” – Brabble basically means to argue loudly about something that doesn’t really matter, as in “Why are we still brabbling about who left the dirty spoon on the kitchen table?” You can also use it as a noun: “Stop that ridiculous brabble and do something useful!” 10. Freck Verb intr. – “To move swiftly or nimbly” – I can think of a lot of ways to use this one, like “I hate it when I’m frecking through the airport and other people are going so slow.” For 10 more interesting obsolete words, go to the next page. Get more stuff like this in your inbox! Sign up for our newsletter and get emails of great stories like this. I agree to the Terms of Service Posted In: by Ana Bulnes Paul Sullivan Nice work Heather. I’m an ardent sesquipidalian, but there are lots here I’ve a) never heard of and b) adore. Malagrugrous! Kathy I like freck – nice one. Kench is good too, and I definitely just kenched (is that a correct use of the word and that sounds strange…) in the middle of my class – and I’m the teacher! Heather Carreiro Anandi Premlall Don’t get all jargogled when I deliciate or kench with words corraded from old times. Besides, I’m not thrilled to be ludibrious and if you think so, we might brabble and you’d be subject to my sanguinolency. So when I looketh malagrugorous upon you, better get your freck on jollux. Heather Carreiro Such great words. I also like sisyphean, which isn’t obsolete I suppose, but not that frequently used (I think). Very good word to have for describing (and express frustration over) all the endlessly repetitive activities we do every day 🙂 Benjamin T. I think that many people could have some issues with using a word like twitter-light, since for many these days the root word twitter is merely something you do on the internet and not much else. PatF Speaking of words. What about the everyday words we are losing? Since the explosion of cell phones and texting you, has become “u”, are has become “r”, be has become “b:” It won’t be long before this generation accepts texting shorthand as the official language of the Country. Heather Carreiro Oh Pat – I hope that doesn’t happen! Sadly though I got an email earlier this week from a former student (one hoping to pursue a graduate degree in teaching English) that include “u” and “ur.” K.Michelle As an English major, I worry about that as well. I have to say, though, lately I’ve seen more and more people stop using “text-language,” and go back to more proper terms. I think it was exciting at first to develop a new way to communicate, but I think now more and more people (even those in my 18-25 age group) are becoming annoyed with abbreviated words when texting. I’ll admit, there is *one* word I abbreviate when texting. “Tomorrow” becomes “tmw.” I’m ashamed, but sometimes, when you only have 140 characters, you need those other five! Nice article! Nick Rowlands “Do you fancy a brannigan tonight, or shall we invite a few people over and just deliciate?” “I vote for some chilled deliciation. You know your bibesy rears its head when you drink too much, and you act like a proper hoddypeak.” “I know, but she’s just so illecebrous – she has me all of a widdendream.” “I swear, one of these days I’m gonna quagswagg some sense into you if it kills me!” Fantastic article, Heather! Heather Carreiro Nick, it sounds like you’ve already been using these words! The second example caused me to kench. Fabulous collection of words, must try and work those into my vocabulary! Gail Davis Loved your article!!!!! I thought you may kench to learn my word pronunciation software has less than one third of your wonderful words, and my word speller insists my spelling is flawed! I apologize for the excessive use of exclamation marks , but felt they were warranted in this situation. Heather Carreiro Yes, I had all sorts of red underlining in the word processor when I was working on this article! Jeff Sometimes you can just tell from the way a person writes that they’ve never had a real job. These words are interesting, but most of them are merely synonyms for existing words and don’t add any nuances of meaning. French author Gustave Flaubert believed that in every situation there exists “le mot juste” – only one word that perfectly describes the meaning to be conveyed. In today’s world, too may people use vocabulary to make themselves appear witty or interesting rather than to communicate clearly and effectively. Deborah but Jeff, Flaubert was a Frenchman, and, like many of his fellow citizens, a prescriptive purist about language. If there is one right word for every situation, doesn’t that mean that we should learn more words, so that we have a better chance of finding the truly perfect one in each instance? Especially anyone who has English as her or his native tongue; we can deliciate in the vast range of subtly different words that make up the wonderful hybrid hodgepodge of Brythonic, Germanic, Scandinavian and Romance influences that is the English language. Language can be beautiful as well as functional – can even be both simultaneously. A limited vocabulary doesn’t necessarily promote clarity, and an extensive one needn’t hinder it. Me Kerry-ann I just loved this article – not an English language fanatic because it often jargogles my brain. And next time my husband irritates me by frecking through the shops when I want to stop and look I am going to give him a malagrugrous look! Heather Carreiro For my husband and I it’s the opposite: I try to freck it through the grocery store while he likes to look in every aisle and read all the labels… Abby for my husband and me! (an idea for your next article) thank you for this article, my brain has stretched EvaSandoval I enjoyed this article a lot; in my Sophomore year of High school, a big unit in my World History class was Middle English words. Fascinating! I’m forever besotted by “adam’s ale” (beer), “earth apple” (potato), and “dunderpate” (idiot). Words, words, words – I deliciate in words! Heather Carreiro Charlotte if you like “earth apple” (potato), you might like the Dutch word for potato, I suppose. We still use exactly that, earth apple. Except, of course, in Dutch (aardappel). Middle English sounds very interesting, but unfortunately, as a non-native English speaker, I have difficulties with vocabulary (and everything else that comes with learning new languages) enough as it is. Larry Day The Dutch word for potato is aardappel (earth apple). It has occurred to me that it would be easier to read Middle English if one were bi-lingual in English and Dutch. Cheryl I deliciated in reading this blog post. It also prompted me to kench several times. I’d love to use lots of these words in my everyday speech, but I’m sure I’d make myself ludibrious by jargogling them all. scrochet Well said, more words for my palate to drive my family crazy. joan Looks like a few of us are into scriptitation! We should avoid perissology or the editors will see the $$ signs in our eyes and refuse to read any other syllable we ever submit to them. -J Heather Carreiro In Barbados, we call people who like rum a little too much “bibbers.” Wonder if it came from “bibesy.” Heather Carreiro Wow that’s so interesting! I wonder how you could find out the etymology – seems like there’s a good chance that the two words are related due to the similar meaning. Angie Can’t help but wonder if bibesy is derived from “imbibe”. As soon as I saw the word and definition imbibe came to mind. 🙂 Maggie It’ll probably have come from “Bibet,” the Latin root of Imbibe, which means “to drink” anything (rather than just alcohol). jizzo Bask in my illecebrous glow, as I roam freck, like a ninja in the twitter-light. In this widdendream after a good brannigan, I have been searching for that yemeles hoddypeak George Bush, whilst I might give him a quagswagging. With the weap…ons I’ve been able to corrade, I kench and deliciate with thoughts of revenge. The fate of that ludibrious jollux who perpetuates sanguinolency is malagrugrous. Do not be jargogled, I brabble not. Let this scriptatation be the record. I do apologize if this has become a perissology…now, for some bibesy. Heather Carreiro This made me laugh out loud (well okay the part about the “yemeles hoddypeak” was what got me). That’s talent to be able to use all these words in a single paragraph and make it sound poetic. Surely you deliciate in words. : ) I have already used the word Jargogle 3 times since I read this post…and the funny thing is the almighty spellcheck doesn’t recognize jargogle so it must be dead!! I think freck sounds like an expletive…”this frecking internet connection is frecking weak!” Heather Carreiro Jargogle is one of my favorites too! I’ve been using it all week. Jonscott I deliciated in these words even as I fought to overcome the tendency of my brain to jargogle as I read them. … some even led me to kench. I must admit; at first glance the list does seem like a corraded gathering of nonsense sounds. And one would have to suppress a fear of becoming the ludibrious focus of some uninformed dimwit were these words to be used in certain environs. Still, if the insult were directed at the right sanguinolent individual (particularly someone recently returned frm a brannigan) the outcome, for the unfortunate source of such a jibe, might well be rather malagrugrous. Of course, not being one personally to brabble, my tendency, were I to be in that situation, would be to freck to place of safety rather than remain quagswagging in fear of fisticuffs. Any hoddypeak would know better than to remain! Of course, the circumstance could lead to one experiencing a widdendream resulting in bibesy and, should one over indulge, amoment of yemles – possibly finding some gentleman’s lady illecebrous to the point of behaving inappropriately. Alas this scriptitation, and the fact that it is way beyond twitter-light, appears to have led to a bout of perissology, for which I beg your indulgence. Indy Pingback: Saving the Words « ktravula – a travelogue! () Mary Kay Bearden I loved this article! Like “me” above, I use the word absquatulate often. (as in, my best friend’s husband absquatulated while she was on vacation.) and that’s no bushwa. Another wonderful source for unusual words is Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual and Preposterous words. Heather Carreiro Ooh thanks – hadn’t heard of that book yet. : ) Caspar Wow I love this list I want to use almost every word right away. Heather Carreiro Do it! One reader already challenged another to use all 20 in a poem, and it was done successfully – I was quite impressed. SD Dalton Thank you. Alas, I was not able to get it into one paragraph as your other reader did! 😉 There are so many great words here. I have to go with “deliciate” They often deliciate with a good bottle of wine at their favorite sidewalk cafe. Heather Carreiro Mmmm. I can’t wait to deliciate in the spiced apple bread I’ve got baking in the oven. : ) May I please add ‘aposiopesis, (sp?). The act of going into another room and upon reaching it, forgetting why you came for. Heather Carreiro Jen Bee I just kenched while reading this; I often inadvertently laugh out loud while reading books and always thoroughly embarrass myself. Thankfully there was no one around this time. Jargoggle has to be my favourite though I will be using them all, and definitely squeezing some into my creative dissertation. VRBurton Thanks for the mental workout. To deliciate in the commotion caused by jargogling my students by using new words in a corraded sentence leads me to kench. marian king I hate to brabble, but I had to kench when I read this article. It seems that Heather’s brain may be a bit jargogled: Her malagrugrous use of the English language has led me to the conclusion that, instead of deliciating in antiquated words, Heather would do well to spend her time less yemelesly by brushing up on her present-day language, specifically grammar and spelling. She claims to be a teacher; one would hope she is not a teacher of ENGLISH!! Heather Carreiro I’ve decided to take this comment as a compliment. : ) Current slang does jargogle me – living abroad can do that! Longbowman Very few, if any, of these words are in the dictionary. They aren’t words. Heather Carreiro Hey Sarah, You won’t find these words in a contemporary dictionary because they are obsolete, meaning they’ve gone out of use. You can find them in the Oxford English Dictionary , an amazing resource that also includes words from Early and Middle English. Generally you need to subscribe or have access to a library in order to access the OED. If you read anything in Middle English or even some Early Modern English, you’ll find these words in use. EGB A wonderful piece! However, I am fine when words based on bigoted ethnic stereotypes are reduced to historical curiosities. (Looking at you, “brannigan.”) Heather Carreiro Hi EGB, Thanks for your comment, and I apologize if the choice of the word “brannigan” comes across as offensive. Based on the historical examples of its usage and the etymological details listed in the OED, I didn’t interpret the word as based on ethnic stereotypes, but I admit I’m not an expert on late 19th century and early 20th century North American slang. My intent was not to be reductive, and if you would like to add details here in the comments about why that word is offensive/should NOT be put back into use, please feel free to add them. The conversation is always open and critical feedback welcome! Heather Andrew A few years ago, I heard of a word meaning “to look at someone who has just produced some food in the hopes that you will be offered some.” I have completely forgotten what the word is, but find it applicable several times a day! Anyone know what it is? Christa Fletcher This is such a great article. I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of these definitions. My friends and I circulated your article and created many sentences by playing with the words over IM. I thought I’d share my most recent creation for fun: “Teens love to post about ‘Twilight’ on Twitter during twitter-light.” Thanks for your hard work and wordsmithery! Heather Carreiro Thanks Christa! So glad you enjoyed it. There are many more fun words in those two books by Erin McKeen – the majority listed aren’t obsolete, but they’re all rarely used. I think you’ve created a new tongue twister with that ‘twitter-light’ sentence! TJ Absolutely enjoyed this! I’ve studied English officially for ten years now (I’m 20), but I’ve always thought of it as my second native. I just love how, well, corraded and flexible it is! Jargogling, even 😉 Thanks for the great post! whomichael While I deliciate in corrading odd words , I fear they will jargogle people’s brains. I also fear attaining a ludibrious quality in which even dear friends (but especially hoodypeaks) would kench at my speech, or brabble with me about the l…egitimacy of my vocabulary. This could, in turn, move my personality to a malagrugrous state, and possibly cause a sanguinolency to develop within myself. Or I may depress myself into a bibesy state, chasing brannigan after brannigan, transmorphing myself into a jollux. My mind may then unravel into a widdendream, and I could spend my days frecking around and quagswagging about my house. Although I find old words illecebrous, I swear to never become yemeles in creating perissologous scriptitations to avoid these cruel fates in the twitter-light of my life. Old Man Sedgwick … If we want to reactivate ‘obsolete English words’, I hereby nominate ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Either those, or ‘tri-dapt spraggleflorm’. (The tri-dapt spraggleflorm was basically a brog danker with flumper runks, except that in the tri-dapt spraggleflorm, the hornswoggles were directly connected to the flubs.) Pingback: This x That: Know This: SpaceX Falcon 9 become first commercial… | weeklypop () Crowbar To c-c-c-combo break the pseudo-eloquent posts here that exist solely for the application of the above-mentioned terms in an otherwise superfluous and meaningless text, it is funny to point out that for instance “brabble” is used as a colloquial term with the exact meaning in German to this day, albeit in the Germanisation “brabbeln”. Slugkid Actually, the world sanguinolent is mildly used in spanish, still. I can tell since I’m argentinian. Sanguinary is a nicer word, and it’s pretty much the same. endblink Pingback: 20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback | eChurch Christian Blog () Colin Nicol As a keen Scrabbler I checked to see which of these words were still allowable. No 3. CORRADE, 4. KENCH, 6. SANGUINOLENCY, 9. BRABBLE, 11. BRANNIGAN, 12. PERISSOLOGY and obviously both parts of No. 19. TWITTER & LIGHT, but no hyphens, so not the whole thing are all valid plays in today’s game. What fun! Bring them back….I’m going to use one…..the next post will be on La Boheme….which one to chose. Thanks for writing a great piece. peter my dad calls me jollux but im not fat William Wilgus I imagine they became obsolete because they’re awkward. For example, ‘verbose’ or ‘verbosity’ is much less awkward than ‘perissology’. Alice Dear Heather, Wonderful article (which I deliciated in, fully), and a bass player to boot! (Us’ns gotta stick together, if for nothing else but to keep the guitards at bay!) You’ve shown an eleemosynary streak a mile wide by bringing these agèd orphans back into literary light and life…thank you, and good on ya! Heather Carreiro Thanks Dixon! What kind of bass do you play? Max Entropy James Taranto was on a campaign to bring back “Kerfuffle”. If you can slip it into a sentence, it brings out a round of “what was that?” Heather Carreiro Bring back kerfuffle? I didn’t think it had left. I’ve always used it… “A disorderly outburst or tumult” mk bearden I remember I first heard the word “kerfuffle” a few years ago – then it seemed I heard it many times over the next few months. Haven’t heard it lately, but someone “trying to bring it back” sounds like a true story to me! Casey My math teacher in highschool call the dumbest of the class hoddypeak. I was one of them. I wonder what happened to Mr. Tillman? Pat Fascinating. I’m wondering if “jollux” is the real reason that we say that fat men are “jolly”? Luc I enjoyed the list, and in regards to #15 Bibesy’s origin, I definitely noticed a connection between it and the Latin “bibere,” which means “to drink.” Paul Many of these have a Latin Origin, in fact. Bibesy (bibere = to drink), scriptitation (scriptitare = to write constantly), illecebrous (illeceber = alluring). I have rarely enough a post this much lately. 🙂 Andrea I choose “deliciate”. It will be my New year’s resolution….More opportunities to deliciates, please! Brian McCann I’m thinking that “deliciate” would be something Sarah Palin would say in a hot tub with champagne and chocolate… Heather Carreiro Oh Brian, you just ruined this word for me now that I pictured her saying it in my head. Pingback: 20 Obsolete English words that need to be resurrected post haste « Hands Wide Open () Debaloo I agree with your assessment of “jollux.” I liken it to the fun modern word “chillax.” Hmmm. Maybe adding an “x” just makes works more fun. serenity Heather, One of my favorite words that is little used in the US language is Haver: Verb to haver (third-person singular simple present havers, present participle havering, simple past and past participle havered) 1.(UK) To hem and haw 2.(Scottish) To maunder; to talk foolishly; to chatter; talking nonsense; to babble Pingback: obsolete words that should make a comeback « Thing of the Day () Althea Estey I’m a little jargogled by all the ludibrious brabbling in congress. I wish those hoddypeaks would freck a little, corrade a lot, and stop quagswagging the American people. All the yemeles perrisology in the world is not going to change the fact that it is their job to turn in a budget. Congress seems to be stuck in a widdendream. They should have had this done long before twitter-light Friday. I am sadly pushed into bibesy over it all and find that a brannigan is becoming more and more illecebrous! A little kenching and deliciating sounds like fun. If this isn’t resolved soon, the American people are going to be overcome with sanguinolency and head for DC to take the malagrugorous jolluxes to task. 2 seconds ago · Like Love it! You should send this statement to your senator. Rahul Maurya What a beautiful &meaningfull use of all these forgotten words you have managed to carve out of your brain. Really nice. Sherby You make it seem like that all just came tumbling out of your head on the spur of the moment. Jules9599 A timely and artful display of verbal gymnastics …well done   James H 169 thumbs up and counting. You deserve it! =D cbjimbeam I want to hear Kelsey Grammar read this as Frasier. Kaitlyn Hey linguistics major, the last word should be slowly. Otherwise I enjoyed this post 🙂 Heather Carreiro LOL – totally didn’t notice that. I just wrote it how I would actually say it! Es to brabble is used widely in Holland. We call it ” brabbellen” Ik brabbel – I brabble Mushion  It’s not used in the same context though. Brabble here means squabbling. Brabbelen in Dutch is the same as babbling 😛 Cody Barrus My favorite was ‘brannigan’, I will be sure to use that word soon, particularly in the midst of a brannigan for optimum effect  These words are all so useful. I love the sounds and meanings and am working on incorporating them into my speech. Thekings_za Excellent work, can we consider  maffick [ˈmæfɪk]vb (intr) Brit archaic to celebrate extravagantly and publicly[back formation from Mafeking (now Mafikeng), from the rejoicings at the relief of the siege there in 1900]mafficker  n This is just copypasta Andrew What about ‘fribble’ – one who busies himself to no purpose? And its even more wonderful derivatives, fribblish and fribbledom.   mond5004 Old people would still say fribble-frabble when talking about useless activities or things when I was a kid. It has now made it’s way into the Urban Dictionary and taken on the meaning of “jibberish” Jasper “Twitter-light” sounds more like a Twitter application of some sort. 😛 Jwideman62 Next thing on the App market “TwitterLite” That way you don’t have to see all the ppl who update twitter while on the John. guest Zach Brannigan’s name from Futurama fits him perfectly, I didn’t know that. john pointless article, language evolves and devolves organically, resurrecting words for their own sake serves no purpose Rafiqkathwari “…you are being yemeles…” Linnea I’m a word nerd too, and I loved reading this. Will definitely be using “hoddypeak” and “deliciate” as well as  some of the others as the occasion arises.  Kathryn What about Zemblanity?  It’s the opposite of serendipity and hence means to, unsurprisingly, discover an unhappyness. “Oh, the zemblanity of it all!” Stephanie3235 I love this! But it would be quite helpful if you put the pronuciations in here because I dont want to use to wrd and prononce it wrong. savethewords Apanthropanization — withdrawal from the social world Dodrantal — nine inches in length Squiriferous — gentlemanly Gargamont My mood turns malagrugrous now that we will be unable to freck to your illecebrous corrade. How I long to deliciate and kench while endulging my sanguinolency unto the scant twitter-light! My bibesy compels me to jargogle myself with a ludibrious brannagan, exhibiting renowned yemeles, until I’m found brabbling and quagswagging like a hoddypeak! Please pardon this perissology of a scriptitation. I am after all a jollux in a widdendream. fdvce I might have mis-parsed “bibesy,” from its definition, a too-earnest desire after drink. I thought it meant… handsy after having a few.  Dee i would like to add the word “smote.”  not enough smoting in this day and age. Daniel Dowd I LOVE this list and absolutely agree that malagrug should be a noun. I know a few malagrugs – bunch of Puddleglums, they are. If the word does not find its way into the language naturally, those of a mind to generate literature could always make a fictitious race called the Malagrugs who are interminably morose. Tiggypop free download Great post! I am aware of. From my experience I would say that I can learn many things from many, some unknown. I am not aware of anything around your site. I have bookmark your site. We hope to get better in the future. The eye – thanks! KayelleAllen That was fun! I’m frecking grabbing one of these right now. 😉 Phadenot I think you should think about this amazing word:  Skinflint: a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend Jenny Panchal This stage of my PhD requires scriptitation. There are times when I find my writing full of perissology, which leads me to widdendream! So who can blame me for brabbling on a late Friday afternoon? Oh well, speaking of Friday, don’t you think we should go for a brannigan, Dharmesh and Shashankraj? 😉 Now, this post may make me seem ludibrious, but please admit it… you find me illecebrous instead, don’t you? #confidence2dhighestlevel “Virgilio and Cheryl, hirit na! ;-P” Nikhil Kashyap nice tips! Catherine Holliss This one is a share for Fred Holliss, who loves words as much as I do… Peter Smith No.1 could be updated to Jargoogle. Peter Smith and for Quakers quagswags are what SQIFs have. Khadija Grace Cruzata Garcia very nice… Mika Barrios Good evening ma’am. I couldn’t send you a private message so I would just post it here. This is Mika Barrios of ABSCBN, and I saw a complaint from you regarding PhilHealth. We’re currently doing a story on that. Would it be okay for us to interview you? I can give you my contact number, just send me a FB message here. Thank you 🙂 Khadija Grace Cruzata Garcia Hi Mika..thank you for taking interest in my comment re PhilHealth…I would welcome an interview and share my views on the issue. Regards. Si Baker-Goodwin In my kenching at your post, I inadvertently woke my roommate who is now frecking toward me (ow!) to brabble (double ow!) about that kenching! (muted sounds of… Anngail Levick Smith no good word there for totally totally excellent! Si Baker-Goodwin kenching… Brooke Renee Reeves I am always in a state of scriptitation…but I’ve yet to finish a story. Sidney Huster hello every one I have just met with this prophetharry@ymail. com and I finally find out that he is really a truthful spell caster and so powerful and he is the most powerful spell caster that I have ever met. I wish I have met him on time. my husband have just come back to me and every thing happened just the way prophet harry had said it, I am so happy that I have met with prophet harry and now I have my husband back to my self. if you all that are here have not tried prophet harry just have to do so and get your heart desires fulfilled. stop been doubting I have tested him and I am now a fulfilled woman. Mathew Freeman I enjoyed this, and am wondering which words I might start to use–but “alright” is not correct usage. Ali Starr Hahaha you corrected like a hundred “alright”s for me! Sometimes it takes me a while to catch on 🙂 Jake Serafin Your usage of the comma is not necessary either…. Vasudha Srinivasan I can’t believe how everyword could describe my friendship with my closest friends. Here’s to you heather! “My friends deliciate in the fact that sometimes I tend to jargogle the pronunciation of words. They love corrading stories about me and laugh, no kench, about it relentlessly. And the stories are corraded so freckly! They make me feel so ludibrious that sometimes I feel like could almost be sanguinolent. But of course, it doesn’t help that I always brabble until I am malagrugous. so that just allows them to poke fun at me more. Weirdly, I am very articulate after a brannigan though I may tend towards slight perissology. But atleast I’m not a hoddypeak or a quagswagger after a brannigan! This phenomen should make me bibesy but strangely it has not. My tendency to jargogle also plagues my scriptitation. I am often questioned by my friendless haplessly as to whether I am in a widdendream when in reality, I’m just being yemeles in the way I express myself. But I really know my friends love me and think that this really makes me illecebrous. I mean, these are the same bunch of friends who use “jollux” as a term of endearment. Conor Fennell Well done, Heather. Brannigan would be my favourite. It has a nice Irish ring to it and I will be going on one next Tuesday. About Perissology: would I be pedantic if I suggested your example is tautologous? If it means “more words than necessary” then you cannot say the writer has too much more words than necessary. Sorry! Bonnie Wykoff I LOVED THIS! I am trying to work the words kench, brabble, deliciate, and freck into my everyday conversation! Quagswagging looks and sounds fun, but I don’t have much occasion to use it… Bonnie Wykoff OOPs. And jargogle. LOVED that one! Inessa Valueva Twitter-light sound like hours after the sun goes down spend on Twitter) like in: “It’s dark already and here comes my twitter-light.” lol. Somewhere Or Bust Heading for an illecebrous brannigan with a few hoddypeaks, expect quagswagging and widdendreams from yemeles bibseys by the time it’s twitter-light. Apologies for the perissology and scriptation. Ann Heath Stites Thank you Sallie for sharing. Ann Heath Stites Thank you Sallie for sharing. Josh Steed I think ‘Jargogle’ and ‘Kench’ would be excellent band-names. Jazzman John Clarke We had some close friends who lived outside Birmingham & their surname was Kench -the old Dad was Walter(he had a nicotine-stained moustache) & his daughter’s were Marjorie & Hilda who were like ‘chalk & cheese’.Hilda was a rarity – she passed her Advanced Driving Test when few women actually drove in the UK – she went out with racing drivers once apparently! Jazzman John Clarke We had some close friends who lived outside Birmingham & their surname was Kench -the old Dad was Walter(he had a nicotine-stained moustache) & his daughter’s were Marjorie & Hilda who were like ‘chalk & cheese’.Hilda was a rarity – she passed her Advanced Driving Test when few women actually drove in the UK – she went out with racing drivers once apparently! Cynthia Harris This is wonderful! There are several words on this list that I can work into a project I am working on. Thanks so very much for sharing. Cynthia Harris This is wonderful! There are several words on this list that I can work into a project I am working on. Thanks so very much for sharing. Miriam Climenhaga No share button? That’s okay, I can do it the old fashioned obsolete way by copy and pasting. 😉 Anne Taylor Yes, me too. Thanks for a charming posting. Gregory Wm. Gunn I have employed, and continue to employ some of these obsolete words, and peeps merely think such a lexicon is a Gregorian (Gunnian if you prefer) fabrication. Gregory Wm. Gunn I have employed, and continue to employ some of these obsolete words, and peeps merely think such a lexicon is a Gregorian (Gunnian if you prefer) fabrication. John Hilferty I like “spratling” for a kid. Ellen O’Brien Thanks, John, this is great! Going to share….. Paul Hunnemann I’d much rather use these words than ebonics any ol’day. Matt Slater nah Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Brian Meeks It was nothing but a bit of scriptitation and had been going on since early the previous morning. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Douglas Gershuny I will try to use at least 3 of these words in a brief I am writing. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Mary O’Shaughnessy Methinks the feminine of “jollux” should be “jollice” and thus applicable to me. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Adrian Brend I’m not sure if this had been corraded and I hope it doesn’t jargogle you. I’m sure you will Deliciate and kentch, I hope you don’t find it too Malagrugrous and you won’t brabble about it creating widdendream and turning you to sanguinolency because your a hoddypeak. Mike Cluff I am not only tempted to use it as noun, Ishall. Malagrug is now in my vocab. Mike Cluff I am not only tempted to use it as noun, Ishall. Malagrug is now in my vocab. Andrea Zuvich I like these so much, I’ve already used three in my newest book! Good stuff! Thanks for this! Kim I would have thought that “Bibesy” is probably related to “imbibe” – a not so common English word, but not redundant yet 🙂 Excellent list! I actually used 7 of these in a post. Thanks so much. You forgot one word which is “Uhtceare”. Julie Anne Mumford Masten link to last 10? – I see others have seen and used them. Simona I also couldn’t find the button/link. So I just went to the address bar and typed 2 at the end of the link. Click enter and that’s it. 😉 Julie Anne Mumford Masten Thanks, worked like a charm! glendower I’d be satisfied if we could just resurrect “yesternight” and get it back into general use. Why does a perfectly good word like this fall out of the language? Matthew Brian Phillips I would like to know more about the history of the word, Brabble, because in all honesty, my family has been using this word for as long as any of the elders can remember. MidlifeSinglemum I liked some of these words though I only saw the first 10 as i couldn’t work out how to get to the next page. Corrade doesn’t do anything for me as I love to use ‘cobble together.’ Also Ludibrious seems superfluous when ludicrous is perfectly good for the same meaning. Deliciate is a winner (my spell check is telling me it doesn’t excist, LOL). I wonder is flick and freck are related, as in flicking though the newspaper. Since “Fracking” has such a bad rep I wouldn’t want to re-introduce “to freck” – they just sound to similar… And “brabble” is part of my vocabulary, so don’t dismiss it or “kench” at it! George Pervestigation should be used. What other word can say ‘thorough investigation’ in one word? benita moyes BEWARE! THESE PEOPLE ARE BIG SCAMS BUT MALAIKA IS REAL. Dr Malaika doesn’t ask for testimonies and he doesn’t charge. His email is [email protected] He is genuine and people get to meet him by luck. But right now am your luck if you meet him. Every other testimonies of spell casters you read here are scams. Dr Malaika lives in Nigeria and I happened to meet him by chance after a friend told me about how he brought back her ex and restored her lost womb. She also told me about how Dr Malaika cures all forms of illness ranging from HIV to Cancer, Fibroid, and Infertility and also Money spells. I followed those other internet testimonies and was hugely scammed to the extent that I wanted to kill myself. Dr Malaika turned my situation around, He made my ex come crawling on his knees to have him back. His email address is [email protected] , mobile: +2348097302201 but please don’t make him know that I published him on net. He is just wonderful and I wish whoever that finds him good luck. Daniel Tregant
i don't know
Which year of the 20th century saw the British General Strike?
History of London - 20th century London 20th century London BY DAVID ROSS , EDITOR The terrific population growth of the late Victorian period continued into the 20th century. In 1904 the first motor bus service in London began, followed by the first underground electric train in 1906, but perhaps more notable was the spate of new luxury hotels, department stores, and theatres which sprang up in the Edwardian years, particularly in the West End. The Ritz opened in 1906, Harrod's new Knightsbridge store in 1905, and Selfridges in 1907. New entertainment venues sprouted like mushrooms; with the London Palladium the largest of some 60 major halls for music-hall and variety shows. Admiralty Arch Several major building projects marked Edward VII's reign. The long, broad sweep of the Mall was designed by Aston Webb. Webb was also responsible for Admiralty Arch, the Queen Victoria memorial, and the east front of Buckingham Palace. Although the hardship of London during the Second World War is well known, it is easy to forget that WWI brought hardship as well to the city. In the Fall of 1915 the first Zeppelin bombs fell in London near the Guildhall, killing 39 people. In all, 650 fatalities resulted from bombings during the "War to End All Wars". Population surged after the war, to about 7.5 million in 1921. The London County Council began building new housing estates, which pushed further and further out into the countryside. Unemployment was high, and labour unrest erupted in the 1926 General Strike. So many workers joined the strike that the army was called in to keep the Underground and buses running, and to maintain order. In the 1930's large numbers of Jews emigrated to London, fleeing persecution in Europe, and most of them settled in the East End. The year 1938 saw movement out of the city; the threat from Germany was great enough that large numbers of children were moved out of London to the surrounding countryside. The outbreak of WWII precipitated the defining moment of the century for Londoners - the Blitz. During the dark days of 1940 over a third of the City was destroyed by German bombs, and the London Docks largely demolished. St. Paul's during the Blitz Some 17 of Christopher Wren's London churches were badly damaged. The area worst hit was the City itself, but strangely, St. Paul's Cathedral suffered only minor damage. Some 16 acres around the area that now houses the Barbican development and the Museum of London were totally flattened, and numerous historic buildings were destroyed. The death toll was heavy; 32,000 dead and over 50,000 badly injured. In the post-war period heavy immigration from countries of the old British Empire changed the character of the city. Notting Hill acquired a large Caribbean population, Honk Kong immigrants settled in Soho, Sikhs in Southall, and Cypriots in Finsbury. The Festival of Britain took place in 1951 on the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Whereas that first exhibition had left the legacy of the extraordinary Crystal Palace, the Festival left behind it the universally reviled concrete mass of the South Bank Arts complex. Heathrow airport opened to commercial flights in 1946, and the first double-decker red buses (dubbed the Routemaster) appeared on London roads in 1956. The London Docks declined after the war, and the formerly bustling area around the Isle of Dogs fell into disuse until rescued by modern development in the last decade. Thames Barrier Between 1972-82 the Thames Barrier was built to control flooding along the river. This amazing engineering feat consists of 10 moveable underwater gates supported by 7 shining steel half-domes strung across the river. The last great building project of the century was the controversial Millennium Dome, an exhibition centre beside the Thames in North Greenwich. The Dome, which opened on January 1, 2000, is a massive complex, built at a cost of over 750 million GBP. It houses, among other things, sponsored exhibits on the human experience of life, including Faith, Science, and biology. What to See:
1926
In which UK city are the headquarters of Asda?
"Those who tell you of trade-unions bent on raising wages by moral suasion alone are like people who tell you of tigers that live on oranges." – Henry George, 1891 [1] Labor unions have been defined as "private combinations of workingmen" that try to increase wages and improve working conditions for members. But how? What means do labor unions use? As Henry George suggests, trade unionists are hardly known for their kindness to strangers and genteel ways. From colonial times, trade unionists found the going difficult in North America. There was no prevailing ideology of "working-class solidarity," and unions were far from respectable; in fact, they had a well-earned reputation for being antisocial, even criminal. Some unions were secret societies with secret oaths, and unionists engaged in intimidation, threats, vandalism, and violence, especially against uncooperative workers denounced as subhuman "scabs" and "blacklegs." Private property, freedom of contract, competition, and freedom of movement across occupations (slavery and indentured servitude aside) were celebrated concepts, while government-granted monopolies and cartels were not popular at the founding of the American Republic. Courts of law were not fond of union methods either, and employers, consumers, and workers often resisted "militant" unions. Competition from imported goods made life difficult too. Some workers were intensely anti-union, not just employers. America was an open society, a frontier society, farm-dominated, sprawling, and free, and wages often were double those paid in England because labor was so scarce here. Although no reliable statistics are available, union membership probably remained below one percent of the work force most years from colonial times to the 1870s. If a union declared and lost a strike, it usually collapsed and disappeared. Most unions failed during business downturns as jobs, union membership, and revenue declined. While wage rates fell elsewhere in response to depressed business conditions, unions stubbornly insisted on maintaining wage rates ("wage rigidity"), intensifying their own failure. As nonunion labor became less expensive (more "affordable") and induced more hiring, production costs fell, thereby reducing unemployment. Such wage-price flexibility shortened business downturns by expanding output and employment, thereby acting as "shock absorbers" in the economy. In the vast sweep of the early American economy, unions were a curiosity rather than a prominent feature, confined largely to skilled trades in big cities and on the railroads. Not until the late 1870s and prosperous 1880s, when political philosophy began to shift toward collectivism and the "progressive era," did national trade unions gain a real foothold. Colonial Times In the early modern era, the European guild system consisted of tightly regulated local occupational and product monopolies, which never really took hold in North America. A few guilds with apprenticeships existed in the major cities during the 18th century (carpenters, printing, shoemaking, tailoring, hat making), and journeymen from these guilds plus workers' "benevolent societies" formed the core of early-19th-century trade unions. Most labor protests, however, were spontaneous actions like that reported in 1763, when, according to the Charleston Gazette, Negro chimney sweeps "had the insolence, by a combination among themselves, to raise the usual prices, and to refuse doing their work." Before 1800, printers and shoemakers organized in Philadelphia and New York. Philadelphia printers conducted the first recorded strike for higher wages in 1786, opposing a wage cut and demanding a minimum wage of $6 per week. [2] Employers quickly acquiesced, confirming the generalization in industrial relations that unions win short strikes and lose long ones. Because the average daily wage rate for laborers was $0.53 and $1.00 for artisans in the Philadelphia area, it is not clear that the strike boosted wages for a majority of printers, but a cut was thwarted. [3] City of Brotherly Love? Philadelphia was a city of labor-union firsts: the first recorded labor strike, first labor newspaper, first city central body of unions, and first labor-union political activity. Union Tactics Trade unions in the early Republic sought monopoly control over the local supply of labor with the "closed shop," an arrangement requiring employers to hire union members only. Selective admission to apprenticeships restricted membership, thereby artificially limiting the supply of skilled labor for hire and placing upward pressure on wage rates. As in England, threats and violence accompanied strikes. The typical strike aimed to force employers to pay more than necessary for labor available on the open market. The silent corollary was that everyone — union member or no — must "strike" too, that is, withhold his or her labor, willing or not, and refuse employment at pay less than that demanded by strikers. Alternatively, the employer had to be intimidated and decisively discouraged from hiring replacement workers ("strikebreakers"). A union warning from the 1830s suggests how unions discouraged interlopers: "We would caution all strangers and others who profess the art of horseshoeing, that if they go work for any employer under the above prices, they must abide by the consequences." [4] The stronger a union is, the more it acts like a private state, secure in its power and with little overt need to use violence. Local culture and ideology play a large role because the response of local police, courts, and politicians to union aggression is pivotal. By 1810, union tactics were fully formed: bargain "collectively," demand fixed minimum pay rates, enforce closed shops, stage strikes with picket lines, scab lists, strike funds, and traveling cards, and promote unity among skilled and unskilled workers and solidarity among locals of the same trade. But how could threatened collective violence and actual violence by adversarial-style unions square with the right of each person to seek his or her best opportunity, free of interference? To strike a bargain for lawful employment, a right firmly entrenched in custom and law? It could not be. Union coercion is incompatible with individual freedom of contract, an ugly truth ignored by most labor writers. But, as Mises wrote, "Actually labor union violence is tolerated within broad limits…the authorities, with the approval of public opinion, condone such acts." [5] The Law The courts struggled with the legal status of labor unions from the beginning: were such combinations or labor cartels lawful or not? According to some legal doctrines, unions were "criminal conspiracies in restraint of trade" and illegal combinations to fix prices (for labor services). These issues were tested in the state courts from 1806 through 1842. In the famous 1806 criminal prosecution of the Philadelphia cordwainers (shoemakers), Commonwealth v. Pullis, a three-day trial led the jury to convict the accused unionists of a criminal conspiracy to fix prices, and eight defendants were each fined $8, slightly more than a week's wages. Only 18 unionists were convicted on conspiracy charges when this doctrine was at its peak. [6] In 1842, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, in the influential decision of Commonwealth v. Hunt, ruled the bootmakers' union a lawful association with a lawful right to organize and collectively withhold labor ("strike"). The courts did not go so far as to authorize threats and violence by unions as legitimate "weapons of labor" during strikes, but, as Mises pointed out, law enforcement was and is lax in many labor disputes. The state thereby fails in its alleged basic purpose, to protect life, property, and individual liberty against (private) aggression. 1850–1900 Nearly everything was tried in some form or other during this era: socialism, syndicalism, anarchism, cooperatives, political unionism, and, the most seductive idea of all, the welding of everybody (barring bartenders and bankers!) into one gigantic union. Some were secret societies with names like the Knights of St. Crispin, the Molly Maguires, and the Knights of Labor. Yet the main adhesive of British and European unions — easily aroused class antagonisms — was absent in America, and Marxist-style sentiments about the plight of the working class never became the dominant mood, contrary to some historical accounts. More often, American pubic opinion was horrified and disgusted by outbreaks of labor violence and union disruption of production, especially if the outbursts had revolutionary overtones. Eventually, one form of unionism emerged as a survivor in this unfavorable environment. Experiments with political radicalism gave way to so-called "business unionism," the notion that unions must pursue immediate, material gain for members within the free-enterprise system. The underlying idea was to accept the capitalist wage, price, and political system and achieve marginal gains for members within it. Consequently, the ambitions of social visionaries and leftist radicals who saw unions as a vehicle for radical change gradually fell by the wayside. The tradition of 20th-century US unionism was largely the work of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and its leader, Samuel Gompers. Founded in 1881, it was a federation of national trade unions, each composed of members of a particular craft such as locomotive engineers or carpenters. Union membership in the early 1890s was barely 200,000, but as the economy expanded after the Panic of 1893 unions found more effective methods of organization, and membership hit 447,000 in 1897. Given the formula for national craft unionism, unions grew to a modest share of the labor force without enormous government intervention, aside from laxity toward union threats and the actual use of violence. At the end of the century, union membership in the United States was only 500,000, or less than 2% of the labor force. Only a dozen unions claimed more than 10,000 members. The largest union was the Locomotive Engineers with 30,000 members; the Cigarmakers were second with 28,300. Samuel Gompers, the most famous president of the AFL, for example, came from the Cigarmakers, which disappeared in a merger with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union in the 1970s. While unions existed in many trades at the close of the century, they did organize a substantial share of employment in few instances, mainly construction, railroads, printing, and the postal service. Only the railroad and postal unions were direct beneficiaries of pro-union federal legislation. Although 17 state legislatures passed laws during the 1880s and 1890s prohibiting employers from firing employees for belonging to or joining unions, reflecting an emerging pro-union political climate during this period, a prelude to the "Progressive Era." 20th Century In the early 20th century, union membership rose to 6% of the labor force. There were 2.7 million members by 1913, and the share stayed around 6–7% until 1917. This was the "Progressive Era" of 1900 through 1918 which fastened a welfare-warfare state on America which has set the mold for the rest of the twentieth century…because a unique set of conditions had destroyed the Democrats as a laissez-faire party and left a power vacuum for the triumph of the new ideology of compulsory cartelization through a partnership of big government, business, unions, technocrats, and intellectuals. [7] World War I Prior to World War I, unionists were still on a relatively short leash. From 1842 onward, unions had the clear legal right to exist, and workers could join such "self-help" organizations, but employers were under no obligation to "bargain" with these unions. The courts also tended (ultimately) to restrict union tactics such as threats of violence, violence itself, mob action, and interference with voluntary trade. Further, the courts tended to make little distinction between business and union "restraints on competition." They ruled, for example, that union actions in a boycott organized by the United Hatters of Danbury, CT, against the products of D. E. Loewe and Company (1908) were in restraint of trade under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, and fined individual union members responsible for the union's acts (unions never incorporated lest they be held liable as an organization for damages they caused). Unionists therefore prominently demanded governmental privilege and mounted persistent and intensive campaigns for favorable legislation. In 1912, Congress supplied new assistance with the Lloyd-LaFollette Act to compel collective bargaining by the US Post Office and encourage postal-union membership. In 1914, Congress passed the Clayton Act with provisions to exempt unions from the 1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act, restrict the use of court injunctions in labor disputes and declare picketing and similar union tactics as not unlawful. Samuel Gompers hailed the Clayton Act as labor's Magna Carta, but subsequent court interpretations neutered the prounion provisions. The "national emergency" of US entry into World War I provided much of the experience and precedent for subsequent intervention on behalf of unionism, as well as for other cartel-like policies. Historian William E. Leuchtenburg, for instance, points out, "The panoply of procedures developed by the War Labor Board and the War Labor Policies Board provided the basis in later years for a series of enactments culminating in the Wagner National Labor Relations Act of 1935." [8] Under pressure of World War I and the government's interventions, union membership skyrocketed, hitting 12% of the labor force. The War Labor Board and the War Labor Policies Board, the latter led by Felix Frankfurter and modeled on a directive by Franklin D. Roosevelt who represented the United States Navy on the board, proclaimed governmental support of unions and enforced pro-union measures on industry. The boards, for instance, ordered establishment of "work councils" composed of employee representatives and seized defiant enterprises. The government even created a union, the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen, and forced lumbermen to join in its battle against the radical leftist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, known as the "Wobblies"). The Loyal Legion collapsed after the war despite government efforts to keep it alive, while others became so-called company or independent unions, subsequently banned by the 1935 Wagner Act. Just as the War Industries Board led by Bernard M. Baruch and Army General Hugh S. Johnson was the forerunner for the 1933935 cartelization under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) administered by Johnson, the War Labor Boards were forerunners to the federal labor boards used to administer Section 7(a) of NIRA and the subsequent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) created by the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act of 1935. 1920s The end of the war ended prounion interventions. By 1924, the union share of the labor force had slipped to 8%, and by 1933 had eroded to the same 6% as thirty years before. But peacetime help was not far off. The first durable help for "private-sector" unionism was the Railway Labor Act of 1926. The labor disputes that erupted periodically on the railroads were highly visible, violent, unpopular, and politically embarrassing. Although the interstate commerce clause of the United States Constitution, as interpreted then, restricted the ability of the national government to intervene in most economic affairs, Congress had the unchallenged power to regulate interstate commerce. A sequence of federal laws beginning in 1888 regulated railway labor matters, and Congress passed the 1926 law in almost the identical form agreed on by the major railroads and unions. The act, amended in 1934, essentially dictated collective bargaining for all interstate railroads and set up machinery for governmental intervention in labor disputes. This was an obvious example of monopoly intervention on behalf of an industry. The already unionized railroads found it comfortable to impose compulsory collective bargaining on all interstate railroads, some of which had resisted union pressure better than others. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), in turn, fixed freight rates for railroads based on "costs," which were higher because of unions. Thus railroad wage and price determination was transferred from the marketplace to the political arena. 1930s During the Great Depression, Congress delivered an amazing sequence of six major pieces of labor legislation favored by unionists, virtually revolutionizing labor markets: Davis-Bacon (1931), Norris-LaGuardia (1932), National Industrial Recovery Act (1933), Wagner National Labor Relations Act (1935), Walsh-Healey (1936), and the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938), popularly known as the minimum wage law. This avalanche of legislation to entrench unions was hastened by the prevailing doctrine of 1920s business leaders, that "high and rising wages were necessary to a full flow of purchasing power and, therefore, to good business," which was followed by its corollary, that "'reducing the income of labor is not a remedy for business depression, it is a direct and contributory cause.'" [9] This ignorant blather reverses the true line of causation: high wages are an effect of high productivity and prosperity, not a cause of them. If it were otherwise, rather than producing themselves rich, nations could simply declare all good things cheap and all wages high, and thus abolish poverty with pious hopes. Davis-Bacon: This bill passed in 1931 following a sharp decline in construction activity at the beginning of the Great Depression. Construction expenditures went from $11 billion annually to $3 billion, with over half of the reduced activity financed by government. Competition for contracts and jobs was fierce and mobile contractors using migrant labor entered the market to underbid some local contractors. Many contractors and building trade unions welcomed the law to protect themselves from the competition of what one congressman called "carpetbagging sharpie contractors." [10] The law requires that workers on federally financed construction be paid wages at "local prevailing rates" for comparable construction work. The clearly stated intent was to protect local workers and contractors from the competition of outsiders. The ambiguity of prevailing wages gave the United States Department of Labor scope to set minimum wage rates at union wages in about half of its wage determinations. This has cost taxpayers at least a billion dollars per year in higher construction and administrative costs. Since 1931, Congress has extended the prevailing wage provision to include most federally assisted construction, whether state, local, or national government is the direct purchaser. Additional amendments in 1964 added fringe benefits to prevailing wage calculations. The effect of the Labor Department's administration of the law is not to protect local contractors from competitors but to dish out government work to high-cost contractors and the building-trades unions. Davis-Bacon regulates about 20% of all construction. Construction workers are among the highest paid in America, earning twice the hourly rate of employees in retail trade. Most states passed "little Davis-Bacon" Acts to further unionize the construction industry and "build expensive." Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act: Signed by President Herbert Hoover on March 23, 1932, this bill passed the House 363-13 and the Senate 75-5. It was the culmination of a 50-year union campaign against "government by injunction." The threefold purpose of the act was to declare nonunion employment agreements ("yellow-dog contracts") unenforceable in federal courts (section 3); grant labor organizations immunity from liability for wrongful acts under antitrust law (sections 4 and 5); and give unions immunity from private damage suits and nullify the equity powers (injunctive relief) of federal courts in labor disputes (sections 7–12). The overriding object of the act was to free organized labor from the constraints that bind businessmen and others, allowing unions more scope to use their aggressive and violent tactics. The number of strikes suddenly doubled between 1932 and 1933 to 1,695 and then continued climbing to a 1930s peak of 4,740 in 1937. This outburst of strikes occurred during a period of deep depression and massive unemployment, while previous business downturns had always diminished strike activity and caused many unions to disappear. As Hayek summed it up, "We have now reached a state where [unions] have become uniquely privileged institutions to which the general rules of law do not apply." [11] NIRA: The National Industrial Recovery Act was among the many Roosevelt interventions to boost prices and wage rates on the mistaken theory that falling wages and prices were causing the depression rather than being market-driven adjustments to re-coordinate the economy and restore production and employment. The NIRA — the New Deal fascist system of codes to cartelize both industry and labor markets and push up prices throughout the economy — was struck down by the Supreme Court in the famous Schechter Poultry case of 1935 on the grounds that the act delegated virtually unlimited legislative power to the president. Section 7(a) of the NIRA promoted unions and the practices of collective bargaining. Congress then re-packaged similar labor regulations and new interventions piece by piece in surviving legislation like the Wagner, Walsh-Healey, and Fair Labor Standards Acts. National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): Otherwise known as the Wagner Act, the NLRA was a rewrite of the NIRA's section 7a. The act passed the Senate 63-12 and an unrecorded voice vote in the House, and Roosevelt signed it July 5, 1935. The NLRA remains the overall labor framework in the United States to this day. It declares that the labor policy of the federal government is encouragement of the practice and procedure of collective bargaining, as well as protection of worker designation of representatives to negotiate terms and conditions of employment. It uses federal coercion to make it easier to unionize enterprises and employees in the private sector who otherwise would not participate in unionization and collective bargaining. The main regulatory features of the act were as follows. The creation of a politically appointed board, the National Labor Relations Board, to enforce the act, thereby escaping the too-frequent apolitical ("anti-union") rulings from courts of law. The specification of multiple "unfair labor practices" by enterprises to hamper their resistance to organized labor. NLRB enforcement of majority elections for union representation. NLRB determination of eligibility to vote. NLRB enforcement of exclusive (monopoly) bargaining for all employees in a bargaining "unit" by NLRB-certified unionists only. NLRB enforcement of union pay rates for all employees represented, whether union members or not. In April 1937, contrary to the expectations of many in the Congress who had hoped the Supreme Court would overturn their handiwork as unconstitutional, as it had the NIRA, the court declared the Wagner Act constitutional by a 5-4 vote in the midst of Roosevelt's famous threat to pack the court. It is no exaggeration to state that the Wagner decision marked the judiciary's general abandonment of constitutional protection against federal encroachment on economic rights and due process. Years later, public disgust with adversarial unionism and underworld corruption produced federal legislation to modify the Wagner Act — principally the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act in 1947 and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure (Landrum-Griffin) Act in 1959 — that has been less favorable to unions, though this can be exaggerated. Neither law tampered with the basic privileges and immunities previously granted to organized labor. As legal scholar Richard Epstein says, Taft-Hartley was a partial union victory because it maintained the original structure of the statutes, making it more difficult to return to common law. [12] My favorite section (602A) in Landrum-Griffin, although intended to rein in union officials' abuse of members' rights, highlights the immunities the state grants to unions: It shall be unlawful to carry on picketing on or about the premises of any employer for the purpose of, or as part of any conspiracy or in furtherance of any plan or purpose for, the personal profit or enrichment of any individual (except a bona fide increase in wages or other employee benefits) by taking or obtaining any money or other thing of value from such employer against his will or without his consent. [Emphasis added.] The exclusion in parentheses is quite astounding. Such open exceptions (privileges and immunities) for labor unions are necessary in legislation if the object of national labor law since the 1930s is to be promoted and achieved. Namely, this involves an organized labor movement freed from the regular constraints of civilization to extract money from employers against their will with the proviso that the loot be mostly paid to union members in wages and benefits. Public Contract (Walsh-Healey) Act: Passed in 1936, this act tried to accomplish for unions more generally what Davis-Bacon did for the building-trades unions, but it turned out to be relatively ineffective. Walsh-Healey targeted bureaucratic administration of employment conditions for all government contracts over $10,000. The law allowed the Secretary of Labor to fix minimum wage scales among nearly all businesses contracting with the government. "Responsible" businesses — that is, unionized employers — generally urged that standards be imposed in order to discipline "unscrupulous" (low-cost, nonunion) competitors, yet the Department of Labor never could settle on a consistent method of determining the "prevailing wage" for such a bewildering array of jobs, individual skills, and pay systems. Evidence that Walsh-Healey is dead for wage- and hour-fixing purposes can be seen in the fact that the act no longer excites controversy in the business community while Davis-Bacon still does. The Fair Labor Standards Act: Passed in Congress in 1938, this act set a national minimum wage rate of 25 cents per hour. It applied to an estimated 43% of employees in private, nonagricultural work and gradually grew to cover nearly 90%. State minimum wage laws cover most remaining employees. Effective July 24, 2008, the federal minimum was $6.55 per hour and becomes $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009, a 29-fold increase over the first minimum wage in 1938. [13] A 90-day beginners' minimum of $4.25 per hour applies to workers under age 20. Covered "nonexempt" employees must be paid overtime rates of one-and-a-half times the regular pay rate for any hours over 40 in a seven-day period. Generally, the minimum wage has fluctuated between 35 and 50% of the average hourly wage in manufacturing. How does the minimum wage help unions? Less than 10% of all wage and salary employees have wage rates low enough to be directly impacted by the minimum wage. Essentially, unions benefit by pricing competitors and potential nonunion entrants out of business. Many young people, women older people, and members of minority groups such as inner-city blacks find it more difficult to find beginners' jobs because minimum-wage and union wage rates price them out of the market. Yet accepting a low-paying job for its on-the-job training is no different in principle from paying to go to school. Economic studies show that about half of the training in the US economy occurs on the job rather than in school. [14] Shrunken work opportunities caused by the minimum-wage law have ruined uncounted careers, most visibly black teens in the ongoing tragedy of our inner cities. Milton Friedman called the minimum wage law the most antiblack law on the books. [15] Some antipoverty device! World War II In 1940, Congress passed the first peacetime draft compelling conscripts to serve in the military, a prelude to the command economy of World War II. [16] Of the 16 million who served in the armed forces during the war, 10 million were draftees, and a depression labor glut turned into a wartime shortage. Government policy shifted from promoting artificially high prices for labor services to keeping prices artificially low during wartime. A series of makeshift commissions and boards were charged with planning and coordinating economic mobilization by fixing prices and wages at below-market-clearing levels, among countless other interventions. Wartime socialism, in other words. In January 1942, Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board, patterned after the War Labor Board of World War I, to resolve labor disputes by mediation or arbitration. The board could and did seize plants in accord with the draft act of 1940. Also in early 1942, the president created the War Manpower Commission, and by late in the war tried to make it into a powerful "work-or-fight" agency of compulsion, though Congress never approved an economy-wide national service law. If labor rates had been allowed to clear labor markets by rising rapidly, price-controlled businesses would have been caught in a cost-price squeeze and failed financially, so in October 1942 Roosevelt got open-ended authority over all prices and wages. The War Labor Board appeased unions with security arrangements, administrative slack in its wage controls, and other privileges but gained little "labor peace" from unions in return, despite pledges to the contrary, as work stoppages rose to their worst year in 1943. Post — World War II Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act: This act was passed by a Republican-majority Congress over President Truman's veto in 1947. More Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the bill and the override than voted against. Rather than outright repeal of the prounion Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley unfortunately added a list of prohibited union actions, or "unfair labor practices," to "balance" the NLRA, which had previously only banned "unfair" labor practices for employers. The Taft-Hartley Act outlawed union practices such as jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, political ("solidarity") strikes, secondary boycotts, "common situs" picketing, closed shops, and money donations by unions to federal political campaigns. In the land of the once-free, it also required union officers to sign noncommunist affidavits with the government. Union shops, which compel union membership and/or dues payments as a condition to retain a job, were restricted and states were allowed to pass "right-to-work" laws that outlawed union shops. There are 22 states, all in the south and west, with right-to-work laws. Finally, the executive branch of the federal government could obtain injunctions in the federal courts if an impending or current strike "imperiled the national health or safety," a test that has been interpreted generously by the courts. [17] President George W. Bush invoked the law most recently in connection with the employer lockout of the International Longshoremen's and Warehouse Union during negotiations with west-coast shipping and stevedoring companies in 2002. Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (or LMRDA): Also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act for its sponsors Democrat Phil Landrum and Republican Robert P. Griffin, the LMRDA regulates labor unions' internal affairs and unions officials' relationships with employers. Enacted in 1959 after well-publicized revelations of corruption and undemocratic practices in the Teamsters, Longshoremen's Association and United Mine Workers, the act requires unions to hold secret elections for local union offices on a regular basis and authorizes review by the Department of Labor of union members' claims of improper election activity. Other provisions: Required unions to submit annual financial reports to the Department of Labor. Declared that every union officer must act as a fiduciary in handling the assets and conducting the affairs of the union. Limited the power of unions to put subordinate bodies in trusteeship, a temporary suspension of democratic processes within a union. Specified minimum standards before a union may expel or take other disciplinary action against a member of the union. Barred members of the Communist Party and convicted felons from holding union office. [18] More on Union Membership With withdrawal of WWI federal intervention, dues-paying union membership fell throughout the 1920s from a reported peak of 5 million in 1920 to fewer than 3 million by 1933. According to NBER figures, membership then turned around to more than double to 7.2 million by 1940, doubled again to a staggering 13.2 million by 1945, and increased more slowly to 14.8 million by 1950. There was no such postwar slump in membership after World War I because the pro-union legal framework empowering unions remained in place. Wartime proved prosperous for unions. WWII government labor boards operated, on net, to advance unionization, cementing in place the union gains originally created by the WWI and New Deal interventions. Between 1933 and 1945 the unionized fraction of the civilian labor force rose fourfold from 5.7% to 22.4%. That proportion eroded but remained above 20% during the 1950s. Since 1960, however, a sharp decline in union density has set in all Western countries. According to OECD data, estimated union density in the United States was 30.9% in 1960, 22.3% in 1980, 12.8% in 2000 and 11.6% in 2007. While the overall rate of decline has recently slowed, the decline in private sector union membership has been partially concealed by union growth in the public sector. Between 2000 and 2008, for example, BLS data show a decline in unionization among privately employed wage and salary workers from 9.2 million to 8.3 million, and an erosion in union density from 9.0% to 7.6%. Private-sector membership peaked at 17 million in 1970, so in total membership has fallen by over half since 1970. Membership among government-employed wage and salary workers grew modestly from 7.1 million to 7.8 million since 2000, with a stable density of 36.9% in 2000 and 36.8% in 2008. Union density in the private sector now is not much higher than it was in the early 1900s despite massive federal intervention on behalf of unionism since World War I. The wage-boosting success of private-sector unions has gone hand in hand with their decline in membership (nothing fails like success), as the silent, steady forces of the competitive marketplace continually undermine government-sanctioned labor cartels. Public-Sector Unions Public-sector unions are on pace to claim an absolute majority of union members in a traditionally private-sector-dominated labor movement within a few years. Government jobs constitute the "healthy" part of organized labor where external competition provides little or no discipline against union inefficiency, costs, and privilege. From 900,000 union members in 1960, government membership rocketed to 4 million by 1970, nearly 6 million by 1976, and 7 million by 1993, with a growth slowdown to 7.8 million by 2008. The explanation for the sudden burst of government unionization is another intervention, namely, President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10988 promoting unionism in the federal bureaucracy, which he signed in January 1962. Kennedy had received considerable campaign support from unions and his executive order declared that "the efficient administration of the government and the well-being of employees requires that orderly and constructive relationships be maintained between employee organizations and management." The language does not say "orderly relationships between employees and managers" but "between employee organizations and management." The order set up procedures for determination of collective bargaining units and recognition of unions, compelled agency heads to bargain in good faith, and specified unfair labor practices for unions and management. The order was less generous than the NLRA to unions as it prohibited strikes and established no separate NLRB-type bureaucracy — but it was a beginning. The order triggered collective-bargaining laws in states such as Michigan, New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, all of which had substantial private-sector unionism. Only a half-dozen states in the south and west are completely free of such laws promoting public-sector unionism. The National Education Association (NEA), headquartered in Washington, DC (an unsurprising location), is the largest public-sector labor union in the United States with 3.2 million members, although it is not part of the AFL-CIO federation of unions. [19] Employer or Employee Opposition? Unions bitterly complain that uniquely American management resistance, legal as well as illegal, has thwarted employees' desire to unionize. If true, stronger government controls to hamper business opposition and allow open expression of employees' desire to unionize might reverse the decline of private-sector unionism. That is the rationale for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) backed by the AFL-CIO and the Obama administration this year. [20] The bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act to require the NLRB to certify a union as the exclusive (monopoly) bargaining agent for all employees in a "unit appropriate for bargaining" upon a finding that a majority had signed valid authorizations designating a labor organization as their agent. This procedure, often called "card check" recognition, would short-circuit employer (and employee!) resistance to unionization of the business and its employees. A secret-ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, which unions often lose, would no longer be required for NLRB certification, and an employer would be compelled to bargain "in good faith" with the exclusive bargaining agent even though it had failed to win a majority in a secret-ballot election. How far the "industrial democracy" movement has come! An EFCA law would hardly turn things around for unions, however. They are a relic of the past, subject to competition in the marketplace. Shifts from goods toward services and from the Northeast and upper Midwest to the South and West, a trend toward smaller companies, higher-tech products, and more professional and technical personnel continue to erode the demand for private-union membership. Further, American workers, like the general public, have a low opinion of unions and union leaders, and surveys consistently show that only one in three US employees would vote for union representation in a secret-ballot election. Organizing drives and dramatic confrontations play a small numerical role compared to quiet reductions in the number and size of union establishments and growth in number and size of nonunion establishments. [21] An Economic Conclusion While the basic facts of labor history are well known to industrial relations specialists and labor historians, their proper interpretation is not. Most labor historians believe that what is good for unions is good for all labor. This belief underlies prounion statist interventions in markets for labor but is entirely false, as economic reasoning and evidence prove beyond reasonable doubt. First, when labor combinations or cartels capture monopoly control over whom employers can hire and impose higher wage rates, the number of jobs available in these companies and industries declines. This is the simple result of the law of demand: when unions raise the price of labor, employers purchase less of it. While an increase in labor productivity can partially offset higher labor cost, labor productivity cannot be raised cheaply or it would have been done already. Unions are clearly an anticompetitive force in labor markets. Second, workers priced out of work by unions remain unemployed or obtain jobs at nonunion companies. A larger labor supply depresses wage rates there, so union wage rates come partially at the expense of lower nonunion wages. Third, cartels flourish only where rewards are high and organizational costs low. Historically, highly paid craft workers (known as the "aristocrats of labor") organized instead of "downtrodden," low-wage workers because they met two conditions: Union wage rates often decreased employment relatively little because demand for skilled workers was "inelastic," that is, employment levels were relatively "insensitive" to changes in wage rates, at least in the short run. Craft workers also could organize at low cost because they were few in number, had a common mindset, low turnover, and few or geographically concentrated employers. $58 $39   Many early economists who sympathized with unions knew unionization could succeed only if restricted to a minority of workers, but they endorsed unions as a device to benefit a visible group and ignored the consequences for everybody else, especially wage earners outside the unions. These economists probably wanted to gain a hearing rather than being dismissed as "mean-spirited." That left the field to a handful of truth-tellers like W. H. Hutt and Sylvester Petro. Mises set the standard for advocating the blunt truth with no bow toward labor mythology: "No one has ever succeeded in the effort to demonstrate that unionism could improve the conditions and raise the standard of living of all those eager to earn wages." [22] Perhaps the most astounding feature revealed by this history of American unionism is that US labor markets continue to work as well as they do. Despite all the union privileges and immunities granted and a never-ending stream of federal labor interventions, the famous flexibility of US labor markets remains — a truly remarkable fact. And the vast majority of American workers remain stubbornly nonunion despite the best efforts of labor unions, the federal government, its court intellectuals, and the mass media. [bio] See his [AuthorArchive]. Comment on the blog . You can subscribe to future articles by [AuthorName] via this [RSSfeed]. Additional References: Foner, Philip S. History of the Labor Movement, Volume I From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor. New York: International, 1947. Reynolds, Morgan O. Power and Privilege: Labor Unions in America. New York: Universe, 1984. — — . Making America Poorer: The Cost of Labor Law. Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1987. — — . " Labor Unions ." The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. A Labor Union Chronology
i don't know
Which cricket county finished runners-up to champions Warwickshire this year, despite losing only one match all season in Division One?
2005 english cricket season : definition of 2005 english cricket season and synonyms of 2005 english cricket season (English) 2006 → Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by an innings. This was followed by a tri-nations one-day tournament that also featured Australia . However, all eyes were on the Ashes . Australia still started as favourites, but England, for the first time in years, were expected to put up a real challenge to Aussie supremacy. Indeed, so they did, despite losing the first Test by 239 runs. England came back to win the second and fourth Tests, and draw the third and fifth, to win the Ashes for the first time since 1986–87 . Andrew Flintoff dominated with both bat and ball for England, scoring 402 runs – more than any Australian – and taking 24 wickets – more than any Australian bar Shane Warne . Warne also had a spectacular series, with 40 wickets at a bowling average of 19.92, and 249 runs, but most of his efforts came in losing causes – such as making 42 with the bat in the second innings of the second Test. In domestic cricket, Nottinghamshire won the County Championship , for the first time since 1987 , and Durham enjoyed promotion in both the shorter and the longer form of the game. Surrey , the 2000 and 2002 Championship winners, were relegated in the Championship, and played in Division Two in both the Championship and the National League in 2006 . Hampshire Hawks won the 50-over knock-out C&G Trophy , but were relegated in the National League , which Essex Eagles won in emphatic fashion, as they lost only one game and had a 14-point gap to the runners-up, Middlesex Crusaders . The Australian women also toured England at the same time as the men, and England won the Women's Ashes 1–0 after two Tests. However, the Australian women won the ODI series 3–2. To round off the season, investors in partnership with Leicestershire arranged an International 20:20 Club Championship , which Pakistani side Faisalabad Wolves won. Contents   April   Heath Streak of Warwickshire about to bowl to Cook on 10 April. The cricket season started early, on 8 April, with MCC playing the Champion County, or at least it would have done if the rain had not delayed the start till the next day. The other games played were all between the first-class counties and university sides. The first matches showed a bumper crop of centuries, with little joy for bowlers, but there were no surprises. The MCC ended up beating Warwickshire . Away from the cricket field, on 8 April the ECB announced that triangular One Day International tournaments would no longer be played in England. On 11 April Kevin Pietersen , England's South African-born all-rounder was reported to have a foot injury that could see him miss the start of the season, and Chris Schofield began his case for unfair dismissal against Lancashire , which he eventually won. The first round of the Frizzell County Championship saw Warwickshire gain maximum points, with Hampshire also winning in Division One. Durham replicated Warwickshire's feat in Division Two, where Worcestershire also won. The first round of the totesport National Cricket League was held on 17 April, though most of the games were affected by the rain. 5 results were possible in the 8 matches. Rain continued to bedevil the second round of the County Championship, with only Yorkshire and Durham securing wins. In the MCC University matches, Bradford/Leeds UCCE shocked an injury-weakened Surrey by beating them at the Oval .   Bradford/Leeds UCCE celebrate after beating Surrey The second round of the totesport League saw a heavy defeat for Surrey away to Durham , with other wins for Northamptonshire , Middlesex , Kent and Sussex , which left Middlesex and Durham at the top of the tables at the end of April. In the third round of the Championship, Surrey thrashed what already appear to be Division One whipping boys Glamorgan to go third, with Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire also recording big wins to go second and first respectively. In the second division, Essex and Lancashire beat Somerset and Worcestershire respectively. However, Durham , who sat this round out, led the table at the end of April, from Essex and Worcestershire, with Derbyshire and Leicestershire propping the table up.   May   England set a very attacking field against Bangladesh on the third day of the first Test. England won comfortably by an innings and 261 runs May started with one-day games played on 1 and 2 May. Middlesex established themselves at the top of Division One after winning their first three matches. Yorkshire and Durham were the unbeaten sides in the Second Division. This was followed by the first round of the C&G Trophy , which for the last time included the minor counties and Scotland , Holland , Denmark and Ireland . However, there were no upsets. Durham lost to Derbyshire by 1 wicket, and Leicestershire beat Somerset by 3 wickets in the only all first-class county fixtures. The fourth round of the Championship saw Gloucestershire sent Glamorgan down for another heavy defeat., as title contenders Hampshire and Nottinghamshire win against Middlesex and Surrey respectively. Surrey were found guilty of ball-tampering in this match, which later led to all their cricketers being fined by Surrey, and to the loss of 8 Championship points. The Second Division saw wins for Durham , Essex , Lancashire and Yorkshire . Whilst these games were being played Loughborough UCCE chalked up the second victory for a UCCE side this season by thrashing Worcestershire by 8 wickets in a game the students dominated in throughout. On 10 May the Bangladeshis got their tour off with a three-day game against the British Universities, which was drawn. The fifth round of the Championship saw Surrey dish out another defeat to Glamorgan as Middlesex and Sussex won. The Second Division saw Durham maintaining their lead at the top with a 9 wicket win against Lancashire . Worcestershire overcame bottom club Derbyshire , with Yorkshire beating Leicestershire in the only other decided game. Essex, Lancashire, Hampshire, Worcestershire and Durham all won their totesport games on 15 May, with Leicestershire beating Surrey to continue Surrey's dismal form. The quarter-finals of the C&G Trophy followed, as did a tour match between the Bangladeshi's and Sussex in which the tourists lost by an innings and 226 runs, boding ill for the impending Test series. On 20 May Surrey finally won a totesport League game, beating fellow wooden spoon candidates, Scotland, in Edinburgh by five wickets. 20 May saw the start of another Championship round. Glamorgan lost yet again, this time to Hampshire, and in the other first division tie, Kent beat Nottinghamshire by 196 runs. Division Two saw Worcestershire beat Essex, as first-placed Durham drew with second-placed Yorkshire, and Lancashire drew at Somerset. At the same time, Bangladesh put up a stronger performance in Northampton in a match severely hampered by rain. The last round of the County Championship in May saw Nottinghamshire beat Gloucestershire to finish may top of Division One. Warwickshire beat Hampshire by ten wickets to leave them third and second in the table respectively, as Kent and Surrey drew to keep them in fourth and fifth. The table remains propped up by Glamorgan, who are strong favourites for relegation, with Sussex, Middlesex and Gloucestershire in places six to eight. Durham did not play in this round of the Championship, but remained in first place in Division Two, with Yorkshire missing a chance of taking over as leaders when they drew with Essex. Also in the round Somerset beat Northamptonshire and eighth placed Leicestershire beat ninth- (and bottom-) placed Derbyshire. The Test match season finally started on 26 May, with Bangladesh completely overwhelmed in just over two days. After being dismissed for 108, Bangladesh could only watch as England made 528 for 3 declared, Marcus Trescothick top-scoring with 194. In their second innings, the tourists could only muster 159 as they went down by a mammoth innings and 261 runs. The one-day league games played over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend left Middlesex top of Division One, with Essex one win behind them with two games in hand. Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire (who had not won a game by the end of May) were in the relegation spots. As with the County Championship, Durham led the Second Division from Yorkshire, with Derbyshire, Scotland and Leicestershire occupying the bottom three places.   June The eighth round of the Championship saw Hampshire beat title rivals Nottinghamshire and Kent beat Gloucestershire, and then lose 8 points for the poor quality of the Maidstone pitch. The other First Division matches were draws, with Glamorgan avoiding defeat after following-on against Sussex. The Second Division saw four draws. Meanwhile, the students of Cambridge UCCE edged past Middlesex by 2 wickets. The Second Test against Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street was another one-sided affair. 5 wickets from Stephen Harmison , on his home ground, helped dismiss the Bangladeshis for 104. Trescothick's 151, Ian Bell 's 162* and Graham Thorpe 's 66* saw England to 447 for 3 declared. Although Bangladesh did better in their second innings, their 316 saw them lose by an innings and 27 runs. After another totesport League round, the top division of the Championship continued with Kent thrashing Glamorgan, Warwickshire thrashing Gloucestershire and local rivals Surrey and Middlesex drawing. In the Second Division, Durham pulled away further at the top with another win, this time against Essex, with Worcestershire also scoring a win against Somerset. However, the main focus was on the warm-up games for the NatWest Series and the first ever Twenty20 International between England and Australia. The only surprise in the warm-ups was a welcome win for Bangladesh over Worcestershire, which provided a welcome confidence boost to the Bangladeshis before they took on England and Australia in the NatWest Series. The Twenty20 International on 13 June saw England score 179 for 8, a total probably 20 above the par score at the Rose Bowl . The Australian innings was a dream for Darren Gough (3 wickets), Jon Lewis (4 wickets) and all Englishmen as the Aussies were reduced to 31 for 7. Ultimately they were dismissed for 79 – first blood to England by 100 runs. Lord's hosted a 50-over match between the next day as part of the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal to raise funds to help countries hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December. An MCC side including Shaun Pollock , Sourav Ganguly and Stephen Fleming beat an International XI that included Brian Lara , Rahul Dravid , Shane Warne and Graeme Smith by 112 runs. Then on 15 June came another surprise – Australia were beaten in their final NatWest Series warm-up match by Somerset, or more specifically Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya , who put on 197 for Somerset's first wicket. The first NatWest series match saw England easily defeat Bangladesh at the Oval by 10 wickets. The last County Championship round before the mid-season Twenty20 break saw Surrey beat Hampshire, Middlesex beat Glamorgan, Kent beat Warwickshire and Sussex and Nottinghamshire draw to leave Kent top, and Glamorgan bottom of the first division. In the second division, Lancashire beat Derbyshire, who remain bottom; Leicestershire beat second-placed Worcestershire; and leaders Durham drew with Northamptonshire. The last round of the totesport League before the break left Essex and Middlesex at the top of Division One, with Nottinghamshire and Gloucestershire propping them up. Durham held top place in Division Two, with Surrey languishing one place below Scotland at the bottom.   Andrew Strauss batting for England during the NatWest Series The second NatWest match on 18 June saw what many described as the biggest-ever upset in one-day cricket, and wild celebrations in Dhaka as Bangladesh restricted World Champions Australia to 249 for 5, before Mohammed Ashraful 's 100 assisted the Bangladeshis in reaching their target with four balls and five wickets spare. With England scoring a narrow three wicket victory against Australia, the Aussies finished the weekend bottom of the NatWest table, with England well on top. 20 June saw the second tsunami appeal match of the season, this time a Twenty20 affair at the Oval . An Asian XI including Dravid, Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh scored 157 in an innings finished with a hat-trick from Adam Hollioake . The total was easily surpassed with Greg Blewett 's 91 meaning that Stephen Fleming 's duck and Brian Lara 's 9 could not prevent the International XI winning by 6 wickets with 11 balls left. The fourth NatWest Series match saw normal service resumed, with England beating Bangladesh by 168 runs after the hosts put on 391 for 4, the second-highest score in ODIs. The 2005 Twenty20 Cup started on 22 June, again with large audiences, and with last year's winners, Leicestershire, and runners-up, Surrey, both scoring wins. The fifth ODI allowed Australia back in, with a comfortable 57 win against England. Any anticipation over the next Australia v Bangladesh tie was easily brushed aside by the Aussies, who struck out Bangladesh for 139, and then reached their target in 19 overs without losing a wicket. Bangladesh were eliminated from the Series in the seventh ODI, when England beat them by five wickets. The eighth match should have been a rehearsal for the final, and Australia's 261 for 9 set the stage well. But rain was always expected and the contest was rained off as a "no result" with England 37 for 1 off 6 overs in their reply. Bangladesh's tour of England ended with a creditable performance against Australia in the ninth ODI, although their 250 for 8 was ultimately overcome by the Aussie with six wickets and eleven balls left after they had wobbled earlier in the innings. At the same time, the Twenty20 Cup was continuing apace, and Oxford University (610 for 5 declared) beat Cambridge University (129 and 268), with Salil Oberoi 's 247 gaining positive comment in his native India .   July July began with Twenty20 Cup group games, before England tied the final of the NatWest Series after coming back from 33 for 5 to post 196 for 9 – the same as Australia – on 2 July. Two days later, Lancashire became the first team to qualify for the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals, and the following day Northamptonshire and Surrey joined them. The final round of the group stage of the Twenty20 Cup was played on 6 July. Middlesex made it through from the South Division despite loss – while Sussex, Middlesex' conquerors, were knocked out. Warwickshire and Somerset qualified from the Midlands/Wales/West Division thanks to wins over Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire respectively, while Derbyshire sneaked through from the North Division after a win over Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire defeated Yorkshire to join them. In the NatWest Challenge, a three-ODI series played over five days, England won the first ODI but lost the next two to lose the series 1–2, their only tournament loss in the entire season. In the County Championship, Nottinghamshire enjoyed the lead in Division One for a couple of days after beating Glamorgan by ten wickets – Glamorgan's eighth loss – but Kent, whose match started on 10 July took it back despite losing to Sussex, the six bonus points being enough to take the lead. In Division Two of the Championship, Durham's lead was closed from 21 points to 11 after losing to Lancashire by an innings and 228 runs, the highest margin of victory thus far in the season. The following day, Surrey got off the last place in Division Two of the totesport League thanks to a three-run victory over Yorkshire, but Surrey were knocked out of the C&G Trophy on 15 July – Hampshire, Lancashire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire reached the semi-finals. Three days later, the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup were held, and Lancashire, Leicestershire, Somerset and Surrey proceeded to the semi-finals at The Oval on 30 July. In the National League, Essex Eagles beat Lancashire Lightning by eight wickets on 19 July to extend their lead in the first division to eight points with one game in hand. The next round of Championship matches saw Hampshire, Kent, Nottinghamshire and Middlesex record victories to form the top four on 23 July. In Division Two, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire recorded wins, while the top sides Durham and Lancashire drew to remain on top. However, the eyes of most cricket fans were on Lord's , where England took on Australia . Glenn McGrath worried the English batsmen to end with nine wickets for 82, and Australia recorded their highest team score of the entire series with their second-innings 384 as they completed a 239-run victory on the fourth day of the Test. England Under-19s began their three-ODI series with Sri Lanka Under-19s on 26 July, with a win, before they travelled to Old Trafford where they played out a no-result and a win to take the series 2–0. In the County Championship, there were four draws in five matches, as rain thwarted play on the first three days of the round from 26 to 29 July. Division Two leaders Durham were the only team to win after beating Somerset at the Riverside . The month was rounded off with the finals day of the Twenty20 Cup on 30 July, where Lancashire Lightning beat Surrey Lions in the first match, amassing 217 for 4 to win by 20 runs, before Somerset Sabres eked through in the second semi-final after a four-run victory. In the final, however, Graeme Smith hit 64 not out for the Sabres, and Somerset won by four wickets to take their first Twenty20 Cup win.   August August began with the Australian tourists completing a draw against Worcestershire in a three-day tour match, while Sussex Sharks kept up their good National League run with a win over Somerset Sabres, their seventh win in succession. Six matches in the Championship started on 3 August, with Kent , Sussex , Warwickshire and Hampshire recording victories. In Division Two, Lancashire used their victory at Grace Road in Leicestershire to exploit a rare slip-up from Durham and grab 16 points in the title-battle, closing the gap to 18 with a game in hand. However, the Championship matches came in the background due to the second Ashes Test, where England took on Australia at Edgbaston Cricket Ground for the second Test of the five-match series. England carried a 0–1 series deficit into Edgbaston, and after three days of cricket England led by 106 with two Australian wickets left to grab. Shane Warne , Brett Lee (Australia's top-scorer with 43 not out) and Michael Kasprowicz cut 104 of those runs off the target, but Kasprowicz gloved Steve Harmison behind to Geraint Jones , to leave England 2-run winners and the series tied at one-all. The English youth team were the first English representative team to record a Test victory this summer, however, beating Sri Lanka by 220 runs in an Under-19 Test two days before England seniors defeated Australia. On 6 August, Essex Eagles took control of Division One of the National League after eking out a four-run win over Middlesex Crusaders, and three days later the second Under-19 Test and the first women's Test began – the first ended in an England win, almost as convincing as the first Test, while Arran Brindle scored a maiden Test century to save the draw for England Women . The Ashes battle recommenced on 11 August, and after two English centuries – 166 from Michael Vaughan and a second-innings 106 from Andrew Strauss – Ricky Ponting played a rearguard 156 to save the draw. There were also matches in the Championship during the Test – rain played a major part, however, and four of seven matches ended in draws, including the top of the table battle in Division One between Kent and Hampshire . Kent gained two bonus points over Hampshire, however, and now led by 17 points. Another National League round on 15 August saw the table-toppers in Division 1, Essex Eagles, fell to 122 and a 60-run loss against Gloucestershire Gladiators , while Sussex Sharks suffered their second successive loss in Division Two. England's youth team also completed their series, whitewashing Sri Lanka with a 173-run win in the final Test. The following day, five Championship matches began, including a drawn Roses match between Lancashire and Yorkshire, while Sussex went top of Division One after beating Middlesex inside two days. On 18 August, Australia were scheduled to play Scotland in a match that was to be broadcast on BBC – however, the match was rained off, giving the Australians even less time to warm up. Two days later, they began a drawn two-day friendly game with Northamptonshire , on the same day as the C&G Trophy semi-finals. Warwickshire and Hampshire took convincing victories to reach the final. Meanwhile, in the Midlands , Australia's women played two ODIs with England on 19 August and 21 August, winning the first after bowling England out for 128 to go 2–0 up in the series, but losing the second by a two-run margin. There were also a total of ten National League matches from 21 August to 24 August – three were rained off, while the Sharks took a four-point lead in Division Two despite losing their first match with Leicestershire Foxes . County Championship cricket began again on 24 August, with eight matches played in this period. Four were drawn, but Division One table-toppers Sussex fell to a 101-run defeat against Warwickshire as their Pakistani overseas player Rana Naved-ul-Hasan went wicketless in the first innings. Lancashire also recorded a win to go second in Division Two, six points off leaders Durham with a game in hand.   Andrew Strauss plays forward to Shane Warne in the fourth Ashes Test. On the international stage, England and Australia began their battle for the Ashes once again on 25 August, where England chased 129 to win with seven wickets down after earning a 259-run lead on first innings and becoming the first team to ask Australia to follow on in 17 years. The men's win got much more media coverage than the women's first Ashes victory since 1963, achieved through a six-wicket victory in the second and final Test inspired by the all-round efforts of Katherine Brunt (who took nine wickets and made 52 runs in her only innings). More National League games followed, with Essex Eagles securing the title thanks to a 12-run win over C&G Trophy finalists Hampshire Hawks , while Sussex Sharks ended the month with wins over Scottish Saltires and Surrey Lions to take a ten-point lead in Division Two, though with second-placed Durham Dynamos having two games in hand. The County Championship also moved towards its conclusion, with Nottinghamshire and Hampshire recording wins on the matches that started on 30 August to take the top two spots in the Division One table. In Division Two, Derbyshire came close to breaking their winless streak when they finished three runs short of a winning total against Durham , and had to settle for a draw; runners-up Lancashire lost further ground in the title battle through a 285-run defeat at the hands of Northamptonshire.   September September began with Australia's women recording a four-run win in the final ODI of the five-match series – Clare Connor out as last woman when England needed five to win off the last over. Karen Rolton then hit 96 not out in the second women's Twenty20 international ever to be played, as Australia won by seven wickets. On 3 September, Hampshire batted first to make 290 in the C&G Trophy final, and Andy Bichel , Shane Watson and Chris Tremlett combined to bowl their final opponents Warwickshire out for 272 to win the Trophy, becoming the third club to win a major trophy in England this season. Meanwhile, former England Under-19 player Alastair Cook took the Australian bowlers on for 270 in a drawn non- first class tour match. There were National League games from 4 September to 6 September, and Sussex Sharks became the first team to promote from Division Two, despite not even playing. In the Championship, Nottinghamshire began their match two days early, and completed an innings defeat inside two days to take a 23.5-point lead over second-placed Hampshire . Hampshire had a bye, however, so Sussex took the opportunity to go second with a two-day victory over Glamorgan . Nottinghamshire had a game in hand and 10 points on Sussex, however, and their only challenge looked to come from Kent , who drew their match with Middlesex to be third in the table, trailing by 19.5 points with the same amount of games as Nottinghamshire. The final Test match of the season started on 8 September with England needing a draw or better to win back the Ashes after 16 years of Australian domination. England opener Andrew Strauss made a first-innings century , which was matched by his Australian counterpart Matthew Hayden , who ground out his hundred from 218 balls and went on to top score with 138. However, Andrew Flintoff and Matthew Hoggard grabbed the last nine wickets for 103 runs as Australia were bowled out six overs into the fourth day afternoon. Going into the second innings with a 4-run lead, England fell to 199 for 7, but Ashley Giles held out for his fourth Test half-century and a 109-run stand with Kevin Pietersen – who made the series' second-highest score with 158 to give England a total of 335. Australia walked off after three minutes in their second innings, to give England the draw and the 2–1 series victory. Meanwhile, in the County Championship, Lancashire assumed the ascendancy of Division Two with an eight-wicket win over Essex which also secured their return to Division One after only one season on the lowest rung of the Championship ladder. National League losses for Worcestershire Royals and Hampshire Hawks then left four teams on 22 points in the bottom of Division One – three of them would have to go down. Nottinghamshire and Kent then faced off for the match that would decide the County Championship title, with Kent trailing by 19.5 points before the match at Trent Bridge . Kent failed to chase 420 in five hours, and Nottinghamshire recorded a 214-run win to take the Championship title. Durham and Yorkshire also secured Championship promotion with draws, while the first International 20:20 Club Championship was won by Faisalabad Wolves after a five-wicket win over Chilaw Marians in the final. In the National League, Warwickshire Bears won three matches in seven days to go third in the Division Two table before the final round, with Derbyshire Phantoms the only team that had a theoretical possibility of catching the Bears. Lancashire Lightning and Worcestershire Royals both lost in Division One, leaving them tied on points with two other teams at the bottom of the table. The final round of the Championship saw Hampshire beat the newly-crowned county champions Nottinghamshire by an innings and 188 runs, their second win over Nottinghamshire in the Championship this year, but they still finished 2.5 points behind. Surrey were relegated after conceding too many bonus points to Middlesex, and a total of four innings victories were registered on the final matchday. The season ended with nine National League matches – Lancashire Lightning survived in Division One after beating Worcestershire Royals , while Gloucestershire Gladiators were relegated despite a win. Warwickshire Bears confirmed promotion, despite losing to Durham Dynamos , while Scottish Saltires played their last National League game, losing by eight wickets.   See also
Somerset
Which breed of Terrier gives its name to a farmer who appeared in the novel Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott?
Sussex relegation to Division Two after loss to champions Yorkshire Sussex relegation to Division Two after loss to champions Yorkshire 25 Sep 2015 18:31 Sussex's relegation from LV= County Championship Division One was confirmed with defeat at champions Yorkshire, helping Hampshire secure an unlikely reprieve. A draw or win at Headingley would have been enough to save Sussex from dropping to Division Two, but the hosts rounded off their season with an emphatic 100-run victory. Yorkshire's win was a record 11th triumph by any side since the establishment of two divisions and allowed Hampshire to sneak survival. The southern county secured the victory they knew would keep their hopes alive after chasing down a target of 200 on the final day of the season at Nottinghamshire. Openers Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry had laid the foundation for the win by putting on 89 together on the third evening, and after a watchful half hour they took their stand into three figures. The opening stand reached 129 and Carberry closed on 84 not out, with Will Smith unbeaten on 34, at the end as Nottinghamshire suffered their first loss in eight matches. It saw them finish third in the standings while Warwickshire finished fifth, three points ahead of Somerset despite losing to the west country side. Tom Cooper and Jack Leach took nine wickets between them to see the hosts to only their fourth win of the season at Taunton, where Warwickshire fell 17 runs short. In Division Two, Surrey clinched the title but were unable to sign off with a victory against Northamptonshire. David Murphy and Adam Rossington hit hundreds in a hard-fought draw at the Kia Oval, with both wicketkeeper-batsmen recording career-best scores to help the visitors to a season's best 514 all out. Essex and Lancashire were left to settle for a draw in their final championship clash at Chelmsford after failing to agree on a target to bring about a positive result. England captain Alastair Cook again failed to make an impact for Essex, being dismissed for six in his second trip to the middle, as they finished third, while the visitors' 11 points saw them finish runners-up. In Bristol, unbeaten centuries from Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke batted Glamorgan to safety against Gloucestershire. By the time the players shook hands on a high-scoring draw at just before 4.20pm, the visitors had reached 365 for three in their second innings and led by 240. Finally, Derbyshire fell just short of what would have been a famous victory in a thrilling end to their match against Leicestershire. Set 341 in 81 overs, 101 from Chesney Hughes plus half centuries from Billy Godleman, Ben Slater and skipper Wayne Madsen looked to have secured Derbyshire's first home championship win of the season. However, Wes Durston's dismissal with 14 needed sparked a collapse that saw four wickets fall for two runs and, with 10 needed off the last five balls, Derbyshire settled for a draw at 331 for 8.
i don't know
Which British city's airport is located in the suberb of Turnhouse?
Turnhouse Golf Club Turnhouse Golf Club +44 (0)131 339 1014 Welcome to Turnhouse Golf Club Turnhouse Golf Club is located on the west side of Edinburgh, close to Edinburgh International Airport, and has excellent views of the Pentland Hills to the south with Fife and the Ochills to the north. Comprising of two loops of 9 holes starting and finishing in front of the clubhouse, driving range, short game areas and PGA Professional, it is a must for anyone considering membership or visiting Edinburgh. At Turnhouse we offer so much more for your membership than just a good golf course. We are an open and friendly club where members take pride in their club. It’s important therefore that you have a membership that you can value. It’s recognized that being a member of a golf club isn't’t just about the course. For all enquiries please email [email protected] or call 0131 339 1014 Current Course Conditions- Thursday 19th January- 18 Full greens, buggies allowed. Membership- Memberships available with no joining fee. Click here for more info. Junior and under 30's memberships now available. Click here for more info. Member's benefits. Click here for more info. Visitors- Competitive city priced visitor fees for 2017. Click here for more info. Discount available for group bookings. Click here for more info. Rental clubs, electric trolleys, push trolleys and buggies available. Catering packages available for group bookings. Bar and catering available to non members. 25 range balls included in every greenfee. Personal liability insurance included in every greenfee. PGA Professional-
Edinburgh
Which actor played the role of killer Max Cady in the 1991 film Cape Fear?
Travel into Edinburgh | Edinburgh Airport Travel into Edinburgh There is a choice of transport links from the airport to the city centre. You can book transfers using our airport transfers booking site . By taxi There are two taxi options when you get to Edinburgh Airport: You can pre-book Edinburgh Airport's official private hire service using our online taxi booking form , or by calling 0844 448 8576. The private hire rank is located on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park. You can pick up a black cab at the rank on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park. More about Edinburgh Airport By bus The Airlink 100 express and N22 night buses reach Waverley Bridge in about 25 minutes, depending on traffic. The Lothian Buses No 35 also runs into city centre but calls at local destinations en route, and continues to Leith. More about Edinburgh Airport buses By car The airport is about eight miles (12km) west of the city centre and the journey (via the A8 Glasgow Road) takes about 25 minutes in light traffic. A number of car hire companies operate from the airport. Edinburgh Airport car hire By tram Trams offer a frequent and reliable service linking the airport and the city centre. Interchange with rail services is available at Edinburgh Park and Haymarket stations. Other stops include Murrayfield Stadium and Princes Street. Onward from Edinburgh city centre Train Both of Edinburgh's main rail stations, Waverley and Haymarket, are located in the heart of Edinburgh's city centre. The rail network connects to cities all over Scotland and the UK. More info on Trains Long-distance coaches In addition to the Citylink Air service to Glasgow both Citylink and National Express operate services from Edinburgh's main bus station in Elder Street to destinations across Scotland and the UK.
i don't know
Which breed of Terrier gives its name to a county in South West Ireland and apparently became a mascot for Irish patriots seeking independence from England?
Terrier World Features/Open Shows/Information I wonder Who Voted This Lot In? Strike Up The Bloody Band! And The Band Played On As Brains Played An Ace Once Again   CHAIRMEN AND VICE CHAIRMEN OF THE COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES OF THE KENNEL CLUB General Committee Mr W R Irving (Chairman) Mr M Townsend (Vice Chairman) Finance and General Purposes Committee Mr W R Irving (Chairman) Mr M Townsend (Vice Chairman) Club Sub-Committee Mrs A P Bliss (Chairman) Mr S C Ford (Vice Chairman) Crufts Sub-Committee Mrs E A Macdonald (Vice Chairman) Disciplinary Sub-Committee Mr A W Young (Chairman) Mr S A Croxford (Vice Chairman) Disciplinary Sub-Committee (Scotland) Breed Standards and Stud Book Sub-Committee Mr F Kane (Chairman) Mrs M J Purnell-Carpenter (Vice Chairman) Field Trials Sub-Committee Mr A C M Rountree (Chairman) Mr A W Young (Vice Chairman) Judges Sub-Committee Mr S C Luxmoore (Chairman) Mrs E A Macdonald (Vice Chairman) Show Executive Sub-Committee Mr K A W Young (Chairman) Mr R Price (Vice Chairman) Activities Sub-Committee Mr S C Ford (Chairman) Mrs S Garner (Vice Chairman) Young Kennel Club Management Committee Mrs V O Foss (Chairman) Mrs P Dufty (Vice Chairman) Good Citizen Dog Scheme Working Party Mr M Cooke (Chairman) Safe and Sound Working Party Mr G King (Chairman) Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour Board Mr P Rawlings (Chairman) Mrs A White (Vice Chairman) KC/BSAVA Scientific Advisory Group (Electronic) Prof M E Herrtage (Chairman) Go To Top Of Page Kennel Club welcomes home secretary’s criticism of dog control orders KC Dog, the Kennel Club’s group in place to help responsible dog owners protect their rights, has today welcomed the comments made by Home Secretary, Theresa May, criticising dog control orders. During a speech in London denouncing existing anti-social behaviour legislation, Mrs May echoed the Kennel Club’s belief that dog control orders are largely ineffective and do not act as a deterrent for irresponsible owners, calling the sanctions “ludicrous”. Dog control orders were introduced under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, giving local authorities the power to place restrictions upon dog walkers and issue penalties for failure to comply. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The Kennel Club is encouraged that the Home Secretary has recognised the failings of dog control orders and we are hopeful that the government will take this forward. “KC Dog has worked closely with local authorities and dog walkers across the UK, and our experience shows that councils can combat irresponsible behaviour by discussing problems and developing solutions alongside the local community, without resorting to restrictions.” Go To Top Of Page SUBMISSION OF SHOW CATALOGUES All Secretaries are reminded that Kennel Club Regulations require every show/trial to submit a copy of the Catalogue, fully marked up with the results, within fourteen days (7 days for Working Trials) of the event. The timely submission of Championship show catalogues in particular aids quick turn around in issuing Certificates and Stud Book numbers to dog owners. Stud Book numbers and Challenge Certificates are issued in strict show date order sequence. Consequently, if a Society fails to submit its Catalogue to the Kennel Club within fourteen days of the show, it considerably delays the dispatch all of the awards made at subsequent events. Obedience, Agility and Working Trial societies are also reminded that they have to send the Kennel Club additional information over and above the catalogue; failure to send this information also delays the issuing of certificates. Last year, there were a total of 159 Championship Show/Trial Societies which were in breach of the Regulations, despite reminders being issued. Therefore, as the late submission of a catalogue delays the issuing of certificates and contravenes the regulations, societies will now be routinely referred to the Committee for consideration; such consideration could result in the society being issued with a warning or fine and in extreme cases could effect their future championship status. Statement from the British Veterinary Association British Small Animal Veterinary Association and Society for Practising Veterinary Associations. Veterinary associations’ response to BBC Panorama ‘It shouldn’t happen at a vet’s’ The veterinary professional associations have expressed concern and disappointment at the incidents revealed in the undercover footage in the BBC’s Panorama programme ‘It shouldn’t happen at a vet’s’ and are calling on the BBC to provide all of the evidence to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) for a full investigation. One of the main issues raised by the programme is the lack of support and supervision for younger and less experienced vets and veterinary nurses, as well as other staff who are not qualified (referred to as “trainees” in the programme). Ultimately it is the veterinary surgeon who must take responsibility for the animals in his/her care. Vets are robustly regulated by the RCVS, as revealed in the case of Kfir Segev who was struck off by the RCVS. The programme also highlighted a number of concerning incidents of alleged fraud, dishonesty and bad practice that pet owners and the general public will have found very distressing. The BVA, BSAVA and SPVS cannot condone any bad practice. Some of these incidents featured are clearly unacceptable; others will require further investigation and it is vital that the RCVS is given the evidence to take this forward. The veterinary associations are very concerned that viewers may now have concerns about their own vets. It is vital that the relationship of trust between a client and their vet is maintained. As was made clear in the programme, the vast majority of vets provide a high quality service and have the best interests of their clients and patients at heart. We would advise pet owners to talk to their vet, as well as the rest of the practice team, if they have any concerns. We are advising our members to spend extra time dealing with clients’ questions and concerns following the programme, as well as offering the opportunity to meet the whole veterinary team and see behind the scenes in the practice. Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: “There will be concern amongst pet owners following the programme, but it is vital to remember that the vast majority of vets enjoy a high level of trust from their clients because they are incredibly hard working and caring. “It is essential that every member of the veterinary team feels supported and well supervised to ensure they are only asked to carry out tasks that they are qualified, trained and competent to do.” Grant Petrie, President of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, said: “We would urge the profession and public alike to continue reporting issues of concern. The BSAVA believes that the inappropriate actions and breach of trust of a few should not tarnish the true endeavours of the majority of veterinary surgeons who provide a dedicated and professional service.” Jacqui Molyneux, President of the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons, said: “SPVS would never condone leaving junior staff to sink or swim. In fact we help run a Final Year Seminar for veterinary students each year where we stress over and over again that students should not take jobs where they are not given adequate support. It is imperative that young vets should have the support of more experienced vets to help when things are not going according to plan.” For more information, please call the BVA media office on 07503 190 247 Go To Top Of Page Crispin Says It's Time To Work Together The World Of Dogs is riven by arguments, but now is the time to work together, according to the founding chairman of the new advisory council on the welfare issues of dog breeding. Professor Sheila Crispin has been chosen to lead the council’s work, but to be successful, she says, arguments must be put aside and everyone must pull together for the good of dogs. Advertisements for council members – eight at first with the potential to become 12-strong – will go out in September, and a wide range of expertise is being sought. There must be someone knowledgeable about dog breeding, including breed Standards, canine reproduction and wider aspects of the subject. Second, a knowledge of legislation, particularly with regard to how to impose enforcement schemes. Expertise is needed in epidemiology of inherited disorders in dogs, environmental influences and other relevant factors. There should be knowledge of genetics of disorders in dogs, and there must be a member with experience of small animal veterinary practice. A dog behaviourist who has experience in socialisation issues is also required, and a dog owner who is knowledgeable and experienced – ‘possibly a pet owner, working dog owner or could be a show dog person’. “I’m very open on this,” the professor said. Skills From Outside Prof Crispin said there was provision for someone ‘possibly outside the world of dogs’ who brought skills which would allow them to recognise what needed to be changed. “Sometimes it’s easier to see from the outside,” she said. “We will also want a minimum of two lay people – I don’t like that term as it sounds derogatory – but who will bring good skill-sets and be not so heavily immersed in the subject.” Prof Crispin herself is an academic, a veterinary ophthalmologist, past president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, an honorary life member of the KC who has sat on various KC committees and took part in the recent review of breed Standards and a life member of the International Sheep Dog Society. She has a 16-year-old working sheepdog and a Border Collie/Bearded Collie cross of four. Anyone can apply to be a member – including members of stakeholder groups such as the KC, RSPCA, and others who were members of the review board formed after Prof Bateson’s enquiry. But Prof Crispin emphasised that they must not represent an organisation. “If necessary they will need to leave their parent organisation behind and work for the good of dogs in general, that’s very important,” she said. “They will be appointed for their individual skills. “It is also very important that they recognise that there might be conflicts of interest and that they will have to step aside from any discussion if necessary. That means we will also appoint a deputy chairman so if I need to step aside I can do so and the council can continue to function.” It is almost certain that there will be a high-profile, celebrity-led launch of the council. And it will raise its own funding. “If everyone who owns a dog donated £1 that would solve our problems,” Prof Crispin said. “There is no point in applying to the Government for funds because there are no funds there. But because of that it will be more exciting and help us be more independent.” The First Duties Of The Council Are As Yet Unknown. “Nothing is set in stone,” Prof Crispin said. “We know there are various issues regarding inherited disease in certain breeds. “There is also huge public concern about puppy farming and the dangerous dogs situation – these are three areas we know will be high-profile matters which people are unhappy about. “The most important thing is to make the public feel they can help us, and tackle problems together so that people feel they are partners in it. It is very important that we feel we have public support. “No-one should underestimate the capacity of the dog owner, breed club etc to make a huge difference in terms of input on what are often very scientific matters.” But it was important that differences and dissension are put aside, the professor said. “For reasons that are never entirely clear to me, the dog world – and I suspect other worlds of animals – is riven by arguments, and by very nasty arguments on occasion,” she said. “I have read quite a lot of pretty pungent criticism of my appointment already, quite a of lot of which is not just wrong but verging on libellous. “It is stupid; we should all be working together for dogs and if we can do that the arguments would begin to disappear. That would be my greatest desire, because I am an optimist. We can do this by working together, with everyone trying, initially at least if not for the long term, to put aside our differences and say, ‘Yes, we’re working for dogs’. If we can do that I will be delighted.” Go To Top Of Page Panorama To Conduct Undercover Investigation Into vets The Veterinary profession was due to be the subject of an undercover investigation by the Panorama team this week. The exact content of the programme is not known, but the synopsis of ‘It shouldn’t happen at a vets’ said it covered questionable bills, poorly treated animals and a vet struck off for dishonesty. It was also due to scrutinise regulation of corporate practices, alleged overcharging in relation to insurance, unqualified nursing staff and support for new graduates. The College is expecting that there will be increased public interest in the self-regulation of the profession. Currently, the RCVS receives about 700 complaints a year. “This is about one every 15 years of a member’s practising life,” the spokesman said. “It’s a record to be proud of. ‘Areas Of Concern’ “However, if the programme raises areas of genuine concern we will do all we can to act on them, and we have already made it clear to the BBC that we would expect their support in this. “Following the programme, we will work with the British Veterinary Association and other organisations to ensure that the robust nature of the regulatory system is communicated to the public, from undergraduate degrees through the professional development phase and the Guide to Professional Conduct, to mandatory, continuing professional development and the voluntary Practice Standards Scheme and register for veterinary nurses.” Anyone with concerns should either speak to their own vet or contact the College, which was due to post a statement on its website on Thursday evening after the 9pm show. Questions can be posed to the College via its advice line on 020 7202 0789 or the communications department on 020 7202 0725. KC Comes In For Criticism Over Support For Puppy Farm Awareness Day The Kennel Club has been accused of hypocrisy in its support of the puppy farm awareness day PUP AID. The event, taking place in Brighton in September, is said to aim at raising awareness of how puppy farmers operate. It is organised by www.ThePet.net which provides information on companion animals. But Ronnie of Puppy Love, which campaigns against puppy farmers, who wanted her surname withheld, said that the KC – which is having a stand at the event – should check who is breeding the puppies they register. Pedigree Dogs Exposed’s writer and producer Jemima Harrison agreed, calling the KC’s involvement with PUP AID ‘rank hypocrisy’. She said it was time the KC cleaned up its registration system and to police not just the Accredited Breeder Scheme (ABS) but the general register too. ‘Cruelty’ But ThePet.net’s co-founder, vet Marc Abraham, who is the KC’s veterinary advisor, said he hoped that PUP AID would help people understand how to choose a ‘happy and healthy puppy, rather than a ill or diseased farmed one’. “The aim of the event is to help dog buyers everywhere be aware of the cruelty involved in this side of dog breeding, and hopefully reduce the demand for pups bred in this way,” he said. “My hope is that the event will help put a stop to puppy farming in this country.” Representatives of Dogs Trust will be at the event and those from puppy farm campaign groups ‘Be Puppy Farm Aware’ and ‘Stop Puppy farming, End the Cruelty’. There will also be a parade of ex-breeding bitches, Mr Abraham said. This week the KC announced its support for PUP AID. But Ms Harrison said: “The KC knows full well it registers puppy farm dogs,” she said. “When challenged, the KC says that it can’t do anything about it because it has no choice but to register dogs whose parents are themselves KC registered. “But it’s time now for the KC to clean up its registration system – to police not just the ABS but the general register too. Complaints against breeders – all breeders – need to be followed up and registration refused from those who breed pups without due care to their health and welfare. “The vast majority of KC-registered dogs – 90 per cent – are bred outside of the ABS, with no health or welfare requirements a condition of registration. That’s around 200,000 puppies a year. Of course, there are many responsible breeders within that 90 per cent, but the system as it stands is totally abusable by those who use KC registration as a tool to sell poorly-bred dogs to unsuspecting customers who pay the price in heartache, pain and often enormous vet bills.” Ronnie said if the KC wanted to end puppy farming it should not register their puppies. “Why doesn’t it check out just who is registering pups with them?” she said. “We feel that PUP AID is more about the ABS than puppy farming. Although Puppy Love welcomes anything that raises awareness of puppy farms we cannot support (this event)... Many puppy farmers have a KC affix.” Mrs Kisko spokeswoman for the Kennel Club said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to help stamp out puppy farming, and our ABS is key to this,” she replied. “By registering breeders rather than puppies, as we do under our normal registration system we are able to ensure that they abide by certain conditions and can remove those whose standards are found to be wanting. “By contrast, the registration system is a record of births only. The KC is not a law enforcement agency. Local authorities and the RSPCA are charged with the task of monitoring and taking action against unscrupulous breeders. However, should a breeder’s standards be found to be wanting, and there is a conviction under the Animal Welfare Act against a breeder, then the KC can disqualify them from future registration,” she said. ‘Under the radar’ “It is important to remember that puppy farmers tend to operate under the radar and choose not to register their litters with the KC. In fact, the vast majority of those who register with the KC breed in small numbers – often just one or fewer litters a year. Only two per cent breed more than five litters per annum,” Mrs Kisko added. The KC’s health and breeder manager Bill Lambert also addressed the criticisms. “Our registration system is a database which is open to all, but it is only those who register with us that we can hope to have any influence over whatsoever; to restrict registration would simply drive people away where they could breed without any controls whatsoever,” he said. PUP AID takes place at Stanmer House, near Brighton on September 19 and comprises a ‘celebrity-judged dog show and boutique music festival’. The PetNet website stated that there would be a small admission price with ‘a proportion’ of it donated to Dogs Trust. Championship Status – German Shepherd Dog 2012 The General Committee met on 6th July 2010 to agree the allocation of Challenge Certificates for 2012. The decision followed the receipt of the Undertakings issued at the beginning of this year, assigned to all breed clubs and championship show societies that had previously been allocated Challenge Certificates for German Shepherd Dogs. The following clubs and societies have therefore been allocated Challenge Certificates: Bolton & District GSD Club GSD Club of Scotland (Joint Show) Midland Counties GSD Association East of England Agricultural Society National Working & Pastoral Breeds Dog Society Welsh Kennel Club City of Birmingham Canine Association Richmond Dog Show Society Working & Pastoral Breeds Association of Scotland The breed club listing has been compiled upon the established rotation of breed club championship shows, with additional clubs brought forward from the 2013 list. Future allocations for 2013 and beyond will be based on each club/society’s adherence to the conditions included in Undertaking. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB SEEKS AMENDMENTS TO NEW DOG BILL The Kennel Club has today welcomed some changes but raised concerns about the Dogs (Amendment) Bill as it proceeds to Committee Stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Proposals contained within the Bill include: · The introduction of compulsory microchipping of dogs; · An increase in the cost of the existing dog licence; · Amendments to existing legislation on dangerous dogs to include attacks taking place on private property and dog on dog attacks; and · The introduction of a range of dog ‘control conditions’ which can be imposed on dog licenses. The Bill seeks to increase the cost of the existing dog licence, despite reports that a large percentage of owners in Northern Ireland currently flout the law by not obtaining one. The Kennel Club opposes licensing and sees the rising cost as a further tax on the responsible dog owners who annually renew and update their dog licence as required. The licence fee is also not ring fenced therefore giving no guarantee that the money will be put back into animal welfare. The Kennel Club does, however, welcome the extension of current legislation to include attacks on private property given that a large proportion of dog attacks occur in the home and involve a dog known to the victim. This will place greater responsibility on owners to ensure that their dogs are not out of control in any place (subject to various exemptions such as provocation). The Kennel Club is also part of the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG), made up of the leading animal and veterinary organisations, and has been campaigning for changes to current dangerous dogs law for many years. DDASG continues to lobby to remove the emphasis on demonising particular types or breeds of dog and instead focus on deed and irresponsible dog ownership. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “Whilst we welcome the Assembly’s actions in updating largely ineffective and out of date legislation in respect of dogs, we have a great number of concerns regarding the Dogs (Amendment) Bill in its current form. The Kennel Club welcomes new offences covering dog on dog attacks and the extension of current ‘dangerous dogs’ legislation to private as well as public land, however we wholeheartedly oppose breed specific legislation which has already been proven not to reduce dog attacks or better protect the public. We will be contacting MLA’s to discuss our concerns and suggest amendments to ensure the fairest outcome for both the general public and the dogs themselves.” The Kennel Club responded to the consultation on proposals for changes to dog control legislation highlighting their concerns. Go To Top Of Page GUIDANCE FOR JUDGES – EXCLUDING OR WITHHOLDING Since the Kennel Club introduced the regulation giving judges the authority to exclude a dog from competition due to health and welfare related conditions, various questions and comments have been received from judges and exhibitors. Therefore, to better explain the situation, the following guidance note has been prepared to assist judges. It is important that if judges encounter problem dogs at shows, they are clear about when it is appropriate either to exclude the dog from competition on the one hand, or to allow it to compete and then withhold an award due to lack of merit on the other. EXCLUSION FROM COMPETITION Kennel Club Regulations provide only two grounds for a dog to be excluded from competition; If it behaves in an unacceptable/aggressive manner, or If it shows clearly visible evidence of infectious disease, or some other condition(s) which adversely affects its health or welfare Regulation F(1) paragraph 15 refers. Dogs are therefore excluded from competition for reasons which are unrelated to the judge’s perception of the quality of the dog in so far as it may appear to be of excellent breed type and quality, but it nonetheless shows clearly visible evidence of unacceptable behaviour, infectious disease, or some other condition which adversely affects its health and welfare. A judge should therefore consider excluding a dog from competition when he/she believes that a dog shows visible evidence of one or more of the following signs: · Lameness – including ‘hopping’ · Inappropriate temperament – refusal to be handled, timidity or aggression · A discharge from one or both eyes or any signs of discomfort in either eye · Obvious breathing difficulty · Obvious skin or ear irritation · Significantly over or under weight Before excluding a dog from competition for any of the above reasons, a judge should carefully consider whether the problem is obvious enough to leave no room for doubt or debate as to whether or not the decision to exclude from competition is justifiable. Even in a large class with a sufficient number of acceptable dogs present, judges still have a duty to exclude any dog in the class that clearly displays one or more of the signs that require exclusion from competition. When a dog is in fact excluded from competition, the reason for the action taken must be explained to the owner/handler, the show management must be notified and a report must be submitted to the KC within seven days of the show. Judges are not expected to, nor should they, make or express a veterinary diagnosis when excluding a dog. The duty of care that the Kennel Club expects from judges is that of the experienced dog breeder who would be aware of deviation from normal conditions in their own dogs. Any decision to exclude a dog from competition is final and is not open to appeal. N.B. Judges should also keep in mind that a dog to which they give an award may, at the instigation of a show official or KC-appointed observer and following veterinary examination, subsequently be excluded from further competition at the show. WITHHOLDING OF AWARDS The circumstances when a judge may need to consider the withholding of an award are somewhat different to those that apply to exclusion from competition. An award should be withheld if a dog fails, in the opinion of the judge, to meet the minimum quality standards that determine if a) it is breed typical; and b) it is of sufficient merit to justify the award. There is likely to be room for debate between judges over the perceived merits of an individual dog with respect to interpretation of the breed standard whereas individual judges should be able to agree easily when a dog displays the signs that justify it being excluded from competition because it presents with aggression/timidity, infectious disease, unsoundness, or its health and welfare is otherwise visibly impaired. When an award is withheld no further action is necessary on the part of the judge or the show management, however it preferable that the judge explains the reason for his/her decision to the handler in a polite and courteous manner. NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY INTRODUCES CLEAN NEIGHBOURHOODS & ENVIRONMENT BILL A proposed new law giving local authorities the powers to restrict access for dog walkers has been introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Should the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill become law, local authorities will be given the power to issue Dog Control Orders. This means that councils will be able to make an order for a standard offence to apply to land within their area. Proposed offences contained in the Bill are: (a) fouling of land by dogs and the removal of dog faeces; (b) the keeping of dogs on leads; (c) the exclusion of dogs from land; (d) the number of dogs which a person may take on to any land. The Kennel Club is concerned that these provisions unfairly penalise responsible dog owners, could lead to a major reduction in public access for dog owners and exclude the powers to direct an owner to put their dog on a lead if out of control – one of the most sensible aspect of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 already in force in England & Wales. Furthermore the Kennel Club is concerned that fines will be invoked too frequently to raise revenue for cash-strapped local authorities. The Kennel Club established a group called KC Dog in 2005 to monitor the restrictions in England & Wales, campaign for better access and promote responsible dog ownership. Evidence accumulated by the Kennel Club over the last five years suggests many local authorities apply the most draconian restrictions as a disproportionate response to the irresponsible behaviour of a minority of dog owners. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The Kennel Club actively promotes responsible dog ownership and believes that a fair balance must be struck between the needs of both those with dogs and those without. “Unfortunately our considerable experience shows that local authorities considering dog control orders often take the most restrictive line, ignoring the needs of dog owners who are an equally important section of society. “Chief among our concerns is the lack of a dog control order to require an owner to put his or her dog on a lead. This is a common sense approach which allows those with control of their dog the freedom to enjoy off-lead access, whilst ensuring local authorities have the powers to deal with irresponsible owners. “Often problems such as dog fouling can be resolved easily and at minimal cost through better engagement with the dog owning community. “Now is the most effective time for dog walkers to make their views known. We would therefore urge all responsible dog owners in the local area to lobby their MLA in order to ensure the best possible result for all concerned.” Members of the public can find information on the Kennel Club’s campaign, suggested amendments and how to contact their MLA by visiting www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kcdog. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill received its second reading on 30th June and will now be examined in detail by members of the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee. Members of the public can find and contact their MLA in Northern Ireland by going to http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ Go To Top Of Page MPs BACK COMPULSORY MICROCHIPPING OF DOGS Members of Parliament have recognised the British Veterinary Association’s contribution to the promotion of microchipping dogs and the campaign for compulsory microchipping through an Early Day Motion (EDM) tabled by Andrew Rosindell MP (Conservative, Romford). The EDM is gaining signatures from across all political parties as MPs show their support for a compulsory microchipping scheme that would have a significant and positive welfare impact on dogs by: assisting in the return of stray and stolen dogs to their owners; improving traceability of puppy-farmed dogs; and providing a lifetime of security for a one-off payment. The EDM is also supported by Dogs Trust (who coordinated the EDM), Cats Protection, Blue Cross, and NOAH (National Office for Animal Health). Earlier this week Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM announced proposals for the compulsory microchipping of all dogs and puppies sold or homed by licensed breeders, to improve traceability. Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said: “Microchipping is part of responsible pet ownership and the BVA believes that all dogs should be permanently identified by microchip before the first change of ownership or at the first veterinary examination. “Compulsory microchipping allows stray dogs to be reunited with their owners and would help the authorities to crack down on shameful puppy farms, where the health and welfare of both puppies and bitches is compromised, by improving the traceability of the animals. “It could also assist with the reporting of hereditary health problems and surgical procedures to help us gain as much knowledge and research as we can to improve the health of all dogs. “I would urge all Members of Parliament to show their support for dogs and their owners by signing this EDM.” That this House recognises that the introduction of a compulsory microchipping scheme for dogs would have a significant and positive welfare impact, including the return of stray and stolen dogs to their owners and the improved traceability of puppy-farmed dogs; congratulates Dogs Trust, Cats Protection, Blue Cross, National Office of Animal Health and the British Veterinary Association on their efforts to raise public awareness of microchipping and their campaigning for a mandatory scheme; acknowledges that microchipping provides a lifetime of security for a one-off payment; agrees that a compulsory microchipping scheme is currently the preferred alternative to a dog licensing scheme, which would potentially create unnecessary bureaucracy and expense for local authorities; and believes that this would not represent a barrier to dog ownership for vulnerable groups. 1. For more information, please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] 2. Visit the Parliament website for up-to-date information on the MPs who have signed the EDM 3. The BVA policy position on the compulsory microchipping of dogs: In February 2009, the BVA called for the compulsory identification of all registered pedigree dogs to facilitate the reporting of hereditary health problems and surgical procedures resulting in conformation changes, and added that the introduction of a ‘pet passport’ database, which would be linked to a microchip, would allow information such as parentage, DNA and health test results to be known for a particular animal. Permanent identification, particularly by microchip, has become increasingly common over the past decade, and is the most effective means of reuniting a stray dog with its owner. It has a number of advantages over the use of a collar and tag which are often left off or slip off. Collars can also be easily removed from stolen dogs. Permanent identification is effective at all times and is virtually impossible to alter or remove. The veterinary profession promotes responsible pet ownership and can explain to owners the benefits of permanent identification for dogs. However the BVA considers that legislation should be put in place to require all dogs to be permanently identified before the first change of ownership or at first veterinary examination if earlier. Such identification should be through microchipping. The new legislation should include a requirement to keep the information on a microchip and/or relevant database up to date with the current name and address of the owner. Owners should be issued with a certificate to show the details registered on the database. The format of the certificate should include a tear-off section to notify changes of ownership to the database. Go To Top Of Page Changes To Accredited Breeder Scheme The Kennel Club has announced the following changes to its Accredited Breeder Scheme’s breed-specific requirements and recommendations, including health screening: Alaskan Malamute – add recommendations; bitches not to be mated before third season; bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter; bitches not to produce more than one litter within a 12 month period. Australian Shepherd – add requirement: DNA test HC-HSF4. add recommendations: elbow grading; DNA test CEA/CH; DNA test MDR1; DNA test prcd-PRA; DNA test Cobalamin Malabsorption; blood test for Pelger-Huet Anomaly. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Bavarian Mountain Hound (imp) – add recommendations: hip scoring; breed club aptitude test; bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter. Bedlington Terrier – eye testing stays as a requirement but will now be ‘eye testing (once)’. Miniature Bull Terrier – add requirement: DNA test PLL. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Miniature Smooth-haired Dachshund – add requirement: DNA test GPRA (cord 1). Miniature Wire-haired Dachshund – add recommendation: DNA test Lafora’s disease. German Spitz Klein – add recommendation: eye testing. German Spitz Mittel – add recommendation: eye testing. Great Dane – add recommendation: bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter. Italian Spinone – add recommendation: DNA (linkage) test – Cerebellar Ataxia. Newfoundland – upgrade DNA test cystinuria from a recommendation to a requirement. Norwegian Elkhound – add requirement: DNA test prcd-PRA. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Parson Russell Terrier – add recommendation: DNA test PLL. Rottweiler – add recommendations: bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter; bitches not to produce more than one within a 12 month period. Sealyham Terrier – add requirement: DNA test PLL. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Cocker Spaniel – add requirement: DNA test FN. Upgrade DNA test prcd-PRA to a requirement. Field Spaniel – add recommendations: heart testing; eye testing; bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter; bitches not to produce more than one litter within a 12 month period. Welsh Springer Spaniel – gonioscopy stays as a requirement. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Spanish Water Dog – add recommendation: DNA test prcd-PRA. Tibetan Terrier – add requirement: DNA test PLL. These changes became effective on July 1, 2010 and existing accredited breeders have six months’ grace in order to come in line with these requirements and recommendations. “All these changes have come about as a direct result of a request to the KC from breed clubs and breed councils,” said Bill Lambert, KC health and breeder services manager. “The ABS was designed and has been developed to work closely with breeds in order to tailor the scheme to their specific needs. We are delighted that so many breed clubs and breed councils have chosen to work with us in order to develop further this important KC initiative.” Breed-specific requirements and recommendations are updated twice a year. The next round of changes will be announced in January. Breed clubs and breed councils wishing to make a proposal for their breed should write to Accredited Breeder Scheme, the Kennel Club, 1-5 Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB. Go To Top Of Page BVA puts science at heart of annual Welsh dinner speech The British Veterinary Association (BVA) reiterated its support for the Welsh Assembly Government’s proposed badger cull to tackle bovine Tuberculosis as part of a keynote speech highlighting the importance of science-based policies at the annual BVA Welsh dinner, held at Cardiff City Hall on Tuesday 6th July 2010. BVA President Professor Bill Reilly also praised the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for taking the lead on companion animal health and welfare issues at the dinner attended by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM, parliamentarians, key representatives of animal health and welfare organisations and the agri-food industry, senior members of the veterinary profession, and members of the media. Professor Reilly also challenged the WAG on a number of key issues, including the future of Official Veterinarian (OV) services, funding for a UK-wide advisory group on dog welfare, and the WAG’s commitment to improving the welfare of animals before slaughter. Minister for Rural Affairs Elin Jones AM responded on behalf of the guests. On bovine TB, Professor Reilly said: “During the Welsh Assembly debate on the motion to annul the TB Eradication Order Mark Isherwood AM referenced the views of the BVA in support of the proposed cull. In summary he said, ‘Who do you think knows best, the British Veterinary Association or a bunch of politicians?’ “It was perhaps a flippant remark, but it is also one that underlines the importance of science, expertise, and research being at the centre of policy making. The BVA, and its 12,000 members, don’t support a cull for political reasons, but because of our scientific understanding of TB and the way it spreads.” Following the Welsh Assembly Government announcement on the Court of Appeal, Professor Reilly added: “Right now, the future of the TB Eradication Programme rests with the Court of Appeal. We noted with interest your announcement yesterday, Minister, of the decision not to go ahead on a whole-Wales basis at this stage, but to focus on the intensive action pilot area in west Wales in order to address one of the grounds for appeal. This seems to be a very pragmatic and sensible approach, which should not impact on the overall eradication programme.” On Official Veterinarians, Professor Reilly said: “The threat of exotic disease looms large at all times and one of the major ‘public good’ functions of the veterinary profession is in disease surveillance. But I’m afraid that function is in jeopardy as the work of Official Veterinarians (OVs) is at risk of being undermined by Animal Health. “This shock announcement [that OV work will be put out to tender] has left the veterinary profession with a number of grave concerns, not least the significant potential for loss of goodwill and a decision by veterinary practices to no longer provide OV services.” On companion animal issues, Professor Reilly said that Wales is leading the rest of the UK. He said: “Here in Wales the Task and Finish Group on dog breeding has already made enormous headway in tackling the problems associated with puppy farms. I am delighted that you have today, Minister, announced your intention to amend existing controls on dog breeding and introduce microchipping of all puppies sold or homed by breeding establishments. “The significant health and welfare problems of bitches and puppies in puppy farms are shameful and I hope that the new measures will go a long way to tackling these rogue traders.” Professor Reilly also called for more government funding for dog health and welfare: “Although we have been pleased to work with the Welsh, Scottish and UK Governments through the Dog Review Board, we remain disappointed at the level of commitment from ministers to properly resource an official independent advisory body that would be afforded the status of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, for example, and we are concerned that the new body could simply be ignored.” Finally, on welfare labelling, Professor Reilly said: “I applaud your commitment to locally-sourced food, Minister, but we were disappointed that no mention of promoting better animal health and welfare was made in the food procurement framework. We need public bodies to take the lead in promoting higher standards of animal welfare if we want consumers to follow. “We are campaigning for one clear EU-wide label that indicates higher animal welfare throughout the process, including birth, production, transport and slaughter. The current range of labels is confusing for consumers who want to make a positive, pro-welfare choice in the shops and supermarkets, and who are prepared to pay a little extra to do so.” Go To Top Of Page TOUGH NEW BILL TO REPLACE ‘FAILED’ DANGEROUS DOGS ACT Animal welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and local authorities today joined forces to condemn the much-criticised Dangerous Dogs Act, demanding that it must be replaced by a hard-hitting new Dog Control Bill focusing on prevention rather than cure. Existing legislation has failed to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in the UK, which have risen in the past five years by 79% in London and 43% nationally*. Meanwhile costs have continued to rise; it was revealed that 10 million pounds has been spent by the Metropolitan Police alone in the past 3 years simply to implement Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act, relating to the seizure, kennelling and euthanasia of banned breeds. The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) has lobbied against the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for many years and members of the group are now backing a new Dog Control Bill proposed by Lib Dem Peer Lord Redesdale, which will receive its second reading in the House of Lords on Friday (9th July). This Bill would consolidate previous legislation and better protect the public by targeting the cause of dog attacks – dog owners themselves. Lord Redesdale commented: “People deserve to feel safe around dogs and this Bill goes a long way towards protecting the public through tougher action against irresponsible dog owners. The current law has done nothing but make banned breeds and their lookalikes more appealing and created the issue of status dogs because they are a status symbol. “Owners of aggressive or violent dogs of any kind would be brought to account with this Bill, which in turn will prevent a large number of attacks by dealing with problem behaviour at the first signs of aggression rather than when an attack has taken place, as in current legislation”. If passed, the Bill will introduce major changes to current dangerous dog legislation, which is widely considered to be one of the most ineffective pieces of government legislation ever brought into force. These changes include: · More emphasis on the owner’s responsibilities – the Bill supports the principle that it is the owner who has the potential to make a dog either well-behaved or badly-behaved. It gives authorised officers the powers to place Dog Control Notices on irresponsible owners at the first signs of dog aggression. · Attacks which take place on private property would also become a criminal offence – a large number of dog attack incidents occur within the home and on private property. The Bill includes various exemptions such as being attacked by another animal, provocation, and attacks on individuals committing an offence for which they could be imprisoned. · Legislation will no longer be breed specific – since the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, public money and resources have been wasted by already overstretched police authorities seizing dogs simply for being of a particular breed or type. Research now overwhelmingly supports the principle of ‘deed not breed’, and proves that genetics (breed) play only a limited part in the temperament of an individual dog, with environment and training having a far greater effect. The DDASG has been working closely with Lord Redesdale in support of his Dog Control Bill and has long been calling on the government to repeal the current legislation. The Group believes that the breed specific nature of current legislation has caused it to fail, and that focusing on individual breeds has failed to prevent a large number of dog attacks, or reduce the number of Pit Bull Terriers in the UK. DDASG Chairman Chris Laurence, Veterinary Director of Dogs Trust, said: “We firmly believe that the Dangerous Dogs Act needs to be overhauled to better protect the public and that a new dog control regime that emphasises responsible dog ownership should be introduced. “The Dog Control Bill supports the principle that it is people, not the dogs themselves that make dogs dangerous. Lord Redesdale’s Bill would allow people to be better protected from dangerous dogs with tougher action taken against irresponsible dog owners.” The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group has also launched a petition supporting Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill which already has almost 10,000 signatures. The petition can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-the-dangerous-dogs-act.html *Figures quoted from London Dangerous Dog Forum Evidence Base Research Paper and available on request. The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) is a wide-ranging group representing animal welfare, local authorities and veterinary professional organisations and includes representation from: Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Wandsworth Borough Council Wood Green Animal Shelters The DDASG considers that the Dangerous Dogs Act needs to be overhauled to better protect the public and that a new dog control regime which emphasises responsible dog ownership should be introduced. Lord Redesdale’s Private Members Bill provides for the following: Repeal of the Dogs Act 1871, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 including breed specific legislation The police expend significant resources on enforcement of the Dangerous Dogs Act, with large amounts of money being spent on the seizure and kennelling of dogs simply because of their breed type - many of these dogs are returned to their owners once proved to be of good temperament. Removing breed specific legislation would allow resources to be used more effectively elsewhere, and preferably concentrated on those dogs showing unprovoked aggression. Introduce Dog Control Notices The vast majority of dog attacks are a result of the irresponsible actions of dog owners, who have either not taken the time and trouble to train their dog correctly, or have indeed trained the dog to behave aggressively. Dog Control Notices will apply to all types of dog that have acted dangerously without provocation, caused an injury to another animal, caused harm, or caused a person to reasonably believe it will cause harm and aims to prevent serious incidents of aggression occurring by allowing preventative action. Apply to both public AND private places A large proportion of dog attacks occur in the home and involve a dog that is known to the victim. The Dog Control Bill will make attacks that take place on private property a criminal offence. Greater responsibility is therefore placed on owners to ensure that their dogs are not out of control in any place. Full wording of the DDASG petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-the-dangerous-dogs-act.html We, the undersigned, call on the government to repeal the Dogs Act 1871, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997. We petition the Government to repeal the Dangerous Dogs Act and replace it with alternative legislation that; · Protects the public against dogs dangerously out of control without compromising any individual dog’s welfare. Embodies the principle of ‘deed not breed’ and opposes breed specific legislation on the grounds that a dog’s behaviour is influenced more by its environment, the training it receives and the responsibility of its owner, than it is by genetics (i.e. its breed or type). We support the Dog Control Bill which seeks to better protect the public, place greater responsibility on dog owners and remove the huge welfare implications affecting dogs deemed to be of a certain type. Go To Top Of Page A Meeting Took Place Between KC And The German Shepherd Association Decisions that were made at a recent meeting between the Kennel Club and the British Association for German Shepherd Dogs (BAGSD) have now been revealed. The KC said it had no objection to British Sieger or other events being held under World Union of GSDs (WUSV) rules but wanted to be kept informed about them. Representatives from the Kennel Club present included chairman Ronnie Irving and former vice-chairman Bill Hardaway. BAGSD representatives included president Doreen Gater, chairman Bob Honey, vice-chairmen Andrew Winfrow and Wayne Lacey. Breed council representative Brian Wooton was also in attendance. The following points were discussed regarding BAGSD’s involvement: 1. WUSV/SV relationship a. The structure and aspirations of the WUSV/SV. It was discussed that the WUSV, having started as an ‘informal talking shop’, had developed into a more formal coalition with a constitution. It was noted that the WUSV constitution specifically declared its object and function as ‘the worldwide implementation of the uniform breeding and training of German Shepherd Dogs’. b. The British Sieger Event (WUSV working party/breed council). No objection The KC stated that it had no objection to British Sieger or other events being held under WUSV rules, but asked that KC-registered clubs should tell the KC about such events and allow it the opportunity to comment. c. Regional events (BAGSD) The KC asked that if BAGSD held such events billed as a ‘special event recognised by the KC’ competition structure and management should be declared. This was necessary, it said, because the KC had a legal duty of care to ensure that all dog events it recognised met certain criteria with respect to health and safety and other considerations. As these events were of a similar structure to the British Sieger show, the KC could foresee no objections. 2. Outside attraction The KC said it had made its policy ‘very clear’ on this subject and on the detrimental effects it believes the practice brings. 3. Mandatory health testing This is be an ongoing concern, the KC said, and both parties could contribute ‘to the betterment of the breed via the Accredited Breeder Scheme and BAGSD special events respectively’. 4. VPG branches The KC has agreed to change the branch term VPG to IPO and with immediate effect such branches will now be called BAGSD IPO, standing for international working test branches. Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS: CONSULTATION ON BREED NAME CHANGE At the first meeting between the Kennel Club and the German Shepherd Dog breed clubs which had signed the formal Undertakings, the question of the nomenclature of the breed was raised. At this meeting the Kennel Club gave a commitment to consult on whether the word (Alsatian) be dropped from the formal title of the breed. Before considering this proposition, the General Committee would like the benefit of the German Shepherd Dog community’s views on removing ‘(Alsatian)’ from the name of the breed. The Kennel Club has asked all KC registered German Shepherd Dog clubs to consult their members on this matter before submitting their responses by the end of August 2010. If you would like your opinion considered you should contact your GSD club as soon as possible. Go To Top Of Page Breeders Banned For Three Years Two breeders and exhibitors of Dogue de Bordeaux's have been banned from all activities to do with dogs for three years for showing unregistered dogs. Helen Johnson and Mark Foster (Cascob) were the subject of a Kennel Club A42 hearing at which a complaint was made that they had behaved discreditably and prejudicially to the interests of the canine world in that over the course of a year they successively entered a number of licensed events with several unregistered dogs in overt disregard and breach of KC regulations. The complaint was upheld and the pair – of Fellbeck, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate – were fined £1,500 in addition to the ban and other penalties. The Disciplinary Sub-Committee, which met last Thursday,  comprised chairman Wilson Young, Steve Croxford and Ian Kettle. The KC was represented by barrister Robert Dalling. Ms Johnson was not legally represented and Mr Foster did not appear at the hearing. Ms Johnson explained that her partner was about to go into hospital for surgery. Outlined Mr Dalling outlined the case, saying that dogs belonging to the pair had taken part in nine shows run under KC regulations, which says they must be registered. “The dogs were entered by Ms Johnson either on her behalf or jointly for her and Mr Foster,” he said. The shows in question were the Dogue de Bordeaux Club of GB limited show on May 3, 2009, at which Cascob Vanilla Sky received a VHC in minor puppy bitch; East of England championship show on July 10 the same year, where Vanilla Sky won puppy bitch and best puppy; Leeds championship show on July 26 at which Vanilla Sky was second in open bitch; and Welsh Kennel Club on August 22 where she was first in puppy bitch and best puppy. Vanilla Sky was entered at Scottish Kennel Club on August 29 and South Wales KA championship show on October 10. At Driffield on October 1 she was reserve in puppy bitch, and at Midland Counties on October 22 she won puppy bitch. Also present was C Crazy Candy, who was not registered. At the Dogue de Bordeaux Club of GB open show on October 31, Crazy Candy won puppy bitch, best puppy bitch and was reserve best puppy in show. In June 2008, the KC’s General Committee instructed that all Ms Johnson’s future litters should be DNA verified. Subsequently, Ms Johnson said it was not possible to DNA test her current litter as the sire had died. But the KC’s case was that she continued to show the dogs despite the fact they were not registered. “It is clear from the top of the entry form to the breed club show in May 2009 that the show was held under KC rules and regulations and it is clear that all dogs must be registered under KC rules,” Mr Dalling said. He pointed out that beside the name of Vanilla Sky were the initials NAF/TAF – name applied for and transfer applied for, when this was not case. Also, that the dates of birth of two of the dogs were eight days apart despite the fact that the dam was said to be the same. There was no date on the entry form. At East of England, RAF was written next to Vanilla Sky’s name and the entry form appeared to be a late entry, the original entry being lost in the post, Mr Dalling said. Leeds was a late entry too, cash paid with proof of posting given; at SKC, Vanilla Sky had ‘NAF’ beside her name, and again it appeared to be a late entry. South Wales’ entry form was undated, as was Driffield’s, and at the final club show King Of The Ring’s date of birth and sire and dam were different to that given previously. “In the case of all the dogs and entries, not only was it the position at the time that none of those dogs were registered, but no application had been made for those dogs to be registered, and therefore whether or not the forms said NAF/TAF or not, those dogs were entered in breach of the regulations because no application had been made for registration,” Mr Dalling said. “In June 2008, Ms Johnson was made subject by the ratification of the General Committee to a requirement that she had to confirm the identity of any dogs she sought to register with the KC by DNA verification. That requirement was in place for the entirety of the period we are concerned with.” Ms Johnson was asked to state her case. She turned to the entry form for the first breed club show and said she had not submitted it. “It is not my handwriting nor my partner’s,” she said. “It isn’t signed and there is no date.” She said there were errors in the names, dates of birth and other details on the form. With regard to East of England, Ms Johnson said she entered and exhibited two dogs and that the letter RAF was written because she made provisions to register the dogs although the applications had not been submitted. She said she accepted entering the dogs at Leeds, confirming that it was her signature and handwriting, although Vanilla Sky was not shown that day. She said that although the complaint stated that she had got second in open bitch, she said she had not shown her in that class. “There are discrepancies,” she said. Ms Johnson said she entered WKC online and admitted entering for SKC, but said Vanilla Sky was not at the show; she took three older dogs. The South Wales entry form had not been filled in by her, she said; the handwriting was not hers and it was not signed. She pointed out that a box had been circled indicating that she was disabled. “I have never asked for disabled parking,” she aid. “I think this is relevant to the fact that the form was not filled in by myself.” She admitted taking and showing Vanilla Sky at Driffield but said that it was not her signature on the entry form and that it should have shown she and Mr Foster as owners, not just herself. Ms Johnson also admitted showing Vanilla Sky at Midland Counties and C Crazy Candy at the breed club open show. “I understand that I have been in breach of some of the rules and regulations put down by the KC, and I wish to say on behalf of me and my partner that at no point did I ever want to put the reputation of the KC into disrepute or do any wrong doings by the acts which I obviously have done,” she said. “However, I think part of the reason I have filled out some of the entry forms with name and transfer applied for was because I was subject to restrictions with two of my dogs, which had to be DNA tested, and I feel I have been treated very unfairly by the KC.” She spoke about events leading to the restriction being imposed and said that the KC had cleared her of any wrong doings with regard to this. “I have done a huge amount for the breed and I health test my dogs,” she said. “I have tried to promote this breed. “I wanted to fight these restrictions because I thought they were unfair and prejudicial to me. However, my personal circumstances with my health and the fact that I have lost a child...” There was a break while Ms Johnson became quite distressed. “This is why I find it very difficult,” she resumed. “Every day is a struggle. Even though I love my dogs very dearly they have had to take a back seat when it comes to trying to deal with such a thing. That is why even though the application is filled out at home I have never had the state of mind and finances to fight this. “I would like you to consider all these things today.” Cross-examining her, Mr Dalling turned to the first breed club show “You claimed you did not fill in the entry form,” he said. “But you agree you were at the show?” Ms Johnson said she took two of the dogs listed but not the other two. “Vanilla Sky was at the show but she was not registered?” Mr Dalling asked. “Yes, I do admit that,” Ms Johnson replied. Mr Dalling said: “I understand you were going through a stressful time and wanted to challenge the DNA requirement, but did you think that until you challenged it you had better not show any unregistered dogs?” “I have to say I am aware that dogs should be registered, however sometimes we don’t always do the right thing and it’s just a little bit of a release to do something different,” Ms Johnson replied. “I have shown some of the dogs that have not been registered and I do admit that it’s wrong.” Mr Dalling asked what she had meant when she said she had made provisions to register Vanilla Sky. “I filled out the forms; they were at home, but I didn’t want to submit them and the DNA forms because I wanted to challenge the previous restrictions put on me when I think they’re unjust and unfair,” Ms Johnson said. “But you put the initials RAF and that was not the case,” Mr Dalling said. “I had filled out the forms (to register the dogs) but not sent them off,” Ms Johnson said. In answer to Mr Dalling’s question, she said she had taken Vanilla Sky to Leeds but had not shown her because it was too hot. “You had gone to the trouble of taking her along and filling in the form and paying your entry fee. Are you sure you did not go and enter her?” Mr Dalling asked. “She was definitely not shown that day,” Ms Johnson said, adding that Vanilla Sky had not taken to SKC. Mr Dalling pointed out that during the months preceding the hearing Ms Johnson had been given an opportunity to respond in writing to the complaint but had not done so. “There are so many other things to try to get through,” Ms Johnson said. “I have spoken to (the KC) and I have tried to explain everything.” Turning back to the shows, Mr Dalling asked Ms Johnson if she took Vanilla Sky to Driffield. “Yes I did,” she said. At Midland Counties she showed Vanilla Sky but not Crazy Candy, she said. “Crazy Candy was being shown, even though there was no application made to register her?” Mr Dalling asked. “Yes.” Summing up, Mr Dalling said it was clear that Ms Johnson had admitted that on six occasions, dogs were entered and shown when no application had been made to register them. Ms Johnson had also admitted breaching KC regulations. In certain instances Ms Johnson had said she had not filled in the entry forms or exhibited the dogs in question, he went on, but despite that there were six instances when she admitted being in breach of the rules. Ms Johnson said she had admitted some things and could not deny them. “But I hope that you will see that nothing was done with any intention of fetching the KC into disrepute or doing anything where we would gain from it,” she said. Sub-committee chairman Wilson Young asked what her occupation was. “I am an animal breeder,” she said. “We have dogs, pigs and cats.” “Does dog breeding provide a significant part of your income?” Mr Young asked. “Yes, it’s part of what allows us to live where we do, certainly, although it’s not a profitable business – breeding dogs isn’t, as you are probably aware,” Ms Johnson said. “We have spent several years going to Europe to promote the breed – and our kennels, obviously – and the amount we have spent far outweighs anything we have got out of it. But it has to be run as a business even though we have never abused that or had a huge amount of litters or different breeds of dog. “I am trying fit in with the recommendations and guidelines set down by the KC. It has never been my intention to breed to make an income, because if so I would have chosen a completely different breed.” After deliberating, the sub-committee upheld the complaint and  imposed the following penalties: 1.    To warn Ms Johnson and Mr Foster as to their future conduct A42j(1); 2.    To censure them A42j(2); 3.    To fine them £1,500 A42j(3); 4.    To disqualify them from exhibiting at, taking part in, attending and/or having any connection with any event licensed by the club A42j(4). If anyone disqualified under this sub-paragraph attends a canine event while disqualified, the General Committee has the power to increase the period of disqualification; 5.    To disqualify them from being or becoming a member of ay canine club or society registered with or affiliated to the KC A42j(5); 6.    To disqualify them from acting as an officer or serving on the committee of any canine society A42j(6); 7.    To disqualify them from taking part in the management of any event licensed by the club A42j(7); 8.    To disqualify them from judging at any event licensed by the club A42j(8); 9.    To disqualify them from effecting registration of any or all dogs and/or progeny of such dogs who are owned and/or registered by them, whether or not jointly owned and/or whether or not owned and/or registered in the name of a nominee A42j(9). The disqualifications are for a period of three years from May 27. Mr Young said: “We would make the following observations and comments. It was noted that Mr Foster did not attend the hearing today and that Ms Johnson did explain his absence due to forthcoming surgery. Ms Johnson has today spoken on behalf of herself and Mr Foster and the committee has therefore made this decision in respect of the both of them. “It was noted that Ms Johnson has admitted six separate occasions where the dogs in question have been entered and exhibited over a period of five months, and for Mr Foster this applies to four of those six occasions. “It was noted that there were three events at which discrepancies have been raised by Ms Johnson and we make no finding in respect of those events. “However, the repeated failure to observe KC regulations when being experienced in dog breeding and showing and being obviously aware of the regulations is sufficient to satisfy the committee that this complaint should be upheld. “It goes without saying that it is an absolute and fundamental requirement that dogs entering any licensed event be registered and that this conduct undermines the whole basis of KC canine competition and is being treated as very serious by the committee. ‘We have noted Ms Johnson has had some personal difficulties and we hope perhaps that in the ensuing period of disqualification she is able to resolve and improve her situation.” Afterwards, Ms Johnson said she intended to appeal against the finding. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 May 2010: A Drink Driving Case AN unqualified motorist from Selkirk was banned from driving for two years and fined £485 when he appeared at the town's sheriff court this week. Dean Pringle, 20, of Tower Street, admitted driving a car in Scott Street, Galashiels, on May 1, with a breath/alcohol reading of 51mcg – the legal limit being 35. He also pleaded guilty to driving without displaying L plates and having no insurance. The court heard how Pringle lost control of the vehicle which then collided with a lamp post before flipping on to its roof. Fiscal Tessa Bradley described how police found the car in the middle of the road with the accused, smelling strongly of drink and slurring his speech, standing nearby. Before sentencing, Sheriff Kevin Drummond told Pringle: “It could have been a person you hit and you would then have been standing in the High Court facing years of imprisonment.”   Go To Top Of Page Better Placed Emergency Signs Needed A Champion Standard Poodle had to be put to sleep after suffering bloat at Southern Counties championship show. Linda and Mick Lee’s Ch Elledina Evilicious was one of two Standard Poodles who have become ill under similar circumstances at championship shows recently.The other, Glenys and Mick Brekkerud’s Montravia Stage Rumour, recovered after bloating at Bath. The Lees’ 15-year-old bitch became ill in the middle of the night at the successful and well-organised Southern Counties, and her condition deteriorated quickly. The couple were forced to pack up their motorhome to get her to the vet. They had trouble finding any emergency numbers and when they woke the caravan site warden they were directed to an emergency exit which they had trouble navigating their way through. Their bitch was so ill by the time they got to a vet five miles away they decided the best option was to put her to sleep. Mrs Lee said the incident was made more traumatic by her being unable to find any emergency numbers at the caravan site and their difficulty in getting through the emergency exit. More Prominent Positions She later made her feelings known to Southern Counties chairman David Cavill and he is to place vital information in more prominent positions next year. Mrs Lee described what happened: “My bitch didn’t seem quite right, but I didn’t think much about it because at her age she has her off days, but she woke us in the middle of the night crying and I saw she was bloated. “My husband had to run to the other side of the site to wake the warden to get an emergency vet’s number, and we then rushed her to the vets, who said she was fully twisted. We decided it was kinder to just let her go. “It was so hard because she was my baby, a dog of a lifetime – with 14 CCs and nine RCCs – and it made the trauma worse because we were away from home.” The couple had to wake both wardens – first at the campsite and then at the main showground exit. “The woman at the campsite directed us to the emergency exit,” Mrs Lee said. “We squeezed through, but if the conditions had been worse and the ground muddy it would have been quite difficult. I went to see David Cavill the next morning about what had happened.” Mr Cavill said that he would ensure for the future that the emergency exit was more clearly marked: “Mrs Lee was clearly very upset and we were very concerned as well. If we allow the caravan park gate to stay open people turn up from pubs and clubs and drive around, so we always lock it overnight. I understand that the warden directed the Lees to the emergency exit, but in future the sign to the emergency exit will be more prominently placed. “We are taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again – but it is something that hasn’t happened before. We will also make sure that emergency numbers for vets and doctors etc will be easily found. We might distribute leaflets with the necessary information on.” It was a happier ending for the Standard Poodle who became ill at Bath, and Mr and Mrs Brekkerud have thanked everyone who helped them. Montravia Stage Rumour (Tyler) collapsed in the car park in heavy rain. “We were caravanning and could not find a vet and had to wait until the vet arrived at the show the next morning,” Mr Brekkerud said. “I would like to see all wardens carry emergency vet telephone numbers in future.” Tyler was operated on and remained at the vets for the weekend. “It was touch and go but eventually he was stable enough to travel home, and he is now making a good recovery,” Mrs Brekkerud said. Effectiveness of Animal Welfare Act questioned What should vets do to advise their clients about responsible breeding and pet ownership? And, is it right to expect vets to put right ‘problems not of their making’? These were two questions raised at the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) recent discussion forum at the Royal College of Physicians. According to one senior vet, there is still a long way to go to improve the lot of companion animals. There was also a debate on whether the Animal Welfare Act was working; as reported in this week’s Veterinary Record, delegates were asked to vote electronically and anonymously on this. Once three speakers had given presentations on the topic the votes were taken again and the results compared. Responses Before the session the results were 25 per cent ‘yes’, 22 per cent ‘no’ and 53 per cent ‘don’t know’; at the end of the session when the vote was retaken the responses were 31, 45 and 53 respectively. During the debate, David Pritchard, a senior veterinary consultant in animal welfare for DEFRA, explained that the Act was aimed at consolidating legislation on cruelty and to extend the duty of care to all animals kept by man. It also introduced new powers and offences and created a framework for the development of secondary legislation, licensing, registration and welfare codes. Mr Pritchard stated it had revolutionised things in terms of producing a duty of care to the companion animal world and that had changed the way in which society and the veterinary profession thought about animal welfare. Concluding Mr Pritchard said: “We’ve achieved quite a lot but we’ve still got a lot more to do.” BVA past president Nicky Paull said she felt there was a long way to go to improve welfare for companion animals. “Has there ever been a better time to act to improve the lot of companion animals following the fall-out from Pedigree Dogs Exposed?” she asked. She also wanted to know who should be responsible for leading the change. “In this game is the veterinary profession playing referee, the coach, the player or simply the enthusiastic spectator?” she asked. Mrs Paull also questioned what vets could do to advise their clients about the importance of responsible breeding and pet ownership. “Is it right to expect the practising arm of the profession to put right the problems that many would consider are not of their making?” she said. She added that the law should decrease the likelihood of welfare issues occurring ‘be it by education or just simply as a deterrent’. Another important outcome of the Animal Welfare Act should be that those who fell short of the terms of the legislation could be prosecuted more easily, she said. But in her opinion, she said, the Act had not been effective. “Is it the fault of society as a whole?” she asked. “Is it fashion, expensive vets’ fees, dog breeders, status dogs, the credit crunch, ignorance, laws on negligence?” she said. “If the Act has not impacted, then how much is it a failure of the legislation and how much is it a failure of us all?” Go To Top Of Page Mike Townsend New Vice Chairman Mike Townsend has been appointed the new vice-chairman of the Kennel Club, replacing Bill Hardaway who has retired. Mr Townsend has been a KC member since 1988, and in 1998 became a trustee of the KC Charitable Trust, of which he became chairman in 2002. He has been a member of the KC’s General Committee, Finance and General Purposes Sub- Committee and the audit panel since 2002. He had also been a member of KC Services Ltd board since 2004, and a trustee of the KC Staff Pension Scheme since July 2002. Rolls Royce Educated at Harrogate Grammar School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1966, and worked subsequently for a number of engineering companies before joining Rolls Royce plc, becoming its finance director in 1991, retiring at the end of 1999. Since 1970 Mr Townsend has had Irish Setters, which are owned by his wife who judges, shows, and breeds under the Follidown affix. Mr Townsend was a committee member of the Irish Setter Association from 1985-2001 and its secretary between 1995-2001. While involved with the Association he was closely involved with the administrative aspects and ramifications associated with the development of the DNA tests for the RCD-1 form of PRA and CLAD in the breed. He was a committee member (1986-95) and chief steward (1990-95) of the Mid-Western Gundog Society, and has been treasurer of Birmingham Dog Show Society Ltd since 2004. The Russian Scottie May Be Disqualified...Who Cares! The Kennel Club is asking for proof of postage from certain Exhibitors from Crufts 2010. This is in accordance with KC Regulation F(1)9.e. The main 'antagonist' in this Kennel Club investigation is the Scottish Terrier: CH RUS/SLO/EUR FILISITE BRASH CELEBRATION. I am certain that if the Scottie Does get Disqualified, the owners won't be that bothered. You can take away the award but the Glory that went with it will remain forever. It was by far the best Terrier at the show and in my view should have been Best In Show. At Crufts 2003 the Best In Show Winner was The Pekingese Ch Yakee A Dangerous Liaison. Owned by Albert Easdon and Philip Martin. A complaint was made to the Kennel Club stating that the Peke had been operated on and that the surgery broke KC rules. This complaint proved to be unfounded. There was wide speculation as to why the complaint was made and it was rumored that this was to elevate the Kerry Blue Ch Torum's Tunde Bayou to Best In Show by Disqualification, thus giving his handler Geoffrey Corish another Crufts BIS. And anyway, let's face it, reserve at any show means you got beat. The Reserve Challenge Certificate means you have been beaten by the CC winner and you have the Certificate to prove it. It's not worth the paper that it's printed on. Go To Top Of Page DFS CRUFTS – ENTRIES ON THE DAY The Kennel Club wishes to confirm its position concerning the exhibitors that entered dogs for DFS Crufts 2010 claiming undelivered entries, in particular Scottish Terrier CH RUS/SLO/EUR FILISITE BRASH CELEBRATION which won 1st in Open Dog, Best of Breed, Terrier Group 1 and Reserve Best in Show. Kennel Club Regulation F(1)9.e. states: Entries from exhibitors claiming that undelivered entries have been correctly posted must be accepted on the day of the Show, subject to the conditions of Regulation F(1)9.c. Such claims will have to be substantiated to the Kennel Club which will request documentary evidence, subsequent to the Show. The Kennel Club has written to all parties connected with the dogs concerned and has asked that they submit proof of their entries. However, the Club is disappointed to note that some exhibitors have not responded to the request for further information. As a result, this matter will be referred to the next available Committee for consideration and could result in the disqualification of awards gained. A further announcement on the outcome of this matter will be made in due course. The Kennel Club’s AGM; It Wasn’t Irving’s Waterloo This years AGM for the Kennel Club Members proved to be a damp squib for the controversial [to those in power] proposal put forward by Robin Searle. But, does this show the Kennel Club to be a forward thinking organisation? I think not. It is very clear to anyone who is a forward thinker that once acquired, power is never ever readily relinquished. It is the general consensus of opinion that the incumbent Chairman, would have to be dragged away kicking and screaming, for him to relinquish his position. General Committee member Simon Luxmoore was also extremely agitated at Searle’s proposal. Does all of this tell us something? Why would the Chairman [Irving] want the agenda for the AGM kept a secret? His attack on the Dog Press speaks volumes about his determination to cling to [the aphrodisiac of] power. A ‘TSUNAMI’ of public criticism hit the Kennel Club after the broadcast of Pedigree Dogs Exposed, according to the report presented by KC chairman Ronnie Irving at the AGM 2009. This was undoubtedly fuelled by his crass remarks. When under pressure in the program [without a prepared speech] he blustered: "No scientist is going to tell me how to breed dogs when I've been doing it for 40 years.” That sentence told us a lot about Ronnie Irving. Did he take honourable course of action? Obviously no he didn’t. We, that is every society in the UK, should ask the questions; why do we have to pay a License fee to The Kennel Club if we want hold a show? Yet, in these times of recession every small society and all of the breed clubs are finding that the ever increasing costs in running shows are becoming more difficult. Question: Why can’t we run our shows without a Kennel club license? Answer: Because the KC will exclude you from running further shows if you hold a show unlicensed. Furthermore, they send out their pompous ‘Field Officers’ to inspect. What are these so called ‘Field Officers’ for; to inspect the Grass? Or to grass on the club should the ‘Cack’ area not be large enough? Etc etc. The Kennel Club has a Monopoly on the running of shows in the UK and this cannot be a good thing. We really should have an alternative. Hypothetical Question: Why don’t we all exclude ourselves from entering Crufts in 2011? Now this would make the very ‘exclusive’ Kennel Club’s membership pay attention. "No Show Without Punch?" Another question that should be asked is: Why doesn’t every breed club and society in the UK have a vote/s depending on the size of the club/s on who is The Elected Chairman of the Kennel Club? But, this would be a step too far towards a democratically run Kennel Club. Go To Top Of Page Proposal to change length of chairmanship withdrawn following ‘lively debate’ at AGM The proposal that chairmanship of the Kennel Club should be limited to a six-year term gave rise to much discussion at the AGM. Robin Searle’s proposal that the KC’s rules and constitution should be changed drew a fierce response from General Committee member Simon Luxmoore, who called it ‘totally insulting’. Even when Mr Searle said that he admired Mr Luxmoore’s speech and that the pair should do business together, the General Committee member looked away, stony-faced. Mr Searle went on to withdraw his proposal. Winds Of Change He had suggested – and was seconded by Anthony Taylor – that while he was a keen supporter of the KC ‘the winds of change were sweeping over dogdom’ and the rules were getting a little out-of-date and Edwardian. “This is the 21st century and we are already ten years into it,” he said. “Surely six years is long enough to get through specific points and tackle opponents of dogdom. Even the Government of the day and prime minister have only five years in which to do this. “KC members have a huge amount of experience and knowledge, and this should be utilised. Recruitment to the General Committee would mean that those with ambition would have the green light and the committee would have new blood, and fresh ideas and aims. Our world would benefit greatly.” Mr Taylor said that this was an issue about what was good corporate governance; how the KC could be accountable to its broader constituency – the people it represented in the world of pedigree dogs. “It seems to me that many are very dissatisfied about the way things are moving,” he said. “With a fixed term of office, at the end of six years, and the chairman goes, you lose expertise, I accept that, but he could spend a year on sabbatical, in the real world of dog showing and talk to people we represent and come back.” Mr Taylor said it was a ‘tragedy’ that no new people had put their names forward for the General Committee. “I think that is the issue of succession we need to look at,” he said. Concluding, he said: “People should look back to the ancient Greeks and look at the problem of Hubris.” Les Crawley said he had served several organisations in various capacities, including three charities, and that if a chairman outstayed his welcome it could cause problems. “I am not suggesting we are in that situation, but the main benefit (of a new chairman) is fresh ideas, a fresh look at systems, fresh enthusiasm and seeing things others haven’t seen, and I would wholeheartedly support this proposal,” he said. Mr Luxmoore said he had been surprised when he saw the proposal. “I took time to consider what might lie behind it, what was the motivating factor giving rise to it,” he said. “I decided the reasons concerned the general governance of the KC.” He quoted the KC’s rules and regulations regarding how the chairman and General Committee are elected. “These extracts could not be clearer in amplifying that you all as members have the right to stand for the General Committee, to vote for those standing for General Committee and that the General Committee in turn has the responsibility annually to elect a chairman from within its number,” he said. “Trustees are both appointed by and can be removed by General Committee. “In the ongoing pursuit of good general governance there is absolutely no good reason for any upper limit in terms of period of tenure for anyone holding the position of chairman. Each and every year the General Committee considers very carefully and reconsiders the position of chairman within its number to let the right person in their view carry out that position.” He said limited terms of office were once thought fashionable and politically correct. “Time and business have moved on from this ill-considered thinking,” he continued. “It is now believed to be outdated, outmoded and irrelevant. Most organisations are against a limited term.” He went on: “I have experience in running national and international businesses. Ultimately term limits have the effect of destroying the continuity and long-term planning of any effective organisation. It is bad practice. I and the rest of the General Committee totally reject a term limit for position of chairman. “You allowed the General Committee to represent you and we elect a chairman on your behalf, the person we believe is the best individual to represent your club as chairman. The proposition by Mr Searle, that the responsibility currently invested in the General committee to elect a chairman be obstructed I feel is totally insulting, as it is clearly suggesting that the General Committee is no longer capable or competent to make that decision. Fit-For-Position “Do you the membership really believe that we can no longer make that decision and that a more suitable candidate is standing in line and being denied the opportunity? We the General Committee believe we should be empowered to act in your best interests on an annual basis on a fit-for-position basis whosoever that might be. “The implication that a 24-strong General Committee might be a cowering, brow-beaten group of individuals is absurd. If we felt at any stage that the right person for the job was not in that position, there would be a change in a heartbeat – or more likely in a year. This committee is not group of shrinking violets, trust me. “The role of chairman is very challenging in this day and age, and more so now than in the past. Special qualities are required to successfully fill the position. It is a serious leadership role for someone with excellent communication and good management skills, who can get the best from the staff and a number of volunteers. “I put it to you in the clearest possible terms I believe that a (limited term of office) is a completely inappropriate way forward for an organisation which aspires to pursue best practice, and would undoubtedly mean the General Committee elected by you would be unable to appoint the person it considers to be the best within its number. Absence of a term limit means that accountability remains in place throughout the term of tenure; a term limit removes that accountability and responsibility. The General Committee believes the proposal is completely ill-founded and misguided, and seeks the support of all of you to vote against it.” Former KC chairman Peter James said that if the proposal was adopted it would mean the ‘immediate removal’ of the present chairman, Ronnie Irving, and that that would be interpreted widely as a vote of no confidence in the policies of the KC. “Both of those results, in my opinion, would be wholly unfortunate, and I urge you to reject this proposal,” he said. Geoffrey Davies said that having a limited term of office would be restrictive. “Why impose a restraint which would rid the club of a chairman after six years while there is still a lot more service to be done by that individual?” he asked. He continued: “The position of chairman doesn’t carry a six-figure salary – it brings stress and hassle. I feel we are at a crossroads with regard to the problems facing the world of pedigree dogs, and continuity and unity are absolutely essential at the moment. “I would say, though, with regard to Mr Luxmoore, I found part of his presentation belligerent. I have known Robin for a long time. he speaks his mind and is entitled to do so, and I think his proposal - while I don’t support it and am against it - is not intended to be insulting.” Judith Robin-Smith said the KC had a long list of eminent chairmen. “Why change every six years?” she asked. “They have to deal with the Government, the press and sometimes antagonistic charities. If we want them to give up the position every six years then what? Julia Iles-Hibbert asked whether, due to the sensitivity of the proposal, a paper vote should be taken. Mr Irving asked: “Do you want that, ladies and gentlemen?” This was greeted by shouts of ‘No!’ Tessa Gaines said it was difficult to get new people to pursue more senior positions within the club. “This year we have had no one standing against any of the General Committee, who were re-elected without any opposition,” she said. “Is it apathy in members or are they satisfied by what the General Committee is doing for us in the KC? “One gentleman who spoke said continuity was important; it is, but it is also important to try to bring along younger members, and that is hopefully what we are doing with the Young Kennel Club.” She concluded: “If the general feeling is that we could move forward more quickly or differently in the future, then it is up to us to vote on the General Committee to get them to move forward themselves and bring on other new people if we don’t agree with what they are doing. Or we can just sit back and do nowt as so many people do.” Bill Harding said the proposal should be depersonalised. “The present constitution works to the satisfaction of members and that should be our guide,” he said. “I am not really concerned about the constitution of other organisations, only this club, and we should judge on the success or otherwise of our constitution.” A Lack Of Candidates He said there was no point bemoaning the fact there were few new people coming forward. “In my years as a member I can remember many occasions when competition has been very robust. But I am sure, if anything, that a lack of other candidates this year indicates satisfaction in the way our club is being run. “I would just add this, that in general I believe it is a bad practice if we hem ourselves in with unnecessary changes to our rules. If it works, don’t mend it. I beg to oppose the motion.” Mike Mullan said that what had happened in the world of dogs over the past 18 months should make KC members act as a unit. “We have a hard-working General Committee and a good leader,” he said. “It’s been a tough time for world of dogs, particularly pedigree dogs, which are now thought of as bad news. Anything that rocks the boat will be picked up by the press. “If you have a good team support it and let them get on with the job they were elected to do originally.” Mr Searle stood again and said: “Well, at least one thing has been achieved by this, and that’s a debate. This meeting has come alive hasn’t it? “You and I, Mr Luxmoore, should do some business dealing; I rather admire the way you did that. I didn’t mean to insult anyone, I just felt the rules were old-fashioned and needed modifying. “I think the best thing is if I withdraw my motion. Thank you.” “Do you seriously want to?” Mr Irving asked. “I wouldn’t have said it otherwise,” Mr Searle replied, smiling. Go To Top Of Page YOUR DOG NEEDS YOU It is with grave concern and URGENCY that we felt it crucial to contact you and ask you to spread the word. Are you aware of the Dog Control Bill that is currently on its second reading in the House of Lords and the effect it will have on all our dogs? We believe this Bill is aimed at status, illegal and dangerous dogs but it actually affects every dog in the country. It is intended to replace the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) and other legislation but actually extends the power of the law into your home and gardens. SO WHAT? Having taken legal opinion it is imperative that you visit the Defra website and complete their online questionnaire which addresses a number of dog issues as well as this Bill. www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/dangerous-dogs If you want to read the proposed Bill go to www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldbills/009/09009.i-i.html WHY? As the Bill stands there would be a far greater chance of your dog committing an offence that would be subject to the law, seizure and possible destruction. For example • Any act of aggression by your dog towards another animal or person can be deemed a reportable offence with potentially fatal consequences. • How is your dog to know the difference between a trespasser and a burglar? • If your dog chases a cat that could be deemed an offence • Should your dog react to a child entering your garden to retrieve a lost ball is that an offence? This Bill would remove your right to a trial by jury in a dog biting case, as it would seem that such offences could only be tried in the Magistrates' Court. Also, if you wanted to appeal against a Dog Control Notice, then there would be no form of Legal Aid available to do so. Even those responsible for the most serious dog biting incidents would only face a reduced maximum fine of £5000 instead of the current unlimited fine and a maximum of 6 month jail as opposed to the current 2 years. Although the Bill refers to a maximum 51-week sentence Magistrates are currently only able to impose a maximum 6 month sentence. It is great that this Bill would rescind breed specific legislation. However, the worst case scenario would be that during the committee stages this is reintroduced and so leaving us with both BSL as well as the increased powers permitted by the Bill. DEFRA is currently consulting on dangerous dog related matters. Whilst not specifically looking at this particular Bill, DEFRA does ask for opinions on the law on breed specific legislation, dangerous dogs cases, Dog Control Notices as well as microchipping and insurance matters. It is vital that as many of us as possible make DEFRA aware our views on these matters, especially as this Bill is already before the House of Lords. AND WHO WILL ENFORCE THIS BILL? In all likelihood a local authority employee who may have had a few days training PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE YOU ONLY HAVE UNTIL 1ST JUNE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. Defra is conducting a consultation on this Bill and other dog related matters. It is vital that as many of us as possible make Defra aware how seriously this Bill could affect us, the responsible dog owners. Get involved and forward this to as many people as possible. Original source the SCSBTS Dog Control Bill sub-committee. NOTE When completing the Defra questionnaire be aware that when you reach the end and press ”DONE” it will close so make sure you have said all you want before pressing “DONE”. There is no “print” option so if you want a record of what you have said try to “screen print” as you go. Go To Top Of Page PEER SAYS IT'S CHEAPER TO KILL DDA DOGS Animal welfare groups have reacted angrily to a suggestion that dogs seized or held by police under section one of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) should be put to sleep immediately. Lord (Toby) Harris’ remarks were made at a Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) meeting at which it was revealed that plans to outsource kennelling to the private sector and care of ‘dangerous’ dogs would cost up to £10.6 million over four years. The number of dogs seized has increased by over 110 per cent in the last three years to 1,152 per annum. In his blog, Lord Harris, former MPA chairman, said that the ‘quiet going on boring’ meeting of the strategic and operational policing committee ‘burst into life’ when the funds were authorised to provide kennelling for ‘another 400 dogs’ seized under the DDA. He admitted saying that it would be a lot cheaper to shoot the dogs rather than ‘cage’ them while the legal procedures ‘grind their way’ through the court. “We seem to be spending an enormous amount of money on keeping weapons for other police,” he said. Fast-Track Culling Powers “Much to my surprise, the sentiment attracted support from other committee members,” he alleged afterwards. “It was agreed that (deputy mayor Kit Malthouse) should write to the new Home Secretary, Theresa May, asking her to agree fast-track culling powers for the police in relation to the animals. “However, even though everyone knows that the new Con/Lib coalition Government walks on water, it was decided to authorise the money just in case the new powers take a bit of time to come through.” A record 1,146 dogs were seized in London last year, and 451 held currently in police kennels. The number of dogs seized by police often surges after high-profile incidents such as children being attacked. Supt Julia Pendry, who was present at the meeting, has been quoted widely as having said at the meeting: “It would be absolutely fantastic if we could destroy these dogs. Unfortunately, it is a criminal offence because the property belongs to other people. Secondly, the RSPCA would probably prosecute me and people like DEFRA and the national press would have a field day if we started killing dogs that were people’s pets. “However frustrating it is, there is a criminal justice procedure we have to go through.” The Superintendent told DOG WORLD afterwards that her words needed to be put in context. “This discussion was about budgeting and kennelling,” she said. “The Metropolitan Police Service was requesting £10.4 million in kennelling fees over four years and it caused an outcry at the meeting. That’s an awful lot of public funds, not including the £2.6 million it costs yearly. “The average time a dog spends in custody before its case went to court used to be 180 days and we have speeded it up to 70 days, although at the moment it is about 90. The court may decide at the end of it to impose a destruction order, and if the dog stayed on death row awaiting death for, say, six months while appeals and court processes are gone through that can’t be good for the dog. “And if there is no destruction order, it is not unusual for the dog’s owners not to be there to take the dog back at the end of it, and it is impossible to rehome the dog because it has become institutionalised while in kennels. “Surely by extending the awfulness for another six to nine months before the dog is put to sleep is no good for the dog. The whole process needs to be speeded up; a resolution needs to be as quick as possible. We have to fast-track these cases so that they can be sorted out by a court in 72 hours.” She said the 451 dogs the Metropolitan Police had in kennels currently was ‘only scratching the surface’. Members of the Met’s Status Dogs Unit have been in discussion with Government officials in a bid to redraft the DDA, and DEFRA is currently undertaking a full review of it. The unit raided 300 homes last year to seize suspected dangerous animals and is overseeing 370 outstanding court cases. A proportion of the imprisoned animals will have been seized under section one of the Act, simply because it is thought they resemble a pit bull type and not because they pose any threat. And many distraught owners will currently be going through the lengthy legal process of bringing the matter to court in a bid to save their dog’s life. Huge Expense After details of the meeting were publicised, several groups voiced their concerns. Professor Bill Reilly, president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said: “Lord Harris’ comments underline the failure of current legislation on dangerous dogs. He rightly points out that it is a huge expense to taxpayers, but his recommendation that all dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act be euthanased does not address the fundamental problems of breed-specific legislation. “Thousands of dogs are seized every year and many of them are targeted simply because of the way they look, not because of their behaviour. This means that well-loved and well-trained family pets spend months in police kennels, which can be detrimental to their welfare, only to be returned. “We need to move to a system that allows the police and other officials to target a dog’s behaviour and its irresponsible owners and this is something the BVA will continue to campaign for.” Dogs Trust said it was appalled by Lord Harris’ suggestion that dogs should be shot to save the the cost of kennelling them. “We believe that euthanasia should always be the last resort with any dog,” said the charity’s chief executive Clarissa Baldwin. “We have long campaigned against the DDA. This breed-specific legislation stipulates that the ‘type of dog known as a pit bull terrier’ and three other breed types – Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasiliero – are banned in the UK. Identification of these banned breed types is based on appearance which is an imprecise and discriminatory way of identifying a supposed ‘dangerous dog’. As a result, hundreds of family pets with no history of aggression have been needlessly seized since the introduction of the Act and held at the taxpayer’s expense. “We believe that the DDA needs to be completely overhauled. The use of dog control orders is a better way of preventing attacks, promoting responsible dog ownership, and will both save money and reduce the unnecessary suffering and destruction of dogs. Early identification of problem dogs and problem owners is the way to better protect the public.” The RSPCA said it was ‘extremely concerned’ at comments about the suggestion of a ‘blanket euthanasia’ of dogs seized by the Metropolitan Police. “Approximately 50 per cent of dogs seized under this legislation by the Met are currently returned to their owners without further problems,” a spokesman said. “We would urge the Government to look at implementing a licensing scheme, as we recently suggested. Not only would this help to tackle this issue but it would raise much-needed funds at a local level which could help to improve dog health and welfare more proactively and actually prevent serious incidents from occurring. “This has been successfully rolled out in other countries and has helped to tackle this very serious issue. A poll carried out for us showed that there is clear support for a licensing scheme from the majority of the public. “Any suggestion of speeding up the process of dealing with these cases, thereby shortening the time that dogs are kennelled, would be fully supported by us.” The Blue Cross said it was shocked to hear the suggestion that certain types of dog should be shot to save on kennel costs. Rightly Returned To Their Owners Chief vet at the charity’s Hammersmith animal hospital, Richard Green, said: “Many dogs seized and kennelled by the police under section one of the DDA have committed no greater offence than looking a certain way. While some may be a danger to the public, many are not, and will be rightly returned to their owners. “I share Lord Harris’ concerns about the lengthy process for courts to decide the fate of these dogs, not least because kennelling them for protracted periods of time is a serious compromise to their welfare as well as a burden to the public purse. But I fail to see how allowing police to act as judge, jury and summary executioner would in any way improve the current situation. “I would urge Lord Harris to support these efforts to establish a clearer, fairer, more practical and enforceable legal framework for dealing with dangerous dogs, without the need for a firing squad.” A PDSA spokesman said: “We feel that the law should focus on social issues, such as why dogs are used as aggressive ‘weapons’ rather than concentrating solely on specific breeds or types of dog. “It can be a difficult and lengthy process to confirm whether a dog is one of the specified types within the Act, which involves a great deal of police and court time. In addition, after being seized the dog can be kept in kennels for many months. This has serious welfare implications for the dog, as well as being costly for the authorities involved. The police can only act within the law, but looking at ways to speed up the process would cut the associated costs and reduce the distress it must cause to the dogs who are kennelled in isolation for many months.” “It can be a difficult and lengthy process to confirm whether a dog is one of the specified types within the Act, which involves a great deal of police and court time. In addition, after being seized the dog can be kept in kennels for many months. This has serious welfare implications for the dog, as well as being costly for the authorities involved. “The police can only act within the law, but looking at ways to speed up the process would cut the associated costs and reduce the distress it must cause to the dogs who are kennelled in isolation for many months.” Lord Harris was unavailable for comment. A spokesman for the police said: “Our status dog unit provides an immediate 24-hour response to all incidents involving dangerous or potentially-dangerous dogs. They are able to seize dogs when necessary. “There is a current need for 400 kennel spaces for seized animals. Officers can complete the paperwork needed for the Crown Prosecution Service within 72 hours, however court cases can take some time to conclude. “The cost is a continuing concern but we have taken measures, including working with a number of other agencies, to streamline processes and reduce costs. The Status Dog Unit plays a vital role in tackling the problem of dangerous dogs and we are committed to finding and prosecuting the irresponsible owners of banned or dangerous dogs. The animals are treated humanely and kept secure while the due process takes place.” Go To Top Of Page Double handling discussed at ‘congenial’ meeting beween KC and GSD breed clubs Representatives of 14 clubs and the German Shepherd breed council – all of which have signed the Kennel Club’s ‘undertaking’ – have got together for a meeting. The morning session, led by KC vice-chairman Bill Hardaway, covered double handling and how this should be managed at shows. This was followed by a presentation by Crufts chairman Gerald King and GSD exhibitor Gary Gray on the importance of educating judges. Education programme In the afternoon, Professor Mike Herrtage gave a presentation on canine conformation and movement in regard to the GSD. It was agreed that the KC would continue to work with the club representatives to ‘establish and improve’ a judges’ education programme. Items to be discussed at the second meeting will include mandatory health testing, registration of untested stock, development of new tests for the breed, health testing, and the Accredited Breeder Scheme. “Both presentations were well received and attracted active and constructive debate on all aspects, resulting in the achievement of a consensus on the way forward,” Mr Hardaway said. “The representatives are to be congratulated on achieving a very positive and successful day. Many viewpoints were aired in a constructive and positive way, which resulted in an interesting and informative meeting. “I was very pleased that the KC was able to give reassurance to those who were concerned as to how to deal with potentially difficult situations. Also, I am hopeful that there is now a significant degree of trust in the motives and intentions of the KC. “I believe that if we can keep the momentum going, progress can be made for the good of the breed.” Breed council chairman John Cullen said afterwards: “It was a congenial meeting of members of breed club which had signed and representatives of the breed council – namely myself and vice-chairman David Hall. Proposal “We were on hand to put the views of the clubs that had not signed. “The meeting finished with a proposal that the KC would ask all clubs their views on dropping the name Alsatian. “There are to be more meetings in the future.” Go To Top Of Page The End Of The Line For Irving? A bid to limit the Kennel Club chairman’s term of office is to be made at next week’s AGM. Robin Searle will propose that ‘no chairman/chairperson of the KC, or of the General Committee, should serve more than six years consecutively in that office’. Current chairman Ronnie Irving took over in June 2002 from Peter James who served five and a half years. Before that, John MacDougall was in the post for 15 years. At present, the KC rule – which has been in force for many years – states ‘The General Committee at its first meeting held after the AGM in each year shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from its own number who shall be, ipso facto, chairman and vice-chairman of the KC. The election shall be by secret ballot if more than one nomination is received for either post’. Before last year’s AGM, attempts were made to get several members to withdraw proposals they had wanted included on the agenda. Mr Searle received calls from the KC recently but would not reveal what they were about. Phone Calls He said: "I had some phone calls and emails – which was quite irritating. Things got a bit over the top, especially as members are supposed to be the backbone of any club. “Not enough attention is given to the members and I think they have worries about what could happen if they stand up and be counted.” If his proposal is agreed at the meeting its provisions would come into force next year. Asked whether he would rather the general membership voted in a chairman rather than the General Committee as the rule states currently, Mr Searle said: “Really, we have to start somewhere. We need to get change instigated first of all, and then tinker with it and get it improved next year. “It will certainly cause an uproar.” Mr Searle said he did not want to discuss the proposal in any detail but hoped its intention was clear. “There should be, like most societies in this country, in the rules that after a three-year period the post has to come up for re-election,” he said. “In some ways we have been very lucky over the years with some of our chairmen; some have been brilliant and some not so good, and that is the same in most organisations.” KC secretary Caroline Kisko said that the calls to Mr Searle were ‘categorically’ not to talk him out of his proposal but to amend – with his agreement – the wording ‘in common with all the submitted agenda items’. Jean Lanning was one of the members who last year was subjected to a prolonged bid to dissuade her from putting forward her proposal, that members be given the opportunity to discuss ‘the many important changes the KC had implemented since August 2008’, following the programme Pedigree Dogs Exposed. But she had insisted, and on the day took to the stage to make her speech, exercising her right ‘as an ordinary member of the KC’ to have an item on the agenda. She has managed to get another proposal placed in next Wednesday’s agenda – to reinstate the bi-annual general meeting, which was dropped in 2008, at which she would like the General Committee to report on the KC’s activities in the past six months, and discuss other items of general business. This year no attempts were made to talk her out of the proposal. “I had some phone calls about the way in which it was to be drafted – they wanted me to put it slightly differently – but nothing major,” she said. “In the end I was quite happy with it. However, I think other people were cross-examined.” She said she believed that losing the bi-AGM had been ‘a retrograde step’. “It coincided with – and no one could have foreseen this – the film (Pedigree Dogs Exposed), and it did seem that it should have been for the members to have had an opportunity to have a meeting and discuss the film. It would have been appropriate,” she said. “But I didn’t have a problem with that, and it (dropping the bi-AGM) was all done above board; we voted on it. But it doesn’t mean it can’t be brought back.” It was clear at last year’s AGM that some members felt there should have been more consultation about the changes made by the KC following the film. One said the KC’s stance had made them feel disenfranchised and put them in a difficult position, and former General Committee member Miss Lanning said she had never witnessed such a ‘mood of disquiet and discontent’ among members. She added that the KC had been ‘shaken to its roots’ by the aftermath of Pedigree Dogs Exposed and that a special meeting should have been called so discussion and consultation could have taken place. Chinese Crested breeder and exhibitor Barrie Jones was talked out of his proposal for last year’s agenda, which had been about the BBC film and its effect on the KC. “I was called to the KC to discuss it and I was asked to withdraw it and I did,” he said. “They made arguments about pressure on the club’s officers, so I withdrew it, thinking I was on my own. “But it turned out that three other people had made similar proposals and all in isolation withdrew them; all of them had died before we got to the AGM. “We are concerned about the administration of the club. A lot of people are unhappy about the way things are going. More and more people are complaining because members are being railroaded by a small management team and the administration. They are our servants but they don’t realise that; they think they are the KC.” Mr Jones, who has been a member since 1984, is concerned that the item in which the accounts and balance sheet are approved are sinking down the agenda and believes they should be nearer the top of the list of business. He has been in correspondence with the KC about it but is not satisfied by the response. He also notes that in 2009, unlike other years, the accounts were not presented by the auditor, although he was present last year. “I am concerned,” he said. “I used to be chairman of the Chinese Crested Club of GB so I know the rules, and we had to stick to a particular order. If I had to jump through hoops, surely the KC should too.” Mr Jones’ ‘item for discussion’ on this year’s agenda is that the KC AGMs be held at the club’s building at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, ‘or at any other suitable venue identified within the showground site’. Item 17 – the last before ‘general business’ – is American Cocker Spaniel breeder and exhibitor Yvonne Knapper-Weijland’s proposal that breeds with hereditary eye defects should have test results and status logged on KC health registers, databases and registration certificates. When she proposed a similar item last year, Mrs Knapper-Weijland received several phone calls from chairman Ronnie Irving and Mrs Kisko and she agreed to drop it. This year’s proposal – slightly stronger than its predecessor – states that the KC will include: On the KC health register/database – the results of ALL specialist certificated eye examinations undertaken by the Animal Health Trust (AHT, ECVO, ISDS, etc) in addition to those of the KC/BVA; specialist certified eye examinations recognised by the FCI, the AKC and by all overseas kennel clubs with which the KC has reciprocal agreements; On KC registration certificates – the current eye status of the dog as evidenced by the certificated results of specialist eye examinations undertaken by the KC/BVA, Animal Health Trust (AHT, ECVO, ISDS, etc); specialist certified eye examinations recognised by the FCI; specialist certified eye test recognised by the AKC or by overseas kennel clubs with which the KC has reciprocal agreements; On KC puppy registration certificates – the eye status of sire and dam (identifiable by microchip/tattoo) as evidenced by the current data provided by the KC/BVA, AHT, ISDS, ECVO in the UK or by the current specialist eye certificates issued by overseas authorities recognised by the FCI, AKC or kennel clubs with which the KC has reciprocal agreements; With the exception of KC/BVA certificates, the onus will be on the owner/breeder to provide the KC with copies of the current and relevant certificates provided by the AHT, by the FCI, AKC or by overseas kennel clubs in reciprocal agreement with the KC for identifiable (microchip/tattoo) dogs. “I had the backing of three breed clubs last year but I was asked to drop it and I agreed,” Mrs Knapper-Weijland said. “I was told that the whole of the General Committee was against it. In hindsight (dropping it) was a big mistake. “This time I reworded it, and I have had quite a few calls from people who want to second the proposal, and I think that’s very good. The KC has to accept that if it wants to be seen to be encouraging dogs to be fit for function etc... “It’s interesting that this year I got no phone calls (from the KC). Perhaps they now agree with it or heard that I was quite hurt that I had so many calls from them pleading with me to drop it.” Rosemary Wilcock has had a proposal included which would change the way in which honorary life members are elected. The current rule, with Miss Wilcock’s proposed deletions in bold and inclusions underlined, is: “A person may be elected an honorary life member of the club at a general meeting on the recommendation of the General Committee (‘A member who has paid his subscription for 40 or more years may be proposed as an honorary life member by any member of the club (subscriptions paid to the former Ladies Branch shall be counted for the purpose of this rule) or of an ordinary member. Notice of a proposal to elect an honorary life member must appear on the agenda of a general meeting together with a brief rationale – eg longevity of membership, significant contributions made to the world of dogs, etc – of factors underpinning the proposal. Honorary life members shall have the rights and privileges of membership but shall not be liable to pay subscriptions’. Another source suggested that some prominent members – including two who had been on the General Committee – had been denied the honorary accolade without reason being given, and that there had been other occasions when members had suggested names which had been rejected out of hand. Mrs Kisko said: “We do not believe it is right to discuss the KC AGM agenda in advance of the meeting and thus pre-empt in any way the right of members to express their own views at the meeting, so we do not intend to comment on individual issues in advance of the meeting.” In recent years, it has been necessary to crack on with the AGM’s business, as the Curzon Street Cinema in London in which it has been held has been booked only for the morning. Perhaps anticipating a more lengthy meeting it appears that it has been booked for longer this time, as on the front of the agenda it states, ‘Due to the number of items on the agenda, we would like to make all members aware that a short break for lunch may be required so that the meeting can be resumed in the afternoon. If, however, it seems likely that the meeting will be concluded in reasonable time, then we will continue and take a late lunch’. The sub-text could be that for those who relish the leisurely lunch in the KC’s restaurant, it would be prudent to move swiftly through the agenda. Go To Top Of Page Cavalier Breeder's Complaint Bid Fails Dave Moger a Cavalier breeder who has spent nearly two years pursuing his complaint against Pedigree Dogs Exposed has heard that once again his grievances have not been upheld. Mr Moger of the Gayhalo Cavaliers, King Charles and Japanese Chins has protested to every layer of the BBC’s complaint and appeals process until it reached the corporation’s governing body only to see it overturned once again. This final ruling has come from the BBC Trust, which is viewed as the corporation’s highest ‘court’. Mr Moger is health representative of the South and West Wales Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, and his partner Sandra Ireland is chairman and health representative of the West of England Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club. Mr Moger said; “I don’t think I have anything further to say about it. I have an opinion about the BBC now, having been through five layers of their complaints process, and now for the goodness of my health and sanity I’m just going to leave it alone. I took a stance for the breed, specifically over syringomyelia (SM) – none of the rest of it; that’s what my complaint was about.” Shocking Immediately after the programme aired in August 2008 Mr Moger contacted the BBC to lodge a complaint. The executive producer replied saying that while the programme’s contents were shocking, everything said in the film was factually accurate. The following month Mr Moger wrote to the BBC’s editorial complaints saying that parts of the programme which dealt with Cavaliers were ‘not factual but loosely connected, sensational statements which when connected made it appear that Cavalier breeders had deliberately bred dogs with ‘size ten brains in size six skulls’, a reference to SM. He said the comment that breeders created dogs with oversized brains was sensationalism. And among other things he alleged that there was no scientific proof to substantiate some of the claims made by the programme. He also said there was little or no scientific proof to back the programme’s claim that 30 per cent of Cavaliers could be affected by SM, that it caused scratching, or that SM was a genetic disease, and that no scientists had claimed it was caused by inbreeding. Again his complaints were not upheld. After delays, including a wait while Ofcom ruled on the Kennel Club’s and others’ complaints about the programme, in December Mr Moger appealed to the BBC’s editorial standards committee reiterating his previous complaints and lodging others, for instance that breeders knowingly bred affected dogs. He also complained that the programme had been unfair in that it relied too heavily on the views of one expert and that it had been unfairly made and edited because the programme maker was not impartial. Last week the committee made a final ruling on behalf of the BBC. It did not uphold the complaint and concluded that: With regard to accuracy, it was clear the claim that a third of Cavaliers could be affected by SM was the view of the vet featured in the programme and not a proven fact; Data on the incidence of the disease was inconclusive and this had been stated in the programme; The vet featured in the programme was sufficiently expert in the disease to express a view and this was not a breach of the accuracy guidelines; While the cause of SM was unknown there was a broad consensus that inbreeding played a role in spreading the disease. The views of a number of well-qualified experts in their scientific fields interviewed in the programme had supported the overall argument of the programme about the relationship between breeding practices and the health problems of pedigree dogs. The programme had demonstrated its content was well sourced and based on sound evidence, and that there was no breach of the accuracy guidelines with regard to the way the programme had dealt with the relationship between breeding practices and the health problems of pedigree dogs. The programme made the allegation regarding knowingly breeding affected dogs about a single breeder only. There was evidence to support the allegation that a breeder’s dog had the syndrome but had been used at stud regardless, and that other breeders had been aware of this situation; The facts had been cross-checked by the programme team and that there had been no breach of the accuracy guidelines. Impartiality In regard to impartiality, the editorial standards committee found that: Contrary to the claim, one particular vet had not been over-used in the programme and that other scientific experts had been interviewed as well. The credentials of the vet in question as an expert in the field were sound and that in reporting her views the programme had not breached the guidelines on impartiality or accuracy. Any charge of a failure of due impartiality would be assessed in relation to the content of the programme and not in relation to the alleged opinions of the programme maker. The complainant had produced no evidence that the programme maker’s experience as an owner of pedigree dogs had caused bias in the programme. The purpose of the programme was to investigate health problems in pedigree dogs and not to tell the general story of a particular breed. The guidelines on impartiality allow programme makers to report on a specific aspect of an issue or provide an opportunity for a single view to be expressed as long as in doing so opposing views are not misrepresented. There had not been a breach of the guidelines on impartiality. Pedigree Dogs Exposed’s writer and producer, Jemima Harrison, said: “I am really pleased with the finding, which is a very robust defence of the film’s accuracy and impartiality.” SUCCESSFUL FIRST MEETING WITH GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG REPRESENTATIVES HELD The first meeting between the Kennel Club and representatives from those German Shepherd Dog Breed Clubs which signed the Kennel Club Undertaking was held on Friday 30th April at the Kennel Club. Representatives of 14 breed clubs and the GSD Breed Council attended a very positive and informative day focused on the future development of the breed. The morning session, led by Kennel Club Vice Chairman Bill Hardaway, saw discussion of key areas such as ‘double handling’ and how this is to be managed at shows. The importance of effective and appropriate judges’ education was also explored in detail with a presentation by Gerald King and Gary Gray. Both presentations were well received and attracted active and constructive debate on all aspects, resulting in the achievement of a consensus on the way forward. In the afternoon, Professor Mike Herrtage gave a very well received and informative presentation on canine conformation and movement as it relates to the German Shepherd Dog. Much common ground was established in the crucial area of ensuring absolute soundness in the breed. Some key action points were agreed at the meeting. Firstly, the Kennel Club will continue to work with the representatives to establish and improve a judges’ education programme to be put into action as soon as possible. Secondly, a further meeting will be held to discuss: Mandatory health testing Development of new specific tests for the breed Health testing The Accredited Breeder Scheme Bill Hardaway commented after the meeting: “The representatives are to be congratulated onachieving a very positive and successful day. Many viewpoints were aired in a constructive and positive way, which resulted in an interesting and informative meeting. I was very pleased that the Kennel Club was able to give re-assurance to those who were concerned as to how to deal with potentially difficult situations. Also, I am hopeful that there is now a significant degree of trust in the motives and intentions of the Kennel Club. I believe that, if we can keep the momentum going, progress can be made for the good of the breed.” IRVING OFFERS AN OLIVE BRANCH Intimidation And Vendetta Have not Reined Every Club In. The Kennel Club Chairman has asked the German Shepherd Dog League of GB to reconsider its decision not to sign its official ‘undertaking’. Chairman Ronnie Irving said it was time ‘to put acrimony behind us’. After reading details of the League’s plans in last week’s DOG WORLD, the KC said it believes that both groups want the same thing. “By issuing these statements it would seem to us that the League has now accepted the major matters of principle proposed in the KC undertaking,” a spokesman said. “We would, therefore, invite the League to consider reviewing its decision against signing the undertaking, thus enabling it to again be eligible, along with the other 21 clubs who have signed up, to receive CCs in 2012 and beyond and, just as importantly, to work with these other clubs and the KC for the future benefit of the breed. In his ‘From the chairman’ piece in the forthcoming May Kennel Gazette, Mr Irving said that ‘more than two-thirds’ of the breed clubs had made themselves eligible for CCs by signing the undertaking and recognising ‘that hindquarters in the breed do need to be tackled’. “Let me assure those who have accepted that the problem exists that the KC will now work hard with them to try to find ways of solving it,” he has written. “As a first step in this process, a meeting will be held to identify the source of the problem and obtain a consensus on the way forward.” Continuing on he said: “A very vocal minority of show GSD people have decided to bury their heads in the sand and they purport to talk for the majority. But the majority has now decided not to go on letting this happen. “Let me repeat to those who have accepted that the problem exists, that the KC will now work hard with them to try to find ways of solving it. The German Way “The minority has decided to relinquish their CCs and that is their prerogative. They have chosen the German route of demanding that dogs are health tested before being allowed to be shown, while the KC believes that health testing should be applied to breeding decisions and that shows and judges should then in their turn be used to tackle visible health and conformation issues such as poor hocks and hindquarters...” Mr Irving said the KC would work with the clubs ‘to try to improve things’. “We must now put the acrimony behind us and think of the future,” he wrote. “The first requirement in solving any problem is recognising and accepting that the problem exists. That is where the KC and the 21 breed clubs who have signed the undertaking have the advantage. “That step is the start of a programme on which we must now move forward together. It is just a pity that the few dissenting clubs have chosen to exclude themselves from taking part in this work. “Let us hope that, overall, the beneficiary will be the German Shepherd Dog and that it will soon regain its previously highly-respected public acclaim.” League chairman Nikki Farley declined to respond to the KC’s statements. “We have no intentions of entering into talks with the KC via the media,” she said. “We have always wished that discussions between us and the KC could be carried out in a normal manner, where people sit and voice their concerns in a sensible forum. “We are still waiting to hear from the KC so we can continue the discussions which started in November 2008 concerning all these issues.” THE KENNEL CLUB URGES BREED RESCUES TO JOIN THE ASSOCIATION OF DOGS AND CATS HOMES The Kennel Club is urging breed rescue organisations and re-homing shelters to join the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH). The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has helped to improve the standard of care for rescued dogs and cats and historically, as a full member of the ADCH, the Kennel Club has represented the interests of breed rescue organisations. However, the ADCH is now introducing a new category of Associate Membership to enable even more charities to benefit from its membership. It is particularly important for breed rescue organisations to join the ADCH if they want to apply for a grant from this year’s Pedigree® Adoption Drive™, as only ADCH members will be eligible to apply for grants. Last year over 100 UK-based rescue organisations benefited from Adoption Drive™ grants, totalling in excess of £450,000. Caroline Kisko, Communications Director of the Kennel Club, said: “To be eligible for grants from this year’s Pedigree® Adoption Drive™, breed rescue organisations need to join the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes. “We want as many dog rescue organisations to benefit from the support and advice of the ADCH as well as having the opportunity to apply for a grant through the Pedigree® Adoption Drive™. We strongly encourage breed rescues to become Associate Members.” For a membership fee of £25 per annum, Associate members will benefit from access to the ADCH Forum, which provides members with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience and provide mutual support. Associate members will also be able to attend meetings where specific topics are discussed with professionals in their field, and glean advice from top UK experts. Breed rescue organisations who would like to apply for Associate Membership of ADCH should visit: www.adch.org.uk For further details of this year’s Adoption Drive™ visit: www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.com. The Association of British Dog Homes was founded in 1985 by Mr Tom Field-Fisher who at the time was the Chairman of the Committee of the Dogs Home Battersea. Through the Association, members would exchange ideas and information about the collection, shelter and re-homing of lost and unwanted dogs. In 1999 the Association changed its name to the Association of Dogs & Cats Homes (ADCH) due to the large proportion of members who were also dealing with the welfare of cats. Since its foundation, it has grown immensely and now has four very productive meetings a year and an annual conference for its members and staff. Go To Top Of Page Twenty One GSD Clubs Will Meet KC At Clarges Street A meeting is to be held at the Kennel Club with representatives of the 21 German Shepherd clubs who have signed its undertaking. The meeting will take place next Friday at the KC’s London offices. Two people from each club have been invited in addition to representatives of the breed council and Brian Wootton, the KC’s breed liaison representative. Speakers will be Mike Herrtage, professor of small animal medicine at Cambridge University and dean of Cambridge Veterinary School; KC vice-chairman Bill Hardaway, Gerald King, chairman of the KC’s training board; and GSD breeder and judge Gary Gray. “It will be a full day meeting covering canine conformation and movement as it relates to the GSD and a presentation on the education of judges,” said a KC spokeman. “There will also be plenty of opportunity for discussion between the delegates and speakers. Cohesive Actions To Improve Soundness “It is intended that this will be the first of a number of meetings/seminars with the aim of putting in place sensible, effective and cohesive actions to address and improve soundness in the GSD.” Meanwhile, the German Shepherd League of GB is holding a review of its strategy, aims and objectives. “Times have changed, and the League must change with them by confirming and demonstrating our commitment to both the KC and the WUSV,” a statement from the League said this week. The League’s council is considering the creation of the title League/World Union of German Shepherd Dogs (WUSV) champion, which could be gained at such events. “We are making considerable progress on this important matter, and we also recognise this will have considerable attraction for GSD exhibitors, and for clubs which will host these events,” the statement said. The League also hopes that ‘meaningful dialogue and progress’ can be made with the KC. “To this end we will continue to play our part, both as a national GSD club and alongside all other GSD breed clubs,” the statement said. The ‘fundamental principle’ of incremental mandatory health tests had proved unacceptable to the KC, it continued. “When the discussions with the KC ended it became obvious that another approach had to be developed and introduced for the future health and welfare of our breed here in the UK... “The League had hoped that moves would be made by the KC towards imposing mandatory health tests. The most significant progress was made when the British Sieger event, based on WUSV rules and regulations, was introduced five years ago and held annually since then. This included identification and health screening requirements, as well as appropriate working qualifications for entry into the working classes... “When discussions with the KC failed to achieve any meaningful progress, our attention turned to GSD events based on WUSV rules and regulations, as a proven template for progressing improvements to the health and welfare of our breed. “The League, as a member of the WUSV for about 40 years, has seen the progression of the WUSV philosophy of continual mandatory health checks supported by major research into hereditary diseases, their breeding and working qualifications and their detailed attention to the GSD as a whole.” It continued: “We are in the unique position of being able to organise GSDL/WUSV GSD events and fall into line with the SV/WUSV breed Standard (which is also the FCI breed Standard) for all GSDL/WUSV events. “We need to make it very clear, the League, as a KC-licensed breed club, fully recognises its responsibility to the KC. All shows and events organised under a KC license will strictly adhere to the KC’s rules and regulations, and judges at breed shows will be expected to judge under the KC breed Standard. “The League recognises the need to identify all aspects of conformation in our breed in Great Britain, some of which have strayed to an unacceptable degree from the WUSV/SV breed Standard. Such deviation will require the particular attention of our judges at all GSDL/WUSV events and KC shows.” The League also intends to give particular attention to ‘unsoundness of hindquarters/looseness in hocks’ and ‘oversize’. “We are aware that these two faults need to be addressed here and we intend to monitor the opinions of the SV and our judges in respect of any breed fault which may appear at an unacceptable level of frequency at our GSDL/WUSV events and KC shows,” the statement said. “The League will take necessary steps to correct any apparent developing departure from our GSD breed Standard, particularly if the health and welfare of our GSD breed is considered at risk. “We will continually monitor information relating to the health and welfare of our breed, paying particular attention to new health screening tests as and when they become available. We fully intend to liaise both with the KC and the WUSV on such matters. “We will be equally concerned about apparent visible defects as well as the less apparent invisible defects in our breed. Unsoundness in the hindquarters as well as hip dysplasia are two clear examples of what we mean by this statement.” The League is to hold a judges’ seminar to promote its ‘health and wellbeing’ policy. Go To Top Of Page Warning From Former Chairman The Dangerous Dogs Reform Group's former chairman has warned that repealing the current legislation might not be in the interests of animal welfare. The Government is currently holding a public consultation on what action should be taken with regard to dangerous dogs, and has proposed various options including repealing the Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act 1997. The problem with this course of action is that the 1991 Act made it mandatory that dogs of banned breeds be put to sleep, whereas the amendment to the Act in 1997 gave courts the option of taking other action, such as, if the dog was no danger to the public, adding its name to the index of exempted animals. Prohibited dogs Vet Paul DeVile, who was chairman of the Reform Group and is vice-president of Dogs Trust, said that repealing the 1997 Act without repealing the 1991 version would reinstate compulsory destruction and prevent any more prohibited dogs being registered on the index. “This was the whole purpose of the amendment, which was drawn up in the interests of animal welfare,” he said. Mr DeVile’s Reform Group drew up alternative legislation – the Dog Control Bill – which repealed both Acts. It said that if a dog owner was charged under section 1 the court could allow the owner to register their dog, providing it was satisfied that the dog did not constitute a general danger and, if the dog was born before November 1991, that the owner had a good reason for not having registered it before this date. In cases where a destruction order was placed on a dog before the amendments were introduced the destruction order would no longer have effect. The case should be returned to court for the magistrate to consider whether or not to exercise discretion. However, the emphasis would remain on destruction. The Bill also said that if a dog owner was charged under section 3, the court could exercise discretion as long as it was satisfied that the dog did not constitute a general danger to the public. Writing recently in the Veterinary Record, Mr DeVile said that the Dangerous Dogs Reform Group met in the House of Commons and included several members of both Houses of Parliament, representatives of animal welfare groups, the KC, the Metropolitan Police and the British Veterinary Association. “The group was formed to combat the iniquities of the 1991 dangerous Dogs Act, passed as a knee-jerk reaction by Parliament and drawn up by the Home Secretary at the time, Kenneth Baker,” he wrote. “In particular, the group targeted the mandatory destruction of dogs seized by the police whose owners were prosecuted for owning, after November 1991, one of the proscribed breeds, including ‘the type known as the pit bull terrier’ with all the problems of breed identification that the clause engendered. “Thanks to the good offices of MP Roger Gale, the Amendment Bill was accepted by Parliament on the very day the House of Commons was dissolved before the 1997 General Election. I see now that DEFRA is proposing among other things to repeal the 1997 Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act. I would remind (DEFRA) that the Amendment Act was driven entirely in the interests of animal welfare, and to repeal the Amendment Act without repealing the 1991 Act is not within the interests of animal welfare, which DEFRA is alleged to protect. “I quite accept that the increase in dogs obtained and trained for criminal purposes is a worrying trend that needs to be addressed, but the proposed repeal of the Amendment Act is not the way to go about it.” Needlessly Destroyed Dog law expert Trevor Cooper agreed. “If the Government repeals the 1997 Amendment without repealing section 1 we would be going back in time from 1991 to 1997 when so many dogs were needlessly destroyed,” he said. “Although that is one possible option from this consultation exercise, I hope that once DEFRA considers the full facts it will be apparent that this would not be a sensible way forward. “The 1997 Amendment allows the courts to let a prohibited type of dog live provided it isn’t a danger to public safety. To destroy a dog even though a court has found it is not a danger to public safety would be perverse.” The Government’s public consultation document on dangerous dogs suggests various options: • An extension of criminal law (ie section 3 of the 1991 Act) to all places including private property. This would mean that dogs could be accused of being dangerously out of control in their own homes; • Additions or amendments to (including possible repeal of) section 1 – concerning the breed of dog – of the 1991 Act; • Repeal of the 1997 Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act to prevent any more dogs being added to the index of exempted dogs. Other options for consideration are: • The introduction of dog control notices; • Requirement that all dogs are covered by third-party insurance, and that all dogs and puppies are microchipped; • More effective enforcement of the existing law, including a consolidation of existing statutes into one new updated Act. It is important that people give their views before June 1. It is a fairly simple process through DEFRA’s website at www.defra.gov.uk; click on ‘wildlife and pets’ and then on ‘dangerous dogs’. Go To Top Of Page MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM GERMAN SHEPHERD BREED CLUBS Now that the deadline for receipt of the signed Undertakings from those clubs wishing to be considered for 2012 CCs has passed, a meeting with representatives from those clubs which signed the Undertaking has been planned for Friday 30th April 2010 at the Kennel Club. The Kennel Club has invited two representatives from each of the 21 breed clubs which signed the Undertaking, along with representatives from the GSD Breed Council and Mr Brian Wootton, the KC Breed Liaison representative. It will be a full day meeting covering canine conformation and movement as it relates to the German Shepherd Dog and a presentation on the education of judges. There will also be plenty of opportunity for discussion between the delegates and speakers. The speakers will be; § Mike Herrtage, Professor of Small Animal Medicine at Cambridge University and Dean of Cambridge Veterinary School § Bill Hardaway, Vice Chairman of the Kennel Club § Gerald King, Chairman of the Kennel Club Training Board § Gary Gray, Breeder, Judge & breed enthusiast It is intended that this will be the first of a number of meetings/seminars with the aim of putting in place sensible, effective and cohesive actions to address and improve soundness in the GSD. Jemima Harrison In The Frame? A Chairperson is being sought for the advisory council which will provide advice on dog breeding. Three separate enquiries in the last 18 months – by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, the RSPCA, and Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s, funded by the Kennel Club/Dogs Trust - have recommended the creation of such a council to provide advice regarding the welfare issues of dog breeding. In February a consortium of organisations concerned with the welfare of dogs formed a ‘review board’ to take forward the key recommendations of the three enquiries, their unanimous view was that the most important first step was the formation of the independent advisory council. Applications are now being sought for the post of founding chairman of the council. The successful candidate will have an ‘unparalleled opportunity’ to influence the future welfare of dogs and to spearhead the provision of advice given, so as to achieve major improvements in the welfare impact of dog breeding. Sir Patrick said today: “The health and welfare problems caused by dog breeding were first identified more than 40 years ago. We know the problems and we can find the solutions. Advances in science are improving our understanding of the issues and the potential solutions daily. “The appointment of the first chairman for this council is critical and he or she will play a key role in developing a strategy for resolving the problems and making a step change in the quality of life for millions of dogs.” The organisations forming the review board are the British Small Animals Veterinary Association, the Blue Cross, the British Veterinary Association, the Companion Animal Welfare Council, DEFRA, Dogs Trust, the Kennel Club, PDSA, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, RSPCA, Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly. The deadline for applications is May 14 and interviews will be held on June 14 in Cambridge and June 16 and 17 in London Go To Top Of Page VETS ISSUE ADVICE TO PET OWNERS ON VOLCANIC ASH Following the Health Protection Agency’s advice to the public on the possible health effects of the Icelandic volcanic ash reaching ground level, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has issued some simple advice to pet owners in the UK. The HPA has suggested that people who experience symptoms such as itchy or irritated eyes, runny nose, sore throat or dry cough and those who notice a dusty haze in the air or smell sulphur, rotten eggs, or a strong acidic smell, may wish to limit their activities outdoors or return indoors. The HPA also suggests that people with respiratory problems may notice the effects more than others. The HPA stresses that the concentration of particles which may reach ground level is likely to be low and should not cause serious harm The BVA advice to pet owners is: - if you notice any symptoms or smell sulphur, rotten eggs or a strong acidic smell take reasonable action to protect your pets by limiting their time outdoors; - any pets with respiratory problems should be well protected from the atmosphere; - cover outdoor aviaries to protect birds; and - find suitable shelter for any pets that usually live outdoors. Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: “At this stage we don’t know for certain what the impact of the volcanic ash on human and animal health will be but we know that dusty particles can cause irritation to eyes and the respiratory system so it makes sense for everyone to take sensible precautions for themselves and their pets. “Pet owners should limit the amount of time that they and their animals spend outside if they detect the ash and consult a vet if they have any concerns about the health of their pets.” The Health Protection Agency is monitoring the situation and providing advice to the public. For more information visit the HPA website: www.hpa.org.uk Go To Top Of Page Conflict With KC Heralds Bright Future For German Shepherd Clubs In a letter to the KC’s executive – canine activities Kathryn Symns, acting chairman Nikki Farley said the League still intended to hold its championship show and possibly other events that year ‘strictly adhering to KC rules’. However, the League has disclosed that it has organised its first event under World Union of German Shepherd Dogs (WUSV) rules. The 12-class ‘regional event’ will take place on April 25 in Markfield, Leicestershire, with judges Dirk Gabriel and Terry Hannan. It is labelled as ‘the only dog show in the UK to actively promote health-tested dogs’. Its literature states, ‘All dogs over the age of 18 months will have been hip screened; all males are required to be clear of haemophilia; all dogs over two years will have been assessed by a breed specialist to be sound in both body and mind’. Breed clubs and societies were told in January they would have to agree to the undertaking before they would receive 2012 CCs. One particularly unpopular clause is one which insists that clubs do not run any events under the rules or regulations of any organisation other than the KC without the KC’s permission. Unsoundness Clubs must also agree ‘that there is a degree of unsoundness in the hindquarters of the breed and in particular in the hocks of some dogs and that these problems are to be penalised at shows’. The British Association of German Shepherd Dogs has agreed to sign but, as already reported, many feel that the Association – and many other clubs – have done so because they value their obedience CCs so highly. Shortly before the deadline the League’s Mrs Farley wrote to the KC: “We had hoped that there would be some central ground upon which discussion could take place, but after all attempts by the GSD Partnership it failed to achieve another meeting with the KC, and all further negotiation appeared to take place only through the media and our letter to you dated December 2009. “We received no reply other than an acknowledgement of receipt and it was decided that there was no other option but to take this stance. “Our membership decided that the health of our breed should be paramount in everything that is required both in showing and breeding, and that is an area which we appear to have difficulty reconciling with those requirements asked for by the KC. “We have long advocated for our members that all animals should be identifiable through tattoo or microchip and that any health test has no relevance if the animal cannot be identified, an area which the British Veterinary Association has now covered. We also feel that DNA testing for parentage should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to ensure accuracy of pedigrees for future generations. “We have also for a long time advocated that all animals should be health tested before breeding, an area still to be covered by the KC even in its own flagship the Accredited Breeder Scheme.” “One part of the undertaking our members found abhorrent was having asked, what in our opinion are top specialist judges, to judge our shows we were then expected to tell them how to judge. This was highlighted most emphatically in the last few weeks where trial by television took place on not only our best of breed winner at Crufts but the judge – appointed by yourselves – who gave him this award. “This should never have been allowed to happen and we hope that a full and unconditional apology will be sent to both the dog’s owner and breeder and the judge Robert Kinsey. It should be accompanied by an apology to one of our senior citizen members who was asked to remove herself and her puppy from not only the display team she was asked to work in but the show itself. “It was humiliation in the extreme. “We will continue to hold events under the rules and regulations of the WUSV in order to promote healthy German Shepherds both in show and work, which we feel are of more importance and mean more than a CC which can be awarded to any animal whether or not it has had any health checks or even had them and received poor results. We also consider that the awarding of CCs to puppies can only have a detrimental influence on our late developing breed. “We do however feel that there is still room for discussion on the way forward for our breed, the German Shepherd Dog, and would always be willing to talk to the KC in the future.” Ms Symns replied to Mrs Farley saying that 19 GSD clubs and most of the general championship shows had agreed to sign the KC’s undertaking – a few have not yet replied – and that the KC would be ‘working with these clubs to go forward to protect the interests of the majority of the GSD breed in the UK’. “We would not normally wish to engage in further protracted correspondence with you on this matter except to say that, in the interest of the GSD breed, we of course regret that you have made this decision,” Ms Symns wrote. “On this occasion, in view of some of the detailed comments in your letter, we feel that we must respond.” She said the KC had noted that the League intended to adhere to KC rules at its KC championship show, and its complaint that the GSD Partnership had not had a meeting with the KC and there was no response to the League’s letter. “In fact, the reason for the former was the failure of the Partnership to accept issues previously agreed and recorded in the minutes of our previous meeting,” Ms Symns wrote. “On the second point we believe that the issuing of our undertaking letters obviated and stood in place of any need for us to respond to your December 2009 letter. “The KC too is deeply committed to improving the health of all breeds and the difference between us on these issues is not large. We have consistently indicated how we wish to improve the uptake of health screening, identification etc. The major difference between us is that we believe that the poor hindquarters of many GSDs constitute a welfare hazard while you appear not to do so. “The paragraph above indicates why we are at odds with you on your contention that judges at your shows should not be required to recognise that there are hindquarter problems in the breed when judging. Lessons “We agree with your comment that the More4 TV programme highlighted this difference between us, but we believe that the lesson to be learned from that happening is the opposite one to that which you have chosen to accept. Our view is that More4’s independent decision to criticise the conformation of the winning GSD at Crufts was symptomatic of the problem that the world at large recognises but that you do not. The KC will make no apology for something that happened on the More4 Crufts programme at the choice of More4 and its presenter. You must seek any apology for that from More4 and not from us. “The other issue of a young GSD being asked to leave the display was an independent decision taken by the show vet acting in his capacity as a vet, and we would not presume to interfere with that decision. Incidentally, the dog was only five months of age at the time and should not have been taking part in a display. “Finally we reject your comments that there should be different... rules on what should be required of show exhibits by way of pre-exhibition health tests and the banning of puppies from winning CCs. We believe that the show ring should be used to help promote the elimination of visible conditions by judges. We believe that it is within the area of the control of breeding practices that screening for non-visible conditions should be targeted. “It is that fundamental difference between us that we believe is the main reason why the general public has become so disenchanted with the GSD breed in the show ring – by simply looking at its current appearance. We believe that is the reason why registrations of GSDs declined by over 40 per cent in the 15 years to 2008 while overall KC registrations increased in the same period by over 15 per cent. “We are glad that you feel that there is ‘still room for discussion on the way forward’ for GSDs and we look forward to hearing your suggestions on the subjects where you think that there is likelihood of agreement between us.” The German Shepherd Dog Club of Devon is another which has decided not to sign. On its website, chairman James Apps has written: “At Crufts it became clear that most of the clubs which had signed had done so to protect their obedience CCs, and while at the show we had a glimpse of the future – the judge for GSDs had four stewards sitting at the side of the ring with clipboards making notes on his performance and apparently the soundness of each dog’s hindquarters. Singled out “The BOB at Crufts was Clokellys Lagos, owned and bred by Carol Keen, a member of our club. Lagos had been trained at our club since he was a puppy and we all knew him and his siblings well. He was a deserving winner and we were all very happy for Carol. This was short-lived, as on the Crufts programme … they showed slow motion footage of Lagos moving absolutely correctly...” He continued: “The KC has singled out the GSD from all of the breeds mentioned in Pedigree Dogs Exposed and has taken no action against other breeds such as the Cavalier and Boxers which have serious even life-threatening genetic problems. “In our opinion the KC wants to revert to the old Alsatian type with all its problems in health and temperament despite the Alsatian’s dwindling gene pool... at the expense of the German or international type which is recognised worldwide. The Alsatian is laughed at in Germany, the home of the breed, due to its swan neck, sagging back and over-angulation. Vendetta “The KC refuses to drop the incorrect name Alsatian from its name for our breed; it is German Shepherd Dog worldwide, not German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian).” Joe Summerhill of the GSD Partnership accused the KC of a vendetta. “It seems that the recent conflict between the KC and its soundness/type issue and the section of GSD Community intent on introducing mandatory health and working qualifications has reached an interesting and positive position for the GSD community,” he said. “The KC’s executives have been single-minded in pursuing a thinly-veiled vendetta against the international type of GSD and those who exhibit but have unwittingly created an alternative to showing at KC-licensed shows. This amazing lack of foresight and intellect by the KC has got it into a position it least wanted and created an alternative showing regime to the lamentable KC shows where champions who have no health test done whatsoever can be made up and are promoted for breeding totally uncontrolled – and in fact promoted by the KC with the issuing of Stud Book numbers. “The first of a series of shows totally outside the KC suppression is on April 25, and more are planned by GSD enthusiasts who will proudly show and declare their health-tested GSDs, letting the judge see the grades of pass for health tests, presenting where appropriate their hard-earned working qualifications, and competing against their peers on equal health terms. “The shows will be judged by international WUSV judges and British judges who are fully qualified through experience and rigorously tested by formal examination under the custodianship of the GSD League of GB supported by the WUSV. “This empowerment of a national breed club will no doubt set a precedent for other breeds totally dissatisfied at the KC’s current administration, lack of vision and flawed leadership... Even people in the margins of this conflict are seriously questioning the tactics of the KC, and other breeds are following developments with great interest... “The irony of it all is that healthy, international type GSDs can attend both the alternative shows and the KC shows, and the KC-promoted GSD can only attend one simply because they cannot meet the health and working criteria of the national breed club’s WUSV-style shows. Where does this put the KC’s ‘fitness for purpose’ initiative? “We will now see the emergence of the GSD League as the only national GSD club supported by regional breed clubs within a well-worn WUSV system. Ignored “So what of the GSD Partnership specifically formed to work with the KC and to introduce mandatory health testing for all KC registered GSDs? The KC has ignored its representation so far and successfully bypassed the breed council and gone direct to the 30-odd clubs to seek to impose its will... “The GSD League however has a sustainable vision and legacy left by Graham Stephens and a strong and harmonious committee of individuals fully involved in the breed with an ever-expanding membership and a will and a plan to make tomorrow’s GSD a healthier and more intelligent dog than the type the English KC executives want. The future of the GSD has never been brighter with the emergence of the GSD League as the national club for GSDs... . “Details of the April 25 show can be found at www.gsdleague.co.uk Other regional shows will follow during the year culminating in the British Sieger Show in September...” He concluded: “Unwittingly this has given a bright new dawn for healthy GSDs which will gather momentum until the national GSD breed club and its regional partners have total control on the direction of tomorrow’s GSD.” Go To Top Of Page Brief Biography Of Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen Crippen was born in Coldwater, Michigan, to Ardesee Skinner and Myron Augustus Crippen, a merchant. Crippen graduated from the Michigan School of Homeopathic Medicine in 1884 Crippen's first wife, Charlotte, died of a stroke in 1892, and Crippen entrusted his parents, now living in California, with the care of his two-year-old son, Hawley Otto. Crippen became a homeopathic doctor and started working for Dr. Munyon's, a homoeopathic pharmaceutical company. His second wife was Corrine "Cora" Turner (stage name: 'Belle Elmore'), born Kunigunde Mackamotski to a German mother and a Polish-Russian father. She was a would-be music hall singer who openly had affairs. In 1900 Crippen and his spouse moved to England. His US medical qualification was not sufficient to obtain a doctor's position in the UK. After living at various addresses in London, the couple finally moved to 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden Road, Holloway, London, where they took in lodgers to augment Crippen's meagre income. Murder After a party at their home on 31 January 1910, Cora disappeared. Hawley Crippen claimed that she had returned to the US, and later added that she had died, and had been cremated, in California. Meanwhile, his lover, Ethel "Le Neve" Neave (1883–1967), moved into Hilldrop Crescent and began openly wearing Cora's clothes and jewelery. The police were informed of Cora's disappearance by her friend, strongwoman Kate Williams, better known as Vulcana, but began to take the matter more seriously when approached by John Nash, the husband[clarification needed] and manager of Lil Hawthorne.[clarification needed] The house was searched, but nothing was found, and Crippen was interviewed by Chief Inspector Walter Dew. After the interview (and a quick search of the house), Dew was satisfied. However, Crippen and Le Neve did not know this and fled in panic to Brussels, where they spent the night at a hotel. The following day, they went to Antwerp and boarded the Canadian Pacific liner SS Montrose for Canada. Transatlantic arrest Inspector Walter Dew (extreme right) searching the garden at 39, Hilldrop CrescentTheir disappearance led the police at Scotland Yard to perform another three searches of the house. During the fourth and final search, they found the remains of a human body, buried under the brick floor of the basement. Sir Bernard Spilsbury found traces of the calming drug scopolamine. The corpse was identified by a piece of skin from its abdomen; the head, limbs, and skeleton were never recovered. Crippen and Le Neve fled across the Atlantic on the Montrose, with le Neve disguised as a boy. Captain Henry George Kendall recognised the fugitives and, just before steaming out of range of the land-based transmitters, had Telegraphist Lawrence Ernest Hughes send a wireless telegram to the British authorities: "Have strong suspicions that Crippen London cellar murderer and accomplice are among saloon passengers. Mustache taken off growing beard. Accomplice dressed as boy. Manner and build undoubtedly a girl." Had Crippen travelled 3rd class, he would have probably escaped Kendall's notice. Dew boarded a faster White Star liner, the SS Laurentic, arrived in Quebec, Canada ahead of Crippen, and contacted the Canadian authorities. As the Montrose entered the St. Lawrence River, Dew came aboard disguised as a pilot. Canada was then still a dominion within the British Empire. If Crippen, an American citizen, had sailed to the United States instead, even if he had been recognised, it would have taken an international arrest warrant followed by extradition proceedings to bring him to trial. Kendall invited Crippen to meet the pilots as they came aboard. Dew removed his pilot's cap and said, "Good morning, Dr Crippen. Do you know me? I'm Chief Inspector Dew from Scotland Yard." After a pause, Crippen replied, "Thank God it's over. The suspense has been too great. I couldn't stand it any longer." He then held out his wrists for the handcuffs. Crippen and le Neve were arrested on board the Montrose on 31 July 1910. Crippen was returned to England on board the SS Megantic. Go To Top Of Page The Kennel Club's ‘regret and concern’ at GSD treatment The Kennel Club has complained to the ITV about the way in which German Shepherds were treated during the TV programme The Door, which was shown over Easter. In the two-part show, celebrities competed against each other by undertaking bushtucker trial-type challenges. Hosting the show were Chris Tarrant and Amanda Holden. The first episode featured German Shepherd Dogs in cages. In a letter to ITV director of entertainment and comedy Elaine Bedell, KC secretary Caroline Kisko expressed ‘regret and deep concern’ about the way the dogs were treated. Distress “They were clearly experiencing distress as a direct result of being kept in very small cages, an alien environment and teased by the presence of raw meat outside their cages,” she wrote. “This resulted in them barking, pacing and showing other distinct signs of stress which would have been interpreted by many viewers as aggression. “Host Chris Tarrant went so far as to describe them as ‘rancid’ in an interview about the programme. “This has served to send out a very negative image about the breeds that were featured on the programme, particularly German Shepherd Dogs, which is not at all representative of the true nature of the breed. “We hope that dogs will never be used in this way again on the programme, and would like an apology to be made to dog lovers and those within the breed who are worried about the welfare of the animals concerned and the negative impression that has been left of the breed as a result of the programme.” An ITV spokesman said: “The dogs featured in The Door were ones that are supplied for TV and film work and are used to being in a studio environment. They were supplied by a reputable company that the production company has used before and their wranglers were present on set throughout filming. “The contractor used is affiliated with Performing Animals Welfare Standards International. At no time did the dogs show any sign of discomfort. “This is an environment that they are used to being in and the dogs are trained to bark when they see people.” Dog Licences are ‘a tax on dog ownership’ At Odds With RSPCA The DogsTrust does not believe that a return to the dog licence would provide a welfare benefit for dogs, as the RSPCA has suggested. Last week the RSPCA said that a survey had shown there is ‘huge’ public backing for bringing back licences. Sixty-six per cent of those asked were in favour, the charity said, and a total of 76 per cent said that a licence would tackle a range of dog welfare problems such as puppy farms, strays, and stolen or abandoned animals. But Dogs Trust said it was very surprised that the RSPCA thought it could be beneficial to animal welfare. “A dog licence is simply a tax on dog ownership,” a spokesman said. “This view is extremely naïve; responsible owners might struggle to pay what is likely to be a punitive annual licence. Ineffective measure “The dog licence has also been shown to be an ineffective measure in the UK. In Northern Ireland, where the dog licence is still a requirement, only an estimated one-third of all dog owners currently have their dogs licensed. Northern Ireland still has the highest number of stray dogs per head of population of any region in the UK and the number of dogs put to sleep in the region represents a staggering 34 per cent of the total UK figure.” Dogs Trust is still in favour of compulsory microchipping and believes it is the most effective means of registration as well as identification of a dog. “Unlike the licence, which involves an annual fee, microchipping involves just a small one-off fee,” the spokesman said. “We offer microchipping at our centres for £10. The benefit to responsible owners and their dogs is therefore relatively cheap and effective. “Microchipping a dog reinforces the responsibilities of the owner under the Animal Welfare Act. The introduction of compulsory microchipping would allow stray dogs to be quickly returned to their owners, make easier the identification of owners who persistently allow their dogs to stray or cause nuisance, and make all puppies traceable to their breeder, helping to reduce the widespread problem of battery farming of dogs. Not In Favour The Kennel Club is not in favour of licences either. Spokesman Caroline Kisko said: “Some people believe that the solution to all the problems created by irresponsible dog ownership is the compulsory registration of dogs. “This view fails to take account of facts. Nine million motor vehicles out of a total of 34 million do not have road tax. The take-up of dog licensing in Northern Ireland is less than 50 per cent of the estimated dog population. The responsible dog owner, who has committed no offence against society, would be penalised in order to raise money to provide the means, other than the police force, to enforce the law that already exists and to educate the irresponsible dog owner. “Dog owners are currently paying, on dog food alone, a tax bill of £220,000,000 over and above their normal taxes. “We do however support the principle of permanent identification of dogs. Through all our activities and particularly through our Good Citizen Dog Scheme we seek to educate all dog owners to the benefits, both to themselves and to society, of responsible dog ownership.” The RSPCA said it would be submitting the results of its survey to the consultation on dangerous dog legislation launched recently by the Government. Urgent action Needed “We believe that a licence would be beneficial in addressing animal welfare concerns stemming from ‘over breeding to a lack of traceable ownership’,” a spokesman said. “The survey’s findings are backed by the results of Professor Bateson’s report into breeding which called for urgent action to be taken to safeguard animal welfare. “The income from licences should be ring-fenced and ploughed into services such as an effective local dog warden service which could make a real difference to both dogs and their owners at a local level. “An annual scheme would also help to ensure that contact details of owners are kept up-to-date so they can be reunited with their dog more easily if it is lost or stolen.” The RSPCA believes that there could be a reduction in the licence fee for more responsible owners ‘such as those who have their dogs neutered’. The survey was conducted by Reading University. Go To Top Of Page Irish government told commercial breeders should be supported Dog breeding that is done Commercially is worth a total of 300m Euros a year to the Irish economy and should be supported by the Government, not penalised, a parliamentary committee has been told. The secretary of the Canine Breeders of Ireland, David Hamilton (CBI), said that like other businesses it paid taxes, provided employment and contributed to the economy. However, unlike them, he said, it did not receive any state grants, although there was a strong case for the provision of such funds to help with exports, marketing, veterinary costs, and kennelling. He told the committee, which was holding hearings on the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill, that the CBI had more than 600 members and operated a strict code of ethics, insisting that those seeking to join must first have their kennels certified by a vet. “We are not puppy farmers,” he said, “and we find the term offensive. We detest animal cruelty.” On the legislation, he said they felt the proposed lead-in period of three months to allow breeders meet the new standards was much too short. The original working party had proposed 12 months, which was the minimum needed, he said. He described the registration fees proposed by Environment Minister John Gormley, which range from 1,000 euros to 3,000 euros for breeders with 100 to 200 bitches, as ‘the highest in the world’. At A Disadvantage Fees in Northern Ireland were only a fraction of such amounts, which would put breeders from the Republic at a serious disadvantage in Irish and export markets. Mr Hamilton, who headed a three-member delegation, said the CBI also objected to the one-litter-a-year restriction, which he believed stemmed from ‘a lack of basic knowledge or veterinary advice’. It also felt that the proposed range of penalties, including six months’ imprisonment, was harsher than sentences given to muggers. At the meeting, Mr Hamilton appealed for a direct meeting with the minister, which he claimed has been denied so far. “We want to bring dog breeding out of the shadows and ensure it is recognised as a legitimate business,” he said. “It is vital that the minister listens to us so that the process can be done properly and the problem fixed once and for all.” Meanwhile, other pressures are piling up on the minister. Hundreds of demonstrators turned up at his Green Party annual conference to protest over his animal welfare agenda, including his refusal so far to exempt Greyhounds and hunt kennels from the scope of the new legislation. Some government backbenchers are threatening to vote down the bill unless changes are made. Go To Top Of Page Vets ‘Can Lead The Way’ With National Microchipping Month Petlog, the UK’s largest pet reunification service, will be outlining the importance of microchipping at their stand at the BSAVA conference from the 8th April at the ICC/NIA in Birmingham as National Microchipping Month approaches. The seventh annual National Microchipping Month, sponsored by Petlog, falls in June this year and is a unique opportunity for veterinary surgeons and nurses to highlight the benefits of permanent pet identification and the importance of aftercare service to their clients. Petlog is the UK’s largest microchip database, and this year celebrates 15 years of looking after pets and their owners. With over 4.3 million animals registered, Petlog takes this responsibility seriously and understands the need for both a reliable microchip and a robust, quality, customer focused aftercare service to support veterinary surgeons. Petlog has worked in conjunction with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to provide a set of guidelines which supports veterinary surgeons in using microchips, scanning and, occasionally, resolving ownership disputes. These can be found on the RCVS website www.rcvs.org.uk. Petlog also offers online registration through a new web portal and is working with the Vet Consortium on Vet XML – which will allow veterinary surgeons to register microchips straight from the practice almost instantly. Celia Walsom, Petlog executive, said: “Microchipping is a great way to bond clients to your practice – and when supported by the Petlog aftercare service you can be sure that you really do offer a ‘lifetime’ service. Petlog is an independent database and a not for profit service, and we look forward to meeting vets at the show – who can champion the benefits of microchipping to their clients.” Also available on the stand will be the Kennel Club’s Guide to Pedigree Dogs, sponsored by Royal Canin, available as a free handout that gives a guide and illustration of all breeds recognised by the Kennel Club in the UK which can go straight on the surgery wall. Go To Top Of Page RSPCA Welcomes Introduction of Animal Welfare Codes The RSPCA welcomes new government guidelines for pet owners on how to look after their dogs, cats, horses and primates, which come into force today. The welfare codes of practice have been introduced by the government in England to help make sure the needs and requirements of people’s pets are met. The charity has long backed the plans for the introduction of the codes in England to provide clear information to help owners protect animal welfare. Claire Robinson, government relations manager, said: “The RSPCA welcomes the introduction of the codes and hopes that they will make a great difference to help owners understand what their pets need. “The Society has been working closely with the government to develop the codes to ensure that they are appropriate, effective and workable and we think that they are succinct enough for owners to read and comprehend.” The RSPCA has been campaigning for a ban on keeping primates as pets which the charity believes would be the best way to protect these animals. However, in the absence of a ban, the Society supports the code as it provides a step in the right direction by helping people to appreciate how challenging it can be to look after primates properly. The RSPCA’s 300 inspectors will be using the codes on a regular basis to help in their day to day work throughout England. Separate welfare codes for dogs, cats, equines and rabbits are currently in operation in Wales. Whilst breaking the codes will not be an offence, the information in them can be used by a court to illustrate whether an owner was complying with the Animal Welfare Act. RSPCA superintendent Tim Minty said: "The codes will first and foremost be an invaluable educational tool for everyone involved in animal welfare but they will also play a vital role to help RSPCA inspectors identify any problems of neglect or cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act. Inspectors will be able to properly measure the welfare of an animal against specific guidelines so that they can accurately assess whether an animal's needs are being properly met. The codes will also help inspectors to advise the person responsible for the animal on how to look after their pet so the RSPCA and owners can work together to make sure the animals are happy and healthy." The RSPCA will continue to work with Defra to review the effectiveness of the codes. Anyone who would like advice on how they can best look after their pet can visit www.rspca.org.uk or call our non-emergency enquiries line on 0300 1234 555. The codes expand on existing legislation set out in the Animal Welfare Act. The advice falls into the following sections: · The need for a suitable environment · The need for a suitable diet · The need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns · The need to be housed with, or apart form, other animals · The need to be protected from pain, suffering injury and disease. Some of the requirements are: Cats: · Protect your cat from hazards while indoors and outdoors. · Make sure your cat eats a balanced diet which is suitable for its needs. · Make sure your cat is able to rest undisturbed when it wants to. · While you are away, make sure your cat is being looked after by someone responsible. · If you think your cat is in pain, ill or injured, contact a vet promptly and follow their advice regarding treatment. Dogs: · Provide your dog with somewhere it can go to avoid things that frighten it. · Dogs should be able to reach food and water easily in all situations. · Give your dog the exercise it needs, at least daily unless your vet recommends otherwise, to keep your dog fit, active and stimulated. · Make sure that your dog is never left alone long enough for it to become distressed. · You should carefully check your dog’s coat regularly and groom your dog, if necessary, to maintain a healthy coat. Horses: · Fields should be kept clear of dangerous objects and poisonous plants. · Water troughs and containers should be cleaned regularly to prevent the build up of algae and other debris. Any cleaning substance should not be toxic to horses. · Stabled horses should receive appropriate exercise daily, unless contrary to veterinary advice. · Horses prefer to live in social groups and ideally they should be socialised with members of their own species but, where this is not possible, other animals may be used to provide company. · Saddlery and harness should be correctly fitted, preferably by a qualified saddler or harness fitter. Primates: · Primates should not be considered as pets in the accepted sense of the word. · With few exceptions, primates should not be kept alone. They should be kept in groups large enough to allow them to express their full range of social behaviours · Indoor and outdoor accommodation should be provided. Natural daylight is important to aid the production of Vitamin D3 and to avoid the development of metabolic bone disease. · Primates need an environment that is stimulating but which allows them choice and control. · Varied environmental enrichment should be provided to avoid over-familiarity and prevent boredom. Go To Top Of Page Bulldog breeders withdraw ABS accolade bid after KC demands second inspection Two more accredited breeders have withdrawn their application to receive the accolade of excellence bestowed under the scheme after they were told it would involve another inspection. Chris Thomas and Graham Godfrey of the well-known Kingrock kennel – both Kennel Club members and international championship show judges – were dismayed when they heard that KC secretary Caroline Kisko and health and breeder services manager Bill Lambert wanted to look around their premises again. They had been inspected two and a half years ago when they were accepted as accredited breeders, and are visited annually by council officers because they are licensed breeders. Their main breed is the Bulldog and the KC has classified it as one of its high-profile breeds, those the KC considers have a greater potential for health problems – the others are Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Chow Chow, Clumber Spaniel, Dogue de Bordeaux, German Shepherd Dog, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Pekingese, Shar-Pei and St Bernard. Accredited breeders who have qualified for the three existing accolades under the scheme, received a successful visit from an accredited breeder advisor and who have bred five or more British champions in any discipline qualify to be considered for the accolade, their names must be put forward by a breed club. Mr Thomas and Mr Godfrey fulfil all the requirements, but baulked at the prospect of being inspected by someone who, in print at least, had been so critical of their breed. “Bill Lambert said that before deciding whether or not our kennel was suitable for an accolade of excellence, the KC’s Finance and General Purposes Committee felt there should be more investigation and that he and Caroline would be visiting all three Bulldog kennels put forward at the same time for a chat. I took it as an affront to our kennel, as we understand that for breeders from less high-profile breeds this would not be deemed necessary. Rightly or wrongly, Graham and I see this as yet more Bulldog bashing. “I asked Bill what he needed to see again that he didn’t view the first time and he said he just wanted to check paperwork. I said, ‘The same paperwork as you checked the first time?’. This he confirmed. He said he was sure I was doing the best I could for the breed with regard to health, and I told him I had been doing that for the past 35 years.” Until recently Mr Thomas was a member of the breed council’s health sub-committee and actively involved in running the health side of breed seminars. “I said he didn’t need to come up and inspect paperwork to find that out,” Mr Thomas continued. “I told him that personally I would feel uncomfortable about the visit because although Bill said Caroline was only the voice of the KC there have been a lot of articles inthe Dog Press where she has been critical of the breed and breed council, and as one of the four people who went to negotiate the change in the wording of the Standard with the KC I was a bit raw about Caroline deciding whether we were worthy of the accolade of excellence.” After discussing the matter with Mr Godfrey, Mr Thomas told Mr Lambert he no longer wanted to be considered for the accolade. “I rang him back and asked him to withdraw the application put in by the British Bulldog Club. He asked me to sleep on it but we felt even more incensed the next day. “It’s not an equal playing field, to pick on a particular kennel because of the breed they have. I said we could have applied as French Bulldog and Boston Terrier breeders in which we also qualify by the number of champions and he said it would have made no difference because we are known as Bulldog breeders and that is a high-profile breed. “I was keen to get the accolade as I thought it was just the thing the Accredited Breeder Scheme needed to give it credence and move it forward, an ideal way of drawing out more established kennels from the rest. We have more than double the number of champions needed. “We were inspected two or three years ago when we became accredited breeders and Bill was here for about two and a half hours. We are inspected every 12 months by the council because we are licensed breeders. There are a huge number of accredited breeders who haven’t been inspected at all, and they are finding time to inspect breeders like us twice!” Mr Lambert told DW that all nominations for the accolade of excellence were subject to approval by committee. “From time to time the committee may request additional information, and on occasions the simplest way to do this may be to undertake a further visit,” he said. “Quite often our breeder advisors are accompanied on visits, but this is only with the knowledge and agreement of the breeder.” To date, 20 nominations for the accolade have been received and a number of others are under consideration currently, he said. No nominations from breeders of the high-profile breeds have been refused. A spokesman for the KC said the accolade was ‘a very prestigious award designed to recognise excellence in every respect’. The KC Has A Responsibility “The KC has a responsibility to make absolutely sure that those who receive the award are outstanding in all areas, from their breeding experience right through to their commitment to dog health and welfare, and this may involve visiting potential candidates with these broad criteria in mind,” she said. “This is particularly important among those who are receiving awards in the high-profile breeds as it is these breeders’ exemplary standards which will help to lead the breeds forward to a healthier future.” British BC AGM At the British BC AGM the names of three kennels were proposed for the Accredited Breeder Scheme’s accolade of excellence, which is now up and running. Our understanding of the accolade is that it is open to breed clubs to nominate kennels they consider to have made a significant contribution to the breed and have fulfilled the set criteria – ie bred five or more UK champions, gained the three existing accolades and have had a successful inspection by the Kennel Club. Apparently this is not entirely accurate, as just having fulfilled the criteria is not in itself, a guarantee of acceptance. As owners of one of the kennels nominated, Graham and I were quietly confident as we had fulfilled the criteria. Having had a successful inspection by Bill Lambert, we could more than double the number of champions required and have the three existing accolades. In the first instance the list of nominated kennels in all breeds must go before the finance and general purposes committee, before being referred to the General Committee. When the F and GP committee met recently they decided that as our kennel is mainly involved in one of the high profile breeds – ie breeds that have come under attack from all sides during the last couple of years, they required more information on the kennels nominated by the British BC. It was therefore decided to visit these kennels for a second time, once again by Bill Lambert, but this time accompanied by KC secretary Caroline Kisko. Rightly or wrongly, Graham and I both see this as yet more Bulldog bashing, as those in other breeds have not been required to accept this extra visit. We have therefore requested that the KC withdraw our kennel from the list of those nominated as breeders of excellence – although we would just like to say how much we appreciate the British BC membership who supported our nomination at the AGM. The German Shepherd Dog League, The German Shepherd Dog Club Of Devon And The West Yorkshire German Shepherd Clubs All Refuse To Sign KC Contract The German Shepherd Dog League of GB, The German Shepherd Dog Club of Devon and the West Yorkshire German Shepherd Club have voted not to sign the Kennel Club's controversial contract. Therefore, from 2012 they will no longer be allocated CCs. In a letter to the KC, acting chairman Nikki Farley said the League still intended to hold its championship show that year 'strictly adhering to KC rules', and possibly other events. Breed clubs and societies were told in January they would have to agree to the undertaking before they would receive 2012 CCs. Earlier this week, the KC said that 14 of the 30 German Shepherd clubs had signed; the deadline by which it had to be returned was yesterday (Wednesday), and the KC had urged all clubs to sign it before then. The British Association of German Shepherd Dogs has agreed to sign, but Mrs Farley wrote to the KC: “We had hoped that there would be some central ground upon which discussion could take place, but after all attempts by the GSD Partnership it failed to achieve another meeting with the KC, and all further negotiation appeared to take place only through the media and our letter to you dated December 2009. “We received no reply other than an acknowledgement of receipt and it was decided that there was no other option but to take this stance. “Our membership decided that the health of our breed should be paramount in everything that is required both in showing and breeding, and that is an area which we appear to have difficulty reconciling with those requirements asked for by the KC. We have long advocated for our members that all animals should be identifiable through tattoo or microchip and that any health test has no relevance if the animal cannot be identified, an area which the British Veterinary Association has now covered. We also feel that DNA testing for parentage should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to ensure accuracy of pedigrees for future generations. “We have also for a long time advocated that all animals should be health tested before breeding an area still to be covered by the KC even in its own flagship the Accredited Breeder Scheme.” “One part of the undertaking our members found abhorrent was having asked what in our opinion are top specialist judges to judge our shows we were then expected to tell them how to judge. This was highlighted most emphatically in the last few weeks where trial by television took place on not only our best of breed winner at Crufts but the judge – appointed by yourselves – who gave him this award. This should never have been allowed to happen and we hope that a full and unconditional apology will be sent to both the dog’s owner and breeder and the judge Robert Kinsey. “It should also be accompanied by an apology to one of our senior citizen members who was asked to remove herself and her puppy from not only the display team she was asked to work in but the show itself. It was humiliation in the extreme. “We will continue to hold events under the rules and regulations of the WUSV in order to promote healthy German Shepherds both in show and work, which we feel are of more importance and mean more than a CC which can be awarded to any animal whether or not it has had any health checks or even had them and received poor results. We also consider that the awarding of CCs to puppies can only have a detrimental influence on our late developing breed. “We do however feel that there is still room for discussion on the way forward for our breed, the German Shepherd Dog, and would always be willing to talk to the KC in the future. Ms Symns wrote back to Mrs Farley saying that 19 GSD clubs and most of the general championship shows had agreed to sign the KC's undertaking – a few have not yet replied – and that the KC would be 'working with these clubs to go forward to protect the interests of the majority of the GSD breed in the UK'. “We would not normally wish to engage in further protracted correspondence with you on this matter except to say that, in the interest of the GSD breed, we of course regret that you have made this decision,” Ms Symns wrote. “On this occasion, in view of some of the detailed comments in your letter, we feel that we must respond.” She said the KC had noted that the League intended to adhere to KC rules at its KC championship show, and its complaint that the GSD Partnership had not had a meeting with the KC and there was no response to the League's letter. “In fact, the reason for the former was the failure of the Partnership to accept issues previously agreed and recorded in the minutes of our previous meeting,” Ms Symns wrote. “On the second point we believe that the issuing of our undertaking letters obviated and stood in place of any need for us to respond to your December 2009 letter. “The KC too is deeply committed to improving the health of all breeds and the difference between us on these issues is not large. We have consistently indicated how we wish to improve the uptake of health screening, identification etc. The major difference between us is that we believe that the poor hindquarters of many GSDs constitute a welfare hazard while you appear not to do so. “The paragraph above indicates why we are at odds with you on your contention that judges at your shows should not be required to recognise that there are hindquarter problems in the breed when judging. “We agree with your comment that the More4 TV programme highlighted this difference between us, but we believe that the lesson to be learned from that happening is the opposite one to that which you have chosen to accept. Our view is that More4’s independent decision to criticise the conformation of the winning GSD at Crufts was symptomatic of the problem that the world at large recognises, but that you do not. The KC will make no apology for something that happened on the More4 Crufts programme at the choice of More4 and its presenter. You must seek any apology for that from More4 and not from us. “The other issue of a young GSD being asked to leave the display was an independent decision taken by the show vet acting in his capacity as a vet and we would not presume to interfere with that decision. Incidentally, the dog was only five months of age at the time and should not have been taking part in a display. “Finally we reject your comments that there should be different rules on what should be required of show exhibits by way of pre-exhibition health tests and the banning of puppies from winning CCs. We believe that the show ring should be used to help promote the elimination of visible conditions by judges. We believe that it is within the area of the control of breeding practices that screening for non-visible conditions should be targeted. “It is that fundamental difference between us that we believe is the main reason why the general public has become so disenchanted with the GSD breed in the show ring – by simply looking at its current appearance. We believe that is the reason why registrations of GSDs declined by over 40 per cent in the 15 years to 2008, while overall KC registrations increased in the same period by over 15 per cent. “We are glad that you feel that there is 'still room for discussion on the way forward' for GSDs and we look forward to hearing your suggestions on the subjects where you think that there is likelihood of agreement between us.” Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB CONDEMS SHOCK COLLAR MANUFACTURERS After a milestone victory for dogs in Wales, the Kennel Club is disappointed to learn of the intention of the Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association to seek a Judicial Review on the Welsh Assembly Government’s decision to ban shock collars, which came into force last week. The National Assembly for Wales unanimously voted in favour of the regulations making the ban the first of its kind in the UK, and the first piece of secondary regulation to be introduced in Wales under the Animal Welfare Act. Kennel Club Communications Director, Caroline Kisko said: “The Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association is clutching at straws by challenging the Welsh Assembly Government’s decision. Research has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that aversive training techniques such as shock collars cause pain and fear for dogs. “The Kennel Club is contacted frequently by people with negative experiences with these devices and so there is no doubt in our minds that they must be banned. We have campaigned to ban the use of shock collars for four years in Wales and are delighted with the Assembly’s decision. “We will be continuing to fight for a ban on shock collars throughout the rest of the UK to ensure these cruel and unnecessary devices are outlawed.” The Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations 2010 came into force at 00.01 on Wednesday 24th March. For further information on the Kennel Club campaign to ban electric shock collars, contact the External Affairs department on 0844 463 3980 ext 301 or visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kccampaigns. Electric shock collars: worn around a dog’s neck, these work either via a remote control with various settings which, when activated, deliver an electric shock to the neck of a dog, or deliver an electric shock to a dog automatically when a dog barks or enters a pre-defined perimeter shock zone. Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, announced her intention to introduce legislation that would prohibit the use of shock collars in Wales in June 2008. A YouGov survey about electric shock collars, commissioned by the Kennel Club in 2009, found that 70% disapproved of the use of electric shock collars on dogs, with only 9% of people approving of their use. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1032 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22nd - 24th September 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Welsh adults (aged 18+). The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme is the largest dog training scheme in the UK. Its aim is to promote responsible dog ownership and in turn, enhance our relationship with our pets and to make the community aware of the benefits associated with responsible dog ownership. Go To Top Of Page THE KENNEL CLUB QUESTION TIME COMES TO DEVON The Kennel Club, organisers of the world's greatest dog show DFS Crufts, will be holding the latest instalment of its Question Time in Exeter on April 28th 2010, open to all with free admission. Held at the Best Western Lord Haldon Country House Hotel in Dunchideock near Exeter, the session offers the opportunity for anyone to air their views and question senior Kennel Club representatives on any issue affecting dogs and dog owners. Guests are invited to arrive at 6.15pm ahead of the event’s start at 7pm. There have been 18 Question Time events held throughout the UK to enable dog enthusiasts to ask any questions, share thoughts and ideas and encourage dialogue with the Kennel Club about how everyone can work together to promote dogs in a positive light. Panel members at the Question Time will include Ronnie Irving, KC Chairman, Bill Hardaway, Vice Chairman, Rosemary Smart, Chief Executive, Caroline Kisko, Secretary, Kathryn Symns, Canine Activities Team Executive and Bill Lambert, Health and Breeder Services Manager. The Question Time is a free event and tickets are available from Tracey Harris via [email protected] or by phone on 0844 4633 980 ext 281. To ensure that questions can be answered on the night, please submit them in advance to James Skinner via [email protected]. Poll shows 2 out of 3 dog owners back new dog licence -RSPCA calls for new dog registration scheme as survey shows overwhelming support - New figures revealed today show huge public backing for the introduction of a licence to tackle a range of dog welfare problems which plague the country. In a survey commissioned by the charity, 2 out of 3 dog owners (66%)* asked said that they would be in favour of a licence scheme. The RSPCA will be submitting these results in response to the consultation on dangerous dog legislation recently launched by the UK government. In addition, 76% of all the people asked said that a dog licence should be enforced in England to help curb problems such as ‘puppy farms’, stray dogs, stolen dogs and animal abandonments. The RSPCA believes that a licence would be hugely beneficial in addressing many animal welfare concerns stemming from overbreeding of dogs to a lack of traceable ownership. Reading University carried out research on behalf of the RSPCA and have released their findings which clearly show that an affordable and well-enforced dog licensing scheme could provide funding for a range of issues, most of which are currently funded poorly by central and local government. Professor Emeritus Martin Upton from Reading University’s school of agriculture, policy and development, said: "Our study into the potential costs and benefits of dog licencing and registration found that such a scheme could greatly contribute to responsible dog ownership and animal welfare.” The findings are also backed up by the results of the recent Bateson report into dog breeding which called for urgent action to be taken to safeguard animal welfare. Head of external affairs David Bowles said: “The RSPCA has been seriously considering a dog licence scheme as we feel it would provide an effective mechanism for tackling a whole raft of dog welfare problems. “The income should be ring-fenced and ploughed into services such as an effective local dog warden service which could make a real difference to both dogs and their owners at a local level. “An annual scheme would also help to ensure that contact details of owners are kept up to date so they can be reunited with their pet more easily if it is lost or stolen.” It is possible that a reduction in the licence fee could apply for more responsible dog owners such as those who have their pets neutered. Similar schemes operate in 23 countries throughout Europe and also in parts of Australia and New Zealand. They have proven success rates in reducing problems with disease, enforcing microchipping and neutering and in turn encouraging responsible pet ownership. The TNS poll commissioned by the RSPCA asked 1,017 adults between the ages of 16-64 in Great Britain in February 2010. The poll asked 334 dog owners and 683 non-dog owners for their views. *76% of the total people asked and 66% of dog owners asked are in favour of the reintroduction of a dog licence. A total of 771 people asked were in favour of a licence, 145 people asked were against it and 101 people asked did not know. The government’s plans would only effect legislation in England. The Welsh Assembly would be responsible for enforcing a policy in Wales. Other useful statistics: · The costs to the health service of dog attacks on people were valued at £3.3 million in England in 2009, according to Hospital Episode Statistics 2009. · Attacks on livestock were valued at £2.2 million in England during 2009 by the Economists Advisory Group’s 1998 report to the RSPCA and Kennel Club – adjusted for inflation. · Costs arising from road traffic accidents involving dogs in Britain during 2008 were valued at £14.6 million by the Department for Transport. Go To Top Of Page Time For An Alternative The television coverage of Crufts by More4 appeared to have gone very well, until a direct attack on the German Shepherd Breed was made by presenter, Clare ‘Butch’ Balding when commentating for More4 on the German Shepherd Best Of Breed Winner. Butch Balding who's expertise in spotting a Stallion, Equine or Jockey is beyond doubt – now a self appointed canine expert – decided that the GS BOB winner didn’t look right.[to her] We all remember Butch Balding – The Herman Munster Doppelganger – when she humiliated the Grand National winning Jockey, Liam Treadwell over his crooked teeth when Butch interviewed him after his win at Aintree. The question that jumps out at you is; were the Dark Forces of the Kennel Club involved in all of this; are their finger prints all over it? We have had the fiasco of a Pensioner being ejected from the NEC because a KC representative Vet decided that her five months old German Shepherd puppy was unsound. Is there a vendetta towards the Shepherd fraternity? Because, only 14 out of the 30 clubs have signed up to the KC Undertaking to discuss the future development of the breed, how to address soundness issues and current Kennel Club initiatives into breed health. This was denied by Caroline Kisko – who now fronts every contentious issue for the KC after the Dogs Dinner the Chairman made of his interview in Pedigree Dogs Exposed. Some years ago the German Shepherd community were in dispute with the Kennel Club and threatened to break away and form another rival club. Would a rival Kennel Club be in the best interests of Pedigree Dogs? Competition is always a good thing. What must be remembered is that the existing Kennel Club is a self appointed body. It is a very exclusive club, which is funded by pedigree dog breeders and show exhibitors. It is a now a multi million pound business that has accrued vast wealth off the backs of you and I, present and past. If you go into the restaurants at the NEC when Crufts is in progress you will see all of the so called ‘Elite’ having their lavish meals, along with all of the rest of the hangers on and free loading Dog Walkers; ‘a herd of Snorting Grunting Porkers rushing in like the ‘Biblical’ Gadarene Swine;’ all paid for by the profits made from Breeders exhibitors and societies. Did you know that there is an exclusive place in Clarges Street where KC members can dine? When have ordinary exhibitors ever had a vote as to who runs the Kennel Club and all of the positions that go with it; how democratic is this? There are Draconian measures taken against exhibitors for the most trivial of offenses. Take the recent case of Moray Armstrong who had words with a Judge; After a lengthy consideration, the sub-committee imposed the following penalties: • To warn Mr Armstrong as to his future conduct; • To censure him; • To fine him £500; • To disqualify him from exhibiting at, taking part in, attending and/or having any connection with any event licensed by the KC; • To disqualify him from judging at any event licensed by the KC; • To impose an order for costs incurred by the complainant in instituting and conducting these proceedings in the sum of £1,210. The disqualifications are for a year. This is quite outrageous. Yet they continue to get away with it because there is no other organisation to turn to, this state of affairs cannot be a good thing. Go To Top Of Page BOB At Crufts Then Heavily Criticised A Crufts BOB German Shepherd Owner claims that her life in dogs has been ruined by a remark made during More4’s TV coverage of the show. Two days after Clokellys Lagos competed in the group, as part of its Crufts cover More4 showed a slow motion film of him. Clare Balding, who was with studio guests Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko and canine geneticist Cathryn Mellersh, said that although she was ‘no expert’, the dog’s ‘back end does not look right’. Mrs Kisko passed no comment on Lagos but discussed what the KC was doing to tackle health and conformation problems in breeds. As reported previously, the KC is asking GSD clubs and groups to sign contracts agreeing numerous conditions, one of which was to acknowledge there were conformation problems in the breed, before it allocates CCs for 2012. Passed Health tests Two and a half-year-old Lagos has enjoyed much success under breed specialists here and abroad, and has passed all health tests in England and Germany relevant to his breed and has proven his working ability. Owner and breeder Carol Keen said his elbows had been scored 0:0, hips 3:3, and he is haemophilia clear. In addition to his schutzhund 3 success, he has won well under German SV judges and taken part in obedience and heelwork. He undertakes 12 miles of roadwork a week. “My dog has had a lot of success, and has won at the top level under international judges all over the world,” Mrs Keen said. “He spent a lot of the last year in Germany getting qualifications as well. That is why I go to Germany to compete because they insist on health and working criteria over there – you can’t show them otherwise. I know he is very sound. “He is an exceptional dog in our breed for his age, for what he has done.” Mrs Keen was unaware of what had been said on TV until the Sunday. “It was such a shock – everything was so wonderful,” she said. “After celebrating his win with friends I got a phone call asking me if I’d heard what Clare Balding said – which, incidentally, took place two days after the group judging. I was so angry. Here we have someone who is big time into horses, commentating on dogs. “In the film Lagos was just coming round a corner while doing a triangle, which I haven’t particularly trained him to do, and his handler had him on a short lead. It was quite tight and he was powering round. “I can see where they’re coming from, but you don’t make remarks when you’re not an expert on the breed and when the dog has been judged at Crufts by a breed specialist picked by the KC. “The judge thanked me for putting him under him, saying he was a super dog and so sound. “I have done every health test possible on this dog and he has passed all of them, and here he is being connected with genetic problems in the breed, saying he was too low in the back.” Mrs Keen said she had been breeding GSDs for nearly 40 years. “I don’t have a lot of dogs and I only breed if I want one for myself. It has been my lie’s ambition to own a GSD like Clokelly Lagos. Now my dog has been slated, my breeding as such has been slated and all the years of work have been taken away from me. It has been devastating. I haven’t got an unsound dog in my kennel.” Mrs Keen Contacted The Kennel Club “I asked her if the whole thing had been orchestrated by the KC and she said it hadn’t and that I would need to contact the TV station. I would like the comment retracted and have filled in a complaint form, but if they can’t put it right I am going to seek legal advice. They have taken my life away. It’s very unfair.” GSD judge at Crufts, Bob Kinsey, said he had not liked Ms Balding’s remarks. Judge Kinsey's Concern “Nothing was televised of the dog when he took part in the group and then this happened two days later,” he said. “And it was shown in slow motion as opposed to normal speed, which always makes things look different. “I liked the dog and it was sound. I enjoyed my day, I did what I wanted to do and to me that dog was the best of breed. I don’t really want to say any more about it, but it was strange that it was brought up two days after the group.” Breed council chairman John Cullen said he had complained to More4 about the comments. “The dog in question has all the health requirements that are mandatory in the breed’s country of origin and the KC asks for this only in a voluntary capacity,” he said. Crufts chief vet Steve Dean said he was aware that Lagos had been criticised. “I agree that, with my dog hat on, I would prefer a dog with better hocks, but from the veterinary viewpoint it was not unsound and showed no signs of discomfort, and so I did not withdraw it from competing in the group,” he said. When asked by DW, Mrs Kisko denied again that the KC had had any influence on the TV discussion. “As part of More4’s commitment to having an open debate about the health and welfare of dogs during the 2010 coverage of Crufts, it was inevitable that there would be some discussion about the issues that exist in certain breeds,” she said. “Clare Balding chose to highlight a health issue which was also subsequently noted by the British Veterinary Association (BVA). “The KC has since received a number of emails and phone calls from viewers concerned at the appearance of the dog. “We would not and could not interfere with More4 reporting on these issues in the way that it sees fit. Although we cannot comment on this case in particular, it should be noted that within all of the high-profile breeds, both judges and monitors were required to submit a report about the dogs that they saw before them at Crufts. “These reports will, as always, go to the KC’s Dog Health Group and if there is a discrepancy between them we will ask the relevant judge to provide an explanation, which will be assessed accordingly. “We are taking firm action to address the problems which it perceives in the GSD breed generally and has asked all GSD clubs to sign an undertaking to confirm that they recognise that there is a problem with the conformation of the breed at present and only those which sign will be allocated CCs from 2011 onwards.” BVA president elect Harvey Locke said he had not seen the dog physically but had watched the slow motion clip. “I thought the conformation of the dog – its hocks and sloping back – was not right,” he said. “The way it was putting one leg in front of the other was a far from natural gait, and not the gait it was originally bred and designed for. I appreciate it was slow motion and I can understand why the dog’s owner is upset, but we do need to look at the wider picture; the problems of breeding for extremes, not only GSDs but in so many breeds is something we must all tackle.” • The British Association for German Shepherd dogs has agreed to sign the KC’s contract. Chairman Bob Honey said members had voted in favour of doing so and that this decision had been given to the KC. The German Shepherd Dog League of GB has also taken a vote on whether or not to sign but vice-chairman Nikki Farley said the result would not be announced until the KC had received it in time for the March 31 deadline. “There was a full vote from the members and we will now be discussing it in council,” she said. Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS – PROGRESS BEFORE THE DEADLINE Fourteen of the 30 German Shepherd Breed Clubs have, by 23rd March, already signed and returned the undertaking to the Kennel Club ahead of the 31st March 2010 deadline. The Kennel Club thanks these clubs and their members for taking this positive step. The Kennel Club is in the process of planning a meeting with these clubs and any others that sign the Undertaking to discuss the future development of the breed, how to address soundness issues and current Kennel Club initiatives into breed health. The Kennel Club would urge all clubs that wish to take part in this process and to be considered for Challenge Certificates to sign the Undertaking by the deadline of the 31st of March. The Kennel Club continues to be dismayed by the tactics of a vocal minority in the breed who, rather than seizing this opportunity for the benefit of the breed, choose to bolster their own interests by suggesting that the Kennel Club’s motives are anything other than for the welfare of the breed. To suggest that an organisation that is the single largest contributor to research into canine health in the UK does not have the health of the dog at its heart is nonsensical. The Kennel Club is also disturbed to note that one club that has signed the Undertaking has decided to cancel its scheduled show this year as it fears that those opposed to signing the Undertaking will disrupt its show to the detriment of the breed. There has been unhelpful speculation that club members who vote against their club signing the Undertaking will in some way be prevented from entering shows or taking part in training activities. Again, the Kennel Club has made it clear in its previous statements that this is not the case. Similarly, there has been a great deal of speculation about Clause 9 of the Undertaking with some choosing to attach sinister connotations and imply that the Kennel Club in some way is attempting to ‘ban’ SV/WUSV events. In its press release of 16th February, the Kennel Club made it clear that no such issue exists. To reiterate, the Kennel Club has worked with the GSD community to enable the annual British Sieger Show to everyone’s satisfaction. All requests of a similar nature will of course be considered. What is being asked is that, as a matter of simple courtesy, clubs should work with their UK governing body to gain its support for the organising of any such events. Go To Top Of Page RSPCA Delighted With Electric Shock Collar Ban in Wales The RSPCA has welcomed the National Assembly for Wales’ decision to ban the use of electric shock collars on dogs and cats in Wales. This is the first ban of its kind in the United Kingdom, and the Welsh Assembly Government has used its devolved powers under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act. Claire Lawson, RSPCA public affairs manager for Wales said: "We are delighted with the stance that the Welsh Assembly Government has taken in banning the use of these instruments of cruelty. They have been consigned to the dustbin of history and I hope the rest of the UK will follow suit and do the same." Electric shock collars are used to remotely apply an electric shock, usually to the animal’s neck, to stop unwanted behaviour. But research clearly shows that the application of an electric shock causes both a physiological stress response and behaviours associated with pain, fear and stress in animals. The world's oldest animal welfare charity responded to the Welsh Assembly Government consultations in 2008 and 2010 on the use of electric training aids. The RSPCA argued that the use of such training devices can cause a long-term threat to an animal’s welfare. Animals trained with these devices can show behaviours associated with pain and fear both during training and some time afterwards. There is also a great potential for the misuse of these devices, either through ignorance or malice by those intent on deliberate cruelty. Research has also shown that the use of punishment based techniques can result in, or make some behaviour problems worse. The RSPCA strongly believes that there is no place for these devices in modern animal training and recommends the use of reward based methods instead. Go To Top Of Page NO NEED FOR PANIC OVER RABIES THREAT, SAY VETS Vets are warning against widespread concern and panic after press reports that there will be a significant threat of rabies to the UK when rules for pet travel are harmonised across Europe. In a letter to the Veterinary Record Dr Paul Burr and his colleagues at the Biobest Laboratories, which carries out serology tests for rabies, warn against any relaxation of the current rules for animals entering the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said: “It is very important that the British public is not unnecessarily concerned or alarmed by the statement from Dr Burr on rabies. “Last week the European Parliament voted for an extension to the existing arrangements which allow the UK to apply stricter controls on animals entering the country until the end of 2011. We hope that the Agriculture Council will soon finalise this decision. “This allows us additional time to fully assess the risk that harmonisation of the rules on rabies poses. “However, we do know that the incidence of rabies has been reducing significantly in mainland Europe over the last 20 years due to a very successful vaccination programme. Therefore the threat posed to the UK by animals coming into the country from other Member States should certainly not cause any panic.” Andrew Ash, Junior Vice President of the British Small Animal Association (BSAVA), added: “We are satisfied that the measures in place will be sufficient to protect both animal and human health and this extra window of time should allow us to collect the necessary scientific evidence on the impact of harmonisation. “It is regrettable that this concern has been raised ahead of other issues such as the risk posed by tapeworms (the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis) which the BVA and BSAVA believe could have a far more serious impact on animal and human health.” 1. The letter from Dr Paul Burr in the Veterinary Record is available here: http://press.psprings.co.uk/mp/march/passports.pdf 2. For more information on PETS, including the views of the BVA and BSAVA, please visit the BVA website: http://www.bva.co.uk/activity_and_advice/1450.aspx 3. For more information please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] CO HANDLER OF CRUFTS BEST IN SHOW BANNED Two strikes and out. Moray Armstrong, co-handler of Crufts BIS, the Hungarian Vizsla Sh Ch/Aus Ch Hungargunn Bear Itn Mind (Yogi), has been banned from showing at, judging or attending any KC licensed event for a year for threatening and intimidating a judge for the second time. At a disciplinary hearing at the Kennel Club, Mr Armstrong admitted distressing Rachel Herbert after the open dog class at Welsh Kennel Club 2009 when he won the RCC with Yogi. He told her she would not judge again, that she had cost Mr Armstrong BIS and that she would pay for it. The Disciplinary Sub-Committee heard there had been a complaint against Mr Armstrong - whose wife Kathryn co-owns Yogi – relating to his behaviour towards a judge after being awarded the RCC at Three Counties in 2005, for which he received a warning. When a judge gave the dog who was to take best in show at Crufts 2010, Sh Ch/Aus Ch Hungargunn Bear Itn Mind, the RCC at Welsh Kennel Club last year, handler Moray Armstrong threatened her, a Kennel Club disciplinary panel has been told. Mr Armstrong, whose wife Kathryn co-owns Hungarian Vizsla Yogi, told Rachel Herbert – who was being evaluated on her first judging appointment giving CCs – that she had cost him the BIS award and that she would pay for it. He also implied that he had some influence over the evaluation result, which would be poor or she would fail, and that she would not judge again. The outburst after the open dog class at the show became the subject of a KC A42 hearing of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee on Thursday of last week – four days after Yogi had been crowned Crufts BIS. Those present heard that after a similar incident at Three Counties in 2005 when he was handling a Flat-coated Retriever, Mr Armstrong had been given a warning under the KC's T11 regulation when he became abusive to a judge who, again, had given his dog the RCC. This time Mr Armstrong was banned for a year. Thursday's hearing took an unexpected turn when it was learnt that the witnesses scheduled to attend the event – to support the cases of the complainant and respondent – had been called off the afternoon before when a deal was struck between counsels for the KC and Mr Armstrong. The latter had agreed to admit the complaint under an agreed wording. This was: “I accept that when my dog was placed second by Mrs Herbert, given its championship history I was surprised by the decision and I accept that I made some unguarded and inappropriate remarks which were discreditable and prejudicial to the interests of the canine world. “I accept I said that as a result of this decision Mrs Herbert was unlikely to judge again and was likely to receive a poor evaluation. And as a result of this decision I would not have an opportunity to compete for BIS and this decision was likely to mean that Mrs Herbert's credibility as a judge would suffer. I accept and regret that these comments were threatening to Mrs Herbert and caused her undue upset and distress.” The sub-committee hearing the complaint comprised chairman Wilson Young, Simon Luxmoore, Roy Page, Steve Croxford and Ian Kettle. Proceedings began with KC counsel Robert Dalling outlining what had happened at the show. “Mrs Herbert placed Mr Armstrong's dog second and it appears to have been this decision which caused him to address her threateningly,” he said. “She noticed that his manner changed and as she was writing up the critique he told her she would not, or it was unlikely that she would not, judge in the future, and that she would receive a poor evaluation as a result of her decision. “Mrs Herbert was left with the impression that he would interfere with the evaluation process itself to make sure she would fail. She was left upset and intimidated by the threatening tone used and had to take a break from judging to compose herself. “It is important that people are respectful towards judges and in this case his standards fell well below those expected.” Mr Dalling spoke of the 2005 complaint saying that on that occasion his explanation had been that he knew the judge well and often had frank discussions with her. No A42 hearing took place regarding this, he said. Although no witnesses attended Thursday's hearing, the KC applied for its costs – comprising witnesses' travel fares which could not be reimbursed, and legal fees – to be paid by Mr Armstrong. Speaking on Mr Armstrong's behalf, his barrister Richard Tutt said his client had accepted the complaint. “You may know that in a criminal court if someone accepts and pleads guilty one is entitled to a reduction in sentence because they have shown a degree of remorse, accepted responsibility for what they have done, saved the witnesses the burden of giving evidence and relieved the court of having a trial. I apologise that this decision was confirmed only late in the day yesterday....” He continued: “The incident at the show related to Mr Armstrong's treatment of a judge, not treatment of a dog or breeding of dogs. As far as his antecedent history is concerned, Mr Armstrong has attended thousands upon thousands of shows and he has had one warning from four and a half years ago, and this, but nothing else.” The sub-committee would probably think that he should have known better, Mr Tutt said. “And I have to agree with you, he should have done. But because he should have known better doesn't detract from his standing as an individual. He needs little introduction; he is a well-known, highly-regarded individual in the canine world, and would describe himself as an honest, straight-talking, 63-year-old Cumbrian. “He has had Cocker Spaniels, Flatcoats and Vizslas. He has bred or owned the most Cocker champions since the second world war – 23 in total. He has bred and owned three Flatcoat champions and bred or owned seven Vizsla champions, two of whom are breed record holders – Sh Ch Kazval Keats with 42 CCs and the current champion Yogi with 64 CCs. “Yogi has also won the most BIS – 18 in total – and was BIS at Crufts at the weekend.” Mr Armstrong became a championship show judge in 1980, judged the gundog group at Crufts in 2007, and has judged in 15 countries abroad, Mr Tutt said. “He has achieved an enormous amount in the canine world and as he draws towards his twilight years it is fair to say dog shows have been his life's work. He bitterly regrets the incident and apologises to the KC and that you need to be here today. But first and foremost he apologises to Mrs Herbert. He has known her for a long time and hitherto had got on with her extremely well. “I hope that you will take into consideration the enormous amount of work Mr Armstrong has done for the canine world during his life so far when you decide how to deal with him today.” After a lengthy consideration, the sub-committee imposed the following penalties: • To warn Mr Armstrong as to his future conduct; • To censure him; • To fine him £500; • To disqualify him from exhibiting at, taking part in, attending and/or having any connection with any event licensed by the KC; • To disqualify him from judging at any event licensed by the KC; • To impose an order for costs incurred by the complainant in instituting and conducting these proceedings in the sum of £1,210. The disqualifactions are for a year. Mr Young added: “We recognise that it is essential that those showing dogs at events such as this maintain respectful standards in the treatment of judges and their decisions. In this instance Mr Armstrong's behaviour fell well below those standards. “This was a repeated incident; all those officiating at licensed events are deserving of respect and the sub-committee has a duty to protect them in this regards.” The Wrath Of The Kennel Club Crufts 2010 IRVING STRIKES AGAIN AT GSDs A pensioner taking part in the Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme display teams was humiliated and told to leave Crufts after the Kennel Club claimed her five-month-old German Shepherd puppy was unsound. Pam Edgington 76 years old (Starkstrom), who has been in the breed for 50 years and is an accredited breeder, was dismissed after one of the show’s vets declared her puppy showed ‘an abnormality in her hindquarters’. Good citizen Mrs Edgington, whose GSD won the Good Citizen classes at Crufts in 2007, ‘08 and ‘09 and this year was second, was told by officials she could not wait on the benches until her team had finished but must leave immediately. The person who gave her a lift to the show had to get passes to leave the show to drive her back to Staffordshire to pick up her car, and then return to Crufts. “My puppy was having such a lovely time talking to the people and children – even enjoying the noise,” Mrs Edgington said. “But the vet came to look at her, bent down and fussed her, stroked her back end and said she was unsound. He didn’t ask to see her move. “He said, ‘Sorry, you will have to leave immediately’. Ten minutes later I was gone. The KC said that if an official says a dog is unsound it is in breach of KC regulations. I had to be evicted. Couldn’t I have been asked to withdraw from the team and sit on my bench and read my book? “They didn’t ask me anything or ask me to give my side. The sad part is I am an accredited breeder; all my dogs are hip scored and health tested. But I won’t stay in the ABS now. “You don’t exercise youngsters as you have to let their bones grow. You don’t want to mess them up so it is better to leave them alone until about nine months old. My puppy is extremely loose and I have no intention of doing anything with her. But because the KC is so strict now on this business – what they call being unsound. She isn’t – she is a baby and as such she is loose. “I felt so humiliated and sick about it all. I am 76, I can do without this. Crufts won’t be getting any more entries from me. They have taken what was probably my last Crufts and ruined it.” ‘Vendetta’ Mrs Edgington has only four GSDs – the puppy, her grandmother, mother and sister. On pastoral day at Crufts her dogs took a second and third. “That’s the difference between an adult and a puppy,” she said. “But the KC has a vendetta against GSDs; they are targeting us. “I feel sorry for the club who asked me to take part – and angry too. The reason they asked me was because I am 76 and I have a youngster who I’m training and they thought it would be fun for me. But it wasn’t, it was a nightmare. “Everyone I know is behind me – they’re all appalled. In 50 years I have never been so humiliated.” A KC spokesman confirmed that a GSD was excluded from the Good Citizen ring. “This decision was taken upon the advice of the Crufts vet who felt that the dog showed abnormality in the hindquarters,” she said. “We are dedicated to ensuring that Crufts is a celebration of healthy dogs, and in a display ring, where there is no judge to make an executive decision, it is particularly important that the vet takes the responsibility for ensuring that all dogs are sound representatives of their breed.” Go To Top Of Page BEST IN SHOW NEC BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND Professional Streaker Mark Roberts managed to disrupt the gundog group at Crufts on Sunday night – repeating his star performance from 1999. Mark, 45, from Fairfield in Liverpool interrupted proceedings when he tore off his velcro-fastened clothes and, wearing nothing but shoes, socks and a cat-shaped mask over his modesty, ran into the Arena. On his chest were the words, istreak.com I had a drink with Mark on Friday evening and asked him when his next big event was to be. Mark said; "I've got something planned for the weekend" I didn't think that he'd try Crufts again. Mark is a great character and has many very entertaining stories of his Streaks from around the world. When he did his streak at the Super Bowl in Texas He said; "I ran onto the pitch after ripping off my uniform and the whole of the arena went silent. Then they erupted. The next thing that I knew I was coming back to my senses as I had been hit by a Quarter Back and knocked out!" Mark was arrested and taken to a Police Station. When they found out who he was Mark said; " All they wanted from me was my Autograph." He wasn't charged. His sponsors for the Super Bowl had put him up in a Top Class Hotel and Mark had trouble explaining to Security that he was a guest there. That same evening the Rapper P Diddy was also at the Hotel and when he found out that Mark was also there, he was invited to a massive party that P Diddy threw. Mark tells me that some years ago he worked in Australia for a while. It was there that he saw a streaker on the television at some event and he thought, "I can do that." And the rest as they say is History. Back to the NEC Mark was quickly stopped and escorted from the area by NEC security, allowing judging to continue. Mark has become well known for his naked exploits after bearing all at more than 380 public and sporting events. In 1999 he streaked during the working group with the words 'Pedigree bum' on his behind and sporting a Comic Relief red nose; he raised a considerable amount for the cause in the process. He caused pandemonium at last year’s Scouseology awards for underprivileged children when he invaded the stage naked, and claimed he broke his toe when he was wrestled to the ground. He is also remembered for clambering onto Fred Talbot’s weather map in the altogether during This Morning’s Albert Dock heyday, for once Fred was lost for words. When he ran on to the 18th green at the 2006 Open Championship at Hoylake with a golf ball nestled between his buttocks, Merseyside Police tried to slap him with an ASBO until a judge decided people were 'amused' by his antics, much to the chagrin of the Police. He has also stripped off at the Ryder Cup, the Uefa and European Cup finals, The Super Bowl in Texas, US, and the Winter Olympics in Italy. Go To Top Of Page Bath fee ‘bans’ legally-docked dogs Exhibitors of legally-docked dogs are livid that Bath CS has decided to charge a £4 admission fee, effectively banning them from the championship show. Secretary Ben Ford said this week it had been a ‘pretty unanimous’ committee decision to do so. Mr Ford, who has Old English Sheepdogs, whose first show as secretary this will be after taking over from Keith Nathan, said he had replied to everyone who had contacted him on the matter. “I am definitely going to speak to the Kennel Club – I am the new boy and I am being bombarded with emails over this,” he said. “One person said they were going to take me to the European Court of Human Rights.” For the last two years, he said, the committee had put in the schedule that there would be an admittance charge but that it had been rescinded at the last moment. “I can’t tell you why because committee business is confidential,” he said. “But from a personal point of view I would say there are two sides to the coin. Some of the people who own traditionally-docked breeds and who no longer dock are being discriminated against. In a line-up of docked and undocked dogs the judge always seems to choose the undocked one. I would say that certainly is true in my breed, with inferior specimens sometimes being put up.” But according to one source, the consensus of the Bath committee is that the practice of docking is cruel because the Government has deemed it so, even though ministers thought it less cruel than working dogs injuring their tails in the field. Mr Ford said the committee would be monitoring entry figures and finances at the show. “We will be tracking every single aspect of this to glean information on how many people are not at the show,” he said. “So far, 23 people have said they are not coming and we will equate this with revenue losses. “I do feel sympathy for those who have legally-docked dogs, because if it goes on this way they won’t be able to go to any championship shows. I wish I could resolve it in some way but it was a committee decision and that’s it. Certainly since the Government banned docking it has become an unholy mess. “All we can do is run this show, analyse everything and see what we can do about it. We can only do our best. If I’m not standing in the European Court of Human Rights at the time I will run the show the best I can.” Damaged Tails Among the many who have made their views known are Sharon Pinkerton, Maxine McCullough, Sue Harris, Christine Guest and Penny Simpson. “For ‘welfare’ reasons we still dock our breed due to tail damage when working,” Miss Pinkerton said. “Nearly two years ago we had an undocked litter of which three have already had their tails amputated as adults due to recurring tail damage. Three others have experienced continuing tail damage which still may result in amputation. So we have tried to leave tails and our dogs have suffered badly because of it. “The whole issue of docking is considered to be a welfare issue so why allow adult dogs to go through a major ‘amputation’ due to an injury which could have been preventable?” This is all legal, she said, so why was she being ‘victimised’? “The KC statement on schedules reads ‘open to all’ but some shows clearly are not, and openly discriminate towards the exhibitors of legally docked breeds,” Miss Pinkerton said. “Bath owns its own showground and expensive venue costs are not an issue, so why does it need to charge admission? Get societies to publish their balance sheets so we can see how much money they make on shows and where ‘our’ money is spent! “Does Bath have representatives on its committee from all groups, ie do we have a gundog representative on that committee? “Without exhibitors/dogs there would be no dog show and nothing for the public to see. Committees are put in place to hold a dog show; it is not a circus, spectacle or fair. All credit to Darlington, Blackpool and Paignton for changing their admission charge; at least they are putting together dogs shows for everyone.” If it was a question of finance, she concluded, there were other methods of raising funds such as car park or catalogue charges. To allow legally-docked dogs to take part there could be free entrance on gundog day only. Maxine McCullough said she was ‘shocked and disappointed’ that the committee had reversed its decision to allow legally-docked dogs to enter the show. “Last year many working HPR owners/breeders supported this show as Bath dropped its policy of charging admittance, hence allowing legally docked working HPRs to attend,” she said. “It seems this year they do not want ‘fit for function’ HPRs who can prove their ability in the show ring as well as being very capable working dogs gaining field trial/working test awards. “This to me seems a somewhat bizarre decision given the current claims of the general media suggesting that ‘show dogs are unfit, unhealthy and not fit for function’. In my breed alone there are at least 20 legally-docked dogs unable to enter Bath under the current policy. I would have thought that Bath would want to support the working HPR and our campaign to be allowed to continue to show and work our dogs. Sadly it seems not.” Numerous pleas Sue Harris said charging a public entrance fee was a retrograde step. “Where other forward-thinking societies are looking for ways in which they can continue as an ‘inclusive’ society, Bath CS has decided that the ever-growing number of legally-docked dogs are simply not worth supporting, despite the numerous pleas from individual exhibitors and judges alike. “I am in the process of accepting notifications from fellow exhibitors who would have entered this show, and would likely have bought a catalogue and refreshments while there had they have been made welcome by this society. Currently the list of lost entries is growing at an alarming rate... “I am inviting all exhibitors to advise me of the number of dogs that would have been entered should they have been allowed to, in an effort to ascertain the number of actual entries lost as a result of this short sighted decision.” Christine Guest said: “At the time of writing I have three dogs I can show who are docked because they are truly dual-purpose and ‘fit for function’. In the past I have supported Bath with entries from one or the other and occasionally both of the breeds I own, Spinoni and Wirehaired Vizslas. How sad that I am unable to support this year’s show and possibly future shows because I might ‘offend’ a member of the paying public with my working, fit for function docked gundogs. “As a point of interest, my younger Vizsla had her tail ‘amputated’ at 17 weeks under full anaesthetic due to tail trauma, not because I wished to work her. “I am very proud of the fact that I own and occasionally breed a good looking dog that I can work and show. The HPR owners have striven to keep their breeds dual-purpose without the split that we have seen in other gundog breeds; what a shame this split is now being forced upon us and we have to choose work or show.” Penny Simpson said: “Last year I sent a letter to DOG WORLD thanking Bath for not imposing a ban on docked dogs, so I am very disappointed to hear that despite a number of dogs entering who otherwise would not have done they have gone ahead this year and put a charge on the public entering. “I was always led to believe that competitions were put on for the competitor not for the spectator, particularly when the competitor pays such a lot of money just to compete. “I trust that Bath will see the error of its ways and do what is right by its competitors; after all no competitors means nothing for the spectator to watch.” Tudor Mongrel Steals the Show at DFS Crufts 2010 DFS Crufts Hosts Mary Rose Dog Before She Returns Home After Nearly 500 Years - A 16th century sea dog, the only female crew member aboard Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose, is set to take pride of place at DFS Crufts this year as special guest of the Kennel Club. Visitors to the world’s largest and greatest dog show, can meet ‘Hatch’, a two-year old mongrel lost aboard the ill-fated Tudor warship 465 years ago, and find out more about the fundraising appeal to provide her with a permanent home at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The painstakingly preserved and reconstructed skeleton of the Mary Rose’s dog will be on display at DFS Crufts, Birmingham NEC, from March 11th (stand 56, hall 3) along with a selection of amazing Tudor artefacts, including an original stone cannon ball and piece of ship’s rope as well as an array of replicas, including some of the carpenter’s tools. The old sea dog acquired the nickname ‘Hatch’ after divers discovered her remains near the sliding hatch door of the Mary Rose’s carpenter’s cabin, where she had lain since the ship sank in mysterious circumstances in 1545. Hatch almost certainly earned her keep as the ship’s ratter – superstitious Tudor seafarers did not have cats on board ship as they were thought to bring bad luck. And she was probably very good at her job – only the partial remains of rats’ skeletons have been found on board the Mary Rose. John Lippiett, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust and Hatch’s guardian, said: “We are delighted to bring Hatch, the world’s oldest lost sea dog, to the world’s premier dog show, so that visitors can meet an ancestor of their much loved pets. “Expert analysis of Hatch’s bones suggests that she spent most of her short life within the close confines of the ship. It is likely that the longest walks she took were along the quayside at Portsmouth, her home town. “Hatch is just one of 19,000 extraordinary Tudor treasures recovered with the wreck of the Mary Rose, but she has never been on display in Portsmouth simply because we have not had the room. “All that is set to change with the building of a new permanent Mary Rose museum, bringing together the remains of the ship itself with the pick of her artefacts, displayed at last in their historic context. “But to make that a reality and to ensure Hatch is not homeless for another 500 years, we must complete our final push to secure the funds needed to complete the new Mary Rose Museum by 2012.” Caroline Kisko, Communications Director of the Kennel Club, which organises the show, added: “It is fantastic to host Hatch before she finally returns home. She is undoubtedly the oldest, most unusual and most historically important exhibit that we have ever had at DFS Crufts and her tragic story is bound to fascinate visitors. We are delighted to have her with us - after nearly 500 years of loyal service she is due a little ‘shore leave’!” Hatch is the mascot of the Mary Rose 500 Public Appeal which is seeking 500 individuals, schools, businesses and organisations to come on board and symbolically become the ‘new crew’ of the Tudor warship, by each pledging to raise £500 towards the Public Appeal. After her visit to DFS Crufts, Hatch will finally return home to Portsmouth on Friday 26th March to take pride of place in the current Mary Rose Museum, after 465 years away, while she waits for the new Mary Rose Museum - her final permanent home, to be completed. Visitors to DFS Crufts should visit hall 3 stand 56 to join the Mary Rose 500 appeal new crew, discover the history of Henry VIII's famous warship, hear what life was like for a Tudor ship’s crew and their dog, and uncover the truth about what happened on the Mary Rose’s final voyage. The Mary Rose The Mary Rose is the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world. Launched in 1511, she was one of the first ships able to fire a broadside, and was a favourite of King Henry VIII. After a long and successful career, she sank during an engagement with a French fleet in 1545. Her rediscovery and raising were seminal events in the history of maritime archaeology. A separate dedicated Mary Rose museum, also sited in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, remains open while the ship hall is temporarily closed during the new museum construction period. The amazing artefacts discovered with the great ship, remain on display and new exhibits, including Hatch, are being introduced to maintain the highest quality of visitor experience. The new Mary Rose Museum will, for the first time since her sinking, re-unite the ship and her contents, fully preserved and presented in a context that portrays a time capsule of Tudor life at sea. HUNGARIAN VIZSLA AIMS TO PROVE HE’S ‘FIT FOR FUNCTION: FIT FOR LIFE’ AT DFS CRUFTS A Hungarian Vizsla which has been proven successful in both the show ring and the field will be attempting to add to his list of awards at DFS Crufts, which starts tomorrow. Champion Bitcon Gold Coast at Northey, handled by Andrew McDonald, has followed achieving the title of Champion in the show ring by winning the first place award at the Kennel Club’s Open AV HPR (Any Variety Hunt Point Retrieve) Stake in December after just 18 months of gundog training. He will now be one of almost 22,000 dogs hoping to win the prestigious title of Best in Show at the world’s largest dog show, DFS Crufts, which takes place from 11th – 14th March at the NEC in Birmingham. Champion Bitcon Gold Coast at Northey only began gundog training after Andrew attended a Kennel Club Training Day for Pointing breeds in Suffolk in April 2008. One of the aims of these training days is to encourage show dogs to learn and demonstrate their working ability. Kennel Club Communications Director Caroline Kisko said “For this dog to achieve a win at the Kennel Club’s Open AV Stake after just 18 months is a considerable achievement and the Kennel Club congratulates Mr and Mrs McDonald. “The Kennel Club is committed to the principles of our Fit For Function: Fit For Life campaign. For a show gundog to achieve such success in the field, the environment for which the breed was developed, demonstrates the true working abilities of this beautiful breed.” DFS Crufts will welcome many dogs who fulfil roles in both a showing and working capacity. You can see Champion Bitcon Gold Coast at Northey competing in his pedigree breed class, and there will also be various activities including working trials, heelwork to music and agility at the Dog Activities Ring in Hall 3 from 11-14th March. Please visit www.dfscrufts.org.uk for more information. To find out more on the Kennel Club’s ‘Fit for Function’ campaign visit http://www.fitforfunction.org.uk. Go To Top Of Page VETS WELCOME EXTENSION TO UK PET TRAVEL PROTECTION The European Parliament has voted 618 votes to 17 for an extension to the transitional arrangements contained within the regulation on the non-commercial movement of pet animals (Reg. 998/2003) which afford the UK additional protection against rabies, ticks and tapeworms. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) have been lobbying MEPs to support the extension and have strongly welcomed this decision. The transitional arrangements allow the UK to impose stricter measures on the entry of pet animals and are designed to protect the UK from rabies, ticks and tapeworms (Echinococcus multilocularis). The vote in the European Parliament today supports an extension of these arrangements until the end of 2011 and puts in place a system so that permanent measures can be imposed in the future for entry to specific Member States based on scientific evidence. The decision will have to be ratified by the European Agriculture Council before coming into force. Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: “The Pet Travel Scheme affords the UK’s pet, wildlife and human populations protection from serious diseases and parasites and we have long argued for these arrangements to remain until scientific evidence can prove that the risk is manageable. “The BVA and BSAVA have worked closely with Defra to secure this extension to the arrangements and we will now be pushing for investment in additional scientific research that will give us a clearer picture of the threat of the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis and other exotic and emerging diseases.” Dr Richard Dixon, President of BSAVA, added: “This decision in Europe is strongly welcomed and we are pleased that veterinary associations across Europe supported our position. The next stage is to gather further evidence to ensure the UK is protected in the future. “In the meantime, the key message for pet owners is that they must talk to their vets as early as possible to find out how to protect them from disease and parasites when travelling abroad.” 1. The BVA and BSAVA have been lobbying MEPs to secure the extension to the transitional arrangements. A document setting out the BVA and BSAVA position is available on the BVA website http://www.bva.co.uk/activity_and_advice/1450.aspx 2. In September 2009 the BVA, BSAVA and BVA Animal Welfare Foundation launched a waiting-room poster to remind pet owners of the need to protect their animals when travelling abroad. For more information visit http://www.bva.co.uk/newsroom/1613.aspx 3. For more information please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] KENNEL CLUB WELCOMES DEFRA DANGEROUS DOG CONSULTATION AS A PAW IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION After many years of campaigning, the Kennel Club today welcomed government plans to review current dangerous dogs legislation in the UK. The Kennel Club runs the secretariat for the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG), which includes representatives from organisations including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and Wood Green Animal Shelter, veterinary organisations and local authorities. The study group has been considering issues surrounding dangerous dogs for some time and has recently produced a new draft Dog Control Bill which seeks to place liability on irresponsible dog owners. Communications Director Caroline Kisko said “The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is a kneejerk piece of legislation which was rushed through in haste. It has not reduced the number of pit bull terriers in this country, nor has it reduced the number of dog biting attacks while it has had a huge impact on the welfare of many dogs. It is essential that any new legislation is properly considered and puts greater emphasis on animal welfare whilst better protecting the public.” The Kennel Club welcomes this review and we hope that any future government will look at this pressing issue as soon as possible after this year’s election”. Go To Top Of Page Vets warn against dangerous dogs issue becoming party political Vets have welcomed the Government consultation on reforming dangerous dogs legislation but called on politicians not to let the issue become a political football during the forthcoming election campaign. Responding to the announcement by the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs that Defra will consult the public on reform of the legislation and compulsory microchipping, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: “The BVA has been lobbying the Government and Opposition hard for a change in dangerous dogs legislation and so we are delighted that the Government is now considering reforming the hugely unpopular and ineffective Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. “The BVA believes very strongly in the principle of deed not breed – targeting dogs for their actions, not what they look like – and we hope to see new legislation that tackles the actions of irresponsible pet owners that can cause dogs to become aggressive. “We therefore support the concept of control notices, which is being pursued in Scotland through the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill, and the proposal for compulsory microchipping to ensure all dogs can be identified. “However, the failure of the 1991 Act is rooted in the fact that it was drafted in a highly political knee-jerk response to a number of incidents. Politicians should learn from these mistakes and resist using the issue as a political football during the General Election campaign. “The welfare charities, vets and Kennel Club have reached consensus on the need for the law to change and politicians of all parties should aim to agree the way forward.” The issue was raised by Professor Reilly at the BVA’s annual London dinner, attended by Defra Minister Lord Davies of Oldham, on 16 February. Prof Reilly said: “The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. Rather than singling out individual breeds the BVA strongly believes in targeting individual aggressive dogs. “With concern about weapon dogs rising and a new Parliament on the horizon looking for fresh ideas, the time is surely right for it to be at the top of the political agenda.” 1. The BVA is a member of the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) which campaigns for a change in the law. Other members include the Kennel Club, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Wandsworth Borough Council and Wood Green Animal Shelters. Go To Top Of Page Irresponsible owners need to be focus of dog law consultation The RSPCA is calling for irresponsible pet ownership to be the focus of the Government’s newly announced public consultation on dog legislation. The nation’s biggest animal charity today welcomed the Home Secretary’s announcement that the Government will hold a serious debate on how best to tackle anti-social behaviour with dogs. The RSPCA has long called for more effective legislation that puts greater emphasis on punishing irresponsible dog owners who cause animals to suffer, rather than the breed or type of dog concerned. Claire Robinson, the RSPCA’s government relations manager, said: “There is a real need for updated legislation that enables enforcers to tackle the problem effectively and prevent serious incidents from occurring rather than waiting till after a tragedy or penalising certain dogs just because of their breed or type. “The RSPCA has been working with the police and local authorities to develop good practice in this area and also consolidate and update legislation that will tackle the root cause of the problem – indiscriminate breeding and irresponsible dog ownership. “It is fantastic news that the Government has opened a genuine debate on the subject and given the public a chance to have their say on the best way to tackle the issue of dogs being used anti-socially.” She said vets at RSPCA animal hospitals, as well as many of the charity’s inspectors out in the field, come across dogs on a daily basis that have suffered cruelty or neglect at the hands of irresponsible owners. “It needs to be remembered that dog welfare isn’t just about ‘dangerous dogs’. Strays and over-breeding are also areas that would need to be properly addressed as part of any comprehensive dog welfare strategy. “We look forward to going through the consultation documents in full and submitting our response to Defra,” added Claire. The Government’s public consultation was launched following a visit to the RSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital, in north London, by Home Secretary Alan Johnson, and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn MP, yesterday (MON). Mr Benn met hospital director David Grant who explained how he and his team have to treat and care for thousands of animals each year as a direct result of irresponsible dog ownership. Go To Top Of Page DEFRA PLAN TO DRAW UP NEW LAWS A public consultation on how to tackle irresponsible owners and their potentially dangerous dogs is to be launched within weeks. The consultation will be staged to decide what measures should be imposed as part of an overhaul of the disliked and outdated Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (DDA). The alleged contents of a leaked DEFRA document were disclosed this week, involving plans to overhaul dog laws in England and Wales which are being considered by senior ministers entitled ‘Consultation on dangerous dogs’. Under the proposals, it has been reported, would-be owners would have to show they had a basic understanding of their dogs before being allowed to keep them ‘akin to the driving theory test’. Leaked plans However, a source said that this was from an early draft of the proposals and the idea has now been dropped; the cost of setting up such a scheme to cover Britain’s six million dog owners would have been prohibitive and would have to be met by either charging for the test or imposing a dog licence fee. The source also said that there was to be a public consultation on how to curb the irresponsible owner/dangerous dog problem, and that this would be launched within a few weeks. Under the leaked plans, microchipping would become compulsory, owners would have to take out third-party insurance on their dogs, the police and local authorities would be given the power to impose Asbos on the owners of unruly dogs and the law would be extended to cover dog attacks anywhere, including private properties. There are plans to boost the enforcement powers of police, the courts and local authorities. Cited are figures which show that the number of convictions for being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control rose from 547 in 2004 to 703 in 2007, according to the latest figures. Animal charities welcomed the fact the Government was starting a conversation on the issue, but they warned that responsible dog owners could end up being financially penalised for no reason while those who trained dogs to be aggressive were likely to ignore the measures. A better remedy would be to toughen up penalties for owners of anti-social dogs, they said, so the punishment was seen as a deterrent rather than a slap on the wrist. Dogs Trust said it was delighted that the Government was looking at holding a public consultation into measures to improve the DDA. “The suggested ideas are about placing responsibility for dangerous dogs on the owner rather than focusing on breed-specific legislation which is a step in the right direction,” a spokesman said. “But we don’t need a stealth dog tax in the form of a competency test. We need much tougher penalties for those people who do allow their dogs to behave irresponsibly or in a threatening way and actions that can taken to stop this behaviour from continuing. “A competency test will be expensive, time consuming and difficult to enforce. Being able to pass a test by ticking the right boxes on a piece of paper does not guarantee a responsible or appropriate dog owner. “The test could be taken by someone who may claim ownership of a dog but has no day-to-day responsibility for its welfare or who could pass the dog onto a new owner almost immediately. “Conversely there are vulnerable people who may struggle to pass an ownership test but are far more appropriate dog owners. For these reasons Dogs Trust does not believe a competency test is a practical solution to the issue of dangerous dogs.” The RSPCA said: “We have long stated our view that current dog control legislation should be reviewed. We welcome any suggestion that the Government is prepared to stage a serious debate on the subject. But we would not support anything that would hit sensible owners while failing to police those who are danger. “Any future legislation concerning the control of dogs should focus on the action of the owner and preventing irresponsible dog ownership. Irresponsible owners can own dogs of any type and no dog should be penalised just because of its genetic make-up. However, if legislation governing the control of dogs is to be effective then it must be easily enforceable. Over-Breeding “Dog welfare isn’t just about dangerous dogs. Strays and over-breeding are also areas that would need to be properly addressed as part of any comprehensive dog welfare strategy.” DEFRA said it never commented on a leaked document. Go To Top Of Page DFS CRUFTS FM WELCOMES NEW PRESENTERS - AND A NEW FREQUENCY DFS Crufts FM, the dedicated radio station for the world’s largest dog show, will be hitting the airwaves once again next week to bring listeners around the world all the latest news live from the event. This year, DFS Crufts FM will be broadcasting on a brand new frequency of 87.7FM in the immediate vicinity of the NEC in Birmingham so that visitors on their way to the show and throughout the halls will be able to tune in on their radios. For those further afield, DFS Crufts FM can be heard online via the show’s website www.dfscrufts.org.uk. DFS Crufts FM will be welcoming two new presenters to their team this year. The morning slot will be hosted by former children’s TV presenter, Jenny Hanley, fondly remembered for her work on Magpie, whilst the evenings will see former Crufts Junior Handling winner Marina Scott take over the headphones and microphone duties. Both will bring a wealth of knowledge to their shows and will join a team which also features the experienced show broadcasters Gary Champion and Alan Hyde. To make sure that listeners are kept bang up to date with all the latest action from the show, there will be a Newsdesk every 20 minutes once the results start to come in, with more reporters in the halls than ever before to bring all the news as it happens live from ringside. There will be more interviews with winners than ever before as the team uncover all the big stories and bring them to listeners first. There will also be a one-hour programme packed with live guests and competitions broadcasting live from the Samsung stand each day at 10am, with plenty of great prizes provided by the hosts, and a daily podcast available to download each morning. DFS Crufts FM will be on air from the afternoon of Wednesday 10th March, catching all the build up to the show, right through until around 9.30pm on Sunday 14th March. The broadcast will run 24 hours a day to ensure that listeners from Sydney to Anchorage can keep tabs on the Australian Cattle Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes via their computers without having to stay up all night. DFS Crufts FM Programme Editor, Bob Mills said: “We look forward to bringing listeners across the globe all of the latest news from the world’s greatest dog show. Whether they are parking their cars outside the NEC or sitting in front of their computers thousands of miles away, we relish the task of capturing all the noise, colour and highlights of this wonderful show and making them feel part of the action.” Go To Top Of Page THE KENNEL CLUB JUDGES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME The Kennel Club is offering dog show judges across eight breeds the chance to enhance their knowledge through its schedule for the Judges Development Programme (JDP) during the spring. A series of seminars are being held in March and April this year, as part of the Kennel Club’s commitment to ensuring that judges have the most up-to-date information about the various breeds. The programme is an excellent opportunity for judges to increase their knowledge of the scheduled breeds and to benefit from the wealth of knowledge that the breed experts will be there to share. All of the Kennel Club Judges Development Programme seminars will be held at the Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ. Judges wishing to attend a JDP breed seminar must have: - previously awarded CCs to at least three breeds within the relevant Group (i.e. the same group as the host Group), or - been previously approved by the Kennel Club to Judge a Group at Championship Show level. The schedule for the selected breeds is as follows: Utility Group Monday 22 March 2010 – Lhasa Apso Tuesday 23 March 2010 – Shih Tzu Eligible candidates should contact Sally Kimber on 01474 814796 or email [email protected]. Pastoral Group Wednesday 24 March 2010 – Briard Wednesday 25 March 2010 – Samoyed Eligible candidates should contact Bob Gregory on 01477 532478 or email [email protected]. Hound Group Wednesday 14 April 2010 – Basset Hound and Beagle Thursday 15 April 2010 – Dachshund and Basset Fauve De Bretagne Eligible candidates should contact Shirley Rawlings – 01435 868908 or email [email protected]. The Hound Group JDP will be a two-day workshop devoted to education and hands on coaching. Some places will be available to judges falling just short of fulfilling all qualification criteria for JDPs. Applications for places are invited from judges who award at least two sets of CCs in the Hound Group though priority will be given to those who fulfil all the usual JDP qualification criteria. After education and hands on coaching at the spring meetings, candidates will have a full summer show season of study and mentoring opportunities, before attending judging evaluations in November. HELPING HAITI HAITI RSPCA in Haiti Helping Pets, Poultry and People An RSPCA chief officer has been deployed to earthquake stricken Haiti to take over the day to day running of the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), a group of 21 animal charities from around the world. ARCH was formed specifically to deal with the Haiti crisis. It is led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The Coalition is already on the ground in Haiti, working with local people to help injured animals as well as provide a massive vaccination programme for livestock, poultry and pets. Chief officer Kevin Degenhard will leave the UK tomorrow (2 March) to take over the role of co-ordinator from WSPA’s Gerardo Huertas, who is the charities’ disaster operations director for the Americas. Kevin said: “Being asked to take on this role is both a massive honour and a great responsibility. I will spend two months in Haiti helping to co-ordinate the running of the mobile outreach clinics and other field operations and working with the Haitian government to put the ARCH programme plan for animal welfare into action.” A vital part of rebuilding communities in Haiti is helping people to look after their surviving animals, as they depend on these animals for food, protection and companionship. “The situation on the ground at the moment is still very difficult, but the ARCH team is working very closely with local people, and I am confident that we will be able to help make a difference to the humans and animals affected by this terrible tragedy,” he added. So far ARCH has helped over 2,000 animals* and is now working with the Government of Haiti to help rebuild services for people and their animals. This sort of operation is only possible because of the combined efforts of all the animal welfare groups involved in ARCH, and it is through this co-operation that we strive to make a real and lasting difference to the people and animals of Haiti. For updates on our emergency relief work in Haiti, or any of the other emergency international relief work we do, go to web page http://www.rspca.org.uk/inaction/international/emergencyresponse *The latest numbers of animal treated in Haiti - The last day on record is Feb 22, and the total at that time stood at 2,226. This figure will have increased significantly since then, and an update will be available shortly. About ARCH Coalition The Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) is jointly led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in partnership with over a dozen of the world’s leading animal protection organizations. Animal welfare organizations formed the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) so that we could work together to bring aid to as many animals, and in as short a time, as possible. At present, ARCH partners include: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (England and Wales) International Fund for Animal Welfare, World Society for the Protection of Animals, American Humane Association, Best Friends Animal Society, In Defense of Animals, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Foundation, Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, United Animal Nations, Kinship Circle, One Voice, Swiss Animal Protection and Petfinder.com Foundation. ARCH members urge other animal welfare groups to join in the group efforts. About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) saves animals in crisis around the world. With headquarters in the United States and representation in 15 countries, IFAW and its 1.2 million supporters work passionately to prevent animal suffering. About WSPA The World Society for the Protection of Animals is the world’s largest alliance of animal welfare organisations. With consultative status at the United Nations and a network of over a thousand member societies in 156 countries in the world, including the RSPCA, we strive to create a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty ends. Go To Top Of Page MOVING FORWARD ON DOG BREEDING The veterinary profession was well represented at a meeting of key stakeholders brought together to discuss the next steps on dog breeding. The British Veterinary Association (BVA), British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) together with welfare organisations, the Kennel Club, Defra, and the Scottish Government considered the three major dog breeding reports by APGAW, RSPCA and Professor Bateson. The group agreed to work on a proposal to set up an Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding, as recommended by Professor Bateson. The group also identified the key areas to be addressed as: Education and publicity Breeding strategies Surveillance, research and development The meeting was chaired by Professor Sheila Crispin PhD FRCVS. After the meeting Prof Crispin said: “In a highly constructive meeting stakeholders welcomed the three reports and there was broad acceptance of the thrust of the recommendations. A key action agreed was for the formation of an Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding. A proposal will be prepared for submission to Ministers. “The many actions already in hand to address these issues were noted and it was agreed that future work would build on these initiatives through collaboration. We also welcome the interest shown by Defra and the devolved administrations.” Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, added: “Clearly the veterinary profession has a key role to play in educating the public about the health and welfare issues of choosing a dog. “The BVA strongly supports the idea set out in Professor Bateson’s report that an advisory council should be independent and draw on the opinions of experts and we are pleased to be part of the group setting up such a council.” 1. The three reports considered by the stakeholders are: Pedigree dog breeding in the UK: a major welfare concern? (RSPCA) A healthier future for pedigree dogs (APGAW) Independent inquiry into dog breeding (Patrick Bateson) 2. Organisations represented at the meeting were BSAVA RCVS RSPCA 3. Enquiries about the stakeholder group can be directed to Prof Sheila Crispin [email protected] 07802 667 235 or 015395 68637 or Heather Peck (secretariat) [email protected] 07876 681 954 or 01954 210 402. Go To Top Of Page Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister Announces Complete Ban on Electric Shock Collars After four years of campaigning, the Kennel Club has jubilantly welcomed the announcement made by Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones AM that, subject to approval by the National Assembly for Wales, the use of electric shock collars will be banned in Wales. The ban is the first of its kind in the UK and is a ‘huge milestone for dog welfare’. The Minister has today laid the legislation, the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations 2010 before the Assembly, which will need to consider and agree the legislation before a ban can be implemented. Announcing her decision, Elin Jones AM said: “On 25 June 2008 I announced my intention, subject to consultation, to introduce legislation to ban the use of electronic training devices in Wales. “Following careful consideration of the responses to the consultation and with a view to enhancing animal welfare in Wales, I have today laid legislation before the National Assembly for Wales which will ban the use of electric shock collars in Wales. “This has not been an easy subject to examine. There is genuinely a large degree of concern about how these devices are improperly used, in contrast to responses from people who have used them and found they have worked in stopping an animal from misbehaving. “However, the Welsh Assembly Government takes animal welfare very seriously and I am confident that the approach I am announcing today will go a long way to promote the welfare of dogs and cats in Wales.” Kennel Club Communications Director, Caroline Kisko, said: “After almost thirteen years of campaigning in the UK and four years of campaigning in Wales, this truly is a milestone. “We are delighted by the Minister’s announcement. Electric shock collars train dogs through pain and through fear, they are a cruel, outdated and unsuitable method of training dogs. A YouGov survey about electric shock collars, commissioned by the Kennel Club in 2009 , that 70% disapproved of the use of electric shock collars on dogs, with only 9% of people approving of their use.* We will continue to urge AMs to pass these regulations which will show that Wales is clearly leading the way on this important welfare issue.” For further information and advice on the Kennel Club campaign to ban electric shock collars, contact the External Affairs department on 0844 463 3980 ext 301 or visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kccampaigns. Electric shock collars - worn around a dog’s neck, these work either via a remote control with various settings which, when activated, deliver an electric shock to the neck of a dog, or deliver an electric shock to a dog automatically when a dog barks or enters a pre-defined perimeter shock zone. Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, announced her intention to introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of shock collars in Wales in June 2008. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1032 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22nd - 24th September 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Welsh adults (aged 18+). Go To Top Of Page GSD Breed Council Asks KC For Resolution To 2012 CC Furore The German Shepherd Dog breed council has written to the Kennel Club asking if it can negotiate a resolution to the 2012 CCs row. It has also asked for an extension to the March 31 deadline by which a controversial contract between clubs and the KC must be signed. The KC has ruled that to be considered for 2012 CCs, all GSD breed clubs and general and group championship show societies previously allocated CCs and which want them in future have to sign a formal undertaking to abide by certain conditions for all future shows ‘with immediate effect’. A total of 25 breed clubs were represented at a breed council meeting at the weekend, at which there was open discussion on the KC’s directive. Hastily following the meeting, chairman John Cullen wrote to the KC saying that the vast majority of the clubs felt that item nine of the contract – that clubs would not hold events under the rules or regulations of any organisation other than the KC – was ‘an unreasonable and disproportionate restriction’. It is understood that clubs would like the option of holding events under the auspices of the World Union of GSD Associations (WUSV). Deadline The letter said: “Our clubs have asked the breed council to try to negotiate a resolution. The breed council is sure that we can come to a satisfactory solution for all parties with a little give and take. “We realise that more time may be needed for you to discuss this with your General Committee and that they will be busy with Crufts. The breed council would like to ask for an extension to your deadline of March 31 to allow for more discussion.” The breed council was disappointed that the KC’s directive had been sent to individual breed clubs and not to the council, as it had ‘always tried to work’ with the KC on everything, Mr Cullen wrote. "Of the clubs present at the meeting, five have signed the contract, and eight are waiting to hear from members on a final vote, and 12 had not decided what to do." “We think it has some unfair things on it – particularly item nine,” he said. “The breed council has always been above board in its dealings with the KC and I don’t know at what point the KC decided never inform us of anything. They don’t answer any letters – just put statements out to the press. “But we don’t want to fall out with them, although there are some warmongers... We need to keep talking.” Go To Top Of Page REVOLUTIONARY ‘DOGGIE DATING’ DATABASE TO IMPROVE PEDIGREE HEALTH The Kennel Club is developing a revolutionary new database that will enable people to find a perfect mate for their dog and which will help to improve the health of future generations within the breed. The database will enable breeders, vets and others to record information about a dog’s health including any surgery that it has had and the results of any health tests, which will greatly increase the Kennel Club’s ability to understand the health issues that affect individual dogs and the extent to which these are inherited within the breed. From this database the Kennel Club will develop a Mate Select programme which will be accessed via the Kennel Club website and will, in a first of its kind, allow both occasional and regular breeders to assess the impact that a proposed mating will have on the genetic diversity within their breed. As new health screening tools are developed, these will also be incorporated into Mate Select so that, in future, breeders will be able to select mating pairs which will maximise the chances of producing healthy puppies whilst having the optimum impact on the breed’s genetic diversity. More information about the new database and other Kennel Club health projects will be available at the Health Zone at DFS Crufts, which takes place on 11th-14th March 2010 at the NEC in Birmingham. These IT developments will greatly expand the Kennel Club’s ability to collect and store health information on registered dogs - information that will allow the development of new health screening tools which will find their way into Mate Select and improve the health of pedigree dogs. The Kennel Club wants to ensure that these healthy puppies go on to loving homes and has launched a new Breed Information Centre on its website. This includes a Health Test Results Finder, which records the health test results for any Kennel Club registered dog; an Accredited Breeder application that gives potential owners a list of responsible breeders in their area; and a Find aBreed application to show which breed’s characteristics would best suit their lifestyle. For moreinformation, please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services. Kennel Club Communications Director, Caroline Kisko, said: “People do a lot of thinking about their perfect partner but dogs’ needs are relatively simple - to find a mate that will give them healthy puppies, which will then be matched with loving owners. “A lot of science is going into the Kennel Club’s new database, but the end result will be that the computer will be able to help dog breeders find a mate for their dog, which will give them the best possible chance of producing healthy puppies. “Not only can we help to match the right dogs with each other, but equally important is matching the right puppy buyers to the right puppy and our newly launched Breed Information Centre will help people to find the right breed and the right breeder.” Nick Blayney, former President of the British Veterinary Association, has spoken about the importance of the new database for dog health. He said: “The Kennel Club has helped develop many DNA tests and has a number of health screening schemes that are run with the British Veterinary Association and this knowledge should be central to any breeding decision. Sometimes though, there is so much information to compute that breeders don’t know where to start. This database will do the complicated calculations for them, showing them clearly which dogs will make the most suitable match in order to produce healthy puppies.” Health test results, and details of any surgery or operations that a dog has had, will be inputted into the health database by dog owners and vets and will then be verified. Dogs will then enter the ‘dating pool’ and be matched with other dogs, of the same breed within the surrounding area, on the basis of their Estimated Breeding Value (the genetic value of the dog based upon health considerations). For those breeders who already know which dogs they would like to use, the database will show the compatibility in terms of health, of a particular mating. Work is already under way on the database which will be available by the end of the year, and the Mate Select programme within the following twelve months. Professor Jeff Sampson, Kennel Club Chief Scientific Advisor, said: “The Kennel Club has been working with scientists to develop Estimated Breeding Values for many years. These EBVs are based on very complicated calculations such as the prevalence of certain diseases in a particular breed or the size of the gene pool. The database is the first of its kind to be able to compute all of this information and to tell breeders not only which two dogs will produce the healthiest offspring, but which pairings will have the most positive effect on the overall health of that breed. “The programme will be available for pedigree dogs, because we know their heritage and therefore have more information available for them, but we hope that information about all other dogs will also be fed into this database. At the moment we have frighteningly little information about diseases within crossbred dogs, but this database will help to throw light on this grey area and help us, therefore, to improve the health of pedigrees and crossbreeds alike.” Go To Top Of Page An Introduction to the Vulnerable Native Breeds 20-Dec-06 Source KC Vulnerable Breeds The Kennel Club’s prime responsibility is ‘to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs’. It is also particularly concerned, of course, to protect those breeds of dog which are of British origin and are considered to be vulnerable i.e. those whose numbers are declining and whose status within the world of dogs has diminished over a number of years. A decision was made in June 2003 that research would be undertaken to identify and confirm the relevant breeds and the extent and nature of their vulnerability. This research not only featured breeds of dog which are basically of British origin, but with the support of the Irish Kennel Club, the research also included native Irish breeds. The work carried out concentrated on those breeds which achieve 300 or fewer registrations each year in the UK, and statistics were pulled together to identify the relevant breeds and the extent and nature of their vulnerability. A list of those breeds identified is given below: Deerhounds, Greyhounds, Otterhounds, Irish Red & White Setters, Clumber Spaniels, Field Spaniels, Irish Water Spaniels, Sussex Spaniels, Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Smooth Fox Terriers, Glen of Imaal Terriers, Irish Terriers, Kerry Blue Terriers, Lakeland Terriers, Manchester Terriers, Norwich Terriers, Sealyham Terriers, Skye Terriers, Welsh Terriers, Smooth Collies, Lancashire Heelers, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, English Toy Terriers (Black & Tan), Miniature Bull Terriers. Subsequent to this research, the Kennel Club approached all the registered clubs of the breeds concerned for their views and enclosed a questionnaire to help identify ways in which each club currently works with breeders, owners and show societies to promote their breed. What determines popularity? By Simon Parsons, Associate Editor of Dog World newspaper, Editor of Dog World Annual and a Championship Show Judge of several breeds. If you think about the ways in which the pedigree dog scene has evolved over the last half-century or so, one aspect stands out. Look at the Kennel Club Stud Books for the years immediately before WW II. In total, 89 breeds were recognised. I know there can be dispute about which country various breeds are supposed to have originated in, but at a rough count I think it’s fair to say that of these 89,about 54 could be described as British or Irish breeds. Look at the situation today. More than 200 breeds are on the Kennel Club register,over twice as many as in the late 1930s. Of these, just 63 are British or Irish. In the intervening years, very few native breeds have found their way on to the Kennel Club register. Those that have, are mainly breeds such as the Bearded and Border Collies or Cavalier King Charles Spaniel which have ‘always’ existed but which have only in post-war years been taken up in a big way by the show fraternity. All the other ‘new’ breeds, more than 100 of them, originated in other countries, mainly but not exclusively, Europe. Some, such as the Dobermann, Weimaraner, Rottweiler or Miniature Dachshund, have become so popular that it’s hard to imagine that they haven’t always existed in Britain. Others have a more minority appeal and some are just beginning to make their way. Why should this be? Is it a yen among dog breeders for something new, something different, something to make your mark in? Certainly, with it now being so much easier to import dogs, the trend is unlikely to be reversed. Today, there is a vast and sometimes bewildering choice of breeds available to the pet owner, to the exhibitor and in some cases to the working dog enthusiast. Inevitably, with such a choice on offer, the popularity of individual breeds fluctuates according to the period. Before WWII the Wire Fox Terrier was all the rage. Then we had the peak of Poodle popularity, the Afghan boom in the swinging ‘60s and ‘70s and the worrying proliferation of ‘macho’ breeds which seemed to go with the national mood in the ‘80s. In each case the boom has been followed, if not quite by bust, but certainly by a dramatic falling off in the popularity of these breeds. Meanwhile, other breeds manage to retain their place in the Top Ten, even if their popularity goes in cycles too: the German Shepherd, the Cocker Spaniel and the Labrador Retriever, today joined by the Golden Retriever. So here we have two trends. Firstly, the search for something new and exotic from abroad; secondly the inevitable rise and fall in popularity of different breeds. Equally inevitable is that some breeds can reach a stage where their numbers fall to a dangerously low level. Sometimes this may not matter too much if the breeds remain popular in their native country. But when this happens to British or Irish breeds, is it not time for us to do something about it? Do we not owe it to these breeds, bred and shown in Britain for far longer than many of the ‘foreign upstarts’, to try to ensure that they survive in as healthy a form as possible? What is it about these breeds that prevents them from appealing to a wider cross-section of the public? Sometimes it is hard to understand what determines a breed’s popularity. Irish and English Setters have plenty of enthusiasts in the show ring and as pet owners. So why are not Gordon Setters more widely appreciated by the general public? It is fair to say that of those that are bred, a far higher proportion are shown than in many other breeds, entries being at a very healthy level. When Labradors and Golden Retrievers are so universally popular, why not Curly Coats? Rough, but not the easier-to-manage Smooth Collies? Cavaliers, but not King Charles? And so on. But it is the Terrier Group which includes the largest number of ‘vulnerable’ breeds. Most of the Terrier breeds started life in Britain or Ireland. Some have always been, or have become, exceptionally popular, such as the West Highland White Terrier, Cairn Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. But it is the breeds which demand a very high level of skill in show-ring presentation which have suffered most, though this cannot be the only reason as Wire Fox Terriers still register more than Smooths, even though both register a fraction of the numbers from their heyday 60 or so years ago. Perhaps the saddest drop is that in the Sealyham Terrier which registered 1,084 puppies in 1938 and a mere 60 in 2004. They are not the easiest breed to keep in top form for the ring, but they have much going for them as do all the other ‘minority breeds’. Some of these breeds are never going to attract huge numbers, for finding the type of home best suited to their size, exuberance or exercise requirements will never be that easy. For example, with today’s smallish houses and smaller gardens and with countless TV programmes encouraging us to keep our homes spotless, Bloodhounds are always going to be a minority taste, though a wonderful breed for those with the space and the time to allow them to reach their full potential. Others, the Gordon Setter and the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier being two examples, have for years existed happily at a consistent numerical level, and with active, responsible breed clubs and buoyant show entries, there is probably no need to change the healthy status quo. Indeed any sudden rapid rise in popularity would not be a good thing. But undoubtedly some of these breeds have the potential to attract more enthusiasts than they currently do. Take Lakeland Terriers, for example. For the type of person who appreciates the Terrier character, these should surely have enormous appeal. Affectionate towards humans and a handy size - what more do pet buyers want? Yes, it takes time and skill to learn how to present such breeds to advantage in the show ring, and this is not simply a matter of a bath and a trim the night before the show. Yet other breeds, which need specialist grooming, have no lack of supporters. Over the years there have been mutterings that something should be done for the British breeds. Many, many years ago, there was a British Breeds’ Club which ran dog shows, but that ceased to exist before most of today’s enthusiasts can remember. In any case, it is certainly not all British breeds which need a boost; many are doing just fine. A catalyst was an article in Country Life magazine, with a Lakeland Terrier on the cover, highlighting the problems some of these breeds face. Soon the Kennel Club began to take the breeds’ predicament seriously, initially working out which breeds came under the heading of ‘vulnerable’, an average of fewer than 300 registrations annually being generally considered the criterion. Meanwhile an independent group of enthusiasts, the British and Irish Native Breeds Preservation Trust, held its first meetings in mid 2003. This was followed by the setting up of a Kennel Club Working Party, and the signs are that both groups will be working together. Breed clubs have been asked for their input; in some cases the clubs are quite happy with the level of popularity their breed has obtained. Others appreciate any help in promoting the breed, bearing in mind, of course, that the last thing anyone wants is to encourage irresponsible breeders or those concerned only to make a quick buck. Are there any precedents for this? Certainly there are, and a number of overseas Kennel Clubs are keen to promote their country’s native breeds. Sweden, Spain and Hungary are three that spring to mind. As far as the show ring is concerned, such countries offer special prizes for the best of the Spanish breeds at the major shows, sometimes with annual points competitions. In extreme cases, where breeds are really in a desperate state, cheap or free registration has been offered for puppies or the rarest native breeds. Ireland, too, has done its bit. I well remember when the Irish Kennel Club hosted the world congress of Kennel Clubs, there were impressive displays in Dublin’s Trinity College by clubs and enthusiasts of the Irish breeds, and experts delivered lectures on them to the many prominent personalities who attended. A start will be made by showcasing the vulnerable breeds at events like Discover Dogs and Crufts. In addition, one needs to go beyond the confines of the dog-showing world and reach out to events like game fairs, county shows and so on. These breeds are part of a great British tradition. Britain and Ireland were the cradle of serious dog-showing and breeding and played for many years a major part in supplying top class dogs, and dog expertise to fanciers overseas. What we need is to make people proud to own a native breed, and to encourage them to consider seriously one of these breeds when they first get a dog, either as a show dog or purely as a companion. A breed in crisis Paul Keevil is a canine writer, photographer and Championship Show Judge. He asks how the Dandie Dinmont Terrier has become so univesally out of favour and what can be done to reverse the trend . . . I enjoy walking my dogs through town and I can guarantee that I will nearly always be stopped by someone who will exclaim: “I haven’t seen one of those for years!” or even “What are they? Never seen one like that before.” Dandie Dinmonts are scarce, rare and very vulnerable right now. I am a relative newcomer to the breed, having acquired my first Dandie a mere 18 years ago. Back then the breed was enjoying registrations around the 250 mark, entries at Crufts and breed club shows were at the 120 level. If you wanted a puppy you had to put your name down on a waiting list; that is if you passed the tough interview each prospective owner had to endure. But times change. In the last three years, registrations have dipped below the 100 mark, and it is not uncommon to see only around a dozen dogs turn up at Championship Shows with CCs on offer. This is a breed in crisis. When you are involved with something every day, things have a habit of creeping up on you unnoticed. This is probably the case with my breed, the decline has been gradual but steady. We have three breed clubs, which seems bizarre for a breed that in 2003 only managed to register 90 puppies. And the decline is not just limited to the UK. In 1972 there were 249 Dandie puppies registered by the AKC in America and last year that had declined to just 76. So why has the breed become so universally out of favour and what can be done to reverse the trend? Could it be that the Dandie, in common with many other British Terrier breeds, is just no longer fashionable or that its coat needs regular attention to look its best? If so, how do you explain the continued popularity of the West Highland White Terrier (9,823 registered in 2003) or the Border Terrier (6,477 registered in 2003). Could it be that the continued importation of ‘new’ breeds from around the world has hit the indigenous UK dog breeds making it more difficult to sell the less ‘exotic’ home grown product? For example in 2003, the Kennel Club registered more Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers than they did Dandies! A whole host of other theories have been put forward for my breed’s decline in popularity. Internal disputes within some of our breed clubs, which resulted in one club losing its CC status for several years, have not exactly helped either. Neither has the over protective attitude that some diehard breed enthusiasts still doggedly hold on to to this day. So, what can we do to get our numbers up once again? Let’s face it, we are never going to be as popular as West Highland White Terriers and many would say “jolly good thing too”, but we should be aiming to get registrations up to an achievable and sustainable level of about 250-300 a year. That would still keep the breed exclusive, but would give us all a potentially wider base to breed from. Most breeders in Dandies are hobby breeders; at the most they will only have a couple of breeding animals and only have a litter when they want something and then pass the rest on to pet homes. Dandies do not have large litters. The year on year average has remained fairly constant for the last 50 years at about three puppies per litter, so what we desperately need to do is get more people interested in breeding. My name appears in some canine directories for breed advice and I do from time to time receive enquiries for Dandie puppies. The overwhelming number of enquirers seek bitch puppies and when asked what they will do about seasons, exclaim that they plan to have the bitch spayed as soon as possible. Surely, with our registrations at danger level, this is a practice we can no longer afford to support. The last quarter’s registrations show that from July to September 2003 there were 21 Dandie puppies registered, of which 18 were dogs. We all have to accept that we do have a problem and a major one. Unbelievably the message still does not seem to get through to some enthusiasts. Then we have to try and attract new people into the breed, make them feel more welcome when they do arrive and find ways to encourage those who perhaps do not have the time, skills or inclination to trim a Dandie to show standard, but would still enjoy a good day out with their dog. I believe the Kennel Club has a great opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to many of the breeds who have gone on the Vulnerable Native Breeds’ list. Properly promoted and wisely managed the ‘brand’ that these 20 odd breeds make up is totally unique in the world of pedigree dogs. How many other countries have 28 breeds, let alone 28 which are recognised as being potentially vulnerable? I would love to take my Dandies for a walk in the town and for people to say, “Oh look, Dandie Dinmonts, my neighbour has one of those.” The pride of Manchester Peter Eva, Championship Show Judge, Manchester Terrier owner and breeder talks about why he believes they are such a great breed. The Manchester Terrier, originally called the Black and Tan Terrier is not a designed dog but the result of selective breeding from the local Terrier for a purpose. That is to live close with its people, having all the controlled spark of a Terrier. It has a single coat for ease of maintenance, a wonderful clean mouth containing amazing teeth and the agility and speed of a first class athlete. The earliest recorded sighting that we know of is in a 1355 painting called the Hour of the Virgin, which appeared in Dr Caius’ book. The breed clearly existed before this as it is referred to as the other Black and Tan Terrier alongside the rough coated variety from which the Welsh, Lakeland, Airedale etc were derived. Having a smooth single coat, it was a ‘house’ dog rather than the coated outdoor types and so did not get the fame and kudos of the Huntsman’s assistant. His ratting talents were prodigious and he was favoured in houses, ships, warehouses and coal mines, the black and tan colouring being obvious camouflage in the dark unpleasant conditions. The single coat is easy to clean and does not show the smuts and grime. It is said that the tan eyebrow, cheek, muzzle and chest spots are to confuse the rat. I have never been able to ask the rat or the dog, so it’s an assumption! The famous black ‘thumb spots’ on the wrist could be another confusing marking or God’s two-handed blessing, such as on the haddock and other fish for the five thousand. That is a bit far fetched, even for me. It always breeds true Black and Tan, with varying degrees of perfection. There is no doubt however that the Black and Tan, or the Manchester Terrier has changed little over hundreds of years, less than most. That is apart from the ears, which like most natural dogs were upright and lent themselves to the barbaric practice of being ‘cut’ when the dog is about six months old. However, the practice of cropping was banned by the Kennel Club in 1883. The breed was not derived from the Whippet or improved by the Whippet and to quote the late and great ‘Doggie’ Hubbard “That’s nonsense”. If anything the Whippet has a bit of Black and Tan in him. In fact some breeds such as the Dobermann in the early years of its development has recorded matings with the Manchester Terrier. Those perpetuating these stories about Whippets do not help in establishing the true identity of the breed. It existed long before. In the beginning, the Manchester Terrier varied in size as it does to an extent today. Originally it came in three sizes, the smallest down to below 7lbs and this became the English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) with his own history and reputation, the medium or Manchester Terrier 15/16” and the larger 21” plus dog which is rarely seen now. It could have been this latter size that Herr Dobermann used. At the first dog show, Newcastle Canine Society in 1858, Black and Tans had classes of all three sizes and they were amongst the largest entries. At Birmingham in 1859 they were also listed but the actual entry was less, maybe it was too far to travel. Whatever the size, the Manchester Terrier is famous for its vermin killing abilities, but it is because of this he has become infamous due to the company he kept. Rat pits, gaming houses and a variety of non-PC activities meant that he did not always associate with the top people! Some people however did appreciate his virtues, such as the young Queen Victoria, President Roosevelt and Agatha Christie. The breed is still used by horse owners to keep tack rooms vermin free. The Manchester Terrier’s fame as the ultimate burglar alarm makes electrical devices unnecessary. There are no inherited health problems. As a dog carefully developed to be very active, powerful and quick in very small restricted areas, his conformation does not always lend itself to striding around the show ring as the ability to move like lightning a few feet or inches is much more important. The powerful, crested neck and the incredible bite means that a flick of the head and the prey is dead. He is almost maintenance free, requiring just nails and teeth to be kept in order. On top of that he requires exercise, warm clean bedding, feeding, and fresh clean water. Owners agree that the digestive system is like a stainless steel tube that makes it fuss free. Extending the gene pool "I cannot understand how we have fewer registrations than the Kennel Club’s qualification of 300 per year, when logic dictates that every home should have at least one." Extending the gene pool Dr Jeff Sampson is a molecular biologist, who has many years of experience of owning and exhibiting dogs (Schipperkes). Prior to his appointment as the Kennel Club’s Health & Information Executive, he was based at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket. He is well known and respected in scientific circles as well as by the many breed clubs at whose seminars he has communicated the basis of canine genetics. The list of British and Irish vulnerable native breeds was drawn up mainly by looking at their annual registration numbers and their trends over the years. They all have relatively low numbers of dogs registered each year, however, numbers alone are not the only consideration. When the population structure of many of these breeds is examined, it’s noticed that relatively few bitches are becoming mothers and probably even fewer males are becoming fathers. It’s likely that some of the major kennels that contributed to the breed structure in the past no longer operate and these major bloodlines are no longer available to today’s breeders. All this means that genetic variability within these breeds is becoming more and more eroded and their breed gene pools are becoming increasingly shallower. This erosion of genetic variability doesn’t have inescapable consequences, but it is far more likely to create a situation where the prevalence of breed-specific inherited diseases increases, and could very well lead to something called in-breeding depression. This is where the reduced genetic variation actually impacts on the breed’s overall fitness, causing, amongst other things, reduced fertility, often manifesting as a gradual reduction in litter sizes and an increasing inability to get bitches pregnant. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) actually uses the numbers of mating pairs to determine whether a species is in danger, or is on the point of extinction. If the WWF were to classify some of these vulnerable breeds, they would at least declare them as ‘endangered’. The Rare Breeds’ Survival Trust has also been tackling similar problems in other purebred domesticated species like sheep, goats, cattle and horses. A concerted effort by breeders to breed more dogs is required to reverse the trends of the last few years. This doesn’t mean producing greater numbers of puppies from the same old dams and sires, it means increasing the number of dogs and bitches within the breed who become parents in their own right. Existing experienced breeders should try to persuade and encourage new owners who buy puppies from them to have at least one litter from the puppy. In this way breed numbers will increase and so will the parental base from which future generations are produced. This will go some way to stemming the current loss of genetic variability. Breeders should also be encouraged to look overseas for fresh bloodlines. Admittedly these overseas populations were initially imported from here in the first place, but the populations have probably been geographically separated for long enough to allow genetic drift to generate a different genetic profile. Dipping into these overseas gene pools may not be without potential problems and breeders will need to do their homework very carefully. There are a number of examples that I am aware of where breeds in different countries have disease profiles that are different to the British population of the breed. Care will need to be taken to avoid using overseas bloodlines that are affected by these problems. Another possible approach will be to create breed sperm banks that can be used to store sperm from significant lines, so that if the breeder eventually stops breeding, the line will be available to future generations of breeders. Of course, frozen sperm can only be used via artificial insemination (AI), but fortunately canine AI techniques are improving all the time, with a concomitant increase in success rates. Practioners of AI in the dog say that litters are produced in about 85 -90% of cases these days. Breeders of some of these vulnerable native breeds have made the point that in the beginning of their breed, the breed register was closed far too early, preventing the entry of fresh dogs, and therefore fresh ‘genetic blood’. For some breeds, at least, there are examples that have since been maintained outside the Kennel Club breed register, but have nonetheless been maintained as a purebred population. If some of these dogs could be allowed back on to the breed register it could have significant impact on the breed’s genetic variability. Specific interbreeding programmes would regenerate the much-needed genetic variation in some of these breeds. However, the problems in this approach are obvious, not least of which is the choice of breed to participate in interbreeding programmes. Using foundation stock in the past from other breeds has produced most of today’s breeds, and an hour or so in the Kennel Club library, reading the numerous breed books, will demonstrate the various ideas that exist for the history of different breeds. Unfortunately, the true origins of many of today’s dog breeds are not known. For meaningful interbreeding to become a reality, the specific foundation breeds that lay behind a particular breed and the relatedness of today’s dog breeds needs to be known. Fortunately, that information is just around the corner. Recent advances in understanding of the canine DNA molecule are now showing the way to develop methods of identifying breed specific DNA signatures. Professor Elaine Ostrander, a significant player in the international canine genome project, recently published a paper together with members of her group showing that DNA can be used to predict the breed of a dog. The paper presented the result of an experiment where the group was given 406 anonymous canine DNA samples from individual dogs from 80 different breeds. By analysing each DNA sample they were able to place all but four of the samples into the correct breed. This work is in its infancy, but it does open up the very real possibility that DNA analysis will be able to reveal the breeds that lay behind today’s dog breeds, and how present-day breeds are related to each other. The availability of this information will help to identify which breeds should be interbred, if such interbreeding is ever envisaged. Putting our trust in the future By Julien Barney, Chairman of the British & Irish Dog Breeds Preservation Trust On the cover of the 2003 Christmas issue of Country Life, a Lakeland Terrier was featured, with the headline ‘Who Will Save This British Dog?’ Around the same time the Kennel Club sent out a questionnaire to 28 breed clubs identified as having fewer than 300 registrations a year. These two actions were the catalyst for the formation of the Trust. This sparked a lot of interest from people wanting to do something for all the listed breeds affected. Pamela Cross-Stern, who was a great support in the early days, and I decided to see whether there was more than the normal hardcore enthusiasts prepared to do something. With the agreement of the National Terrier Club (Terriers being the hardest hit) we manned a stand at its April show to ascertain interest. This led to an open meeting being held in late May where we had representation from the Kennel Club, the canine press and around 50 people from various breeds. The outcome of that first meeting was a working group being asked to formulate a set of aims and objectives and also how the Trust should function. The working group came back to the next open meeting in August which resulted in the official formation of the Trust, with an executive committee being elected. We discovered that people from all the relevant breeds are interested in working together for a common purpose and not just for themselves, and it was also very clear to us that the Trust would not be a dog club or canine society in the usually expected sense. The Trust is far more fundamental; it will be about ensuring that all the breeds and others that may become in need of support are preserved for future generations to enjoy. We are very keen to educate potential owners and the public on the positive aspects of our native breeds. By encouraging the responsible ownership of one of these vulnerable breeds we hope to ensure a secure future for them. At Discover Dogs in November people were shocked when made aware of the list of breeds affected. A vet we spoke to had no idea about the plight of these breeds, but now will recommend these instead of the predictably popular breeds. What was also heartening from our first experience of meeting the public was that all of us who spent time talking to people came away with the feeling that this was a fantastic way to get our message across. What of the breeds themselves? It has transpired that each breed has a slightly different issue(s), be it health, popularity or getting the breed to be shown more actively. Some owner/breeders and clubs are keen to receive more publicity whilst others are happy to remain on an even keel. Some simple research on registrations showed over a four decade period some breeds have remained constant in terms of numbers: Curly-Coated Retrievers, Field Spaniels, Kerry Blue Terriers being examples. A number of others have even increased in popularity e.g. English Toy Terriers, Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers, Irish Terriers and Gordon Setters. Unfortunately others have declined dramatically particularly Cardigan Corgis, Bloodhounds, Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Sealyham Terriers, Skye Terriers and Smooth Fox Terriers, showing a decrease in excess of 50 per cent. One thing not previously considered was the fact that this is not confined to the UK and Ireland. The effects are far more global. Correspondence from overseas with regard to the work of the Trust has been received from people asking how they can get involved. One such example is a gentleman from Australia who owns Lakeland Terriers. He is extremely worried about their plight in his homeland, as the gene pool is getting smaller and they need to import stock, but are finding it increasingly more difficult to locate new lines to bring in that they don’t already have. The executive committee of the Trust and the Kennel Club are acutely aware that substantial progress will take time and must not be rushed into. Careful thought and sensitivity has to be put into how we, the Trust, the Kennel Club and breed clubs and breeders approach this. It must be done holistically, as everyone has their part to play in achieving the long-term preservation of our breeds. The first step along this road will be a symposium in 2005 to discuss with clubs and breeders and other interested parties what they feel should be done for their respective breeds. Clearly apparent from the results of the Kennel Club survey there needs to be further investigation and fact finding to understand the problems and issues. We will be writing to each of the clubs with further details. As part of the symposium the Kennel Club will be invited to take part in a feedback session and also given an opportunity to respond to questions from breeders and breed clubs. It was agreed at the August open meeting that we would work towards charity status by 2006 and this will mean meeting certain criteria laid down by the Charities Commission. We shall have a presence at Crufts in March within the Discover Dogs area to build on November’s success with the public. As the year progresses, the Trust will also attend a number of events, such as country fairs and game fairs to gain further contact with the public and raise awareness of these breeds. The Trust will also continue to work with the Kennel Club with John Richardson and I on the Vulnerable Native Breeds Group. Inevitably it will be a long term development bringing these breeds to a level of prominence, and will require support from everyone interested in the future of these breeds. Source KC Vulnerable Breeds Go To Top Of Page RSPCA faces £1 million legal bill THE RSPCA has been ordered to pay a huge legal bill after losing a battle over a £2 million estate left to the charity in a will. It has been reported that the RSPCA faces costs of up to £1 million after Dr Christine Gill overturned her parents’ will last year. Dr Gill, of Northallerton, Yorkshire, won the case after deputy High Court judge at Leeds Combined Court ruled that the university lecturer’s ‘domineering’ father had coerced her mother into making the will, leaving their 287-acre farm to the charity. The court heard that Dr Gill’s parents left the farm near Northallerton to the RSPCA despite Joyce Gill’s ‘avowed dislike’ of the charity. But the two parties failed to agree on who should foot the legal bill, which totalled about £1.3 million with much of the debate centred on what opportunities were available to settle before the lengthy and costly trial. Repeated attempts Judge James Allen QC handed down his judgment on costs, ordered that the RSPCA should pay the majority of the bill. He also found that the charity had failed to resolve the dispute in an alternative way despite repeated attempts at mediation by Dr Gill.” Tracey Angus, representing Dr Gill, said the charity should pay between 85 and 90 per cent of the costs which were more than £900,000; the RSPCA’s was about £400,000. The court heard that more than 2,000 man hours had been spent on the case. The judgment described the charity’s attitude towards mediation of the case as ‘unreasonable’. Dr Gill asked the RSPCA to consider an alternative resolution three times between January 2008 and September 2008. In August that year Dr Gill offered the charity £350,000 from the sale of the farm, two fields and payment of costs but this was also rejected. The RSPCA then made what was described as a ‘final compromise offer of settlement’ of £50,000, plus costs, and this was rejected by Dr Gill. She then made a counter-offer to the RSPCA of the farm and business, £500,000 and costs, with a legacy of £200,000 to be paid to her but this was also rejected. In June 2008 the RSPCA made an offer to Dr Gill of £650,000 plus costs but this was eventually rejected after the charity said it would only mediate on this offer. Later the same month Dr Gill made a counter-offer which would have provided the RSPCA with part of the farm worth approximately £850,000 and all the money in bank accounts connected to the estate. This was also rejected. She made a final offer in October 2008 when she offered to accept 219.89 acres of land and leave the RSPCA the rest which was under offer for £1.6 million. The charity, which the hearing was told had funds in excess of £160 million, rejected the offer and the case went to trial. The court heard that Dr Gill, an only child, had been given repeated assurances that she would inherit the farm, where she voluntarily helped out during her spare time over a period of more than 30 years, when her parents died. Her father died in 1999 but it was when her mother died in 2006 that she saw the will in which her parents had left the farm to each other and then the RSPCA when both died. Last year’s judgment said Mr Gill used his wife’s agrophobia, her severe anxiety and her dependence on him to make her agree to a will which was contrary to what she wanted. Judge Allen reserved a further written judgment on costs until later. Afterwards, Dr Gill said it was a relief to know she would not have to pay all her costs. She said: “the judgment reflects the attitude the RSPCA has taken right through this. They wouldn’t talk to me ever.” Obligation The judgment states that the RSPCA will be able to recover some of its costs from the estate. A spokesman for the charity said it had acted in accordance with the wishes of Mrs Gill and had no reason to doubt her intentions. “Charities both large and small are left legacies in good faith,” he said. “As far as we and the executors were concerned, Joyce Gill had simply left her estate to the charity and there was no reason to doubt her intentions. That being the case we have an obligation to act in accordance with the wishes of the deceased. “At this stage no specific sums have been calculated so we don’t yet know what either bill will be. It is therefore too early for us to comment on the costs when they are not known. However, we are happy that the judge has ordered that some of our costs are to come out of the estate and that we are not paying the whole of Dr Gill’s legal costs.” Go To Top Of Page VETS TACKLE MINISTER ON DANGEROUS DOGS AND FEES FOR OVs In his speech to the British Veterinary Association's London dinner, BVA President Professor Bill Reilly renewed calls on the Government to increase the fees for Official Veterinarians (OVs) – private practice vets who undertake work on behalf of the Government, such as TB testing, vaccinating, and on-farm work in the event of a notifiable disease outbreak. At the dinner, which was attended by Defra Minister Lord Davies of Oldham, parliamentarians, representatives of the agriculture and food industries and welfare organisations, Professor Reilly said: “When Foot and Mouth struck, Official Veterinarians were the backbone of the country’s response. “We have long argued that they should be paid a professional fee for their work. We were deeply disappointed by the proposal from Animal Health when late last year they suddenly put forward a pay scheme which took no account of the professional service delivered. Can you imagine the response to such an approach to our medical colleagues? “We understand that budgets are tight across the board, but the Government needs Official Veterinarians and needs to pay them an appropriate professional fee for a professional service.” Professor Reilly used his speech to back the Government's stance on pet travel, but urged them to think again on existing legislation to tackle dangerous dogs. Thanking the Minister for Defra’s cooperation on pet travel, Professor Reilly said: “The UK currently imposes stricter measures on the non-commercial movement of pets than the rest of Europe. This derogation from full harmonisation with the rest of the EU, primarily to prevent rabies, also protects us from ticks and tapeworms, which are potentially dangerous to both animals and humans. “Whilst we respect that the ultimate aim is for all Member States to have the same entry requirements, the veterinary profession has raised a number of concerns with Defra and MEPs that the science does not yet support the case for harmonisation. We await the outcome of the discussions in the European Parliament and will continue to push for further research to help us protect the UK from these parasites.” On dangerous dogs, Professor Reilly said: “The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. Rather than singling out individual breeds the BVA strongly believes in targeting individual aggressive dogs. “Last week this view scored a victory in Scotland when the Control of Dogs Bill passed its first stage in Holyrood. The private member’s bill recognises that all dogs can show aggression and affords councils the powers to place tighter controls on these dogs and their owners. “With concern about weapon dogs rising and a new Parliament on the horizon looking for fresh ideas, the time is surely right for it to be at the top of the political agenda.” Read The Full Speech Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS – JUDGES TRAINING PROGRAMME The Kennel Club has made it clear that the single most important issue currently facing the German Shepherd Dog as a breed is the soundness of hindquarters and hocks. Until this fundamental issue of conformation and movement is addressed as the major focal point for action, it is difficult to progress on other matters. However, if breed representatives accept that fundamental soundness in hindquarters and hocks must be improved, then the Kennel Club is ready and very willing to address the other issues raised by groups such as the German Shepherd Dog Partnership. It is heartening to note that the Partnership is now publicly acknowledging the lack of soundness in the breed, particularly as it has not done so up to now. Now that the Partnership is openly acknowledging unsoundness in the breed, the Kennel Club would urge it to take the action that it undertook to do in August 2009 and make soundness in hocks and hindquarters a cornerstone in judges’ training. It had been suggested that a conference or seminar be held to address this with all breed judges, but no progress has been made on staging this to date. Following the 31st March deadline, the Kennel Club will progress this very issue with all those clubs who have signed the Undertaking. As a priority, a judges training programme on the soundness issue will be established and the Kennel Club will continue to evaluate judges to ensure that the fundamental issue of soundness is of paramount importance in the ring. In addition to judges’ training and evaluation, the Kennel Club will also seek to revisit a number of other issues that have been in abeyance waiting for the breed to accept and take action on the issue of soundness. Following the 31st March it is therefore the intention to arrange a meeting with those Clubs which sign the Undertaking, to enable these issues to be revisited. For example, given that the duty towards responsible breeding lies with breeders, inclusion of health tests specific to the GSD in the Accredited Breeders Scheme is highly desirable, but is still awaiting discussion. Other issues such as reviewing the restrictions placed on the registration of non-standard coat colours of GSDs, along with various other topics, are also to be explored with the breed clubs. The Kennel Club is aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and misinformation about the consequences of signing the Undertaking. The following questions and answers may clarify issues for clubs and individuals: Q. “Unsound hocks have no known related health diseases” so why is the KC so exercised about this? A. To suggest that a dog does not have a health issue when it cannot walk properly because of poor hocks, is patently nonsense. The KC’s Fit for Function campaign states that ‘all dogs must be able to see, breathe, and walk freely and be free from pain, irritation or discomfort’. The fundamental ability to walk soundly is a basic quality of life issue for any animal. Q If my club’s secretary and chairman sign the Undertaking on behalf of the club and they are later replaced as officers does this mean that the club is still bound by the Undertaking? A. Yes. The club officials are signing on behalf of the club and its elected committee and not as private individuals. Q. If my club signs the Undertaking and then the judge at our show awards an unsound dog, will the club be penalised? A. No – providing the show management has briefed the judge prior to its shows on their health and welfare responsibilities particularly in regard to soundness of conformation. In such circumstances, and as is the usual procedure, the club must report the matter to the Kennel Club within 7 days of the show to investigate the judge’s conduct. Q. If my club signs the Undertaking and a judge and/or steward allow double handling at a show will the club be penalised? A. No - as long as the Escalation Policy has been followed through every stage by the club. Q. If my club doesn’t sign the Undertaking and loses its Breed Show Challenge Certificates, will its Obedience and Working Trial Certificates also be removed? A. It isn’t possible to prejudge this situation, but clearly if a club refused to work with the Kennel Club on one activity it would certainly raise questions about the club’s relationship with the KC in other areas. Q. If my club doesn’t sign will we lose our open show? A. No. The Undertaking relates to the allocation of Challenge Certificates. However, the clauses in the Undertaking on health & welfare and double handling relate to all events insofar as they are part of KC Show Regulations. All that is being asked is that clubs work with us on the soundness of the breed and in holding events in line with KC regulations. Clubs and individuals cannot pick and choose which regulations to abide by and which to ignore. If there is a breach of regulations at an open show, or a judge rewards an unsound dog, it is expected that clubs report the matter to the KC, as is the case now. Q. If my club does not sign this year can it sign in future years to regain its CCs? A. The allocation for CCs is done on an annual basis and on the prevailing circumstances for each breed. After the deadline of 31st March the Committee will consider its options for unallocated Challenge Certificates. It may choose to reallocate the CCs to breed clubs in the existing rotation that have signed the Undertaking; it may choose to reallocate CCs to general canine societies; or it may choose not to allocate them at all meaning fewer opportunities for the breed at Championship level. Q. Where does the KC stand on SV/WUSV events? A. The KC has worked with the GSD community to enable the annual British Sieger Show to everyone’s satisfaction. All requests of a similar nature will of course be considered. What is being asked is that, as a matter of simple courtesy, clubs should work with their UK governing body to gain support for the organising of any such events. Go To Top Of Page City & Guilds NPTC Recognition for Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme The Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme (KCAI) has become the first nationally recognised qualification in the UK for instructors involved in teaching dog training and canine behaviour. City & Guilds NPTC, the biggest awarding body in the UK for vocational awards, has formally endorsed the scheme and recognised the Kennel Club as an Approved Centre for offering the national qualification – the Kennel Club National Quality Award for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour. This means that for the first time in the UK, instructors involved in teaching dog training and advising on canine behaviour will have the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised, credible and externally verified qualification. Dog owners and dog training enthusiasts will also benefit by having the reassurance of a national standard to ensure that they are provided with the best quality advice and service. Kennel Club Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the KCAI Board, Bill Hardaway, said, “This qualification will formally recognise the knowledge and experience of the many hard-working, dedicated and competent instructors teaching dog training and advising on canine behaviour. The KCAI Scheme is an integral part of the Kennel Club’s strategy for protecting dog owners and their dogs from poor advice and service. “From its inception, this scheme has aimed to set the quality benchmark for instruction and teaching in the canine world in the UK and to be able to offer this formally at a national level with City & Guilds NPTC underlines our commitment to excellence.” City & Guilds NPTC Chief Executive, Jack Ward, said, “As the country’s leading provider of vocational education, City & Guilds NPTC has been very impressed by the level of maturity in the KCAI Scheme’s administrative framework and the quality assurance in the verification processes offered. We are very excited about working with the Kennel Club to deliver this new national qualification.” Those wishing to know more about the scheme and the new qualification can visit the KCAI area on the Dog Activities Stand at DFS Crufts 2010 throughout the show which runs from 11th - 14th March. Accredited Instructors will be on hand to explain the benefits of membership of the scheme and help all those involved in every aspect of teaching dog training and advising on canine behaviour. Advice and encouragement will be offered to anyone interested in achieving one of the first ever Kennel Club National Quality Awards for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour. On the second day of DFS Crufts 2010, Friday 12th March 2010, the new National Quality Award is being formally launched and Kennel Club Accredited Instructors will receive the UK’s very first Kennel Club National Quality Awards for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour. Visitors will be able to see a KCAI: Inspirational Instruction Master Class which illustrates the magic of truly great teachers delivering effective dog training. Novice dog owners and their new dogs will be trained by KCAI Accredited Instructor, and renowned dog trainer and actress, Annie Clayton. Annie will work with 3 novice dog owners and their dogs to teach them a mini Heelwork to Music routine in under half an hour. None of the participants will have had any prior training in Heelwork to Music so the benefits of quality effective teaching will be clear for all to see. Background The Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme for Dog Training Instructors and Canine Behaviourists (KCAI) was formally launched at Crufts in 2004, and has over 40 Accredited Instructors with many hundreds working towards accreditation. Such notable figures in the world of dog training as John Rogerson and Peter Lewis are KCAI Accredited Instructors. Over the last few years the Kennel Club has looked into the issues surrounding dog training, with concerns that anyone can set themselves up as a dog trainer without qualifications and give training and behavioural advice as an ‘expert’, to a ‘blissfully’ unaware general public. Several organisations have formed over time, all trying to address standards in dog training and give educational guidance to their members. The KCAI Scheme complements others, but goes further in unifying all aspects of knowledge and experience in the world of dogs. It oversees personal development and recognises each member as an individual in the role they wish to play. What is it all about? This is the first really comprehensive scheme that, in its flexibility, allows anyone who is instructing, advising or teaching others at any level to join, whatever their interest in dogs. A primary aim of the scheme is to set a national standard to safeguard the public, but it also aims to guide its members in their search for knowledge and experience, encompassing a wealth of information and sharing ideas for improving the future of dog training and behavioural advice. How does it work? Members are credited with points according to their personal level of understanding of issues relating to dog training, behaviour and welfare and assessed on the all important ability to show practical evidence of the service offered to the public. Members agree to be bound by a Code of Practice and, recognised for their individual levels of expertise, are registered on a database for public/professional/membership referral. City & Guilds National Proficiency Tests Council Media Queries Sally Green, City & Guilds NPTC Phone: 024 7685 7300 Email: [email protected] City & Guilds NPTC is frequently requested to develop awards needed by employers working in niche businesses where recognition of skill is equally as important as in the mainstream sectors. City & Guilds NPTC (www.nptc.org.uk) is the UK’s largest recognised awarding organisation in the land-based sector for vocational qualifications. Qualifications focus on providing skills that are of value in land-based industries, and are rooted in practical requirements. City & Guilds NPTC delivers over 100 qualifications through a network of approved assessment centres throughout the UK. The City & Guilds NPTC portfolio includes the long-established certificate of competence qualifications and the land-based qualifications which were managed directly by City & Guilds prior to September 2004. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB DOG HEALTH GROUP TO WORK WITH SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT The Kennel Club has welcomed comments by the Scottish Government detailing their intention to work with the Kennel Club’s Dog Health Group to make the advancements necessary to improve further the health and welfare of dogs. The comments were published following a question to the Scottish Executive from David Whitton MSP regarding the legislative recommendations made by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson in his Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding. The question and response were as follows: David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): ‘To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the legislative recommendations made in Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s report, Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding.’ (S3W-31508) Mr Richard Lochhead : ‘Prof. Sir Patrick Bateson’s report makes a number of recommendations which would involve changes to the legislation on the breeding and sales of dogs, and the Dangerous Dogs Act. Rather than take action at this stage to legislate, the Scottish Government intends to work with the Kennel Club and its Dog Health Group, which now has a broader remit, additional independent experts and under an independent chairman, to make the changes necessary to improve the health and welfare of dogs. The Kennel Club will encourage all dog breeders to participate in the Accredited Breeder Scheme, which Prof. Bateson recognised as close to the ideal model. Only if the Kennel Club are unsuccessful in their attempts to improve the health and welfare of dogs, would the Scottish Government consider legislation. The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill is presently making its way through Parliament. This is a Member’s Bill but it has been given Government support. If passed it will go a considerable way in meeting the recommendation on Dangerous Dogs in the Bateson Report.’ Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The Scottish Government’s response is extremely welcome and encouraging, and demonstrates that the Kennel Club and the Dog Health Group are in the best position to move forward with Professor Bateson’s recommendations. They also highlight his comments that the Accredited Breeder Scheme is close to the ideal model for dog breeding and its regulation.” Go To Top Of Page BVA AND BSAVA WELCOME SCOTLAND’S MOVE TO CONTROL DANGEROUS DOGS The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) have welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s vote at the first stage of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill which will place a legislative focus on the deed, rather than the breed of dogs and hold dog owners to account. The Bill received cross-party support when MSPs voted in favour of the proposals yesterday (10 February), which would offer a flexible range of Control Orders providing practical measures to stop dogs getting out of control and place the focus on the owner. The BVA has long been opposed to any proposals which single out particular breeds of dogs rather than targeting individual aggressive dogs. Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: “We welcome the recognition that controls should not be based on the breed of a dog but on actions and behaviour of individual dogs and their owners. We believe that the manner in which a dog behaves is a result of its inherited characteristics, but more importantly the rearing and training provided by the owner. “The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. The BVA and BSAVA hope that the principle of ‘deed not breed’ will soon be recognised in the rest of the UK.” The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 2 June 2009 as a Member’s Bill by Christine Grahame MSP Go To Top Of Page Healthy entries to DFS Crufts 2010 Around 28,000 dogs are set to descend on the NEC in Birmingham on 11-14 March for the world’s greatest dog show, DFS Crufts 2010. Almost 22,000 of these will be competing in the pedigree classes which culminate in the prestigious Best in Show final on Sunday 14th March. DFS Crufts 2010 entry figures There will be 186 pedigree breeds competing at the show across the seven groups, with the Gundog group attracting the highest entry. Within that group the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Irish Setter and Flat Coated Retriever will see the largest number of competitors hoping to win the ultimate prize in the world of dog showing. There is good news for many of the native vulnerable breeds, which the Kennel Club has deemed at risk of extinction because their registration numbers are so low. The Kerry Blue Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Skye Terrier, Deerhound, Irish Water Spaniel, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Irish Red and White Setter all see an increased number of dogs at the show, compared to 2009. Dog shows such as DFS Crufts provide a perfect opportunity for potential puppy buyers to find out about these breeds, which otherwise risk being forgotten about despite the fact that they make excellent pets. A significant drop has been seen in the Gamekeepers classes this year, where entries have fallen by 17 percent compared to 2009, largely due to the law that even legally docked dogs may not be shown at events where the public pay an entry fee. All of the dogs in these classes are working dogs - for which tail docking is legal – but now face restrictions on entering the show ring. Speaking about the show Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “DFS Crufts 2010 is set to be another massive show, with nearly 22,000 dogs entered in the pedigree classes under one roof, it is the perfect place to learn more about pedigree dogs. “The recent Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding highlighted dog shows as being a powerful lever for change and there is no more powerful lever than DFS Crufts. It is only through rewarding and encouraging responsible breeders and their healthy dogs in the show ring that the bar can be set for others to follow, and that is what DFS Crufts is all about. “It is also about giving potential puppy buyers the opportunity to learn more about dogs, in a fun and interesting way, before they buy. The show will have breed and dog health experts on hand to talk about the different breeds and which ones might suit different lifestyles. Kennel Club Accredited Breeders will be at the event, so that people can learn how to find a responsible breeder that will give their dogs the best start in life. “Whilst the Kennel Club recognises that this year’s entry does not quite match the number achieved last year, we see this in the context of the wider picture. The decrease of around 3% in this year’s figure is almost exactly in line with the total average drop seen across all Championship dog shows during the past twelve months, namely 2.9%. This in turn has seen the number of dogs qualifying to enter DFS Crufts fall as a result.” As in previous years, the additional money donated by exhibitors entering the event will be matched by the Crufts Committee, with the money going to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which funds research into dog diseases and supports the work of dog welfare charities. •DFS Crufts is a unique celebration of happy, healthy dogs and of the loving relationship that they enjoy with their owners. It recognises the varied roles that dogs play in society and highlights the many different disciplines and activities in which dogs are involved. •DFS Crufts educates visitors about how to buy the right dog for them and how to find a responsible breeder through its Discover Dogs, Accredited breeder Scheme and Breed Rescue areas. •The Kennel Club runs seminars for DFS Crufts judges to help ensure that only those dogs that are healthy representatives of their breed will win awards in the show ring. • Health is at the heart of DFS Crufts and veterinary and scientific experts will be on hand at DFS Crufts 2010, to talk about health testing and to explain how research has developed over the last 10 years which can help us to resolve genetic issues for the future benefit of dogs. •The Kennel Club, organiser of DFS Crufts, is the largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. Its objective is to ensure that dogs live happy, healthy lives with responsible owners. •The Kennel Club invests the money that it makes from registrations and its other services into its dog training and education programmes and the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which supports dog welfare charities and research into dog diseases. •The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has raised nearly £4 million over the years for research into dog diseases. The money raised from optional donations with the DFS Crufts entry fee is matched by the Crufts Committee and this money is given to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. KCLC SHOWS COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES 1 JANUARY 2010 – 31 DECEMBER 2012 The Kennel Club has announced the list of Shows Council representatives for the next three years, as follows: AREA 1 - SCOTLAND – (3 Representatives) Mrs S Johnston Miss S R M Thomson AREA 2 – NORTHERN IRELAND – (1 Representative) Mr W McKnight AREA 3 – WALES – (2 Representatives) Mrs B E M Croucher Mr N Price AREA 4 – NORTH WEST (4 Representatives) Mr C Atkinson Go To Top Of Page DFS CRUFTS 2010 – RING CHANGES AND EARLY AND LATE STARTS The Kennel Club and Crufts Committee wish to thank all the exhibitors for DFS Crufts 2010 for their support in giving a total of 21,947 dogs entered into breed judging plus entries in the Breeders’ Competition, Agility and Obedience Championship. The entry has resulted in a number of breeds starting before 9am, some starting at 10am and, in some cases, it has been necessary to reschedule the order of judging and ring allocation. The breeds affected are as follows: Day 1 Working and Pastoral. Komondor and Hovawart moved from Ring 16 to Ring 19 and will be judged after Pyrenean Sheepdog (Long Haired) Tibetan Mastiff will now be judged after Canadian Eskimo Dog in Ring 33. The breeds affected with the Early and Late Starts are shown below: Day 1 – Working and Pastoral Groups Hall 1 Ring 2 – Border Collie (B) Early Start 8.30am Ring 8 – Bearded Collie (B) Early Start 8.30am Hall 2 Ring 12 – Shetland Sheepdog (B) Early Start 8.30am Hall 4 Ring 16 – Swedish Vallhund Early Start 8.30am Ring 22 – Alaskan Malamute Early Start 8.30am Hall 5 Ring 27 – Leonberger Early Start 8.30am Ring 29 – Newfoundland Early Start 8.30am Ring 32 – Rottweiler (B) Early Start 8.30am Day 2 - Terrier and Hound Groups Hall 1 Ring 4 – Skye Terrier Early Start 8.30am Ring 5 – Glen of Imaal Terrier Late Start 10.00am Ring 7 - Sealyham Terrier Early Start 8.30am Hall 2 Ring 11 – Norfolk Terrier Early Start 8.30am Ring 12 – Border Terrier Early Start 8.30am Ring 13 - Staffordshire Bull Terrier (D) Early Start 8.30am Hall 4 Ring 20 – Whippet (B) Early Start 8.30am Ring 21 – Dachshund (Min Smooth Haired) Early Start 8.30am Ring 24 – Dachshund (Wire Haired) Early Start 8.30am Hall 5 Ring 28 – Borzoi Early Start 8.30am Ring 29 – Beagle Early Start 8.30am Ring 34 - Ibizan Hound Late Start 10.00am Ring 35 – Otterhound Late Start 10.00am Day 3 – Toy and Utility Groups Hall 1 Ring 1 – Schnauzer Late Start 10.00am Hall 2 Ring 11 – Poodle (Toy) Late Start 10.00am Ring 12 – Poodle (Miniature) Late Start 10.00am Hall 4 Ring 15 – Bulldog Early Start 8.30am Ring 18. – Tibetan Terrier Late Start 10.00am Ring 19 – Keeshond Late Start 10.00am Ring 21 – Miniature Pinscher Early Start 8.30am Ring 23 - Pekingese Late Start 10.00am Ring 24 – Pug Early Start 8.30am Hall 5 Ring 26 - Bichon Frise Early Start 8.30am Ring 27 – Chihuahua (Long Coat) Early Start 8.30am Ring 29 – Papillon Early Start 8.30am Ring 34 – Cavalier King Charles Spaniel(B) Early Start 8.30am Day 4 – Gundog Group Hall 1 Ring 1 – Irish Setter (D) Early Start 8.30am Ring 4 – Irish Red & White Setter Late Start 10.00am Ring 5 – Gordon Setter Early Start 8.30am Ring 6 – Spaniel (Sussex) Late Start 10.00am Ring 7/8 – Pointer Early Start 8.30am Hall 2 Ring 13 – Spaniel (Cocker) (D) Early Start 8.30am Hall 4 Ring 15/16 – Weimaraner Early Start 8.30am Ring 21 – Italian Spinone Late Start 10.00am Hall 5 Ring 27 - Retriever (Golden) (D) Early Start 8.30am Ring 30 – Retriever (Flat Coated) (B) Early Start 8.30am Ring 34 – Retriever (Labrador) (B) Early Start 8.30am Go To Top Of Page Kennel Club Announces Drop In Registrations THE TOTAL number of puppies registered with the Kennel Club during 2009 was 244,461, down by 11 per cent on the 2008 figure of 271,719. This is the lowest total since 2002, though looking at the figures for the last 20 years, registrations have remained relatively stable with only short-term fluctuations. After an all-time high in 1989 of 283,915, annual registrations have never dipped below 200,000, and the 2008 figure was among only five years to exceed 270,000. An encouraging sign is that, while the first three quarters of 2009 each showed a decline on the same period in 2008, the final quarter was up, 60,982 as against 60,830 for October to December 2008. A KC spokesman commented: “While it is disappointing that the overall number of dogs registered with the KC during 2009 has fallen, there are definite signs of recovery underway. ‘Bounce Back’ “Five of the seven groups saw more dogs registered in the fourth quarter of 2009 than in the same period in the previous year and indeed the total number registered in this period was up when compared against the last quarter of 2008. “This shows that the rate of the decrease is not simply slowing but actually appears to have stopped completely and begun to bounce back. We hope that this signals a considerably brighter future for the year to come.” As usual Labradors top the breed list with over 16 per cent of the total, though actual numbers have declined from 45,233 in 2008 to 40,943. The top six breeds remain as the previous year: Cockers are second with 22,211 (22,508 in 2008), English Springers 12,700 (14,800), German Shepherds 10,338 (11,903), Cavaliers 8,884 (a steep numerical decline from 11,226) and Staffords 8,746 (10,744). Border Terriers 8,214 (9,145) overtake Golden Retrievers 7,804 (9,159) into seventh place. Next come Boxers 5,947 (7,353), West Highland Whites 5,890 (7,330), and then Miniature Schnauzers 5,231 (5,333) swop places with Shih Tzu 5,127 (5,495). Pugs 4,769 (4,480) go up two places over Lhasa Apsos 4,674 (5,117) and Bulldogs 4,217 (4,543). Yorkshire Terriers 3.767 (3,951) remain in sixteenth place, followed by Whippets 3,246 (3,328). Unusually a breed without CC status moves into the top 20: Dogues de Bordeaux 2,790 (2,452), pushing ahead of Bull Terriers 2,624 (2,922). Beagles 2,592 (2,405) also join the leading breeds, while Bichons and Rottweilers are no longer in the top 20. Containing the three leading breeds, gundogs were the most numerous group last year with 94,894 registrations (104,757 in 2008), followed by terriers 33,128 (39,086), utility 32,316 (34,303), toy 29,490 (31,819), working 21,657 (24,457), pastoral 17,992 (20,838) and hounds 14,984 (16,459). For the final quarter of 2009 the group figures were hounds 4,200 (3,810 for the same period in 2008), gundogs 22,468 (22,333), terriers 8,461 (8,771), utility 8,484 (8,436), working 5,716 (5,554), pastoral 4,132 (4,586) and toy 7,521 (7,340). Labradors are also the most pupular breed in the US, judging by American LKC registration figures for 2009. There, German Shepherds have overtaken Yorkshire Terriers for second place. Their remaining top ten are Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Boxers, Bulldogs, Dachshunds, Poodles (in the last two, all varieties are counted together) and Shih Tzu. If Dachshunds and Poodles were counted together in the UK, they would be 13th and 17th respectively. Registrations have fallen in all breeds in 2009 by 27, 258 . This is a loss of revenue for the Kennel Club to the tune of £327, 696.00 (Three hundred and twenty seven thousand, six hundred and ninety six pounds) This has to be a knock on affect from the BBC program 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed'. Make no bones about it, the Kennel Club must be extremely worried by this trend. Will the Kennel Club's 'Accredited Breeders Scheme' solve these worrying figures, or only add to them? The ABS will undoubtedly eventually deter 'Backyard Breeders'. But, is this a good thing or a bad thing? What about the 'Vulnerable Breeds'? This could decimate their ranks even further. There are many breeds that clearly have problems that need addressing. But, has The Kennel Club left the dirty work to the breed Judge's in their clever directive to them instead of giving direct guidance in the form of "You must penalise whatever"? It is the Judge's who will have to take the flack not the Kennel Club and many breed judge's will be ostracised by their fellow exhibitors. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE KCLC BREEDS COUNCIL HELD AT THE KENNEL CLUB ON MONDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2009 Present: Mr L Anness Mr N Bryce-Smith Mr P Eva Mr E Herold Mrs M E Holmes Mrs J Iles-Hebbert Mrs E MacDonald Mrs M MacPhail Mrs P Noujaim Mrs E Parsons Mr K Pursglove Mr A F Schaanning-Ling Mrs F Somerfield Mrs A Teasdale Mrs V Thompson Mrs A M Walton Mrs S M Walton Mrs K Wilberg In attendance: Mrs Kathryn Symns – Canine Activities Executive Miss S Cooper – Breed Shows Team Leader Mr B Lambert – Health & Breeder Services Manager ITEM 1. TO ELECT A CHAIRMAN FOR THIS MEETING. It was proposed by Mr L Anness, and seconded by Mrs K Wilberg, that Mr A Schaanning-Ling be elected as Chairman for the meeting. No further nominations were received and Mr Schaanning-Ling was duly elected. Mr Schaanning-Ling thanked the Council for its support. Mr Schaanning-Ling informed the Council that a Kennel Club Question Time session would be held in conjunction with the meeting, and would take place after Item 5. Mr Schaanning-Ling went on to read a letter from Ms A Oliver-Wyles, in which she thanked the Council for its support during her time as Chairman. The Council gave a vote of thanks to Ms Oliver-Wyles and it was agreed that a letter from the Council should be sent to her, officially thanking her for all her contributions to the Council over the years. ITEM 2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies were received from Mrs C Boggia, Mrs S Hewart-Chambers, Mrs Y Knapper–Weijland, Mrs S Rawlings and Mrs L Westby. ITEM 3. TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 18 MAY 2009. The minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2009 were accepted as a true record of the meeting. The Council noted the results of the recommendations from the previous meeting as follows; Paragraph 22 – Instructions to Veterinary Surgeons. Mr Lambert explained that the Kennel Club was working on a ‘Veterinary Manual’ which would contain significant information for vets, including details of recommended health tests on a breed by breed basis, guidance on what the Kennel Club offers and information stressing the Kennel Club’s primary objective of addressing canine health issues. It was confirmed that the manual could be available as soon as January 2010. The Council queried whether or not it would be possible for the information the Kennel Club was collating to be sent out to universities for use by trainee vets, to educate them on the practices of breeders. The office explained that at present, the Kennel Club welcomes 500 trainee vets to Crufts every year and they are given comprehensive information on dog breeding and the role of dog breeders. Paragraph 31 - ABS Accolade relating to Stud Book achievements. The office explained that the Accolade was designed to demonstrate that the breeder had an understanding and acceptance of what defining characteristics are desirable in the breed and have demonstrated that they are breeding dogs that conform to Kennel Club Breed Standards. The office confirmed that the Kennel Club recognised the appeal of making the Stud Book Accolade breed specific. However it was explained that, at present, there were more pressing IT related issues that must take precedence, but that this would be looked at again in the future. The Council would receive updates as the initiative progressed. Paragraph 53 – Breed Specific Parameters. The office confirmed that the Kennel Club was working with a number of breed clubs/societies to set up breed specific requirements and recommendations for Accredited Breeders. At a previous Breed Council meeting it was requested that the Kennel Club introduce a recommendation that bitches in some breeds, particularly giant breeds, should not be allowed to produce a litter when under the 2 years of age. As a result of this recommendation 74 breed clubs were written to asking for their opinion on this matter. Disappointingly only 28 responses were received and, furthermore, agreements could only be reached with just 7 of the clubs concerned. The Kennel Club has, however, been able to implement some new recommendations on a minimum breeding age. The Kennel Club is working with breed clubs that support responsible breeding practices, as outlined in the ABS, and it is currently asking them to endorse the following clause in their own Code of Practice; ‘Members will, when breeding dogs, adopt as a minimum standard the principles, requirements and recommendations as embodied in the Kennel Club's Accredited Breeder Scheme. It is also recommended that members who breed should apply to join the Scheme.’ ITEM 5. MATTERS ARISING. Matters arising were addressed as above. ITEM 6. PROPOSALS FROM SOCIETIES. Shetland Sheepdog Breed Council proposed: “To encourage breeders to test their stock for hereditary diseases and make such test results available to all interested parties, the results of all professionally recognised tests should be recorded on registration documents, the Kennel Gazette Breed Records Supplement and on the Kennel Club’s online enquiry service”. The office explained that the Health & Breeder Services Team often received requests for the inclusion of new DNA and other health related issues, on the Kennel Club database. It was confirmed that the Kennel Club would consider approving any new DNA tests, provided that the test offered was from a recognised testing laboratory such as the Animal Health Trust or Optigen, and the request is supported by a majority of the Breed Clubs or the Breed Council. Once agreed, the Kennel Club will arrange with the laboratory for copies of all future test certificates issued to be sent directly to the Kennel Club, where the test result would be added to the dog’s details on the registration database. This would trigger the publication of the test result in the next available Breed Records Supplement, and the result would also appear on any new registration certificate issued for the dog and on the registration certificates of any future progeny of the dog. The office confirmed that it was currently working with the Shetland Sheepdog Breed Council on this matter. ITEM 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS. South Western Rottweiler Association requested that the Council discuss: “The SWRA would like to bring to the KCLC’s attention the difficulties sellers of puppies have when homing/re-homing, in that potential puppy owners will never tell you that they have been prosecuted and/or banned from owning dogs or any other pet by the RSPCA for abuse or neglect. If a seller has any suspicion, there does not appear to be a central list kept either by the RSPCA or the local Dog Wardens or anyone else that can be located, or if there is, it is not accessible to the public (i.e. those homing puppies). The local Magistrates Court only considers releasing this information on the production of a signed agreement to this effect by the person you are checking plus the requisite of £10. The process will take approx 8 weeks and the Judge can still decide that it is not in the public interest to grant the information. You would also have to know which Country Court to check with. We would like to know any thoughts the Council have on this matter”. The Council discussed the possibility of the Kennel Club entering into discussions with the appropriate authority in order to obtain a central list of names of people who had been prosecuted and/or banned from owning dogs due abuse or neglect. It queried whether or not the possibility of such a list being held by an outside body was viable due to data protection, but went on to note that cruelty cases were held in Open Court, so this information could possibly be made available in order to compile a central list. The Council went on to discuss Status Dog Units (SDU) which had been set up by the Metropolitan Police, to specifically tackle the issue of dogs being used by owners to better their ‘street’ status. The Council expressed its concern as this appeared to be an extension of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) and could lead to many innocent dogs being seized and destroyed. It was noted that the SDU is obliged to assess those dogs which appear to be dangerously out of control in a public place. Should the officer or dog warden make an assessment that the dog is banned under the DDA, then they can seize the dog. However they do not have the authority to have a dog destroyed. Only a court decision can determine the future of a dog. ITEM 8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS. Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland requested that the Council discuss: “The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland would like to bring to the attention of the Kennel Club Breeds Liaison Council the need for Championship Show committees to show more consideration for exhibitors and their dogs. In particular, there is a need for increased bench sizes for larger breeds and consideration of the position where a breed is benched in relation to its ring. Consideration also needs to be given to the number of crates allowed ringside, particularly as invariably they do not belong to the exhibitors of the breed in the ring. The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland would like the Kennel Club to encourage Show committees to think carefully about the welfare of all dogs during the planning and running of their shows.” The Council noted that the Kennel Club’s Benching Working Party is due to reconvene in 2010 and the matter of increased benching sizes would be discussed once the remit had been agreed. The Council did note that at many General Championship Shows, benching was often an issue but accepted that with the many factors which had to be taken into consideration by show societies when scheduling such large events, it was not always possible to cater for specific benching requests. The Council also discussed the matter of crates at the ringside. The Council agreed that if gangways were blocked by exhibitors leaving crates and trolleys at the ringside, then the show secretary should be informed of this immediately. It is only by reporting matters such as this in the correct way, that they are able to be resolved. Critiques. The office confirmed the procedure for investigating outstanding critiques for shows. It also confirmed that over 172 judges had been written to in the previous 12 months requesting copies of critiques. The Council noted that this meeting was the last in the current term of office. ITEM 9. DATE OF NEXT MEETING. The Council was informed that the date of the next meeting would be Tuesday 25 May 2010. The meeting rose at 14.15 pm with a vote of thanks to the Chair and the staff. Question Time A Kennel Club Question Time session was held and the panel members (as listed below) answered a series of questions, relating to Breeds Club/Council Judges Lists, the new requirement for Gundog Judges, the Judges Development Programme, over-breeding of bitches, and the possibility of additional new coat colours being added to the Kennel Clubs registration database. Ronnie Irving - Chairman, The Kennel Club Bill Hardaway - Vice Chairman, The Kennel Club Caroline Kisko - Secretary, The Kennel Club Kathryn Symns – Executive, Canine Activities Bill Lambert - Health and Breeder Services Manager Mr A Schaanning-Ling Go To Top Of Page KC BREEDERS’ COMPETITION FINALISTS ANNOUNCED The Kennel Club has announced that 56 breeders have qualified for the first ever Kennel Club Breeders’ Competition Final, due to be staged at DFS Crufts on Friday 12th March 2010. The judge for the competition will be Mr Jeff Horswell. Over the past twelve months, dog breeders around the country have competed in the Breeders’ Competition, which is sponsored by the Kennel Club Breeder Plan. Breeders have showcased their breeding talents by competing with teams of four dogs that have all been bred by them. Launched at the Manchester Dog Show Society Championship Show in January 2009, the competition quickly developed in popularity seeing as many as 94 breeder teams take part in some Groups at General Championship Shows. Furthermore, many single breed shows have had a similarly impressive uptake, such as the East Anglian Whippet Club Championship Show in July 2009 which saw 8 breeder teams competing. After months of hard work by breeders to bring their teams together and fine tune their handling, making it to the final has its rewards. The Best Breeder will receive a commemorative crystal Breeder Plan trophy and, in addition to this, all breeder finalists will be presented with a commemorative certificate and Breeders’ Competition goody bag to mark this special occasion. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director said “We have received plenty of positive feedback on the Breeders’ Competition, with breeders delighted to be offered the opportunity to compete for an award that recognises their skill in breeding dogs of the highest quality. The fact that 56 breeders have made it through to the final in the first year of competition is testament to the competition’s popularity. “We are delighted that the Kennel Club Breeder Plan is supporting this great competition in 2010. It has clearly caught the imagination of many breeders around the country and it provides a genuine chance to showcase the very best of British breeders and their dogs. We congratulate all those who have qualified to take part in the final.” All of the qualified finalists will be pre-judged in Rings 35 and 36 IN Hall 5 at the show at 1430, with the Grand Final then taking place in the Best in Show Arena at approximately 1735 that evening. LIST OF FINALISTS Go To Top Of Page NEW DNA TESTING SCHEME At the request of the relevant breed clubs, the Kennel Club has recently approved two more official DNA testing schemes. - prcd-PRA in the Spanish Water Dog. The test is offered by OptiGen - further details can be obtained from www.optigen.com - PLL in the Parson Russell Terrier. The test is offered by the Animal Health Trust - further details can be obtained from www.aht.org.uk Copies of all future test certificates issued by OptiGen and the AHT will be sent directly to the Kennel Club as from 1st February 2010, where the test result will be added to the dog’s details on the registration database. This will trigger the publication of the test result in the next available Breed Records Supplement, and the result will also appear on any new registration certificate issued for the dog and on the registration certificates of any future progeny of the dog. Owners who have already had their dog(s) DNA tested for this condition can send copies of the test certificate into the Kennel Club and the data will be added to the dog’s registration details. In addition, if the owner includes the original registration certificate for the dog (not a copy) then a new registration certificate will be issued, with the DNA result on it, free of charge. Please send the DNA test certificates to: Health & Breeder Services Department Go To Top Of Page MERLE STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIERS At the request of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breed Council, the Kennel Club has agreed that it will no longer accept the registration of any merle coloured Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies, with effect from 5th January 2010. Coat colour in the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is complex because a range of colours is acceptable. Merle patterning, patches of lighter colour appearing in the coat, is the result of the M gene in the dog. There are two alleles of this gene: MM (merle) and M+ (non-merle), with merle (MM) being dominant to non-merle (M+). In some breeds, the effect of the merle allele (MM) is termed ‘dapple’. Unfortunately, the effects of the merle allele (MM) are not confined to coat patterning and we know that there can be an increased risk of impaired hearing and sight associated with it, particularly in dogs that are homozygous for MM (dogs that carry two copies of the MM allele). Go To Top Of Page Registrations Down, Massive losses For The Kennel Club Registrations have fallen in all breeds in 2009 by 27, 258 . This is a loss of revenue for the Kennel Club to the tune of £327, 696.00 (Three hundred and twenty seven thousand, six hundred and ninety six pounds) This has to be a knock on affect from the BBC program 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed'. Make no bones about it, the Kennel Club must be extremely worried by this trend. Will the Kennel Club's 'Accredited Breeders Scheme' solve these worrying figures, or only add to them? The ABS will undoubtedly eventually deter 'Backyard Breeders'. But, is this a good thing or a bad thing? What about the 'Vulnerable Breeds'? This could decimate their ranks even further. There are many breeds that clearly have problems that need addressing. But, has The Kennel Club left the dirty work to the breed Judge's in their clever directive to them instead of giving direct guidance in the form of "You must penalise whatever"? It is the Judge's who will have to take the flack not the Kennel Club and many breed judge's will be ostracised by their fellow exhibitors. Go To Top Of Page DOG BREEDING REPORT SEES KEY ROLE FOR VETS Vets have welcomed Professor Bateson’s report on dog breeding as an important step on a long journey to improving the health and welfare of all dogs. The report, which follows a 10-month inquiry into breeding practices, dog showing, and scientific evidence, concludes that measures such as the establishment of a non-statutory advisory council on dog breeding, an up-graded accredited breeder scheme, legislative changes, and a public education campaign are required. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) gave evidence to Professor Bateson’s inquiry and stressed the need for changes that would improve the lot for all dogs (not just pedigrees), as well as the key role that vets have to play in educating the public. Many of the specific recommendations have already been called for by the veterinary profession, such as a Code of Practice on breeding, compulsory microchipping of all dogs, and improved breed standards to promote health and welfare over extreme conformation. Through the Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC) work has already started to investigate setting up an independent body of experts, and a campaign to improve the public’s understanding of the issues is being led by the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation’s guidance on buying a puppy. Other specific recommendations supported by the veterinary profession include: the creation of a non-statutory advisory council to include veterinary input; robust accredited breeder schemes recognising the vital importance of pre-mating health screening and other good breeding practice; the centralised collection of data on health problems associated with different breeds; and better enforcement of good welfare on licensed dog breeding premises, which must come with resources to ensure inspection and enforcement can be carried out. Commenting, Nicky Paull, Past President of the BVA (who gave evidence to the Bateson Inquiry), said: “Professor Bateson clearly understands that practical solutions are the way forward and that it will require a concerted effort by all those involved in the health and welfare of dogs to make the necessary changes. We support Professor Bateson’s recommendations and see a key role for vets in bringing the breeding community and the public forward together. “The majority of breeders care deeply about the animals they work with, but the rules must be tightened for those who have sacrificed the welfare of dogs for their own gain. “Pedigree Dogs Exposed and the two reports that have followed by APGAW and Prof Bateson are the catalyst we needed to shake up the dog breeding world and start educating the public. A lot of work to improve the situation has already begun and this is just one step in the long journey to improving the health and welfare of all dogs.” Richard Dixon, President of the BSAVA, added: “Vets are at the forefront of advising potential dog owners and breeders about the health and welfare issues involved with breeding. We hope that the public attention given to Professor Bateson’s report will remind people to always seek advice from their vet before buying a puppy and never buy on impulse. “If the dog-buying public is properly educated to make the right welfare choices they will turn their backs on puppy farms and bad breeders. In this way the market can have a very positive effect on welfare alongside legislation and enforcement. “Professor Bateson’s recommendations are welcomed by BSAVA, especially the requirement for breed standards to ensure dogs are fit for life, not extreme conformation, and the call for a robust accreditation scheme to help people choose a reputable breeder. “These changes will take time and money and the veterinary profession, welfare charities and dog breeders must work together to achieve them.” 1. Professor Bateson’s report was funded by the Kennel Club and the Dog’s Trust and is available at www.dogbreedinginquiry.com 2. In 2009 the BVA’s Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) brought together a number of stakeholders to produce ‘Guidance on choosing a new dog’ to help potential dog owners make the right choice for themselves and secure the ongoing good health and welfare of their new pet. http://www.bva-awf.org.uk/headlines/Guidance_on_choosing_your_new_dog.pdf 3. The BVA and Kennel Club run the Canine Health Schemes which screen for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and inherited eye disease in dogs before they are used for mating http://www.bva.co.uk/canine_health_schemes/Canine_Health_Schemes.aspx 4. For more information contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] For A Complete Report Click Here Dogs Trust response to the publication of Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding Dogs Trust welcomes the publication of Professor Sir Patrick Bateson's independent report into the breeding of dogs and is pleased to see a number of key objectives. The charity is particularly gratified to see that microchipping is high on the priority list as it is our belief that this element alone will help to minimise the high volume of poorly bred puppies. We also believe that the creation of an independent advisory board on dog breeding, to produce evidence-based breeding strategies, is vital. A measured but timely approach is what we must work towards with the ultimate goal of happy healthy dogs going forward. The key requirements as we see them now are: To get all the relevant organisations around a table to move these recommendations forward as soon as possible To influence the legislators to help to get compulsory microchipping on the statute book To ask pet insurance companies to agree to give relevant data so that prevalence of health problems can be identified To get the veterinary profession to play a key role in collecting and collating genetic problems, kennel inspections as well as educating clients To continue to educate the pet buying public on what to look for in their selection of a dog For the dog fraternity to work closely with both human and animal geneticists to develop a clear strategy for healthy dogs For A Complete Report Click Here Dog Welfare Report: New Panel Needed To Oversee Pedigree Health A new report published today (Thursday) has been welcomed by the RSPCA for its recognition that pedigree dog health and welfare is a serious problem and urgent action is needed. The Independent Inquiry Into Dog Breeding, commissioned by the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust, is written by leading zoologist Professor Sir Patrick Bateson who concludes that ‘dog breeding raises a number of serious concerns about the welfare of dogs’. He recommends that a new advisory panel should be set up, an idea the RSPCA supports – however we are concerned that the panel won’t have the necessary power to push through the real change that’s clearly urgently required. RSPCA chief veterinary adviser Mark Evans said: “The world has woken up to the extremely unpalatable truth that the health and welfare of many pedigree dogs is seriously compromised as a result of the way they are bred. Pedigree dogs need our help and they need it now. “Some are suffering as a result of what Darwin’s disciples might refer to as ‘unnatural selection’ – survival of the most fashionable rather than the fittest. This report is what we have all been waiting for and we hope that now we can all get on and start working towards meaningful change for pedigree dogs. “We’re delighted that Professor Bateson agrees with the RSPCA that something has to be done, but we are disappointed he hasn’t recommended that the advisory panel should be given the appropriate power to be effective. What is encouraging is that, when asked by the RSPCA, Professor Bateson acknowledged that in an ideal world the government would give the panel statutory powers.” We fully support the inquiry’s conclusion that information on diseases suffered by dogs should be collected and in fact this was the top recommendation made in an independent report commissioned by the RSPCA, Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: A Major Welfare Concern?* As a result, the RSPCA is already working with the University of Sydney and the Royal Veterinary College on a three-year research project to create a new, electronic, system for collecting, analysing and reporting data on inherited disorders in both dogs and cats. When complete, for the first time in the UK there will be comprehensive data to show the prevalence of inherited disorders in specific breeds. Vitally this will allow the effectiveness of any new breeding initiatives to be monitored. Mark Evans said: “We agree with Professor Bateson that consumer pressure is the greatest lever for change. The way to solve this is through people power. Changing the industry will take some time, but the public can start to demand better quality animals that are in good health right now. “We will now study the report in more detail and come up with a full response.” As Professor Bateson has already agreed and the RSPCA has called for, there needs to be an urgent meeting of all relevant stakeholders to review all recommendations in all three reports,* to prioritise them, and to come up with a robust, workable action plan with clearly identified objectives, responsibilities and deadlines. Clearly an important part of this will be setting up some form of independent advisory body to oversee dog breeding and supply in the UK. · Two other reports looking at the health and welfare of pedigree dogs have been published previously: *Commissioned by the RSPCA and published in February 2009, Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: A Major Welfare Concern? is a review of the relevant science and was compiled by highly respected scientists, vets and dog welfare experts who also propose 36 possible ways of improving pedigree dog welfare. These include: - systematic collection of data on the diseases all dogs suffer from and causes of death - changes to current registration rules to prevent the registration of puppies born from the matings of close relatives (including grandparents and offspring and half siblings) - changes to current registration rules to allow new genetic material to be introduced into breeds. Read more about the RSPCA’s work on this issue and download the report at www.rspca.org.uk/pedigreedogs. A Healthier Future for Pedigree Dogs, the conclusions of an inquiry by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW), was published in November 2009 echoed the RSPCA’s calls for urgent action to safeguard the welfare of pedigree dogs. Download the report at: www.apgaw.org/reports.asp. · The RSPCA is extremely concerned about the unacceptably high levels of disability, deformity and hereditary disease affecting these animals, as is the public, following the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed which sparked a national debate on the issue. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB RESPONSE TO THE INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO DOG BREEDING The Kennel Club has broadly welcomed Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s ‘Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding’, which has recommended that steps be taken to tackle irresponsible breeders and to change the way the public think about buying dogs. The Kennel Club, which commissioned and funded the report in conjunction with Dogs Trust, welcomes the report’s focus on irresponsible breeders who farm puppies with little concern for their welfare and those who sell poorly socialised puppies on to owners to use as ‘status dogs’ or as fighting weapons. The Kennel Club agrees that additional training and support needs to be given to local authorities, which are responsible for issuing breeding licences to those people who breed five or more litters of puppies in a single year, as the current provisions are deemed to be ineffective. It agrees that compulsory microchipping of dogs and increased public education to stop people falling prey to puppy farmers and to help them find responsible breeders are necessary. It is also glad that the report recognises the need for a ‘robustly policed and well respected quality assurance scheme’, consisting of breeders that buyers can trust to look after their puppies’ health and welfare, and that it suggests that the Kennel Club’s Accredited Breeder Scheme, with some modification could be used. However, the Kennel Club is concerned that the report could have gone further and that its recommendations do not appear directly to cover those breeders who breed less than five litters per year and who are not part of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme. The Kennel Club would have liked to have seen a recommendation for regulation to ensure that these breeders follow higher standards, such as compulsory health testing. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: “Whilst the report recognises that the majority of breeders are responsible, there are those whose actions are bringing the rest of the dog breeding community into disrepute and this needs to be stopped. “We are glad that the report recognises that the Kennel Club has made a good start in its efforts to unite responsible breeders within its Accredited Breeder Scheme, for the benefit of puppies and puppy buyers, and we believe that this should be the basis for moving forward. We are currently working towards UKAS accreditation of the scheme as suggested by Professor Bateson. “We agree that responsible breeders should be rewarded and believe that the show ring is the best forum for this. The report recognises that ‘dog showing and judging are a powerful lever for change’ and the Kennel Club is dedicated to ensuring that only the healthiest dogs are rewarded at shows. “Public education is vital and all dog welfare organisations must continue to work together to ensure that people know what to look for when buying a dog.” The report looks at genetic diversity in breeds and recognises that the Kennel Club has banned close matings. It advises that future decisions about matings that could affect genetic diversity should be ‘breed specific’ and made upon evidence based scientific information and advice. To this end it is recommended that the veterinary profession should gather data to show the prevalence of certain diseases and that an advisory council should develop evidence based breeding strategies. Mrs Kisko continued: “The Kennel Club has long recognised that genetic diversity plays a crucial role in safeguarding the health of dogs and the report is absolutely right to suggest that there are no further blanket rules in place but that decisions are based upon scientific knowledge and are made on a breed by breed basis. This is why we are well on the way to creating a new database which will revolutionise the way that we record dog health data. The data will enable us to bring out our Mate Select programme, which will help breeders to find suitable mating pairs which are most likely to produce healthy offspring. The database will go further than the report’s recommendation, as the data will be attributable to specific dogs, rather than being anonymous, and will give us a better picture of the health of pedigrees and crossbreeds. Such knowledge is critical and will enable us to provide information to breeders, vets, geneticists and ultimately the puppy buyer. “We are keen to harness as much knowledge as possible for the benefit of dogs so we welcome the principle of an advisory council whose members will work with the Kennel Club to advise on decisions about breeding and health. A structure already exists in the form of the Kennel Club’s Dog Health Group with its recently extended remit. Additional independent experts include canine and human geneticists, veterinary surgeons and an epidemiologist. Using this framework for establishing the advisory council under an independent chairman would save significant sums of money, which can instead be devoted entirely to the dog health research that the report identified as being in ‘urgent’ need of more funding.” The Kennel Club and Dogs Trust will now arrange a meeting between all relevant parties in order to move forward with the recommendations from all three reports. Go To Top Of Page Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding After a ten month long inquiry, Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS called for a non-statutory Advisory Council on Dog Breeding, changes in the law including a requirement for all puppies to be micro-chipped prior to sale, and an up-graded Accredited Breeder Scheme. Speaking in London today, Prof Bateson (of Cambridge University and President of the Zoological Society of London) said: “Many breeders exercise high standards of welfare, but negligent management on puppy farms is a major welfare issue as is inbreeding in pure-bred dogs. Fashions for extreme conformations are also a cause of welfare problems.” Professor Bateson also called for a system to collect data from veterinary practices in order to generate robust prevalence data breed by breed; and for the veterinary profession as a whole to support enforcement authorities, help educate the public, and lead a shift towards a preventative approach to dog health. The Report concludes that dog-breeding raises a number of serious concerns about the welfare of dogs. Key recommendations include: • The creation of an independent non-statutory Council to develop breeding strategies which address issues of inherited disease, extreme conformation and inbreeding. • Changes in the law including requirements for the compulsory micro-chipping of all puppies and a duty of care on all breeders to have regard to the health and welfare of both the parents and the offspring of a mating. • The need for a robust Accredited Breeder Scheme setting out requirements with regard to pre-mating health tests, purchasers being able to view a puppy with its mother, all puppies micro-chipped before sale etc. • An urgent need for the creation of a computer-based system for the collection of anonymised diagnoses from veterinary surgeries in order to provide prevalence data for each breed. • New regulations to replace the now out-dated breeding and sales of dogs legislation, and much better enforcement of good welfare on licensed dog breeding premises. • A new publicity and education campaign, delivered by all key dog and welfare organisations working together, to encourage a major improvement in how the public go about buying dogs. Go To Top Of Page REGISTRATION OF A LOW URIC ACID DALMATIAN IMPORT FROM THE USA At its meeting on 5th January 2010, the Kennel Club General Committee accepted an application to register an imported Dalmatian produced from a breeding programme which was originated with an intentional Pointer/Dalmatian cross. This cross-breeding was carried out in the USA as part of a programme aimed at introducing the low (or normal) uric acid gene into the Dalmatian breed. This decision is subject to certain conditions, which include the dog being examined by two Championship Show judges to confirm that its external appearance and characteristics are representative of the breed. The decision taken by the General Committee is in line with the Kennel Club’s commitment to consider applications to register dogs from out-crossings and inter-variety matings if it is felt that to do so may present potential health and welfare benefits. The Kennel Club consulted the Dalmatian breed clubs on this matter and their joint feedback was considered at length by the General Committee before arriving at this decision. Background It is believed that the Dalmatian breed is fixed for a recessive mutation of a gene that alters uric acid metabolism, resulting in increased urinary excretion of uric acid. This gene is not expressed in most other breeds of dog which excrete lower amounts of uric acid in their urine. The use of a recently developed DNA test for this genetic mutation on Dalmatians in the USA has shown that the frequency of the normal gene is close to zero in the USA population of the breed. Similar DNA testing of the UK population has yet to be undertaken, but it is likely that a comparable scenario exists in the UK population of Dalmatians. Some years ago in the USA, a cross-breeding was carried out between a Dalmatian and a Pointer with the intention of producing offspring that were low uric acid (LUA) excretors, because the Pointer used in the cross would not have carried the mutant gene. The offspring from this mating and their descendants have subsequently been back-crossed with purebred Dalmatians over many successive generations Decision Recently, the Kennel Club received a proposal to register an imported LUA Dalmatian that is descended from the initial Pointer/Dalmatian cross. The outcross Pointer appears at least 13 generations back in the pedigree of the imported dog. In line with the general aim of the KC to help individual breeders and breed clubs to improve the health and welfare of future litters, the General Committee has agreed to register this imported LUA Dalmatian subject to confirmation from two championship Show judges that the imported dog’s external appearance and characteristics are representative of the breed. The registration records of this dog and its descendants will be annotated by the KC’s normal asterisk system whereby the progeny of the first mating between the dog and a registered Dalmatian, the F1 progeny, will have their registrations annotated with three asterisks.Then, when F1 progeny are bred from, their progeny, the F2 progeny, will be annotated with two asterisks.F2 progeny will produce F3 progeny which will be registered with one asterisk.The F4 and subsequent generations will have no special annotation. In addition to the above conditions the committee also agreed that the registrations of all progeny would be endorsed with the restriction ‘Not eligible for Export Pedigree’ for the next five years, and the owners would be required to submit a health report, to include BAER testing results, on all progeny in five years’ time. Go To Top Of Page YKC Launches ‘Artist of the Year’ Competition The Young Kennel Club is looking for those budding artists among its members, who have perfectly captured their canine friends in art, with its second annual ‘Artist of the Year’ competition. Entries may be produced by paint, pastel, pencil, pen or crayon, with the best pictures displayed at DFS Crufts 2010. The theme this year will be ‘celebrating healthy happy dogs’. Prizes will be awarded for the artwork that, in the opinion of the judges, explores this theme, with special recognition for originality and creativity. There are three age categories for the competition, 6-11 years old, 12-16 years old and 17-24 years old, with one overall winner then chosen. Each age group winner will receive an artist’s bumper gift set and certificate, with the overall winner receiving a free year’s YKC membership and family ticket to DFS Crufts. Rules of entry: 1. You must be a YKC member. 2. All entries must be received by 19th February 2010. 3. You may only enter one piece of artwork and the artwork must be your own. 4. Your entry should be submitted in flat format and should be no larger than A3 in size. 5. Framed entries will not be accepted. 6. No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost, damaged or delayed in transit. 7. We will only be able to return artwork to you if you send a fully stamped addressed envelope with your entry. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB PEDIGREE DOG REGISTRATIONS RECORDING OF COLOURS The Kennel Club’s online registration service is growing ever more popular and the Kennel Club’s IT department is keen to ensure that the system is as user-friendly as possible. The subject of colour is always a sensitive issue and the Kennel Club’s principal aim in recording coat colour on registrations is that breeders and potential purchasers should be fully informed about the colour of a dog. The list of available colours for each breed has been reviewed with this in mind, and also taking into account any specific issues raised by Breed Clubs and Breed Councils in the past. Therefore, where a colour does exist in a breed, even if the Breed Standard states that it may be undesirable, this will usually be included in the list of colour options. The new IT system for the recording of coat colours on registrations became effective for online breed registrations and for paper applications with effect from 11th January 2010. Until recently, it had been the norm to use the term ‘non-standard’ for some breed colours which are not mentioned in Breed Standards. This terminology has been changed to ‘non-recognised colour’ but is only available for those breeds where colour restrictions had previously been agreed. If Breed Clubs and Councils have concerns about the list of available colours given for their breed, they should contact Caroline Hallett at the Kennel Club via [email protected], bearing in mind the above limitations. Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS (ALSATIAN) At its meeting on 5th January 2010, the Kennel Club General Committee again looked at the issues surrounding GSDs. As previously reported, the Kennel Club has been very disappointed with the lack of progress made following meetings held with the GSD Partnership during 2008/9. Failure to agree the Minutes of the meeting of the 18th August 2009 is particularly frustrating, especially as the problem of unsoundness in the hindquarters and hocks of some dogs is widely acknowledged within the breed. The Kennel Club has been waiting since July 2009 for the GSD community as a whole to suggest a meaningful and practical way forward which addresses those health and welfare issues in the breed which have been legitimately raised by the Kennel Club. This has not happened and the Kennel Club, as it indicated it might three weeks ago, has now chosen to take some proactive steps with those individual breed clubs which are prepared to help. This is an attempt to safeguard the health and welfare of the breed and to secure its future and has been the Kennel Club’s sole motivation throughout its discussions with the GSD breed community. Basically only those eligible clubs which accept that there is a degree of unsoundness in the hindquarters of the breed that these problems should be penalised at shows and that Kennel Club rules on double handling will be adhered to in future will be allocated 2012 Challenge Certificates. Those who do not accept this will not be given the privilege of Kennel Club Challenge Certificate status. Therefore, at its meeting this week, the Kennel Club General Committee agreed detailed proposals which set out exactly what steps breed clubs and others need to take in order to start to address the major issues within the GSD breed and thus allow for the 2012 allocation of the Kennel Club’s highest award, the Challenge Certificate. That allocation had been deferred pending a proposed resolution to the problems. In order to be considered for an allocation of Kennel Club Challenge Certificates, all GSD Breed Clubs and General & Group Championship Show Societies, which had previously been allocated Challenge Certificates, and wish to have such Certificates in future, are to be required to sign a formal Undertaking to abide by certain conditions for all future shows with immediate effect. Only those Societies which agree to this Undertaking will be considered for an allocation of Kennel Club Challenge Certificates for GSDs in 2012 and beyond. The Kennel Club has written to all GSD breed clubs and affected General & Group Championship Show Societies giving full details of the required Undertaking. A deadline of 31st March 2010 for the receipt of signed Undertakings has been set. Kennel Club Chairman, Ronnie Irving, explained, “The Committee felt it had no choice but to take positive and practical steps now with individual clubs in view of the failure of the GSD community as a whole to respond. Six months have elapsed since the Kennel Club asked for these issues to be addressed and there has been a great deal of talk but not much action. We couldn’t allow this situation to continue unresolved on an open-ended basis. The requirements in the Undertakings are entirely reasonable. I hope that the GSD community will embrace this as an opportunity to take the positive actions necessary to address those breed issues that are apparent to everyone in the world of dogs.” The Undertaking that German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian) Breed Clubs are requested to sign, requires acceptance and adherence of the following conditions: 1. The Club recognises that it will not be allocated Kennel Club Challenge Certificates for German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatian) unless it signifies agreement of the conditions set out below and provides written confirmation of such agreement by the Club’s Secretary and Chairman. 2. The Club accepts that there is a degree of unsoundness in the hindquarters of the breed and in particular in the hocks of some dogs and that these problems are to be penalised at shows. 3. The Club will arrange education of its judges on the correct conformation and movement of the breed; viz – the above faults should be avoided. 4. The Club will brief judges prior to all its shows on their health and welfare responsibilities particularly in regard to soundness of conformation. 5. The Club will adhere to Kennel Club Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h; “The attracting of the attention of exhibits by any method from outside the ring is prohibited. It is the duty of the Judge, Steward and Show Management noticing such attraction to ask that it cease. 6. The Kennel Club escalation procedure with regard to the practice of Outside Attraction (Double Handling) will be adhered to. 7. The Club will ensure that its judges and stewards are under contract in writing to abide by Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h. and that they will adhere to the escalation procedure. Specific wording (as supplied by the Kennel Club) to this effect must be included in the judges’ and stewards’ contract letters. 8. The Club confirms that those who do not abide by the above provisions will be reported to the Kennel Club within seven days of the last day of the show. 9. The Club confirms that it will act in good faith with the Kennel Club on all matters including confirmation that it will not, without the express permission of the Kennel Club, run any events under the rules or regulations of any organisation other than the Kennel Club. 10. Upon request, and in any event annually, the Club will provide a report confirming and demonstrating compliance with these conditions to include reports on any required enforcement of Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h. and how this was achieved. A report on agreement to comply, and compliance with these conditions, will be required during the autumn of 2010 before a review of the Kennel Club Challenge Certificate allocation for 2013 is carried out and it is intended that this requirement will continue on a rolling basis. A practical demonstration that there are definite plans in place and actions commenced in order to comply with these conditions will be required in an annual report and any evidence and reports of non compliance will be relevant factors when considering the Club’s next allocation of Challenge Certificates. The Undertaking that General and Group Championship Show Societies are requested to sign, requires acceptance and adherence of the following conditions: 1. The Society recognises that it will not be allocated Kennel Club Challenge Certificates for German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatian) unless it signifies agreement to the conditions set out below and provides written confirmation of such agreement by the Society’s Secretary and Chairman. 2. The Society will adhere to Kennel Club Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h; “The attracting of the attention of exhibits by any method from outside the ring is prohibited. It is the duty of the Judge, Steward or Show Management noticing such attraction to ask that it cease.” 3. The Kennel Club escalation procedure with regard to the practice of Outside Attraction (Double Handling) will be adhered to. 4. The Society will ensure its judges are under contract in writing to abide by Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h. and that they will adhere to the escalation procedure. Wording to be included in the judges’ contract letters given at Annex B. 5. The Society confirms that those who do not abide by the above provisions will be reported to the Kennel Club within seven days of the last day of the show. 6. The Society confirms that as far as is possible, German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatian) will be allocated to a breed ring in a position amongst the other show rings. 7. Upon request, and in any event annually, the Society will provide a report confirming and demonstrating compliance with these conditions to include reports on any required enforcement of Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h and how this was achieved. Go To Top Of Page THE END OF BACK STREET BREEDERS? Legislation has been published in the Irish Republic which, according to Environment Minister John Gormley, will put an end to ‘back-street dog breeders’. The minister acknowledged that the proposed law, titled the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009, has been a long time in preparation – over three years – but promised to have it approved by parliament ‘at the earliest possible date’. The Bill defines a breeding establishment is any premises which has six or more bitches who are more than four months old and ‘capable of being used for breeding purposes’. This does not include local authority dog pounds. Anyone who already runs ‘a breeding establishment’ would have to apply to their local council for permission to do so no later than three months after the law is approved. Every dog at the premises must be microchipped. Proposed fees The proposed fees breeders would face would be 400 euros for no more than 12 bitches, 800 euros for less than 13 and no more than 25, 1,600 euros for less than 26 and no more than 100, and 3,000 euros for no less than 101 and no more than 200. Mr Gormley believes that if the legislation is passed it will provide safeguards for dogs in breeding establishments while offering assurances to customers about the treatment of puppies and their mothers. “We have all seen some of the appalling images of illegal puppy farms,” he said. “This legislation will put and end to the operations of back-street dog breeders.” The Bill requires all breeding establishments to be registered by the local authority and to pay an annual registration fee. Such establishments would be subject to regular inspections by the local authority which may refuse to register a premises deemed unsuitable or one in need of improvement. It would become an offence for any unregistered establishment to continue in business except where a closure order is being appealed. Hunt clubs, commercial boarding kennels and charitable dog operations such as mountain rescue teams would be exempt from fees but must also register and be subject to inspection. Existing breeding establishments would be permitted to operate for three months after the legislation takes effect, but could then be closed down by the local authority if they did not qualify for the register. All approved premises would receive a registration certificate which must be displayed prominently. Penalties for failure to display it, or for providing false information or obstructing authorised personnel, would range from a €5,000 fine to six months’ imprisonment, with the fines going to the relevant local authority. The Bill also provides for an establishment to be removed from the register by court order if there has been a breach of regulations or a threat to public health or animal welfare. The minister, who is also leader of the Irish Green Party, said there had been ‘significant ongoing consultation with a variety of interested parties’ on the legislation, including the Hunting Association of Ireland and the Irish SPCA, and that he believed the Bill was stronger as a result of their input. “We think that the bad old days, with the cruelties of some dog-breeding establishments, will be left behind,” he said. The proposed legislation was welcomed by the operations manager of the Dublin SPCA, Orla Aungier, who claimed the lack of regulation had led to the Irish Republic being dubbed ‘the puppy-breeding capital of Europe’. Bateson enquiry “We have seen animals in appalling conditions, being bred solely for commercial gain,” she said. “This Bill will afford such animals protection by providing for inspection, accountability and traceability. We see it as a first step in bringing Irish animal welfare legislation up to international standards.” While the Irish Republic is hoping to clamp down on puppy farmers, the findings of the Kennel Club/Dogs Trust-funded independent enquiry into dog breeding are due to be revealed on Thursday. Professor Patrick Bateson has concluded his report and it has been sent out for peer review – but without its recommendations. An article in The Times this week suggested that the report recommends a compulsory registration scheme for breeders of any kind of dog and that – like the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill – breeders will have to be registered and subject to checks on their dogs and premises. The article also suggests that puppies would have to be sold with a veterinary certificate guaranteeing their health and giving the names of their sire and dam and the breeder’s registered number. All dogs would have to be microchipped. Neither the KC nor Dogs Trust has seen the report; the article’s contents have not been confirmed to Terrier World and was described by one source as ‘entirely speculative’.The inquiry’s secretary, Heather Peck, said: “The Times’ reporter did have a discussion with Professor Bateson but he didn’t tell her any of the report’s conclusions and recommendations because no one is being told until January 14. She may have drawn inferences.” Go To Top Of Page NEW DOG HEALTH GROUP TO EXPAND KENNEL CLUB’S HEALTH WORK The Kennel Club is expanding the scope of the work undertaken by the group responsible for dog health and welfare, as part of its ongoing commitment in this area. It is appointing additional experts in dog health and genetics to ensure that scientific advances are harnessed for the benefit of pedigree health. The Dog Health Group, which will replace the existing Kennel Club Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group (BHWSG), will be responsible for ensuring that breeding rules and health testing requirements evolve to give dogs the best chance of leading healthy happy lives. The group will also play a crucial role in the continued development of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme, advising on new health tests that members of the scheme will be required to have carried out on their dogs. The new group will include an additional two veterinary surgeons, which will take the number of vets sitting on the group to four. A range of external experts, including human and dog geneticists and further veterinary surgeons, will sit on the new subgroups which will feed their knowledge into and advise the Dog Health Group. The subgroups will be: Breed Standards and Conformation Sub-Group – to monitor, advise and work with breed clubs and councils on health issues related to dog conformation and breed standards. Genetics and Health Screening Sub-Group – to advise on the development of health screening tests and their effectiveness, assess new tests that may be incorporated into the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme. It will also advise on breeding and registration issues that protect or enhance genetic diversity in individual breeds. Accredited Breeder Scheme Sub-Group – to put into operation health screening requirements and recommendations that have been agreed by the Dog Health Group and breed clubs and councils. The Dog Health Group and its subgroups will replace the Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group, which was formed in 2004 with the primary task of reviewing the breed standards to ensure that they contained no wording that encouraged exaggerations that would be detrimental to pedigree dog health. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “We want 2010 and beyond to be positive years for pedigree dogs and, in the absence of effective government regulation to control dog breeding, this restructured group will play a critical role. “Scientific advances in the last ten years have given us an exciting opportunity to improve pedigree dog health and has led to a significant expansion of the health and welfare work that the Kennel Club is able to undertake. This new group will coordinate and advise on all aspects of this work, using vital information about dog diseases and how they are inherited to direct the Kennel Club’s future decisions and actions. “The Kennel Club, in conjunction with the British Veterinary Association, has already been able to develop health screening for eye diseases, hip and elbow dysplasia and a number of DNA tests but we want to be able to develop even more tests. That is why we will appoint a wide range of vets, breeders and human and dog geneticists, who are experts in their field, in order to help us achieve this.” The creation of the Dog Health Group, and before this the Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group, is one of many steps taken by the Kennel Club to ensure the future health and welfare of pedigree dogs specifically, and all dogs in general. Such steps include the review of all breed standards; the establishment of the Kennel Club and Animal Health Trust Canine Genetics Centre to accelerate research into inherited diseases; a ban on parent to child and sibling dog matings in 2009; co-funding of the world’s largest survey into pedigree health in 2004 and assistance with Imperial College’s research into genetic diversity of breeds. The Kennel Club is the largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. It invests the money that it makes from registrations and its Petlog identification database into its dog training and education programmes and the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which supports dog welfare charities and research into dog diseases.
Kerry Blue Terrier
Which year of the 20th century saw the famous St Valentne's Day Massacre?
Terrier World Features/Open Shows/Information I wonder Who Voted This Lot In? Strike Up The Bloody Band! And The Band Played On As Brains Played An Ace Once Again   CHAIRMEN AND VICE CHAIRMEN OF THE COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES OF THE KENNEL CLUB General Committee Mr W R Irving (Chairman) Mr M Townsend (Vice Chairman) Finance and General Purposes Committee Mr W R Irving (Chairman) Mr M Townsend (Vice Chairman) Club Sub-Committee Mrs A P Bliss (Chairman) Mr S C Ford (Vice Chairman) Crufts Sub-Committee Mrs E A Macdonald (Vice Chairman) Disciplinary Sub-Committee Mr A W Young (Chairman) Mr S A Croxford (Vice Chairman) Disciplinary Sub-Committee (Scotland) Breed Standards and Stud Book Sub-Committee Mr F Kane (Chairman) Mrs M J Purnell-Carpenter (Vice Chairman) Field Trials Sub-Committee Mr A C M Rountree (Chairman) Mr A W Young (Vice Chairman) Judges Sub-Committee Mr S C Luxmoore (Chairman) Mrs E A Macdonald (Vice Chairman) Show Executive Sub-Committee Mr K A W Young (Chairman) Mr R Price (Vice Chairman) Activities Sub-Committee Mr S C Ford (Chairman) Mrs S Garner (Vice Chairman) Young Kennel Club Management Committee Mrs V O Foss (Chairman) Mrs P Dufty (Vice Chairman) Good Citizen Dog Scheme Working Party Mr M Cooke (Chairman) Safe and Sound Working Party Mr G King (Chairman) Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour Board Mr P Rawlings (Chairman) Mrs A White (Vice Chairman) KC/BSAVA Scientific Advisory Group (Electronic) Prof M E Herrtage (Chairman) Go To Top Of Page Kennel Club welcomes home secretary’s criticism of dog control orders KC Dog, the Kennel Club’s group in place to help responsible dog owners protect their rights, has today welcomed the comments made by Home Secretary, Theresa May, criticising dog control orders. During a speech in London denouncing existing anti-social behaviour legislation, Mrs May echoed the Kennel Club’s belief that dog control orders are largely ineffective and do not act as a deterrent for irresponsible owners, calling the sanctions “ludicrous”. Dog control orders were introduced under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, giving local authorities the power to place restrictions upon dog walkers and issue penalties for failure to comply. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The Kennel Club is encouraged that the Home Secretary has recognised the failings of dog control orders and we are hopeful that the government will take this forward. “KC Dog has worked closely with local authorities and dog walkers across the UK, and our experience shows that councils can combat irresponsible behaviour by discussing problems and developing solutions alongside the local community, without resorting to restrictions.” Go To Top Of Page SUBMISSION OF SHOW CATALOGUES All Secretaries are reminded that Kennel Club Regulations require every show/trial to submit a copy of the Catalogue, fully marked up with the results, within fourteen days (7 days for Working Trials) of the event. The timely submission of Championship show catalogues in particular aids quick turn around in issuing Certificates and Stud Book numbers to dog owners. Stud Book numbers and Challenge Certificates are issued in strict show date order sequence. Consequently, if a Society fails to submit its Catalogue to the Kennel Club within fourteen days of the show, it considerably delays the dispatch all of the awards made at subsequent events. Obedience, Agility and Working Trial societies are also reminded that they have to send the Kennel Club additional information over and above the catalogue; failure to send this information also delays the issuing of certificates. Last year, there were a total of 159 Championship Show/Trial Societies which were in breach of the Regulations, despite reminders being issued. Therefore, as the late submission of a catalogue delays the issuing of certificates and contravenes the regulations, societies will now be routinely referred to the Committee for consideration; such consideration could result in the society being issued with a warning or fine and in extreme cases could effect their future championship status. Statement from the British Veterinary Association British Small Animal Veterinary Association and Society for Practising Veterinary Associations. Veterinary associations’ response to BBC Panorama ‘It shouldn’t happen at a vet’s’ The veterinary professional associations have expressed concern and disappointment at the incidents revealed in the undercover footage in the BBC’s Panorama programme ‘It shouldn’t happen at a vet’s’ and are calling on the BBC to provide all of the evidence to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) for a full investigation. One of the main issues raised by the programme is the lack of support and supervision for younger and less experienced vets and veterinary nurses, as well as other staff who are not qualified (referred to as “trainees” in the programme). Ultimately it is the veterinary surgeon who must take responsibility for the animals in his/her care. Vets are robustly regulated by the RCVS, as revealed in the case of Kfir Segev who was struck off by the RCVS. The programme also highlighted a number of concerning incidents of alleged fraud, dishonesty and bad practice that pet owners and the general public will have found very distressing. The BVA, BSAVA and SPVS cannot condone any bad practice. Some of these incidents featured are clearly unacceptable; others will require further investigation and it is vital that the RCVS is given the evidence to take this forward. The veterinary associations are very concerned that viewers may now have concerns about their own vets. It is vital that the relationship of trust between a client and their vet is maintained. As was made clear in the programme, the vast majority of vets provide a high quality service and have the best interests of their clients and patients at heart. We would advise pet owners to talk to their vet, as well as the rest of the practice team, if they have any concerns. We are advising our members to spend extra time dealing with clients’ questions and concerns following the programme, as well as offering the opportunity to meet the whole veterinary team and see behind the scenes in the practice. Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: “There will be concern amongst pet owners following the programme, but it is vital to remember that the vast majority of vets enjoy a high level of trust from their clients because they are incredibly hard working and caring. “It is essential that every member of the veterinary team feels supported and well supervised to ensure they are only asked to carry out tasks that they are qualified, trained and competent to do.” Grant Petrie, President of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, said: “We would urge the profession and public alike to continue reporting issues of concern. The BSAVA believes that the inappropriate actions and breach of trust of a few should not tarnish the true endeavours of the majority of veterinary surgeons who provide a dedicated and professional service.” Jacqui Molyneux, President of the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons, said: “SPVS would never condone leaving junior staff to sink or swim. In fact we help run a Final Year Seminar for veterinary students each year where we stress over and over again that students should not take jobs where they are not given adequate support. It is imperative that young vets should have the support of more experienced vets to help when things are not going according to plan.” For more information, please call the BVA media office on 07503 190 247 Go To Top Of Page Crispin Says It's Time To Work Together The World Of Dogs is riven by arguments, but now is the time to work together, according to the founding chairman of the new advisory council on the welfare issues of dog breeding. Professor Sheila Crispin has been chosen to lead the council’s work, but to be successful, she says, arguments must be put aside and everyone must pull together for the good of dogs. Advertisements for council members – eight at first with the potential to become 12-strong – will go out in September, and a wide range of expertise is being sought. There must be someone knowledgeable about dog breeding, including breed Standards, canine reproduction and wider aspects of the subject. Second, a knowledge of legislation, particularly with regard to how to impose enforcement schemes. Expertise is needed in epidemiology of inherited disorders in dogs, environmental influences and other relevant factors. There should be knowledge of genetics of disorders in dogs, and there must be a member with experience of small animal veterinary practice. A dog behaviourist who has experience in socialisation issues is also required, and a dog owner who is knowledgeable and experienced – ‘possibly a pet owner, working dog owner or could be a show dog person’. “I’m very open on this,” the professor said. Skills From Outside Prof Crispin said there was provision for someone ‘possibly outside the world of dogs’ who brought skills which would allow them to recognise what needed to be changed. “Sometimes it’s easier to see from the outside,” she said. “We will also want a minimum of two lay people – I don’t like that term as it sounds derogatory – but who will bring good skill-sets and be not so heavily immersed in the subject.” Prof Crispin herself is an academic, a veterinary ophthalmologist, past president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, an honorary life member of the KC who has sat on various KC committees and took part in the recent review of breed Standards and a life member of the International Sheep Dog Society. She has a 16-year-old working sheepdog and a Border Collie/Bearded Collie cross of four. Anyone can apply to be a member – including members of stakeholder groups such as the KC, RSPCA, and others who were members of the review board formed after Prof Bateson’s enquiry. But Prof Crispin emphasised that they must not represent an organisation. “If necessary they will need to leave their parent organisation behind and work for the good of dogs in general, that’s very important,” she said. “They will be appointed for their individual skills. “It is also very important that they recognise that there might be conflicts of interest and that they will have to step aside from any discussion if necessary. That means we will also appoint a deputy chairman so if I need to step aside I can do so and the council can continue to function.” It is almost certain that there will be a high-profile, celebrity-led launch of the council. And it will raise its own funding. “If everyone who owns a dog donated £1 that would solve our problems,” Prof Crispin said. “There is no point in applying to the Government for funds because there are no funds there. But because of that it will be more exciting and help us be more independent.” The First Duties Of The Council Are As Yet Unknown. “Nothing is set in stone,” Prof Crispin said. “We know there are various issues regarding inherited disease in certain breeds. “There is also huge public concern about puppy farming and the dangerous dogs situation – these are three areas we know will be high-profile matters which people are unhappy about. “The most important thing is to make the public feel they can help us, and tackle problems together so that people feel they are partners in it. It is very important that we feel we have public support. “No-one should underestimate the capacity of the dog owner, breed club etc to make a huge difference in terms of input on what are often very scientific matters.” But it was important that differences and dissension are put aside, the professor said. “For reasons that are never entirely clear to me, the dog world – and I suspect other worlds of animals – is riven by arguments, and by very nasty arguments on occasion,” she said. “I have read quite a lot of pretty pungent criticism of my appointment already, quite a of lot of which is not just wrong but verging on libellous. “It is stupid; we should all be working together for dogs and if we can do that the arguments would begin to disappear. That would be my greatest desire, because I am an optimist. We can do this by working together, with everyone trying, initially at least if not for the long term, to put aside our differences and say, ‘Yes, we’re working for dogs’. If we can do that I will be delighted.” Go To Top Of Page Panorama To Conduct Undercover Investigation Into vets The Veterinary profession was due to be the subject of an undercover investigation by the Panorama team this week. The exact content of the programme is not known, but the synopsis of ‘It shouldn’t happen at a vets’ said it covered questionable bills, poorly treated animals and a vet struck off for dishonesty. It was also due to scrutinise regulation of corporate practices, alleged overcharging in relation to insurance, unqualified nursing staff and support for new graduates. The College is expecting that there will be increased public interest in the self-regulation of the profession. Currently, the RCVS receives about 700 complaints a year. “This is about one every 15 years of a member’s practising life,” the spokesman said. “It’s a record to be proud of. ‘Areas Of Concern’ “However, if the programme raises areas of genuine concern we will do all we can to act on them, and we have already made it clear to the BBC that we would expect their support in this. “Following the programme, we will work with the British Veterinary Association and other organisations to ensure that the robust nature of the regulatory system is communicated to the public, from undergraduate degrees through the professional development phase and the Guide to Professional Conduct, to mandatory, continuing professional development and the voluntary Practice Standards Scheme and register for veterinary nurses.” Anyone with concerns should either speak to their own vet or contact the College, which was due to post a statement on its website on Thursday evening after the 9pm show. Questions can be posed to the College via its advice line on 020 7202 0789 or the communications department on 020 7202 0725. KC Comes In For Criticism Over Support For Puppy Farm Awareness Day The Kennel Club has been accused of hypocrisy in its support of the puppy farm awareness day PUP AID. The event, taking place in Brighton in September, is said to aim at raising awareness of how puppy farmers operate. It is organised by www.ThePet.net which provides information on companion animals. But Ronnie of Puppy Love, which campaigns against puppy farmers, who wanted her surname withheld, said that the KC – which is having a stand at the event – should check who is breeding the puppies they register. Pedigree Dogs Exposed’s writer and producer Jemima Harrison agreed, calling the KC’s involvement with PUP AID ‘rank hypocrisy’. She said it was time the KC cleaned up its registration system and to police not just the Accredited Breeder Scheme (ABS) but the general register too. ‘Cruelty’ But ThePet.net’s co-founder, vet Marc Abraham, who is the KC’s veterinary advisor, said he hoped that PUP AID would help people understand how to choose a ‘happy and healthy puppy, rather than a ill or diseased farmed one’. “The aim of the event is to help dog buyers everywhere be aware of the cruelty involved in this side of dog breeding, and hopefully reduce the demand for pups bred in this way,” he said. “My hope is that the event will help put a stop to puppy farming in this country.” Representatives of Dogs Trust will be at the event and those from puppy farm campaign groups ‘Be Puppy Farm Aware’ and ‘Stop Puppy farming, End the Cruelty’. There will also be a parade of ex-breeding bitches, Mr Abraham said. This week the KC announced its support for PUP AID. But Ms Harrison said: “The KC knows full well it registers puppy farm dogs,” she said. “When challenged, the KC says that it can’t do anything about it because it has no choice but to register dogs whose parents are themselves KC registered. “But it’s time now for the KC to clean up its registration system – to police not just the ABS but the general register too. Complaints against breeders – all breeders – need to be followed up and registration refused from those who breed pups without due care to their health and welfare. “The vast majority of KC-registered dogs – 90 per cent – are bred outside of the ABS, with no health or welfare requirements a condition of registration. That’s around 200,000 puppies a year. Of course, there are many responsible breeders within that 90 per cent, but the system as it stands is totally abusable by those who use KC registration as a tool to sell poorly-bred dogs to unsuspecting customers who pay the price in heartache, pain and often enormous vet bills.” Ronnie said if the KC wanted to end puppy farming it should not register their puppies. “Why doesn’t it check out just who is registering pups with them?” she said. “We feel that PUP AID is more about the ABS than puppy farming. Although Puppy Love welcomes anything that raises awareness of puppy farms we cannot support (this event)... Many puppy farmers have a KC affix.” Mrs Kisko spokeswoman for the Kennel Club said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to help stamp out puppy farming, and our ABS is key to this,” she replied. “By registering breeders rather than puppies, as we do under our normal registration system we are able to ensure that they abide by certain conditions and can remove those whose standards are found to be wanting. “By contrast, the registration system is a record of births only. The KC is not a law enforcement agency. Local authorities and the RSPCA are charged with the task of monitoring and taking action against unscrupulous breeders. However, should a breeder’s standards be found to be wanting, and there is a conviction under the Animal Welfare Act against a breeder, then the KC can disqualify them from future registration,” she said. ‘Under the radar’ “It is important to remember that puppy farmers tend to operate under the radar and choose not to register their litters with the KC. In fact, the vast majority of those who register with the KC breed in small numbers – often just one or fewer litters a year. Only two per cent breed more than five litters per annum,” Mrs Kisko added. The KC’s health and breeder manager Bill Lambert also addressed the criticisms. “Our registration system is a database which is open to all, but it is only those who register with us that we can hope to have any influence over whatsoever; to restrict registration would simply drive people away where they could breed without any controls whatsoever,” he said. PUP AID takes place at Stanmer House, near Brighton on September 19 and comprises a ‘celebrity-judged dog show and boutique music festival’. The PetNet website stated that there would be a small admission price with ‘a proportion’ of it donated to Dogs Trust. Championship Status – German Shepherd Dog 2012 The General Committee met on 6th July 2010 to agree the allocation of Challenge Certificates for 2012. The decision followed the receipt of the Undertakings issued at the beginning of this year, assigned to all breed clubs and championship show societies that had previously been allocated Challenge Certificates for German Shepherd Dogs. The following clubs and societies have therefore been allocated Challenge Certificates: Bolton & District GSD Club GSD Club of Scotland (Joint Show) Midland Counties GSD Association East of England Agricultural Society National Working & Pastoral Breeds Dog Society Welsh Kennel Club City of Birmingham Canine Association Richmond Dog Show Society Working & Pastoral Breeds Association of Scotland The breed club listing has been compiled upon the established rotation of breed club championship shows, with additional clubs brought forward from the 2013 list. Future allocations for 2013 and beyond will be based on each club/society’s adherence to the conditions included in Undertaking. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB SEEKS AMENDMENTS TO NEW DOG BILL The Kennel Club has today welcomed some changes but raised concerns about the Dogs (Amendment) Bill as it proceeds to Committee Stage in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Proposals contained within the Bill include: · The introduction of compulsory microchipping of dogs; · An increase in the cost of the existing dog licence; · Amendments to existing legislation on dangerous dogs to include attacks taking place on private property and dog on dog attacks; and · The introduction of a range of dog ‘control conditions’ which can be imposed on dog licenses. The Bill seeks to increase the cost of the existing dog licence, despite reports that a large percentage of owners in Northern Ireland currently flout the law by not obtaining one. The Kennel Club opposes licensing and sees the rising cost as a further tax on the responsible dog owners who annually renew and update their dog licence as required. The licence fee is also not ring fenced therefore giving no guarantee that the money will be put back into animal welfare. The Kennel Club does, however, welcome the extension of current legislation to include attacks on private property given that a large proportion of dog attacks occur in the home and involve a dog known to the victim. This will place greater responsibility on owners to ensure that their dogs are not out of control in any place (subject to various exemptions such as provocation). The Kennel Club is also part of the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG), made up of the leading animal and veterinary organisations, and has been campaigning for changes to current dangerous dogs law for many years. DDASG continues to lobby to remove the emphasis on demonising particular types or breeds of dog and instead focus on deed and irresponsible dog ownership. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “Whilst we welcome the Assembly’s actions in updating largely ineffective and out of date legislation in respect of dogs, we have a great number of concerns regarding the Dogs (Amendment) Bill in its current form. The Kennel Club welcomes new offences covering dog on dog attacks and the extension of current ‘dangerous dogs’ legislation to private as well as public land, however we wholeheartedly oppose breed specific legislation which has already been proven not to reduce dog attacks or better protect the public. We will be contacting MLA’s to discuss our concerns and suggest amendments to ensure the fairest outcome for both the general public and the dogs themselves.” The Kennel Club responded to the consultation on proposals for changes to dog control legislation highlighting their concerns. Go To Top Of Page GUIDANCE FOR JUDGES – EXCLUDING OR WITHHOLDING Since the Kennel Club introduced the regulation giving judges the authority to exclude a dog from competition due to health and welfare related conditions, various questions and comments have been received from judges and exhibitors. Therefore, to better explain the situation, the following guidance note has been prepared to assist judges. It is important that if judges encounter problem dogs at shows, they are clear about when it is appropriate either to exclude the dog from competition on the one hand, or to allow it to compete and then withhold an award due to lack of merit on the other. EXCLUSION FROM COMPETITION Kennel Club Regulations provide only two grounds for a dog to be excluded from competition; If it behaves in an unacceptable/aggressive manner, or If it shows clearly visible evidence of infectious disease, or some other condition(s) which adversely affects its health or welfare Regulation F(1) paragraph 15 refers. Dogs are therefore excluded from competition for reasons which are unrelated to the judge’s perception of the quality of the dog in so far as it may appear to be of excellent breed type and quality, but it nonetheless shows clearly visible evidence of unacceptable behaviour, infectious disease, or some other condition which adversely affects its health and welfare. A judge should therefore consider excluding a dog from competition when he/she believes that a dog shows visible evidence of one or more of the following signs: · Lameness – including ‘hopping’ · Inappropriate temperament – refusal to be handled, timidity or aggression · A discharge from one or both eyes or any signs of discomfort in either eye · Obvious breathing difficulty · Obvious skin or ear irritation · Significantly over or under weight Before excluding a dog from competition for any of the above reasons, a judge should carefully consider whether the problem is obvious enough to leave no room for doubt or debate as to whether or not the decision to exclude from competition is justifiable. Even in a large class with a sufficient number of acceptable dogs present, judges still have a duty to exclude any dog in the class that clearly displays one or more of the signs that require exclusion from competition. When a dog is in fact excluded from competition, the reason for the action taken must be explained to the owner/handler, the show management must be notified and a report must be submitted to the KC within seven days of the show. Judges are not expected to, nor should they, make or express a veterinary diagnosis when excluding a dog. The duty of care that the Kennel Club expects from judges is that of the experienced dog breeder who would be aware of deviation from normal conditions in their own dogs. Any decision to exclude a dog from competition is final and is not open to appeal. N.B. Judges should also keep in mind that a dog to which they give an award may, at the instigation of a show official or KC-appointed observer and following veterinary examination, subsequently be excluded from further competition at the show. WITHHOLDING OF AWARDS The circumstances when a judge may need to consider the withholding of an award are somewhat different to those that apply to exclusion from competition. An award should be withheld if a dog fails, in the opinion of the judge, to meet the minimum quality standards that determine if a) it is breed typical; and b) it is of sufficient merit to justify the award. There is likely to be room for debate between judges over the perceived merits of an individual dog with respect to interpretation of the breed standard whereas individual judges should be able to agree easily when a dog displays the signs that justify it being excluded from competition because it presents with aggression/timidity, infectious disease, unsoundness, or its health and welfare is otherwise visibly impaired. When an award is withheld no further action is necessary on the part of the judge or the show management, however it preferable that the judge explains the reason for his/her decision to the handler in a polite and courteous manner. NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY INTRODUCES CLEAN NEIGHBOURHOODS & ENVIRONMENT BILL A proposed new law giving local authorities the powers to restrict access for dog walkers has been introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Should the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill become law, local authorities will be given the power to issue Dog Control Orders. This means that councils will be able to make an order for a standard offence to apply to land within their area. Proposed offences contained in the Bill are: (a) fouling of land by dogs and the removal of dog faeces; (b) the keeping of dogs on leads; (c) the exclusion of dogs from land; (d) the number of dogs which a person may take on to any land. The Kennel Club is concerned that these provisions unfairly penalise responsible dog owners, could lead to a major reduction in public access for dog owners and exclude the powers to direct an owner to put their dog on a lead if out of control – one of the most sensible aspect of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 already in force in England & Wales. Furthermore the Kennel Club is concerned that fines will be invoked too frequently to raise revenue for cash-strapped local authorities. The Kennel Club established a group called KC Dog in 2005 to monitor the restrictions in England & Wales, campaign for better access and promote responsible dog ownership. Evidence accumulated by the Kennel Club over the last five years suggests many local authorities apply the most draconian restrictions as a disproportionate response to the irresponsible behaviour of a minority of dog owners. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The Kennel Club actively promotes responsible dog ownership and believes that a fair balance must be struck between the needs of both those with dogs and those without. “Unfortunately our considerable experience shows that local authorities considering dog control orders often take the most restrictive line, ignoring the needs of dog owners who are an equally important section of society. “Chief among our concerns is the lack of a dog control order to require an owner to put his or her dog on a lead. This is a common sense approach which allows those with control of their dog the freedom to enjoy off-lead access, whilst ensuring local authorities have the powers to deal with irresponsible owners. “Often problems such as dog fouling can be resolved easily and at minimal cost through better engagement with the dog owning community. “Now is the most effective time for dog walkers to make their views known. We would therefore urge all responsible dog owners in the local area to lobby their MLA in order to ensure the best possible result for all concerned.” Members of the public can find information on the Kennel Club’s campaign, suggested amendments and how to contact their MLA by visiting www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kcdog. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill received its second reading on 30th June and will now be examined in detail by members of the Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee. Members of the public can find and contact their MLA in Northern Ireland by going to http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ Go To Top Of Page MPs BACK COMPULSORY MICROCHIPPING OF DOGS Members of Parliament have recognised the British Veterinary Association’s contribution to the promotion of microchipping dogs and the campaign for compulsory microchipping through an Early Day Motion (EDM) tabled by Andrew Rosindell MP (Conservative, Romford). The EDM is gaining signatures from across all political parties as MPs show their support for a compulsory microchipping scheme that would have a significant and positive welfare impact on dogs by: assisting in the return of stray and stolen dogs to their owners; improving traceability of puppy-farmed dogs; and providing a lifetime of security for a one-off payment. The EDM is also supported by Dogs Trust (who coordinated the EDM), Cats Protection, Blue Cross, and NOAH (National Office for Animal Health). Earlier this week Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM announced proposals for the compulsory microchipping of all dogs and puppies sold or homed by licensed breeders, to improve traceability. Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said: “Microchipping is part of responsible pet ownership and the BVA believes that all dogs should be permanently identified by microchip before the first change of ownership or at the first veterinary examination. “Compulsory microchipping allows stray dogs to be reunited with their owners and would help the authorities to crack down on shameful puppy farms, where the health and welfare of both puppies and bitches is compromised, by improving the traceability of the animals. “It could also assist with the reporting of hereditary health problems and surgical procedures to help us gain as much knowledge and research as we can to improve the health of all dogs. “I would urge all Members of Parliament to show their support for dogs and their owners by signing this EDM.” That this House recognises that the introduction of a compulsory microchipping scheme for dogs would have a significant and positive welfare impact, including the return of stray and stolen dogs to their owners and the improved traceability of puppy-farmed dogs; congratulates Dogs Trust, Cats Protection, Blue Cross, National Office of Animal Health and the British Veterinary Association on their efforts to raise public awareness of microchipping and their campaigning for a mandatory scheme; acknowledges that microchipping provides a lifetime of security for a one-off payment; agrees that a compulsory microchipping scheme is currently the preferred alternative to a dog licensing scheme, which would potentially create unnecessary bureaucracy and expense for local authorities; and believes that this would not represent a barrier to dog ownership for vulnerable groups. 1. For more information, please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] 2. Visit the Parliament website for up-to-date information on the MPs who have signed the EDM 3. The BVA policy position on the compulsory microchipping of dogs: In February 2009, the BVA called for the compulsory identification of all registered pedigree dogs to facilitate the reporting of hereditary health problems and surgical procedures resulting in conformation changes, and added that the introduction of a ‘pet passport’ database, which would be linked to a microchip, would allow information such as parentage, DNA and health test results to be known for a particular animal. Permanent identification, particularly by microchip, has become increasingly common over the past decade, and is the most effective means of reuniting a stray dog with its owner. It has a number of advantages over the use of a collar and tag which are often left off or slip off. Collars can also be easily removed from stolen dogs. Permanent identification is effective at all times and is virtually impossible to alter or remove. The veterinary profession promotes responsible pet ownership and can explain to owners the benefits of permanent identification for dogs. However the BVA considers that legislation should be put in place to require all dogs to be permanently identified before the first change of ownership or at first veterinary examination if earlier. Such identification should be through microchipping. The new legislation should include a requirement to keep the information on a microchip and/or relevant database up to date with the current name and address of the owner. Owners should be issued with a certificate to show the details registered on the database. The format of the certificate should include a tear-off section to notify changes of ownership to the database. Go To Top Of Page Changes To Accredited Breeder Scheme The Kennel Club has announced the following changes to its Accredited Breeder Scheme’s breed-specific requirements and recommendations, including health screening: Alaskan Malamute – add recommendations; bitches not to be mated before third season; bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter; bitches not to produce more than one litter within a 12 month period. Australian Shepherd – add requirement: DNA test HC-HSF4. add recommendations: elbow grading; DNA test CEA/CH; DNA test MDR1; DNA test prcd-PRA; DNA test Cobalamin Malabsorption; blood test for Pelger-Huet Anomaly. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Bavarian Mountain Hound (imp) – add recommendations: hip scoring; breed club aptitude test; bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter. Bedlington Terrier – eye testing stays as a requirement but will now be ‘eye testing (once)’. Miniature Bull Terrier – add requirement: DNA test PLL. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Miniature Smooth-haired Dachshund – add requirement: DNA test GPRA (cord 1). Miniature Wire-haired Dachshund – add recommendation: DNA test Lafora’s disease. German Spitz Klein – add recommendation: eye testing. German Spitz Mittel – add recommendation: eye testing. Great Dane – add recommendation: bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter. Italian Spinone – add recommendation: DNA (linkage) test – Cerebellar Ataxia. Newfoundland – upgrade DNA test cystinuria from a recommendation to a requirement. Norwegian Elkhound – add requirement: DNA test prcd-PRA. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Parson Russell Terrier – add recommendation: DNA test PLL. Rottweiler – add recommendations: bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter; bitches not to produce more than one within a 12 month period. Sealyham Terrier – add requirement: DNA test PLL. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Cocker Spaniel – add requirement: DNA test FN. Upgrade DNA test prcd-PRA to a requirement. Field Spaniel – add recommendations: heart testing; eye testing; bitches under two years of age not to produce a litter; bitches not to produce more than one litter within a 12 month period. Welsh Springer Spaniel – gonioscopy stays as a requirement. Downgrade eye testing to a recommendation. Spanish Water Dog – add recommendation: DNA test prcd-PRA. Tibetan Terrier – add requirement: DNA test PLL. These changes became effective on July 1, 2010 and existing accredited breeders have six months’ grace in order to come in line with these requirements and recommendations. “All these changes have come about as a direct result of a request to the KC from breed clubs and breed councils,” said Bill Lambert, KC health and breeder services manager. “The ABS was designed and has been developed to work closely with breeds in order to tailor the scheme to their specific needs. We are delighted that so many breed clubs and breed councils have chosen to work with us in order to develop further this important KC initiative.” Breed-specific requirements and recommendations are updated twice a year. The next round of changes will be announced in January. Breed clubs and breed councils wishing to make a proposal for their breed should write to Accredited Breeder Scheme, the Kennel Club, 1-5 Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB. Go To Top Of Page BVA puts science at heart of annual Welsh dinner speech The British Veterinary Association (BVA) reiterated its support for the Welsh Assembly Government’s proposed badger cull to tackle bovine Tuberculosis as part of a keynote speech highlighting the importance of science-based policies at the annual BVA Welsh dinner, held at Cardiff City Hall on Tuesday 6th July 2010. BVA President Professor Bill Reilly also praised the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for taking the lead on companion animal health and welfare issues at the dinner attended by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM, parliamentarians, key representatives of animal health and welfare organisations and the agri-food industry, senior members of the veterinary profession, and members of the media. Professor Reilly also challenged the WAG on a number of key issues, including the future of Official Veterinarian (OV) services, funding for a UK-wide advisory group on dog welfare, and the WAG’s commitment to improving the welfare of animals before slaughter. Minister for Rural Affairs Elin Jones AM responded on behalf of the guests. On bovine TB, Professor Reilly said: “During the Welsh Assembly debate on the motion to annul the TB Eradication Order Mark Isherwood AM referenced the views of the BVA in support of the proposed cull. In summary he said, ‘Who do you think knows best, the British Veterinary Association or a bunch of politicians?’ “It was perhaps a flippant remark, but it is also one that underlines the importance of science, expertise, and research being at the centre of policy making. The BVA, and its 12,000 members, don’t support a cull for political reasons, but because of our scientific understanding of TB and the way it spreads.” Following the Welsh Assembly Government announcement on the Court of Appeal, Professor Reilly added: “Right now, the future of the TB Eradication Programme rests with the Court of Appeal. We noted with interest your announcement yesterday, Minister, of the decision not to go ahead on a whole-Wales basis at this stage, but to focus on the intensive action pilot area in west Wales in order to address one of the grounds for appeal. This seems to be a very pragmatic and sensible approach, which should not impact on the overall eradication programme.” On Official Veterinarians, Professor Reilly said: “The threat of exotic disease looms large at all times and one of the major ‘public good’ functions of the veterinary profession is in disease surveillance. But I’m afraid that function is in jeopardy as the work of Official Veterinarians (OVs) is at risk of being undermined by Animal Health. “This shock announcement [that OV work will be put out to tender] has left the veterinary profession with a number of grave concerns, not least the significant potential for loss of goodwill and a decision by veterinary practices to no longer provide OV services.” On companion animal issues, Professor Reilly said that Wales is leading the rest of the UK. He said: “Here in Wales the Task and Finish Group on dog breeding has already made enormous headway in tackling the problems associated with puppy farms. I am delighted that you have today, Minister, announced your intention to amend existing controls on dog breeding and introduce microchipping of all puppies sold or homed by breeding establishments. “The significant health and welfare problems of bitches and puppies in puppy farms are shameful and I hope that the new measures will go a long way to tackling these rogue traders.” Professor Reilly also called for more government funding for dog health and welfare: “Although we have been pleased to work with the Welsh, Scottish and UK Governments through the Dog Review Board, we remain disappointed at the level of commitment from ministers to properly resource an official independent advisory body that would be afforded the status of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, for example, and we are concerned that the new body could simply be ignored.” Finally, on welfare labelling, Professor Reilly said: “I applaud your commitment to locally-sourced food, Minister, but we were disappointed that no mention of promoting better animal health and welfare was made in the food procurement framework. We need public bodies to take the lead in promoting higher standards of animal welfare if we want consumers to follow. “We are campaigning for one clear EU-wide label that indicates higher animal welfare throughout the process, including birth, production, transport and slaughter. The current range of labels is confusing for consumers who want to make a positive, pro-welfare choice in the shops and supermarkets, and who are prepared to pay a little extra to do so.” Go To Top Of Page TOUGH NEW BILL TO REPLACE ‘FAILED’ DANGEROUS DOGS ACT Animal welfare organisations, veterinary professionals and local authorities today joined forces to condemn the much-criticised Dangerous Dogs Act, demanding that it must be replaced by a hard-hitting new Dog Control Bill focusing on prevention rather than cure. Existing legislation has failed to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in the UK, which have risen in the past five years by 79% in London and 43% nationally*. Meanwhile costs have continued to rise; it was revealed that 10 million pounds has been spent by the Metropolitan Police alone in the past 3 years simply to implement Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act, relating to the seizure, kennelling and euthanasia of banned breeds. The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) has lobbied against the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for many years and members of the group are now backing a new Dog Control Bill proposed by Lib Dem Peer Lord Redesdale, which will receive its second reading in the House of Lords on Friday (9th July). This Bill would consolidate previous legislation and better protect the public by targeting the cause of dog attacks – dog owners themselves. Lord Redesdale commented: “People deserve to feel safe around dogs and this Bill goes a long way towards protecting the public through tougher action against irresponsible dog owners. The current law has done nothing but make banned breeds and their lookalikes more appealing and created the issue of status dogs because they are a status symbol. “Owners of aggressive or violent dogs of any kind would be brought to account with this Bill, which in turn will prevent a large number of attacks by dealing with problem behaviour at the first signs of aggression rather than when an attack has taken place, as in current legislation”. If passed, the Bill will introduce major changes to current dangerous dog legislation, which is widely considered to be one of the most ineffective pieces of government legislation ever brought into force. These changes include: · More emphasis on the owner’s responsibilities – the Bill supports the principle that it is the owner who has the potential to make a dog either well-behaved or badly-behaved. It gives authorised officers the powers to place Dog Control Notices on irresponsible owners at the first signs of dog aggression. · Attacks which take place on private property would also become a criminal offence – a large number of dog attack incidents occur within the home and on private property. The Bill includes various exemptions such as being attacked by another animal, provocation, and attacks on individuals committing an offence for which they could be imprisoned. · Legislation will no longer be breed specific – since the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, public money and resources have been wasted by already overstretched police authorities seizing dogs simply for being of a particular breed or type. Research now overwhelmingly supports the principle of ‘deed not breed’, and proves that genetics (breed) play only a limited part in the temperament of an individual dog, with environment and training having a far greater effect. The DDASG has been working closely with Lord Redesdale in support of his Dog Control Bill and has long been calling on the government to repeal the current legislation. The Group believes that the breed specific nature of current legislation has caused it to fail, and that focusing on individual breeds has failed to prevent a large number of dog attacks, or reduce the number of Pit Bull Terriers in the UK. DDASG Chairman Chris Laurence, Veterinary Director of Dogs Trust, said: “We firmly believe that the Dangerous Dogs Act needs to be overhauled to better protect the public and that a new dog control regime that emphasises responsible dog ownership should be introduced. “The Dog Control Bill supports the principle that it is people, not the dogs themselves that make dogs dangerous. Lord Redesdale’s Bill would allow people to be better protected from dangerous dogs with tougher action taken against irresponsible dog owners.” The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group has also launched a petition supporting Lord Redesdale’s Dog Control Bill which already has almost 10,000 signatures. The petition can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-the-dangerous-dogs-act.html *Figures quoted from London Dangerous Dog Forum Evidence Base Research Paper and available on request. The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group The Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) is a wide-ranging group representing animal welfare, local authorities and veterinary professional organisations and includes representation from: Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Wandsworth Borough Council Wood Green Animal Shelters The DDASG considers that the Dangerous Dogs Act needs to be overhauled to better protect the public and that a new dog control regime which emphasises responsible dog ownership should be introduced. Lord Redesdale’s Private Members Bill provides for the following: Repeal of the Dogs Act 1871, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 including breed specific legislation The police expend significant resources on enforcement of the Dangerous Dogs Act, with large amounts of money being spent on the seizure and kennelling of dogs simply because of their breed type - many of these dogs are returned to their owners once proved to be of good temperament. Removing breed specific legislation would allow resources to be used more effectively elsewhere, and preferably concentrated on those dogs showing unprovoked aggression. Introduce Dog Control Notices The vast majority of dog attacks are a result of the irresponsible actions of dog owners, who have either not taken the time and trouble to train their dog correctly, or have indeed trained the dog to behave aggressively. Dog Control Notices will apply to all types of dog that have acted dangerously without provocation, caused an injury to another animal, caused harm, or caused a person to reasonably believe it will cause harm and aims to prevent serious incidents of aggression occurring by allowing preventative action. Apply to both public AND private places A large proportion of dog attacks occur in the home and involve a dog that is known to the victim. The Dog Control Bill will make attacks that take place on private property a criminal offence. Greater responsibility is therefore placed on owners to ensure that their dogs are not out of control in any place. Full wording of the DDASG petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/repeal-and-replace-the-dangerous-dogs-act.html We, the undersigned, call on the government to repeal the Dogs Act 1871, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997. We petition the Government to repeal the Dangerous Dogs Act and replace it with alternative legislation that; · Protects the public against dogs dangerously out of control without compromising any individual dog’s welfare. Embodies the principle of ‘deed not breed’ and opposes breed specific legislation on the grounds that a dog’s behaviour is influenced more by its environment, the training it receives and the responsibility of its owner, than it is by genetics (i.e. its breed or type). We support the Dog Control Bill which seeks to better protect the public, place greater responsibility on dog owners and remove the huge welfare implications affecting dogs deemed to be of a certain type. Go To Top Of Page A Meeting Took Place Between KC And The German Shepherd Association Decisions that were made at a recent meeting between the Kennel Club and the British Association for German Shepherd Dogs (BAGSD) have now been revealed. The KC said it had no objection to British Sieger or other events being held under World Union of GSDs (WUSV) rules but wanted to be kept informed about them. Representatives from the Kennel Club present included chairman Ronnie Irving and former vice-chairman Bill Hardaway. BAGSD representatives included president Doreen Gater, chairman Bob Honey, vice-chairmen Andrew Winfrow and Wayne Lacey. Breed council representative Brian Wooton was also in attendance. The following points were discussed regarding BAGSD’s involvement: 1. WUSV/SV relationship a. The structure and aspirations of the WUSV/SV. It was discussed that the WUSV, having started as an ‘informal talking shop’, had developed into a more formal coalition with a constitution. It was noted that the WUSV constitution specifically declared its object and function as ‘the worldwide implementation of the uniform breeding and training of German Shepherd Dogs’. b. The British Sieger Event (WUSV working party/breed council). No objection The KC stated that it had no objection to British Sieger or other events being held under WUSV rules, but asked that KC-registered clubs should tell the KC about such events and allow it the opportunity to comment. c. Regional events (BAGSD) The KC asked that if BAGSD held such events billed as a ‘special event recognised by the KC’ competition structure and management should be declared. This was necessary, it said, because the KC had a legal duty of care to ensure that all dog events it recognised met certain criteria with respect to health and safety and other considerations. As these events were of a similar structure to the British Sieger show, the KC could foresee no objections. 2. Outside attraction The KC said it had made its policy ‘very clear’ on this subject and on the detrimental effects it believes the practice brings. 3. Mandatory health testing This is be an ongoing concern, the KC said, and both parties could contribute ‘to the betterment of the breed via the Accredited Breeder Scheme and BAGSD special events respectively’. 4. VPG branches The KC has agreed to change the branch term VPG to IPO and with immediate effect such branches will now be called BAGSD IPO, standing for international working test branches. Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS: CONSULTATION ON BREED NAME CHANGE At the first meeting between the Kennel Club and the German Shepherd Dog breed clubs which had signed the formal Undertakings, the question of the nomenclature of the breed was raised. At this meeting the Kennel Club gave a commitment to consult on whether the word (Alsatian) be dropped from the formal title of the breed. Before considering this proposition, the General Committee would like the benefit of the German Shepherd Dog community’s views on removing ‘(Alsatian)’ from the name of the breed. The Kennel Club has asked all KC registered German Shepherd Dog clubs to consult their members on this matter before submitting their responses by the end of August 2010. If you would like your opinion considered you should contact your GSD club as soon as possible. Go To Top Of Page Breeders Banned For Three Years Two breeders and exhibitors of Dogue de Bordeaux's have been banned from all activities to do with dogs for three years for showing unregistered dogs. Helen Johnson and Mark Foster (Cascob) were the subject of a Kennel Club A42 hearing at which a complaint was made that they had behaved discreditably and prejudicially to the interests of the canine world in that over the course of a year they successively entered a number of licensed events with several unregistered dogs in overt disregard and breach of KC regulations. The complaint was upheld and the pair – of Fellbeck, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate – were fined £1,500 in addition to the ban and other penalties. The Disciplinary Sub-Committee, which met last Thursday,  comprised chairman Wilson Young, Steve Croxford and Ian Kettle. The KC was represented by barrister Robert Dalling. Ms Johnson was not legally represented and Mr Foster did not appear at the hearing. Ms Johnson explained that her partner was about to go into hospital for surgery. Outlined Mr Dalling outlined the case, saying that dogs belonging to the pair had taken part in nine shows run under KC regulations, which says they must be registered. “The dogs were entered by Ms Johnson either on her behalf or jointly for her and Mr Foster,” he said. The shows in question were the Dogue de Bordeaux Club of GB limited show on May 3, 2009, at which Cascob Vanilla Sky received a VHC in minor puppy bitch; East of England championship show on July 10 the same year, where Vanilla Sky won puppy bitch and best puppy; Leeds championship show on July 26 at which Vanilla Sky was second in open bitch; and Welsh Kennel Club on August 22 where she was first in puppy bitch and best puppy. Vanilla Sky was entered at Scottish Kennel Club on August 29 and South Wales KA championship show on October 10. At Driffield on October 1 she was reserve in puppy bitch, and at Midland Counties on October 22 she won puppy bitch. Also present was C Crazy Candy, who was not registered. At the Dogue de Bordeaux Club of GB open show on October 31, Crazy Candy won puppy bitch, best puppy bitch and was reserve best puppy in show. In June 2008, the KC’s General Committee instructed that all Ms Johnson’s future litters should be DNA verified. Subsequently, Ms Johnson said it was not possible to DNA test her current litter as the sire had died. But the KC’s case was that she continued to show the dogs despite the fact they were not registered. “It is clear from the top of the entry form to the breed club show in May 2009 that the show was held under KC rules and regulations and it is clear that all dogs must be registered under KC rules,” Mr Dalling said. He pointed out that beside the name of Vanilla Sky were the initials NAF/TAF – name applied for and transfer applied for, when this was not case. Also, that the dates of birth of two of the dogs were eight days apart despite the fact that the dam was said to be the same. There was no date on the entry form. At East of England, RAF was written next to Vanilla Sky’s name and the entry form appeared to be a late entry, the original entry being lost in the post, Mr Dalling said. Leeds was a late entry too, cash paid with proof of posting given; at SKC, Vanilla Sky had ‘NAF’ beside her name, and again it appeared to be a late entry. South Wales’ entry form was undated, as was Driffield’s, and at the final club show King Of The Ring’s date of birth and sire and dam were different to that given previously. “In the case of all the dogs and entries, not only was it the position at the time that none of those dogs were registered, but no application had been made for those dogs to be registered, and therefore whether or not the forms said NAF/TAF or not, those dogs were entered in breach of the regulations because no application had been made for registration,” Mr Dalling said. “In June 2008, Ms Johnson was made subject by the ratification of the General Committee to a requirement that she had to confirm the identity of any dogs she sought to register with the KC by DNA verification. That requirement was in place for the entirety of the period we are concerned with.” Ms Johnson was asked to state her case. She turned to the entry form for the first breed club show and said she had not submitted it. “It is not my handwriting nor my partner’s,” she said. “It isn’t signed and there is no date.” She said there were errors in the names, dates of birth and other details on the form. With regard to East of England, Ms Johnson said she entered and exhibited two dogs and that the letter RAF was written because she made provisions to register the dogs although the applications had not been submitted. She said she accepted entering the dogs at Leeds, confirming that it was her signature and handwriting, although Vanilla Sky was not shown that day. She said that although the complaint stated that she had got second in open bitch, she said she had not shown her in that class. “There are discrepancies,” she said. Ms Johnson said she entered WKC online and admitted entering for SKC, but said Vanilla Sky was not at the show; she took three older dogs. The South Wales entry form had not been filled in by her, she said; the handwriting was not hers and it was not signed. She pointed out that a box had been circled indicating that she was disabled. “I have never asked for disabled parking,” she aid. “I think this is relevant to the fact that the form was not filled in by myself.” She admitted taking and showing Vanilla Sky at Driffield but said that it was not her signature on the entry form and that it should have shown she and Mr Foster as owners, not just herself. Ms Johnson also admitted showing Vanilla Sky at Midland Counties and C Crazy Candy at the breed club open show. “I understand that I have been in breach of some of the rules and regulations put down by the KC, and I wish to say on behalf of me and my partner that at no point did I ever want to put the reputation of the KC into disrepute or do any wrong doings by the acts which I obviously have done,” she said. “However, I think part of the reason I have filled out some of the entry forms with name and transfer applied for was because I was subject to restrictions with two of my dogs, which had to be DNA tested, and I feel I have been treated very unfairly by the KC.” She spoke about events leading to the restriction being imposed and said that the KC had cleared her of any wrong doings with regard to this. “I have done a huge amount for the breed and I health test my dogs,” she said. “I have tried to promote this breed. “I wanted to fight these restrictions because I thought they were unfair and prejudicial to me. However, my personal circumstances with my health and the fact that I have lost a child...” There was a break while Ms Johnson became quite distressed. “This is why I find it very difficult,” she resumed. “Every day is a struggle. Even though I love my dogs very dearly they have had to take a back seat when it comes to trying to deal with such a thing. That is why even though the application is filled out at home I have never had the state of mind and finances to fight this. “I would like you to consider all these things today.” Cross-examining her, Mr Dalling turned to the first breed club show “You claimed you did not fill in the entry form,” he said. “But you agree you were at the show?” Ms Johnson said she took two of the dogs listed but not the other two. “Vanilla Sky was at the show but she was not registered?” Mr Dalling asked. “Yes, I do admit that,” Ms Johnson replied. Mr Dalling said: “I understand you were going through a stressful time and wanted to challenge the DNA requirement, but did you think that until you challenged it you had better not show any unregistered dogs?” “I have to say I am aware that dogs should be registered, however sometimes we don’t always do the right thing and it’s just a little bit of a release to do something different,” Ms Johnson replied. “I have shown some of the dogs that have not been registered and I do admit that it’s wrong.” Mr Dalling asked what she had meant when she said she had made provisions to register Vanilla Sky. “I filled out the forms; they were at home, but I didn’t want to submit them and the DNA forms because I wanted to challenge the previous restrictions put on me when I think they’re unjust and unfair,” Ms Johnson said. “But you put the initials RAF and that was not the case,” Mr Dalling said. “I had filled out the forms (to register the dogs) but not sent them off,” Ms Johnson said. In answer to Mr Dalling’s question, she said she had taken Vanilla Sky to Leeds but had not shown her because it was too hot. “You had gone to the trouble of taking her along and filling in the form and paying your entry fee. Are you sure you did not go and enter her?” Mr Dalling asked. “She was definitely not shown that day,” Ms Johnson said, adding that Vanilla Sky had not taken to SKC. Mr Dalling pointed out that during the months preceding the hearing Ms Johnson had been given an opportunity to respond in writing to the complaint but had not done so. “There are so many other things to try to get through,” Ms Johnson said. “I have spoken to (the KC) and I have tried to explain everything.” Turning back to the shows, Mr Dalling asked Ms Johnson if she took Vanilla Sky to Driffield. “Yes I did,” she said. At Midland Counties she showed Vanilla Sky but not Crazy Candy, she said. “Crazy Candy was being shown, even though there was no application made to register her?” Mr Dalling asked. “Yes.” Summing up, Mr Dalling said it was clear that Ms Johnson had admitted that on six occasions, dogs were entered and shown when no application had been made to register them. Ms Johnson had also admitted breaching KC regulations. In certain instances Ms Johnson had said she had not filled in the entry forms or exhibited the dogs in question, he went on, but despite that there were six instances when she admitted being in breach of the rules. Ms Johnson said she had admitted some things and could not deny them. “But I hope that you will see that nothing was done with any intention of fetching the KC into disrepute or doing anything where we would gain from it,” she said. Sub-committee chairman Wilson Young asked what her occupation was. “I am an animal breeder,” she said. “We have dogs, pigs and cats.” “Does dog breeding provide a significant part of your income?” Mr Young asked. “Yes, it’s part of what allows us to live where we do, certainly, although it’s not a profitable business – breeding dogs isn’t, as you are probably aware,” Ms Johnson said. “We have spent several years going to Europe to promote the breed – and our kennels, obviously – and the amount we have spent far outweighs anything we have got out of it. But it has to be run as a business even though we have never abused that or had a huge amount of litters or different breeds of dog. “I am trying fit in with the recommendations and guidelines set down by the KC. It has never been my intention to breed to make an income, because if so I would have chosen a completely different breed.” After deliberating, the sub-committee upheld the complaint and  imposed the following penalties: 1.    To warn Ms Johnson and Mr Foster as to their future conduct A42j(1); 2.    To censure them A42j(2); 3.    To fine them £1,500 A42j(3); 4.    To disqualify them from exhibiting at, taking part in, attending and/or having any connection with any event licensed by the club A42j(4). If anyone disqualified under this sub-paragraph attends a canine event while disqualified, the General Committee has the power to increase the period of disqualification; 5.    To disqualify them from being or becoming a member of ay canine club or society registered with or affiliated to the KC A42j(5); 6.    To disqualify them from acting as an officer or serving on the committee of any canine society A42j(6); 7.    To disqualify them from taking part in the management of any event licensed by the club A42j(7); 8.    To disqualify them from judging at any event licensed by the club A42j(8); 9.    To disqualify them from effecting registration of any or all dogs and/or progeny of such dogs who are owned and/or registered by them, whether or not jointly owned and/or whether or not owned and/or registered in the name of a nominee A42j(9). The disqualifications are for a period of three years from May 27. Mr Young said: “We would make the following observations and comments. It was noted that Mr Foster did not attend the hearing today and that Ms Johnson did explain his absence due to forthcoming surgery. Ms Johnson has today spoken on behalf of herself and Mr Foster and the committee has therefore made this decision in respect of the both of them. “It was noted that Ms Johnson has admitted six separate occasions where the dogs in question have been entered and exhibited over a period of five months, and for Mr Foster this applies to four of those six occasions. “It was noted that there were three events at which discrepancies have been raised by Ms Johnson and we make no finding in respect of those events. “However, the repeated failure to observe KC regulations when being experienced in dog breeding and showing and being obviously aware of the regulations is sufficient to satisfy the committee that this complaint should be upheld. “It goes without saying that it is an absolute and fundamental requirement that dogs entering any licensed event be registered and that this conduct undermines the whole basis of KC canine competition and is being treated as very serious by the committee. ‘We have noted Ms Johnson has had some personal difficulties and we hope perhaps that in the ensuing period of disqualification she is able to resolve and improve her situation.” Afterwards, Ms Johnson said she intended to appeal against the finding. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 May 2010: A Drink Driving Case AN unqualified motorist from Selkirk was banned from driving for two years and fined £485 when he appeared at the town's sheriff court this week. Dean Pringle, 20, of Tower Street, admitted driving a car in Scott Street, Galashiels, on May 1, with a breath/alcohol reading of 51mcg – the legal limit being 35. He also pleaded guilty to driving without displaying L plates and having no insurance. The court heard how Pringle lost control of the vehicle which then collided with a lamp post before flipping on to its roof. Fiscal Tessa Bradley described how police found the car in the middle of the road with the accused, smelling strongly of drink and slurring his speech, standing nearby. Before sentencing, Sheriff Kevin Drummond told Pringle: “It could have been a person you hit and you would then have been standing in the High Court facing years of imprisonment.”   Go To Top Of Page Better Placed Emergency Signs Needed A Champion Standard Poodle had to be put to sleep after suffering bloat at Southern Counties championship show. Linda and Mick Lee’s Ch Elledina Evilicious was one of two Standard Poodles who have become ill under similar circumstances at championship shows recently.The other, Glenys and Mick Brekkerud’s Montravia Stage Rumour, recovered after bloating at Bath. The Lees’ 15-year-old bitch became ill in the middle of the night at the successful and well-organised Southern Counties, and her condition deteriorated quickly. The couple were forced to pack up their motorhome to get her to the vet. They had trouble finding any emergency numbers and when they woke the caravan site warden they were directed to an emergency exit which they had trouble navigating their way through. Their bitch was so ill by the time they got to a vet five miles away they decided the best option was to put her to sleep. Mrs Lee said the incident was made more traumatic by her being unable to find any emergency numbers at the caravan site and their difficulty in getting through the emergency exit. More Prominent Positions She later made her feelings known to Southern Counties chairman David Cavill and he is to place vital information in more prominent positions next year. Mrs Lee described what happened: “My bitch didn’t seem quite right, but I didn’t think much about it because at her age she has her off days, but she woke us in the middle of the night crying and I saw she was bloated. “My husband had to run to the other side of the site to wake the warden to get an emergency vet’s number, and we then rushed her to the vets, who said she was fully twisted. We decided it was kinder to just let her go. “It was so hard because she was my baby, a dog of a lifetime – with 14 CCs and nine RCCs – and it made the trauma worse because we were away from home.” The couple had to wake both wardens – first at the campsite and then at the main showground exit. “The woman at the campsite directed us to the emergency exit,” Mrs Lee said. “We squeezed through, but if the conditions had been worse and the ground muddy it would have been quite difficult. I went to see David Cavill the next morning about what had happened.” Mr Cavill said that he would ensure for the future that the emergency exit was more clearly marked: “Mrs Lee was clearly very upset and we were very concerned as well. If we allow the caravan park gate to stay open people turn up from pubs and clubs and drive around, so we always lock it overnight. I understand that the warden directed the Lees to the emergency exit, but in future the sign to the emergency exit will be more prominently placed. “We are taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again – but it is something that hasn’t happened before. We will also make sure that emergency numbers for vets and doctors etc will be easily found. We might distribute leaflets with the necessary information on.” It was a happier ending for the Standard Poodle who became ill at Bath, and Mr and Mrs Brekkerud have thanked everyone who helped them. Montravia Stage Rumour (Tyler) collapsed in the car park in heavy rain. “We were caravanning and could not find a vet and had to wait until the vet arrived at the show the next morning,” Mr Brekkerud said. “I would like to see all wardens carry emergency vet telephone numbers in future.” Tyler was operated on and remained at the vets for the weekend. “It was touch and go but eventually he was stable enough to travel home, and he is now making a good recovery,” Mrs Brekkerud said. Effectiveness of Animal Welfare Act questioned What should vets do to advise their clients about responsible breeding and pet ownership? And, is it right to expect vets to put right ‘problems not of their making’? These were two questions raised at the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) recent discussion forum at the Royal College of Physicians. According to one senior vet, there is still a long way to go to improve the lot of companion animals. There was also a debate on whether the Animal Welfare Act was working; as reported in this week’s Veterinary Record, delegates were asked to vote electronically and anonymously on this. Once three speakers had given presentations on the topic the votes were taken again and the results compared. Responses Before the session the results were 25 per cent ‘yes’, 22 per cent ‘no’ and 53 per cent ‘don’t know’; at the end of the session when the vote was retaken the responses were 31, 45 and 53 respectively. During the debate, David Pritchard, a senior veterinary consultant in animal welfare for DEFRA, explained that the Act was aimed at consolidating legislation on cruelty and to extend the duty of care to all animals kept by man. It also introduced new powers and offences and created a framework for the development of secondary legislation, licensing, registration and welfare codes. Mr Pritchard stated it had revolutionised things in terms of producing a duty of care to the companion animal world and that had changed the way in which society and the veterinary profession thought about animal welfare. Concluding Mr Pritchard said: “We’ve achieved quite a lot but we’ve still got a lot more to do.” BVA past president Nicky Paull said she felt there was a long way to go to improve welfare for companion animals. “Has there ever been a better time to act to improve the lot of companion animals following the fall-out from Pedigree Dogs Exposed?” she asked. She also wanted to know who should be responsible for leading the change. “In this game is the veterinary profession playing referee, the coach, the player or simply the enthusiastic spectator?” she asked. Mrs Paull also questioned what vets could do to advise their clients about the importance of responsible breeding and pet ownership. “Is it right to expect the practising arm of the profession to put right the problems that many would consider are not of their making?” she said. She added that the law should decrease the likelihood of welfare issues occurring ‘be it by education or just simply as a deterrent’. Another important outcome of the Animal Welfare Act should be that those who fell short of the terms of the legislation could be prosecuted more easily, she said. But in her opinion, she said, the Act had not been effective. “Is it the fault of society as a whole?” she asked. “Is it fashion, expensive vets’ fees, dog breeders, status dogs, the credit crunch, ignorance, laws on negligence?” she said. “If the Act has not impacted, then how much is it a failure of the legislation and how much is it a failure of us all?” Go To Top Of Page Mike Townsend New Vice Chairman Mike Townsend has been appointed the new vice-chairman of the Kennel Club, replacing Bill Hardaway who has retired. Mr Townsend has been a KC member since 1988, and in 1998 became a trustee of the KC Charitable Trust, of which he became chairman in 2002. He has been a member of the KC’s General Committee, Finance and General Purposes Sub- Committee and the audit panel since 2002. He had also been a member of KC Services Ltd board since 2004, and a trustee of the KC Staff Pension Scheme since July 2002. Rolls Royce Educated at Harrogate Grammar School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1966, and worked subsequently for a number of engineering companies before joining Rolls Royce plc, becoming its finance director in 1991, retiring at the end of 1999. Since 1970 Mr Townsend has had Irish Setters, which are owned by his wife who judges, shows, and breeds under the Follidown affix. Mr Townsend was a committee member of the Irish Setter Association from 1985-2001 and its secretary between 1995-2001. While involved with the Association he was closely involved with the administrative aspects and ramifications associated with the development of the DNA tests for the RCD-1 form of PRA and CLAD in the breed. He was a committee member (1986-95) and chief steward (1990-95) of the Mid-Western Gundog Society, and has been treasurer of Birmingham Dog Show Society Ltd since 2004. The Russian Scottie May Be Disqualified...Who Cares! The Kennel Club is asking for proof of postage from certain Exhibitors from Crufts 2010. This is in accordance with KC Regulation F(1)9.e. The main 'antagonist' in this Kennel Club investigation is the Scottish Terrier: CH RUS/SLO/EUR FILISITE BRASH CELEBRATION. I am certain that if the Scottie Does get Disqualified, the owners won't be that bothered. You can take away the award but the Glory that went with it will remain forever. It was by far the best Terrier at the show and in my view should have been Best In Show. At Crufts 2003 the Best In Show Winner was The Pekingese Ch Yakee A Dangerous Liaison. Owned by Albert Easdon and Philip Martin. A complaint was made to the Kennel Club stating that the Peke had been operated on and that the surgery broke KC rules. This complaint proved to be unfounded. There was wide speculation as to why the complaint was made and it was rumored that this was to elevate the Kerry Blue Ch Torum's Tunde Bayou to Best In Show by Disqualification, thus giving his handler Geoffrey Corish another Crufts BIS. And anyway, let's face it, reserve at any show means you got beat. The Reserve Challenge Certificate means you have been beaten by the CC winner and you have the Certificate to prove it. It's not worth the paper that it's printed on. Go To Top Of Page DFS CRUFTS – ENTRIES ON THE DAY The Kennel Club wishes to confirm its position concerning the exhibitors that entered dogs for DFS Crufts 2010 claiming undelivered entries, in particular Scottish Terrier CH RUS/SLO/EUR FILISITE BRASH CELEBRATION which won 1st in Open Dog, Best of Breed, Terrier Group 1 and Reserve Best in Show. Kennel Club Regulation F(1)9.e. states: Entries from exhibitors claiming that undelivered entries have been correctly posted must be accepted on the day of the Show, subject to the conditions of Regulation F(1)9.c. Such claims will have to be substantiated to the Kennel Club which will request documentary evidence, subsequent to the Show. The Kennel Club has written to all parties connected with the dogs concerned and has asked that they submit proof of their entries. However, the Club is disappointed to note that some exhibitors have not responded to the request for further information. As a result, this matter will be referred to the next available Committee for consideration and could result in the disqualification of awards gained. A further announcement on the outcome of this matter will be made in due course. The Kennel Club’s AGM; It Wasn’t Irving’s Waterloo This years AGM for the Kennel Club Members proved to be a damp squib for the controversial [to those in power] proposal put forward by Robin Searle. But, does this show the Kennel Club to be a forward thinking organisation? I think not. It is very clear to anyone who is a forward thinker that once acquired, power is never ever readily relinquished. It is the general consensus of opinion that the incumbent Chairman, would have to be dragged away kicking and screaming, for him to relinquish his position. General Committee member Simon Luxmoore was also extremely agitated at Searle’s proposal. Does all of this tell us something? Why would the Chairman [Irving] want the agenda for the AGM kept a secret? His attack on the Dog Press speaks volumes about his determination to cling to [the aphrodisiac of] power. A ‘TSUNAMI’ of public criticism hit the Kennel Club after the broadcast of Pedigree Dogs Exposed, according to the report presented by KC chairman Ronnie Irving at the AGM 2009. This was undoubtedly fuelled by his crass remarks. When under pressure in the program [without a prepared speech] he blustered: "No scientist is going to tell me how to breed dogs when I've been doing it for 40 years.” That sentence told us a lot about Ronnie Irving. Did he take honourable course of action? Obviously no he didn’t. We, that is every society in the UK, should ask the questions; why do we have to pay a License fee to The Kennel Club if we want hold a show? Yet, in these times of recession every small society and all of the breed clubs are finding that the ever increasing costs in running shows are becoming more difficult. Question: Why can’t we run our shows without a Kennel club license? Answer: Because the KC will exclude you from running further shows if you hold a show unlicensed. Furthermore, they send out their pompous ‘Field Officers’ to inspect. What are these so called ‘Field Officers’ for; to inspect the Grass? Or to grass on the club should the ‘Cack’ area not be large enough? Etc etc. The Kennel Club has a Monopoly on the running of shows in the UK and this cannot be a good thing. We really should have an alternative. Hypothetical Question: Why don’t we all exclude ourselves from entering Crufts in 2011? Now this would make the very ‘exclusive’ Kennel Club’s membership pay attention. "No Show Without Punch?" Another question that should be asked is: Why doesn’t every breed club and society in the UK have a vote/s depending on the size of the club/s on who is The Elected Chairman of the Kennel Club? But, this would be a step too far towards a democratically run Kennel Club. Go To Top Of Page Proposal to change length of chairmanship withdrawn following ‘lively debate’ at AGM The proposal that chairmanship of the Kennel Club should be limited to a six-year term gave rise to much discussion at the AGM. Robin Searle’s proposal that the KC’s rules and constitution should be changed drew a fierce response from General Committee member Simon Luxmoore, who called it ‘totally insulting’. Even when Mr Searle said that he admired Mr Luxmoore’s speech and that the pair should do business together, the General Committee member looked away, stony-faced. Mr Searle went on to withdraw his proposal. Winds Of Change He had suggested – and was seconded by Anthony Taylor – that while he was a keen supporter of the KC ‘the winds of change were sweeping over dogdom’ and the rules were getting a little out-of-date and Edwardian. “This is the 21st century and we are already ten years into it,” he said. “Surely six years is long enough to get through specific points and tackle opponents of dogdom. Even the Government of the day and prime minister have only five years in which to do this. “KC members have a huge amount of experience and knowledge, and this should be utilised. Recruitment to the General Committee would mean that those with ambition would have the green light and the committee would have new blood, and fresh ideas and aims. Our world would benefit greatly.” Mr Taylor said that this was an issue about what was good corporate governance; how the KC could be accountable to its broader constituency – the people it represented in the world of pedigree dogs. “It seems to me that many are very dissatisfied about the way things are moving,” he said. “With a fixed term of office, at the end of six years, and the chairman goes, you lose expertise, I accept that, but he could spend a year on sabbatical, in the real world of dog showing and talk to people we represent and come back.” Mr Taylor said it was a ‘tragedy’ that no new people had put their names forward for the General Committee. “I think that is the issue of succession we need to look at,” he said. Concluding, he said: “People should look back to the ancient Greeks and look at the problem of Hubris.” Les Crawley said he had served several organisations in various capacities, including three charities, and that if a chairman outstayed his welcome it could cause problems. “I am not suggesting we are in that situation, but the main benefit (of a new chairman) is fresh ideas, a fresh look at systems, fresh enthusiasm and seeing things others haven’t seen, and I would wholeheartedly support this proposal,” he said. Mr Luxmoore said he had been surprised when he saw the proposal. “I took time to consider what might lie behind it, what was the motivating factor giving rise to it,” he said. “I decided the reasons concerned the general governance of the KC.” He quoted the KC’s rules and regulations regarding how the chairman and General Committee are elected. “These extracts could not be clearer in amplifying that you all as members have the right to stand for the General Committee, to vote for those standing for General Committee and that the General Committee in turn has the responsibility annually to elect a chairman from within its number,” he said. “Trustees are both appointed by and can be removed by General Committee. “In the ongoing pursuit of good general governance there is absolutely no good reason for any upper limit in terms of period of tenure for anyone holding the position of chairman. Each and every year the General Committee considers very carefully and reconsiders the position of chairman within its number to let the right person in their view carry out that position.” He said limited terms of office were once thought fashionable and politically correct. “Time and business have moved on from this ill-considered thinking,” he continued. “It is now believed to be outdated, outmoded and irrelevant. Most organisations are against a limited term.” He went on: “I have experience in running national and international businesses. Ultimately term limits have the effect of destroying the continuity and long-term planning of any effective organisation. It is bad practice. I and the rest of the General Committee totally reject a term limit for position of chairman. “You allowed the General Committee to represent you and we elect a chairman on your behalf, the person we believe is the best individual to represent your club as chairman. The proposition by Mr Searle, that the responsibility currently invested in the General committee to elect a chairman be obstructed I feel is totally insulting, as it is clearly suggesting that the General Committee is no longer capable or competent to make that decision. Fit-For-Position “Do you the membership really believe that we can no longer make that decision and that a more suitable candidate is standing in line and being denied the opportunity? We the General Committee believe we should be empowered to act in your best interests on an annual basis on a fit-for-position basis whosoever that might be. “The implication that a 24-strong General Committee might be a cowering, brow-beaten group of individuals is absurd. If we felt at any stage that the right person for the job was not in that position, there would be a change in a heartbeat – or more likely in a year. This committee is not group of shrinking violets, trust me. “The role of chairman is very challenging in this day and age, and more so now than in the past. Special qualities are required to successfully fill the position. It is a serious leadership role for someone with excellent communication and good management skills, who can get the best from the staff and a number of volunteers. “I put it to you in the clearest possible terms I believe that a (limited term of office) is a completely inappropriate way forward for an organisation which aspires to pursue best practice, and would undoubtedly mean the General Committee elected by you would be unable to appoint the person it considers to be the best within its number. Absence of a term limit means that accountability remains in place throughout the term of tenure; a term limit removes that accountability and responsibility. The General Committee believes the proposal is completely ill-founded and misguided, and seeks the support of all of you to vote against it.” Former KC chairman Peter James said that if the proposal was adopted it would mean the ‘immediate removal’ of the present chairman, Ronnie Irving, and that that would be interpreted widely as a vote of no confidence in the policies of the KC. “Both of those results, in my opinion, would be wholly unfortunate, and I urge you to reject this proposal,” he said. Geoffrey Davies said that having a limited term of office would be restrictive. “Why impose a restraint which would rid the club of a chairman after six years while there is still a lot more service to be done by that individual?” he asked. He continued: “The position of chairman doesn’t carry a six-figure salary – it brings stress and hassle. I feel we are at a crossroads with regard to the problems facing the world of pedigree dogs, and continuity and unity are absolutely essential at the moment. “I would say, though, with regard to Mr Luxmoore, I found part of his presentation belligerent. I have known Robin for a long time. he speaks his mind and is entitled to do so, and I think his proposal - while I don’t support it and am against it - is not intended to be insulting.” Judith Robin-Smith said the KC had a long list of eminent chairmen. “Why change every six years?” she asked. “They have to deal with the Government, the press and sometimes antagonistic charities. If we want them to give up the position every six years then what? Julia Iles-Hibbert asked whether, due to the sensitivity of the proposal, a paper vote should be taken. Mr Irving asked: “Do you want that, ladies and gentlemen?” This was greeted by shouts of ‘No!’ Tessa Gaines said it was difficult to get new people to pursue more senior positions within the club. “This year we have had no one standing against any of the General Committee, who were re-elected without any opposition,” she said. “Is it apathy in members or are they satisfied by what the General Committee is doing for us in the KC? “One gentleman who spoke said continuity was important; it is, but it is also important to try to bring along younger members, and that is hopefully what we are doing with the Young Kennel Club.” She concluded: “If the general feeling is that we could move forward more quickly or differently in the future, then it is up to us to vote on the General Committee to get them to move forward themselves and bring on other new people if we don’t agree with what they are doing. Or we can just sit back and do nowt as so many people do.” Bill Harding said the proposal should be depersonalised. “The present constitution works to the satisfaction of members and that should be our guide,” he said. “I am not really concerned about the constitution of other organisations, only this club, and we should judge on the success or otherwise of our constitution.” A Lack Of Candidates He said there was no point bemoaning the fact there were few new people coming forward. “In my years as a member I can remember many occasions when competition has been very robust. But I am sure, if anything, that a lack of other candidates this year indicates satisfaction in the way our club is being run. “I would just add this, that in general I believe it is a bad practice if we hem ourselves in with unnecessary changes to our rules. If it works, don’t mend it. I beg to oppose the motion.” Mike Mullan said that what had happened in the world of dogs over the past 18 months should make KC members act as a unit. “We have a hard-working General Committee and a good leader,” he said. “It’s been a tough time for world of dogs, particularly pedigree dogs, which are now thought of as bad news. Anything that rocks the boat will be picked up by the press. “If you have a good team support it and let them get on with the job they were elected to do originally.” Mr Searle stood again and said: “Well, at least one thing has been achieved by this, and that’s a debate. This meeting has come alive hasn’t it? “You and I, Mr Luxmoore, should do some business dealing; I rather admire the way you did that. I didn’t mean to insult anyone, I just felt the rules were old-fashioned and needed modifying. “I think the best thing is if I withdraw my motion. Thank you.” “Do you seriously want to?” Mr Irving asked. “I wouldn’t have said it otherwise,” Mr Searle replied, smiling. Go To Top Of Page YOUR DOG NEEDS YOU It is with grave concern and URGENCY that we felt it crucial to contact you and ask you to spread the word. Are you aware of the Dog Control Bill that is currently on its second reading in the House of Lords and the effect it will have on all our dogs? We believe this Bill is aimed at status, illegal and dangerous dogs but it actually affects every dog in the country. It is intended to replace the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) and other legislation but actually extends the power of the law into your home and gardens. SO WHAT? Having taken legal opinion it is imperative that you visit the Defra website and complete their online questionnaire which addresses a number of dog issues as well as this Bill. www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/dangerous-dogs If you want to read the proposed Bill go to www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldbills/009/09009.i-i.html WHY? As the Bill stands there would be a far greater chance of your dog committing an offence that would be subject to the law, seizure and possible destruction. For example • Any act of aggression by your dog towards another animal or person can be deemed a reportable offence with potentially fatal consequences. • How is your dog to know the difference between a trespasser and a burglar? • If your dog chases a cat that could be deemed an offence • Should your dog react to a child entering your garden to retrieve a lost ball is that an offence? This Bill would remove your right to a trial by jury in a dog biting case, as it would seem that such offences could only be tried in the Magistrates' Court. Also, if you wanted to appeal against a Dog Control Notice, then there would be no form of Legal Aid available to do so. Even those responsible for the most serious dog biting incidents would only face a reduced maximum fine of £5000 instead of the current unlimited fine and a maximum of 6 month jail as opposed to the current 2 years. Although the Bill refers to a maximum 51-week sentence Magistrates are currently only able to impose a maximum 6 month sentence. It is great that this Bill would rescind breed specific legislation. However, the worst case scenario would be that during the committee stages this is reintroduced and so leaving us with both BSL as well as the increased powers permitted by the Bill. DEFRA is currently consulting on dangerous dog related matters. Whilst not specifically looking at this particular Bill, DEFRA does ask for opinions on the law on breed specific legislation, dangerous dogs cases, Dog Control Notices as well as microchipping and insurance matters. It is vital that as many of us as possible make DEFRA aware our views on these matters, especially as this Bill is already before the House of Lords. AND WHO WILL ENFORCE THIS BILL? In all likelihood a local authority employee who may have had a few days training PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE YOU ONLY HAVE UNTIL 1ST JUNE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. Defra is conducting a consultation on this Bill and other dog related matters. It is vital that as many of us as possible make Defra aware how seriously this Bill could affect us, the responsible dog owners. Get involved and forward this to as many people as possible. Original source the SCSBTS Dog Control Bill sub-committee. NOTE When completing the Defra questionnaire be aware that when you reach the end and press ”DONE” it will close so make sure you have said all you want before pressing “DONE”. There is no “print” option so if you want a record of what you have said try to “screen print” as you go. Go To Top Of Page PEER SAYS IT'S CHEAPER TO KILL DDA DOGS Animal welfare groups have reacted angrily to a suggestion that dogs seized or held by police under section one of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) should be put to sleep immediately. Lord (Toby) Harris’ remarks were made at a Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) meeting at which it was revealed that plans to outsource kennelling to the private sector and care of ‘dangerous’ dogs would cost up to £10.6 million over four years. The number of dogs seized has increased by over 110 per cent in the last three years to 1,152 per annum. In his blog, Lord Harris, former MPA chairman, said that the ‘quiet going on boring’ meeting of the strategic and operational policing committee ‘burst into life’ when the funds were authorised to provide kennelling for ‘another 400 dogs’ seized under the DDA. He admitted saying that it would be a lot cheaper to shoot the dogs rather than ‘cage’ them while the legal procedures ‘grind their way’ through the court. “We seem to be spending an enormous amount of money on keeping weapons for other police,” he said. Fast-Track Culling Powers “Much to my surprise, the sentiment attracted support from other committee members,” he alleged afterwards. “It was agreed that (deputy mayor Kit Malthouse) should write to the new Home Secretary, Theresa May, asking her to agree fast-track culling powers for the police in relation to the animals. “However, even though everyone knows that the new Con/Lib coalition Government walks on water, it was decided to authorise the money just in case the new powers take a bit of time to come through.” A record 1,146 dogs were seized in London last year, and 451 held currently in police kennels. The number of dogs seized by police often surges after high-profile incidents such as children being attacked. Supt Julia Pendry, who was present at the meeting, has been quoted widely as having said at the meeting: “It would be absolutely fantastic if we could destroy these dogs. Unfortunately, it is a criminal offence because the property belongs to other people. Secondly, the RSPCA would probably prosecute me and people like DEFRA and the national press would have a field day if we started killing dogs that were people’s pets. “However frustrating it is, there is a criminal justice procedure we have to go through.” The Superintendent told DOG WORLD afterwards that her words needed to be put in context. “This discussion was about budgeting and kennelling,” she said. “The Metropolitan Police Service was requesting £10.4 million in kennelling fees over four years and it caused an outcry at the meeting. That’s an awful lot of public funds, not including the £2.6 million it costs yearly. “The average time a dog spends in custody before its case went to court used to be 180 days and we have speeded it up to 70 days, although at the moment it is about 90. The court may decide at the end of it to impose a destruction order, and if the dog stayed on death row awaiting death for, say, six months while appeals and court processes are gone through that can’t be good for the dog. “And if there is no destruction order, it is not unusual for the dog’s owners not to be there to take the dog back at the end of it, and it is impossible to rehome the dog because it has become institutionalised while in kennels. “Surely by extending the awfulness for another six to nine months before the dog is put to sleep is no good for the dog. The whole process needs to be speeded up; a resolution needs to be as quick as possible. We have to fast-track these cases so that they can be sorted out by a court in 72 hours.” She said the 451 dogs the Metropolitan Police had in kennels currently was ‘only scratching the surface’. Members of the Met’s Status Dogs Unit have been in discussion with Government officials in a bid to redraft the DDA, and DEFRA is currently undertaking a full review of it. The unit raided 300 homes last year to seize suspected dangerous animals and is overseeing 370 outstanding court cases. A proportion of the imprisoned animals will have been seized under section one of the Act, simply because it is thought they resemble a pit bull type and not because they pose any threat. And many distraught owners will currently be going through the lengthy legal process of bringing the matter to court in a bid to save their dog’s life. Huge Expense After details of the meeting were publicised, several groups voiced their concerns. Professor Bill Reilly, president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said: “Lord Harris’ comments underline the failure of current legislation on dangerous dogs. He rightly points out that it is a huge expense to taxpayers, but his recommendation that all dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act be euthanased does not address the fundamental problems of breed-specific legislation. “Thousands of dogs are seized every year and many of them are targeted simply because of the way they look, not because of their behaviour. This means that well-loved and well-trained family pets spend months in police kennels, which can be detrimental to their welfare, only to be returned. “We need to move to a system that allows the police and other officials to target a dog’s behaviour and its irresponsible owners and this is something the BVA will continue to campaign for.” Dogs Trust said it was appalled by Lord Harris’ suggestion that dogs should be shot to save the the cost of kennelling them. “We believe that euthanasia should always be the last resort with any dog,” said the charity’s chief executive Clarissa Baldwin. “We have long campaigned against the DDA. This breed-specific legislation stipulates that the ‘type of dog known as a pit bull terrier’ and three other breed types – Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasiliero – are banned in the UK. Identification of these banned breed types is based on appearance which is an imprecise and discriminatory way of identifying a supposed ‘dangerous dog’. As a result, hundreds of family pets with no history of aggression have been needlessly seized since the introduction of the Act and held at the taxpayer’s expense. “We believe that the DDA needs to be completely overhauled. The use of dog control orders is a better way of preventing attacks, promoting responsible dog ownership, and will both save money and reduce the unnecessary suffering and destruction of dogs. Early identification of problem dogs and problem owners is the way to better protect the public.” The RSPCA said it was ‘extremely concerned’ at comments about the suggestion of a ‘blanket euthanasia’ of dogs seized by the Metropolitan Police. “Approximately 50 per cent of dogs seized under this legislation by the Met are currently returned to their owners without further problems,” a spokesman said. “We would urge the Government to look at implementing a licensing scheme, as we recently suggested. Not only would this help to tackle this issue but it would raise much-needed funds at a local level which could help to improve dog health and welfare more proactively and actually prevent serious incidents from occurring. “This has been successfully rolled out in other countries and has helped to tackle this very serious issue. A poll carried out for us showed that there is clear support for a licensing scheme from the majority of the public. “Any suggestion of speeding up the process of dealing with these cases, thereby shortening the time that dogs are kennelled, would be fully supported by us.” The Blue Cross said it was shocked to hear the suggestion that certain types of dog should be shot to save on kennel costs. Rightly Returned To Their Owners Chief vet at the charity’s Hammersmith animal hospital, Richard Green, said: “Many dogs seized and kennelled by the police under section one of the DDA have committed no greater offence than looking a certain way. While some may be a danger to the public, many are not, and will be rightly returned to their owners. “I share Lord Harris’ concerns about the lengthy process for courts to decide the fate of these dogs, not least because kennelling them for protracted periods of time is a serious compromise to their welfare as well as a burden to the public purse. But I fail to see how allowing police to act as judge, jury and summary executioner would in any way improve the current situation. “I would urge Lord Harris to support these efforts to establish a clearer, fairer, more practical and enforceable legal framework for dealing with dangerous dogs, without the need for a firing squad.” A PDSA spokesman said: “We feel that the law should focus on social issues, such as why dogs are used as aggressive ‘weapons’ rather than concentrating solely on specific breeds or types of dog. “It can be a difficult and lengthy process to confirm whether a dog is one of the specified types within the Act, which involves a great deal of police and court time. In addition, after being seized the dog can be kept in kennels for many months. This has serious welfare implications for the dog, as well as being costly for the authorities involved. The police can only act within the law, but looking at ways to speed up the process would cut the associated costs and reduce the distress it must cause to the dogs who are kennelled in isolation for many months.” “It can be a difficult and lengthy process to confirm whether a dog is one of the specified types within the Act, which involves a great deal of police and court time. In addition, after being seized the dog can be kept in kennels for many months. This has serious welfare implications for the dog, as well as being costly for the authorities involved. “The police can only act within the law, but looking at ways to speed up the process would cut the associated costs and reduce the distress it must cause to the dogs who are kennelled in isolation for many months.” Lord Harris was unavailable for comment. A spokesman for the police said: “Our status dog unit provides an immediate 24-hour response to all incidents involving dangerous or potentially-dangerous dogs. They are able to seize dogs when necessary. “There is a current need for 400 kennel spaces for seized animals. Officers can complete the paperwork needed for the Crown Prosecution Service within 72 hours, however court cases can take some time to conclude. “The cost is a continuing concern but we have taken measures, including working with a number of other agencies, to streamline processes and reduce costs. The Status Dog Unit plays a vital role in tackling the problem of dangerous dogs and we are committed to finding and prosecuting the irresponsible owners of banned or dangerous dogs. The animals are treated humanely and kept secure while the due process takes place.” Go To Top Of Page Double handling discussed at ‘congenial’ meeting beween KC and GSD breed clubs Representatives of 14 clubs and the German Shepherd breed council – all of which have signed the Kennel Club’s ‘undertaking’ – have got together for a meeting. The morning session, led by KC vice-chairman Bill Hardaway, covered double handling and how this should be managed at shows. This was followed by a presentation by Crufts chairman Gerald King and GSD exhibitor Gary Gray on the importance of educating judges. Education programme In the afternoon, Professor Mike Herrtage gave a presentation on canine conformation and movement in regard to the GSD. It was agreed that the KC would continue to work with the club representatives to ‘establish and improve’ a judges’ education programme. Items to be discussed at the second meeting will include mandatory health testing, registration of untested stock, development of new tests for the breed, health testing, and the Accredited Breeder Scheme. “Both presentations were well received and attracted active and constructive debate on all aspects, resulting in the achievement of a consensus on the way forward,” Mr Hardaway said. “The representatives are to be congratulated on achieving a very positive and successful day. Many viewpoints were aired in a constructive and positive way, which resulted in an interesting and informative meeting. “I was very pleased that the KC was able to give reassurance to those who were concerned as to how to deal with potentially difficult situations. Also, I am hopeful that there is now a significant degree of trust in the motives and intentions of the KC. “I believe that if we can keep the momentum going, progress can be made for the good of the breed.” Breed council chairman John Cullen said afterwards: “It was a congenial meeting of members of breed club which had signed and representatives of the breed council – namely myself and vice-chairman David Hall. Proposal “We were on hand to put the views of the clubs that had not signed. “The meeting finished with a proposal that the KC would ask all clubs their views on dropping the name Alsatian. “There are to be more meetings in the future.” Go To Top Of Page The End Of The Line For Irving? A bid to limit the Kennel Club chairman’s term of office is to be made at next week’s AGM. Robin Searle will propose that ‘no chairman/chairperson of the KC, or of the General Committee, should serve more than six years consecutively in that office’. Current chairman Ronnie Irving took over in June 2002 from Peter James who served five and a half years. Before that, John MacDougall was in the post for 15 years. At present, the KC rule – which has been in force for many years – states ‘The General Committee at its first meeting held after the AGM in each year shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from its own number who shall be, ipso facto, chairman and vice-chairman of the KC. The election shall be by secret ballot if more than one nomination is received for either post’. Before last year’s AGM, attempts were made to get several members to withdraw proposals they had wanted included on the agenda. Mr Searle received calls from the KC recently but would not reveal what they were about. Phone Calls He said: "I had some phone calls and emails – which was quite irritating. Things got a bit over the top, especially as members are supposed to be the backbone of any club. “Not enough attention is given to the members and I think they have worries about what could happen if they stand up and be counted.” If his proposal is agreed at the meeting its provisions would come into force next year. Asked whether he would rather the general membership voted in a chairman rather than the General Committee as the rule states currently, Mr Searle said: “Really, we have to start somewhere. We need to get change instigated first of all, and then tinker with it and get it improved next year. “It will certainly cause an uproar.” Mr Searle said he did not want to discuss the proposal in any detail but hoped its intention was clear. “There should be, like most societies in this country, in the rules that after a three-year period the post has to come up for re-election,” he said. “In some ways we have been very lucky over the years with some of our chairmen; some have been brilliant and some not so good, and that is the same in most organisations.” KC secretary Caroline Kisko said that the calls to Mr Searle were ‘categorically’ not to talk him out of his proposal but to amend – with his agreement – the wording ‘in common with all the submitted agenda items’. Jean Lanning was one of the members who last year was subjected to a prolonged bid to dissuade her from putting forward her proposal, that members be given the opportunity to discuss ‘the many important changes the KC had implemented since August 2008’, following the programme Pedigree Dogs Exposed. But she had insisted, and on the day took to the stage to make her speech, exercising her right ‘as an ordinary member of the KC’ to have an item on the agenda. She has managed to get another proposal placed in next Wednesday’s agenda – to reinstate the bi-annual general meeting, which was dropped in 2008, at which she would like the General Committee to report on the KC’s activities in the past six months, and discuss other items of general business. This year no attempts were made to talk her out of the proposal. “I had some phone calls about the way in which it was to be drafted – they wanted me to put it slightly differently – but nothing major,” she said. “In the end I was quite happy with it. However, I think other people were cross-examined.” She said she believed that losing the bi-AGM had been ‘a retrograde step’. “It coincided with – and no one could have foreseen this – the film (Pedigree Dogs Exposed), and it did seem that it should have been for the members to have had an opportunity to have a meeting and discuss the film. It would have been appropriate,” she said. “But I didn’t have a problem with that, and it (dropping the bi-AGM) was all done above board; we voted on it. But it doesn’t mean it can’t be brought back.” It was clear at last year’s AGM that some members felt there should have been more consultation about the changes made by the KC following the film. One said the KC’s stance had made them feel disenfranchised and put them in a difficult position, and former General Committee member Miss Lanning said she had never witnessed such a ‘mood of disquiet and discontent’ among members. She added that the KC had been ‘shaken to its roots’ by the aftermath of Pedigree Dogs Exposed and that a special meeting should have been called so discussion and consultation could have taken place. Chinese Crested breeder and exhibitor Barrie Jones was talked out of his proposal for last year’s agenda, which had been about the BBC film and its effect on the KC. “I was called to the KC to discuss it and I was asked to withdraw it and I did,” he said. “They made arguments about pressure on the club’s officers, so I withdrew it, thinking I was on my own. “But it turned out that three other people had made similar proposals and all in isolation withdrew them; all of them had died before we got to the AGM. “We are concerned about the administration of the club. A lot of people are unhappy about the way things are going. More and more people are complaining because members are being railroaded by a small management team and the administration. They are our servants but they don’t realise that; they think they are the KC.” Mr Jones, who has been a member since 1984, is concerned that the item in which the accounts and balance sheet are approved are sinking down the agenda and believes they should be nearer the top of the list of business. He has been in correspondence with the KC about it but is not satisfied by the response. He also notes that in 2009, unlike other years, the accounts were not presented by the auditor, although he was present last year. “I am concerned,” he said. “I used to be chairman of the Chinese Crested Club of GB so I know the rules, and we had to stick to a particular order. If I had to jump through hoops, surely the KC should too.” Mr Jones’ ‘item for discussion’ on this year’s agenda is that the KC AGMs be held at the club’s building at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, ‘or at any other suitable venue identified within the showground site’. Item 17 – the last before ‘general business’ – is American Cocker Spaniel breeder and exhibitor Yvonne Knapper-Weijland’s proposal that breeds with hereditary eye defects should have test results and status logged on KC health registers, databases and registration certificates. When she proposed a similar item last year, Mrs Knapper-Weijland received several phone calls from chairman Ronnie Irving and Mrs Kisko and she agreed to drop it. This year’s proposal – slightly stronger than its predecessor – states that the KC will include: On the KC health register/database – the results of ALL specialist certificated eye examinations undertaken by the Animal Health Trust (AHT, ECVO, ISDS, etc) in addition to those of the KC/BVA; specialist certified eye examinations recognised by the FCI, the AKC and by all overseas kennel clubs with which the KC has reciprocal agreements; On KC registration certificates – the current eye status of the dog as evidenced by the certificated results of specialist eye examinations undertaken by the KC/BVA, Animal Health Trust (AHT, ECVO, ISDS, etc); specialist certified eye examinations recognised by the FCI; specialist certified eye test recognised by the AKC or by overseas kennel clubs with which the KC has reciprocal agreements; On KC puppy registration certificates – the eye status of sire and dam (identifiable by microchip/tattoo) as evidenced by the current data provided by the KC/BVA, AHT, ISDS, ECVO in the UK or by the current specialist eye certificates issued by overseas authorities recognised by the FCI, AKC or kennel clubs with which the KC has reciprocal agreements; With the exception of KC/BVA certificates, the onus will be on the owner/breeder to provide the KC with copies of the current and relevant certificates provided by the AHT, by the FCI, AKC or by overseas kennel clubs in reciprocal agreement with the KC for identifiable (microchip/tattoo) dogs. “I had the backing of three breed clubs last year but I was asked to drop it and I agreed,” Mrs Knapper-Weijland said. “I was told that the whole of the General Committee was against it. In hindsight (dropping it) was a big mistake. “This time I reworded it, and I have had quite a few calls from people who want to second the proposal, and I think that’s very good. The KC has to accept that if it wants to be seen to be encouraging dogs to be fit for function etc... “It’s interesting that this year I got no phone calls (from the KC). Perhaps they now agree with it or heard that I was quite hurt that I had so many calls from them pleading with me to drop it.” Rosemary Wilcock has had a proposal included which would change the way in which honorary life members are elected. The current rule, with Miss Wilcock’s proposed deletions in bold and inclusions underlined, is: “A person may be elected an honorary life member of the club at a general meeting on the recommendation of the General Committee (‘A member who has paid his subscription for 40 or more years may be proposed as an honorary life member by any member of the club (subscriptions paid to the former Ladies Branch shall be counted for the purpose of this rule) or of an ordinary member. Notice of a proposal to elect an honorary life member must appear on the agenda of a general meeting together with a brief rationale – eg longevity of membership, significant contributions made to the world of dogs, etc – of factors underpinning the proposal. Honorary life members shall have the rights and privileges of membership but shall not be liable to pay subscriptions’. Another source suggested that some prominent members – including two who had been on the General Committee – had been denied the honorary accolade without reason being given, and that there had been other occasions when members had suggested names which had been rejected out of hand. Mrs Kisko said: “We do not believe it is right to discuss the KC AGM agenda in advance of the meeting and thus pre-empt in any way the right of members to express their own views at the meeting, so we do not intend to comment on individual issues in advance of the meeting.” In recent years, it has been necessary to crack on with the AGM’s business, as the Curzon Street Cinema in London in which it has been held has been booked only for the morning. Perhaps anticipating a more lengthy meeting it appears that it has been booked for longer this time, as on the front of the agenda it states, ‘Due to the number of items on the agenda, we would like to make all members aware that a short break for lunch may be required so that the meeting can be resumed in the afternoon. If, however, it seems likely that the meeting will be concluded in reasonable time, then we will continue and take a late lunch’. The sub-text could be that for those who relish the leisurely lunch in the KC’s restaurant, it would be prudent to move swiftly through the agenda. Go To Top Of Page Cavalier Breeder's Complaint Bid Fails Dave Moger a Cavalier breeder who has spent nearly two years pursuing his complaint against Pedigree Dogs Exposed has heard that once again his grievances have not been upheld. Mr Moger of the Gayhalo Cavaliers, King Charles and Japanese Chins has protested to every layer of the BBC’s complaint and appeals process until it reached the corporation’s governing body only to see it overturned once again. This final ruling has come from the BBC Trust, which is viewed as the corporation’s highest ‘court’. Mr Moger is health representative of the South and West Wales Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, and his partner Sandra Ireland is chairman and health representative of the West of England Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club. Mr Moger said; “I don’t think I have anything further to say about it. I have an opinion about the BBC now, having been through five layers of their complaints process, and now for the goodness of my health and sanity I’m just going to leave it alone. I took a stance for the breed, specifically over syringomyelia (SM) – none of the rest of it; that’s what my complaint was about.” Shocking Immediately after the programme aired in August 2008 Mr Moger contacted the BBC to lodge a complaint. The executive producer replied saying that while the programme’s contents were shocking, everything said in the film was factually accurate. The following month Mr Moger wrote to the BBC’s editorial complaints saying that parts of the programme which dealt with Cavaliers were ‘not factual but loosely connected, sensational statements which when connected made it appear that Cavalier breeders had deliberately bred dogs with ‘size ten brains in size six skulls’, a reference to SM. He said the comment that breeders created dogs with oversized brains was sensationalism. And among other things he alleged that there was no scientific proof to substantiate some of the claims made by the programme. He also said there was little or no scientific proof to back the programme’s claim that 30 per cent of Cavaliers could be affected by SM, that it caused scratching, or that SM was a genetic disease, and that no scientists had claimed it was caused by inbreeding. Again his complaints were not upheld. After delays, including a wait while Ofcom ruled on the Kennel Club’s and others’ complaints about the programme, in December Mr Moger appealed to the BBC’s editorial standards committee reiterating his previous complaints and lodging others, for instance that breeders knowingly bred affected dogs. He also complained that the programme had been unfair in that it relied too heavily on the views of one expert and that it had been unfairly made and edited because the programme maker was not impartial. Last week the committee made a final ruling on behalf of the BBC. It did not uphold the complaint and concluded that: With regard to accuracy, it was clear the claim that a third of Cavaliers could be affected by SM was the view of the vet featured in the programme and not a proven fact; Data on the incidence of the disease was inconclusive and this had been stated in the programme; The vet featured in the programme was sufficiently expert in the disease to express a view and this was not a breach of the accuracy guidelines; While the cause of SM was unknown there was a broad consensus that inbreeding played a role in spreading the disease. The views of a number of well-qualified experts in their scientific fields interviewed in the programme had supported the overall argument of the programme about the relationship between breeding practices and the health problems of pedigree dogs. The programme had demonstrated its content was well sourced and based on sound evidence, and that there was no breach of the accuracy guidelines with regard to the way the programme had dealt with the relationship between breeding practices and the health problems of pedigree dogs. The programme made the allegation regarding knowingly breeding affected dogs about a single breeder only. There was evidence to support the allegation that a breeder’s dog had the syndrome but had been used at stud regardless, and that other breeders had been aware of this situation; The facts had been cross-checked by the programme team and that there had been no breach of the accuracy guidelines. Impartiality In regard to impartiality, the editorial standards committee found that: Contrary to the claim, one particular vet had not been over-used in the programme and that other scientific experts had been interviewed as well. The credentials of the vet in question as an expert in the field were sound and that in reporting her views the programme had not breached the guidelines on impartiality or accuracy. Any charge of a failure of due impartiality would be assessed in relation to the content of the programme and not in relation to the alleged opinions of the programme maker. The complainant had produced no evidence that the programme maker’s experience as an owner of pedigree dogs had caused bias in the programme. The purpose of the programme was to investigate health problems in pedigree dogs and not to tell the general story of a particular breed. The guidelines on impartiality allow programme makers to report on a specific aspect of an issue or provide an opportunity for a single view to be expressed as long as in doing so opposing views are not misrepresented. There had not been a breach of the guidelines on impartiality. Pedigree Dogs Exposed’s writer and producer, Jemima Harrison, said: “I am really pleased with the finding, which is a very robust defence of the film’s accuracy and impartiality.” SUCCESSFUL FIRST MEETING WITH GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG REPRESENTATIVES HELD The first meeting between the Kennel Club and representatives from those German Shepherd Dog Breed Clubs which signed the Kennel Club Undertaking was held on Friday 30th April at the Kennel Club. Representatives of 14 breed clubs and the GSD Breed Council attended a very positive and informative day focused on the future development of the breed. The morning session, led by Kennel Club Vice Chairman Bill Hardaway, saw discussion of key areas such as ‘double handling’ and how this is to be managed at shows. The importance of effective and appropriate judges’ education was also explored in detail with a presentation by Gerald King and Gary Gray. Both presentations were well received and attracted active and constructive debate on all aspects, resulting in the achievement of a consensus on the way forward. In the afternoon, Professor Mike Herrtage gave a very well received and informative presentation on canine conformation and movement as it relates to the German Shepherd Dog. Much common ground was established in the crucial area of ensuring absolute soundness in the breed. Some key action points were agreed at the meeting. Firstly, the Kennel Club will continue to work with the representatives to establish and improve a judges’ education programme to be put into action as soon as possible. Secondly, a further meeting will be held to discuss: Mandatory health testing Development of new specific tests for the breed Health testing The Accredited Breeder Scheme Bill Hardaway commented after the meeting: “The representatives are to be congratulated onachieving a very positive and successful day. Many viewpoints were aired in a constructive and positive way, which resulted in an interesting and informative meeting. I was very pleased that the Kennel Club was able to give re-assurance to those who were concerned as to how to deal with potentially difficult situations. Also, I am hopeful that there is now a significant degree of trust in the motives and intentions of the Kennel Club. I believe that, if we can keep the momentum going, progress can be made for the good of the breed.” IRVING OFFERS AN OLIVE BRANCH Intimidation And Vendetta Have not Reined Every Club In. The Kennel Club Chairman has asked the German Shepherd Dog League of GB to reconsider its decision not to sign its official ‘undertaking’. Chairman Ronnie Irving said it was time ‘to put acrimony behind us’. After reading details of the League’s plans in last week’s DOG WORLD, the KC said it believes that both groups want the same thing. “By issuing these statements it would seem to us that the League has now accepted the major matters of principle proposed in the KC undertaking,” a spokesman said. “We would, therefore, invite the League to consider reviewing its decision against signing the undertaking, thus enabling it to again be eligible, along with the other 21 clubs who have signed up, to receive CCs in 2012 and beyond and, just as importantly, to work with these other clubs and the KC for the future benefit of the breed. In his ‘From the chairman’ piece in the forthcoming May Kennel Gazette, Mr Irving said that ‘more than two-thirds’ of the breed clubs had made themselves eligible for CCs by signing the undertaking and recognising ‘that hindquarters in the breed do need to be tackled’. “Let me assure those who have accepted that the problem exists that the KC will now work hard with them to try to find ways of solving it,” he has written. “As a first step in this process, a meeting will be held to identify the source of the problem and obtain a consensus on the way forward.” Continuing on he said: “A very vocal minority of show GSD people have decided to bury their heads in the sand and they purport to talk for the majority. But the majority has now decided not to go on letting this happen. “Let me repeat to those who have accepted that the problem exists, that the KC will now work hard with them to try to find ways of solving it. The German Way “The minority has decided to relinquish their CCs and that is their prerogative. They have chosen the German route of demanding that dogs are health tested before being allowed to be shown, while the KC believes that health testing should be applied to breeding decisions and that shows and judges should then in their turn be used to tackle visible health and conformation issues such as poor hocks and hindquarters...” Mr Irving said the KC would work with the clubs ‘to try to improve things’. “We must now put the acrimony behind us and think of the future,” he wrote. “The first requirement in solving any problem is recognising and accepting that the problem exists. That is where the KC and the 21 breed clubs who have signed the undertaking have the advantage. “That step is the start of a programme on which we must now move forward together. It is just a pity that the few dissenting clubs have chosen to exclude themselves from taking part in this work. “Let us hope that, overall, the beneficiary will be the German Shepherd Dog and that it will soon regain its previously highly-respected public acclaim.” League chairman Nikki Farley declined to respond to the KC’s statements. “We have no intentions of entering into talks with the KC via the media,” she said. “We have always wished that discussions between us and the KC could be carried out in a normal manner, where people sit and voice their concerns in a sensible forum. “We are still waiting to hear from the KC so we can continue the discussions which started in November 2008 concerning all these issues.” THE KENNEL CLUB URGES BREED RESCUES TO JOIN THE ASSOCIATION OF DOGS AND CATS HOMES The Kennel Club is urging breed rescue organisations and re-homing shelters to join the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH). The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has helped to improve the standard of care for rescued dogs and cats and historically, as a full member of the ADCH, the Kennel Club has represented the interests of breed rescue organisations. However, the ADCH is now introducing a new category of Associate Membership to enable even more charities to benefit from its membership. It is particularly important for breed rescue organisations to join the ADCH if they want to apply for a grant from this year’s Pedigree® Adoption Drive™, as only ADCH members will be eligible to apply for grants. Last year over 100 UK-based rescue organisations benefited from Adoption Drive™ grants, totalling in excess of £450,000. Caroline Kisko, Communications Director of the Kennel Club, said: “To be eligible for grants from this year’s Pedigree® Adoption Drive™, breed rescue organisations need to join the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes. “We want as many dog rescue organisations to benefit from the support and advice of the ADCH as well as having the opportunity to apply for a grant through the Pedigree® Adoption Drive™. We strongly encourage breed rescues to become Associate Members.” For a membership fee of £25 per annum, Associate members will benefit from access to the ADCH Forum, which provides members with the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience and provide mutual support. Associate members will also be able to attend meetings where specific topics are discussed with professionals in their field, and glean advice from top UK experts. Breed rescue organisations who would like to apply for Associate Membership of ADCH should visit: www.adch.org.uk For further details of this year’s Adoption Drive™ visit: www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.com. The Association of British Dog Homes was founded in 1985 by Mr Tom Field-Fisher who at the time was the Chairman of the Committee of the Dogs Home Battersea. Through the Association, members would exchange ideas and information about the collection, shelter and re-homing of lost and unwanted dogs. In 1999 the Association changed its name to the Association of Dogs & Cats Homes (ADCH) due to the large proportion of members who were also dealing with the welfare of cats. Since its foundation, it has grown immensely and now has four very productive meetings a year and an annual conference for its members and staff. Go To Top Of Page Twenty One GSD Clubs Will Meet KC At Clarges Street A meeting is to be held at the Kennel Club with representatives of the 21 German Shepherd clubs who have signed its undertaking. The meeting will take place next Friday at the KC’s London offices. Two people from each club have been invited in addition to representatives of the breed council and Brian Wootton, the KC’s breed liaison representative. Speakers will be Mike Herrtage, professor of small animal medicine at Cambridge University and dean of Cambridge Veterinary School; KC vice-chairman Bill Hardaway, Gerald King, chairman of the KC’s training board; and GSD breeder and judge Gary Gray. “It will be a full day meeting covering canine conformation and movement as it relates to the GSD and a presentation on the education of judges,” said a KC spokeman. “There will also be plenty of opportunity for discussion between the delegates and speakers. Cohesive Actions To Improve Soundness “It is intended that this will be the first of a number of meetings/seminars with the aim of putting in place sensible, effective and cohesive actions to address and improve soundness in the GSD.” Meanwhile, the German Shepherd League of GB is holding a review of its strategy, aims and objectives. “Times have changed, and the League must change with them by confirming and demonstrating our commitment to both the KC and the WUSV,” a statement from the League said this week. The League’s council is considering the creation of the title League/World Union of German Shepherd Dogs (WUSV) champion, which could be gained at such events. “We are making considerable progress on this important matter, and we also recognise this will have considerable attraction for GSD exhibitors, and for clubs which will host these events,” the statement said. The League also hopes that ‘meaningful dialogue and progress’ can be made with the KC. “To this end we will continue to play our part, both as a national GSD club and alongside all other GSD breed clubs,” the statement said. The ‘fundamental principle’ of incremental mandatory health tests had proved unacceptable to the KC, it continued. “When the discussions with the KC ended it became obvious that another approach had to be developed and introduced for the future health and welfare of our breed here in the UK... “The League had hoped that moves would be made by the KC towards imposing mandatory health tests. The most significant progress was made when the British Sieger event, based on WUSV rules and regulations, was introduced five years ago and held annually since then. This included identification and health screening requirements, as well as appropriate working qualifications for entry into the working classes... “When discussions with the KC failed to achieve any meaningful progress, our attention turned to GSD events based on WUSV rules and regulations, as a proven template for progressing improvements to the health and welfare of our breed. “The League, as a member of the WUSV for about 40 years, has seen the progression of the WUSV philosophy of continual mandatory health checks supported by major research into hereditary diseases, their breeding and working qualifications and their detailed attention to the GSD as a whole.” It continued: “We are in the unique position of being able to organise GSDL/WUSV GSD events and fall into line with the SV/WUSV breed Standard (which is also the FCI breed Standard) for all GSDL/WUSV events. “We need to make it very clear, the League, as a KC-licensed breed club, fully recognises its responsibility to the KC. All shows and events organised under a KC license will strictly adhere to the KC’s rules and regulations, and judges at breed shows will be expected to judge under the KC breed Standard. “The League recognises the need to identify all aspects of conformation in our breed in Great Britain, some of which have strayed to an unacceptable degree from the WUSV/SV breed Standard. Such deviation will require the particular attention of our judges at all GSDL/WUSV events and KC shows.” The League also intends to give particular attention to ‘unsoundness of hindquarters/looseness in hocks’ and ‘oversize’. “We are aware that these two faults need to be addressed here and we intend to monitor the opinions of the SV and our judges in respect of any breed fault which may appear at an unacceptable level of frequency at our GSDL/WUSV events and KC shows,” the statement said. “The League will take necessary steps to correct any apparent developing departure from our GSD breed Standard, particularly if the health and welfare of our GSD breed is considered at risk. “We will continually monitor information relating to the health and welfare of our breed, paying particular attention to new health screening tests as and when they become available. We fully intend to liaise both with the KC and the WUSV on such matters. “We will be equally concerned about apparent visible defects as well as the less apparent invisible defects in our breed. Unsoundness in the hindquarters as well as hip dysplasia are two clear examples of what we mean by this statement.” The League is to hold a judges’ seminar to promote its ‘health and wellbeing’ policy. Go To Top Of Page Warning From Former Chairman The Dangerous Dogs Reform Group's former chairman has warned that repealing the current legislation might not be in the interests of animal welfare. The Government is currently holding a public consultation on what action should be taken with regard to dangerous dogs, and has proposed various options including repealing the Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act 1997. The problem with this course of action is that the 1991 Act made it mandatory that dogs of banned breeds be put to sleep, whereas the amendment to the Act in 1997 gave courts the option of taking other action, such as, if the dog was no danger to the public, adding its name to the index of exempted animals. Prohibited dogs Vet Paul DeVile, who was chairman of the Reform Group and is vice-president of Dogs Trust, said that repealing the 1997 Act without repealing the 1991 version would reinstate compulsory destruction and prevent any more prohibited dogs being registered on the index. “This was the whole purpose of the amendment, which was drawn up in the interests of animal welfare,” he said. Mr DeVile’s Reform Group drew up alternative legislation – the Dog Control Bill – which repealed both Acts. It said that if a dog owner was charged under section 1 the court could allow the owner to register their dog, providing it was satisfied that the dog did not constitute a general danger and, if the dog was born before November 1991, that the owner had a good reason for not having registered it before this date. In cases where a destruction order was placed on a dog before the amendments were introduced the destruction order would no longer have effect. The case should be returned to court for the magistrate to consider whether or not to exercise discretion. However, the emphasis would remain on destruction. The Bill also said that if a dog owner was charged under section 3, the court could exercise discretion as long as it was satisfied that the dog did not constitute a general danger to the public. Writing recently in the Veterinary Record, Mr DeVile said that the Dangerous Dogs Reform Group met in the House of Commons and included several members of both Houses of Parliament, representatives of animal welfare groups, the KC, the Metropolitan Police and the British Veterinary Association. “The group was formed to combat the iniquities of the 1991 dangerous Dogs Act, passed as a knee-jerk reaction by Parliament and drawn up by the Home Secretary at the time, Kenneth Baker,” he wrote. “In particular, the group targeted the mandatory destruction of dogs seized by the police whose owners were prosecuted for owning, after November 1991, one of the proscribed breeds, including ‘the type known as the pit bull terrier’ with all the problems of breed identification that the clause engendered. “Thanks to the good offices of MP Roger Gale, the Amendment Bill was accepted by Parliament on the very day the House of Commons was dissolved before the 1997 General Election. I see now that DEFRA is proposing among other things to repeal the 1997 Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act. I would remind (DEFRA) that the Amendment Act was driven entirely in the interests of animal welfare, and to repeal the Amendment Act without repealing the 1991 Act is not within the interests of animal welfare, which DEFRA is alleged to protect. “I quite accept that the increase in dogs obtained and trained for criminal purposes is a worrying trend that needs to be addressed, but the proposed repeal of the Amendment Act is not the way to go about it.” Needlessly Destroyed Dog law expert Trevor Cooper agreed. “If the Government repeals the 1997 Amendment without repealing section 1 we would be going back in time from 1991 to 1997 when so many dogs were needlessly destroyed,” he said. “Although that is one possible option from this consultation exercise, I hope that once DEFRA considers the full facts it will be apparent that this would not be a sensible way forward. “The 1997 Amendment allows the courts to let a prohibited type of dog live provided it isn’t a danger to public safety. To destroy a dog even though a court has found it is not a danger to public safety would be perverse.” The Government’s public consultation document on dangerous dogs suggests various options: • An extension of criminal law (ie section 3 of the 1991 Act) to all places including private property. This would mean that dogs could be accused of being dangerously out of control in their own homes; • Additions or amendments to (including possible repeal of) section 1 – concerning the breed of dog – of the 1991 Act; • Repeal of the 1997 Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act to prevent any more dogs being added to the index of exempted dogs. Other options for consideration are: • The introduction of dog control notices; • Requirement that all dogs are covered by third-party insurance, and that all dogs and puppies are microchipped; • More effective enforcement of the existing law, including a consolidation of existing statutes into one new updated Act. It is important that people give their views before June 1. It is a fairly simple process through DEFRA’s website at www.defra.gov.uk; click on ‘wildlife and pets’ and then on ‘dangerous dogs’. Go To Top Of Page MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM GERMAN SHEPHERD BREED CLUBS Now that the deadline for receipt of the signed Undertakings from those clubs wishing to be considered for 2012 CCs has passed, a meeting with representatives from those clubs which signed the Undertaking has been planned for Friday 30th April 2010 at the Kennel Club. The Kennel Club has invited two representatives from each of the 21 breed clubs which signed the Undertaking, along with representatives from the GSD Breed Council and Mr Brian Wootton, the KC Breed Liaison representative. It will be a full day meeting covering canine conformation and movement as it relates to the German Shepherd Dog and a presentation on the education of judges. There will also be plenty of opportunity for discussion between the delegates and speakers. The speakers will be; § Mike Herrtage, Professor of Small Animal Medicine at Cambridge University and Dean of Cambridge Veterinary School § Bill Hardaway, Vice Chairman of the Kennel Club § Gerald King, Chairman of the Kennel Club Training Board § Gary Gray, Breeder, Judge & breed enthusiast It is intended that this will be the first of a number of meetings/seminars with the aim of putting in place sensible, effective and cohesive actions to address and improve soundness in the GSD. Jemima Harrison In The Frame? A Chairperson is being sought for the advisory council which will provide advice on dog breeding. Three separate enquiries in the last 18 months – by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, the RSPCA, and Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s, funded by the Kennel Club/Dogs Trust - have recommended the creation of such a council to provide advice regarding the welfare issues of dog breeding. In February a consortium of organisations concerned with the welfare of dogs formed a ‘review board’ to take forward the key recommendations of the three enquiries, their unanimous view was that the most important first step was the formation of the independent advisory council. Applications are now being sought for the post of founding chairman of the council. The successful candidate will have an ‘unparalleled opportunity’ to influence the future welfare of dogs and to spearhead the provision of advice given, so as to achieve major improvements in the welfare impact of dog breeding. Sir Patrick said today: “The health and welfare problems caused by dog breeding were first identified more than 40 years ago. We know the problems and we can find the solutions. Advances in science are improving our understanding of the issues and the potential solutions daily. “The appointment of the first chairman for this council is critical and he or she will play a key role in developing a strategy for resolving the problems and making a step change in the quality of life for millions of dogs.” The organisations forming the review board are the British Small Animals Veterinary Association, the Blue Cross, the British Veterinary Association, the Companion Animal Welfare Council, DEFRA, Dogs Trust, the Kennel Club, PDSA, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, RSPCA, Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly. The deadline for applications is May 14 and interviews will be held on June 14 in Cambridge and June 16 and 17 in London Go To Top Of Page VETS ISSUE ADVICE TO PET OWNERS ON VOLCANIC ASH Following the Health Protection Agency’s advice to the public on the possible health effects of the Icelandic volcanic ash reaching ground level, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has issued some simple advice to pet owners in the UK. The HPA has suggested that people who experience symptoms such as itchy or irritated eyes, runny nose, sore throat or dry cough and those who notice a dusty haze in the air or smell sulphur, rotten eggs, or a strong acidic smell, may wish to limit their activities outdoors or return indoors. The HPA also suggests that people with respiratory problems may notice the effects more than others. The HPA stresses that the concentration of particles which may reach ground level is likely to be low and should not cause serious harm The BVA advice to pet owners is: - if you notice any symptoms or smell sulphur, rotten eggs or a strong acidic smell take reasonable action to protect your pets by limiting their time outdoors; - any pets with respiratory problems should be well protected from the atmosphere; - cover outdoor aviaries to protect birds; and - find suitable shelter for any pets that usually live outdoors. Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: “At this stage we don’t know for certain what the impact of the volcanic ash on human and animal health will be but we know that dusty particles can cause irritation to eyes and the respiratory system so it makes sense for everyone to take sensible precautions for themselves and their pets. “Pet owners should limit the amount of time that they and their animals spend outside if they detect the ash and consult a vet if they have any concerns about the health of their pets.” The Health Protection Agency is monitoring the situation and providing advice to the public. For more information visit the HPA website: www.hpa.org.uk Go To Top Of Page Conflict With KC Heralds Bright Future For German Shepherd Clubs In a letter to the KC’s executive – canine activities Kathryn Symns, acting chairman Nikki Farley said the League still intended to hold its championship show and possibly other events that year ‘strictly adhering to KC rules’. However, the League has disclosed that it has organised its first event under World Union of German Shepherd Dogs (WUSV) rules. The 12-class ‘regional event’ will take place on April 25 in Markfield, Leicestershire, with judges Dirk Gabriel and Terry Hannan. It is labelled as ‘the only dog show in the UK to actively promote health-tested dogs’. Its literature states, ‘All dogs over the age of 18 months will have been hip screened; all males are required to be clear of haemophilia; all dogs over two years will have been assessed by a breed specialist to be sound in both body and mind’. Breed clubs and societies were told in January they would have to agree to the undertaking before they would receive 2012 CCs. One particularly unpopular clause is one which insists that clubs do not run any events under the rules or regulations of any organisation other than the KC without the KC’s permission. Unsoundness Clubs must also agree ‘that there is a degree of unsoundness in the hindquarters of the breed and in particular in the hocks of some dogs and that these problems are to be penalised at shows’. The British Association of German Shepherd Dogs has agreed to sign but, as already reported, many feel that the Association – and many other clubs – have done so because they value their obedience CCs so highly. Shortly before the deadline the League’s Mrs Farley wrote to the KC: “We had hoped that there would be some central ground upon which discussion could take place, but after all attempts by the GSD Partnership it failed to achieve another meeting with the KC, and all further negotiation appeared to take place only through the media and our letter to you dated December 2009. “We received no reply other than an acknowledgement of receipt and it was decided that there was no other option but to take this stance. “Our membership decided that the health of our breed should be paramount in everything that is required both in showing and breeding, and that is an area which we appear to have difficulty reconciling with those requirements asked for by the KC. “We have long advocated for our members that all animals should be identifiable through tattoo or microchip and that any health test has no relevance if the animal cannot be identified, an area which the British Veterinary Association has now covered. We also feel that DNA testing for parentage should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to ensure accuracy of pedigrees for future generations. “We have also for a long time advocated that all animals should be health tested before breeding, an area still to be covered by the KC even in its own flagship the Accredited Breeder Scheme.” “One part of the undertaking our members found abhorrent was having asked, what in our opinion are top specialist judges, to judge our shows we were then expected to tell them how to judge. This was highlighted most emphatically in the last few weeks where trial by television took place on not only our best of breed winner at Crufts but the judge – appointed by yourselves – who gave him this award. “This should never have been allowed to happen and we hope that a full and unconditional apology will be sent to both the dog’s owner and breeder and the judge Robert Kinsey. It should be accompanied by an apology to one of our senior citizen members who was asked to remove herself and her puppy from not only the display team she was asked to work in but the show itself. “It was humiliation in the extreme. “We will continue to hold events under the rules and regulations of the WUSV in order to promote healthy German Shepherds both in show and work, which we feel are of more importance and mean more than a CC which can be awarded to any animal whether or not it has had any health checks or even had them and received poor results. We also consider that the awarding of CCs to puppies can only have a detrimental influence on our late developing breed. “We do however feel that there is still room for discussion on the way forward for our breed, the German Shepherd Dog, and would always be willing to talk to the KC in the future.” Ms Symns replied to Mrs Farley saying that 19 GSD clubs and most of the general championship shows had agreed to sign the KC’s undertaking – a few have not yet replied – and that the KC would be ‘working with these clubs to go forward to protect the interests of the majority of the GSD breed in the UK’. “We would not normally wish to engage in further protracted correspondence with you on this matter except to say that, in the interest of the GSD breed, we of course regret that you have made this decision,” Ms Symns wrote. “On this occasion, in view of some of the detailed comments in your letter, we feel that we must respond.” She said the KC had noted that the League intended to adhere to KC rules at its KC championship show, and its complaint that the GSD Partnership had not had a meeting with the KC and there was no response to the League’s letter. “In fact, the reason for the former was the failure of the Partnership to accept issues previously agreed and recorded in the minutes of our previous meeting,” Ms Symns wrote. “On the second point we believe that the issuing of our undertaking letters obviated and stood in place of any need for us to respond to your December 2009 letter. “The KC too is deeply committed to improving the health of all breeds and the difference between us on these issues is not large. We have consistently indicated how we wish to improve the uptake of health screening, identification etc. The major difference between us is that we believe that the poor hindquarters of many GSDs constitute a welfare hazard while you appear not to do so. “The paragraph above indicates why we are at odds with you on your contention that judges at your shows should not be required to recognise that there are hindquarter problems in the breed when judging. Lessons “We agree with your comment that the More4 TV programme highlighted this difference between us, but we believe that the lesson to be learned from that happening is the opposite one to that which you have chosen to accept. Our view is that More4’s independent decision to criticise the conformation of the winning GSD at Crufts was symptomatic of the problem that the world at large recognises but that you do not. The KC will make no apology for something that happened on the More4 Crufts programme at the choice of More4 and its presenter. You must seek any apology for that from More4 and not from us. “The other issue of a young GSD being asked to leave the display was an independent decision taken by the show vet acting in his capacity as a vet, and we would not presume to interfere with that decision. Incidentally, the dog was only five months of age at the time and should not have been taking part in a display. “Finally we reject your comments that there should be different... rules on what should be required of show exhibits by way of pre-exhibition health tests and the banning of puppies from winning CCs. We believe that the show ring should be used to help promote the elimination of visible conditions by judges. We believe that it is within the area of the control of breeding practices that screening for non-visible conditions should be targeted. “It is that fundamental difference between us that we believe is the main reason why the general public has become so disenchanted with the GSD breed in the show ring – by simply looking at its current appearance. We believe that is the reason why registrations of GSDs declined by over 40 per cent in the 15 years to 2008 while overall KC registrations increased in the same period by over 15 per cent. “We are glad that you feel that there is ‘still room for discussion on the way forward’ for GSDs and we look forward to hearing your suggestions on the subjects where you think that there is likelihood of agreement between us.” The German Shepherd Dog Club of Devon is another which has decided not to sign. On its website, chairman James Apps has written: “At Crufts it became clear that most of the clubs which had signed had done so to protect their obedience CCs, and while at the show we had a glimpse of the future – the judge for GSDs had four stewards sitting at the side of the ring with clipboards making notes on his performance and apparently the soundness of each dog’s hindquarters. Singled out “The BOB at Crufts was Clokellys Lagos, owned and bred by Carol Keen, a member of our club. Lagos had been trained at our club since he was a puppy and we all knew him and his siblings well. He was a deserving winner and we were all very happy for Carol. This was short-lived, as on the Crufts programme … they showed slow motion footage of Lagos moving absolutely correctly...” He continued: “The KC has singled out the GSD from all of the breeds mentioned in Pedigree Dogs Exposed and has taken no action against other breeds such as the Cavalier and Boxers which have serious even life-threatening genetic problems. “In our opinion the KC wants to revert to the old Alsatian type with all its problems in health and temperament despite the Alsatian’s dwindling gene pool... at the expense of the German or international type which is recognised worldwide. The Alsatian is laughed at in Germany, the home of the breed, due to its swan neck, sagging back and over-angulation. Vendetta “The KC refuses to drop the incorrect name Alsatian from its name for our breed; it is German Shepherd Dog worldwide, not German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian).” Joe Summerhill of the GSD Partnership accused the KC of a vendetta. “It seems that the recent conflict between the KC and its soundness/type issue and the section of GSD Community intent on introducing mandatory health and working qualifications has reached an interesting and positive position for the GSD community,” he said. “The KC’s executives have been single-minded in pursuing a thinly-veiled vendetta against the international type of GSD and those who exhibit but have unwittingly created an alternative to showing at KC-licensed shows. This amazing lack of foresight and intellect by the KC has got it into a position it least wanted and created an alternative showing regime to the lamentable KC shows where champions who have no health test done whatsoever can be made up and are promoted for breeding totally uncontrolled – and in fact promoted by the KC with the issuing of Stud Book numbers. “The first of a series of shows totally outside the KC suppression is on April 25, and more are planned by GSD enthusiasts who will proudly show and declare their health-tested GSDs, letting the judge see the grades of pass for health tests, presenting where appropriate their hard-earned working qualifications, and competing against their peers on equal health terms. “The shows will be judged by international WUSV judges and British judges who are fully qualified through experience and rigorously tested by formal examination under the custodianship of the GSD League of GB supported by the WUSV. “This empowerment of a national breed club will no doubt set a precedent for other breeds totally dissatisfied at the KC’s current administration, lack of vision and flawed leadership... Even people in the margins of this conflict are seriously questioning the tactics of the KC, and other breeds are following developments with great interest... “The irony of it all is that healthy, international type GSDs can attend both the alternative shows and the KC shows, and the KC-promoted GSD can only attend one simply because they cannot meet the health and working criteria of the national breed club’s WUSV-style shows. Where does this put the KC’s ‘fitness for purpose’ initiative? “We will now see the emergence of the GSD League as the only national GSD club supported by regional breed clubs within a well-worn WUSV system. Ignored “So what of the GSD Partnership specifically formed to work with the KC and to introduce mandatory health testing for all KC registered GSDs? The KC has ignored its representation so far and successfully bypassed the breed council and gone direct to the 30-odd clubs to seek to impose its will... “The GSD League however has a sustainable vision and legacy left by Graham Stephens and a strong and harmonious committee of individuals fully involved in the breed with an ever-expanding membership and a will and a plan to make tomorrow’s GSD a healthier and more intelligent dog than the type the English KC executives want. The future of the GSD has never been brighter with the emergence of the GSD League as the national club for GSDs... . “Details of the April 25 show can be found at www.gsdleague.co.uk Other regional shows will follow during the year culminating in the British Sieger Show in September...” He concluded: “Unwittingly this has given a bright new dawn for healthy GSDs which will gather momentum until the national GSD breed club and its regional partners have total control on the direction of tomorrow’s GSD.” Go To Top Of Page Brief Biography Of Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen Crippen was born in Coldwater, Michigan, to Ardesee Skinner and Myron Augustus Crippen, a merchant. Crippen graduated from the Michigan School of Homeopathic Medicine in 1884 Crippen's first wife, Charlotte, died of a stroke in 1892, and Crippen entrusted his parents, now living in California, with the care of his two-year-old son, Hawley Otto. Crippen became a homeopathic doctor and started working for Dr. Munyon's, a homoeopathic pharmaceutical company. His second wife was Corrine "Cora" Turner (stage name: 'Belle Elmore'), born Kunigunde Mackamotski to a German mother and a Polish-Russian father. She was a would-be music hall singer who openly had affairs. In 1900 Crippen and his spouse moved to England. His US medical qualification was not sufficient to obtain a doctor's position in the UK. After living at various addresses in London, the couple finally moved to 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden Road, Holloway, London, where they took in lodgers to augment Crippen's meagre income. Murder After a party at their home on 31 January 1910, Cora disappeared. Hawley Crippen claimed that she had returned to the US, and later added that she had died, and had been cremated, in California. Meanwhile, his lover, Ethel "Le Neve" Neave (1883–1967), moved into Hilldrop Crescent and began openly wearing Cora's clothes and jewelery. The police were informed of Cora's disappearance by her friend, strongwoman Kate Williams, better known as Vulcana, but began to take the matter more seriously when approached by John Nash, the husband[clarification needed] and manager of Lil Hawthorne.[clarification needed] The house was searched, but nothing was found, and Crippen was interviewed by Chief Inspector Walter Dew. After the interview (and a quick search of the house), Dew was satisfied. However, Crippen and Le Neve did not know this and fled in panic to Brussels, where they spent the night at a hotel. The following day, they went to Antwerp and boarded the Canadian Pacific liner SS Montrose for Canada. Transatlantic arrest Inspector Walter Dew (extreme right) searching the garden at 39, Hilldrop CrescentTheir disappearance led the police at Scotland Yard to perform another three searches of the house. During the fourth and final search, they found the remains of a human body, buried under the brick floor of the basement. Sir Bernard Spilsbury found traces of the calming drug scopolamine. The corpse was identified by a piece of skin from its abdomen; the head, limbs, and skeleton were never recovered. Crippen and Le Neve fled across the Atlantic on the Montrose, with le Neve disguised as a boy. Captain Henry George Kendall recognised the fugitives and, just before steaming out of range of the land-based transmitters, had Telegraphist Lawrence Ernest Hughes send a wireless telegram to the British authorities: "Have strong suspicions that Crippen London cellar murderer and accomplice are among saloon passengers. Mustache taken off growing beard. Accomplice dressed as boy. Manner and build undoubtedly a girl." Had Crippen travelled 3rd class, he would have probably escaped Kendall's notice. Dew boarded a faster White Star liner, the SS Laurentic, arrived in Quebec, Canada ahead of Crippen, and contacted the Canadian authorities. As the Montrose entered the St. Lawrence River, Dew came aboard disguised as a pilot. Canada was then still a dominion within the British Empire. If Crippen, an American citizen, had sailed to the United States instead, even if he had been recognised, it would have taken an international arrest warrant followed by extradition proceedings to bring him to trial. Kendall invited Crippen to meet the pilots as they came aboard. Dew removed his pilot's cap and said, "Good morning, Dr Crippen. Do you know me? I'm Chief Inspector Dew from Scotland Yard." After a pause, Crippen replied, "Thank God it's over. The suspense has been too great. I couldn't stand it any longer." He then held out his wrists for the handcuffs. Crippen and le Neve were arrested on board the Montrose on 31 July 1910. Crippen was returned to England on board the SS Megantic. Go To Top Of Page The Kennel Club's ‘regret and concern’ at GSD treatment The Kennel Club has complained to the ITV about the way in which German Shepherds were treated during the TV programme The Door, which was shown over Easter. In the two-part show, celebrities competed against each other by undertaking bushtucker trial-type challenges. Hosting the show were Chris Tarrant and Amanda Holden. The first episode featured German Shepherd Dogs in cages. In a letter to ITV director of entertainment and comedy Elaine Bedell, KC secretary Caroline Kisko expressed ‘regret and deep concern’ about the way the dogs were treated. Distress “They were clearly experiencing distress as a direct result of being kept in very small cages, an alien environment and teased by the presence of raw meat outside their cages,” she wrote. “This resulted in them barking, pacing and showing other distinct signs of stress which would have been interpreted by many viewers as aggression. “Host Chris Tarrant went so far as to describe them as ‘rancid’ in an interview about the programme. “This has served to send out a very negative image about the breeds that were featured on the programme, particularly German Shepherd Dogs, which is not at all representative of the true nature of the breed. “We hope that dogs will never be used in this way again on the programme, and would like an apology to be made to dog lovers and those within the breed who are worried about the welfare of the animals concerned and the negative impression that has been left of the breed as a result of the programme.” An ITV spokesman said: “The dogs featured in The Door were ones that are supplied for TV and film work and are used to being in a studio environment. They were supplied by a reputable company that the production company has used before and their wranglers were present on set throughout filming. “The contractor used is affiliated with Performing Animals Welfare Standards International. At no time did the dogs show any sign of discomfort. “This is an environment that they are used to being in and the dogs are trained to bark when they see people.” Dog Licences are ‘a tax on dog ownership’ At Odds With RSPCA The DogsTrust does not believe that a return to the dog licence would provide a welfare benefit for dogs, as the RSPCA has suggested. Last week the RSPCA said that a survey had shown there is ‘huge’ public backing for bringing back licences. Sixty-six per cent of those asked were in favour, the charity said, and a total of 76 per cent said that a licence would tackle a range of dog welfare problems such as puppy farms, strays, and stolen or abandoned animals. But Dogs Trust said it was very surprised that the RSPCA thought it could be beneficial to animal welfare. “A dog licence is simply a tax on dog ownership,” a spokesman said. “This view is extremely naïve; responsible owners might struggle to pay what is likely to be a punitive annual licence. Ineffective measure “The dog licence has also been shown to be an ineffective measure in the UK. In Northern Ireland, where the dog licence is still a requirement, only an estimated one-third of all dog owners currently have their dogs licensed. Northern Ireland still has the highest number of stray dogs per head of population of any region in the UK and the number of dogs put to sleep in the region represents a staggering 34 per cent of the total UK figure.” Dogs Trust is still in favour of compulsory microchipping and believes it is the most effective means of registration as well as identification of a dog. “Unlike the licence, which involves an annual fee, microchipping involves just a small one-off fee,” the spokesman said. “We offer microchipping at our centres for £10. The benefit to responsible owners and their dogs is therefore relatively cheap and effective. “Microchipping a dog reinforces the responsibilities of the owner under the Animal Welfare Act. The introduction of compulsory microchipping would allow stray dogs to be quickly returned to their owners, make easier the identification of owners who persistently allow their dogs to stray or cause nuisance, and make all puppies traceable to their breeder, helping to reduce the widespread problem of battery farming of dogs. Not In Favour The Kennel Club is not in favour of licences either. Spokesman Caroline Kisko said: “Some people believe that the solution to all the problems created by irresponsible dog ownership is the compulsory registration of dogs. “This view fails to take account of facts. Nine million motor vehicles out of a total of 34 million do not have road tax. The take-up of dog licensing in Northern Ireland is less than 50 per cent of the estimated dog population. The responsible dog owner, who has committed no offence against society, would be penalised in order to raise money to provide the means, other than the police force, to enforce the law that already exists and to educate the irresponsible dog owner. “Dog owners are currently paying, on dog food alone, a tax bill of £220,000,000 over and above their normal taxes. “We do however support the principle of permanent identification of dogs. Through all our activities and particularly through our Good Citizen Dog Scheme we seek to educate all dog owners to the benefits, both to themselves and to society, of responsible dog ownership.” The RSPCA said it would be submitting the results of its survey to the consultation on dangerous dog legislation launched recently by the Government. Urgent action Needed “We believe that a licence would be beneficial in addressing animal welfare concerns stemming from ‘over breeding to a lack of traceable ownership’,” a spokesman said. “The survey’s findings are backed by the results of Professor Bateson’s report into breeding which called for urgent action to be taken to safeguard animal welfare. “The income from licences should be ring-fenced and ploughed into services such as an effective local dog warden service which could make a real difference to both dogs and their owners at a local level. “An annual scheme would also help to ensure that contact details of owners are kept up-to-date so they can be reunited with their dog more easily if it is lost or stolen.” The RSPCA believes that there could be a reduction in the licence fee for more responsible owners ‘such as those who have their dogs neutered’. The survey was conducted by Reading University. Go To Top Of Page Irish government told commercial breeders should be supported Dog breeding that is done Commercially is worth a total of 300m Euros a year to the Irish economy and should be supported by the Government, not penalised, a parliamentary committee has been told. The secretary of the Canine Breeders of Ireland, David Hamilton (CBI), said that like other businesses it paid taxes, provided employment and contributed to the economy. However, unlike them, he said, it did not receive any state grants, although there was a strong case for the provision of such funds to help with exports, marketing, veterinary costs, and kennelling. He told the committee, which was holding hearings on the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill, that the CBI had more than 600 members and operated a strict code of ethics, insisting that those seeking to join must first have their kennels certified by a vet. “We are not puppy farmers,” he said, “and we find the term offensive. We detest animal cruelty.” On the legislation, he said they felt the proposed lead-in period of three months to allow breeders meet the new standards was much too short. The original working party had proposed 12 months, which was the minimum needed, he said. He described the registration fees proposed by Environment Minister John Gormley, which range from 1,000 euros to 3,000 euros for breeders with 100 to 200 bitches, as ‘the highest in the world’. At A Disadvantage Fees in Northern Ireland were only a fraction of such amounts, which would put breeders from the Republic at a serious disadvantage in Irish and export markets. Mr Hamilton, who headed a three-member delegation, said the CBI also objected to the one-litter-a-year restriction, which he believed stemmed from ‘a lack of basic knowledge or veterinary advice’. It also felt that the proposed range of penalties, including six months’ imprisonment, was harsher than sentences given to muggers. At the meeting, Mr Hamilton appealed for a direct meeting with the minister, which he claimed has been denied so far. “We want to bring dog breeding out of the shadows and ensure it is recognised as a legitimate business,” he said. “It is vital that the minister listens to us so that the process can be done properly and the problem fixed once and for all.” Meanwhile, other pressures are piling up on the minister. Hundreds of demonstrators turned up at his Green Party annual conference to protest over his animal welfare agenda, including his refusal so far to exempt Greyhounds and hunt kennels from the scope of the new legislation. Some government backbenchers are threatening to vote down the bill unless changes are made. Go To Top Of Page Vets ‘Can Lead The Way’ With National Microchipping Month Petlog, the UK’s largest pet reunification service, will be outlining the importance of microchipping at their stand at the BSAVA conference from the 8th April at the ICC/NIA in Birmingham as National Microchipping Month approaches. The seventh annual National Microchipping Month, sponsored by Petlog, falls in June this year and is a unique opportunity for veterinary surgeons and nurses to highlight the benefits of permanent pet identification and the importance of aftercare service to their clients. Petlog is the UK’s largest microchip database, and this year celebrates 15 years of looking after pets and their owners. With over 4.3 million animals registered, Petlog takes this responsibility seriously and understands the need for both a reliable microchip and a robust, quality, customer focused aftercare service to support veterinary surgeons. Petlog has worked in conjunction with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to provide a set of guidelines which supports veterinary surgeons in using microchips, scanning and, occasionally, resolving ownership disputes. These can be found on the RCVS website www.rcvs.org.uk. Petlog also offers online registration through a new web portal and is working with the Vet Consortium on Vet XML – which will allow veterinary surgeons to register microchips straight from the practice almost instantly. Celia Walsom, Petlog executive, said: “Microchipping is a great way to bond clients to your practice – and when supported by the Petlog aftercare service you can be sure that you really do offer a ‘lifetime’ service. Petlog is an independent database and a not for profit service, and we look forward to meeting vets at the show – who can champion the benefits of microchipping to their clients.” Also available on the stand will be the Kennel Club’s Guide to Pedigree Dogs, sponsored by Royal Canin, available as a free handout that gives a guide and illustration of all breeds recognised by the Kennel Club in the UK which can go straight on the surgery wall. Go To Top Of Page RSPCA Welcomes Introduction of Animal Welfare Codes The RSPCA welcomes new government guidelines for pet owners on how to look after their dogs, cats, horses and primates, which come into force today. The welfare codes of practice have been introduced by the government in England to help make sure the needs and requirements of people’s pets are met. The charity has long backed the plans for the introduction of the codes in England to provide clear information to help owners protect animal welfare. Claire Robinson, government relations manager, said: “The RSPCA welcomes the introduction of the codes and hopes that they will make a great difference to help owners understand what their pets need. “The Society has been working closely with the government to develop the codes to ensure that they are appropriate, effective and workable and we think that they are succinct enough for owners to read and comprehend.” The RSPCA has been campaigning for a ban on keeping primates as pets which the charity believes would be the best way to protect these animals. However, in the absence of a ban, the Society supports the code as it provides a step in the right direction by helping people to appreciate how challenging it can be to look after primates properly. The RSPCA’s 300 inspectors will be using the codes on a regular basis to help in their day to day work throughout England. Separate welfare codes for dogs, cats, equines and rabbits are currently in operation in Wales. Whilst breaking the codes will not be an offence, the information in them can be used by a court to illustrate whether an owner was complying with the Animal Welfare Act. RSPCA superintendent Tim Minty said: "The codes will first and foremost be an invaluable educational tool for everyone involved in animal welfare but they will also play a vital role to help RSPCA inspectors identify any problems of neglect or cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act. Inspectors will be able to properly measure the welfare of an animal against specific guidelines so that they can accurately assess whether an animal's needs are being properly met. The codes will also help inspectors to advise the person responsible for the animal on how to look after their pet so the RSPCA and owners can work together to make sure the animals are happy and healthy." The RSPCA will continue to work with Defra to review the effectiveness of the codes. Anyone who would like advice on how they can best look after their pet can visit www.rspca.org.uk or call our non-emergency enquiries line on 0300 1234 555. The codes expand on existing legislation set out in the Animal Welfare Act. The advice falls into the following sections: · The need for a suitable environment · The need for a suitable diet · The need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns · The need to be housed with, or apart form, other animals · The need to be protected from pain, suffering injury and disease. Some of the requirements are: Cats: · Protect your cat from hazards while indoors and outdoors. · Make sure your cat eats a balanced diet which is suitable for its needs. · Make sure your cat is able to rest undisturbed when it wants to. · While you are away, make sure your cat is being looked after by someone responsible. · If you think your cat is in pain, ill or injured, contact a vet promptly and follow their advice regarding treatment. Dogs: · Provide your dog with somewhere it can go to avoid things that frighten it. · Dogs should be able to reach food and water easily in all situations. · Give your dog the exercise it needs, at least daily unless your vet recommends otherwise, to keep your dog fit, active and stimulated. · Make sure that your dog is never left alone long enough for it to become distressed. · You should carefully check your dog’s coat regularly and groom your dog, if necessary, to maintain a healthy coat. Horses: · Fields should be kept clear of dangerous objects and poisonous plants. · Water troughs and containers should be cleaned regularly to prevent the build up of algae and other debris. Any cleaning substance should not be toxic to horses. · Stabled horses should receive appropriate exercise daily, unless contrary to veterinary advice. · Horses prefer to live in social groups and ideally they should be socialised with members of their own species but, where this is not possible, other animals may be used to provide company. · Saddlery and harness should be correctly fitted, preferably by a qualified saddler or harness fitter. Primates: · Primates should not be considered as pets in the accepted sense of the word. · With few exceptions, primates should not be kept alone. They should be kept in groups large enough to allow them to express their full range of social behaviours · Indoor and outdoor accommodation should be provided. Natural daylight is important to aid the production of Vitamin D3 and to avoid the development of metabolic bone disease. · Primates need an environment that is stimulating but which allows them choice and control. · Varied environmental enrichment should be provided to avoid over-familiarity and prevent boredom. Go To Top Of Page Bulldog breeders withdraw ABS accolade bid after KC demands second inspection Two more accredited breeders have withdrawn their application to receive the accolade of excellence bestowed under the scheme after they were told it would involve another inspection. Chris Thomas and Graham Godfrey of the well-known Kingrock kennel – both Kennel Club members and international championship show judges – were dismayed when they heard that KC secretary Caroline Kisko and health and breeder services manager Bill Lambert wanted to look around their premises again. They had been inspected two and a half years ago when they were accepted as accredited breeders, and are visited annually by council officers because they are licensed breeders. Their main breed is the Bulldog and the KC has classified it as one of its high-profile breeds, those the KC considers have a greater potential for health problems – the others are Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Chow Chow, Clumber Spaniel, Dogue de Bordeaux, German Shepherd Dog, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Pekingese, Shar-Pei and St Bernard. Accredited breeders who have qualified for the three existing accolades under the scheme, received a successful visit from an accredited breeder advisor and who have bred five or more British champions in any discipline qualify to be considered for the accolade, their names must be put forward by a breed club. Mr Thomas and Mr Godfrey fulfil all the requirements, but baulked at the prospect of being inspected by someone who, in print at least, had been so critical of their breed. “Bill Lambert said that before deciding whether or not our kennel was suitable for an accolade of excellence, the KC’s Finance and General Purposes Committee felt there should be more investigation and that he and Caroline would be visiting all three Bulldog kennels put forward at the same time for a chat. I took it as an affront to our kennel, as we understand that for breeders from less high-profile breeds this would not be deemed necessary. Rightly or wrongly, Graham and I see this as yet more Bulldog bashing. “I asked Bill what he needed to see again that he didn’t view the first time and he said he just wanted to check paperwork. I said, ‘The same paperwork as you checked the first time?’. This he confirmed. He said he was sure I was doing the best I could for the breed with regard to health, and I told him I had been doing that for the past 35 years.” Until recently Mr Thomas was a member of the breed council’s health sub-committee and actively involved in running the health side of breed seminars. “I said he didn’t need to come up and inspect paperwork to find that out,” Mr Thomas continued. “I told him that personally I would feel uncomfortable about the visit because although Bill said Caroline was only the voice of the KC there have been a lot of articles inthe Dog Press where she has been critical of the breed and breed council, and as one of the four people who went to negotiate the change in the wording of the Standard with the KC I was a bit raw about Caroline deciding whether we were worthy of the accolade of excellence.” After discussing the matter with Mr Godfrey, Mr Thomas told Mr Lambert he no longer wanted to be considered for the accolade. “I rang him back and asked him to withdraw the application put in by the British Bulldog Club. He asked me to sleep on it but we felt even more incensed the next day. “It’s not an equal playing field, to pick on a particular kennel because of the breed they have. I said we could have applied as French Bulldog and Boston Terrier breeders in which we also qualify by the number of champions and he said it would have made no difference because we are known as Bulldog breeders and that is a high-profile breed. “I was keen to get the accolade as I thought it was just the thing the Accredited Breeder Scheme needed to give it credence and move it forward, an ideal way of drawing out more established kennels from the rest. We have more than double the number of champions needed. “We were inspected two or three years ago when we became accredited breeders and Bill was here for about two and a half hours. We are inspected every 12 months by the council because we are licensed breeders. There are a huge number of accredited breeders who haven’t been inspected at all, and they are finding time to inspect breeders like us twice!” Mr Lambert told DW that all nominations for the accolade of excellence were subject to approval by committee. “From time to time the committee may request additional information, and on occasions the simplest way to do this may be to undertake a further visit,” he said. “Quite often our breeder advisors are accompanied on visits, but this is only with the knowledge and agreement of the breeder.” To date, 20 nominations for the accolade have been received and a number of others are under consideration currently, he said. No nominations from breeders of the high-profile breeds have been refused. A spokesman for the KC said the accolade was ‘a very prestigious award designed to recognise excellence in every respect’. The KC Has A Responsibility “The KC has a responsibility to make absolutely sure that those who receive the award are outstanding in all areas, from their breeding experience right through to their commitment to dog health and welfare, and this may involve visiting potential candidates with these broad criteria in mind,” she said. “This is particularly important among those who are receiving awards in the high-profile breeds as it is these breeders’ exemplary standards which will help to lead the breeds forward to a healthier future.” British BC AGM At the British BC AGM the names of three kennels were proposed for the Accredited Breeder Scheme’s accolade of excellence, which is now up and running. Our understanding of the accolade is that it is open to breed clubs to nominate kennels they consider to have made a significant contribution to the breed and have fulfilled the set criteria – ie bred five or more UK champions, gained the three existing accolades and have had a successful inspection by the Kennel Club. Apparently this is not entirely accurate, as just having fulfilled the criteria is not in itself, a guarantee of acceptance. As owners of one of the kennels nominated, Graham and I were quietly confident as we had fulfilled the criteria. Having had a successful inspection by Bill Lambert, we could more than double the number of champions required and have the three existing accolades. In the first instance the list of nominated kennels in all breeds must go before the finance and general purposes committee, before being referred to the General Committee. When the F and GP committee met recently they decided that as our kennel is mainly involved in one of the high profile breeds – ie breeds that have come under attack from all sides during the last couple of years, they required more information on the kennels nominated by the British BC. It was therefore decided to visit these kennels for a second time, once again by Bill Lambert, but this time accompanied by KC secretary Caroline Kisko. Rightly or wrongly, Graham and I both see this as yet more Bulldog bashing, as those in other breeds have not been required to accept this extra visit. We have therefore requested that the KC withdraw our kennel from the list of those nominated as breeders of excellence – although we would just like to say how much we appreciate the British BC membership who supported our nomination at the AGM. The German Shepherd Dog League, The German Shepherd Dog Club Of Devon And The West Yorkshire German Shepherd Clubs All Refuse To Sign KC Contract The German Shepherd Dog League of GB, The German Shepherd Dog Club of Devon and the West Yorkshire German Shepherd Club have voted not to sign the Kennel Club's controversial contract. Therefore, from 2012 they will no longer be allocated CCs. In a letter to the KC, acting chairman Nikki Farley said the League still intended to hold its championship show that year 'strictly adhering to KC rules', and possibly other events. Breed clubs and societies were told in January they would have to agree to the undertaking before they would receive 2012 CCs. Earlier this week, the KC said that 14 of the 30 German Shepherd clubs had signed; the deadline by which it had to be returned was yesterday (Wednesday), and the KC had urged all clubs to sign it before then. The British Association of German Shepherd Dogs has agreed to sign, but Mrs Farley wrote to the KC: “We had hoped that there would be some central ground upon which discussion could take place, but after all attempts by the GSD Partnership it failed to achieve another meeting with the KC, and all further negotiation appeared to take place only through the media and our letter to you dated December 2009. “We received no reply other than an acknowledgement of receipt and it was decided that there was no other option but to take this stance. “Our membership decided that the health of our breed should be paramount in everything that is required both in showing and breeding, and that is an area which we appear to have difficulty reconciling with those requirements asked for by the KC. We have long advocated for our members that all animals should be identifiable through tattoo or microchip and that any health test has no relevance if the animal cannot be identified, an area which the British Veterinary Association has now covered. We also feel that DNA testing for parentage should be implemented at the earliest opportunity to ensure accuracy of pedigrees for future generations. “We have also for a long time advocated that all animals should be health tested before breeding an area still to be covered by the KC even in its own flagship the Accredited Breeder Scheme.” “One part of the undertaking our members found abhorrent was having asked what in our opinion are top specialist judges to judge our shows we were then expected to tell them how to judge. This was highlighted most emphatically in the last few weeks where trial by television took place on not only our best of breed winner at Crufts but the judge – appointed by yourselves – who gave him this award. This should never have been allowed to happen and we hope that a full and unconditional apology will be sent to both the dog’s owner and breeder and the judge Robert Kinsey. “It should also be accompanied by an apology to one of our senior citizen members who was asked to remove herself and her puppy from not only the display team she was asked to work in but the show itself. It was humiliation in the extreme. “We will continue to hold events under the rules and regulations of the WUSV in order to promote healthy German Shepherds both in show and work, which we feel are of more importance and mean more than a CC which can be awarded to any animal whether or not it has had any health checks or even had them and received poor results. We also consider that the awarding of CCs to puppies can only have a detrimental influence on our late developing breed. “We do however feel that there is still room for discussion on the way forward for our breed, the German Shepherd Dog, and would always be willing to talk to the KC in the future. Ms Symns wrote back to Mrs Farley saying that 19 GSD clubs and most of the general championship shows had agreed to sign the KC's undertaking – a few have not yet replied – and that the KC would be 'working with these clubs to go forward to protect the interests of the majority of the GSD breed in the UK'. “We would not normally wish to engage in further protracted correspondence with you on this matter except to say that, in the interest of the GSD breed, we of course regret that you have made this decision,” Ms Symns wrote. “On this occasion, in view of some of the detailed comments in your letter, we feel that we must respond.” She said the KC had noted that the League intended to adhere to KC rules at its KC championship show, and its complaint that the GSD Partnership had not had a meeting with the KC and there was no response to the League's letter. “In fact, the reason for the former was the failure of the Partnership to accept issues previously agreed and recorded in the minutes of our previous meeting,” Ms Symns wrote. “On the second point we believe that the issuing of our undertaking letters obviated and stood in place of any need for us to respond to your December 2009 letter. “The KC too is deeply committed to improving the health of all breeds and the difference between us on these issues is not large. We have consistently indicated how we wish to improve the uptake of health screening, identification etc. The major difference between us is that we believe that the poor hindquarters of many GSDs constitute a welfare hazard while you appear not to do so. “The paragraph above indicates why we are at odds with you on your contention that judges at your shows should not be required to recognise that there are hindquarter problems in the breed when judging. “We agree with your comment that the More4 TV programme highlighted this difference between us, but we believe that the lesson to be learned from that happening is the opposite one to that which you have chosen to accept. Our view is that More4’s independent decision to criticise the conformation of the winning GSD at Crufts was symptomatic of the problem that the world at large recognises, but that you do not. The KC will make no apology for something that happened on the More4 Crufts programme at the choice of More4 and its presenter. You must seek any apology for that from More4 and not from us. “The other issue of a young GSD being asked to leave the display was an independent decision taken by the show vet acting in his capacity as a vet and we would not presume to interfere with that decision. Incidentally, the dog was only five months of age at the time and should not have been taking part in a display. “Finally we reject your comments that there should be different rules on what should be required of show exhibits by way of pre-exhibition health tests and the banning of puppies from winning CCs. We believe that the show ring should be used to help promote the elimination of visible conditions by judges. We believe that it is within the area of the control of breeding practices that screening for non-visible conditions should be targeted. “It is that fundamental difference between us that we believe is the main reason why the general public has become so disenchanted with the GSD breed in the show ring – by simply looking at its current appearance. We believe that is the reason why registrations of GSDs declined by over 40 per cent in the 15 years to 2008, while overall KC registrations increased in the same period by over 15 per cent. “We are glad that you feel that there is 'still room for discussion on the way forward' for GSDs and we look forward to hearing your suggestions on the subjects where you think that there is likelihood of agreement between us.” Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB CONDEMS SHOCK COLLAR MANUFACTURERS After a milestone victory for dogs in Wales, the Kennel Club is disappointed to learn of the intention of the Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association to seek a Judicial Review on the Welsh Assembly Government’s decision to ban shock collars, which came into force last week. The National Assembly for Wales unanimously voted in favour of the regulations making the ban the first of its kind in the UK, and the first piece of secondary regulation to be introduced in Wales under the Animal Welfare Act. Kennel Club Communications Director, Caroline Kisko said: “The Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association is clutching at straws by challenging the Welsh Assembly Government’s decision. Research has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that aversive training techniques such as shock collars cause pain and fear for dogs. “The Kennel Club is contacted frequently by people with negative experiences with these devices and so there is no doubt in our minds that they must be banned. We have campaigned to ban the use of shock collars for four years in Wales and are delighted with the Assembly’s decision. “We will be continuing to fight for a ban on shock collars throughout the rest of the UK to ensure these cruel and unnecessary devices are outlawed.” The Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations 2010 came into force at 00.01 on Wednesday 24th March. For further information on the Kennel Club campaign to ban electric shock collars, contact the External Affairs department on 0844 463 3980 ext 301 or visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kccampaigns. Electric shock collars: worn around a dog’s neck, these work either via a remote control with various settings which, when activated, deliver an electric shock to the neck of a dog, or deliver an electric shock to a dog automatically when a dog barks or enters a pre-defined perimeter shock zone. Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, announced her intention to introduce legislation that would prohibit the use of shock collars in Wales in June 2008. A YouGov survey about electric shock collars, commissioned by the Kennel Club in 2009, found that 70% disapproved of the use of electric shock collars on dogs, with only 9% of people approving of their use. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1032 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22nd - 24th September 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Welsh adults (aged 18+). The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme is the largest dog training scheme in the UK. Its aim is to promote responsible dog ownership and in turn, enhance our relationship with our pets and to make the community aware of the benefits associated with responsible dog ownership. Go To Top Of Page THE KENNEL CLUB QUESTION TIME COMES TO DEVON The Kennel Club, organisers of the world's greatest dog show DFS Crufts, will be holding the latest instalment of its Question Time in Exeter on April 28th 2010, open to all with free admission. Held at the Best Western Lord Haldon Country House Hotel in Dunchideock near Exeter, the session offers the opportunity for anyone to air their views and question senior Kennel Club representatives on any issue affecting dogs and dog owners. Guests are invited to arrive at 6.15pm ahead of the event’s start at 7pm. There have been 18 Question Time events held throughout the UK to enable dog enthusiasts to ask any questions, share thoughts and ideas and encourage dialogue with the Kennel Club about how everyone can work together to promote dogs in a positive light. Panel members at the Question Time will include Ronnie Irving, KC Chairman, Bill Hardaway, Vice Chairman, Rosemary Smart, Chief Executive, Caroline Kisko, Secretary, Kathryn Symns, Canine Activities Team Executive and Bill Lambert, Health and Breeder Services Manager. The Question Time is a free event and tickets are available from Tracey Harris via [email protected] or by phone on 0844 4633 980 ext 281. To ensure that questions can be answered on the night, please submit them in advance to James Skinner via [email protected]. Poll shows 2 out of 3 dog owners back new dog licence -RSPCA calls for new dog registration scheme as survey shows overwhelming support - New figures revealed today show huge public backing for the introduction of a licence to tackle a range of dog welfare problems which plague the country. In a survey commissioned by the charity, 2 out of 3 dog owners (66%)* asked said that they would be in favour of a licence scheme. The RSPCA will be submitting these results in response to the consultation on dangerous dog legislation recently launched by the UK government. In addition, 76% of all the people asked said that a dog licence should be enforced in England to help curb problems such as ‘puppy farms’, stray dogs, stolen dogs and animal abandonments. The RSPCA believes that a licence would be hugely beneficial in addressing many animal welfare concerns stemming from overbreeding of dogs to a lack of traceable ownership. Reading University carried out research on behalf of the RSPCA and have released their findings which clearly show that an affordable and well-enforced dog licensing scheme could provide funding for a range of issues, most of which are currently funded poorly by central and local government. Professor Emeritus Martin Upton from Reading University’s school of agriculture, policy and development, said: "Our study into the potential costs and benefits of dog licencing and registration found that such a scheme could greatly contribute to responsible dog ownership and animal welfare.” The findings are also backed up by the results of the recent Bateson report into dog breeding which called for urgent action to be taken to safeguard animal welfare. Head of external affairs David Bowles said: “The RSPCA has been seriously considering a dog licence scheme as we feel it would provide an effective mechanism for tackling a whole raft of dog welfare problems. “The income should be ring-fenced and ploughed into services such as an effective local dog warden service which could make a real difference to both dogs and their owners at a local level. “An annual scheme would also help to ensure that contact details of owners are kept up to date so they can be reunited with their pet more easily if it is lost or stolen.” It is possible that a reduction in the licence fee could apply for more responsible dog owners such as those who have their pets neutered. Similar schemes operate in 23 countries throughout Europe and also in parts of Australia and New Zealand. They have proven success rates in reducing problems with disease, enforcing microchipping and neutering and in turn encouraging responsible pet ownership. The TNS poll commissioned by the RSPCA asked 1,017 adults between the ages of 16-64 in Great Britain in February 2010. The poll asked 334 dog owners and 683 non-dog owners for their views. *76% of the total people asked and 66% of dog owners asked are in favour of the reintroduction of a dog licence. A total of 771 people asked were in favour of a licence, 145 people asked were against it and 101 people asked did not know. The government’s plans would only effect legislation in England. The Welsh Assembly would be responsible for enforcing a policy in Wales. Other useful statistics: · The costs to the health service of dog attacks on people were valued at £3.3 million in England in 2009, according to Hospital Episode Statistics 2009. · Attacks on livestock were valued at £2.2 million in England during 2009 by the Economists Advisory Group’s 1998 report to the RSPCA and Kennel Club – adjusted for inflation. · Costs arising from road traffic accidents involving dogs in Britain during 2008 were valued at £14.6 million by the Department for Transport. Go To Top Of Page Time For An Alternative The television coverage of Crufts by More4 appeared to have gone very well, until a direct attack on the German Shepherd Breed was made by presenter, Clare ‘Butch’ Balding when commentating for More4 on the German Shepherd Best Of Breed Winner. Butch Balding who's expertise in spotting a Stallion, Equine or Jockey is beyond doubt – now a self appointed canine expert – decided that the GS BOB winner didn’t look right.[to her] We all remember Butch Balding – The Herman Munster Doppelganger – when she humiliated the Grand National winning Jockey, Liam Treadwell over his crooked teeth when Butch interviewed him after his win at Aintree. The question that jumps out at you is; were the Dark Forces of the Kennel Club involved in all of this; are their finger prints all over it? We have had the fiasco of a Pensioner being ejected from the NEC because a KC representative Vet decided that her five months old German Shepherd puppy was unsound. Is there a vendetta towards the Shepherd fraternity? Because, only 14 out of the 30 clubs have signed up to the KC Undertaking to discuss the future development of the breed, how to address soundness issues and current Kennel Club initiatives into breed health. This was denied by Caroline Kisko – who now fronts every contentious issue for the KC after the Dogs Dinner the Chairman made of his interview in Pedigree Dogs Exposed. Some years ago the German Shepherd community were in dispute with the Kennel Club and threatened to break away and form another rival club. Would a rival Kennel Club be in the best interests of Pedigree Dogs? Competition is always a good thing. What must be remembered is that the existing Kennel Club is a self appointed body. It is a very exclusive club, which is funded by pedigree dog breeders and show exhibitors. It is a now a multi million pound business that has accrued vast wealth off the backs of you and I, present and past. If you go into the restaurants at the NEC when Crufts is in progress you will see all of the so called ‘Elite’ having their lavish meals, along with all of the rest of the hangers on and free loading Dog Walkers; ‘a herd of Snorting Grunting Porkers rushing in like the ‘Biblical’ Gadarene Swine;’ all paid for by the profits made from Breeders exhibitors and societies. Did you know that there is an exclusive place in Clarges Street where KC members can dine? When have ordinary exhibitors ever had a vote as to who runs the Kennel Club and all of the positions that go with it; how democratic is this? There are Draconian measures taken against exhibitors for the most trivial of offenses. Take the recent case of Moray Armstrong who had words with a Judge; After a lengthy consideration, the sub-committee imposed the following penalties: • To warn Mr Armstrong as to his future conduct; • To censure him; • To fine him £500; • To disqualify him from exhibiting at, taking part in, attending and/or having any connection with any event licensed by the KC; • To disqualify him from judging at any event licensed by the KC; • To impose an order for costs incurred by the complainant in instituting and conducting these proceedings in the sum of £1,210. The disqualifications are for a year. This is quite outrageous. Yet they continue to get away with it because there is no other organisation to turn to, this state of affairs cannot be a good thing. Go To Top Of Page BOB At Crufts Then Heavily Criticised A Crufts BOB German Shepherd Owner claims that her life in dogs has been ruined by a remark made during More4’s TV coverage of the show. Two days after Clokellys Lagos competed in the group, as part of its Crufts cover More4 showed a slow motion film of him. Clare Balding, who was with studio guests Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko and canine geneticist Cathryn Mellersh, said that although she was ‘no expert’, the dog’s ‘back end does not look right’. Mrs Kisko passed no comment on Lagos but discussed what the KC was doing to tackle health and conformation problems in breeds. As reported previously, the KC is asking GSD clubs and groups to sign contracts agreeing numerous conditions, one of which was to acknowledge there were conformation problems in the breed, before it allocates CCs for 2012. Passed Health tests Two and a half-year-old Lagos has enjoyed much success under breed specialists here and abroad, and has passed all health tests in England and Germany relevant to his breed and has proven his working ability. Owner and breeder Carol Keen said his elbows had been scored 0:0, hips 3:3, and he is haemophilia clear. In addition to his schutzhund 3 success, he has won well under German SV judges and taken part in obedience and heelwork. He undertakes 12 miles of roadwork a week. “My dog has had a lot of success, and has won at the top level under international judges all over the world,” Mrs Keen said. “He spent a lot of the last year in Germany getting qualifications as well. That is why I go to Germany to compete because they insist on health and working criteria over there – you can’t show them otherwise. I know he is very sound. “He is an exceptional dog in our breed for his age, for what he has done.” Mrs Keen was unaware of what had been said on TV until the Sunday. “It was such a shock – everything was so wonderful,” she said. “After celebrating his win with friends I got a phone call asking me if I’d heard what Clare Balding said – which, incidentally, took place two days after the group judging. I was so angry. Here we have someone who is big time into horses, commentating on dogs. “In the film Lagos was just coming round a corner while doing a triangle, which I haven’t particularly trained him to do, and his handler had him on a short lead. It was quite tight and he was powering round. “I can see where they’re coming from, but you don’t make remarks when you’re not an expert on the breed and when the dog has been judged at Crufts by a breed specialist picked by the KC. “The judge thanked me for putting him under him, saying he was a super dog and so sound. “I have done every health test possible on this dog and he has passed all of them, and here he is being connected with genetic problems in the breed, saying he was too low in the back.” Mrs Keen said she had been breeding GSDs for nearly 40 years. “I don’t have a lot of dogs and I only breed if I want one for myself. It has been my lie’s ambition to own a GSD like Clokelly Lagos. Now my dog has been slated, my breeding as such has been slated and all the years of work have been taken away from me. It has been devastating. I haven’t got an unsound dog in my kennel.” Mrs Keen Contacted The Kennel Club “I asked her if the whole thing had been orchestrated by the KC and she said it hadn’t and that I would need to contact the TV station. I would like the comment retracted and have filled in a complaint form, but if they can’t put it right I am going to seek legal advice. They have taken my life away. It’s very unfair.” GSD judge at Crufts, Bob Kinsey, said he had not liked Ms Balding’s remarks. Judge Kinsey's Concern “Nothing was televised of the dog when he took part in the group and then this happened two days later,” he said. “And it was shown in slow motion as opposed to normal speed, which always makes things look different. “I liked the dog and it was sound. I enjoyed my day, I did what I wanted to do and to me that dog was the best of breed. I don’t really want to say any more about it, but it was strange that it was brought up two days after the group.” Breed council chairman John Cullen said he had complained to More4 about the comments. “The dog in question has all the health requirements that are mandatory in the breed’s country of origin and the KC asks for this only in a voluntary capacity,” he said. Crufts chief vet Steve Dean said he was aware that Lagos had been criticised. “I agree that, with my dog hat on, I would prefer a dog with better hocks, but from the veterinary viewpoint it was not unsound and showed no signs of discomfort, and so I did not withdraw it from competing in the group,” he said. When asked by DW, Mrs Kisko denied again that the KC had had any influence on the TV discussion. “As part of More4’s commitment to having an open debate about the health and welfare of dogs during the 2010 coverage of Crufts, it was inevitable that there would be some discussion about the issues that exist in certain breeds,” she said. “Clare Balding chose to highlight a health issue which was also subsequently noted by the British Veterinary Association (BVA). “The KC has since received a number of emails and phone calls from viewers concerned at the appearance of the dog. “We would not and could not interfere with More4 reporting on these issues in the way that it sees fit. Although we cannot comment on this case in particular, it should be noted that within all of the high-profile breeds, both judges and monitors were required to submit a report about the dogs that they saw before them at Crufts. “These reports will, as always, go to the KC’s Dog Health Group and if there is a discrepancy between them we will ask the relevant judge to provide an explanation, which will be assessed accordingly. “We are taking firm action to address the problems which it perceives in the GSD breed generally and has asked all GSD clubs to sign an undertaking to confirm that they recognise that there is a problem with the conformation of the breed at present and only those which sign will be allocated CCs from 2011 onwards.” BVA president elect Harvey Locke said he had not seen the dog physically but had watched the slow motion clip. “I thought the conformation of the dog – its hocks and sloping back – was not right,” he said. “The way it was putting one leg in front of the other was a far from natural gait, and not the gait it was originally bred and designed for. I appreciate it was slow motion and I can understand why the dog’s owner is upset, but we do need to look at the wider picture; the problems of breeding for extremes, not only GSDs but in so many breeds is something we must all tackle.” • The British Association for German Shepherd dogs has agreed to sign the KC’s contract. Chairman Bob Honey said members had voted in favour of doing so and that this decision had been given to the KC. The German Shepherd Dog League of GB has also taken a vote on whether or not to sign but vice-chairman Nikki Farley said the result would not be announced until the KC had received it in time for the March 31 deadline. “There was a full vote from the members and we will now be discussing it in council,” she said. Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS – PROGRESS BEFORE THE DEADLINE Fourteen of the 30 German Shepherd Breed Clubs have, by 23rd March, already signed and returned the undertaking to the Kennel Club ahead of the 31st March 2010 deadline. The Kennel Club thanks these clubs and their members for taking this positive step. The Kennel Club is in the process of planning a meeting with these clubs and any others that sign the Undertaking to discuss the future development of the breed, how to address soundness issues and current Kennel Club initiatives into breed health. The Kennel Club would urge all clubs that wish to take part in this process and to be considered for Challenge Certificates to sign the Undertaking by the deadline of the 31st of March. The Kennel Club continues to be dismayed by the tactics of a vocal minority in the breed who, rather than seizing this opportunity for the benefit of the breed, choose to bolster their own interests by suggesting that the Kennel Club’s motives are anything other than for the welfare of the breed. To suggest that an organisation that is the single largest contributor to research into canine health in the UK does not have the health of the dog at its heart is nonsensical. The Kennel Club is also disturbed to note that one club that has signed the Undertaking has decided to cancel its scheduled show this year as it fears that those opposed to signing the Undertaking will disrupt its show to the detriment of the breed. There has been unhelpful speculation that club members who vote against their club signing the Undertaking will in some way be prevented from entering shows or taking part in training activities. Again, the Kennel Club has made it clear in its previous statements that this is not the case. Similarly, there has been a great deal of speculation about Clause 9 of the Undertaking with some choosing to attach sinister connotations and imply that the Kennel Club in some way is attempting to ‘ban’ SV/WUSV events. In its press release of 16th February, the Kennel Club made it clear that no such issue exists. To reiterate, the Kennel Club has worked with the GSD community to enable the annual British Sieger Show to everyone’s satisfaction. All requests of a similar nature will of course be considered. What is being asked is that, as a matter of simple courtesy, clubs should work with their UK governing body to gain its support for the organising of any such events. Go To Top Of Page RSPCA Delighted With Electric Shock Collar Ban in Wales The RSPCA has welcomed the National Assembly for Wales’ decision to ban the use of electric shock collars on dogs and cats in Wales. This is the first ban of its kind in the United Kingdom, and the Welsh Assembly Government has used its devolved powers under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act. Claire Lawson, RSPCA public affairs manager for Wales said: "We are delighted with the stance that the Welsh Assembly Government has taken in banning the use of these instruments of cruelty. They have been consigned to the dustbin of history and I hope the rest of the UK will follow suit and do the same." Electric shock collars are used to remotely apply an electric shock, usually to the animal’s neck, to stop unwanted behaviour. But research clearly shows that the application of an electric shock causes both a physiological stress response and behaviours associated with pain, fear and stress in animals. The world's oldest animal welfare charity responded to the Welsh Assembly Government consultations in 2008 and 2010 on the use of electric training aids. The RSPCA argued that the use of such training devices can cause a long-term threat to an animal’s welfare. Animals trained with these devices can show behaviours associated with pain and fear both during training and some time afterwards. There is also a great potential for the misuse of these devices, either through ignorance or malice by those intent on deliberate cruelty. Research has also shown that the use of punishment based techniques can result in, or make some behaviour problems worse. The RSPCA strongly believes that there is no place for these devices in modern animal training and recommends the use of reward based methods instead. Go To Top Of Page NO NEED FOR PANIC OVER RABIES THREAT, SAY VETS Vets are warning against widespread concern and panic after press reports that there will be a significant threat of rabies to the UK when rules for pet travel are harmonised across Europe. In a letter to the Veterinary Record Dr Paul Burr and his colleagues at the Biobest Laboratories, which carries out serology tests for rabies, warn against any relaxation of the current rules for animals entering the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). Professor Bill Reilly, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said: “It is very important that the British public is not unnecessarily concerned or alarmed by the statement from Dr Burr on rabies. “Last week the European Parliament voted for an extension to the existing arrangements which allow the UK to apply stricter controls on animals entering the country until the end of 2011. We hope that the Agriculture Council will soon finalise this decision. “This allows us additional time to fully assess the risk that harmonisation of the rules on rabies poses. “However, we do know that the incidence of rabies has been reducing significantly in mainland Europe over the last 20 years due to a very successful vaccination programme. Therefore the threat posed to the UK by animals coming into the country from other Member States should certainly not cause any panic.” Andrew Ash, Junior Vice President of the British Small Animal Association (BSAVA), added: “We are satisfied that the measures in place will be sufficient to protect both animal and human health and this extra window of time should allow us to collect the necessary scientific evidence on the impact of harmonisation. “It is regrettable that this concern has been raised ahead of other issues such as the risk posed by tapeworms (the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis) which the BVA and BSAVA believe could have a far more serious impact on animal and human health.” 1. The letter from Dr Paul Burr in the Veterinary Record is available here: http://press.psprings.co.uk/mp/march/passports.pdf 2. For more information on PETS, including the views of the BVA and BSAVA, please visit the BVA website: http://www.bva.co.uk/activity_and_advice/1450.aspx 3. For more information please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] CO HANDLER OF CRUFTS BEST IN SHOW BANNED Two strikes and out. Moray Armstrong, co-handler of Crufts BIS, the Hungarian Vizsla Sh Ch/Aus Ch Hungargunn Bear Itn Mind (Yogi), has been banned from showing at, judging or attending any KC licensed event for a year for threatening and intimidating a judge for the second time. At a disciplinary hearing at the Kennel Club, Mr Armstrong admitted distressing Rachel Herbert after the open dog class at Welsh Kennel Club 2009 when he won the RCC with Yogi. He told her she would not judge again, that she had cost Mr Armstrong BIS and that she would pay for it. The Disciplinary Sub-Committee heard there had been a complaint against Mr Armstrong - whose wife Kathryn co-owns Yogi – relating to his behaviour towards a judge after being awarded the RCC at Three Counties in 2005, for which he received a warning. When a judge gave the dog who was to take best in show at Crufts 2010, Sh Ch/Aus Ch Hungargunn Bear Itn Mind, the RCC at Welsh Kennel Club last year, handler Moray Armstrong threatened her, a Kennel Club disciplinary panel has been told. Mr Armstrong, whose wife Kathryn co-owns Hungarian Vizsla Yogi, told Rachel Herbert – who was being evaluated on her first judging appointment giving CCs – that she had cost him the BIS award and that she would pay for it. He also implied that he had some influence over the evaluation result, which would be poor or she would fail, and that she would not judge again. The outburst after the open dog class at the show became the subject of a KC A42 hearing of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee on Thursday of last week – four days after Yogi had been crowned Crufts BIS. Those present heard that after a similar incident at Three Counties in 2005 when he was handling a Flat-coated Retriever, Mr Armstrong had been given a warning under the KC's T11 regulation when he became abusive to a judge who, again, had given his dog the RCC. This time Mr Armstrong was banned for a year. Thursday's hearing took an unexpected turn when it was learnt that the witnesses scheduled to attend the event – to support the cases of the complainant and respondent – had been called off the afternoon before when a deal was struck between counsels for the KC and Mr Armstrong. The latter had agreed to admit the complaint under an agreed wording. This was: “I accept that when my dog was placed second by Mrs Herbert, given its championship history I was surprised by the decision and I accept that I made some unguarded and inappropriate remarks which were discreditable and prejudicial to the interests of the canine world. “I accept I said that as a result of this decision Mrs Herbert was unlikely to judge again and was likely to receive a poor evaluation. And as a result of this decision I would not have an opportunity to compete for BIS and this decision was likely to mean that Mrs Herbert's credibility as a judge would suffer. I accept and regret that these comments were threatening to Mrs Herbert and caused her undue upset and distress.” The sub-committee hearing the complaint comprised chairman Wilson Young, Simon Luxmoore, Roy Page, Steve Croxford and Ian Kettle. Proceedings began with KC counsel Robert Dalling outlining what had happened at the show. “Mrs Herbert placed Mr Armstrong's dog second and it appears to have been this decision which caused him to address her threateningly,” he said. “She noticed that his manner changed and as she was writing up the critique he told her she would not, or it was unlikely that she would not, judge in the future, and that she would receive a poor evaluation as a result of her decision. “Mrs Herbert was left with the impression that he would interfere with the evaluation process itself to make sure she would fail. She was left upset and intimidated by the threatening tone used and had to take a break from judging to compose herself. “It is important that people are respectful towards judges and in this case his standards fell well below those expected.” Mr Dalling spoke of the 2005 complaint saying that on that occasion his explanation had been that he knew the judge well and often had frank discussions with her. No A42 hearing took place regarding this, he said. Although no witnesses attended Thursday's hearing, the KC applied for its costs – comprising witnesses' travel fares which could not be reimbursed, and legal fees – to be paid by Mr Armstrong. Speaking on Mr Armstrong's behalf, his barrister Richard Tutt said his client had accepted the complaint. “You may know that in a criminal court if someone accepts and pleads guilty one is entitled to a reduction in sentence because they have shown a degree of remorse, accepted responsibility for what they have done, saved the witnesses the burden of giving evidence and relieved the court of having a trial. I apologise that this decision was confirmed only late in the day yesterday....” He continued: “The incident at the show related to Mr Armstrong's treatment of a judge, not treatment of a dog or breeding of dogs. As far as his antecedent history is concerned, Mr Armstrong has attended thousands upon thousands of shows and he has had one warning from four and a half years ago, and this, but nothing else.” The sub-committee would probably think that he should have known better, Mr Tutt said. “And I have to agree with you, he should have done. But because he should have known better doesn't detract from his standing as an individual. He needs little introduction; he is a well-known, highly-regarded individual in the canine world, and would describe himself as an honest, straight-talking, 63-year-old Cumbrian. “He has had Cocker Spaniels, Flatcoats and Vizslas. He has bred or owned the most Cocker champions since the second world war – 23 in total. He has bred and owned three Flatcoat champions and bred or owned seven Vizsla champions, two of whom are breed record holders – Sh Ch Kazval Keats with 42 CCs and the current champion Yogi with 64 CCs. “Yogi has also won the most BIS – 18 in total – and was BIS at Crufts at the weekend.” Mr Armstrong became a championship show judge in 1980, judged the gundog group at Crufts in 2007, and has judged in 15 countries abroad, Mr Tutt said. “He has achieved an enormous amount in the canine world and as he draws towards his twilight years it is fair to say dog shows have been his life's work. He bitterly regrets the incident and apologises to the KC and that you need to be here today. But first and foremost he apologises to Mrs Herbert. He has known her for a long time and hitherto had got on with her extremely well. “I hope that you will take into consideration the enormous amount of work Mr Armstrong has done for the canine world during his life so far when you decide how to deal with him today.” After a lengthy consideration, the sub-committee imposed the following penalties: • To warn Mr Armstrong as to his future conduct; • To censure him; • To fine him £500; • To disqualify him from exhibiting at, taking part in, attending and/or having any connection with any event licensed by the KC; • To disqualify him from judging at any event licensed by the KC; • To impose an order for costs incurred by the complainant in instituting and conducting these proceedings in the sum of £1,210. The disqualifactions are for a year. Mr Young added: “We recognise that it is essential that those showing dogs at events such as this maintain respectful standards in the treatment of judges and their decisions. In this instance Mr Armstrong's behaviour fell well below those standards. “This was a repeated incident; all those officiating at licensed events are deserving of respect and the sub-committee has a duty to protect them in this regards.” The Wrath Of The Kennel Club Crufts 2010 IRVING STRIKES AGAIN AT GSDs A pensioner taking part in the Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme display teams was humiliated and told to leave Crufts after the Kennel Club claimed her five-month-old German Shepherd puppy was unsound. Pam Edgington 76 years old (Starkstrom), who has been in the breed for 50 years and is an accredited breeder, was dismissed after one of the show’s vets declared her puppy showed ‘an abnormality in her hindquarters’. Good citizen Mrs Edgington, whose GSD won the Good Citizen classes at Crufts in 2007, ‘08 and ‘09 and this year was second, was told by officials she could not wait on the benches until her team had finished but must leave immediately. The person who gave her a lift to the show had to get passes to leave the show to drive her back to Staffordshire to pick up her car, and then return to Crufts. “My puppy was having such a lovely time talking to the people and children – even enjoying the noise,” Mrs Edgington said. “But the vet came to look at her, bent down and fussed her, stroked her back end and said she was unsound. He didn’t ask to see her move. “He said, ‘Sorry, you will have to leave immediately’. Ten minutes later I was gone. The KC said that if an official says a dog is unsound it is in breach of KC regulations. I had to be evicted. Couldn’t I have been asked to withdraw from the team and sit on my bench and read my book? “They didn’t ask me anything or ask me to give my side. The sad part is I am an accredited breeder; all my dogs are hip scored and health tested. But I won’t stay in the ABS now. “You don’t exercise youngsters as you have to let their bones grow. You don’t want to mess them up so it is better to leave them alone until about nine months old. My puppy is extremely loose and I have no intention of doing anything with her. But because the KC is so strict now on this business – what they call being unsound. She isn’t – she is a baby and as such she is loose. “I felt so humiliated and sick about it all. I am 76, I can do without this. Crufts won’t be getting any more entries from me. They have taken what was probably my last Crufts and ruined it.” ‘Vendetta’ Mrs Edgington has only four GSDs – the puppy, her grandmother, mother and sister. On pastoral day at Crufts her dogs took a second and third. “That’s the difference between an adult and a puppy,” she said. “But the KC has a vendetta against GSDs; they are targeting us. “I feel sorry for the club who asked me to take part – and angry too. The reason they asked me was because I am 76 and I have a youngster who I’m training and they thought it would be fun for me. But it wasn’t, it was a nightmare. “Everyone I know is behind me – they’re all appalled. In 50 years I have never been so humiliated.” A KC spokesman confirmed that a GSD was excluded from the Good Citizen ring. “This decision was taken upon the advice of the Crufts vet who felt that the dog showed abnormality in the hindquarters,” she said. “We are dedicated to ensuring that Crufts is a celebration of healthy dogs, and in a display ring, where there is no judge to make an executive decision, it is particularly important that the vet takes the responsibility for ensuring that all dogs are sound representatives of their breed.” Go To Top Of Page BEST IN SHOW NEC BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND Professional Streaker Mark Roberts managed to disrupt the gundog group at Crufts on Sunday night – repeating his star performance from 1999. Mark, 45, from Fairfield in Liverpool interrupted proceedings when he tore off his velcro-fastened clothes and, wearing nothing but shoes, socks and a cat-shaped mask over his modesty, ran into the Arena. On his chest were the words, istreak.com I had a drink with Mark on Friday evening and asked him when his next big event was to be. Mark said; "I've got something planned for the weekend" I didn't think that he'd try Crufts again. Mark is a great character and has many very entertaining stories of his Streaks from around the world. When he did his streak at the Super Bowl in Texas He said; "I ran onto the pitch after ripping off my uniform and the whole of the arena went silent. Then they erupted. The next thing that I knew I was coming back to my senses as I had been hit by a Quarter Back and knocked out!" Mark was arrested and taken to a Police Station. When they found out who he was Mark said; " All they wanted from me was my Autograph." He wasn't charged. His sponsors for the Super Bowl had put him up in a Top Class Hotel and Mark had trouble explaining to Security that he was a guest there. That same evening the Rapper P Diddy was also at the Hotel and when he found out that Mark was also there, he was invited to a massive party that P Diddy threw. Mark tells me that some years ago he worked in Australia for a while. It was there that he saw a streaker on the television at some event and he thought, "I can do that." And the rest as they say is History. Back to the NEC Mark was quickly stopped and escorted from the area by NEC security, allowing judging to continue. Mark has become well known for his naked exploits after bearing all at more than 380 public and sporting events. In 1999 he streaked during the working group with the words 'Pedigree bum' on his behind and sporting a Comic Relief red nose; he raised a considerable amount for the cause in the process. He caused pandemonium at last year’s Scouseology awards for underprivileged children when he invaded the stage naked, and claimed he broke his toe when he was wrestled to the ground. He is also remembered for clambering onto Fred Talbot’s weather map in the altogether during This Morning’s Albert Dock heyday, for once Fred was lost for words. When he ran on to the 18th green at the 2006 Open Championship at Hoylake with a golf ball nestled between his buttocks, Merseyside Police tried to slap him with an ASBO until a judge decided people were 'amused' by his antics, much to the chagrin of the Police. He has also stripped off at the Ryder Cup, the Uefa and European Cup finals, The Super Bowl in Texas, US, and the Winter Olympics in Italy. Go To Top Of Page Bath fee ‘bans’ legally-docked dogs Exhibitors of legally-docked dogs are livid that Bath CS has decided to charge a £4 admission fee, effectively banning them from the championship show. Secretary Ben Ford said this week it had been a ‘pretty unanimous’ committee decision to do so. Mr Ford, who has Old English Sheepdogs, whose first show as secretary this will be after taking over from Keith Nathan, said he had replied to everyone who had contacted him on the matter. “I am definitely going to speak to the Kennel Club – I am the new boy and I am being bombarded with emails over this,” he said. “One person said they were going to take me to the European Court of Human Rights.” For the last two years, he said, the committee had put in the schedule that there would be an admittance charge but that it had been rescinded at the last moment. “I can’t tell you why because committee business is confidential,” he said. “But from a personal point of view I would say there are two sides to the coin. Some of the people who own traditionally-docked breeds and who no longer dock are being discriminated against. In a line-up of docked and undocked dogs the judge always seems to choose the undocked one. I would say that certainly is true in my breed, with inferior specimens sometimes being put up.” But according to one source, the consensus of the Bath committee is that the practice of docking is cruel because the Government has deemed it so, even though ministers thought it less cruel than working dogs injuring their tails in the field. Mr Ford said the committee would be monitoring entry figures and finances at the show. “We will be tracking every single aspect of this to glean information on how many people are not at the show,” he said. “So far, 23 people have said they are not coming and we will equate this with revenue losses. “I do feel sympathy for those who have legally-docked dogs, because if it goes on this way they won’t be able to go to any championship shows. I wish I could resolve it in some way but it was a committee decision and that’s it. Certainly since the Government banned docking it has become an unholy mess. “All we can do is run this show, analyse everything and see what we can do about it. We can only do our best. If I’m not standing in the European Court of Human Rights at the time I will run the show the best I can.” Damaged Tails Among the many who have made their views known are Sharon Pinkerton, Maxine McCullough, Sue Harris, Christine Guest and Penny Simpson. “For ‘welfare’ reasons we still dock our breed due to tail damage when working,” Miss Pinkerton said. “Nearly two years ago we had an undocked litter of which three have already had their tails amputated as adults due to recurring tail damage. Three others have experienced continuing tail damage which still may result in amputation. So we have tried to leave tails and our dogs have suffered badly because of it. “The whole issue of docking is considered to be a welfare issue so why allow adult dogs to go through a major ‘amputation’ due to an injury which could have been preventable?” This is all legal, she said, so why was she being ‘victimised’? “The KC statement on schedules reads ‘open to all’ but some shows clearly are not, and openly discriminate towards the exhibitors of legally docked breeds,” Miss Pinkerton said. “Bath owns its own showground and expensive venue costs are not an issue, so why does it need to charge admission? Get societies to publish their balance sheets so we can see how much money they make on shows and where ‘our’ money is spent! “Does Bath have representatives on its committee from all groups, ie do we have a gundog representative on that committee? “Without exhibitors/dogs there would be no dog show and nothing for the public to see. Committees are put in place to hold a dog show; it is not a circus, spectacle or fair. All credit to Darlington, Blackpool and Paignton for changing their admission charge; at least they are putting together dogs shows for everyone.” If it was a question of finance, she concluded, there were other methods of raising funds such as car park or catalogue charges. To allow legally-docked dogs to take part there could be free entrance on gundog day only. Maxine McCullough said she was ‘shocked and disappointed’ that the committee had reversed its decision to allow legally-docked dogs to enter the show. “Last year many working HPR owners/breeders supported this show as Bath dropped its policy of charging admittance, hence allowing legally docked working HPRs to attend,” she said. “It seems this year they do not want ‘fit for function’ HPRs who can prove their ability in the show ring as well as being very capable working dogs gaining field trial/working test awards. “This to me seems a somewhat bizarre decision given the current claims of the general media suggesting that ‘show dogs are unfit, unhealthy and not fit for function’. In my breed alone there are at least 20 legally-docked dogs unable to enter Bath under the current policy. I would have thought that Bath would want to support the working HPR and our campaign to be allowed to continue to show and work our dogs. Sadly it seems not.” Numerous pleas Sue Harris said charging a public entrance fee was a retrograde step. “Where other forward-thinking societies are looking for ways in which they can continue as an ‘inclusive’ society, Bath CS has decided that the ever-growing number of legally-docked dogs are simply not worth supporting, despite the numerous pleas from individual exhibitors and judges alike. “I am in the process of accepting notifications from fellow exhibitors who would have entered this show, and would likely have bought a catalogue and refreshments while there had they have been made welcome by this society. Currently the list of lost entries is growing at an alarming rate... “I am inviting all exhibitors to advise me of the number of dogs that would have been entered should they have been allowed to, in an effort to ascertain the number of actual entries lost as a result of this short sighted decision.” Christine Guest said: “At the time of writing I have three dogs I can show who are docked because they are truly dual-purpose and ‘fit for function’. In the past I have supported Bath with entries from one or the other and occasionally both of the breeds I own, Spinoni and Wirehaired Vizslas. How sad that I am unable to support this year’s show and possibly future shows because I might ‘offend’ a member of the paying public with my working, fit for function docked gundogs. “As a point of interest, my younger Vizsla had her tail ‘amputated’ at 17 weeks under full anaesthetic due to tail trauma, not because I wished to work her. “I am very proud of the fact that I own and occasionally breed a good looking dog that I can work and show. The HPR owners have striven to keep their breeds dual-purpose without the split that we have seen in other gundog breeds; what a shame this split is now being forced upon us and we have to choose work or show.” Penny Simpson said: “Last year I sent a letter to DOG WORLD thanking Bath for not imposing a ban on docked dogs, so I am very disappointed to hear that despite a number of dogs entering who otherwise would not have done they have gone ahead this year and put a charge on the public entering. “I was always led to believe that competitions were put on for the competitor not for the spectator, particularly when the competitor pays such a lot of money just to compete. “I trust that Bath will see the error of its ways and do what is right by its competitors; after all no competitors means nothing for the spectator to watch.” Tudor Mongrel Steals the Show at DFS Crufts 2010 DFS Crufts Hosts Mary Rose Dog Before She Returns Home After Nearly 500 Years - A 16th century sea dog, the only female crew member aboard Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose, is set to take pride of place at DFS Crufts this year as special guest of the Kennel Club. Visitors to the world’s largest and greatest dog show, can meet ‘Hatch’, a two-year old mongrel lost aboard the ill-fated Tudor warship 465 years ago, and find out more about the fundraising appeal to provide her with a permanent home at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The painstakingly preserved and reconstructed skeleton of the Mary Rose’s dog will be on display at DFS Crufts, Birmingham NEC, from March 11th (stand 56, hall 3) along with a selection of amazing Tudor artefacts, including an original stone cannon ball and piece of ship’s rope as well as an array of replicas, including some of the carpenter’s tools. The old sea dog acquired the nickname ‘Hatch’ after divers discovered her remains near the sliding hatch door of the Mary Rose’s carpenter’s cabin, where she had lain since the ship sank in mysterious circumstances in 1545. Hatch almost certainly earned her keep as the ship’s ratter – superstitious Tudor seafarers did not have cats on board ship as they were thought to bring bad luck. And she was probably very good at her job – only the partial remains of rats’ skeletons have been found on board the Mary Rose. John Lippiett, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust and Hatch’s guardian, said: “We are delighted to bring Hatch, the world’s oldest lost sea dog, to the world’s premier dog show, so that visitors can meet an ancestor of their much loved pets. “Expert analysis of Hatch’s bones suggests that she spent most of her short life within the close confines of the ship. It is likely that the longest walks she took were along the quayside at Portsmouth, her home town. “Hatch is just one of 19,000 extraordinary Tudor treasures recovered with the wreck of the Mary Rose, but she has never been on display in Portsmouth simply because we have not had the room. “All that is set to change with the building of a new permanent Mary Rose museum, bringing together the remains of the ship itself with the pick of her artefacts, displayed at last in their historic context. “But to make that a reality and to ensure Hatch is not homeless for another 500 years, we must complete our final push to secure the funds needed to complete the new Mary Rose Museum by 2012.” Caroline Kisko, Communications Director of the Kennel Club, which organises the show, added: “It is fantastic to host Hatch before she finally returns home. She is undoubtedly the oldest, most unusual and most historically important exhibit that we have ever had at DFS Crufts and her tragic story is bound to fascinate visitors. We are delighted to have her with us - after nearly 500 years of loyal service she is due a little ‘shore leave’!” Hatch is the mascot of the Mary Rose 500 Public Appeal which is seeking 500 individuals, schools, businesses and organisations to come on board and symbolically become the ‘new crew’ of the Tudor warship, by each pledging to raise £500 towards the Public Appeal. After her visit to DFS Crufts, Hatch will finally return home to Portsmouth on Friday 26th March to take pride of place in the current Mary Rose Museum, after 465 years away, while she waits for the new Mary Rose Museum - her final permanent home, to be completed. Visitors to DFS Crufts should visit hall 3 stand 56 to join the Mary Rose 500 appeal new crew, discover the history of Henry VIII's famous warship, hear what life was like for a Tudor ship’s crew and their dog, and uncover the truth about what happened on the Mary Rose’s final voyage. The Mary Rose The Mary Rose is the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world. Launched in 1511, she was one of the first ships able to fire a broadside, and was a favourite of King Henry VIII. After a long and successful career, she sank during an engagement with a French fleet in 1545. Her rediscovery and raising were seminal events in the history of maritime archaeology. A separate dedicated Mary Rose museum, also sited in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, remains open while the ship hall is temporarily closed during the new museum construction period. The amazing artefacts discovered with the great ship, remain on display and new exhibits, including Hatch, are being introduced to maintain the highest quality of visitor experience. The new Mary Rose Museum will, for the first time since her sinking, re-unite the ship and her contents, fully preserved and presented in a context that portrays a time capsule of Tudor life at sea. HUNGARIAN VIZSLA AIMS TO PROVE HE’S ‘FIT FOR FUNCTION: FIT FOR LIFE’ AT DFS CRUFTS A Hungarian Vizsla which has been proven successful in both the show ring and the field will be attempting to add to his list of awards at DFS Crufts, which starts tomorrow. Champion Bitcon Gold Coast at Northey, handled by Andrew McDonald, has followed achieving the title of Champion in the show ring by winning the first place award at the Kennel Club’s Open AV HPR (Any Variety Hunt Point Retrieve) Stake in December after just 18 months of gundog training. He will now be one of almost 22,000 dogs hoping to win the prestigious title of Best in Show at the world’s largest dog show, DFS Crufts, which takes place from 11th – 14th March at the NEC in Birmingham. Champion Bitcon Gold Coast at Northey only began gundog training after Andrew attended a Kennel Club Training Day for Pointing breeds in Suffolk in April 2008. One of the aims of these training days is to encourage show dogs to learn and demonstrate their working ability. Kennel Club Communications Director Caroline Kisko said “For this dog to achieve a win at the Kennel Club’s Open AV Stake after just 18 months is a considerable achievement and the Kennel Club congratulates Mr and Mrs McDonald. “The Kennel Club is committed to the principles of our Fit For Function: Fit For Life campaign. For a show gundog to achieve such success in the field, the environment for which the breed was developed, demonstrates the true working abilities of this beautiful breed.” DFS Crufts will welcome many dogs who fulfil roles in both a showing and working capacity. You can see Champion Bitcon Gold Coast at Northey competing in his pedigree breed class, and there will also be various activities including working trials, heelwork to music and agility at the Dog Activities Ring in Hall 3 from 11-14th March. Please visit www.dfscrufts.org.uk for more information. To find out more on the Kennel Club’s ‘Fit for Function’ campaign visit http://www.fitforfunction.org.uk. Go To Top Of Page VETS WELCOME EXTENSION TO UK PET TRAVEL PROTECTION The European Parliament has voted 618 votes to 17 for an extension to the transitional arrangements contained within the regulation on the non-commercial movement of pet animals (Reg. 998/2003) which afford the UK additional protection against rabies, ticks and tapeworms. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) have been lobbying MEPs to support the extension and have strongly welcomed this decision. The transitional arrangements allow the UK to impose stricter measures on the entry of pet animals and are designed to protect the UK from rabies, ticks and tapeworms (Echinococcus multilocularis). The vote in the European Parliament today supports an extension of these arrangements until the end of 2011 and puts in place a system so that permanent measures can be imposed in the future for entry to specific Member States based on scientific evidence. The decision will have to be ratified by the European Agriculture Council before coming into force. Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: “The Pet Travel Scheme affords the UK’s pet, wildlife and human populations protection from serious diseases and parasites and we have long argued for these arrangements to remain until scientific evidence can prove that the risk is manageable. “The BVA and BSAVA have worked closely with Defra to secure this extension to the arrangements and we will now be pushing for investment in additional scientific research that will give us a clearer picture of the threat of the parasite Echinococcus multilocularis and other exotic and emerging diseases.” Dr Richard Dixon, President of BSAVA, added: “This decision in Europe is strongly welcomed and we are pleased that veterinary associations across Europe supported our position. The next stage is to gather further evidence to ensure the UK is protected in the future. “In the meantime, the key message for pet owners is that they must talk to their vets as early as possible to find out how to protect them from disease and parasites when travelling abroad.” 1. The BVA and BSAVA have been lobbying MEPs to secure the extension to the transitional arrangements. A document setting out the BVA and BSAVA position is available on the BVA website http://www.bva.co.uk/activity_and_advice/1450.aspx 2. In September 2009 the BVA, BSAVA and BVA Animal Welfare Foundation launched a waiting-room poster to remind pet owners of the need to protect their animals when travelling abroad. For more information visit http://www.bva.co.uk/newsroom/1613.aspx 3. For more information please contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] KENNEL CLUB WELCOMES DEFRA DANGEROUS DOG CONSULTATION AS A PAW IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION After many years of campaigning, the Kennel Club today welcomed government plans to review current dangerous dogs legislation in the UK. The Kennel Club runs the secretariat for the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG), which includes representatives from organisations including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and Wood Green Animal Shelter, veterinary organisations and local authorities. The study group has been considering issues surrounding dangerous dogs for some time and has recently produced a new draft Dog Control Bill which seeks to place liability on irresponsible dog owners. Communications Director Caroline Kisko said “The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is a kneejerk piece of legislation which was rushed through in haste. It has not reduced the number of pit bull terriers in this country, nor has it reduced the number of dog biting attacks while it has had a huge impact on the welfare of many dogs. It is essential that any new legislation is properly considered and puts greater emphasis on animal welfare whilst better protecting the public.” The Kennel Club welcomes this review and we hope that any future government will look at this pressing issue as soon as possible after this year’s election”. Go To Top Of Page Vets warn against dangerous dogs issue becoming party political Vets have welcomed the Government consultation on reforming dangerous dogs legislation but called on politicians not to let the issue become a political football during the forthcoming election campaign. Responding to the announcement by the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs that Defra will consult the public on reform of the legislation and compulsory microchipping, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: “The BVA has been lobbying the Government and Opposition hard for a change in dangerous dogs legislation and so we are delighted that the Government is now considering reforming the hugely unpopular and ineffective Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. “The BVA believes very strongly in the principle of deed not breed – targeting dogs for their actions, not what they look like – and we hope to see new legislation that tackles the actions of irresponsible pet owners that can cause dogs to become aggressive. “We therefore support the concept of control notices, which is being pursued in Scotland through the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill, and the proposal for compulsory microchipping to ensure all dogs can be identified. “However, the failure of the 1991 Act is rooted in the fact that it was drafted in a highly political knee-jerk response to a number of incidents. Politicians should learn from these mistakes and resist using the issue as a political football during the General Election campaign. “The welfare charities, vets and Kennel Club have reached consensus on the need for the law to change and politicians of all parties should aim to agree the way forward.” The issue was raised by Professor Reilly at the BVA’s annual London dinner, attended by Defra Minister Lord Davies of Oldham, on 16 February. Prof Reilly said: “The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. Rather than singling out individual breeds the BVA strongly believes in targeting individual aggressive dogs. “With concern about weapon dogs rising and a new Parliament on the horizon looking for fresh ideas, the time is surely right for it to be at the top of the political agenda.” 1. The BVA is a member of the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group (DDASG) which campaigns for a change in the law. Other members include the Kennel Club, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Wandsworth Borough Council and Wood Green Animal Shelters. Go To Top Of Page Irresponsible owners need to be focus of dog law consultation The RSPCA is calling for irresponsible pet ownership to be the focus of the Government’s newly announced public consultation on dog legislation. The nation’s biggest animal charity today welcomed the Home Secretary’s announcement that the Government will hold a serious debate on how best to tackle anti-social behaviour with dogs. The RSPCA has long called for more effective legislation that puts greater emphasis on punishing irresponsible dog owners who cause animals to suffer, rather than the breed or type of dog concerned. Claire Robinson, the RSPCA’s government relations manager, said: “There is a real need for updated legislation that enables enforcers to tackle the problem effectively and prevent serious incidents from occurring rather than waiting till after a tragedy or penalising certain dogs just because of their breed or type. “The RSPCA has been working with the police and local authorities to develop good practice in this area and also consolidate and update legislation that will tackle the root cause of the problem – indiscriminate breeding and irresponsible dog ownership. “It is fantastic news that the Government has opened a genuine debate on the subject and given the public a chance to have their say on the best way to tackle the issue of dogs being used anti-socially.” She said vets at RSPCA animal hospitals, as well as many of the charity’s inspectors out in the field, come across dogs on a daily basis that have suffered cruelty or neglect at the hands of irresponsible owners. “It needs to be remembered that dog welfare isn’t just about ‘dangerous dogs’. Strays and over-breeding are also areas that would need to be properly addressed as part of any comprehensive dog welfare strategy. “We look forward to going through the consultation documents in full and submitting our response to Defra,” added Claire. The Government’s public consultation was launched following a visit to the RSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital, in north London, by Home Secretary Alan Johnson, and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn MP, yesterday (MON). Mr Benn met hospital director David Grant who explained how he and his team have to treat and care for thousands of animals each year as a direct result of irresponsible dog ownership. Go To Top Of Page DEFRA PLAN TO DRAW UP NEW LAWS A public consultation on how to tackle irresponsible owners and their potentially dangerous dogs is to be launched within weeks. The consultation will be staged to decide what measures should be imposed as part of an overhaul of the disliked and outdated Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (DDA). The alleged contents of a leaked DEFRA document were disclosed this week, involving plans to overhaul dog laws in England and Wales which are being considered by senior ministers entitled ‘Consultation on dangerous dogs’. Under the proposals, it has been reported, would-be owners would have to show they had a basic understanding of their dogs before being allowed to keep them ‘akin to the driving theory test’. Leaked plans However, a source said that this was from an early draft of the proposals and the idea has now been dropped; the cost of setting up such a scheme to cover Britain’s six million dog owners would have been prohibitive and would have to be met by either charging for the test or imposing a dog licence fee. The source also said that there was to be a public consultation on how to curb the irresponsible owner/dangerous dog problem, and that this would be launched within a few weeks. Under the leaked plans, microchipping would become compulsory, owners would have to take out third-party insurance on their dogs, the police and local authorities would be given the power to impose Asbos on the owners of unruly dogs and the law would be extended to cover dog attacks anywhere, including private properties. There are plans to boost the enforcement powers of police, the courts and local authorities. Cited are figures which show that the number of convictions for being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control rose from 547 in 2004 to 703 in 2007, according to the latest figures. Animal charities welcomed the fact the Government was starting a conversation on the issue, but they warned that responsible dog owners could end up being financially penalised for no reason while those who trained dogs to be aggressive were likely to ignore the measures. A better remedy would be to toughen up penalties for owners of anti-social dogs, they said, so the punishment was seen as a deterrent rather than a slap on the wrist. Dogs Trust said it was delighted that the Government was looking at holding a public consultation into measures to improve the DDA. “The suggested ideas are about placing responsibility for dangerous dogs on the owner rather than focusing on breed-specific legislation which is a step in the right direction,” a spokesman said. “But we don’t need a stealth dog tax in the form of a competency test. We need much tougher penalties for those people who do allow their dogs to behave irresponsibly or in a threatening way and actions that can taken to stop this behaviour from continuing. “A competency test will be expensive, time consuming and difficult to enforce. Being able to pass a test by ticking the right boxes on a piece of paper does not guarantee a responsible or appropriate dog owner. “The test could be taken by someone who may claim ownership of a dog but has no day-to-day responsibility for its welfare or who could pass the dog onto a new owner almost immediately. “Conversely there are vulnerable people who may struggle to pass an ownership test but are far more appropriate dog owners. For these reasons Dogs Trust does not believe a competency test is a practical solution to the issue of dangerous dogs.” The RSPCA said: “We have long stated our view that current dog control legislation should be reviewed. We welcome any suggestion that the Government is prepared to stage a serious debate on the subject. But we would not support anything that would hit sensible owners while failing to police those who are danger. “Any future legislation concerning the control of dogs should focus on the action of the owner and preventing irresponsible dog ownership. Irresponsible owners can own dogs of any type and no dog should be penalised just because of its genetic make-up. However, if legislation governing the control of dogs is to be effective then it must be easily enforceable. Over-Breeding “Dog welfare isn’t just about dangerous dogs. Strays and over-breeding are also areas that would need to be properly addressed as part of any comprehensive dog welfare strategy.” DEFRA said it never commented on a leaked document. Go To Top Of Page DFS CRUFTS FM WELCOMES NEW PRESENTERS - AND A NEW FREQUENCY DFS Crufts FM, the dedicated radio station for the world’s largest dog show, will be hitting the airwaves once again next week to bring listeners around the world all the latest news live from the event. This year, DFS Crufts FM will be broadcasting on a brand new frequency of 87.7FM in the immediate vicinity of the NEC in Birmingham so that visitors on their way to the show and throughout the halls will be able to tune in on their radios. For those further afield, DFS Crufts FM can be heard online via the show’s website www.dfscrufts.org.uk. DFS Crufts FM will be welcoming two new presenters to their team this year. The morning slot will be hosted by former children’s TV presenter, Jenny Hanley, fondly remembered for her work on Magpie, whilst the evenings will see former Crufts Junior Handling winner Marina Scott take over the headphones and microphone duties. Both will bring a wealth of knowledge to their shows and will join a team which also features the experienced show broadcasters Gary Champion and Alan Hyde. To make sure that listeners are kept bang up to date with all the latest action from the show, there will be a Newsdesk every 20 minutes once the results start to come in, with more reporters in the halls than ever before to bring all the news as it happens live from ringside. There will be more interviews with winners than ever before as the team uncover all the big stories and bring them to listeners first. There will also be a one-hour programme packed with live guests and competitions broadcasting live from the Samsung stand each day at 10am, with plenty of great prizes provided by the hosts, and a daily podcast available to download each morning. DFS Crufts FM will be on air from the afternoon of Wednesday 10th March, catching all the build up to the show, right through until around 9.30pm on Sunday 14th March. The broadcast will run 24 hours a day to ensure that listeners from Sydney to Anchorage can keep tabs on the Australian Cattle Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes via their computers without having to stay up all night. DFS Crufts FM Programme Editor, Bob Mills said: “We look forward to bringing listeners across the globe all of the latest news from the world’s greatest dog show. Whether they are parking their cars outside the NEC or sitting in front of their computers thousands of miles away, we relish the task of capturing all the noise, colour and highlights of this wonderful show and making them feel part of the action.” Go To Top Of Page THE KENNEL CLUB JUDGES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME The Kennel Club is offering dog show judges across eight breeds the chance to enhance their knowledge through its schedule for the Judges Development Programme (JDP) during the spring. A series of seminars are being held in March and April this year, as part of the Kennel Club’s commitment to ensuring that judges have the most up-to-date information about the various breeds. The programme is an excellent opportunity for judges to increase their knowledge of the scheduled breeds and to benefit from the wealth of knowledge that the breed experts will be there to share. All of the Kennel Club Judges Development Programme seminars will be held at the Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ. Judges wishing to attend a JDP breed seminar must have: - previously awarded CCs to at least three breeds within the relevant Group (i.e. the same group as the host Group), or - been previously approved by the Kennel Club to Judge a Group at Championship Show level. The schedule for the selected breeds is as follows: Utility Group Monday 22 March 2010 – Lhasa Apso Tuesday 23 March 2010 – Shih Tzu Eligible candidates should contact Sally Kimber on 01474 814796 or email [email protected]. Pastoral Group Wednesday 24 March 2010 – Briard Wednesday 25 March 2010 – Samoyed Eligible candidates should contact Bob Gregory on 01477 532478 or email [email protected]. Hound Group Wednesday 14 April 2010 – Basset Hound and Beagle Thursday 15 April 2010 – Dachshund and Basset Fauve De Bretagne Eligible candidates should contact Shirley Rawlings – 01435 868908 or email [email protected]. The Hound Group JDP will be a two-day workshop devoted to education and hands on coaching. Some places will be available to judges falling just short of fulfilling all qualification criteria for JDPs. Applications for places are invited from judges who award at least two sets of CCs in the Hound Group though priority will be given to those who fulfil all the usual JDP qualification criteria. After education and hands on coaching at the spring meetings, candidates will have a full summer show season of study and mentoring opportunities, before attending judging evaluations in November. HELPING HAITI HAITI RSPCA in Haiti Helping Pets, Poultry and People An RSPCA chief officer has been deployed to earthquake stricken Haiti to take over the day to day running of the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), a group of 21 animal charities from around the world. ARCH was formed specifically to deal with the Haiti crisis. It is led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The Coalition is already on the ground in Haiti, working with local people to help injured animals as well as provide a massive vaccination programme for livestock, poultry and pets. Chief officer Kevin Degenhard will leave the UK tomorrow (2 March) to take over the role of co-ordinator from WSPA’s Gerardo Huertas, who is the charities’ disaster operations director for the Americas. Kevin said: “Being asked to take on this role is both a massive honour and a great responsibility. I will spend two months in Haiti helping to co-ordinate the running of the mobile outreach clinics and other field operations and working with the Haitian government to put the ARCH programme plan for animal welfare into action.” A vital part of rebuilding communities in Haiti is helping people to look after their surviving animals, as they depend on these animals for food, protection and companionship. “The situation on the ground at the moment is still very difficult, but the ARCH team is working very closely with local people, and I am confident that we will be able to help make a difference to the humans and animals affected by this terrible tragedy,” he added. So far ARCH has helped over 2,000 animals* and is now working with the Government of Haiti to help rebuild services for people and their animals. This sort of operation is only possible because of the combined efforts of all the animal welfare groups involved in ARCH, and it is through this co-operation that we strive to make a real and lasting difference to the people and animals of Haiti. For updates on our emergency relief work in Haiti, or any of the other emergency international relief work we do, go to web page http://www.rspca.org.uk/inaction/international/emergencyresponse *The latest numbers of animal treated in Haiti - The last day on record is Feb 22, and the total at that time stood at 2,226. This figure will have increased significantly since then, and an update will be available shortly. About ARCH Coalition The Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) is jointly led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in partnership with over a dozen of the world’s leading animal protection organizations. Animal welfare organizations formed the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) so that we could work together to bring aid to as many animals, and in as short a time, as possible. At present, ARCH partners include: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (England and Wales) International Fund for Animal Welfare, World Society for the Protection of Animals, American Humane Association, Best Friends Animal Society, In Defense of Animals, American Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Foundation, Antigua and Barbuda Humane Society, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, United Animal Nations, Kinship Circle, One Voice, Swiss Animal Protection and Petfinder.com Foundation. ARCH members urge other animal welfare groups to join in the group efforts. About the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) saves animals in crisis around the world. With headquarters in the United States and representation in 15 countries, IFAW and its 1.2 million supporters work passionately to prevent animal suffering. About WSPA The World Society for the Protection of Animals is the world’s largest alliance of animal welfare organisations. With consultative status at the United Nations and a network of over a thousand member societies in 156 countries in the world, including the RSPCA, we strive to create a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty ends. Go To Top Of Page MOVING FORWARD ON DOG BREEDING The veterinary profession was well represented at a meeting of key stakeholders brought together to discuss the next steps on dog breeding. The British Veterinary Association (BVA), British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) together with welfare organisations, the Kennel Club, Defra, and the Scottish Government considered the three major dog breeding reports by APGAW, RSPCA and Professor Bateson. The group agreed to work on a proposal to set up an Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding, as recommended by Professor Bateson. The group also identified the key areas to be addressed as: Education and publicity Breeding strategies Surveillance, research and development The meeting was chaired by Professor Sheila Crispin PhD FRCVS. After the meeting Prof Crispin said: “In a highly constructive meeting stakeholders welcomed the three reports and there was broad acceptance of the thrust of the recommendations. A key action agreed was for the formation of an Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding. A proposal will be prepared for submission to Ministers. “The many actions already in hand to address these issues were noted and it was agreed that future work would build on these initiatives through collaboration. We also welcome the interest shown by Defra and the devolved administrations.” Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, added: “Clearly the veterinary profession has a key role to play in educating the public about the health and welfare issues of choosing a dog. “The BVA strongly supports the idea set out in Professor Bateson’s report that an advisory council should be independent and draw on the opinions of experts and we are pleased to be part of the group setting up such a council.” 1. The three reports considered by the stakeholders are: Pedigree dog breeding in the UK: a major welfare concern? (RSPCA) A healthier future for pedigree dogs (APGAW) Independent inquiry into dog breeding (Patrick Bateson) 2. Organisations represented at the meeting were BSAVA RCVS RSPCA 3. Enquiries about the stakeholder group can be directed to Prof Sheila Crispin [email protected] 07802 667 235 or 015395 68637 or Heather Peck (secretariat) [email protected] 07876 681 954 or 01954 210 402. Go To Top Of Page Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister Announces Complete Ban on Electric Shock Collars After four years of campaigning, the Kennel Club has jubilantly welcomed the announcement made by Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones AM that, subject to approval by the National Assembly for Wales, the use of electric shock collars will be banned in Wales. The ban is the first of its kind in the UK and is a ‘huge milestone for dog welfare’. The Minister has today laid the legislation, the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations 2010 before the Assembly, which will need to consider and agree the legislation before a ban can be implemented. Announcing her decision, Elin Jones AM said: “On 25 June 2008 I announced my intention, subject to consultation, to introduce legislation to ban the use of electronic training devices in Wales. “Following careful consideration of the responses to the consultation and with a view to enhancing animal welfare in Wales, I have today laid legislation before the National Assembly for Wales which will ban the use of electric shock collars in Wales. “This has not been an easy subject to examine. There is genuinely a large degree of concern about how these devices are improperly used, in contrast to responses from people who have used them and found they have worked in stopping an animal from misbehaving. “However, the Welsh Assembly Government takes animal welfare very seriously and I am confident that the approach I am announcing today will go a long way to promote the welfare of dogs and cats in Wales.” Kennel Club Communications Director, Caroline Kisko, said: “After almost thirteen years of campaigning in the UK and four years of campaigning in Wales, this truly is a milestone. “We are delighted by the Minister’s announcement. Electric shock collars train dogs through pain and through fear, they are a cruel, outdated and unsuitable method of training dogs. A YouGov survey about electric shock collars, commissioned by the Kennel Club in 2009 , that 70% disapproved of the use of electric shock collars on dogs, with only 9% of people approving of their use.* We will continue to urge AMs to pass these regulations which will show that Wales is clearly leading the way on this important welfare issue.” For further information and advice on the Kennel Club campaign to ban electric shock collars, contact the External Affairs department on 0844 463 3980 ext 301 or visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kccampaigns. Electric shock collars - worn around a dog’s neck, these work either via a remote control with various settings which, when activated, deliver an electric shock to the neck of a dog, or deliver an electric shock to a dog automatically when a dog barks or enters a pre-defined perimeter shock zone. Welsh Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, announced her intention to introduce legislation that will prohibit the use of shock collars in Wales in June 2008. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1032 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22nd - 24th September 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Welsh adults (aged 18+). Go To Top Of Page GSD Breed Council Asks KC For Resolution To 2012 CC Furore The German Shepherd Dog breed council has written to the Kennel Club asking if it can negotiate a resolution to the 2012 CCs row. It has also asked for an extension to the March 31 deadline by which a controversial contract between clubs and the KC must be signed. The KC has ruled that to be considered for 2012 CCs, all GSD breed clubs and general and group championship show societies previously allocated CCs and which want them in future have to sign a formal undertaking to abide by certain conditions for all future shows ‘with immediate effect’. A total of 25 breed clubs were represented at a breed council meeting at the weekend, at which there was open discussion on the KC’s directive. Hastily following the meeting, chairman John Cullen wrote to the KC saying that the vast majority of the clubs felt that item nine of the contract – that clubs would not hold events under the rules or regulations of any organisation other than the KC – was ‘an unreasonable and disproportionate restriction’. It is understood that clubs would like the option of holding events under the auspices of the World Union of GSD Associations (WUSV). Deadline The letter said: “Our clubs have asked the breed council to try to negotiate a resolution. The breed council is sure that we can come to a satisfactory solution for all parties with a little give and take. “We realise that more time may be needed for you to discuss this with your General Committee and that they will be busy with Crufts. The breed council would like to ask for an extension to your deadline of March 31 to allow for more discussion.” The breed council was disappointed that the KC’s directive had been sent to individual breed clubs and not to the council, as it had ‘always tried to work’ with the KC on everything, Mr Cullen wrote. "Of the clubs present at the meeting, five have signed the contract, and eight are waiting to hear from members on a final vote, and 12 had not decided what to do." “We think it has some unfair things on it – particularly item nine,” he said. “The breed council has always been above board in its dealings with the KC and I don’t know at what point the KC decided never inform us of anything. They don’t answer any letters – just put statements out to the press. “But we don’t want to fall out with them, although there are some warmongers... We need to keep talking.” Go To Top Of Page REVOLUTIONARY ‘DOGGIE DATING’ DATABASE TO IMPROVE PEDIGREE HEALTH The Kennel Club is developing a revolutionary new database that will enable people to find a perfect mate for their dog and which will help to improve the health of future generations within the breed. The database will enable breeders, vets and others to record information about a dog’s health including any surgery that it has had and the results of any health tests, which will greatly increase the Kennel Club’s ability to understand the health issues that affect individual dogs and the extent to which these are inherited within the breed. From this database the Kennel Club will develop a Mate Select programme which will be accessed via the Kennel Club website and will, in a first of its kind, allow both occasional and regular breeders to assess the impact that a proposed mating will have on the genetic diversity within their breed. As new health screening tools are developed, these will also be incorporated into Mate Select so that, in future, breeders will be able to select mating pairs which will maximise the chances of producing healthy puppies whilst having the optimum impact on the breed’s genetic diversity. More information about the new database and other Kennel Club health projects will be available at the Health Zone at DFS Crufts, which takes place on 11th-14th March 2010 at the NEC in Birmingham. These IT developments will greatly expand the Kennel Club’s ability to collect and store health information on registered dogs - information that will allow the development of new health screening tools which will find their way into Mate Select and improve the health of pedigree dogs. The Kennel Club wants to ensure that these healthy puppies go on to loving homes and has launched a new Breed Information Centre on its website. This includes a Health Test Results Finder, which records the health test results for any Kennel Club registered dog; an Accredited Breeder application that gives potential owners a list of responsible breeders in their area; and a Find aBreed application to show which breed’s characteristics would best suit their lifestyle. For moreinformation, please visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services. Kennel Club Communications Director, Caroline Kisko, said: “People do a lot of thinking about their perfect partner but dogs’ needs are relatively simple - to find a mate that will give them healthy puppies, which will then be matched with loving owners. “A lot of science is going into the Kennel Club’s new database, but the end result will be that the computer will be able to help dog breeders find a mate for their dog, which will give them the best possible chance of producing healthy puppies. “Not only can we help to match the right dogs with each other, but equally important is matching the right puppy buyers to the right puppy and our newly launched Breed Information Centre will help people to find the right breed and the right breeder.” Nick Blayney, former President of the British Veterinary Association, has spoken about the importance of the new database for dog health. He said: “The Kennel Club has helped develop many DNA tests and has a number of health screening schemes that are run with the British Veterinary Association and this knowledge should be central to any breeding decision. Sometimes though, there is so much information to compute that breeders don’t know where to start. This database will do the complicated calculations for them, showing them clearly which dogs will make the most suitable match in order to produce healthy puppies.” Health test results, and details of any surgery or operations that a dog has had, will be inputted into the health database by dog owners and vets and will then be verified. Dogs will then enter the ‘dating pool’ and be matched with other dogs, of the same breed within the surrounding area, on the basis of their Estimated Breeding Value (the genetic value of the dog based upon health considerations). For those breeders who already know which dogs they would like to use, the database will show the compatibility in terms of health, of a particular mating. Work is already under way on the database which will be available by the end of the year, and the Mate Select programme within the following twelve months. Professor Jeff Sampson, Kennel Club Chief Scientific Advisor, said: “The Kennel Club has been working with scientists to develop Estimated Breeding Values for many years. These EBVs are based on very complicated calculations such as the prevalence of certain diseases in a particular breed or the size of the gene pool. The database is the first of its kind to be able to compute all of this information and to tell breeders not only which two dogs will produce the healthiest offspring, but which pairings will have the most positive effect on the overall health of that breed. “The programme will be available for pedigree dogs, because we know their heritage and therefore have more information available for them, but we hope that information about all other dogs will also be fed into this database. At the moment we have frighteningly little information about diseases within crossbred dogs, but this database will help to throw light on this grey area and help us, therefore, to improve the health of pedigrees and crossbreeds alike.” Go To Top Of Page An Introduction to the Vulnerable Native Breeds 20-Dec-06 Source KC Vulnerable Breeds The Kennel Club’s prime responsibility is ‘to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs’. It is also particularly concerned, of course, to protect those breeds of dog which are of British origin and are considered to be vulnerable i.e. those whose numbers are declining and whose status within the world of dogs has diminished over a number of years. A decision was made in June 2003 that research would be undertaken to identify and confirm the relevant breeds and the extent and nature of their vulnerability. This research not only featured breeds of dog which are basically of British origin, but with the support of the Irish Kennel Club, the research also included native Irish breeds. The work carried out concentrated on those breeds which achieve 300 or fewer registrations each year in the UK, and statistics were pulled together to identify the relevant breeds and the extent and nature of their vulnerability. A list of those breeds identified is given below: Deerhounds, Greyhounds, Otterhounds, Irish Red & White Setters, Clumber Spaniels, Field Spaniels, Irish Water Spaniels, Sussex Spaniels, Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Smooth Fox Terriers, Glen of Imaal Terriers, Irish Terriers, Kerry Blue Terriers, Lakeland Terriers, Manchester Terriers, Norwich Terriers, Sealyham Terriers, Skye Terriers, Welsh Terriers, Smooth Collies, Lancashire Heelers, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, English Toy Terriers (Black & Tan), Miniature Bull Terriers. Subsequent to this research, the Kennel Club approached all the registered clubs of the breeds concerned for their views and enclosed a questionnaire to help identify ways in which each club currently works with breeders, owners and show societies to promote their breed. What determines popularity? By Simon Parsons, Associate Editor of Dog World newspaper, Editor of Dog World Annual and a Championship Show Judge of several breeds. If you think about the ways in which the pedigree dog scene has evolved over the last half-century or so, one aspect stands out. Look at the Kennel Club Stud Books for the years immediately before WW II. In total, 89 breeds were recognised. I know there can be dispute about which country various breeds are supposed to have originated in, but at a rough count I think it’s fair to say that of these 89,about 54 could be described as British or Irish breeds. Look at the situation today. More than 200 breeds are on the Kennel Club register,over twice as many as in the late 1930s. Of these, just 63 are British or Irish. In the intervening years, very few native breeds have found their way on to the Kennel Club register. Those that have, are mainly breeds such as the Bearded and Border Collies or Cavalier King Charles Spaniel which have ‘always’ existed but which have only in post-war years been taken up in a big way by the show fraternity. All the other ‘new’ breeds, more than 100 of them, originated in other countries, mainly but not exclusively, Europe. Some, such as the Dobermann, Weimaraner, Rottweiler or Miniature Dachshund, have become so popular that it’s hard to imagine that they haven’t always existed in Britain. Others have a more minority appeal and some are just beginning to make their way. Why should this be? Is it a yen among dog breeders for something new, something different, something to make your mark in? Certainly, with it now being so much easier to import dogs, the trend is unlikely to be reversed. Today, there is a vast and sometimes bewildering choice of breeds available to the pet owner, to the exhibitor and in some cases to the working dog enthusiast. Inevitably, with such a choice on offer, the popularity of individual breeds fluctuates according to the period. Before WWII the Wire Fox Terrier was all the rage. Then we had the peak of Poodle popularity, the Afghan boom in the swinging ‘60s and ‘70s and the worrying proliferation of ‘macho’ breeds which seemed to go with the national mood in the ‘80s. In each case the boom has been followed, if not quite by bust, but certainly by a dramatic falling off in the popularity of these breeds. Meanwhile, other breeds manage to retain their place in the Top Ten, even if their popularity goes in cycles too: the German Shepherd, the Cocker Spaniel and the Labrador Retriever, today joined by the Golden Retriever. So here we have two trends. Firstly, the search for something new and exotic from abroad; secondly the inevitable rise and fall in popularity of different breeds. Equally inevitable is that some breeds can reach a stage where their numbers fall to a dangerously low level. Sometimes this may not matter too much if the breeds remain popular in their native country. But when this happens to British or Irish breeds, is it not time for us to do something about it? Do we not owe it to these breeds, bred and shown in Britain for far longer than many of the ‘foreign upstarts’, to try to ensure that they survive in as healthy a form as possible? What is it about these breeds that prevents them from appealing to a wider cross-section of the public? Sometimes it is hard to understand what determines a breed’s popularity. Irish and English Setters have plenty of enthusiasts in the show ring and as pet owners. So why are not Gordon Setters more widely appreciated by the general public? It is fair to say that of those that are bred, a far higher proportion are shown than in many other breeds, entries being at a very healthy level. When Labradors and Golden Retrievers are so universally popular, why not Curly Coats? Rough, but not the easier-to-manage Smooth Collies? Cavaliers, but not King Charles? And so on. But it is the Terrier Group which includes the largest number of ‘vulnerable’ breeds. Most of the Terrier breeds started life in Britain or Ireland. Some have always been, or have become, exceptionally popular, such as the West Highland White Terrier, Cairn Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. But it is the breeds which demand a very high level of skill in show-ring presentation which have suffered most, though this cannot be the only reason as Wire Fox Terriers still register more than Smooths, even though both register a fraction of the numbers from their heyday 60 or so years ago. Perhaps the saddest drop is that in the Sealyham Terrier which registered 1,084 puppies in 1938 and a mere 60 in 2004. They are not the easiest breed to keep in top form for the ring, but they have much going for them as do all the other ‘minority breeds’. Some of these breeds are never going to attract huge numbers, for finding the type of home best suited to their size, exuberance or exercise requirements will never be that easy. For example, with today’s smallish houses and smaller gardens and with countless TV programmes encouraging us to keep our homes spotless, Bloodhounds are always going to be a minority taste, though a wonderful breed for those with the space and the time to allow them to reach their full potential. Others, the Gordon Setter and the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier being two examples, have for years existed happily at a consistent numerical level, and with active, responsible breed clubs and buoyant show entries, there is probably no need to change the healthy status quo. Indeed any sudden rapid rise in popularity would not be a good thing. But undoubtedly some of these breeds have the potential to attract more enthusiasts than they currently do. Take Lakeland Terriers, for example. For the type of person who appreciates the Terrier character, these should surely have enormous appeal. Affectionate towards humans and a handy size - what more do pet buyers want? Yes, it takes time and skill to learn how to present such breeds to advantage in the show ring, and this is not simply a matter of a bath and a trim the night before the show. Yet other breeds, which need specialist grooming, have no lack of supporters. Over the years there have been mutterings that something should be done for the British breeds. Many, many years ago, there was a British Breeds’ Club which ran dog shows, but that ceased to exist before most of today’s enthusiasts can remember. In any case, it is certainly not all British breeds which need a boost; many are doing just fine. A catalyst was an article in Country Life magazine, with a Lakeland Terrier on the cover, highlighting the problems some of these breeds face. Soon the Kennel Club began to take the breeds’ predicament seriously, initially working out which breeds came under the heading of ‘vulnerable’, an average of fewer than 300 registrations annually being generally considered the criterion. Meanwhile an independent group of enthusiasts, the British and Irish Native Breeds Preservation Trust, held its first meetings in mid 2003. This was followed by the setting up of a Kennel Club Working Party, and the signs are that both groups will be working together. Breed clubs have been asked for their input; in some cases the clubs are quite happy with the level of popularity their breed has obtained. Others appreciate any help in promoting the breed, bearing in mind, of course, that the last thing anyone wants is to encourage irresponsible breeders or those concerned only to make a quick buck. Are there any precedents for this? Certainly there are, and a number of overseas Kennel Clubs are keen to promote their country’s native breeds. Sweden, Spain and Hungary are three that spring to mind. As far as the show ring is concerned, such countries offer special prizes for the best of the Spanish breeds at the major shows, sometimes with annual points competitions. In extreme cases, where breeds are really in a desperate state, cheap or free registration has been offered for puppies or the rarest native breeds. Ireland, too, has done its bit. I well remember when the Irish Kennel Club hosted the world congress of Kennel Clubs, there were impressive displays in Dublin’s Trinity College by clubs and enthusiasts of the Irish breeds, and experts delivered lectures on them to the many prominent personalities who attended. A start will be made by showcasing the vulnerable breeds at events like Discover Dogs and Crufts. In addition, one needs to go beyond the confines of the dog-showing world and reach out to events like game fairs, county shows and so on. These breeds are part of a great British tradition. Britain and Ireland were the cradle of serious dog-showing and breeding and played for many years a major part in supplying top class dogs, and dog expertise to fanciers overseas. What we need is to make people proud to own a native breed, and to encourage them to consider seriously one of these breeds when they first get a dog, either as a show dog or purely as a companion. A breed in crisis Paul Keevil is a canine writer, photographer and Championship Show Judge. He asks how the Dandie Dinmont Terrier has become so univesally out of favour and what can be done to reverse the trend . . . I enjoy walking my dogs through town and I can guarantee that I will nearly always be stopped by someone who will exclaim: “I haven’t seen one of those for years!” or even “What are they? Never seen one like that before.” Dandie Dinmonts are scarce, rare and very vulnerable right now. I am a relative newcomer to the breed, having acquired my first Dandie a mere 18 years ago. Back then the breed was enjoying registrations around the 250 mark, entries at Crufts and breed club shows were at the 120 level. If you wanted a puppy you had to put your name down on a waiting list; that is if you passed the tough interview each prospective owner had to endure. But times change. In the last three years, registrations have dipped below the 100 mark, and it is not uncommon to see only around a dozen dogs turn up at Championship Shows with CCs on offer. This is a breed in crisis. When you are involved with something every day, things have a habit of creeping up on you unnoticed. This is probably the case with my breed, the decline has been gradual but steady. We have three breed clubs, which seems bizarre for a breed that in 2003 only managed to register 90 puppies. And the decline is not just limited to the UK. In 1972 there were 249 Dandie puppies registered by the AKC in America and last year that had declined to just 76. So why has the breed become so universally out of favour and what can be done to reverse the trend? Could it be that the Dandie, in common with many other British Terrier breeds, is just no longer fashionable or that its coat needs regular attention to look its best? If so, how do you explain the continued popularity of the West Highland White Terrier (9,823 registered in 2003) or the Border Terrier (6,477 registered in 2003). Could it be that the continued importation of ‘new’ breeds from around the world has hit the indigenous UK dog breeds making it more difficult to sell the less ‘exotic’ home grown product? For example in 2003, the Kennel Club registered more Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers than they did Dandies! A whole host of other theories have been put forward for my breed’s decline in popularity. Internal disputes within some of our breed clubs, which resulted in one club losing its CC status for several years, have not exactly helped either. Neither has the over protective attitude that some diehard breed enthusiasts still doggedly hold on to to this day. So, what can we do to get our numbers up once again? Let’s face it, we are never going to be as popular as West Highland White Terriers and many would say “jolly good thing too”, but we should be aiming to get registrations up to an achievable and sustainable level of about 250-300 a year. That would still keep the breed exclusive, but would give us all a potentially wider base to breed from. Most breeders in Dandies are hobby breeders; at the most they will only have a couple of breeding animals and only have a litter when they want something and then pass the rest on to pet homes. Dandies do not have large litters. The year on year average has remained fairly constant for the last 50 years at about three puppies per litter, so what we desperately need to do is get more people interested in breeding. My name appears in some canine directories for breed advice and I do from time to time receive enquiries for Dandie puppies. The overwhelming number of enquirers seek bitch puppies and when asked what they will do about seasons, exclaim that they plan to have the bitch spayed as soon as possible. Surely, with our registrations at danger level, this is a practice we can no longer afford to support. The last quarter’s registrations show that from July to September 2003 there were 21 Dandie puppies registered, of which 18 were dogs. We all have to accept that we do have a problem and a major one. Unbelievably the message still does not seem to get through to some enthusiasts. Then we have to try and attract new people into the breed, make them feel more welcome when they do arrive and find ways to encourage those who perhaps do not have the time, skills or inclination to trim a Dandie to show standard, but would still enjoy a good day out with their dog. I believe the Kennel Club has a great opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to many of the breeds who have gone on the Vulnerable Native Breeds’ list. Properly promoted and wisely managed the ‘brand’ that these 20 odd breeds make up is totally unique in the world of pedigree dogs. How many other countries have 28 breeds, let alone 28 which are recognised as being potentially vulnerable? I would love to take my Dandies for a walk in the town and for people to say, “Oh look, Dandie Dinmonts, my neighbour has one of those.” The pride of Manchester Peter Eva, Championship Show Judge, Manchester Terrier owner and breeder talks about why he believes they are such a great breed. The Manchester Terrier, originally called the Black and Tan Terrier is not a designed dog but the result of selective breeding from the local Terrier for a purpose. That is to live close with its people, having all the controlled spark of a Terrier. It has a single coat for ease of maintenance, a wonderful clean mouth containing amazing teeth and the agility and speed of a first class athlete. The earliest recorded sighting that we know of is in a 1355 painting called the Hour of the Virgin, which appeared in Dr Caius’ book. The breed clearly existed before this as it is referred to as the other Black and Tan Terrier alongside the rough coated variety from which the Welsh, Lakeland, Airedale etc were derived. Having a smooth single coat, it was a ‘house’ dog rather than the coated outdoor types and so did not get the fame and kudos of the Huntsman’s assistant. His ratting talents were prodigious and he was favoured in houses, ships, warehouses and coal mines, the black and tan colouring being obvious camouflage in the dark unpleasant conditions. The single coat is easy to clean and does not show the smuts and grime. It is said that the tan eyebrow, cheek, muzzle and chest spots are to confuse the rat. I have never been able to ask the rat or the dog, so it’s an assumption! The famous black ‘thumb spots’ on the wrist could be another confusing marking or God’s two-handed blessing, such as on the haddock and other fish for the five thousand. That is a bit far fetched, even for me. It always breeds true Black and Tan, with varying degrees of perfection. There is no doubt however that the Black and Tan, or the Manchester Terrier has changed little over hundreds of years, less than most. That is apart from the ears, which like most natural dogs were upright and lent themselves to the barbaric practice of being ‘cut’ when the dog is about six months old. However, the practice of cropping was banned by the Kennel Club in 1883. The breed was not derived from the Whippet or improved by the Whippet and to quote the late and great ‘Doggie’ Hubbard “That’s nonsense”. If anything the Whippet has a bit of Black and Tan in him. In fact some breeds such as the Dobermann in the early years of its development has recorded matings with the Manchester Terrier. Those perpetuating these stories about Whippets do not help in establishing the true identity of the breed. It existed long before. In the beginning, the Manchester Terrier varied in size as it does to an extent today. Originally it came in three sizes, the smallest down to below 7lbs and this became the English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) with his own history and reputation, the medium or Manchester Terrier 15/16” and the larger 21” plus dog which is rarely seen now. It could have been this latter size that Herr Dobermann used. At the first dog show, Newcastle Canine Society in 1858, Black and Tans had classes of all three sizes and they were amongst the largest entries. At Birmingham in 1859 they were also listed but the actual entry was less, maybe it was too far to travel. Whatever the size, the Manchester Terrier is famous for its vermin killing abilities, but it is because of this he has become infamous due to the company he kept. Rat pits, gaming houses and a variety of non-PC activities meant that he did not always associate with the top people! Some people however did appreciate his virtues, such as the young Queen Victoria, President Roosevelt and Agatha Christie. The breed is still used by horse owners to keep tack rooms vermin free. The Manchester Terrier’s fame as the ultimate burglar alarm makes electrical devices unnecessary. There are no inherited health problems. As a dog carefully developed to be very active, powerful and quick in very small restricted areas, his conformation does not always lend itself to striding around the show ring as the ability to move like lightning a few feet or inches is much more important. The powerful, crested neck and the incredible bite means that a flick of the head and the prey is dead. He is almost maintenance free, requiring just nails and teeth to be kept in order. On top of that he requires exercise, warm clean bedding, feeding, and fresh clean water. Owners agree that the digestive system is like a stainless steel tube that makes it fuss free. Extending the gene pool "I cannot understand how we have fewer registrations than the Kennel Club’s qualification of 300 per year, when logic dictates that every home should have at least one." Extending the gene pool Dr Jeff Sampson is a molecular biologist, who has many years of experience of owning and exhibiting dogs (Schipperkes). Prior to his appointment as the Kennel Club’s Health & Information Executive, he was based at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket. He is well known and respected in scientific circles as well as by the many breed clubs at whose seminars he has communicated the basis of canine genetics. The list of British and Irish vulnerable native breeds was drawn up mainly by looking at their annual registration numbers and their trends over the years. They all have relatively low numbers of dogs registered each year, however, numbers alone are not the only consideration. When the population structure of many of these breeds is examined, it’s noticed that relatively few bitches are becoming mothers and probably even fewer males are becoming fathers. It’s likely that some of the major kennels that contributed to the breed structure in the past no longer operate and these major bloodlines are no longer available to today’s breeders. All this means that genetic variability within these breeds is becoming more and more eroded and their breed gene pools are becoming increasingly shallower. This erosion of genetic variability doesn’t have inescapable consequences, but it is far more likely to create a situation where the prevalence of breed-specific inherited diseases increases, and could very well lead to something called in-breeding depression. This is where the reduced genetic variation actually impacts on the breed’s overall fitness, causing, amongst other things, reduced fertility, often manifesting as a gradual reduction in litter sizes and an increasing inability to get bitches pregnant. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) actually uses the numbers of mating pairs to determine whether a species is in danger, or is on the point of extinction. If the WWF were to classify some of these vulnerable breeds, they would at least declare them as ‘endangered’. The Rare Breeds’ Survival Trust has also been tackling similar problems in other purebred domesticated species like sheep, goats, cattle and horses. A concerted effort by breeders to breed more dogs is required to reverse the trends of the last few years. This doesn’t mean producing greater numbers of puppies from the same old dams and sires, it means increasing the number of dogs and bitches within the breed who become parents in their own right. Existing experienced breeders should try to persuade and encourage new owners who buy puppies from them to have at least one litter from the puppy. In this way breed numbers will increase and so will the parental base from which future generations are produced. This will go some way to stemming the current loss of genetic variability. Breeders should also be encouraged to look overseas for fresh bloodlines. Admittedly these overseas populations were initially imported from here in the first place, but the populations have probably been geographically separated for long enough to allow genetic drift to generate a different genetic profile. Dipping into these overseas gene pools may not be without potential problems and breeders will need to do their homework very carefully. There are a number of examples that I am aware of where breeds in different countries have disease profiles that are different to the British population of the breed. Care will need to be taken to avoid using overseas bloodlines that are affected by these problems. Another possible approach will be to create breed sperm banks that can be used to store sperm from significant lines, so that if the breeder eventually stops breeding, the line will be available to future generations of breeders. Of course, frozen sperm can only be used via artificial insemination (AI), but fortunately canine AI techniques are improving all the time, with a concomitant increase in success rates. Practioners of AI in the dog say that litters are produced in about 85 -90% of cases these days. Breeders of some of these vulnerable native breeds have made the point that in the beginning of their breed, the breed register was closed far too early, preventing the entry of fresh dogs, and therefore fresh ‘genetic blood’. For some breeds, at least, there are examples that have since been maintained outside the Kennel Club breed register, but have nonetheless been maintained as a purebred population. If some of these dogs could be allowed back on to the breed register it could have significant impact on the breed’s genetic variability. Specific interbreeding programmes would regenerate the much-needed genetic variation in some of these breeds. However, the problems in this approach are obvious, not least of which is the choice of breed to participate in interbreeding programmes. Using foundation stock in the past from other breeds has produced most of today’s breeds, and an hour or so in the Kennel Club library, reading the numerous breed books, will demonstrate the various ideas that exist for the history of different breeds. Unfortunately, the true origins of many of today’s dog breeds are not known. For meaningful interbreeding to become a reality, the specific foundation breeds that lay behind a particular breed and the relatedness of today’s dog breeds needs to be known. Fortunately, that information is just around the corner. Recent advances in understanding of the canine DNA molecule are now showing the way to develop methods of identifying breed specific DNA signatures. Professor Elaine Ostrander, a significant player in the international canine genome project, recently published a paper together with members of her group showing that DNA can be used to predict the breed of a dog. The paper presented the result of an experiment where the group was given 406 anonymous canine DNA samples from individual dogs from 80 different breeds. By analysing each DNA sample they were able to place all but four of the samples into the correct breed. This work is in its infancy, but it does open up the very real possibility that DNA analysis will be able to reveal the breeds that lay behind today’s dog breeds, and how present-day breeds are related to each other. The availability of this information will help to identify which breeds should be interbred, if such interbreeding is ever envisaged. Putting our trust in the future By Julien Barney, Chairman of the British & Irish Dog Breeds Preservation Trust On the cover of the 2003 Christmas issue of Country Life, a Lakeland Terrier was featured, with the headline ‘Who Will Save This British Dog?’ Around the same time the Kennel Club sent out a questionnaire to 28 breed clubs identified as having fewer than 300 registrations a year. These two actions were the catalyst for the formation of the Trust. This sparked a lot of interest from people wanting to do something for all the listed breeds affected. Pamela Cross-Stern, who was a great support in the early days, and I decided to see whether there was more than the normal hardcore enthusiasts prepared to do something. With the agreement of the National Terrier Club (Terriers being the hardest hit) we manned a stand at its April show to ascertain interest. This led to an open meeting being held in late May where we had representation from the Kennel Club, the canine press and around 50 people from various breeds. The outcome of that first meeting was a working group being asked to formulate a set of aims and objectives and also how the Trust should function. The working group came back to the next open meeting in August which resulted in the official formation of the Trust, with an executive committee being elected. We discovered that people from all the relevant breeds are interested in working together for a common purpose and not just for themselves, and it was also very clear to us that the Trust would not be a dog club or canine society in the usually expected sense. The Trust is far more fundamental; it will be about ensuring that all the breeds and others that may become in need of support are preserved for future generations to enjoy. We are very keen to educate potential owners and the public on the positive aspects of our native breeds. By encouraging the responsible ownership of one of these vulnerable breeds we hope to ensure a secure future for them. At Discover Dogs in November people were shocked when made aware of the list of breeds affected. A vet we spoke to had no idea about the plight of these breeds, but now will recommend these instead of the predictably popular breeds. What was also heartening from our first experience of meeting the public was that all of us who spent time talking to people came away with the feeling that this was a fantastic way to get our message across. What of the breeds themselves? It has transpired that each breed has a slightly different issue(s), be it health, popularity or getting the breed to be shown more actively. Some owner/breeders and clubs are keen to receive more publicity whilst others are happy to remain on an even keel. Some simple research on registrations showed over a four decade period some breeds have remained constant in terms of numbers: Curly-Coated Retrievers, Field Spaniels, Kerry Blue Terriers being examples. A number of others have even increased in popularity e.g. English Toy Terriers, Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers, Irish Terriers and Gordon Setters. Unfortunately others have declined dramatically particularly Cardigan Corgis, Bloodhounds, Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Sealyham Terriers, Skye Terriers and Smooth Fox Terriers, showing a decrease in excess of 50 per cent. One thing not previously considered was the fact that this is not confined to the UK and Ireland. The effects are far more global. Correspondence from overseas with regard to the work of the Trust has been received from people asking how they can get involved. One such example is a gentleman from Australia who owns Lakeland Terriers. He is extremely worried about their plight in his homeland, as the gene pool is getting smaller and they need to import stock, but are finding it increasingly more difficult to locate new lines to bring in that they don’t already have. The executive committee of the Trust and the Kennel Club are acutely aware that substantial progress will take time and must not be rushed into. Careful thought and sensitivity has to be put into how we, the Trust, the Kennel Club and breed clubs and breeders approach this. It must be done holistically, as everyone has their part to play in achieving the long-term preservation of our breeds. The first step along this road will be a symposium in 2005 to discuss with clubs and breeders and other interested parties what they feel should be done for their respective breeds. Clearly apparent from the results of the Kennel Club survey there needs to be further investigation and fact finding to understand the problems and issues. We will be writing to each of the clubs with further details. As part of the symposium the Kennel Club will be invited to take part in a feedback session and also given an opportunity to respond to questions from breeders and breed clubs. It was agreed at the August open meeting that we would work towards charity status by 2006 and this will mean meeting certain criteria laid down by the Charities Commission. We shall have a presence at Crufts in March within the Discover Dogs area to build on November’s success with the public. As the year progresses, the Trust will also attend a number of events, such as country fairs and game fairs to gain further contact with the public and raise awareness of these breeds. The Trust will also continue to work with the Kennel Club with John Richardson and I on the Vulnerable Native Breeds Group. Inevitably it will be a long term development bringing these breeds to a level of prominence, and will require support from everyone interested in the future of these breeds. Source KC Vulnerable Breeds Go To Top Of Page RSPCA faces £1 million legal bill THE RSPCA has been ordered to pay a huge legal bill after losing a battle over a £2 million estate left to the charity in a will. It has been reported that the RSPCA faces costs of up to £1 million after Dr Christine Gill overturned her parents’ will last year. Dr Gill, of Northallerton, Yorkshire, won the case after deputy High Court judge at Leeds Combined Court ruled that the university lecturer’s ‘domineering’ father had coerced her mother into making the will, leaving their 287-acre farm to the charity. The court heard that Dr Gill’s parents left the farm near Northallerton to the RSPCA despite Joyce Gill’s ‘avowed dislike’ of the charity. But the two parties failed to agree on who should foot the legal bill, which totalled about £1.3 million with much of the debate centred on what opportunities were available to settle before the lengthy and costly trial. Repeated attempts Judge James Allen QC handed down his judgment on costs, ordered that the RSPCA should pay the majority of the bill. He also found that the charity had failed to resolve the dispute in an alternative way despite repeated attempts at mediation by Dr Gill.” Tracey Angus, representing Dr Gill, said the charity should pay between 85 and 90 per cent of the costs which were more than £900,000; the RSPCA’s was about £400,000. The court heard that more than 2,000 man hours had been spent on the case. The judgment described the charity’s attitude towards mediation of the case as ‘unreasonable’. Dr Gill asked the RSPCA to consider an alternative resolution three times between January 2008 and September 2008. In August that year Dr Gill offered the charity £350,000 from the sale of the farm, two fields and payment of costs but this was also rejected. The RSPCA then made what was described as a ‘final compromise offer of settlement’ of £50,000, plus costs, and this was rejected by Dr Gill. She then made a counter-offer to the RSPCA of the farm and business, £500,000 and costs, with a legacy of £200,000 to be paid to her but this was also rejected. In June 2008 the RSPCA made an offer to Dr Gill of £650,000 plus costs but this was eventually rejected after the charity said it would only mediate on this offer. Later the same month Dr Gill made a counter-offer which would have provided the RSPCA with part of the farm worth approximately £850,000 and all the money in bank accounts connected to the estate. This was also rejected. She made a final offer in October 2008 when she offered to accept 219.89 acres of land and leave the RSPCA the rest which was under offer for £1.6 million. The charity, which the hearing was told had funds in excess of £160 million, rejected the offer and the case went to trial. The court heard that Dr Gill, an only child, had been given repeated assurances that she would inherit the farm, where she voluntarily helped out during her spare time over a period of more than 30 years, when her parents died. Her father died in 1999 but it was when her mother died in 2006 that she saw the will in which her parents had left the farm to each other and then the RSPCA when both died. Last year’s judgment said Mr Gill used his wife’s agrophobia, her severe anxiety and her dependence on him to make her agree to a will which was contrary to what she wanted. Judge Allen reserved a further written judgment on costs until later. Afterwards, Dr Gill said it was a relief to know she would not have to pay all her costs. She said: “the judgment reflects the attitude the RSPCA has taken right through this. They wouldn’t talk to me ever.” Obligation The judgment states that the RSPCA will be able to recover some of its costs from the estate. A spokesman for the charity said it had acted in accordance with the wishes of Mrs Gill and had no reason to doubt her intentions. “Charities both large and small are left legacies in good faith,” he said. “As far as we and the executors were concerned, Joyce Gill had simply left her estate to the charity and there was no reason to doubt her intentions. That being the case we have an obligation to act in accordance with the wishes of the deceased. “At this stage no specific sums have been calculated so we don’t yet know what either bill will be. It is therefore too early for us to comment on the costs when they are not known. However, we are happy that the judge has ordered that some of our costs are to come out of the estate and that we are not paying the whole of Dr Gill’s legal costs.” Go To Top Of Page VETS TACKLE MINISTER ON DANGEROUS DOGS AND FEES FOR OVs In his speech to the British Veterinary Association's London dinner, BVA President Professor Bill Reilly renewed calls on the Government to increase the fees for Official Veterinarians (OVs) – private practice vets who undertake work on behalf of the Government, such as TB testing, vaccinating, and on-farm work in the event of a notifiable disease outbreak. At the dinner, which was attended by Defra Minister Lord Davies of Oldham, parliamentarians, representatives of the agriculture and food industries and welfare organisations, Professor Reilly said: “When Foot and Mouth struck, Official Veterinarians were the backbone of the country’s response. “We have long argued that they should be paid a professional fee for their work. We were deeply disappointed by the proposal from Animal Health when late last year they suddenly put forward a pay scheme which took no account of the professional service delivered. Can you imagine the response to such an approach to our medical colleagues? “We understand that budgets are tight across the board, but the Government needs Official Veterinarians and needs to pay them an appropriate professional fee for a professional service.” Professor Reilly used his speech to back the Government's stance on pet travel, but urged them to think again on existing legislation to tackle dangerous dogs. Thanking the Minister for Defra’s cooperation on pet travel, Professor Reilly said: “The UK currently imposes stricter measures on the non-commercial movement of pets than the rest of Europe. This derogation from full harmonisation with the rest of the EU, primarily to prevent rabies, also protects us from ticks and tapeworms, which are potentially dangerous to both animals and humans. “Whilst we respect that the ultimate aim is for all Member States to have the same entry requirements, the veterinary profession has raised a number of concerns with Defra and MEPs that the science does not yet support the case for harmonisation. We await the outcome of the discussions in the European Parliament and will continue to push for further research to help us protect the UK from these parasites.” On dangerous dogs, Professor Reilly said: “The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. Rather than singling out individual breeds the BVA strongly believes in targeting individual aggressive dogs. “Last week this view scored a victory in Scotland when the Control of Dogs Bill passed its first stage in Holyrood. The private member’s bill recognises that all dogs can show aggression and affords councils the powers to place tighter controls on these dogs and their owners. “With concern about weapon dogs rising and a new Parliament on the horizon looking for fresh ideas, the time is surely right for it to be at the top of the political agenda.” Read The Full Speech Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS – JUDGES TRAINING PROGRAMME The Kennel Club has made it clear that the single most important issue currently facing the German Shepherd Dog as a breed is the soundness of hindquarters and hocks. Until this fundamental issue of conformation and movement is addressed as the major focal point for action, it is difficult to progress on other matters. However, if breed representatives accept that fundamental soundness in hindquarters and hocks must be improved, then the Kennel Club is ready and very willing to address the other issues raised by groups such as the German Shepherd Dog Partnership. It is heartening to note that the Partnership is now publicly acknowledging the lack of soundness in the breed, particularly as it has not done so up to now. Now that the Partnership is openly acknowledging unsoundness in the breed, the Kennel Club would urge it to take the action that it undertook to do in August 2009 and make soundness in hocks and hindquarters a cornerstone in judges’ training. It had been suggested that a conference or seminar be held to address this with all breed judges, but no progress has been made on staging this to date. Following the 31st March deadline, the Kennel Club will progress this very issue with all those clubs who have signed the Undertaking. As a priority, a judges training programme on the soundness issue will be established and the Kennel Club will continue to evaluate judges to ensure that the fundamental issue of soundness is of paramount importance in the ring. In addition to judges’ training and evaluation, the Kennel Club will also seek to revisit a number of other issues that have been in abeyance waiting for the breed to accept and take action on the issue of soundness. Following the 31st March it is therefore the intention to arrange a meeting with those Clubs which sign the Undertaking, to enable these issues to be revisited. For example, given that the duty towards responsible breeding lies with breeders, inclusion of health tests specific to the GSD in the Accredited Breeders Scheme is highly desirable, but is still awaiting discussion. Other issues such as reviewing the restrictions placed on the registration of non-standard coat colours of GSDs, along with various other topics, are also to be explored with the breed clubs. The Kennel Club is aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and misinformation about the consequences of signing the Undertaking. The following questions and answers may clarify issues for clubs and individuals: Q. “Unsound hocks have no known related health diseases” so why is the KC so exercised about this? A. To suggest that a dog does not have a health issue when it cannot walk properly because of poor hocks, is patently nonsense. The KC’s Fit for Function campaign states that ‘all dogs must be able to see, breathe, and walk freely and be free from pain, irritation or discomfort’. The fundamental ability to walk soundly is a basic quality of life issue for any animal. Q If my club’s secretary and chairman sign the Undertaking on behalf of the club and they are later replaced as officers does this mean that the club is still bound by the Undertaking? A. Yes. The club officials are signing on behalf of the club and its elected committee and not as private individuals. Q. If my club signs the Undertaking and then the judge at our show awards an unsound dog, will the club be penalised? A. No – providing the show management has briefed the judge prior to its shows on their health and welfare responsibilities particularly in regard to soundness of conformation. In such circumstances, and as is the usual procedure, the club must report the matter to the Kennel Club within 7 days of the show to investigate the judge’s conduct. Q. If my club signs the Undertaking and a judge and/or steward allow double handling at a show will the club be penalised? A. No - as long as the Escalation Policy has been followed through every stage by the club. Q. If my club doesn’t sign the Undertaking and loses its Breed Show Challenge Certificates, will its Obedience and Working Trial Certificates also be removed? A. It isn’t possible to prejudge this situation, but clearly if a club refused to work with the Kennel Club on one activity it would certainly raise questions about the club’s relationship with the KC in other areas. Q. If my club doesn’t sign will we lose our open show? A. No. The Undertaking relates to the allocation of Challenge Certificates. However, the clauses in the Undertaking on health & welfare and double handling relate to all events insofar as they are part of KC Show Regulations. All that is being asked is that clubs work with us on the soundness of the breed and in holding events in line with KC regulations. Clubs and individuals cannot pick and choose which regulations to abide by and which to ignore. If there is a breach of regulations at an open show, or a judge rewards an unsound dog, it is expected that clubs report the matter to the KC, as is the case now. Q. If my club does not sign this year can it sign in future years to regain its CCs? A. The allocation for CCs is done on an annual basis and on the prevailing circumstances for each breed. After the deadline of 31st March the Committee will consider its options for unallocated Challenge Certificates. It may choose to reallocate the CCs to breed clubs in the existing rotation that have signed the Undertaking; it may choose to reallocate CCs to general canine societies; or it may choose not to allocate them at all meaning fewer opportunities for the breed at Championship level. Q. Where does the KC stand on SV/WUSV events? A. The KC has worked with the GSD community to enable the annual British Sieger Show to everyone’s satisfaction. All requests of a similar nature will of course be considered. What is being asked is that, as a matter of simple courtesy, clubs should work with their UK governing body to gain support for the organising of any such events. Go To Top Of Page City & Guilds NPTC Recognition for Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme The Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme (KCAI) has become the first nationally recognised qualification in the UK for instructors involved in teaching dog training and canine behaviour. City & Guilds NPTC, the biggest awarding body in the UK for vocational awards, has formally endorsed the scheme and recognised the Kennel Club as an Approved Centre for offering the national qualification – the Kennel Club National Quality Award for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour. This means that for the first time in the UK, instructors involved in teaching dog training and advising on canine behaviour will have the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised, credible and externally verified qualification. Dog owners and dog training enthusiasts will also benefit by having the reassurance of a national standard to ensure that they are provided with the best quality advice and service. Kennel Club Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the KCAI Board, Bill Hardaway, said, “This qualification will formally recognise the knowledge and experience of the many hard-working, dedicated and competent instructors teaching dog training and advising on canine behaviour. The KCAI Scheme is an integral part of the Kennel Club’s strategy for protecting dog owners and their dogs from poor advice and service. “From its inception, this scheme has aimed to set the quality benchmark for instruction and teaching in the canine world in the UK and to be able to offer this formally at a national level with City & Guilds NPTC underlines our commitment to excellence.” City & Guilds NPTC Chief Executive, Jack Ward, said, “As the country’s leading provider of vocational education, City & Guilds NPTC has been very impressed by the level of maturity in the KCAI Scheme’s administrative framework and the quality assurance in the verification processes offered. We are very excited about working with the Kennel Club to deliver this new national qualification.” Those wishing to know more about the scheme and the new qualification can visit the KCAI area on the Dog Activities Stand at DFS Crufts 2010 throughout the show which runs from 11th - 14th March. Accredited Instructors will be on hand to explain the benefits of membership of the scheme and help all those involved in every aspect of teaching dog training and advising on canine behaviour. Advice and encouragement will be offered to anyone interested in achieving one of the first ever Kennel Club National Quality Awards for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour. On the second day of DFS Crufts 2010, Friday 12th March 2010, the new National Quality Award is being formally launched and Kennel Club Accredited Instructors will receive the UK’s very first Kennel Club National Quality Awards for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behaviour. Visitors will be able to see a KCAI: Inspirational Instruction Master Class which illustrates the magic of truly great teachers delivering effective dog training. Novice dog owners and their new dogs will be trained by KCAI Accredited Instructor, and renowned dog trainer and actress, Annie Clayton. Annie will work with 3 novice dog owners and their dogs to teach them a mini Heelwork to Music routine in under half an hour. None of the participants will have had any prior training in Heelwork to Music so the benefits of quality effective teaching will be clear for all to see. Background The Kennel Club Accredited Instructor Scheme for Dog Training Instructors and Canine Behaviourists (KCAI) was formally launched at Crufts in 2004, and has over 40 Accredited Instructors with many hundreds working towards accreditation. Such notable figures in the world of dog training as John Rogerson and Peter Lewis are KCAI Accredited Instructors. Over the last few years the Kennel Club has looked into the issues surrounding dog training, with concerns that anyone can set themselves up as a dog trainer without qualifications and give training and behavioural advice as an ‘expert’, to a ‘blissfully’ unaware general public. Several organisations have formed over time, all trying to address standards in dog training and give educational guidance to their members. The KCAI Scheme complements others, but goes further in unifying all aspects of knowledge and experience in the world of dogs. It oversees personal development and recognises each member as an individual in the role they wish to play. What is it all about? This is the first really comprehensive scheme that, in its flexibility, allows anyone who is instructing, advising or teaching others at any level to join, whatever their interest in dogs. A primary aim of the scheme is to set a national standard to safeguard the public, but it also aims to guide its members in their search for knowledge and experience, encompassing a wealth of information and sharing ideas for improving the future of dog training and behavioural advice. How does it work? Members are credited with points according to their personal level of understanding of issues relating to dog training, behaviour and welfare and assessed on the all important ability to show practical evidence of the service offered to the public. Members agree to be bound by a Code of Practice and, recognised for their individual levels of expertise, are registered on a database for public/professional/membership referral. City & Guilds National Proficiency Tests Council Media Queries Sally Green, City & Guilds NPTC Phone: 024 7685 7300 Email: [email protected] City & Guilds NPTC is frequently requested to develop awards needed by employers working in niche businesses where recognition of skill is equally as important as in the mainstream sectors. City & Guilds NPTC (www.nptc.org.uk) is the UK’s largest recognised awarding organisation in the land-based sector for vocational qualifications. Qualifications focus on providing skills that are of value in land-based industries, and are rooted in practical requirements. City & Guilds NPTC delivers over 100 qualifications through a network of approved assessment centres throughout the UK. The City & Guilds NPTC portfolio includes the long-established certificate of competence qualifications and the land-based qualifications which were managed directly by City & Guilds prior to September 2004. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB DOG HEALTH GROUP TO WORK WITH SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT The Kennel Club has welcomed comments by the Scottish Government detailing their intention to work with the Kennel Club’s Dog Health Group to make the advancements necessary to improve further the health and welfare of dogs. The comments were published following a question to the Scottish Executive from David Whitton MSP regarding the legislative recommendations made by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson in his Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding. The question and response were as follows: David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): ‘To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the legislative recommendations made in Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s report, Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding.’ (S3W-31508) Mr Richard Lochhead : ‘Prof. Sir Patrick Bateson’s report makes a number of recommendations which would involve changes to the legislation on the breeding and sales of dogs, and the Dangerous Dogs Act. Rather than take action at this stage to legislate, the Scottish Government intends to work with the Kennel Club and its Dog Health Group, which now has a broader remit, additional independent experts and under an independent chairman, to make the changes necessary to improve the health and welfare of dogs. The Kennel Club will encourage all dog breeders to participate in the Accredited Breeder Scheme, which Prof. Bateson recognised as close to the ideal model. Only if the Kennel Club are unsuccessful in their attempts to improve the health and welfare of dogs, would the Scottish Government consider legislation. The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill is presently making its way through Parliament. This is a Member’s Bill but it has been given Government support. If passed it will go a considerable way in meeting the recommendation on Dangerous Dogs in the Bateson Report.’ Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The Scottish Government’s response is extremely welcome and encouraging, and demonstrates that the Kennel Club and the Dog Health Group are in the best position to move forward with Professor Bateson’s recommendations. They also highlight his comments that the Accredited Breeder Scheme is close to the ideal model for dog breeding and its regulation.” Go To Top Of Page BVA AND BSAVA WELCOME SCOTLAND’S MOVE TO CONTROL DANGEROUS DOGS The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) have welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s vote at the first stage of the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill which will place a legislative focus on the deed, rather than the breed of dogs and hold dog owners to account. The Bill received cross-party support when MSPs voted in favour of the proposals yesterday (10 February), which would offer a flexible range of Control Orders providing practical measures to stop dogs getting out of control and place the focus on the owner. The BVA has long been opposed to any proposals which single out particular breeds of dogs rather than targeting individual aggressive dogs. Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: “We welcome the recognition that controls should not be based on the breed of a dog but on actions and behaviour of individual dogs and their owners. We believe that the manner in which a dog behaves is a result of its inherited characteristics, but more importantly the rearing and training provided by the owner. “The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. The BVA and BSAVA hope that the principle of ‘deed not breed’ will soon be recognised in the rest of the UK.” The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 2 June 2009 as a Member’s Bill by Christine Grahame MSP Go To Top Of Page Healthy entries to DFS Crufts 2010 Around 28,000 dogs are set to descend on the NEC in Birmingham on 11-14 March for the world’s greatest dog show, DFS Crufts 2010. Almost 22,000 of these will be competing in the pedigree classes which culminate in the prestigious Best in Show final on Sunday 14th March. DFS Crufts 2010 entry figures There will be 186 pedigree breeds competing at the show across the seven groups, with the Gundog group attracting the highest entry. Within that group the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel, Irish Setter and Flat Coated Retriever will see the largest number of competitors hoping to win the ultimate prize in the world of dog showing. There is good news for many of the native vulnerable breeds, which the Kennel Club has deemed at risk of extinction because their registration numbers are so low. The Kerry Blue Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Skye Terrier, Deerhound, Irish Water Spaniel, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Irish Red and White Setter all see an increased number of dogs at the show, compared to 2009. Dog shows such as DFS Crufts provide a perfect opportunity for potential puppy buyers to find out about these breeds, which otherwise risk being forgotten about despite the fact that they make excellent pets. A significant drop has been seen in the Gamekeepers classes this year, where entries have fallen by 17 percent compared to 2009, largely due to the law that even legally docked dogs may not be shown at events where the public pay an entry fee. All of the dogs in these classes are working dogs - for which tail docking is legal – but now face restrictions on entering the show ring. Speaking about the show Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “DFS Crufts 2010 is set to be another massive show, with nearly 22,000 dogs entered in the pedigree classes under one roof, it is the perfect place to learn more about pedigree dogs. “The recent Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding highlighted dog shows as being a powerful lever for change and there is no more powerful lever than DFS Crufts. It is only through rewarding and encouraging responsible breeders and their healthy dogs in the show ring that the bar can be set for others to follow, and that is what DFS Crufts is all about. “It is also about giving potential puppy buyers the opportunity to learn more about dogs, in a fun and interesting way, before they buy. The show will have breed and dog health experts on hand to talk about the different breeds and which ones might suit different lifestyles. Kennel Club Accredited Breeders will be at the event, so that people can learn how to find a responsible breeder that will give their dogs the best start in life. “Whilst the Kennel Club recognises that this year’s entry does not quite match the number achieved last year, we see this in the context of the wider picture. The decrease of around 3% in this year’s figure is almost exactly in line with the total average drop seen across all Championship dog shows during the past twelve months, namely 2.9%. This in turn has seen the number of dogs qualifying to enter DFS Crufts fall as a result.” As in previous years, the additional money donated by exhibitors entering the event will be matched by the Crufts Committee, with the money going to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which funds research into dog diseases and supports the work of dog welfare charities. •DFS Crufts is a unique celebration of happy, healthy dogs and of the loving relationship that they enjoy with their owners. It recognises the varied roles that dogs play in society and highlights the many different disciplines and activities in which dogs are involved. •DFS Crufts educates visitors about how to buy the right dog for them and how to find a responsible breeder through its Discover Dogs, Accredited breeder Scheme and Breed Rescue areas. •The Kennel Club runs seminars for DFS Crufts judges to help ensure that only those dogs that are healthy representatives of their breed will win awards in the show ring. • Health is at the heart of DFS Crufts and veterinary and scientific experts will be on hand at DFS Crufts 2010, to talk about health testing and to explain how research has developed over the last 10 years which can help us to resolve genetic issues for the future benefit of dogs. •The Kennel Club, organiser of DFS Crufts, is the largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. Its objective is to ensure that dogs live happy, healthy lives with responsible owners. •The Kennel Club invests the money that it makes from registrations and its other services into its dog training and education programmes and the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which supports dog welfare charities and research into dog diseases. •The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has raised nearly £4 million over the years for research into dog diseases. The money raised from optional donations with the DFS Crufts entry fee is matched by the Crufts Committee and this money is given to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. KCLC SHOWS COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES 1 JANUARY 2010 – 31 DECEMBER 2012 The Kennel Club has announced the list of Shows Council representatives for the next three years, as follows: AREA 1 - SCOTLAND – (3 Representatives) Mrs S Johnston Miss S R M Thomson AREA 2 – NORTHERN IRELAND – (1 Representative) Mr W McKnight AREA 3 – WALES – (2 Representatives) Mrs B E M Croucher Mr N Price AREA 4 – NORTH WEST (4 Representatives) Mr C Atkinson Go To Top Of Page DFS CRUFTS 2010 – RING CHANGES AND EARLY AND LATE STARTS The Kennel Club and Crufts Committee wish to thank all the exhibitors for DFS Crufts 2010 for their support in giving a total of 21,947 dogs entered into breed judging plus entries in the Breeders’ Competition, Agility and Obedience Championship. The entry has resulted in a number of breeds starting before 9am, some starting at 10am and, in some cases, it has been necessary to reschedule the order of judging and ring allocation. The breeds affected are as follows: Day 1 Working and Pastoral. Komondor and Hovawart moved from Ring 16 to Ring 19 and will be judged after Pyrenean Sheepdog (Long Haired) Tibetan Mastiff will now be judged after Canadian Eskimo Dog in Ring 33. The breeds affected with the Early and Late Starts are shown below: Day 1 – Working and Pastoral Groups Hall 1 Ring 2 – Border Collie (B) Early Start 8.30am Ring 8 – Bearded Collie (B) Early Start 8.30am Hall 2 Ring 12 – Shetland Sheepdog (B) Early Start 8.30am Hall 4 Ring 16 – Swedish Vallhund Early Start 8.30am Ring 22 – Alaskan Malamute Early Start 8.30am Hall 5 Ring 27 – Leonberger Early Start 8.30am Ring 29 – Newfoundland Early Start 8.30am Ring 32 – Rottweiler (B) Early Start 8.30am Day 2 - Terrier and Hound Groups Hall 1 Ring 4 – Skye Terrier Early Start 8.30am Ring 5 – Glen of Imaal Terrier Late Start 10.00am Ring 7 - Sealyham Terrier Early Start 8.30am Hall 2 Ring 11 – Norfolk Terrier Early Start 8.30am Ring 12 – Border Terrier Early Start 8.30am Ring 13 - Staffordshire Bull Terrier (D) Early Start 8.30am Hall 4 Ring 20 – Whippet (B) Early Start 8.30am Ring 21 – Dachshund (Min Smooth Haired) Early Start 8.30am Ring 24 – Dachshund (Wire Haired) Early Start 8.30am Hall 5 Ring 28 – Borzoi Early Start 8.30am Ring 29 – Beagle Early Start 8.30am Ring 34 - Ibizan Hound Late Start 10.00am Ring 35 – Otterhound Late Start 10.00am Day 3 – Toy and Utility Groups Hall 1 Ring 1 – Schnauzer Late Start 10.00am Hall 2 Ring 11 – Poodle (Toy) Late Start 10.00am Ring 12 – Poodle (Miniature) Late Start 10.00am Hall 4 Ring 15 – Bulldog Early Start 8.30am Ring 18. – Tibetan Terrier Late Start 10.00am Ring 19 – Keeshond Late Start 10.00am Ring 21 – Miniature Pinscher Early Start 8.30am Ring 23 - Pekingese Late Start 10.00am Ring 24 – Pug Early Start 8.30am Hall 5 Ring 26 - Bichon Frise Early Start 8.30am Ring 27 – Chihuahua (Long Coat) Early Start 8.30am Ring 29 – Papillon Early Start 8.30am Ring 34 – Cavalier King Charles Spaniel(B) Early Start 8.30am Day 4 – Gundog Group Hall 1 Ring 1 – Irish Setter (D) Early Start 8.30am Ring 4 – Irish Red & White Setter Late Start 10.00am Ring 5 – Gordon Setter Early Start 8.30am Ring 6 – Spaniel (Sussex) Late Start 10.00am Ring 7/8 – Pointer Early Start 8.30am Hall 2 Ring 13 – Spaniel (Cocker) (D) Early Start 8.30am Hall 4 Ring 15/16 – Weimaraner Early Start 8.30am Ring 21 – Italian Spinone Late Start 10.00am Hall 5 Ring 27 - Retriever (Golden) (D) Early Start 8.30am Ring 30 – Retriever (Flat Coated) (B) Early Start 8.30am Ring 34 – Retriever (Labrador) (B) Early Start 8.30am Go To Top Of Page Kennel Club Announces Drop In Registrations THE TOTAL number of puppies registered with the Kennel Club during 2009 was 244,461, down by 11 per cent on the 2008 figure of 271,719. This is the lowest total since 2002, though looking at the figures for the last 20 years, registrations have remained relatively stable with only short-term fluctuations. After an all-time high in 1989 of 283,915, annual registrations have never dipped below 200,000, and the 2008 figure was among only five years to exceed 270,000. An encouraging sign is that, while the first three quarters of 2009 each showed a decline on the same period in 2008, the final quarter was up, 60,982 as against 60,830 for October to December 2008. A KC spokesman commented: “While it is disappointing that the overall number of dogs registered with the KC during 2009 has fallen, there are definite signs of recovery underway. ‘Bounce Back’ “Five of the seven groups saw more dogs registered in the fourth quarter of 2009 than in the same period in the previous year and indeed the total number registered in this period was up when compared against the last quarter of 2008. “This shows that the rate of the decrease is not simply slowing but actually appears to have stopped completely and begun to bounce back. We hope that this signals a considerably brighter future for the year to come.” As usual Labradors top the breed list with over 16 per cent of the total, though actual numbers have declined from 45,233 in 2008 to 40,943. The top six breeds remain as the previous year: Cockers are second with 22,211 (22,508 in 2008), English Springers 12,700 (14,800), German Shepherds 10,338 (11,903), Cavaliers 8,884 (a steep numerical decline from 11,226) and Staffords 8,746 (10,744). Border Terriers 8,214 (9,145) overtake Golden Retrievers 7,804 (9,159) into seventh place. Next come Boxers 5,947 (7,353), West Highland Whites 5,890 (7,330), and then Miniature Schnauzers 5,231 (5,333) swop places with Shih Tzu 5,127 (5,495). Pugs 4,769 (4,480) go up two places over Lhasa Apsos 4,674 (5,117) and Bulldogs 4,217 (4,543). Yorkshire Terriers 3.767 (3,951) remain in sixteenth place, followed by Whippets 3,246 (3,328). Unusually a breed without CC status moves into the top 20: Dogues de Bordeaux 2,790 (2,452), pushing ahead of Bull Terriers 2,624 (2,922). Beagles 2,592 (2,405) also join the leading breeds, while Bichons and Rottweilers are no longer in the top 20. Containing the three leading breeds, gundogs were the most numerous group last year with 94,894 registrations (104,757 in 2008), followed by terriers 33,128 (39,086), utility 32,316 (34,303), toy 29,490 (31,819), working 21,657 (24,457), pastoral 17,992 (20,838) and hounds 14,984 (16,459). For the final quarter of 2009 the group figures were hounds 4,200 (3,810 for the same period in 2008), gundogs 22,468 (22,333), terriers 8,461 (8,771), utility 8,484 (8,436), working 5,716 (5,554), pastoral 4,132 (4,586) and toy 7,521 (7,340). Labradors are also the most pupular breed in the US, judging by American LKC registration figures for 2009. There, German Shepherds have overtaken Yorkshire Terriers for second place. Their remaining top ten are Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Boxers, Bulldogs, Dachshunds, Poodles (in the last two, all varieties are counted together) and Shih Tzu. If Dachshunds and Poodles were counted together in the UK, they would be 13th and 17th respectively. Registrations have fallen in all breeds in 2009 by 27, 258 . This is a loss of revenue for the Kennel Club to the tune of £327, 696.00 (Three hundred and twenty seven thousand, six hundred and ninety six pounds) This has to be a knock on affect from the BBC program 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed'. Make no bones about it, the Kennel Club must be extremely worried by this trend. Will the Kennel Club's 'Accredited Breeders Scheme' solve these worrying figures, or only add to them? The ABS will undoubtedly eventually deter 'Backyard Breeders'. But, is this a good thing or a bad thing? What about the 'Vulnerable Breeds'? This could decimate their ranks even further. There are many breeds that clearly have problems that need addressing. But, has The Kennel Club left the dirty work to the breed Judge's in their clever directive to them instead of giving direct guidance in the form of "You must penalise whatever"? It is the Judge's who will have to take the flack not the Kennel Club and many breed judge's will be ostracised by their fellow exhibitors. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE KCLC BREEDS COUNCIL HELD AT THE KENNEL CLUB ON MONDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2009 Present: Mr L Anness Mr N Bryce-Smith Mr P Eva Mr E Herold Mrs M E Holmes Mrs J Iles-Hebbert Mrs E MacDonald Mrs M MacPhail Mrs P Noujaim Mrs E Parsons Mr K Pursglove Mr A F Schaanning-Ling Mrs F Somerfield Mrs A Teasdale Mrs V Thompson Mrs A M Walton Mrs S M Walton Mrs K Wilberg In attendance: Mrs Kathryn Symns – Canine Activities Executive Miss S Cooper – Breed Shows Team Leader Mr B Lambert – Health & Breeder Services Manager ITEM 1. TO ELECT A CHAIRMAN FOR THIS MEETING. It was proposed by Mr L Anness, and seconded by Mrs K Wilberg, that Mr A Schaanning-Ling be elected as Chairman for the meeting. No further nominations were received and Mr Schaanning-Ling was duly elected. Mr Schaanning-Ling thanked the Council for its support. Mr Schaanning-Ling informed the Council that a Kennel Club Question Time session would be held in conjunction with the meeting, and would take place after Item 5. Mr Schaanning-Ling went on to read a letter from Ms A Oliver-Wyles, in which she thanked the Council for its support during her time as Chairman. The Council gave a vote of thanks to Ms Oliver-Wyles and it was agreed that a letter from the Council should be sent to her, officially thanking her for all her contributions to the Council over the years. ITEM 2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies were received from Mrs C Boggia, Mrs S Hewart-Chambers, Mrs Y Knapper–Weijland, Mrs S Rawlings and Mrs L Westby. ITEM 3. TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 18 MAY 2009. The minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2009 were accepted as a true record of the meeting. The Council noted the results of the recommendations from the previous meeting as follows; Paragraph 22 – Instructions to Veterinary Surgeons. Mr Lambert explained that the Kennel Club was working on a ‘Veterinary Manual’ which would contain significant information for vets, including details of recommended health tests on a breed by breed basis, guidance on what the Kennel Club offers and information stressing the Kennel Club’s primary objective of addressing canine health issues. It was confirmed that the manual could be available as soon as January 2010. The Council queried whether or not it would be possible for the information the Kennel Club was collating to be sent out to universities for use by trainee vets, to educate them on the practices of breeders. The office explained that at present, the Kennel Club welcomes 500 trainee vets to Crufts every year and they are given comprehensive information on dog breeding and the role of dog breeders. Paragraph 31 - ABS Accolade relating to Stud Book achievements. The office explained that the Accolade was designed to demonstrate that the breeder had an understanding and acceptance of what defining characteristics are desirable in the breed and have demonstrated that they are breeding dogs that conform to Kennel Club Breed Standards. The office confirmed that the Kennel Club recognised the appeal of making the Stud Book Accolade breed specific. However it was explained that, at present, there were more pressing IT related issues that must take precedence, but that this would be looked at again in the future. The Council would receive updates as the initiative progressed. Paragraph 53 – Breed Specific Parameters. The office confirmed that the Kennel Club was working with a number of breed clubs/societies to set up breed specific requirements and recommendations for Accredited Breeders. At a previous Breed Council meeting it was requested that the Kennel Club introduce a recommendation that bitches in some breeds, particularly giant breeds, should not be allowed to produce a litter when under the 2 years of age. As a result of this recommendation 74 breed clubs were written to asking for their opinion on this matter. Disappointingly only 28 responses were received and, furthermore, agreements could only be reached with just 7 of the clubs concerned. The Kennel Club has, however, been able to implement some new recommendations on a minimum breeding age. The Kennel Club is working with breed clubs that support responsible breeding practices, as outlined in the ABS, and it is currently asking them to endorse the following clause in their own Code of Practice; ‘Members will, when breeding dogs, adopt as a minimum standard the principles, requirements and recommendations as embodied in the Kennel Club's Accredited Breeder Scheme. It is also recommended that members who breed should apply to join the Scheme.’ ITEM 5. MATTERS ARISING. Matters arising were addressed as above. ITEM 6. PROPOSALS FROM SOCIETIES. Shetland Sheepdog Breed Council proposed: “To encourage breeders to test their stock for hereditary diseases and make such test results available to all interested parties, the results of all professionally recognised tests should be recorded on registration documents, the Kennel Gazette Breed Records Supplement and on the Kennel Club’s online enquiry service”. The office explained that the Health & Breeder Services Team often received requests for the inclusion of new DNA and other health related issues, on the Kennel Club database. It was confirmed that the Kennel Club would consider approving any new DNA tests, provided that the test offered was from a recognised testing laboratory such as the Animal Health Trust or Optigen, and the request is supported by a majority of the Breed Clubs or the Breed Council. Once agreed, the Kennel Club will arrange with the laboratory for copies of all future test certificates issued to be sent directly to the Kennel Club, where the test result would be added to the dog’s details on the registration database. This would trigger the publication of the test result in the next available Breed Records Supplement, and the result would also appear on any new registration certificate issued for the dog and on the registration certificates of any future progeny of the dog. The office confirmed that it was currently working with the Shetland Sheepdog Breed Council on this matter. ITEM 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS. South Western Rottweiler Association requested that the Council discuss: “The SWRA would like to bring to the KCLC’s attention the difficulties sellers of puppies have when homing/re-homing, in that potential puppy owners will never tell you that they have been prosecuted and/or banned from owning dogs or any other pet by the RSPCA for abuse or neglect. If a seller has any suspicion, there does not appear to be a central list kept either by the RSPCA or the local Dog Wardens or anyone else that can be located, or if there is, it is not accessible to the public (i.e. those homing puppies). The local Magistrates Court only considers releasing this information on the production of a signed agreement to this effect by the person you are checking plus the requisite of £10. The process will take approx 8 weeks and the Judge can still decide that it is not in the public interest to grant the information. You would also have to know which Country Court to check with. We would like to know any thoughts the Council have on this matter”. The Council discussed the possibility of the Kennel Club entering into discussions with the appropriate authority in order to obtain a central list of names of people who had been prosecuted and/or banned from owning dogs due abuse or neglect. It queried whether or not the possibility of such a list being held by an outside body was viable due to data protection, but went on to note that cruelty cases were held in Open Court, so this information could possibly be made available in order to compile a central list. The Council went on to discuss Status Dog Units (SDU) which had been set up by the Metropolitan Police, to specifically tackle the issue of dogs being used by owners to better their ‘street’ status. The Council expressed its concern as this appeared to be an extension of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) and could lead to many innocent dogs being seized and destroyed. It was noted that the SDU is obliged to assess those dogs which appear to be dangerously out of control in a public place. Should the officer or dog warden make an assessment that the dog is banned under the DDA, then they can seize the dog. However they do not have the authority to have a dog destroyed. Only a court decision can determine the future of a dog. ITEM 8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS. Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland requested that the Council discuss: “The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland would like to bring to the attention of the Kennel Club Breeds Liaison Council the need for Championship Show committees to show more consideration for exhibitors and their dogs. In particular, there is a need for increased bench sizes for larger breeds and consideration of the position where a breed is benched in relation to its ring. Consideration also needs to be given to the number of crates allowed ringside, particularly as invariably they do not belong to the exhibitors of the breed in the ring. The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland would like the Kennel Club to encourage Show committees to think carefully about the welfare of all dogs during the planning and running of their shows.” The Council noted that the Kennel Club’s Benching Working Party is due to reconvene in 2010 and the matter of increased benching sizes would be discussed once the remit had been agreed. The Council did note that at many General Championship Shows, benching was often an issue but accepted that with the many factors which had to be taken into consideration by show societies when scheduling such large events, it was not always possible to cater for specific benching requests. The Council also discussed the matter of crates at the ringside. The Council agreed that if gangways were blocked by exhibitors leaving crates and trolleys at the ringside, then the show secretary should be informed of this immediately. It is only by reporting matters such as this in the correct way, that they are able to be resolved. Critiques. The office confirmed the procedure for investigating outstanding critiques for shows. It also confirmed that over 172 judges had been written to in the previous 12 months requesting copies of critiques. The Council noted that this meeting was the last in the current term of office. ITEM 9. DATE OF NEXT MEETING. The Council was informed that the date of the next meeting would be Tuesday 25 May 2010. The meeting rose at 14.15 pm with a vote of thanks to the Chair and the staff. Question Time A Kennel Club Question Time session was held and the panel members (as listed below) answered a series of questions, relating to Breeds Club/Council Judges Lists, the new requirement for Gundog Judges, the Judges Development Programme, over-breeding of bitches, and the possibility of additional new coat colours being added to the Kennel Clubs registration database. Ronnie Irving - Chairman, The Kennel Club Bill Hardaway - Vice Chairman, The Kennel Club Caroline Kisko - Secretary, The Kennel Club Kathryn Symns – Executive, Canine Activities Bill Lambert - Health and Breeder Services Manager Mr A Schaanning-Ling Go To Top Of Page KC BREEDERS’ COMPETITION FINALISTS ANNOUNCED The Kennel Club has announced that 56 breeders have qualified for the first ever Kennel Club Breeders’ Competition Final, due to be staged at DFS Crufts on Friday 12th March 2010. The judge for the competition will be Mr Jeff Horswell. Over the past twelve months, dog breeders around the country have competed in the Breeders’ Competition, which is sponsored by the Kennel Club Breeder Plan. Breeders have showcased their breeding talents by competing with teams of four dogs that have all been bred by them. Launched at the Manchester Dog Show Society Championship Show in January 2009, the competition quickly developed in popularity seeing as many as 94 breeder teams take part in some Groups at General Championship Shows. Furthermore, many single breed shows have had a similarly impressive uptake, such as the East Anglian Whippet Club Championship Show in July 2009 which saw 8 breeder teams competing. After months of hard work by breeders to bring their teams together and fine tune their handling, making it to the final has its rewards. The Best Breeder will receive a commemorative crystal Breeder Plan trophy and, in addition to this, all breeder finalists will be presented with a commemorative certificate and Breeders’ Competition goody bag to mark this special occasion. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director said “We have received plenty of positive feedback on the Breeders’ Competition, with breeders delighted to be offered the opportunity to compete for an award that recognises their skill in breeding dogs of the highest quality. The fact that 56 breeders have made it through to the final in the first year of competition is testament to the competition’s popularity. “We are delighted that the Kennel Club Breeder Plan is supporting this great competition in 2010. It has clearly caught the imagination of many breeders around the country and it provides a genuine chance to showcase the very best of British breeders and their dogs. We congratulate all those who have qualified to take part in the final.” All of the qualified finalists will be pre-judged in Rings 35 and 36 IN Hall 5 at the show at 1430, with the Grand Final then taking place in the Best in Show Arena at approximately 1735 that evening. LIST OF FINALISTS Go To Top Of Page NEW DNA TESTING SCHEME At the request of the relevant breed clubs, the Kennel Club has recently approved two more official DNA testing schemes. - prcd-PRA in the Spanish Water Dog. The test is offered by OptiGen - further details can be obtained from www.optigen.com - PLL in the Parson Russell Terrier. The test is offered by the Animal Health Trust - further details can be obtained from www.aht.org.uk Copies of all future test certificates issued by OptiGen and the AHT will be sent directly to the Kennel Club as from 1st February 2010, where the test result will be added to the dog’s details on the registration database. This will trigger the publication of the test result in the next available Breed Records Supplement, and the result will also appear on any new registration certificate issued for the dog and on the registration certificates of any future progeny of the dog. Owners who have already had their dog(s) DNA tested for this condition can send copies of the test certificate into the Kennel Club and the data will be added to the dog’s registration details. In addition, if the owner includes the original registration certificate for the dog (not a copy) then a new registration certificate will be issued, with the DNA result on it, free of charge. Please send the DNA test certificates to: Health & Breeder Services Department Go To Top Of Page MERLE STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIERS At the request of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breed Council, the Kennel Club has agreed that it will no longer accept the registration of any merle coloured Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies, with effect from 5th January 2010. Coat colour in the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is complex because a range of colours is acceptable. Merle patterning, patches of lighter colour appearing in the coat, is the result of the M gene in the dog. There are two alleles of this gene: MM (merle) and M+ (non-merle), with merle (MM) being dominant to non-merle (M+). In some breeds, the effect of the merle allele (MM) is termed ‘dapple’. Unfortunately, the effects of the merle allele (MM) are not confined to coat patterning and we know that there can be an increased risk of impaired hearing and sight associated with it, particularly in dogs that are homozygous for MM (dogs that carry two copies of the MM allele). Go To Top Of Page Registrations Down, Massive losses For The Kennel Club Registrations have fallen in all breeds in 2009 by 27, 258 . This is a loss of revenue for the Kennel Club to the tune of £327, 696.00 (Three hundred and twenty seven thousand, six hundred and ninety six pounds) This has to be a knock on affect from the BBC program 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed'. Make no bones about it, the Kennel Club must be extremely worried by this trend. Will the Kennel Club's 'Accredited Breeders Scheme' solve these worrying figures, or only add to them? The ABS will undoubtedly eventually deter 'Backyard Breeders'. But, is this a good thing or a bad thing? What about the 'Vulnerable Breeds'? This could decimate their ranks even further. There are many breeds that clearly have problems that need addressing. But, has The Kennel Club left the dirty work to the breed Judge's in their clever directive to them instead of giving direct guidance in the form of "You must penalise whatever"? It is the Judge's who will have to take the flack not the Kennel Club and many breed judge's will be ostracised by their fellow exhibitors. Go To Top Of Page DOG BREEDING REPORT SEES KEY ROLE FOR VETS Vets have welcomed Professor Bateson’s report on dog breeding as an important step on a long journey to improving the health and welfare of all dogs. The report, which follows a 10-month inquiry into breeding practices, dog showing, and scientific evidence, concludes that measures such as the establishment of a non-statutory advisory council on dog breeding, an up-graded accredited breeder scheme, legislative changes, and a public education campaign are required. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) gave evidence to Professor Bateson’s inquiry and stressed the need for changes that would improve the lot for all dogs (not just pedigrees), as well as the key role that vets have to play in educating the public. Many of the specific recommendations have already been called for by the veterinary profession, such as a Code of Practice on breeding, compulsory microchipping of all dogs, and improved breed standards to promote health and welfare over extreme conformation. Through the Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC) work has already started to investigate setting up an independent body of experts, and a campaign to improve the public’s understanding of the issues is being led by the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation’s guidance on buying a puppy. Other specific recommendations supported by the veterinary profession include: the creation of a non-statutory advisory council to include veterinary input; robust accredited breeder schemes recognising the vital importance of pre-mating health screening and other good breeding practice; the centralised collection of data on health problems associated with different breeds; and better enforcement of good welfare on licensed dog breeding premises, which must come with resources to ensure inspection and enforcement can be carried out. Commenting, Nicky Paull, Past President of the BVA (who gave evidence to the Bateson Inquiry), said: “Professor Bateson clearly understands that practical solutions are the way forward and that it will require a concerted effort by all those involved in the health and welfare of dogs to make the necessary changes. We support Professor Bateson’s recommendations and see a key role for vets in bringing the breeding community and the public forward together. “The majority of breeders care deeply about the animals they work with, but the rules must be tightened for those who have sacrificed the welfare of dogs for their own gain. “Pedigree Dogs Exposed and the two reports that have followed by APGAW and Prof Bateson are the catalyst we needed to shake up the dog breeding world and start educating the public. A lot of work to improve the situation has already begun and this is just one step in the long journey to improving the health and welfare of all dogs.” Richard Dixon, President of the BSAVA, added: “Vets are at the forefront of advising potential dog owners and breeders about the health and welfare issues involved with breeding. We hope that the public attention given to Professor Bateson’s report will remind people to always seek advice from their vet before buying a puppy and never buy on impulse. “If the dog-buying public is properly educated to make the right welfare choices they will turn their backs on puppy farms and bad breeders. In this way the market can have a very positive effect on welfare alongside legislation and enforcement. “Professor Bateson’s recommendations are welcomed by BSAVA, especially the requirement for breed standards to ensure dogs are fit for life, not extreme conformation, and the call for a robust accreditation scheme to help people choose a reputable breeder. “These changes will take time and money and the veterinary profession, welfare charities and dog breeders must work together to achieve them.” 1. Professor Bateson’s report was funded by the Kennel Club and the Dog’s Trust and is available at www.dogbreedinginquiry.com 2. In 2009 the BVA’s Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) brought together a number of stakeholders to produce ‘Guidance on choosing a new dog’ to help potential dog owners make the right choice for themselves and secure the ongoing good health and welfare of their new pet. http://www.bva-awf.org.uk/headlines/Guidance_on_choosing_your_new_dog.pdf 3. The BVA and Kennel Club run the Canine Health Schemes which screen for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and inherited eye disease in dogs before they are used for mating http://www.bva.co.uk/canine_health_schemes/Canine_Health_Schemes.aspx 4. For more information contact the BVA Media Office on 020 7908 6340 or [email protected] For A Complete Report Click Here Dogs Trust response to the publication of Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding Dogs Trust welcomes the publication of Professor Sir Patrick Bateson's independent report into the breeding of dogs and is pleased to see a number of key objectives. The charity is particularly gratified to see that microchipping is high on the priority list as it is our belief that this element alone will help to minimise the high volume of poorly bred puppies. We also believe that the creation of an independent advisory board on dog breeding, to produce evidence-based breeding strategies, is vital. A measured but timely approach is what we must work towards with the ultimate goal of happy healthy dogs going forward. The key requirements as we see them now are: To get all the relevant organisations around a table to move these recommendations forward as soon as possible To influence the legislators to help to get compulsory microchipping on the statute book To ask pet insurance companies to agree to give relevant data so that prevalence of health problems can be identified To get the veterinary profession to play a key role in collecting and collating genetic problems, kennel inspections as well as educating clients To continue to educate the pet buying public on what to look for in their selection of a dog For the dog fraternity to work closely with both human and animal geneticists to develop a clear strategy for healthy dogs For A Complete Report Click Here Dog Welfare Report: New Panel Needed To Oversee Pedigree Health A new report published today (Thursday) has been welcomed by the RSPCA for its recognition that pedigree dog health and welfare is a serious problem and urgent action is needed. The Independent Inquiry Into Dog Breeding, commissioned by the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust, is written by leading zoologist Professor Sir Patrick Bateson who concludes that ‘dog breeding raises a number of serious concerns about the welfare of dogs’. He recommends that a new advisory panel should be set up, an idea the RSPCA supports – however we are concerned that the panel won’t have the necessary power to push through the real change that’s clearly urgently required. RSPCA chief veterinary adviser Mark Evans said: “The world has woken up to the extremely unpalatable truth that the health and welfare of many pedigree dogs is seriously compromised as a result of the way they are bred. Pedigree dogs need our help and they need it now. “Some are suffering as a result of what Darwin’s disciples might refer to as ‘unnatural selection’ – survival of the most fashionable rather than the fittest. This report is what we have all been waiting for and we hope that now we can all get on and start working towards meaningful change for pedigree dogs. “We’re delighted that Professor Bateson agrees with the RSPCA that something has to be done, but we are disappointed he hasn’t recommended that the advisory panel should be given the appropriate power to be effective. What is encouraging is that, when asked by the RSPCA, Professor Bateson acknowledged that in an ideal world the government would give the panel statutory powers.” We fully support the inquiry’s conclusion that information on diseases suffered by dogs should be collected and in fact this was the top recommendation made in an independent report commissioned by the RSPCA, Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: A Major Welfare Concern?* As a result, the RSPCA is already working with the University of Sydney and the Royal Veterinary College on a three-year research project to create a new, electronic, system for collecting, analysing and reporting data on inherited disorders in both dogs and cats. When complete, for the first time in the UK there will be comprehensive data to show the prevalence of inherited disorders in specific breeds. Vitally this will allow the effectiveness of any new breeding initiatives to be monitored. Mark Evans said: “We agree with Professor Bateson that consumer pressure is the greatest lever for change. The way to solve this is through people power. Changing the industry will take some time, but the public can start to demand better quality animals that are in good health right now. “We will now study the report in more detail and come up with a full response.” As Professor Bateson has already agreed and the RSPCA has called for, there needs to be an urgent meeting of all relevant stakeholders to review all recommendations in all three reports,* to prioritise them, and to come up with a robust, workable action plan with clearly identified objectives, responsibilities and deadlines. Clearly an important part of this will be setting up some form of independent advisory body to oversee dog breeding and supply in the UK. · Two other reports looking at the health and welfare of pedigree dogs have been published previously: *Commissioned by the RSPCA and published in February 2009, Pedigree Dog Breeding in the UK: A Major Welfare Concern? is a review of the relevant science and was compiled by highly respected scientists, vets and dog welfare experts who also propose 36 possible ways of improving pedigree dog welfare. These include: - systematic collection of data on the diseases all dogs suffer from and causes of death - changes to current registration rules to prevent the registration of puppies born from the matings of close relatives (including grandparents and offspring and half siblings) - changes to current registration rules to allow new genetic material to be introduced into breeds. Read more about the RSPCA’s work on this issue and download the report at www.rspca.org.uk/pedigreedogs. A Healthier Future for Pedigree Dogs, the conclusions of an inquiry by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW), was published in November 2009 echoed the RSPCA’s calls for urgent action to safeguard the welfare of pedigree dogs. Download the report at: www.apgaw.org/reports.asp. · The RSPCA is extremely concerned about the unacceptably high levels of disability, deformity and hereditary disease affecting these animals, as is the public, following the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed which sparked a national debate on the issue. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB RESPONSE TO THE INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO DOG BREEDING The Kennel Club has broadly welcomed Professor Sir Patrick Bateson’s ‘Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding’, which has recommended that steps be taken to tackle irresponsible breeders and to change the way the public think about buying dogs. The Kennel Club, which commissioned and funded the report in conjunction with Dogs Trust, welcomes the report’s focus on irresponsible breeders who farm puppies with little concern for their welfare and those who sell poorly socialised puppies on to owners to use as ‘status dogs’ or as fighting weapons. The Kennel Club agrees that additional training and support needs to be given to local authorities, which are responsible for issuing breeding licences to those people who breed five or more litters of puppies in a single year, as the current provisions are deemed to be ineffective. It agrees that compulsory microchipping of dogs and increased public education to stop people falling prey to puppy farmers and to help them find responsible breeders are necessary. It is also glad that the report recognises the need for a ‘robustly policed and well respected quality assurance scheme’, consisting of breeders that buyers can trust to look after their puppies’ health and welfare, and that it suggests that the Kennel Club’s Accredited Breeder Scheme, with some modification could be used. However, the Kennel Club is concerned that the report could have gone further and that its recommendations do not appear directly to cover those breeders who breed less than five litters per year and who are not part of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme. The Kennel Club would have liked to have seen a recommendation for regulation to ensure that these breeders follow higher standards, such as compulsory health testing. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: “Whilst the report recognises that the majority of breeders are responsible, there are those whose actions are bringing the rest of the dog breeding community into disrepute and this needs to be stopped. “We are glad that the report recognises that the Kennel Club has made a good start in its efforts to unite responsible breeders within its Accredited Breeder Scheme, for the benefit of puppies and puppy buyers, and we believe that this should be the basis for moving forward. We are currently working towards UKAS accreditation of the scheme as suggested by Professor Bateson. “We agree that responsible breeders should be rewarded and believe that the show ring is the best forum for this. The report recognises that ‘dog showing and judging are a powerful lever for change’ and the Kennel Club is dedicated to ensuring that only the healthiest dogs are rewarded at shows. “Public education is vital and all dog welfare organisations must continue to work together to ensure that people know what to look for when buying a dog.” The report looks at genetic diversity in breeds and recognises that the Kennel Club has banned close matings. It advises that future decisions about matings that could affect genetic diversity should be ‘breed specific’ and made upon evidence based scientific information and advice. To this end it is recommended that the veterinary profession should gather data to show the prevalence of certain diseases and that an advisory council should develop evidence based breeding strategies. Mrs Kisko continued: “The Kennel Club has long recognised that genetic diversity plays a crucial role in safeguarding the health of dogs and the report is absolutely right to suggest that there are no further blanket rules in place but that decisions are based upon scientific knowledge and are made on a breed by breed basis. This is why we are well on the way to creating a new database which will revolutionise the way that we record dog health data. The data will enable us to bring out our Mate Select programme, which will help breeders to find suitable mating pairs which are most likely to produce healthy offspring. The database will go further than the report’s recommendation, as the data will be attributable to specific dogs, rather than being anonymous, and will give us a better picture of the health of pedigrees and crossbreeds. Such knowledge is critical and will enable us to provide information to breeders, vets, geneticists and ultimately the puppy buyer. “We are keen to harness as much knowledge as possible for the benefit of dogs so we welcome the principle of an advisory council whose members will work with the Kennel Club to advise on decisions about breeding and health. A structure already exists in the form of the Kennel Club’s Dog Health Group with its recently extended remit. Additional independent experts include canine and human geneticists, veterinary surgeons and an epidemiologist. Using this framework for establishing the advisory council under an independent chairman would save significant sums of money, which can instead be devoted entirely to the dog health research that the report identified as being in ‘urgent’ need of more funding.” The Kennel Club and Dogs Trust will now arrange a meeting between all relevant parties in order to move forward with the recommendations from all three reports. Go To Top Of Page Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding After a ten month long inquiry, Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS called for a non-statutory Advisory Council on Dog Breeding, changes in the law including a requirement for all puppies to be micro-chipped prior to sale, and an up-graded Accredited Breeder Scheme. Speaking in London today, Prof Bateson (of Cambridge University and President of the Zoological Society of London) said: “Many breeders exercise high standards of welfare, but negligent management on puppy farms is a major welfare issue as is inbreeding in pure-bred dogs. Fashions for extreme conformations are also a cause of welfare problems.” Professor Bateson also called for a system to collect data from veterinary practices in order to generate robust prevalence data breed by breed; and for the veterinary profession as a whole to support enforcement authorities, help educate the public, and lead a shift towards a preventative approach to dog health. The Report concludes that dog-breeding raises a number of serious concerns about the welfare of dogs. Key recommendations include: • The creation of an independent non-statutory Council to develop breeding strategies which address issues of inherited disease, extreme conformation and inbreeding. • Changes in the law including requirements for the compulsory micro-chipping of all puppies and a duty of care on all breeders to have regard to the health and welfare of both the parents and the offspring of a mating. • The need for a robust Accredited Breeder Scheme setting out requirements with regard to pre-mating health tests, purchasers being able to view a puppy with its mother, all puppies micro-chipped before sale etc. • An urgent need for the creation of a computer-based system for the collection of anonymised diagnoses from veterinary surgeries in order to provide prevalence data for each breed. • New regulations to replace the now out-dated breeding and sales of dogs legislation, and much better enforcement of good welfare on licensed dog breeding premises. • A new publicity and education campaign, delivered by all key dog and welfare organisations working together, to encourage a major improvement in how the public go about buying dogs. Go To Top Of Page REGISTRATION OF A LOW URIC ACID DALMATIAN IMPORT FROM THE USA At its meeting on 5th January 2010, the Kennel Club General Committee accepted an application to register an imported Dalmatian produced from a breeding programme which was originated with an intentional Pointer/Dalmatian cross. This cross-breeding was carried out in the USA as part of a programme aimed at introducing the low (or normal) uric acid gene into the Dalmatian breed. This decision is subject to certain conditions, which include the dog being examined by two Championship Show judges to confirm that its external appearance and characteristics are representative of the breed. The decision taken by the General Committee is in line with the Kennel Club’s commitment to consider applications to register dogs from out-crossings and inter-variety matings if it is felt that to do so may present potential health and welfare benefits. The Kennel Club consulted the Dalmatian breed clubs on this matter and their joint feedback was considered at length by the General Committee before arriving at this decision. Background It is believed that the Dalmatian breed is fixed for a recessive mutation of a gene that alters uric acid metabolism, resulting in increased urinary excretion of uric acid. This gene is not expressed in most other breeds of dog which excrete lower amounts of uric acid in their urine. The use of a recently developed DNA test for this genetic mutation on Dalmatians in the USA has shown that the frequency of the normal gene is close to zero in the USA population of the breed. Similar DNA testing of the UK population has yet to be undertaken, but it is likely that a comparable scenario exists in the UK population of Dalmatians. Some years ago in the USA, a cross-breeding was carried out between a Dalmatian and a Pointer with the intention of producing offspring that were low uric acid (LUA) excretors, because the Pointer used in the cross would not have carried the mutant gene. The offspring from this mating and their descendants have subsequently been back-crossed with purebred Dalmatians over many successive generations Decision Recently, the Kennel Club received a proposal to register an imported LUA Dalmatian that is descended from the initial Pointer/Dalmatian cross. The outcross Pointer appears at least 13 generations back in the pedigree of the imported dog. In line with the general aim of the KC to help individual breeders and breed clubs to improve the health and welfare of future litters, the General Committee has agreed to register this imported LUA Dalmatian subject to confirmation from two championship Show judges that the imported dog’s external appearance and characteristics are representative of the breed. The registration records of this dog and its descendants will be annotated by the KC’s normal asterisk system whereby the progeny of the first mating between the dog and a registered Dalmatian, the F1 progeny, will have their registrations annotated with three asterisks.Then, when F1 progeny are bred from, their progeny, the F2 progeny, will be annotated with two asterisks.F2 progeny will produce F3 progeny which will be registered with one asterisk.The F4 and subsequent generations will have no special annotation. In addition to the above conditions the committee also agreed that the registrations of all progeny would be endorsed with the restriction ‘Not eligible for Export Pedigree’ for the next five years, and the owners would be required to submit a health report, to include BAER testing results, on all progeny in five years’ time. Go To Top Of Page YKC Launches ‘Artist of the Year’ Competition The Young Kennel Club is looking for those budding artists among its members, who have perfectly captured their canine friends in art, with its second annual ‘Artist of the Year’ competition. Entries may be produced by paint, pastel, pencil, pen or crayon, with the best pictures displayed at DFS Crufts 2010. The theme this year will be ‘celebrating healthy happy dogs’. Prizes will be awarded for the artwork that, in the opinion of the judges, explores this theme, with special recognition for originality and creativity. There are three age categories for the competition, 6-11 years old, 12-16 years old and 17-24 years old, with one overall winner then chosen. Each age group winner will receive an artist’s bumper gift set and certificate, with the overall winner receiving a free year’s YKC membership and family ticket to DFS Crufts. Rules of entry: 1. You must be a YKC member. 2. All entries must be received by 19th February 2010. 3. You may only enter one piece of artwork and the artwork must be your own. 4. Your entry should be submitted in flat format and should be no larger than A3 in size. 5. Framed entries will not be accepted. 6. No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost, damaged or delayed in transit. 7. We will only be able to return artwork to you if you send a fully stamped addressed envelope with your entry. Go To Top Of Page KENNEL CLUB PEDIGREE DOG REGISTRATIONS RECORDING OF COLOURS The Kennel Club’s online registration service is growing ever more popular and the Kennel Club’s IT department is keen to ensure that the system is as user-friendly as possible. The subject of colour is always a sensitive issue and the Kennel Club’s principal aim in recording coat colour on registrations is that breeders and potential purchasers should be fully informed about the colour of a dog. The list of available colours for each breed has been reviewed with this in mind, and also taking into account any specific issues raised by Breed Clubs and Breed Councils in the past. Therefore, where a colour does exist in a breed, even if the Breed Standard states that it may be undesirable, this will usually be included in the list of colour options. The new IT system for the recording of coat colours on registrations became effective for online breed registrations and for paper applications with effect from 11th January 2010. Until recently, it had been the norm to use the term ‘non-standard’ for some breed colours which are not mentioned in Breed Standards. This terminology has been changed to ‘non-recognised colour’ but is only available for those breeds where colour restrictions had previously been agreed. If Breed Clubs and Councils have concerns about the list of available colours given for their breed, they should contact Caroline Hallett at the Kennel Club via [email protected], bearing in mind the above limitations. Go To Top Of Page GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS (ALSATIAN) At its meeting on 5th January 2010, the Kennel Club General Committee again looked at the issues surrounding GSDs. As previously reported, the Kennel Club has been very disappointed with the lack of progress made following meetings held with the GSD Partnership during 2008/9. Failure to agree the Minutes of the meeting of the 18th August 2009 is particularly frustrating, especially as the problem of unsoundness in the hindquarters and hocks of some dogs is widely acknowledged within the breed. The Kennel Club has been waiting since July 2009 for the GSD community as a whole to suggest a meaningful and practical way forward which addresses those health and welfare issues in the breed which have been legitimately raised by the Kennel Club. This has not happened and the Kennel Club, as it indicated it might three weeks ago, has now chosen to take some proactive steps with those individual breed clubs which are prepared to help. This is an attempt to safeguard the health and welfare of the breed and to secure its future and has been the Kennel Club’s sole motivation throughout its discussions with the GSD breed community. Basically only those eligible clubs which accept that there is a degree of unsoundness in the hindquarters of the breed that these problems should be penalised at shows and that Kennel Club rules on double handling will be adhered to in future will be allocated 2012 Challenge Certificates. Those who do not accept this will not be given the privilege of Kennel Club Challenge Certificate status. Therefore, at its meeting this week, the Kennel Club General Committee agreed detailed proposals which set out exactly what steps breed clubs and others need to take in order to start to address the major issues within the GSD breed and thus allow for the 2012 allocation of the Kennel Club’s highest award, the Challenge Certificate. That allocation had been deferred pending a proposed resolution to the problems. In order to be considered for an allocation of Kennel Club Challenge Certificates, all GSD Breed Clubs and General & Group Championship Show Societies, which had previously been allocated Challenge Certificates, and wish to have such Certificates in future, are to be required to sign a formal Undertaking to abide by certain conditions for all future shows with immediate effect. Only those Societies which agree to this Undertaking will be considered for an allocation of Kennel Club Challenge Certificates for GSDs in 2012 and beyond. The Kennel Club has written to all GSD breed clubs and affected General & Group Championship Show Societies giving full details of the required Undertaking. A deadline of 31st March 2010 for the receipt of signed Undertakings has been set. Kennel Club Chairman, Ronnie Irving, explained, “The Committee felt it had no choice but to take positive and practical steps now with individual clubs in view of the failure of the GSD community as a whole to respond. Six months have elapsed since the Kennel Club asked for these issues to be addressed and there has been a great deal of talk but not much action. We couldn’t allow this situation to continue unresolved on an open-ended basis. The requirements in the Undertakings are entirely reasonable. I hope that the GSD community will embrace this as an opportunity to take the positive actions necessary to address those breed issues that are apparent to everyone in the world of dogs.” The Undertaking that German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian) Breed Clubs are requested to sign, requires acceptance and adherence of the following conditions: 1. The Club recognises that it will not be allocated Kennel Club Challenge Certificates for German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatian) unless it signifies agreement of the conditions set out below and provides written confirmation of such agreement by the Club’s Secretary and Chairman. 2. The Club accepts that there is a degree of unsoundness in the hindquarters of the breed and in particular in the hocks of some dogs and that these problems are to be penalised at shows. 3. The Club will arrange education of its judges on the correct conformation and movement of the breed; viz – the above faults should be avoided. 4. The Club will brief judges prior to all its shows on their health and welfare responsibilities particularly in regard to soundness of conformation. 5. The Club will adhere to Kennel Club Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h; “The attracting of the attention of exhibits by any method from outside the ring is prohibited. It is the duty of the Judge, Steward and Show Management noticing such attraction to ask that it cease. 6. The Kennel Club escalation procedure with regard to the practice of Outside Attraction (Double Handling) will be adhered to. 7. The Club will ensure that its judges and stewards are under contract in writing to abide by Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h. and that they will adhere to the escalation procedure. Specific wording (as supplied by the Kennel Club) to this effect must be included in the judges’ and stewards’ contract letters. 8. The Club confirms that those who do not abide by the above provisions will be reported to the Kennel Club within seven days of the last day of the show. 9. The Club confirms that it will act in good faith with the Kennel Club on all matters including confirmation that it will not, without the express permission of the Kennel Club, run any events under the rules or regulations of any organisation other than the Kennel Club. 10. Upon request, and in any event annually, the Club will provide a report confirming and demonstrating compliance with these conditions to include reports on any required enforcement of Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h. and how this was achieved. A report on agreement to comply, and compliance with these conditions, will be required during the autumn of 2010 before a review of the Kennel Club Challenge Certificate allocation for 2013 is carried out and it is intended that this requirement will continue on a rolling basis. A practical demonstration that there are definite plans in place and actions commenced in order to comply with these conditions will be required in an annual report and any evidence and reports of non compliance will be relevant factors when considering the Club’s next allocation of Challenge Certificates. The Undertaking that General and Group Championship Show Societies are requested to sign, requires acceptance and adherence of the following conditions: 1. The Society recognises that it will not be allocated Kennel Club Challenge Certificates for German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatian) unless it signifies agreement to the conditions set out below and provides written confirmation of such agreement by the Society’s Secretary and Chairman. 2. The Society will adhere to Kennel Club Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h; “The attracting of the attention of exhibits by any method from outside the ring is prohibited. It is the duty of the Judge, Steward or Show Management noticing such attraction to ask that it cease.” 3. The Kennel Club escalation procedure with regard to the practice of Outside Attraction (Double Handling) will be adhered to. 4. The Society will ensure its judges are under contract in writing to abide by Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h. and that they will adhere to the escalation procedure. Wording to be included in the judges’ contract letters given at Annex B. 5. The Society confirms that those who do not abide by the above provisions will be reported to the Kennel Club within seven days of the last day of the show. 6. The Society confirms that as far as is possible, German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatian) will be allocated to a breed ring in a position amongst the other show rings. 7. Upon request, and in any event annually, the Society will provide a report confirming and demonstrating compliance with these conditions to include reports on any required enforcement of Regulation F(1) paragraph 17h and how this was achieved. Go To Top Of Page THE END OF BACK STREET BREEDERS? Legislation has been published in the Irish Republic which, according to Environment Minister John Gormley, will put an end to ‘back-street dog breeders’. The minister acknowledged that the proposed law, titled the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009, has been a long time in preparation – over three years – but promised to have it approved by parliament ‘at the earliest possible date’. The Bill defines a breeding establishment is any premises which has six or more bitches who are more than four months old and ‘capable of being used for breeding purposes’. This does not include local authority dog pounds. Anyone who already runs ‘a breeding establishment’ would have to apply to their local council for permission to do so no later than three months after the law is approved. Every dog at the premises must be microchipped. Proposed fees The proposed fees breeders would face would be 400 euros for no more than 12 bitches, 800 euros for less than 13 and no more than 25, 1,600 euros for less than 26 and no more than 100, and 3,000 euros for no less than 101 and no more than 200. Mr Gormley believes that if the legislation is passed it will provide safeguards for dogs in breeding establishments while offering assurances to customers about the treatment of puppies and their mothers. “We have all seen some of the appalling images of illegal puppy farms,” he said. “This legislation will put and end to the operations of back-street dog breeders.” The Bill requires all breeding establishments to be registered by the local authority and to pay an annual registration fee. Such establishments would be subject to regular inspections by the local authority which may refuse to register a premises deemed unsuitable or one in need of improvement. It would become an offence for any unregistered establishment to continue in business except where a closure order is being appealed. Hunt clubs, commercial boarding kennels and charitable dog operations such as mountain rescue teams would be exempt from fees but must also register and be subject to inspection. Existing breeding establishments would be permitted to operate for three months after the legislation takes effect, but could then be closed down by the local authority if they did not qualify for the register. All approved premises would receive a registration certificate which must be displayed prominently. Penalties for failure to display it, or for providing false information or obstructing authorised personnel, would range from a €5,000 fine to six months’ imprisonment, with the fines going to the relevant local authority. The Bill also provides for an establishment to be removed from the register by court order if there has been a breach of regulations or a threat to public health or animal welfare. The minister, who is also leader of the Irish Green Party, said there had been ‘significant ongoing consultation with a variety of interested parties’ on the legislation, including the Hunting Association of Ireland and the Irish SPCA, and that he believed the Bill was stronger as a result of their input. “We think that the bad old days, with the cruelties of some dog-breeding establishments, will be left behind,” he said. The proposed legislation was welcomed by the operations manager of the Dublin SPCA, Orla Aungier, who claimed the lack of regulation had led to the Irish Republic being dubbed ‘the puppy-breeding capital of Europe’. Bateson enquiry “We have seen animals in appalling conditions, being bred solely for commercial gain,” she said. “This Bill will afford such animals protection by providing for inspection, accountability and traceability. We see it as a first step in bringing Irish animal welfare legislation up to international standards.” While the Irish Republic is hoping to clamp down on puppy farmers, the findings of the Kennel Club/Dogs Trust-funded independent enquiry into dog breeding are due to be revealed on Thursday. Professor Patrick Bateson has concluded his report and it has been sent out for peer review – but without its recommendations. An article in The Times this week suggested that the report recommends a compulsory registration scheme for breeders of any kind of dog and that – like the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill – breeders will have to be registered and subject to checks on their dogs and premises. The article also suggests that puppies would have to be sold with a veterinary certificate guaranteeing their health and giving the names of their sire and dam and the breeder’s registered number. All dogs would have to be microchipped. Neither the KC nor Dogs Trust has seen the report; the article’s contents have not been confirmed to Terrier World and was described by one source as ‘entirely speculative’.The inquiry’s secretary, Heather Peck, said: “The Times’ reporter did have a discussion with Professor Bateson but he didn’t tell her any of the report’s conclusions and recommendations because no one is being told until January 14. She may have drawn inferences.” Go To Top Of Page NEW DOG HEALTH GROUP TO EXPAND KENNEL CLUB’S HEALTH WORK The Kennel Club is expanding the scope of the work undertaken by the group responsible for dog health and welfare, as part of its ongoing commitment in this area. It is appointing additional experts in dog health and genetics to ensure that scientific advances are harnessed for the benefit of pedigree health. The Dog Health Group, which will replace the existing Kennel Club Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group (BHWSG), will be responsible for ensuring that breeding rules and health testing requirements evolve to give dogs the best chance of leading healthy happy lives. The group will also play a crucial role in the continued development of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme, advising on new health tests that members of the scheme will be required to have carried out on their dogs. The new group will include an additional two veterinary surgeons, which will take the number of vets sitting on the group to four. A range of external experts, including human and dog geneticists and further veterinary surgeons, will sit on the new subgroups which will feed their knowledge into and advise the Dog Health Group. The subgroups will be: Breed Standards and Conformation Sub-Group – to monitor, advise and work with breed clubs and councils on health issues related to dog conformation and breed standards. Genetics and Health Screening Sub-Group – to advise on the development of health screening tests and their effectiveness, assess new tests that may be incorporated into the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme. It will also advise on breeding and registration issues that protect or enhance genetic diversity in individual breeds. Accredited Breeder Scheme Sub-Group – to put into operation health screening requirements and recommendations that have been agreed by the Dog Health Group and breed clubs and councils. The Dog Health Group and its subgroups will replace the Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group, which was formed in 2004 with the primary task of reviewing the breed standards to ensure that they contained no wording that encouraged exaggerations that would be detrimental to pedigree dog health. Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “We want 2010 and beyond to be positive years for pedigree dogs and, in the absence of effective government regulation to control dog breeding, this restructured group will play a critical role. “Scientific advances in the last ten years have given us an exciting opportunity to improve pedigree dog health and has led to a significant expansion of the health and welfare work that the Kennel Club is able to undertake. This new group will coordinate and advise on all aspects of this work, using vital information about dog diseases and how they are inherited to direct the Kennel Club’s future decisions and actions. “The Kennel Club, in conjunction with the British Veterinary Association, has already been able to develop health screening for eye diseases, hip and elbow dysplasia and a number of DNA tests but we want to be able to develop even more tests. That is why we will appoint a wide range of vets, breeders and human and dog geneticists, who are experts in their field, in order to help us achieve this.” The creation of the Dog Health Group, and before this the Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group, is one of many steps taken by the Kennel Club to ensure the future health and welfare of pedigree dogs specifically, and all dogs in general. Such steps include the review of all breed standards; the establishment of the Kennel Club and Animal Health Trust Canine Genetics Centre to accelerate research into inherited diseases; a ban on parent to child and sibling dog matings in 2009; co-funding of the world’s largest survey into pedigree health in 2004 and assistance with Imperial College’s research into genetic diversity of breeds. The Kennel Club is the largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. It invests the money that it makes from registrations and its Petlog identification database into its dog training and education programmes and the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which supports dog welfare charities and research into dog diseases.
i don't know
In which UK city are the headquarters of Morrisons?
Morrisons cuts 720 jobs at Bradford head office - BBC News BBC News Morrisons cuts 720 jobs at Bradford head office 16 April 2015 Image copyright Simon McKeating Image caption Morrisons is cutting 720 staff at its headquarters in Bradford A total of 720 jobs are set to be lost at Morrisons' head office in Bradford. The supermarket said it was beginning a consultation about a "simplified management structure" at its West Yorkshire base, which currently employs 2,300 people. Morrisons said it had also begun recruiting 5,000 shop floor staff for its stores across the country. Chief Executive David Potts said the business had made "tough but necessary decisions". The supermarket said it would be offering opportunities for voluntary redundancy and staff would be offered a role in Morrisons stores, with some redeployed in other parts of the business. Morrisons said it would not "rule in or out" the possibility that head office managers would offered new roles on checkouts or stacking shelves. "They could be made redundant but they will certainly be made the offer of a job within the business," said a spokesman. By Danni Hewson, Business Correspondent, BBC Yorkshire It's almost unheard of for a new chief executive to come into a business and not make changes. David Potts jumped into the hot seat last month and has already created waves. The biggest loser in this latest shake-up must be Bradford. The head office on Gain Lane employs 2,300 people. The cuts announced today will cut that by almost a third. Although affected staff are being offered the chance to find alternate positions within the company, the reality is many are unlikely to take up that offer. Geographically many of the stores may be too distant without relocation and the positions on offer there and across the rest of the business may be unsuitable. In recent months Bradford's unemployment rate has been falling but it is still well above the national average of 2.1% and the loss of such a large number of jobs can't fail to register. It was a tough decision says the company, an even tougher decision is likely to face those staff who've been given the bad news today. Mr Potts added: "We are focusing on the things that matter to our customers. "That means having more of our staff in our stores, improving product availability and helping customers at our checkouts. "To support this, we need a simpler, faster and cost-conscious head office and that requires some tough but necessary decisions." In March Morrisons reported profits down by 52% to £345m, its worst results in eight years. Mr Potts joined the business in March to replace Dalton Philips who left after five years at the helm of the firm. Meanwhile, the company has started on the closure programme of the M local stores that it has earmarked for the axe. Last month it announced that it would close 23 M local stores during the year, resulting in the loss of 380 jobs. It said four stores have been closed, with the remaining 19 to shut over the next few months. Image copyright Morrisons
Bradford
Which cricket county finished runners-up in Division Two to Derbyshire this year, despite the fact that they never lost a match all season?
Morrisons cuts 720 jobs at Bradford head office - BBC News BBC News Morrisons cuts 720 jobs at Bradford head office 16 April 2015 Image copyright Simon McKeating Image caption Morrisons is cutting 720 staff at its headquarters in Bradford A total of 720 jobs are set to be lost at Morrisons' head office in Bradford. The supermarket said it was beginning a consultation about a "simplified management structure" at its West Yorkshire base, which currently employs 2,300 people. Morrisons said it had also begun recruiting 5,000 shop floor staff for its stores across the country. Chief Executive David Potts said the business had made "tough but necessary decisions". The supermarket said it would be offering opportunities for voluntary redundancy and staff would be offered a role in Morrisons stores, with some redeployed in other parts of the business. Morrisons said it would not "rule in or out" the possibility that head office managers would offered new roles on checkouts or stacking shelves. "They could be made redundant but they will certainly be made the offer of a job within the business," said a spokesman. By Danni Hewson, Business Correspondent, BBC Yorkshire It's almost unheard of for a new chief executive to come into a business and not make changes. David Potts jumped into the hot seat last month and has already created waves. The biggest loser in this latest shake-up must be Bradford. The head office on Gain Lane employs 2,300 people. The cuts announced today will cut that by almost a third. Although affected staff are being offered the chance to find alternate positions within the company, the reality is many are unlikely to take up that offer. Geographically many of the stores may be too distant without relocation and the positions on offer there and across the rest of the business may be unsuitable. In recent months Bradford's unemployment rate has been falling but it is still well above the national average of 2.1% and the loss of such a large number of jobs can't fail to register. It was a tough decision says the company, an even tougher decision is likely to face those staff who've been given the bad news today. Mr Potts added: "We are focusing on the things that matter to our customers. "That means having more of our staff in our stores, improving product availability and helping customers at our checkouts. "To support this, we need a simpler, faster and cost-conscious head office and that requires some tough but necessary decisions." In March Morrisons reported profits down by 52% to £345m, its worst results in eight years. Mr Potts joined the business in March to replace Dalton Philips who left after five years at the helm of the firm. Meanwhile, the company has started on the closure programme of the M local stores that it has earmarked for the axe. Last month it announced that it would close 23 M local stores during the year, resulting in the loss of 380 jobs. It said four stores have been closed, with the remaining 19 to shut over the next few months. Image copyright Morrisons
i don't know
On which comedian's radio show did Sid James star for almost six years beginning in 1954 as a character with the middle name Balmoral?
Tony Hancock Appreciation Society - Sid James Sid James HHH Collectibles Sleeve Notes | Sid James With his battered features, wicked leer and possibly the most recognisable laugh in show business, Sid James appeared to the world as a streetwise Cockney ex-heavyweight boxer, an image that he actively encouraged because he knew that it would endear him to millions of fans worldwide. But Sid was no more an East End boy than he was a fighter. "Nobody could ever think of me as a star, " Sid once said. " All I can do is play myself." But being 'himself' was all he needed, because Sid James was loved by millions worldwide, and when he tragically died on stage at the Sunderland Empire on 26th April 1976, the world lost a unique talent. Laurie and Reine Cohen had been living in Johannesburg for a year when Reine discovered she was pregnant. In 1911 she gave birth to a boy, who they decided to call Maurice after one of Laurie's older brothers. The couple had been touring the theatres as an accomplished vaudeville act, usually as second-spotters, and with Maurice's arrival the act was temporarily broken up. Thankfully, Laurie, billed as Lou James, was an accomplished stand-up comedian, so he was able to support the family fairly comfortably. On May 8th 1913, Reine gave birth to a second boy in the back room of her grandmother's house in Hancock Street, Newcastle, Natal. The boy was named Sidney Joel Cohen although it was shortened by other family members to Sollie. 'As soon as my mother was able to get up and about my parents were on tour again,' Sid later recalled. 'I was in a skip in the wings while my mum and dad were on stage doing their act.' By the age of three Sollie found himself thrust in front of the footlights and for a time it must seemed as though this was destined to be his future, as part of the family vaudeville act. But in 1919 Reine and Lou were spotted by an agent who offered them a tour of Australia. They had no hesitation in accepting the offer. Sollie and Maurice were unceremoniously left with relatives in Natal while their parents left to pursue their careers. As far as Sollie was concerned it was an act of betrayal that shattered his relationship with his parents -especially his mother - forever. When the Australian tour finally finished in 1921, Reine returned home alone to collect her children. Now eight years of age, Sollie was sent to Hospital Hill Primary School, where his cousin Joel Cohen was a pupil. To add further confusion, the family had taken to calling Joel 'Sidney'. It was the young lads class teacher who resolved the problem. 'From now on you will be Joel, and Sollie, you will be called Sidney.' Sidney returned home and informed his mother of the name change. 'Okay,' she said 'we may as well change your surname, too.' The following day Sidney walked into school and told his teacher that from now on he would be known by a new name...Sidney James. Sid was not a good pupil. Academically he showed very little ability or interest and was often playing truant. He left school without any formal qualifications and was allocated a place at a nearby Trade School where it was hoped he'd learn to be an electrician. When that failed his mother handed him an ultimatum. He could either join the family business (Reine had opened a hairdressing salon a few years earlier) or he could get out and fend for himself. He chose the former. Surprisingly, Sid found that he had an aptitude for cutting hair and after serving a year's apprenticeship under his uncle, Sonnie Solomon, he was cutting and styling hair for some of Marie Tudor Salon's more valued customers. One of them was the daughter of Joseph Delmont, a rich and respectable member of Johannesburg's Jewish community. Berthe Sadie (Toots) Delmont shared Sid's interest in music and dance -in particular Jazz and the Charleston. This interest rekindled Sid's childhood enjoyment of performing and began to undermine his 'forced' career. After several arguments he quit his job although his growing reputation as a hairdresser meant that offers from other establishments came flooding in. But Sid decided he wanted a complete change of scenery and moved to Kroonstad some miles away. It was 1932. The move did little to placate Sid's dissatisfaction with his career and in an effort to break away he opened a dance school. He hired a large hall at the back of a Kroonstad restaurant and soon found that he had a steady stream of patrons. Not all of them, however, were simply interested in dancing lessons. At 19 years of age, tanned and athletic, Sid James discovered sex, and by all accounts there was no shortage of females who would turn up for dance lessons and then expect a little extra for their money. By late 1934 Sid had become tired of Kroonstad and was ready to return to Johannesburg. Marie Tudor welcomed him back and before long Sid and Toots Delmont were making plans for their wedding. Joe Delmont was horrified that his daughter should be marrying Sid, but also realised there was little he could do. On 12th August 1936 they married. Joe's wedding gift was a salon that he purchased for Sid in the basement of the Carlton Hotel. The hotel was owned by the Schlesinger family who almost twenty years later would invest in one of Britain's first independent TV companies. By this time Sid had acquired another obsession -gambling. Johannesburg had two racetracks and Sid was a constant visitor to both. Now the owner of a thriving business employing around thirty stylists, Sid enjoyed the freedom that being a boss allowed him. He was full of self-confidence, had an instantly likeable manner about him and made friends very easily. Too easily. By the end of October 1936 - just eighty days after he married Toots, Joe Delmont discovered that Sid had been having an affair with a fellow hairdresser who was now pregnant. For the sake of his daughter, Joe paid the woman a substantial amount of money on condition that she leave South Africa and never disclose the truth. By February the next year Sid had got himself involved in another relationship with the same result. Once more Joe paid the girl off and once more Sid returned to his wife. A month later it was Toots' who informed Sid that she was expecting a child. Sid was furious. He claimed it was a plot by Joe to try and control him. Elizabeth James was born in December 1937 but Sid, who took little or no interest in the pregnancy was equally unmoved by the birth. Some months earlier Sid had joined the Johannesburg Repertory Players and just before Christmas was offered a small part in 'Double Error' by Lee Thompson. Through his connections at the Rep, Sid was offered a part in a new series of children's radio broadcasts. He arrived at the studios of the South African Broadcasting Corporation and was partnered with a sixteen-year old girl called Moira Lister. 15 years later the two of them would work together again on another radio show -'Hancock's Half Hour'. Sid had more offers of work coming in from the SABC and was soon offered his first Johannesburg Rep lead in John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'. In the meantime his and Toot's relationship had reached breaking point and ultimately it ended in divorce. Joe Delmont demanded the return of the salon he had purchased as a wedding present, but Sid refused to relinquish control. Delmont promptly put a price on Sid's head. Sid, perhaps wisely, decided it was time to join the Army. With his theatrical background, Sid, after spending some time with the South African Tanks Corp in Abyssinia throughout 1940, was ordered to return to Pretoria and join the Entertainment Unit. Charged with putting on a show to entertain the troupes and promoted to Corporal, Sid took his company, known as 'The Crazy Gang', to the Middle East, starting in June 1942. The tour lasted eight months during which time the company found themselves pinned down under heavy fire at Tobruk. On his eventual return to Pretoria Sid was promoted to Staff Sergeant. In 1943 Sid married Meg Sergei. The couple had known each other since 1939, when Sid was still married to Toots, and Meg had volunteered for the Army when Sid signed up. In September 1945 Meg fell pregnant, and with the war almost over the couple began planning their future. An acquaintance of Sid's, Larry Skikne, had received a government grant to travel to London and enrol at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. On hearing this Sid and Meg applied for, and received a grant of ¬£450.00. Enough to get them to England and tide them over until Sid could find a job. (Years later Sid would help Larry Skikne to chose a new name -one that he became internationally known by; Laurence Harvey.) Sid and Meg arrived in England on Christmas Day 1946. They arranged to stay at 3 Queens Gate Mews near London's Gloucester Road. Sid had bought with him a letter of introduction to playwright Emlyn Williams and had also been given the names of two BBC producers. He wasted no time in writing to them outlining his stage and radio experience and informed the BBC producers that he was able to do American or Cockney accents as well as play tough-guy parts. He was also capable of some comedy. One of the recipients of Sid's letters, Peter Richmond, invited the unknown South African actor to an interview on Thursday 16th January at 11.30am. A few days later Sid and Meg were out walking through London's West End when they bumped into John Tore and Olga Lowe, some old friends from their last Entertainment Unit party. Tore and Lowe were on their way to an audition to play a gangster and his moll in a British film. At Tore's suggestion Sid accompanied them to Archie Parnell and Company, a theatrical agency that was now being run by Archie's widow, Phyllis Parnell. On arrival at Parnell's office in Golden Square, Sid was promptly offered the part of the gangster, Eddie Clinton, in the film 'Black Memory'. Sid agreed to allow Phyllis to represent him. He had been in England for nine days and had got himself both a film role and an agent. 'Black Memory' was released without much ado; most critics agreed that it was a miserable and insignificant film but during its shooting Sid made friends with Michael Medwin who in turn got Sid a part in a film called 'Night Beat'. As previously, Sid's role was unaccredited. But he was beginning to get noticed and by August had signed a standard BBC contract to appear in a Light Programme drama, 'The Fabulous Miss Dangerfield'. By December he had been offered a second radio part and had already appeared in five films. 'It Always Rains On Sunday' is often (incorrectly) cited as Sid's first British screen appearance. The film, made by Ealing Studios, starred Jack Warner and Googie Withers. It was actually Sid's fourth film but was the first for which he received a credit. Critically it was well-received and brought Sid to the notice of a wider audience. Impresario Jack Hylton was one of them. Hylton was looking for new talent for his play, 'Burlesque', which would open in Manchester in December 1947 and transfer to Her Majesty's Theatre in London in January 1948. Sid was offered a small part as a loveable drunk. By the time the play transferred to London Sid's part had been expanded to include an extra scene especially written for him. By the time the play ended its run Sid was already being offered other parts. As well as appearing regularly on the London stage he continued to accept a number of small, walk-on film parts. On 1st August 1948 Sid took the first steps in a new medium -television. Sid played Sharkey Morrison in two episodes of 'Kid Flannagan', broadcast on 1st and 5th August. Ten days later he landed his first lead role since arriving from South Africa when TV audiences saw him play Billy Johnson in a two-part drama, 'The Front Page'. On the home front things were not great between Sid and Meg. Although Meg had given birth to a baby girl on 26th April 1947, the couple's relationship was rapidly deteriorating and rumours began to reach Meg of Sid's extra-marital affairs. As a result of this she began drinking heavily and on many occasions Sid would return home to find her drunk, which then led to further arguments. Sid had, in fact, also begun a relationship with a nineteen-year old actress, Valerie Assan. Early in 1951-film director Charles Chrichton, who was about to begin shooting a new comedy for Ealing Studios, approached Phyllis Parnell as he wanted to hire one of her clients but couldn't remember his name. From Chrichton's description, a rugged looking, gravel-throated actor, it soon became apparent that the man he wanted was Sid James. The comedy, written by T.E.B. Clarke, was about a plot to smuggle gold to the continent. Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway had already been cast, and Chrichton wanted Sid to play a Cockney safecracker. The film was to be called 'The Lavender Hill Mob'. It was Sid's first 'A' feature movie, and it won an Academy Award for best script. From that moment on Sid appeared in a number of impressive films and was eventually offered a starring role in 'The Square Ring' in which he played the owner of a boxing ring. It was one of a number of films that Sid used to propagate the misconception that he had, prior to his showbiz career, earned a living in the boxing ring. There's no doubt that Sid was quick with his fists whenever it suited him, but in reality he'd never been anything more than a bar-room brawler. Still, the legend was good for the image. By 1953 Sid was a highly bankable British star and was even attracting interest from America, MGM being the first to cast him in a US production 'Crest Of A Wave' starring Gene Kelly. Another film of note that Sid appeared in that year (in all, he made 10 movies in 1953) was 'Orders Are Orders', a British comedy which starred Peter Sellers, Eric Sykes and Tony Hancock. A wind of change was in the air for British comedy. The standard format for a radio light entertainment show was for it to feature the 'star name' or double act, accompanied by a number of upcoming comedians in small supporting roles, all partaking in a number of different sketches that were broken up by musical interludes. On 1st May 1953 an outline for a new type of comedy series landed on the desk of BBC's Head of Variety. Sid James' star was about to rise even higher... Tony Hancock had been appearing in just such a radio, 'All-Star Bill', when the series producer, Roy Speer was taken ill. His replacement, Dennis Main Wilson, unhappy with the shows content, enlisted the writing talents of two relatively unknown, but talented newcomers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Then in 1953, Galton and Simpson, knowing that the BBC were anxious to give Hancock his own starring vehicle, came up with the concept of a rather pompous character who would hold court in a bed-sit somewhere in London. The show would be centred around the character's hopes and misadventures, and would star other comedians but be devoid of catchphrases, silly voices or musical numbers. For the series to work, Hancock needed a small circle of friends and a girlfriend, to whom he could impart his words of wisdom, or blame for his misfortunes. Australian actor Bill Kerr, an old Hancock chum was the first to be cast. Second was the former South African radio starlet Moira Lister. To complete the trio of flate-mates, Galton and Simpson knew exactly who they wanted. The just didn't know his name. The pair had seen the actor they wanted in 'The Lavender Hill Mob', and in order to discover his identity they had to track the film down to a cinema in Putney, where it was enjoying a second release. 'We had to sit through the entire film until the credits came up.' Said Ray Galton. The actor they wanted was, of course, Sid James. Dennis Main Wilson arranged a meeting with Sid, but to everyone's surprise Sid refused to commit himself to the radio series. Sid wasn't sure that he could cut it in radio comedy, although the excuse he used at the time was that he was earning more money making around ten films a year than he was likely to earn for each of the proposed thirteen radio shows. In the end, Hancock and Main Wilson talked him into doing the first show. 'So I tried one,' said Sid. 'And then I tried two, and I'm very glad I did.' Alan Simpson vividly remembers Sid's first 'Half Hour' show. 'Sid was so scared he had a trilby hat pulled down over his head and had the scripts arranged on a stand so that he could hide behind them. There was just something he hated about doing radio in front of an audience. We never found out what it was.' Although nervous, Sid still put in a professional performance and Ray Galton remembers him as a tremendous support to Tony Hancock. Year's later, Moira Lister recalled: 'from the start he (Hancock) was very neurotic and worried about everything. It was never a relaxed and happy show. Sid, on the other hand, was relaxed and easy going.' But the combination worked very well. 'Because Sid was un-neurotic, he was able to cope with Tony's neurosis and was probably a very good balance for him, both in and out of the studio.' One other joined the cast for that first programme - Kenneth Williams. Although Sid and Ken are always thought of as friends as well as working partners, mainly because of their involvement in the 'Carry On' series of films, they had a very uneasy relationship. Sid didn't care much for Ken's overt homosexuality, and made no secret of the fact. Personality clashes or not, 'Hancock's Half Hour' became an enormous hit with the public, and was a benchmark series by which all subsequent sitcoms were judged. Sid's first experience of the popularity of the show came eight days after the series ended. As he strode onto the stage at London's Prince's Theatre he was greeted by rapturous applause by the audience, which lasted for a full three minutes. By 1955, 'Hancock's Half Hour' was emptying theatres' pubs and chip shops up and down the country. The TV series, which arrived the following year, had exactly the same effect. Although Hancock was undoubtedly the star of the series, his performances were enhanced greatly from the benefit of Sid's experience in front of the camera. 'Sid was a very good technician,' said producer Duncan Wood. 'He knew what a reaction shot was all about, and so Tony quickly twigged the reaction shot business.' Through 'Hancock's Half Hour', Sid was rapidly becoming a television star in his own right. Perhaps the BBC should have looked after him better, because to their horror in January 1958 he was poached by Independent Television. Associated Rediffusion had offered Sid a staring vehicle, playing alongside Miriam Karlin in the Wolf Mankowitz scripted series 'East End, West End'. In it Sid played the part of a Cockney, not far removed from his 'Hancock' character, who tried to make an honest(ish) living by ducking and diving, wheeling and dealing. The series was scheduled to run for a six-week series followed by a seven week break and then another series of thirteen episodes. The first series was to go out on the same night as the 'Hancock's Half Hour' radio series. Tom Sloan, the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment, wrote to Sid concerned that the second series of 'East End, West End' might make the star unavailable for the next 'Hancock' series. But as it turned out, 'East End, West End' didn't go down too well with the viewing public and the second series was never made. However, determined not to let Sid go again, the BBC offered him a series of his own, to be broadcast between the next two series of the TV "Hancock" shows. Sid turned them down. After the failure of 'East End, West End', Sid was worried that he may be outstaying his television welcome. Instead, he accepted an offer to appear in the Tommy Steele movie, 'Tommy The Toreador'. Another film offer, which was made in 1959, was to change Sid's career forever, and inscribe his name indelibly in the minds of the British public. Shooting for 'Carry On Constable' started on November 9th 1959. The movie was inspired by the popularity of the BBC series, 'Dixon Of Dock Green'. Sid played the part of Sergeant Wilkins, whose job it is to lick into shape the most incompetent set of new recruits imaginable. The film starred Kenneth Williams, who Sid had previously worked with on "Hancock", and Kenneth Connor, with whom Sid struck up a great friendship. In the autumn of 1959, Tony Hancock called for a meeting with TV producer Duncan Hill Wood and writers Galton and Simpson. The temperamental star had decided that he'd had enough of the 'Hancock's Half Hour' format and wanted to try something different. He agreed to do one more series, but only if Sid James was dropped. He was concerned that the public thought of them as a double-act, and felt it was time to re-emphasize his own persona. However, Hancock was not prepared to give his friend and co-star the news himself. He left that to the BBC executives. Sid was summoned by the BBC, unaware of the bombshell they were about to drop on him. Liz Fraser, occasional 'Carry On' star who had also appeared in the 'Hancock' TV and radio series, said that there had never been any deterioration in the relationship between Tony and Sid. 'Suddenly it just stopped.' She added: 'Sid was distraught. He just couldn't believe it.' The following June the BBC gave Sid his own TV series, 'Citizen James'. The writers were Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Both men later admitted that they wrote it because they felt sorry for the way Sid had been treated. In it, Sid played the part of Sidney Balmoral James (a name that has often, but incorrectly been cited as his real name), a fast-talking, quick-thinking gambler who only just managed to stay on the right side of the law. Alan Simpson said that it was exactly the same character that Sid had played in "Hancock". 'We just took Sid away from Hancock so he could carry on working on his get-rich-quick schemes.' In fact, it wasn't until Talbot Rothwell started writing the scripts for the 'Carry On' films, with 'Carry On Cabby', that Sid was able to break away from the lovable rogue character that the British public had come to know him as. In it Sid plays Charlie, the owner of a cab company who is a workaholic to the point of neglecting his wife, Peggy (Hattie Jacques). When Charlie fails to show up for their wedding anniversary Peggy comes up with a scheme to teach him a lesson. She sets up a rival cab company staffed entirely by glamorous women, and steals all his business. 'Carry On' director Gerald Thomas recalled Sid's great comedy timing and his generosity as an actor: "He never resorted to any tricks at all, and he never upstaged anyone. He was a kid at heart. In 'Carry On Cowboy', I'd find him behind the scenery twirling a six-gun and trying to practice a fast draw. And he always liked to gamble. He would run a sweepstake every day based on how many minutes of film we'd shoot." The 'Carry On' series of films were hugely popular and each one managed to turn a profit within a month of their release. But the most Sid ever earned from a production was ¬£5,000. Even so, this was around ¬£2,000 more than many of the other actors were getting. In 1966 Sid was offered a new series in which he would co-star with Peggy Mount. The sitcom, written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, was called 'George And The Dragon'. It proved to be a big hit with viewers and Thames Television commissioned a second series, which went before the cameras in 1967. It was during the filming of an episode on May 13th that Mount noticed that Sid didn't look too well. Sid, in spite of suffering from chest pains, insisted that they finish the recording before going home. Early the next morning Sid was admitted to hospital in a serious condition. He had suffered a heart attack. On hearing of Sid's heart attack one of the first people to phone Valerie was Tony Hancock. The call was short, Hancock wished his old friend well and ended the conversation abruptly. Neither Sid nor Valerie ever heard from Tony Hancock again. A year later he would take his own life. In October 1967 Sid returned to work on the second series of 'George And The Dragon', although most of the people he worked with agreed that there were times during the recording of those episodes when he looked awful. Within days of completing 'George And The Dragon' he was back on the set for the latest 'Carry On' film. Because he was still not too well most of his scenes were rewritten so he spent most of 'Carry On Doctor' confined to a hospital bed. It was the first 'Carry On' in which Sid starred alongside Barbara Windsor. Whenever one television series finished for Sid another wasn't far behind. In 1968 he began filming 'Two In Clover' with Victor Spinetti. They played a pair of stressed out city workers who turn their backs on the rat race and buy a small country farm. It can fairly be described as an early version of 'The Good Life', sans Surbiton. It proved popular enough to run for two series from February 1969 to March 1970. When it finished Sid was offered what would turn out to be his most successful and best-remembered sitcom; 'Bless This House'. Created by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, 'Bless This House' was a studio based domestic comedy in which Sid starred, for the first time, as a family man. The character he played, Sid Abbott, was probably the closest he ever got to portray his real self on screen. Apart from the obvious difference (Sid Abbott worked by day as a rep for a stationery firm) the character's favourite pastimes were birds, booze and football. He may have also enjoyed the occasional flutter on the horses, too. In real life, Sid James 'occasional flutters' were nothing short of compulsive. Also in 1971, Sid filmed 'Carry On Henry', in which he played a lecherous monarch in pursuit of the lovely Bettina, played by Barbara Windsor. Again, fiction was not far removed from the truth. Sid had become infatuated with Windsor through successive 'Carry On' films and by the time the series had reached the stage, in 'Carry On London', at the Victoria Palace in 1973, that infatuation had become an obsession. Sid continued to pursue Barbara and shower her with gifts until they did in fact end up having an affair, but according to her, she never loved him. In her autobiography she wrote, 'I just wanted to get it over with. 'It'll get it out of his system,' I told myself.' Sid had other ideas. He confided in his friends that he was prepared to leave Valerie. In the end Barbara broke off the affair, but Sid was distraught and told Barbara that without her he'd be dead within a year. Sid's agent, Michael Sullivan, said that Sid never got over her. 'When he lost Barbara,' said Sullivan 'he lost the will to live.' That year, 1975, Sid was preparing for a sixth season of 'Bless This House' and there was talk of a 'Sid James Television Special'. First though, Sid was due to go to Australia and star in the touring farce, 'The Mating Season'. It played to sell-out performances. When he returned to England with the same production in 1976, Thames Television signed a contract to record the play for transmission at Christmas. On Monday 26th April 1976, the curtain came up at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland. 'The Mating Season' was in the early weeks of a full-length provincial tour. Sid and co-star Olga Lowe delivered their opening lines. Sid was standing behind Lowe, so when she delivered a particular line she didn't understand why Sid did not responded to it. By this time Sid had opened his mouth to speak, then stepped back and lowered himself onto a sofa. At first Lowe thought that Sid was playing a trick so she ad-libbed. The audience thought it was part of the act and roared with laughter. But it was no trick. It was not part of the act. Sid James was dead. Whatever the role, lovable rogue, lecherous lady-killer, or downtrodden husband, Sid James always came across as 'one-of-the-lads'. He effortlessly projected natural personal warmth and it was that that endeared him equally to his many fans as well as his fellow actors. After his death affectionate tributes poured in from the many showbiz personalities that had worked closely with him throughout his long career. 'Carry On' producer Gerald Thomas said; 'He was a super person to get on with. He had great comedy timing and he was a generous actor. He always encouraged young people. He never upstaged anyone. We've lost a fine comedy talent, and I have lost a great friend.' 2017 © Copyright Tony Hancock Appreciation Society
Tony Hancock
What H was the Christian name of Mr Royce, founder of the car company Rolls Royce?
Radio Days News http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/06/george-cole Val Doonican, singer, has died aged 88 (3 July 2015) Val Doonican, the Irish singer who has died aged 88, rose to fame in the early 1960s when he appeared in Sunday Night at the London Palladium; his relaxed manner and easy charm made him extremely popular with family audiences, who appreciated his whimsical renditions of folk songs such as Paddy McGinty’s Goat, O’Rafferty’s Motor Car and Delaney’s Donkey. Doonican distinguished himself from other performers at that time by sporting a range of knitwear more usually seen in Lapland and by performing many of his songs while sitting in a rocking chair. In 1951 Val Doonican moved to London and made his radio debut as a member of the Four Ramblers on Riders of the Range. He played one of a number of bunk-house boys who were heard crooning cowboy songs in the gaps between the action. At the same time he was supplementing his income by writing musical accompaniments for Tex Ritter. When not performing as cowboys, the group toured Britain, appearing at various variety venues. By 1953 they were working regularly in cabaret, performing at American Air Bases. In 1959 Val Doonican auditioned as a solo performer with BBC radio and was offered a spot on Dreamy Afternoon which led to his own show, Your Date with Val. Doonicans’s mix of songs and stories proved popular and the following year he was touring the country with his own show. In 1964 Val Doonican was offered a spot on ITV’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium and was acclaimed as an “overnight star”. Within a year he was appearing on BBC television in The Val Doonican Music Show and was voted BBC Personality of the Year (an award he won three times altogether). more.... Marguerite Patten, food writer and broadcaster, has died aged 99 (10 June 2015) Marguerite Patten helped the nation to feed itself through the war years and for the next half century taught the British how to cook "sensible food in an appetising manner". As a home economist with the Ministry of Food during the war, Marguerite Patten showed housewives how to get by with a tin of Spam and a ration book. She rose to prominence in the post-war years, becoming one of the BBC’s first food broadcasters, on Kitchen Front and then on Woman’s Hour. Marguerite Patten predated Philip Harben, the Cradocks and Elizabeth David and endured for decades longer. She was the most prolific cookery writer ever, the author of more than 165 cookery books, which sold over 17 million copies worldwide. She was also one of the few people ever to have been decorated for their services to cookery. From 1947 Marguerite Patten was the BBC’s first regular television cook, on Kitchen Front. She gave recipes on Woman’s Hour from its second day, and even starred in cookery shows at the Palladium. In 1952, she wrote a regular column for The Daily Telegraph called “Merry-go-round of Meals”. Over the next 40 years, as Britain moved from being the nation with the reputation for the worst cooking in Europe to the most cosmopolitan food culture on earth, Marguerite Patten played a full part in showing the amateur cook how to get to grips with the huge new range of ingredients and fashions. more.... Ronnie Carroll, Eurovision singer, has died aged 80 (14 April 2015) After Carroll appeared in a BBC television talent show, Camera One in 1956, positive reaction to his warm baritone led to a recording contract with Philips and to frequent radio appearances on the Light Programme and Radio Luxembourg. Carroll was also a guest on the television shows of Morecambe and Wise, Bruce Forsyth, Kathy Kirby and others. Also in 1956 his first hit record, Walk Hand in Hand, reached No 13 and the following year The Wisdom of a Fool entered the top 20. Further records were less successful, until in 1962 Carroll had a top 10 hit with Roses Are Red (My Love). In 1962 Carroll was also chosen as the national standard bearer for that year’s Eurovision song contest. His song, Ring-a-Ding Girl, came a creditable fourth, a good enough position to ensure that Carroll became the first vocalist to represent Britain in the contest for two years running. His 1963 entry, Say Wonderful Things, composed by Norman Newell, also achieved fourth place. more.... Gerry Wells, radio enthusiast, has died aged 85 (December 2014) Gerry Wells was a self-confessed obsessive whose life was dominated by his fascination with radio apparatus. By the time of his death he had amassed a collection of more than 1,300 radio and television sets and associated equipment, covering the entire pre-transistor history of broadcasting. This had become the British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum, and today it occupies his lifelong home, a substantial Edwardian house in Dulwich, south-east London. The collection contains many working examples, most of them found and brought back to life by Wells himself. Visitors can have the unique and somewhat unsettling experience of watching live television programmes in the old 405-line, black-and-white format, abandoned in 1984. more.... http://bvwm.org.uk/ Ronnie Ronalde, artiste famous for his whistling and yodelling, had died aged 91 (13 January 2015) In 1950 the EMI record producer Norman Newell was in a pub on the Edgware Road when Ronalde performed "If I Were A Blackbird" on the radio. As the customers were silent as he performed, Newell realised that this could be a hit record. That and "In A Monastery Garden" became best-selling records and favourites on the BBC programme Housewives' Choice. He recorded the songs of the day, singing and whistling his way through "Hair Of Gold, Eyes Of Blue" and "Mocking Bird Hill". He discussed bird song with the ornithologist Percy Edwards and when he recorded "Ballad Of Davy Crockett" he made sure that his choice of birds was right for the area. He could mimic flutes and violins, while his version of "I Believe" highlighted his commanding tenor voice. Ronalde was a major attraction and audiences marvelled at his lightning-fast versions of "Tritsch Tratsch Polka" and "Can-Can". He hosted variety series for the BBC and ITV, but in the late 1950s there was a decline in variety acts and he was seen as an anachronism. more.... Bill Kerr, Australian actor, has died aged 92 (30 August 2014) Bill Kerr made his name on the radio in Britain in the 1950s, becoming particularly well-known for his role (alongside Sid James and Hattie Jacques) as one of Tony Hancock’s three cronies in Hancock’s Half Hour. But Kerr was also a character actor of distinction, giving memorable performances as a racketeer in My Death is a Mockery (1952); as the bomber pilot Micky Martin in The Dam Busters (1955); and as a mentally disturbed crook in Port of Escape (1956), co-starring Googie Withers and Joan Hickson. His other films of this period included Appointment in London (1952), You Know What Sailors Are (1954) and The Night My Number Came Up (1955). In 1954 he joined Hancock’s Half Hour, which ran on the radio for six series and later moved on to television. As Hancock’s Australian lodger at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam, Kerr appeared as the gormless, slow-on-the-uptake butt of his landlord’s humour. The role made Kerr a household name in Britain, and he later resumed his partnership with Sid James in the first series of the television comedy Citizen James (1960). more.... Juno Alexander, actress, broadcaster and local politician, has died aged 88 (2 August 2014) Juno Alexander was the older sister of the Conservative politician Lord St John of Fawsley (Norman St John Stevas) and the first wife of the actor Terence Alexander; she made a name in her own right as an actress, broadcaster and local politician - and as a woman of idiosyncrasy and verve. During the war she joined the Free French and worked with the Resistance; later she served as a Conservative councillor on Richmond council, south-west London. From the late 1940s to the 1960s, Juno Alexander made frequent appearances on television, in programmes such as The Alfred Marks Show, The Max Miller Show and The Eamonn Andrews Show. After the births of her children, she did less work, but still had small parts in films and in television series, among them Compact and Garry Halliday (a precursor to Dr Who in which she appeared with her husband as his air stewardess girlfriend), and also appeared in series such as Harpers West One (1961) and Love Story (1963), She also appeared on television and radio panel shows including Petticoat Line, with Anona Wynn, Just A Minute and Going for a Song. more.... Neal Arden, actor and one of the voices behind Housewives’ Choice, has died aged 104 (1 August 2014) Neal Arden was for more than 20 years one of Britain’s favourite presenters on Housewives’ Choice, the popular record request programme broadcast every morning, six days a week, from 1946 to 1967 on the BBC Light Programme. In a long and varied career in theatre, film, radio and television, Arden worked with many of the leading stars of their day, from Richard Tauber, Leslie Henson, Trevor Howard and Dulcie Gray to Roger Moore, Harry Secombe, Prunella Scales, Donald Sinden and Doris Day. He was an assiduous fundraiser for charity and, as an actor, took numerous supporting roles both on stage and in television series such as Maigret, Ivanhoe, Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green and I, Claudius. He also wrote songs, plays and film and television scripts. He made his screen debut in the 1934 film Princess Charming. Other film credits over the years included the wartime anti-Nazi thriller “Pimpernel” Smith (1941); John Wesley (1954); and The Shakedown (1960). His most substantial role was in Norman Walker’s Life of St Paul (1938), in which he played the saint from beardless youth to bewhiskered old age. His early theatrical credits included Toad of Toad Hall (Royalty, 1933); Blossom Time (1942, with Richard Tauber, Lyric); Night of the Garter (Strand, 1942); and The Lilac Domino (His Majesty’s, 1944). In the 1950s Arden wrote many scripts for the new Independent Television and record reviews for newspapers and magazines. more... . Antony Hopkins, composer and broadcaster, has died aged 91 (14 May 2014) The name of the composer Antony Hopkins is synonymous with the radio series Talking About Music, which started in 1950 and ran for 36 years on the BBC Radio. He chose the works himself, from a schedule of music coming up for broadcast, and his engaging delivery and gentle humour, accessible to the general listener without talking down, made his voice one of the most familiar on the air. Several of these talks can still be heard on the internet. In 1939 he entered the Royal College of Music, eventually studying with the pianist Cyril Smith and with Gordon Jacob for orchestration. He won the Chappell Gold Medal for piano and the Cobbett Prize for composition, and it was his extraordinary aptitude for the latter that brought Hopkins his first work, writing incidental music for the BBC drama department, including for Louis MacNeice's productions of The Golden Ass and Cupid and Psyche (for which he produced 130 pages of orchestral score in less than a week). These were followed by many commissions for radio, film and theatre, notably The Pickwick Papers (1952 – again, all done in 11 days), Cast a Dark Shadow (1955) and Peter Ustinov's Billy Budd (1962), and many productions in the West End and at Stratford. He twice won the Italia Prize, a radio award, in 1952 and in 1957. more.... Geoffrey Wheeler, presenter of Songs of Praise and Top of the Form, has died aged 83 (2 January 2014) Geoffrey Wheeler began making radio programmes for the BBC while studying Law at Manchester University and in 1954 was appointed the Corporation’s radio producer for the northern region. He cut his teeth on variety shows, working with such entertainers as Ken Dodd, Benny Hill and Morcambe and Wise. As the smartly-blazered, avuncular question master on Top of the Form from the early 1960s to 1975, Wheeler earned a place in the cultural hinterland of a generation of vaguely bookish, mostly middle-class, viewers of the sort who now do sterling service as members of pub quiz teams. The show began in 1948 on the BBC’s Light Programme and Wheeler joined as co-question master with Paddy Feeny. Each would present his half of the show from a different school hall, the two being connected by a then state-of-the – art (for the BBC) landline. In 1962 the show transferred to television, slimmed down to a single location and with Wheeler as its sole presenter. Wheeler went freelance in 1963 and as well as presenting Top of the Form, appeared as a panellist on Call my Bluff, as a story teller on Jackanory, and spent 21 years as a regular presenter of Songs of Praise, now the world’s longest-running television religious programme. more.... David Coleman, Sports |Commentator, has died aged 87 (21 December 2013) David Coleman was the face and voice of BBC Television sport for 40 years, the anchorman for the flagship Grandstand programme on Saturday afternoons and later the affable host of the popular quiz A Question Of Sport. In 1953 he started freelance radio work in Manchester and the following year joined the BBC in Birmingham as a news assistant. Having made his first television broadcast on Sportsview in May 1954 on the day Roger Bannister became the first runner to break the four-minute mile, Coleman was appointed sports editor, Midland Region, in November 1955. After the editor of Sportsview, Paul Fox, had seen him interview the footballer Danny Blanchflower on regional television, Coleman transferred to London. In 1958 the BBC’s Head of Sport, Peter Dimmock, offered Coleman the frontman’s job on the new sports magazine programme, Grandstand. He made his name on the programme where his ad libs and mastery of football trivia standing alongside the teleprinter as the football results came in revealed remarkably acute and detailed research. But he became frustrated by being always studio-bound and yearned for a new challenge. In 1967, however, after repeated wooing by ITV, he signed a new seven-year BBC contract at �10,000 a year, making him the highest-paid broadcaster in television sport. more.... Jean Kent, actress, has died aged 92 (1 December 2013) Jean Kent adopted a variety of stage names. At different times she was Peggy Summers and Jean Carr, finally adopting the name Jean Kent in 1943 in It’s That Man Again, a film version of the popular radio show ITMA, starring Tommy Handley. Her big break came when she was hired as a dancer and understudy in the Max Miller show Apple Sauce (1941) at the Palladium. During rehearsals one of the leading ladies was sacked and Jean was asked to replace her at short notice. She was then spotted by Weston Drury, casting director at Shepherd’s Bush studios, and signed to a contract with Gainsborough Pictures. She landed her first leading role, in Caravan (1946). In the interim, she had played supporting parts in such pictures as Champagne Charlie (1944), a Tommy Trinder musical about the heyday of music hall, Madonna of the Seven Moons (1944) and The Wicked Lady (1945). Through much of the Fifties, Jean Kent concentrated on the theatre, appearing in plays and pantomimes (notably a Prince Charming in Cinderella) for which she had hitherto had little time. In later years she was seen more frequently in television. She played Good Queen Bess in a 1962 series based on the life of Sir Francis Drake and subsequently appeared in such long-running series as Emergency Ward 10, Up Pompeii, Crossroads, Lovejoy and Shrinks. more.... Graham Stark, actor who was frequently cast in supporting roles in comedy films starring his close friend Peter Sellers, has died aged 91 (31 October 2013) After the war Stark joined the bohemian coterie frequenting the ornate Grafton Arms pub in Victoria where up-and-coming entertainers like Terry-Thomas, Jimmy Edwards, Tony Hancock, Dick Emery and Alfred Marks held court. It was in the Grafton’s back bar that Stark renewed an RAF friendship with Peter Sellers while Sellers and Spike Milligan experimented with material that, in 1951, would metamorphose into The Goon Show. As well as providing madcap voices for The Goons, Stark also appeared in other popular radio shows of the day, notably Educating Archie, with the ventriloquist Peter Brough, and Ray’s A Laugh, starring the Liverpool comedian Ted Ray. Whenever Spike Milligan failed to turn up for a Goon Show recording, Stark would stand in for him; and when Milligan and Sellers moved into television with A Show Called Fred in 1956, Stark joined the cast. In 1964 Stark starred in his television comedy sketch series, The Graham Stark Show, which — although written by Johnny Speight, later to create Till Death Us Do Part — proved a flop. more.... Singer Joan Regan, who had chart success in the late 50s and early 60s, has died aged 85 (15 September 2013) Joan Regan had a number of hit records, including Ricochet, May You Always and If I Give My Heart to You. Regan also had her own BBC television series, Be My Guest, for several years. The singer starred on both sides of the Atlantic with artists such as Perry Como, Max Bygraves and Cliff Richard. Regan, who was born in 1928 in Romford in Essex, was one of the most popular British singers of her era and appeared regularly on radio and TV. Her career took off after theatrical impresario Bernard Delfont heard her recordings and signed her up with his agency. Regan soon won a recording contract with the British record label, Decca Records, although only for a trial period of three records, which by her own admwwaission "didn't exactly set the hit parade alight". However, Decca released a recording she had made some months earlier of a song called Ricochet. The record paved the way for theatre, radio and television engagements. Regan was later to feature on American television with major performers including Eddie Fisher, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Perry Como. She appeared at the London Palladium many times, with other entertainers such as Max Bygraves, Cliff Richard, Russ Conway and Edmund Hockridge. In 1984, she hit her head in the shower causing a blood clot on the brain which left her paralysed and without speech. But after therapy she made a complete recovery, singing again in Britain on radio and in concerts. more.... David Jacobs, actor and radio and TV broadcaster, has died aged 87 (3 September 2013) David Jacobs' first acting role was as Laurie in the BBC's first TV adaptation of Little Women (1950-51). When Charles Chilton's Journey into Space proved to be a great radio hit in the 1950s, Jacobs introduced it and took 22 roles. After a period on Radio Luxembourg he was offered the freelance job of disc jockey on the radio programme Housewives' Choice, on which Jacobs had to play record requests and punctuate them with anodyne chat. He was perfect for the job. It was a natural progression when he took over Juke Box Jury on TV, chairing a celebrity panel as they assessed likely chart hits – hailed with a hotel-reception-counter bell – or misses – dismissed with a hooter. At one time Jacobs seemed to be always on television whenever the on-switch was turned, with appearances on What's My Line, Top of the Pops, the Eurovision Song Contest, Come Dancing, Miss World and many more. When a senior BBC executive advised him that it was all too much, he reinvented himself as a player with more gravitas, to succeed Freddy Grisewood on Any Questions? Having conceded that he was "too square for the pop scene", Jacobs became a stalwart of Radio 2, presenting music programmes in a succession of formats right up until a few weeks before his death. more.... David Spenser, child radio star of the 1940s and 50s, has died aged 79 (2 August 2013) David Spenser was the predominant child radio star of the 1940s and 50s and will be best remembered for his portrayal on air of Just William. The author Richmal Crompton cast him in the role, in a series of dramatisations of her novels about the raucous but endearing 11-year-old outlaw. This was in 1948, when David turned 14 and was already a seasoned radio actor. He had come into acting through a ruse set up by his ambitious mother and a BBC friend: he was lured into Broadcasting House and found himself in a studio being auditioned by the Children's Hour producer Josephine Plummer. For playing the lead in Just William he received the standard juvenile fee of four guineas – one-liner or starring role made no difference to the sum. In the early 1950s, he managed a wobbly treble to play the part of Hurree Jamset Ram Singh in a TV serialisation of another children's favourite, Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School. more.... Arnold Peters, Archers actor, has died aged 87 (14 May 2013) Arnold Peters was an established member of the BBC drama company in Birmingham when he first joined The Archers in 1953, to play a farmhand with marital problems called Len Thomas. Len was written out after 13 fraught years, but Peters returned in 1968 and — with a different accent and personality — became the Rev David Latimer, vicar of Ambridge (the fictional setting for the series). That role lasted five years until the trendy vicar, who was ahead of his time for most of the villagers (he wanted them to call him David), was killed off by the scriptwriters in 1973. After that Peters took a seven-year break from Ambridge. He returned in 1980 to take over as Jack Woolley after the death of the fruity-voiced Philip Garston-Jones, who had played the character for 18 years. Like most Archers actors, Peters pursued a vigorous career alongside his commitment to Ambridge. He wrote and directed pantomimes, produced Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and was both a drummer in a folk dance band and a country dance caller. more.... Daphne Oxenford, Radio presenter and actress, has died aged 93 (4 January 2013) Known to millions as the voice of Listen With Mother, Daphne Oxenford would open each programme by asking: "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin." She was also one of the original cast members of Coronation Street, playing Esther Hayes, and was a cast member of Midsomer Murders until 2008. Debuting in 1950, Listen With Mother consisted of stories, songs and nursery rhymes for children under the age of five. It began at 1:45pm every weekday, to coincide with the end of children's lunchtime meal. At its peak, it had an audience of more than a million. Oxenford narrated the programme from 1950 to 1971, and her meticulously modulated opening phrase was eventually included in the Oxford dictionary of quotations. But regular listeners will also recall the words that would precede her arrival: "And when the music stops Daphne Oxenford will be here to tell you a story". more.... Charles Chilton, radio author and producer, has died aged 95 (4 January 2013) Charles Chilton, created two of the BBC’s classic 1950s radio serials, 'Riders of the Range' and 'Journey into Space' and in 1963 wrote the stage show 'Oh, What a Lovely War!'. Chilton was a prolific talent, writing and producing scores of popular and successful BBC radio programmes. The adventures of Jet Morgan in Journey into Space recounted man’s conquest of the Moon and an expedition to Mars. The serial ran for only two years, but it enthralled an entire generation for whom a lunar landing was still a far-fetched fantasy, and by 1955 it had built an audience of five million, so becoming the last radio drama to record higher ratings than television. His earlier radio success, Riders of the Range, had been launched in January 1949. Chilton drew on authentic background material about the Wild West, assembled from documents and diaries of contemporary Americans, to shape the adventures of his cowboy hero, Jeff Arnold (played by Paul Carpenter), and his companions Luke, Jim Forsythe and faithful dog Rustler. Chilton went on to produce the comedy series Take It From Here, followed by documentaries on subjects as diverse as Victorian Britain, the General Strike, the Mormons and the American Civil War. Then his treatment of the Great War, based on his father’s experiences, brought him enormous success on the London stage with Oh, What a Lovely War! more.... Patti Page, popular singer, has died aged 85 (3 January 2013) Patti Page had a huge hit in the United States with 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?' and became the biggest-selling female star of the 1950s. With its mawkish lyric and barking dog obbligato, How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? seemed unlikely hit material. But American sales exceeded two million in 1953 alone and, confounding the critics, Patti Page’s total sales ran to more than 40 million. Patti Page catapulted to fame with her first hit, Tennessee Waltz (1950). It was released as the B-side of Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, but proved infinitely more popular with record buyers and radio stations than the seasonal hokum on the A-side. At the time she was singing thrice-nightly at the Copacabana nightclub in New York, where her act had been largely ignored by the noisy, inattentive crowd. But the success of the gentle, lilting Tennessee Waltz propelled her to national stardom on television when she was booked as a summer stand-in for Perry Como in 1952. By 1958 she was hosting her own television show, drawing notices approving of her homespun personality, and the following year she was cast in a small singing role in the film Elmer Gantry (1960), starring Burt Lancaster. Two further films followed, Dondi (1961) and Boys’ Night Out (1962), but it was not long before she realised that Hollywood was not for her, and thereafter she concentrated on recording and live performances, returning to New York for appearances at the Copacabana and the Waldorf-Astoria. She continued to have chart hits into the mid-1960s, her last being in 1968 with a version of Little Green Apples. more.... Kenneth Kendall, the first BBC newsreader to appear on television, has died aged 88 (14 December 2012) Kenneth Kendall's long association with the BBC began in 1948, when he became an announcer on the Home Service. He transferred to Television News in 1954, presenting with Richard Baker. At first the newsreader did not appear in vision, for fear that facial expressions would suggest that he had opinions of his own. Instead briefings were read over a series of still images and maps. Only in 1955, with the imminent launch of ITN promising a less formal news service, did the BBC decide to take a risk; Kendall became the first "in-vision" newsreader, broadcasting from Alexandra Palace on September 4. He stayed with BBC News on and off for three decades, gaining a reputation for his immaculate appearance, clear diction and unflappability. In the end, however, his firm adherence to Reithian values led to clashes with his producers, and in 1981 he left the BBC, three years before he was due to retire, complaining about the “sloppily written and ungrammatical” stories he was expected to broadcast. more.... Max Bygraves, singer and comedian, has died aged 89 (1 September 2012) Max Bygraves became famous for his stage performances, notably in 19 Royal Variety Performances, and went on to lead the market in the kind of foot-tapping nostalgia which characterised his “Singalongamax” recordings. He had spent the war as a fitter in the RAF, and in 1945 went to work as a carpenter in East Ham when a chance meeting with an RAF contact — outside the London Palladium — secured an appearance in the BBC variety show 'They’re Out'. The bandleader Jack Payne heard the programme, and this led to a spot in a new show, 'For the Fun of It', in which Bygraves starred with Donald Peers and a young Frankie Howerd. In 1950 Jack Parnell and Cissie Williams hired him as a replacement for Ted Ray at the Palladium, a role he filled so successfully that he was back in Argyll Street a few weeks later, appearing with Abbott and Costello at the theatre which was to become, for a number of years, his second home. He gave his first Royal Variety performance in November 1950, and was invited to join the radio ventriloquist Peter Brough in 'Educating Archie', the show which "launched", among others, Tony Hancock; Bygraves’ then scriptwriter, Eric Sykes; and 14-year-old Julie Andrews, who was ousted from her singing spot when Bygraves arrived. During the 1950s there were numerous stage appearances in Britain, notably in 'Wonderful Time', and in 'We’re Having a Ball', which also starred the Kaye Sisters and Joan Regan. Bygraves took some time off from having a ball to write You Need Hands, a song which ran for several months in the Top 20. more.... Alf Pearson, singer who moved successfully from music hall and variety to radio and television, has died aged 102 (7 July 2012) The brothers Bob and Alf Pearson were one of the most popular music hall acts of the 1930s and 1940s and, after the war, they found national fame as part of Ted Ray's radio series, Ray's a Laugh. They would introduce themselves with the words, "We bring you melodies from out of the sky, my brother and I" and would harmonise popular songs to Bob's piano accompaniment. Recording for a variety of labels, the brothers made an impact with "Ro, Ro, Rollin' Along", "Great Day" and "When You're Smiling". They worked with Sir Harry Lauder and Gracie Fields and toured with both Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. They were the first duo to appear on TV, although as Alf said, "There were only about 400 sets in the country and the picture was the size of a cigarette card." In Ted Ray's series, Bob performed as a variety of characters. Alf recalled: "Ted would say, 'Why, it's a little girl, what's your name?' and Bob would say, 'Jennifer' and there would be a comedy routine." The brothers toured on the strength of Ray's a Laugh and had dolls made that they would give to girls called Jennifer. They toured in a stage show for another radio success, Take It From Here, and had some of the biggest-selling records for Parlophone, sometimes working with a young George Martin. Their singles included "Red Roses For a Blue Lady", "Careless Hands" and a song for the Coronation, "In a Golden Coach". The work dried up with the advent of rock'n'roll but during the 1970s they became involved in music hall revivals. In 1985 they appeared on Highway with Harry Secombe. more... . Eric Sykes, comedian, actor and scriptwriter, has died aged 89 (4 July 2012) Sykes became a national figure through his long-running television partnership with Hattie Jacques. The series, entitled either plain Sykes or Sykes and a [whatever was the theme of that week’s episode], ran from 1960 to 1965 - at which point Sykes announced that he was finished with it for ever - and then from 1972 to 1979. In 1941, four days before his 18th birthday, he joined the RAF. Trained as a wireless officer, he served on the beaches of Normandy (where the noise of the guns affected his hearing) and at the siege of Caen, and was present at the German surrender on Luneberg Heath. Sykes also had the opportunity to join an entertainments section run by the actor Bill Fraser, later Snudge in the television series Bootsie and Snudge. After the War, Frankie Howerd invited him to provide material for the radio show Variety Bandbox. Sykes was soon working for Tony Hancock and Hattie Jacques, both of whom he met on the Educating Archie series. He was also occasionally called upon to emulate Spike Milligan as scriptwriter for The Goon Show. Nevertheless, he always longed to perform on his own account. He directed a number of films with an emphasis on visual humour, notably The Plank (1979), with Arthur Lowe and a cameo role for Frankie Howerd, and Rhubarb (1969), which featured Harry Secombe, Jimmy Edwards and Hattie Jacques. Sykes had long acted in the cinema, and was especially good as a gipsy in Heavens Above (1963) and as Terry-Thomas’s factotum in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). His other film credits included The Bargee (1963), One-Way Pendulum (1964), Rotten to the Core (1965), Shalako (1968), Monte Carlo or Bust (1969) and The Boys in Blue (1983). more.... tribute.... Bert Weedon, guitarist, has died aged 91 (20 April 2012) His big musical break came after the war, when he joined Stephane Grapelli’s group as a replacement for Django Reinhardt, then progressed through the rhythm sections of various popular dance bands of the day, including those of Harry Leader, Lou Praeger and Harry Gold. By the early Fifties, Weedon was resident guitarist with the BBC Showband under Cyril Stapleton and worked on regular radio sessions. Signed to EMI’s Parlophone label as a solo artist, Weedon’s first record, Stranger Than Fiction, was released as a 78rpm single in 1956. Weedon also became a prolific broadcaster, appearing regularly on children’s television shows such as Tuesday Rendezvous and Five O’Clock Club, as well as on radio and fronting his own long-running ITV series. Through his skimpy 'Play-in-a-Day' manual, which first appeared in 1957, Weedon introduced aspiring musicians to the three basic chords that underpinned most of the simple rock and roll hits of the Elvis era, and explained what to do next. more.... Ronald Wolfe writer of Educating Archie, The Rag Trade and On The Buses has died aged 89 (20 December 2012) Ronald Wolfe was a cousin of the actor Warren Mitchell. He worked as a radio engineer for Marconi before contributing scripts to BBC radio series and writing material for Beryl Reid's stage shows. In 1953, a year after Reid joined the radio comedy Educating Archie, starring the ventriloquist Peter Brough and his schoolboy puppet, he was asked to produce scripts for it and eventually became head writer. The programme also featured Ronald Chesney performing his "talking harmonica" novelty act and at times included Benny Hill, Dick Emery and Bruce Forsyth. Wolfe and Chesney continued in the same roles for a 1956 BBC television special and the 1957 series Archie in Australia but, when ITV launched Educating Archie (1958-59) on television, Chesney abandoned performing and worked on scripts, doing the same for the final two radio series, finishing in 1960. more.... Edmundo Ros, bandleader, has died aged 100 (23 October 2011) Edmundo Ros was the first to hit on the mix of melody and rhythm which made Latin-American dance music so popular in the dreary austerity days of the 1940s and 1950s. The seductively orchestrated Latin-pop songs that set British feet tapping in the 1940s and 50s made the Trinidad-born bandleader Edmundo Ros a household name. But beside such musical success, Ros made a remarkable reinvention of his life: the mixed-race "outsider" successfully challenged the British class system, to become, as he put it, "a respected gentleman". During the second world war, Ros briefly drove ambulances before launching his own 16-piece dance orchestra to play at the Coconut Grove Club at 177 Regent Street. He alternated between that and the Bagatelle Club off Picadilly, where members included Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, and the heads of Europe's allied forces. Most significant to Ros, Princess Elizabeth danced there with her friend Captain Wills. Ros's popularity escalated in postwar Britain through live radio concerts, produced by Cecil Madden. In 1948, he supported Carmen Miranda for a year at the London Palladium, while still playing the Coconut Grove, and the following year The Wedding Samba sold 3m copies in Britain and entered the US charts. On the radio, his hit records were a constant presence on programmes like Housewives' Choice and Two-way Family Favourites. On British TV, Ros performed on faux-Spanish sets for The Billy Cotton Band Show, Saturday Night at the London Palladium and the Royal Variety Shows, and in 1965 was hired by Madden for A Night of 1000 Stars, the opening party for the BBC TV Centre, where he backed Vera Lynn and the Beverley Sisters. more.... Robert Robinson, broadcaster and writer, has died aged 83 (13 August 2011) Although he had made his first radio broadcast in 1955, it was BBC Television's early 1960s film review programme Picture Parade that first brought him to the public eye. This led to an even more popular programme, Points of View. Originally a five-minute gap filler before the news, Robinson briskly and amusingly conducted the presentation of viewers' letters about BBC programmes. He became best-known as the host of three long-running quiz shows. On television, from 1967, there was Call My Bluff and Ask the Family. (The first, a wordy parlour game for mid-league celebrities, he satirically renamed Call My Agent.) On radio, from 1973, he hosted Brain of Britain. In 1971 Robinson was persuaded to join Radio 4's early morning Today programme. Also on radio Robinson's satirical side was given free reign in his role as chairman of the incestuous but acerbically droll Radio 4 programme Stop the Week, which ran from 1974 until 1992. more.... Archie Andrews, the dummy loved by millions, is back on stage (19 July 2011) Ventriloquist dummy Archie Andrews, whose radio show Educating Archie attracted 15 million listeners and featured co-stars like Tony Hancock, is returning to the British stage after 50 years. The show came to an end in 1958 and following Brough's death, in 1999, the 64-year-old dummy has been in the hands of a private collector. Now Archie is entertaining crowds once more at the Cromer Pier Seaside Special - exactly 50 years since Brough and Archie performed at the same venue. Ventriloquist Steve Hewlett said: "Archie insists he has no plans to update his 1950s' garb - cap, scarf, stripy blazer - nor his 1950s' attitudes, so it's been a bit of a headache in the wardrobe department." more.... Janet Brown, Comic actress and impersonator of Margaret Thatcher, has died aged 87 (27 May 2011) In 1946, while taking part in rehearsals for a Jack Hylton revue, Janet Brown met the actor Peter Butterworth, who was later to appear in the Carry On films. They married the same year, and she credited him with sharpening her sense of humour. She appeared with him in the first TV sitcom, Friends and Neighbours, which ran for six episodes in early 1954. They played husband and wife George and Constance Bird, opposite Banny Lee and Avril Angers as Arthur and Maisie Honeybee. The theme tune was a popular hit for Billy Cotton and his Band. The children's TV show Whirligig alternated with "Telescope" on Saturday afternoons when both started in 1950, but the latter was replaced in 1951 by "Saturday Special" which was hosted by Janet Brown and Peter Butterworth. Whirligig's star was Mr Turnip and his opposite number was Porterhouse the Parrot (voiced by the great and legendary Peter Hawkins). Janet was also in demand on radio and later appeared on The Goon Show. On television, Janet Brown appeared in Rainbow Room, Where Shall We Go? and Friends and Neighbours before the Seventies’ taste for impressions led her to concentrate on the showbusiness niche that would make her famous. On shows such as Who Do You Do (in which she appeared with Freddie Starr) and Mike Yarwood in Persons she gave impressions of the Coronation Street character Hilda Ogden, the entertainer “Two-Ton” Tessie O’Shea, Noele Gordon and Pam Ayres among others. In 1981 she was given her own show, Janet and Co, making an impact with her impersonations of Mrs Thatcher and the celebrated dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse. She also played Margaret Thatcher in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981) and on Roy Hudd’s The News Huddlines on Radio 2. more.... James Casey, radio producer, has died aged 88 (25 May 2011) James Casey was the son of the gravel-voiced comedian Jimmy James and produced the long-running radio comedy show The Clitheroe Kid; he also discovered the comic Les Dawson. After the war Casey joined his father and his cousin, Jack Casey (better known as Eli Woods), in a three-handed stage comedy act that owed much to the music-hall tradition. When his father moved into radio, Casey became his full-time writer. He also wrote some of the classic Over The Garden Wall monologues for another northern comedian, Norman Evans. In 1954 Casey - under the alias Cass James - became a BBC producer, and teamed up with the 4ft 3in comedian Jimmy Clitheroe. The following year, Clitheroe appeared in Call Boy, a radio comedy series featuring Ted Lune, Margery Manners and Denis Goodwin. Written mainly by Casey, assisted by Frank Roscoe, the show developed into The Clitheroe Kid, broadcast between 1957 and 1972 and produced by Casey. more.... Bob Block, comedy scriptwriter, has died aged 90 (6 May 2011) Bob Block was a prolific writer on both radio and TV shows from the '40s until the late '80s. His earliest writing was for the radio show 'Variety Bandbox' where he wrote for Derek Roy and Frankie Howard. He was probably best remembered as scriptwriter of 'Life With the Lyons' from 1951 for ten years. He also wrote for 'Starlight Hour' which starred Vic Oliver, Ronnie Barker, June Whitfield, Kenneth Connor, Dick Bentley, Ronnie Stevens, Bernard Braden and Barbara Kelly and also for 'Arthur's Inn' which starred Arthur Askey. For television Bob wrote for the children's programme 'Crackerjack!'. See here for his full CV. Keith Fordyce, unflappable host of ‘Ready Steady Go!’ has died aged 82 (29 March 2011) On obtaining his degree, he worked as a football commentator for BBC TV, his first broadcast being on the Leyton v Hereford match on 22 November 1952. A comment on the BBC's files says that "his voice lacked crispness". Fordyce presented a flagship programme, Housewives' Choice, for a week in August 1955, and this time the assessment was "Professionally-modulated, virile voice and not too smooth; but no strong character, no indication of extra entertainment potential." Also in 1955, Fordyce fought a municipal election for the Conservatives and won a seat on Wimbledon Council, but he was to move to Radio Luxembourg as a staff announcer. He presented their weekly Top Twenty programme and stayed with the station for three years. In 1960, he comp�red Jack Good's ITV show Wham! which featuredBilly Fury, Little Tony and Dickie Pride. That was short-lived but he became the original host for Thank Your Lucky Stars and the Sunday morning radio show, Easy Beat. In August 1963 Fordyce hosted the first edition of Ready Steady Go! for Associated Rediffusion and it was thought that his know-how would help the inexperience of Cathy McGowan and Michael Aldred. The chaos was all too real, especially on one programme where Marianne Faithfull was to walk down a spiral staircase lip syncing to "Blowin' In The Wind", but the wrong record was cued – the Kinks' "All Day And All Of The Night". The cameras switched to Fordyce to save the day. Among his more embarrassing duties was to preside over a weekly mime competition. Still, he preferred Ready Steady Go! to being the straight man for Groucho Marx in his only UK television series. more.... Sir George Shearing, jazz pianist and composer, has died aged 91 (15 February 2011) Sir George Shearing was one of the most successful pianists in jazz, developing a style of such enduring yet broad appeal that it became known as the "Shearing sound"; he also composed several well-known jazz themes, including the standard Lullaby Of Birdland. Shearing's international popularity was based initially on the quintet which he formed in 1949, featuring the novel and attractive sound of piano, guitar and vibraphone playing in unison. This was much imitated, but no one else could quite replicate its fragile charm, or the fleet virtuosity of the leader's own piano solos. As his career developed, Shearing broadened his musical range, revealing himself to be an immensely resourceful and witty improviser. Among the Quintet's biggest successes were a version of Jerome Kern's Pick Yourself Up (1950), with its clever introductory eight bars in strict canon, and – in homage to the celebrated jazz club in Manhattan – Shearing's own Lullaby Of Birdland (1952). Ultimately the latter tune acquired such overwhelming renown that Shearing was well-used to being known for little else. Later in the 1950s, Shearing pursued an interest in Latin-inflected jazz. He had another hit record with Mambo Inn (1954) and appeared leading a Latin ensemble in the 1959 film Jazz On A Summer's Day. In the same year he recorded the hugely popular album Beauty and the Beat with the singer Peggy Lee. more.... Trevor Bailey, the cricketer, has died aged 87 (10 February 2011) Trevor Bailey was England's leading all-rounder after the Second World War and known as Barnacle Bailey on account of his dedication to the forward defensive stroke; he subsequently made a living from the game as an author, journalist and (for more than 30 years) commentator on Test Match Special. In the popular estimation Bailey's reputation for leaden batting tended to obscure his rare talent as a bowler – fast-medium with a model high, sideways-on action which encouraged outswing. At his best he could touch greatness, and never more so than in the first innings of the fifth Test at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1954. On a docile pitch he took seven for 34, shooting out the powerful West Indies batting – Gary Sobers came in at Number 9 – for 139, and enabling England to square the series. First with Alec Bedser, and then with Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Frank Tyson, Bailey was one of a quartet of fast or fastish bowlers who established England as the leading force in Test cricket from 1953, when the Ashes were regained after a gap of 20 years, to 1958-59, when the Australians unexpectedly snatched them back again. more.... Edmundo Ros celebrates his 100th Birthday (7 December 2010) Caribbean musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader, Edmundo Ros OBE celebrates his 100th birthday today. He made his made career in Britain and directed a highly popular Latin-American orchestra, had an extensive recording career, and owned one of London's leading night-clubs. Edmundo Ros was born in Trinidad in December 1910. The family moved to Caracus, Venezuela. Edmundo's musical career started in the army, then he became the tympanist in the Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. He moved to London in 1937 to continue classical studies, but popular music was to become his career. He played drums in the Fats Waller recordings, played percussion and sang in Don Marino Barreto's Cuban band and formed his five-piece Rumba Band in 1940, and the rest is history. more.... Robert Hudson, broadcaster and broadcasting administrator, has died aged 90 (7 June 2010) Robert Hudson, a radio broadcaster of impeccable professionalism in the best traditions of the BBC, was for many years a well-known voice at important cricket and rugby union matches and an exemplary commentator on State occasions. Having obtained a postwar degree from the London School of Economics he shone sufficiently at a BBC audition in 1946 to become a freelance commentator on cricket and rugby. He also covered the Boat Race three times and became the master of the state occasion. He broadcast from 31 countries, covering six royal tours by the Queen between 1961 and 1967, four state visits and four independence ceremonies. Public events that he described for radio included 21 successive Trooping the Colour ceremonies, 16 Cenotaph Remembrance Day services, four state openings of Parliament, the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday service, the royal weddings of Princess Margaret (1960), Princess Alexandra (1963), Princess Anne (1973) and the Prince of Wales (1981), and the funerals of Sir Winston Churchill (1965), the Duke of Windsor (1972) and Field Marshal Montgomery (1976). For television he covered the annual Lord Mayor’s Banquet, the first and last nights of the Proms, the funeral of Dag Hammarskj�ld and President John F. Kennedy’s meeting with the Pope in 1963. He also presented Songs of Praise, Pick of the Week, Down Your Way, Christmas Bells on Christmas Morning, every year from 1965 to 1981, and, on more than 200 occasions, the Today Programme on Radio 4. more.... Roland Fox, BBC Parliamentary correspondent throughout the 1950s, has died aged 97 (16 May 2010) Roland Fox was a BBC Parliamentary correspondent and only the second to hold the post; he covered the last years of Churchill's premiership and the heated Suez debates, the first televised State Opening of Parliament, and accompanied Harold Macmillan on his "Wind of Change" tour of Africa. There was no guidance, no training and no autocue; he often read straight from his notes on to the air, anticipating the next morning's press by many hours. When Winston Churchill resigned in 1955, there was a newspaper strike, so the story was broken by the BBC's Parliamentary staff. When regular television news bulletins began in July 1954, it often meant a long taxi journey to Alexandra Palace in north London, allowing Fox some time to learn his lines by heart on the way. Later the Westminster studio was adapted for television. On one occasion the studio lights suddenly failed in the middle of Fox's piece. He knew what he wanted to say and gamely continued in total darkness to the end of his live report. He never had any editorial supervision; all that was required, he said, was that he come out on time. more.... Tom Fleming, actor and television presenter on important state occasions, has died aged 82 (20 April 2010) For 44 yearsTom Fleming gave a very definite Scottish identity to the BBC's coverage of the Edinburgh Tattoo. His musical voice brought a feeling of home-grown passion to the events on the Esplanade. That voice captured the excitement and solemnity of many occasions, starting with the Queen's Coronation in 1953, when Fleming was outside Westminster Abbey. He also provided the television commentary for the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Queen Mother and numerous other state occasions. Another annual duty was the Ceremony of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. Fleming was able to find the correct intonation for any event and make it suit the occasion. Fleming was a renowned actor and did prestigious seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and was closely connected with the epic drama The Three Estates, which he first performed at the Edinburgh Festival in Tyrone Guthrie's celebrated production in 1953. In 1953, he joined the BBC to commentate on the Coronation and proved a natural: unflappable and always ready with some information when things were delayed. In 1956 he gave a sympathetic reading of the title role of Jesus of Nazareth: particularly challenging as it was the first time the face of Christ had been acted on television. The 12-part series, shown over Easter, displayed Fleming's acting skills to excellent effect. One of his more unusual assignments was to front the BBC's coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest from Edinburgh in 1972. Fleming's contribution to outside broadcasts for the BBC was immense. He commentated on two royal weddings and ten funerals, and the enthronement of two Popes and three Archbishops. One of his last broadcasts was on Radio 4 in 2007, when he was in a dramatisation of Walter Scott's Heart of Midlothian. more.... Kenneth McKellar, among the most popular of Scotland's singers, has died aged 82 (11 April 2010) He became familiar to English television viewers courtesy of the BBC and The White Heather Club, a hugely popular Scottish country dance and music show which ran from 1958 to 1968 and, at its peak, drew an audience of 10 million. The White Heather Club featured stars such as Andy Stewart, swathed in lace and tartan, singing Donald Where's Your Troosers? and Kenneth McKellar with poignant renderings of Song of the Clyde, Bonnie lass o' Ballochmyle and other stirring numbers. In between, dainty girls in white blouses and laced pumps, and young men with kilts and fixed smiles, would whisk and whoop each other through the Dashing White Sergeant or the Eightsome Reel to the strains of Jimmy Shand and his Band. After abandoning the operatic stage, in 1954 McKellar signed with the Decca record company. Over a period of 25 years he recorded some 45 LPs, ranging from oratorio to Burns songs, achieving massive sales all over the world. During the 1950s McKellar became well-known in Scotland through radio, singing Scottish songs, light opera and popular songs on his own series, A Song For Everyone, for the BBC. At the same time, he began trying his hand as a songwriter and was responsible for such ballads as The Tartan, which has been covered by some 40 artistes and The Royal Mile, which was heard by more than four million people during the televised opening of the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. In 1966 McKellar was chosen to represent Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest, singing A Man Without Love. It was not a happy experience. Despite widespread predictions that he would win, he was placed ninth, a result he attributed to the fact that the Scandinavian nations had "made a mockery of the whole contest" by voting for each other. more.... Sir Alec Bedser, the Surrey and England cricketer, has died aged 91 (5 April 2010) His supreme triumph came in 1953, when his 39 wickets at 17.48 apiece in five Tests enabled England to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since the Bodyline series of 1932-33. The other nine bowlers used by England that summer managed only 52 wickets between them. In the first Test in 1953, at Trent Bridge, on a pitch that was far from vicious, Bedser returned figures of seven for 55 and seven for 45, in the process overhauling Sydney Barnes’s record of 189 Test wickets for England, which had stood since 1914. Later that summer, in which he celebrated his 35th birthday, he established a world record for Test bowling when he surpassed Clarrie Grimmett’s total of 216 Test wickets for Australia. He also became the first England bowler since Barnes to take 100 wickets against Australia. Alec Bedser continued to play for Surrey until 1960, frequently captaining the side in Peter May’s absence. He played a vital part in Surrey’s run of seven consecutive championships from 1952 to 1958, particularly in 1957, when he temporarily recovered full fitness. He served on the England board of selectors from 1961 to 1985, and as chairman from 1968 to 1981. more.... Harry Carpenter, sports journalist and boxing commentator, has died aged 84 (22 March 2010) For millions of television viewers, Harry Carpenter's boxing match commentary was an essential ringside ingredient. After wartime service in the Royal Navy as a Morse code operator, he worked on several newspapers before joining the Daily Mail as boxing columnist. In 1949, Carpenter offered his services to the BBC as a boxing commentator, but because there was no relevant footage to hand at his audition, he had to provide a commentary for a football match instead. He heard nothing for months, until the head of outside broadcasts, Peter Dimmock, phoned him to ask whether he could fill in as commentator for an amateur boxing night. Harry Carpenter proved himself adept at commentating on a host of other sporting events, but it was always boxing with which he was most closely associated. His first fight commentary for the BBC was in 1949 and in the next decade, he was responsible for the first live commentary from behind the Iron Curtain in 1957 and the first via satellite from the United States. For much of the 1970s and 80s, Carpenter co-hosted the Sports Personality of the Year programme, having first contributed in 1958. He was "flattered and pleased" that he was asked to pay tribute to the Sports Personality of the Century, Muhammad Ali. more.... Sir John Dankworth, pioneer of modern jazz has died aged 82 (7 February 2010) Johnny Dankworth, was a leading composer of film music, a tireless champion of musical education, regardless of genre, and a superb instrumentalist in his own right. In 1950 Dankworth formed his first band, the Johnny Dankworth Seven, containing some of Britain's leading young soloists. The style was neatly arranged bebop, inspired by Miles Davis's band of the time. Although this enterprise almost collapsed in its early days, a modest growth in the audience for modern jazz allowed it to gain a foothold. Within a year, the Seven, and Dankworth himself, figured among the winners in the annual polls conducted by the music press. In 1951, the Seven appeared in one of the two inaugural jazz concerts at the Royal Festival Hall. In the same year the Seven recruited a young and totally inexperienced singer, Cleo Laine. Dankworth broke up the Seven in 1953 and launched his first big band, consisting of eight brass, five saxophones, rhythm section and three vocalists. In the mid-1950s the orchestra had a long-running radio series in which Dankworth made a point of introducing guests from other musical genres. These were mainly classical virtuosi, such as the clarinettist Jack Brymer and violinist Kenneth Essex. In 1960 Dankworth gave up full-time bandleading in order to concentrate on composition. He composed and conducted the music for Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (Reisz, 1960) and The Criminal (Joseph Losey, 1960). So successful were these, and so distinctive the music, that the Dankworth sound became inseparably linked with the new wave of British cinema in the 1960s. Among the best known are The Servant (Losey, 1963), Darling (John Schlesinger, 1965), Modesty Blaise (Losey 1966) and Morgan, A Suitable Case For Treatment (Reisz, 1966). To these were added television themes such as The Avengers (1961) and Tomorrow's World (1966), as well as an endless stream of advertising commercials. John Dankworth and Cleo Laine were married in 1958 and their careers were intertwined thereafter. more.... Bill McLaren, Rugby union broadcaster, has died aged 86 (20 January 2010) Bill McLaren spent 50 years commentating on rugby union matches for BBC radio and television. In this role his powerful Scottish tones, memorable turns of phrase, dedication to research and rigid impartiality proved an awesome combination, enhancing the broadcast experience for millions of listeners and viewers throughout club and international seasons. In 1948 he was selected for the final trial to represent the Scottish national team but was unable to compete, having been given a diagnosis of tuberculosis. When he recovered he worked for three years as a reporter on the Hawick Express, all the while maintaining his strong interest in rugby. Unbeknown to him, a colleague with BBC connections wrote to a friend in London recommending McLaren’s services as a rugby commentator. On the strength of this McLaren was offered a commentary test. He was characteristically reluctant to accept the challenge but eventually agreed, making his debut on the Scottish Home Service in January 1952 for the South of Scotland versus South Africa game. This led, in 1953, to his national radio debut covering the Scotland v Wales international. In 1962 he switched to television. McLaren’s day job was to supervise sport and teach PE in Hawick’s five primary schools. He filled this role from the early 1950s until 1987, and was proud to have taught several of Scotland’s future international players in their youth. more.... Max Robertson, writer, broadcaster and sports commentator, has died aged 94 (20 November 2009) Max Robertson was the first presenter of Panorama, of BBC Television's antiques quiz show Going for a Song, and was a commentator at the Queen's Coronation in 1953; but he was best known as the "other voice of Wimbledon", alongside the television pundit Dan Maskell. Robertson covered every Wimbledon final for the BBC from 1946 to 1986 and transformed the art of tennis broadcasting for radio. He delighted audiences by being able to describe with riveting exactness every stroke that was being played, conjuring up a dynamic mental picture of what was taking place on court. Following service during the War, he began doing outside broadcasts, initially for the BBC European Service then, from 1949, for Outside Broadcasts. He was chosen to do the commentary for the first postwar Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1948 and covered summer and winter Olympiads. He also covered the royal tour of Canada in 1951 when the young Princess Elizabeth deputised for her father who was too ill to travel. Robertson established a reputation as a jack-of-all-trades. In addition to his outside broadcasts for radio, he was in increasing demand for television, working on children's programmes, sports broadcasts and conducting interviews. During the Coronation he was to be seen on the Victoria Embankment alongside three cameras, shouting against the full-throated cheering of thousands of schoolchildren as the Queen passed by. He became caught up - briefly - in BBC current affairs broadcasting when, in 1953, he was appointed to present the new flagship programme Panorama. This was, originally, a fortnightly "magazine" programme with the presenter holding the fort while roving interviewers made their contributions. After Malcolm Muggeridge took over as studio anchor man, Robertson continued to file items on such varied matters as myxomatosis in rabbits, horror comics and rag-and-bone men. In 1954 he turned freelance. As well as his tennis commentaries, he covered swimming and athletics for television and commentated on summer and winter Olympiads until 1968. more.... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6928732.ece Norman Painting, the voice of Philip Archer on long-running Radio 4 drama The Archers, has died at the age of 85. (29 October 2009) Born in Leamington Spa in 1924, the actor played the Ambridge farmer since the show's first trial run in 1950. He is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-serving actor in a single soap opera. The Archers began life in the days of food rationing as a propaganda exercise to encourage Britain's farmers, and to fill the slot left vacant by Dick Barton, Special Agent. But it rapidly gained a special place in the affections of millions of listeners, not just in Britain but worldwide. Painting was originally recruited to write a week-long trial run of the programme. He then found himself cast as one of the principal characters. Over the years Painting's pragmatic character has been involved in numerous key storylines. One long-running plot strand revolved around who would inherit Phil's farm after his retirement. One of his most dramatic moments, meanwhile, occurred in 1955 when his first wife Grace died in a barn fire while trying to save a horse. He published five books, including reflections on the radio soap which had made him famous, Forever Ambridge (1975), and an autobiography, Reluctant Archer (1982). more.... Clinton Ford, singer and entertainer, has died aged 78 (23 October 2009) Clinton Ford was among the UK's most versatile entertainers and although he made hit records, notably "Old Shep" and "Fanlight Fanny", he could have had several more. His versatility was both his strength and his weakness as he recorded jazz, country music, romantic ballads, comedy songs, children's favourites and music hall standards. Ford worked as a Butlin's Redcoat and fronted a skiffle group in a TV commercial for their holiday camps. After the 1957 summer season in Pwllheli, he went to Liverpool and began performing with the Merseysippi Jazz Band at a new jazz club, the Cavern. Ford fronted the Hallelujah Skiffle Group but their singles didn't sell, largely because skiffle was on its way out. He recorded "Alexander's Ragtime Band", as Al St. George with the Merseysippi Jazz Band, for the Esquire label. In 1962, Ford sang about Fanlight Fanny, a striptease artist past her prime. George Formby had performed the song in Trouble Brewing (1939) and, with permission, Clinton Ford added new words. Ford was paired with trombonist George Chisholm, who shared his sense of humour. Kenny Ball asked Ford to join his jazz band and he found himself continually on the road. The band worked for radio's Easy Beat and he was learning new songs all the time, but left after a year as Ball wanted to do more of the singing. more.... Ian Wallace, opera singer and 'My Music' panellist on radio, has died aged 90 (14 October 2009) He ranged from singer, character actor, comedian, comp�re and clown to radio and television panellist, scriptwriter and pantomime king. What made Wallace a household name was the endearing way he had with silly songs about animals, especially one about an amorous hippopotamus with a chorus which went: "Mud, mud, glorious mud". First broadcast on a Henry Hall Guest Night in 1952, the song virtually became Wallace's signature tune. Whether in classical opera, musical comedy, plays, films, television, radio or on the concert platform, Wallace's readiness to perform on all kinds of occasion brought him an exceptional range of admirers. Apart from opera, his dramatic credits included Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream; C�sar in a West End musical version of Marcel Pagnol's Fanny (Drury Lane); and the Emperor of China in Cole Porter's Aladdin (Coliseum). Wallace was also a regular on the Radio 4 panel game My Music and other quiz shows on radio and television in which he would, sitting down, suddenly break into snatches of opera. With his unpretentious affability he could always put audiences at ease. Wallace made his Italian operatic debut as Massetto in Don Giovanni at Parma (1950); and was La Cenerentola at Rome (1955), and Dr Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Venice (1956). From 1965, his regular appearances for Scottish Opera included Leporello in Don Giovanni, Pistola in Falstaff and the Duke of Plaza Toro in The Gondoliers. For the Welsh National Opera (1967) he sang Don Pasquale and for Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1968) Dr Dulcamara in L'Elisir D'Amore. more.... Pearl Hackney, dancer and actress, has died aged 92 (11 October 2009) Pearl Hackney was the widow of the comedian Eric Barker, with whom she enjoyed a long and successful working partnership. The couple first found fame during the Second World War in the radio comedy Merry-Go-Round, to which each of the three armed services contributed. Queen Mary was a fan and invited Pearl Hackney and Eric Barker to perform a special show for her at Clarence House to mark her birthday. After the war Merry-Go-Round split into three separate shows, with Barker (who had been commissioned in the Royal Navy and served in minesweepers) starring with Pearl Hackney in Waterlogged Spa, a spin-off that reflected postwar naval humour. After the war she regularly appeared with her husband in a satirical show, called Just Fancy, which Barker wrote for the fledgling BBC television service. The couple went on to feature in several other television series, but as Barker sought to expand into films, a stroke at the age of 52 ended his career. more.... Felix Bowness, actor and warm-up man, has died aged 87 (7 October 2009) Felix Bowness died on September 13th. He was best known as the jockey Fred Quilly in the 1980s television sitcom Hi-De-Hi! He worked in radio during the 1950s and began his radio career, billed as That Irresponsible Young Man, in 1950 on Variety Bandbox, followed by Workers' Playtime (1953-59) and Mid-day Music Hall (1954). For BBC TV, he was in the sitcom Hugh and I (1964), with Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd, and The Benny Hill Show (1965), in Hill's pre-smut days. Bowness was also in Frankie Howerd's 1966 BBC series. He was the BBC's most prolific "warm-up" man, working on The Morecambe and Wise Show and some 3,000 editions of Wogan. He was cast in Jimmy Perry and David Croft's Hi-De-Hi! in 1980, and went on to appear in their You Rang, M'Lord, and in Oh, Doctor Beeching! by Croft and Richard Spendlove. more.... Steve Race, the musician and broadcaster has died aged 88 (23 June 2009) Steve Race became a familiar face on television in the 1950s and went on to host the popular Radio 4 panel game My Music, which ran from 1967 until 1994; he subsequently set a regular crossword for The Daily Telegraph. His first job was as a pianist with Harry Leader's band, and he went on to play with the bands of Lew Stone and Cyril Stapleton, and to arrange for the Ted Heath band and Judy Garland. Race first came to notice on BBC children's television in 1953, in the magazine programme Whirligig, a miscellany of items that introduced a generation of postwar children to puppet favourites such as Hank the cowboy and Mr Turnip. In 1955 Race became light music adviser to Associated Rediffusion, remaining in the post until 1960, when he went on to conduct for many television series, including the Tony Hancock and Peter Sellers shows. Race enjoyed nine weeks of chart fame in 1963 with his catchy rendition of Pied Piper (The Beeje), which reached number 29. In 1962 and 1963 Race won awards for his commercial jingles for ITV. The most lucrative was the one for Birds Eye frozen peas: "Sweet as the moment when the pod went pop". He also won an Ivor Novello Award for his composition Nicola (named after his daughter). In 1965, aged 44, he suffered a heart attack, but it did little to halt his prodigious work rate. Immaculately dressed and sporting a distinguished white beard, Race - although a somewhat shy man - was always confident and assured in front of a microphone or a camera. 'My Music', while pioneered on radio, made a successful transfer to television bringing out the best (and worst, when it came to puns) from the comic writers Denis Norden and Frank Muir, and their fellow-panellists John Amis and Ian Wallace. Neither Race nor Wallace missed a single episode of more than 520 that were broadcast. more.... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6564110.ece Tenniel Evans, Taffy Goldstein in 'The Navy Lark', has died aged 82 (17 June 2009) On screen, Tenniel Evans was one of those character actors with a face recognisable in dozens of television programmes but whose name was less familiar. He played doctors, police officers, judges and vicars, and even went on to be become a priest himself. But it was out of vision, acting a look-out in the long-running BBC radio comedy The Navy Lark (1959-77), that Evans could claim to be "recognised". As Taffy Goldstein, alongside Ronnie Barker as Johnson, he was one of the two Able Seamen among an inept crew aboard HMS Troutbridge, a frigate refitted to house undesirable elements of the Royal Navy. He made his television d�but as a policeman in an episode of No Hiding Place (1960), before acting Jonathan Kail, alongside Geraldine McEwan and Jeremy Brett, in an ITV adaptation of Tess (1960, based on Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles). For 45 years, Evans worked solidly in character parts on television, flitting from one popular programme to another - and even playing Hitler in The Roads to Freedom (1970). Occasionally, the actor found regular roles, such as John, one of the solicitor siblings, in the legal drama The Sullavan Brothers (1964-65), Sergeant Bluett in the sitcom My Brother's Keeper (1975-76), Geoff Barratt in the final series of the post-war comedy-drama Shine on Harvey Moon (1985), Teddy Haslam in the zoo vet drama One by One (1987) and Sir Edward Parkinson-Lewis in September Song (1994). He also took over from the late Patrick Troughton the role of Perce, grandfather of Ashley (Nicholas Lyndhurst), in the sitcom The Two of Us (1987-90). more....   Lost Tony Hancock TV soundtracks from 1959 to be released by BBC (15 June 2009) The soundtracks to six lost episodes of the great comedy series Hancock’s Half Hour have been restored to the BBC archives after half a century thanks to the efforts of a bootlegger. They are thought to be the earliest examples of a DIY audio recording made directly from a television broadcast. The series, which began on radio in 1954 and moved to TV in 1956, was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, who later created Steptoe and Son. It made Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques — as well as Hancock — comedy stars. The BBC will release four of the rediscovered soundtracks as CDs and downloads this year. The sound quality on the two remaining episodes is so poor that it is not certain that they will be made available. The tapes had circulated among a few Hancock aficionados for some time but were returned to the BBC only last winter with the help of The Hancock Appreciation Society. One of them, The Wrong Man, lampoons the Hitchcock film of that name. In another, Hancock and James enter a beauty contest, and in The Flight of the Red Shadow Hancock tries to pass himself off as the Maharaja of Renjipur to escape from disgruntled members of the East Cheam Repertory Company. There are cameo appearances from Warren Mitchell and Rolf Harris. more.... Anne Scott-James, author, journalist and magazine editor, has died aged 96 (15 May 2009) One of the first female career journalists, Anne Scott-James rose to become Fleet Street royalty. A formidable woman of calm authority and understated glamour, she began her career on Vogue in the 1930s, and during the war joined the staff of the pioneering photojournalistic magazine Picture Post. She later edited Harper’s Bazaar and the women’s pages of the Sunday Express, exercising a keen news sense and demonstrating that articles aimed at women need not focus only on domestic issues and fashion. While she thrived on the discipline and pressures of journalism, she also enjoyed domestic life; she had two children (her son is the journalist and author Sir Max Hastings, former Editor of The Daily Telegraph), and pursued quiet pleasures. Her passion for gardening (at her cottage on the Berkshire Downs, which she bought in 1938) inspired, in the 1970s, a second career as an author of engaging, no-nonsense books on the subject, some of which were illustrated by her husband Osbert Lancaster. They were well received and remain influential. She was invited to appear in the popular BBC radio panel game 'My Word', and was a fixture from 1964 to 1978. more.... Bryan Martin, who has died aged 73, was one of the voices of BBC Radio 4 (22 March 2009) Recalling his first appearances on the radio as a child actor in Children's Hour when he was about 11 years old, Martin wrote to the BBC and asked for further work. He appeared in a few more Children's Hour productions broadcast from Manchester, including The Mystery of Hold Nickar Mine, with Judith Chalmers playing his sister. More part-time BBC work followed during his medical photography training, but having qualified in January 1958, he accepted a job at the BBC as a studio manager instead, mainly because he was offered a considerably larger salary than at the NHS. He travelled round the country from Midland Region to Northern Region, Scotland, the General Overseas Service and London Sound Presentation. He later became a relief announcer in the Overseas Service (Bush House) and in the regions before being taken on by John Snagge as a full-time announcer in May 1963. As well as his routine newsreading duties on the Today programme and other current affairs sequences, Martin appeared in The News Quiz, occasionally introduced The Goon Show, and read the spoof "news bulletin" which always featured in the middle of the comedy The Men From the Ministry. When he joined the BBC, the presentation department covered all three radio networks (the Home Service, Light Programme and Third Programme). Having always been interested in music, Martin opted for introducing as many concerts as possible on the Third Programme, including the Proms, and it was this work that first took him to Snape in Suffolk, where he later settled. When the presentation team was split up in the early 1970s, he was allocated to Radio 4. He announced the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, news of the Iranian embassy siege in 1980, and became the network's senior newsreader. more.... Eric Simms, BBC naturalist, has died aged 87 (18 March 2009) Simms was for 40 years one of the most familiar voices on the BBC at home and abroad as a pioneer of natural history, making more than 7,000 radio broadcasts and appearing on television some 700 times. As the BBC's resident naturalist and director of wildlife sound recording projects, he was the first person in Britain to record on magnetic tape, introducing parabolic reflectors, radio links and hydrophones. He made the first recordings of badgers, and recorded for the first time an exchange between an adult female bird and its chick inside its unbroken eggshell. Many of Simms's recordings were first broadcast in The Countryside Programme, which he created in 1952 and which ran for the next 38 years. He produced, with Myles North, Witherby's Sound Guide to British Birds with recordings of 194 species. In 1961 Simms joined the new BBC Schools TV Service, for which he produced live television programmes and directed and presented films on natural history. After six years, however, he decided to go freelance, so that he could speak freely on matters of conservation. For 11 years he presented the weekly Nature Notebook Programme on the BBC World Service and for another 11 he had a weekly spot on LBC in London. When he appeared on Desert Island Discs he played a recording of a blackbird, which had been made in his garden at Neasden. He also interviewed the Duke of Edinburgh, and spent six hours in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, for a programme called The Queen's Visitors (1975). more.... Jimmy Boyd, the singer best known for recording the Christmas novelty hit "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in 1952 when he was 13, has died aged 70. (11 March 2009) Three weeks after the yuletide kiss-and-tell was released, the song was No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It sold 2 million records in less than 10 weeks. Tens of millions of copies of the much-covered song written by Tommie Connors have been sold over the decades. It has been interpreted by such artists as the Jackson Five, John Mellencamp and Amy Winehouse. Although it came to be regarded as a holiday classic, the ditty about a child who can't understand why Mommy is cheating on Daddy with Santa Claus caused controversy in some quarters when the original featuring Boyd's childish treble was released. The Catholic Church condemned the song for implying even a tenuous link between sex and the religious holiday, and radio stations in several markets banned it. The ban was lifted after the 13-year-old Boyd appeared before church leaders to talk about the lyrics. His recording career essentially lasted until 1967 and encompassed such hits as "Dennis the Menace," sung with Rosemary Clooney, and several duets with Frankie Laine, including "The Little Boy and the Old Man," "Poor Little Piggy Bank" and "Tell Me a Story." On television, Boyd made several appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in the early 1950s and moved into acting. From 1958 to 1961, he portrayed Howard Meechim, the high school boyfriend on "Bachelor Father," a sitcom that starred John Forsythe and Noreen Corcoran. He also played the teenage nephew of Betty White's character on "Date with the Angels," a late-1950s sitcom. more.... Hank Locklin, one of the most celebrated names in country and western music has died aged 91 (10 March 200(0, Locklin had a huge hit in 1960 with Please Help Me, I'm Falling, considered among the most successful country singles of the rock and roll era. Locklin's songs epitomised the rich vocal and instrumental style known as the "Nashville Sound". Rated one of the greatest tenors in the genre, he possessed a distinctive nasal voice ideally suited to the lachrymose ballads in which he specialised. His first big success came in 1958 with Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On, a song he had written in 1949. Locklin enjoyed a particularly large following in Ireland, where he was voted most popular country singer for five consecutive years. In the United States he became a revered figure both on stage and backstage at the Grand Ole Opry – the Nashville theatre from which country music's celebrated radio show of the same name is broadcast – and he was the oldest living member of the Opry regulars. He made his radio debut singing on a station at Pensacola, strumming his guitar for instrumental backing. In 1948 Locklin and his band, The Rocky Mountain Playboys, landed a morning radio show in Houston, Texas. He made his first record on the Gold Star label in the same year before joining Four Star Records in 1949. In 1954 he had a number two hit with Let Me Be The One before signing to Decca later that year. A switch to the RCA label in 1957 led to a string of major hits, notably Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On, which spent 35 weeks in the country music charts. Other hits for Locklin included Geisha Girl (1957), Happy Journey (1961), Happy Birthday To Me (1962), and The Country Hall Of Fame (1968). He also enjoyed a long recording career with RCA Victor. more.... Tony Osborne, composer and arranger, has died aged 86 (3 March 2009) Osborne's first job was a trumpeter and relief pianist with Cyril Stapleton, and then with Frank Weir, Carroll Gibbons and Ambrose. He played in the BBC Orchestra for the comedy successes, The Goon Show and Take It From Here. Soon Osborne was working for the major companies of the day, notably with EMI, and he formed his own band, the Brass Hats, for weekly appearances on the BBC TV teenage show, Six-Five Special. When that was superseded by Juke Box Jury in 1959, Osborne wrote and recorded the theme song, "Juke Box Fury", under the name of Ozzie Warlock and the Wizards. When Osborne fell out with the show's producer, Russell Turner, Turner replaced his tune with John Barry's "Hit And Miss", which began Barry's run of success. In 1960, the American star Connie Francis recorded in England and Osborne wrote and conducted the arrangement for her million-selling "Mama", which was sung in Italian. Among his arrangements were "Sisters" for the Beverley Sisters, "Out Of Town" for Max Bygraves, "Love Is" for Alma Cogan, "Little Donkey" for Nina and Frederik, and "Say It With Flowers" with Dorothy Squires and Russ Conway. Around the late 1950s, Osborne began recording under his own name, favouring place names for his instrumental titles – the best known are "The Lights Of Lisbon", "The Man From Marseilles", "The Windows Of Paris", which became the theme music for the BBC drivetime programme, Roundabout and was recorded by Bing Crosby, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and "The Man From Madrid", a Top 50 entry in 1961. He also had a chart hit with "The Shepherd's Song" in 1973. more.... Author and dramatist Sir John Mortimer has died aged 85 (16 January 2009) Sir John Mortimer made his radio debut in 1955 when he adapted his own novel, 'Like Men Betrayed' for the BBC Light Programme. But he made his debut as a playwright with 'The Dock Brief', starring Michael Hordern as a hapless barrister, first broadcast in 1957 on BBC Radio's Third Programme, later televised with the same cast and subsequently presented in a double bill with 'What Shall We Tell Caroline?' at the Lyric Hammersmith in April 1958, before transferring to the Garrick Theatre. His play, 'A Voyage Round My Father', given its first radio broadcast in 1963, is autobiographical, recounting his experiences as a young barrister and his relationship with his blind father. It was memorably televised by BBC Television in 1969 with Mark Dignam in the title role. In a slightly longer version the play later became a stage success. In 1981 it was remade by Thames Television with Sir Laurence Olivier as the father and Alan Bates as young Mortimer. Mortimer is best remembered for creating a barrister named Horace Rumpole, whose speciality was defending those accused of crime in London's Old Bailey. Mortimer created Rumpole for 'Rumpole of the Bailey', a 1975 contribution to the BBCs 'Play For Today' anthology series. Played with gusto by Leo McKern, the character proved popular, and was developed into a Rumpole of the Bailey television series for Thames Television and a series of books (all written by Mortimer). more.... Angela Morley, light music composer, has died aged 88 (16 January 2009) Angela Morley was born in Leeds, Yorkshire on 10 March 1924. She attributes her entry into successful composing and arranging largely to the influence and encouragement of the Canadian light music composer Robert Farnon. She was a transsexual woman, and was originally credited under her birth name Wally Stott. She underwent sex reassignment surgery in 1972. Angela Morley is perhaps best known as a composer of light music, with the jaunty Rotten Row her best known piece. Also notable is A Canadian in Mayfair, a homage to Robert Farnon's Portrait of a Flirt. In 1953, she began a long association with the Philips record label, arranging for and accompanying the company's artists, as well as releasing records under her own name, including the 1958 LP 'London Pride'. She is also well known for writing the theme tune and incidental music for Hancock's Half Hour and was the musical director for The Goon Show from the third series in 1952 to the last show in 1960. In the 1960s she worked with Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield and the first three highly regarded solo albums by Scott Walker. In 1962 and 1963, she arranged the United Kingdom entries for the Eurovision Song Contest, Ring-A-Ding Girl and Say Wonderful Things, both sung by Ronnie Carroll. Morley orchestrated, arranged, and supervised the music for the final musical film collaboration of Lerner and Loewe, The Little Prince. In 1978 she was music supervisor on the Sherman Brothers' musical adaptation of the Cinderella story entitled, The Slipper and the Rose. She won Oscar nominations for both films. Additionally, she wrote most of the score for the 1978 film version of Watership Down, although the prelude and opening was by Malcolm Williamson. more.... Veteran BBC radio broadcaster Dudley Savage MBE has died at the age of 88 (27 November 2008) Dudley Savage became the resident organist at the Royal Cinema, Plymouth, in 1938. During the Second World War he interrupted his playing at the Royal to serve with the army in India. He broadcast BBC hospital request show 'As Prescribed' from the Royal, playing music on the organ for the programme for more than 30 years. 'As Prescribed' began broadcasting weekly in June 1948, and carried on until it was axed by the BBC in 1968. After a petition with 43,000 signatures was sent to the BBC, it was brought back as a monthly show in 1969, continuing for another 10 years and moving eventually to Radio 2. He also undertook concert tours of the UK and Europe, bringing the music of his chosen instrument to thousands of people around the world. His signature tune was 'Smiling Through'. A compilation double CD of his work is due for release in December 2008. more.... Yma Sumac, Peruvian singer who moved from folk music to Broadway and Hollywood, has died aged 86 (4 November 2008) Yma Sumac was a phenomenon in the 1950s whose varied, tempestuous career started when her extraordinary voice, ranging over several octaves, startled people on the album Voice of The Xtabuy. Featuring traditional Peruvian songs, often directed at the mountain gods, Voice Of The Xtabay (1950) was an unlikely success, selling 100,000 copies. The album went straight into the bestseller lists and was followed by Mambo!, arranged by Billy May, and Fuego del Ande (1959), perhaps her best record. British radio audiences were intrigued and countless requests flooded in to Children’s Choice, Two-Way Family Favourites and Housewives’ Choice. Sumac appeared as a foreign princess in the Broadway musical Flahooley in 1951 and in the films Secrets Of The Incas (1954) and Omar Khayyam with Cornel Wilde (1956). She made several other albums, including Legend Of The Sun Virgin (1952), Inca Taqui (1953), Mambo! (1954), Legend Of The Jivaro (1957) and Fuego Del Ande (1959). Although she did not have hit singles, she used her extraordinary voice on a recording of the South African folk song "Wimoweh", in 1952. Her Spanish name was Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chav�rri del Castillo; her Indian name, which meant “how beautiful”, was Imma Sumack, which she later altered to Yma Sumac. To her annoyance, a gossip columnist spelt it backwards and claimed she was Amy Camus from Brooklyn. more.... Lita Roza, Sultry interpreter of romantic ballads, has died aged 82 (15 August 2008) The public know the Liverpool singer Lita Roza for one song above all others, the children's novelty "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?" However, that doggie was her b�te noire: she was talked into recording the song and did not consider it representative of her work. There were few to rival her real talent as a sultry and sophisticated interpreter of romantic ballads. In 1951, Roza recorded "Allentown Jail" with the Ted Heath band. Although record sales were not then collated, it was undoubtedly her first hit, as the song rose high in the sheet-music charts. After "Allentown Jail", her A&R man, Dick Rowe, asked her to sing "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?" and Roza replied, "I'm not recording that, it's rubbish." She recalled, "He said, 'It'll be a big hit, please do it, Lita.' I said that I would sing it once and once only and then I would never sing it again, and I haven't. The only time you'll hear it is on that record." Even when the record was No 1, no one could persuade Lita to perform her hit, but it did lead to her recording several unsuitable songs. She was appreciated as much for her stunning looks as for her voice and she topped the Melody Maker poll for Favourite Female Vocalist from 1951 to 1955, and a similar one in the New Musical Express from 1952 to 1955. In 1954, Roza left the Ted Heath band and started working as a solo act: "I would be singing with pit orchestras, who were usually dreadful," she said. "It was like going to the knacker's yard although I always carried my own pianist." In 1955, Lita had hits with two songs she liked – "Hey There" and "Jimmy Unknown" – and then sang "A Tear Fell" on a charity single for the Lord's Taverners Association, which made No 2. She recorded albums of standards, Listening in the Afterhours (1955) and Love is the Answer (1956). She had recorded another fine album, Me On a Carousel, for Pye in 1958, as well as a stream of variable singles, the better ones including "Volare" and "I Could Have Danced All Night". After leaving Pye in 1960, Roza recorded only sporadically. more.... Peter Coke, actor who played Paul Temple on radio, has died aged 95 (1 August 2008) Peter Coke was an actor and playwright best known for his portrayal of Paul Temple in the popular radio detective series devised by Francis Durbridge; in later life Coke also achieved success with sculptures which he created from sea shells. In the early Fifties, Coke, and his beautifully modulated voice, had begun to be much in demand on the radio. He took the lead role in Ivor Novello's King Monmouth in 1953, and also began to work in fledgling television series, such as The Teckman Biography and Gravelhanger. In 1954 he first took on the role of Paul Temple (as the seventh actor in the job) with Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case. From then until 1968, when he recorded Paul Temple and the Alex Affair, Coke was indistinguishable in the public mind from the well-spoken private detective who tackles crime with the aid of his wife Steve (Marjorie Westbury). In later years, at his gallery in Norfolk, Coke continued to receive fan letters and visits from admirers of the series. But while he continued to prosper on stage Coke set out to expand his career as a writer, and had his first substantial hit with Breath of Spring, a comedy at the Cambridge in 1958 which was judged a piece of "pleasant nonsense" by The Daily Telegraph. It ran for a year, and then transferred to Broadway. It also proved a firm favourite with amateur dramatic societies, and provided royalties for Coke for many years. Nine more plays followed. Coke also continued to take television parts and film roles (he was Lieutenant Lashwood in Carry On Admiral, 1957). more.... Veteran character actor Tony Melody has died aged 85 (9 July 2008) Tony Melody became a household name in some of Britain's best loved and longest running comedies and soaps. He started out as a singer with the Northern Dance Orchestra and later became a household name with character and comedy cameos. His breakthrough came during the heyday of radio comedy, in The Clitheroe Kid, the long-running show (1957-72) starring the diminutive, Lancashire-born, former music-hall performer Jimmy Clitheroe in the guise of a naughty schoolboy. Melody played Mr Higginbottom, a 6ft 4in taxi driver and Jimmy's arch-enemy, and he joined Clitheroe in the television version, Just Jimmy between 1964 and 1966. Later he moved to play more television parts such as in Steptoe and Son (teaching a young Harold Steptoe how to dance), Coronation Street, Heartbeat (helping Greengrass steal a train), Casualty, Emmerdale, City Central, Where the Heart Is and Last of the Summer Wine. One of his biggest breaks came when he appeared in the film Yanks alongside Richard Gere. more....   80 years of BBC shows to go online (11 June 2008) Every TV and radio programme ever made by the BBC could be placed online as part of an ambitious project unveiled today. The scheme will see a webpage created for nearly every programme broadcast on BBC radio and TV in the past 80 years. Initially, pages will contain information, clips and links about the show, but it is hoped that whole programmes will eventually be made available as part of a massive internet archive. This will either be via the seven-day catch-up service iPlayer or as a new online archive service. It is unclear whether the archive service will be free. The new details were revealed by Jana Bennett, director of BBC vision, at the Banff television festival in Canada. However, a number of episodes from shows including Hancock's Half Hour, Doctor Who, Steptoe and Son and the Goon Show have been lost. During the Seventies many tapes were destroyed or taped over to make space in the BBC's storage facilities or because they were considered a fire risk. Others, such as the Quatermass series, were broadcast live and not recorded. Ms Bennett said: "Eventually we will produce pages for programming stretching back over nearly 80 years - featuring all the information we have on the richest TV and radio archive in the world. The BBC is committed to releasing the public value in that archive." more....   Nat Temple, clarinettist and dance-band leader who frequently appeared on radio and television has died aged 94 (5 June 2008) Nat temple was one of the best-known bandleaders of the post-war period, particularly celebrated for his work in radio and television; he was also an exceptionally gifted clarinettist, whose talent received far less recognition than it deserved. He turned professional at 16, joining the band led by the singer and comedian Sam Costa. In 1940 Temple joined the Grenadier Guards and played with service bands for the rest of the war, including periods in North Africa and Italy. While still in the Army he contrived to play from time to time, and even record, with numerous other bands. A chance meeting with the Canadian actor and comedian Bernard Braden led to Temple's becoming musical director of a new, "oddball" radio show, Breakfast With Braden. This was followed by the late-night Bedtime With Braden, which gained a sizeable cult following. Temple was cast as the bumbling bandleader, a part he played so convincingly that he got taken on in the same role by other shows – Michael Bentine's Round The Bend, Dick Emery's Emery At Large and Peter Ustinov's In All Directions. From these, Temple graduated to children's television, acting as genial music-master for Jack In The Box, Telebox and, most famously, Crackerjack, with Eamonn Andrews. more....   Humphrey Lyttelton, broadcaster and jazz musician, has died aged 86 (26 April 2008) After spending the Second World War as an officer in the Grenadier Guards, Lyttelton became a pioneering figure in the British jazz scene. He formed his first band in 1948 after spending a year with George Webb's Dixielanders, a band that pioneered New Orleans-style jazz in the UK. The Humphrey Lyttelton Band quickly became Britain's leading traditional jazz group, and continental tours gave them a following in Europe. In 1949, he signed a recording contract with EMI which led to a string of records in the Parlophone Super Rhythm Style series and which have become highly sought after. By the late 1950s he was branching out, enlarging his band and experimenting with mainstream and non-traditional material, and shocking his established fans in the process. In 1959, the band made a successful tour of the United States. He was a keen amateur calligrapher and birdwatcher, and in 1984 formed his own record label, Calligraph. He composed more than 120 original songs during his career. In 1993 he won the radio industry's highest honour, a Sony Gold Award. He also won lifetime achievement awards at the Post Office British Jazz Awards in 2000, and the inaugural BBC Jazz Awards the following year. It was in 1972 that, against his better judgement, he took on the chairmanship of Radio Four’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Nobody imagined that his role, somewhat like a na�ve and despairing schoolmaster who was forced to read out double entendres that he never understood, would last for the rest of his life. His sharp humour was hilarious and yet without malice. more....   Richard Willcox, producer of musical and variety radio programmes, has died aged 69 (5 January 2008) The first love of BBC Radio producer Richard Willcox was music hall and variety, and for many years he produced the famous Billy Cotton Band Show. The programme, which was broadcast from 1949 to 1968, became a national institution and was as much a part of the traditional Sunday lunchtime as roast beef. Cotton, a former racing driver, was a larger-than-life character who started each show with the cry “Wakey-Wakey!”. This was followed by the band's signature tune, Somebody Stole My Girl. Willcox revealed that Cotton's catchphrase originated in the days when the band had toured the country the week prior to Sunday morning rehearsal. Cotton would arrive in the BBC studio to find weary band members nodding off. “Oi, come on,” he roared. “Wakey! Wakey!” Noting its effect on everyone, it was suggested by a BBC executive that that was how the show should begin. When the series finished Willcox's knowledge and love of light entertainment made him a natural choice for producing other radio series such as The Windsor Davies Show and The Impressionists. During his long career with BBC Radio he held several posts including assistant head of light entertainment and, prior to taking early retirement. more....   British actress Pat Kirkwood, star of stage and screen, has died aged of 86 (26 December 2007) Pat Kirkwood's career spanned more than six decades and she played the lead roles in the West End shows of Noel Coward, Cole Porter and Leonard Bernstein. After appearing in a talent contest on the Isle of Man she was invited to an audition with the BBC in Manchester She made her professional debut, aged 14, as a singer on the BBC radio programme The Children's Hour. A year later, in April 1936, she made her first stage appearance at the Royal Hippodrome, Salford, billed as The Schoolgirl Songstress. The following year she starred in her debut film - Save a Little Sunshine. After the success of the revue Black Velvet at the London Hippodrome in 1939 she was hailed as "Britain's first wartime star". She became the first female to have her own television series with The Pat Kirkwood Show in 1954 and also appeared in various TV plays. In Our Marie (1953) she played the music hall star Marie Lloyd; she also appeared in Pygmalion (1956) and The Great Little Tilley (1956) as another music hall star, Vesta Tilley, which was directed by Hubert Gregg and subsequently became the film After The Ball (1957). In 1953, she was reunited with George Formby on the panel of What's My Line but was seen on screen feeding Formby questions to ask the contestants. more....   Moira Lister, actress who excelled in sparkling comedy roles ranging from Shakespeare to the moderns, has died aged 84 (29 October 2007) As an actress, Moira Lister was once compared to the American comedienne Lucille Ball, because of her way of turning glamorous women into witty commentators on life. Whether it was in a play, musical, film or television drama or even as a guest on such TV shows as What's My Line?, Call My Bluff and Life Begins at Forty, she stood apart with her slim figure, bright blue eyes and delicate, upper-class voice. She was an accomplished actress whose regal bearing found her often cast in patrician roles, though she also had a splendid sense of humour and a versatility that ranged from acclaimed performances in Shakespearean tragedy to her award-winning display of farcical expertise in Move Over, Mrs Markham. In 1954, Moira first teamed up with Tony Hancock in the second series of "Star Bill". She was brought into "Star Bill" to replace Hancock's previous lady foil of the first series, Geraldine McEwan. With considerable film experience behind her, Moira's strong personality proved her to be an ideal match for Hancock. Her distinctive, husky voice made Lister a radio stalwart in such series as Simon and Laura and A Life of Bliss, and in South Africa her radio roles included the leading parts in Rain, The Deep Blue Sea (she had earlier played a supporting role in the film version) and The Millionairess. On television, she was a sparkling critic of record releases in Juke Box Jury, and she was a guest on such shows as Danger Man, Call My Bluff and The Avengers. For three years, 1967-69, she starred in her own series, A Very Merry Widow. In 1971 she was the subject of This Is Your Life, and her autobiography, A Very Merry Moira, was published in 1969. more....   Peter Tuddenham, actor, has died aged 88 (9 August 2007) Peter Tuddenham's earliest television appearances included parts in Clara, The Maid of Durham: Or Home Sweet Home (1955) and the BBC's "Musical Playhouse" Ivor Novello productions The Dancing Years (as Franzel, 1959) and Perchance To Dream (as Lord Failsham, 1959). He also had several roles in soap opera, on radio in Mrs Dale's Diary (as Dr Mitchell, who famously once sat on Mrs Freeman's cat) and Waggoners' Walk, and as George Banham in ITV's East Anglian vets serial Weavers Green (1966). On television, Tuddenham was a regular as the pub landlord in Backs to the Land (1977-78) and as William in Double First (1988). He also guest-starred as priests in the sitcom Nearest and Dearest (1968) and the P.D. James thriller A Mind To Murder (1995), and played doctors in Quiller (1975), The Lost Boys (1978) and Nanny (1981, 1982) and an auctioneer in Lovejoy (1986). At the age of 60, after spending more than half his adult life as an actor, Peter Tuddenham became most familiar to television viewers as the voices of three computers in the cult science-fiction serial Blakes 7. more....   Phil Drabble, 'One Man and His Dog' presenter, has died aged 93 (1 August 2007) A countryman through and through, the writer and naturalist Phil Drabble shared his love of nature and rural ways in dozens of books but, most famously, as the original presenter of One Man and His Dog, which provided the spectacle of working sheepdogs demonstrating their skills at rounding up flocks in lush, green fields and meadows, moving them around fences, gates and enclosures while following their handlers' whistles and commands. He had made his radio d�but with a feature on the Black Country's bull-rings and bull-stakes for the BBC Midland Region in 1947. He continued to make contributions for the next 13 years, especially to the rural programme Countrylover, before presenting its successors, Countryside and In the Country, himself. Drabble's television baptism came in 1952, when he was invited to show off his tame badger for a live broadcast and he was soon in demand for children's programmes. Then, in 1961, he left his day job to pursue writing and broadcasting full time and, three years later, began a weekly column in the Birmingham Evening Mail that ran until 1990. One Man and His Dog, screened on BBC2, brought him national fame, as well as more television work, beginning with the rural magazine programme Country Game (1976-79), presented by Julian Pettifer, then Angela Rippon, with Drabble as a contributor. more.... Aileen Mills, radio actress and author, has died aged 96 (13 June 2007) Aileen Mills was one of radio's earliest soap stars, playing in At The Luscombes, which began as a West Country forerunner of The Archers; for a time, the Luscombes and their brood were the nation's favourite radio family. She was cast as Dot, a well-meaning but rather tiresome young woman, worrying mostly about what she was going to wear at the next dance, but whose character developed during the early 1950s into that of a responsible wife and mother. Launched in September 1948, in the days of valve-powered Bakelite wireless sets, and heard only in the West Region of the old Home Service, At The Luscombes was not the first radio soap opera (that was The Robinsons, later The Front Line Family); however the serial predated The Archers, which was piloted as a Midlands regional fixture in May 1949 before being networked on the Light Programme from January 1951. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s she contributed plays and stories to BBC radio. These included dramatisations of historical episodes for schools radio or Children's Hour, versions of old favourites such as Treasure Island and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and adaptations of HE Bates and Thomas Hardy. more....   Dame Vera Lynn celebrates 90th Birthday (20 March 2007) Lords and ladies turned out to pay their respects to Britain's Forces' Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn, who has just celebrated her 90th birthday. The House of Lords hosted a special party sponsored by the Royal British Legion in the first of half-a-dozen parties for a woman whose singing inspired the nation during the darkest days of war. As one of the guests told her: "You put a smile on everybody's face, even in those terrible times. Our wireless was always on." A sprightly Dame Vera, who said she felt like she was aged 60, was in chatty mood as she mingled with her friends. Even now she is engaged in charity work for many causes, not simply those involving ex-servicemen. She said: "I don't know where the years have gone. It is amazing what you can do for others. It is up to everybody to utilise whatever talents they have to use to help others inasmuch as they can. I hope I have spent my life well. I tried to do what I could to help others." more....   Bill Threlfall, tennis player and commentator, has died aged 81 (12 March 2007) Following a career in the Fleet Air Arm during the War, Threlfall's life behind a microphone began with ITV in the 1950s. A spell with BBC Radio followed. His last broadcasts were done with Sky Sports, for whom his annual trips to New York for the US Open were always a highlight of the year. Threlfall will best be remembered, however, as a member of BBC-TV's commentary team at Wimbledon, where for some 30 years his mellifluous voice could be heard describing the action. As a former player who was still active as a coach, Threlfall spoke with authority about the game he loved and brought a sense of fun to his commentaries. more....   Wally Ridley, EMI record producer, has died aged 93 (24 January 2007) In 1948, Wally Ridley persuaded the BBC to broadcast a radio series live from a theatre. The series starred Donald Peers and his signature tune, which Ridley found, was "Powder Your Face With Sunshine". Ridley expected the BBC to mock his suggestion of a radio series featuring a ventriloquist, but Educating Archie with Archie Andrews and Peter Brough captured 20 million listeners and made household names of Beryl Reid, Max Bygraves, Harry Secombe and Tony Hancock. "I always think that Eric Sykes was the genius behind that series as he wrote the scripts and created the catchphrases," said Ridley: "Max Bygraves stumbled over long lines and so he gave him short, little lines and it worked perfectly. When I made records with Maxie, I did exactly the same thing. I found him songs with short lines that he could punch in and we had lots of hits". The same year Ridley joined EMI Records to build up a popular catalogue for the HMV label. The label, decimated by shellac shortages during the Second World War, only had regular releases from Joe Loss and George Melachrino and their orchestras. Very soon, Ridley was having success with Peers, Bygraves, Ronnie Hilton, Malcolm Vaughan, Bert Weedon and Don Lang. There was also Alma Cogan, known as "the girl with the giggle". more....   City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Concert - Workers' Playtime (posted 12 October 2006) Friday 1 December, 7.30pm at Symphony Hall, Birmingham Join the CBSO as they travel back across the airwaves to the bygone the age of the gramophone and wireless. In a glorious evening of British light music nostalgia, the Orchestra pays tribute to the long-running BBC radio programme Workers' Playtime on its 65th anniversary. Take a trip down memory lane with Elgar's Chanson de Matin, Wood's London Cameos, Sullivan's Iolanthe Overture, the theme tunes from The Forsyte Saga, In Town Tonight, Desert Island Discs, Dick Barton Special Agent, Workers' Playtime, and many more jaunty and well-loved British gems. Every composer featured in this concert has a fantastic gift of melody - come along tonight and you could be humming right through to Christmas! more.... Sir Malcolm Arnold, composer and trumpeter, has died aged 84 (25 September 2006) Sir Malcolm Arnold had been composing since childhood, inspired, he once said, by a chance meeting with Duke Ellington in a Bournemouth tea room. Louis Armstrong was another influence. He wrote something like 130 film scores, ranging from his first. Avalanche Patrol, in 1947, to David Copperfield in 1969. Along the way, he collected a Hollywood Oscar, for his score for David Lean's film of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Other films on which he collaborated were I Am a Camera (1955), The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958), Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), The Angry Silence (1960), Tunes of Glory (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961). He once claimed that he only wrote film music so that he could conduct it himself and so gain experience in this area. He may just have been teasing, because many of these scores were highly effective. During this period he also composed three operas and three ballets as well as a quantity of works for the concert hall. more....   Frank Middlemass, character actor, has died aged 87 (12 September 2006) Florid-faced, bewhiskered and with a rich fruity voice, Frank Middlemass was one of Britain’s finest character actors. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in seasons with the Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare companies, starred in numerous TV dramas and was best known on radio as Dan Archer in The Archers. His television career began in the early 1950s in series such as Dixon of Dock Green and Z-Cars, and he also starred in early live TV dramas. By the 1980s he was one of television’s busiest actors, appearing in a host of series including The Avengers, Soldier Soldier, Dr Finlay, Miss Marple and others. In 1992 he was one of the original cast of the crime series Heartbeat, playing Dr Alex Ferrenby for 21 episodes. "I very much regret being killed off in Heartbeat," he said. "It was one of my favourite roles." In 1993 he played Clive Parrott in the series A Year in Provence, opposite John Thaw. Middlemass’s film appearances were few but they were usually in distinguished productions such as Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975), in which he played Sir Charles Lyndon, and the award-winning Second World War drama, One Against the Wind (1991), starring Judy Davis. more.... Archie Andrews is to make comeback (9 September 2006) Legendary ventriloquist’s doll Archie Andrews is set to return to the stage for the first time in nearly four decades, after his new owner revealed he is scripting a stage play charting the puppet’s life story. Colin Burnett-Dick, who bought Archie at auction for �34,000 last November had already also found a new ventriloquist to perform as part of the show - Eastbourne-based entertainer Steve Haylett. According to Burnett-Dick, the newly-announced production will be “a celebration, a tribute, a walk down memory lane” into the puppet’s past and will feature actors playing many of the famous names who appeared on Archie’s radio show in the forties and fifties, including Tony Hancock, Max Bygraves and Julie Andrews. He added: “We’re at the writing stage now. It’s going to be an autobiographical journey. It starts at the auction house where I bought Archie and will look back on his career up to then with ventriloquist Peter Brough.” The show will also include the performance of a complete episode from the Educating Archie radio series. Burnett-Dick is now looking for a producer for the show, which he hopes to have up and running in 2007 more....   Margaret Hubble, radio broadcaster, has died aged 91 (9 September 2006) Margaret Hubble was a stalwart of the airwaves for some 30 years, first as chief announcer for the BBC African Service and later on such programmes as Forces Favourites, the wartime record-request show, and Family Favourites, its immensely popular peacetime successor. She was also a friendly velvet-voiced presence on Woman’s Hour, Children’s Hour and children’s television. She trained the presenter Jean Metcalfe before her debut. “Maggie showed me what to do,” Metcalfe recalled later. “ Turn the big black knob to open the microphone; talk sense with one half of your brain, while the other is reading the clock; never pause more than 15 seconds or the enemy will jam your wavelength; play Lillibullero before every news, and remember in an emergency ‘a good announcer has at hand a stirring military band’ .” She was a contributor to Children’s Hour on the Home Service and introduced a series called Saturday Excursion, a TV programme about travel to interesting places, which ran from 1953 to 1957. more.... Maurice Bevan, baritone with the Deller Consort who also sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on Listen with Mother has died aged 85 (21 July 2006) Maurice Bevan was for more than 40 years the baritone with the Deller Consort, the vocal ensemble that heralded the renaissance of English Baroque and pre-Baroque music. His singing career was rich and varied, and included a similar period with the choir of St Paul's Cathedral as well as contributing regularly to the BBC Home Service's programme Listen With Mother. Midway through Listen with Mother, a plummy voice would ring out: "And here is Maurice Bevan to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." What followed would be a deep and resonant rendition of the nursery rhyme that would embed itself firmly in the psyche of many an impressionable toddler. So varied was Bevan's professional life that the same evening he might also be heard singing Compline - in an era when the BBC considered the service of the day worthy of broadcast. more....   Hugh Latimer, radio, TV and stage actor has died aged 93 (24 June 2006) Hugh Latimer' was a handsome, unambitious actor familiar to West End playgoers and television viewers for several decades. In parallel with his busy stage career, Latimer appeared in the film spin off from the wireless series PC 49 and in Mrs Dale's Diary, playing Bob Dale in the latter. He was in television's Dixon of Dock Green and The Adventures of Robin Hood, Warship and Hunter's Walk, as well as The Dickie Henderson Show and Two in Clover, with Sid James. After making his film debut in Corridor of Mirrors (1946) he appeared in Stranger at the Door (1951), The Last Man to Hang (1956) and the crime story The Gentle Trap (1960). more.... Richard Bebb, actor and connoisseur of the recorded voice, has died aged 79 (20 April 2006) Richard Bebb was an erudite actor on stage, screen and radio whose deep interest in the history of acting turned him into a distinguished collector and student of the recorded theatrical voice. In 1950 he began working regularly in radio and television. He shared the narration with Richard Burton in the original wireless production of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood, and appeared in more than 1,000 broadcast plays. A prolific TV and film actor he often played doctors or upper-class figures. He made his TV debut in 1951 playing Octavius to Walter Hudd’s Julius Caesar and appeared in a string of drama series including Dangerman, Softly, Softly, Z Cars and Dixon of Dock Green. For several years he played Dr Harvest in the ITV lunchtime soap, Compact. He was Dr Orlov in Anna Karenina (1977) and Dr Stanhope in The Barchester Chronicles (1982). In recent years he was a regular face (and voiceover) in the Poirot series. more....   William Davies, virtuoso pianist and master of the theatre organ, has died aged 84 (18 April 2006) Willaim Davies was a household name for listeners to the BBC Light Programme. He was one of the most versatile musicians of his time, equally at home at the piano or organ, or when composing, arranging and conducting. He made his first broadcasts for the BBC as accompanist for the “interludes” that were a feature of live wireless and became organist of the Gaumont Theatre, Wolverhampton, and later the Gaumont, Finchley. In 1953 he joined the Jack Hylton organisation as pianist, conductor and arranger — in particular at the Victoria Palace, where he worked with the Crazy Gang — while maintaining a very busy freelance career. This was the heyday of “Tin Pan Alley” and the golden age of light music. By 1956 he was a member of the London Studio Players, had his own quartet and went on to become the keyboard star in programmes such as MusicBox, Friday Night is Music Night and The Organist Entertains. With his own orchestra he made several series of Strings by Starlight. His extraordinary ability to improvise material to split-second timing was still in evidence in his seventies when he did a series of At the Piano broadcasts, playing fluently for precisely the required time, without rehearsal. more....   Ken Sykora, musician and broadcaster, has died at the age of 82 (13 March 2006) Ken Sykora was, at the peak of his career, one of Britain's most popular radio personalities. A multi-award-winning broadcaster and musician, he made regular appearances on all the BBC's networks. He led his own band in the 1950s, performing with Ted Heath at the London Palladium and Geraldo at the old Stoll Theatre. He was voted Britain's top guitarist five years running in Melody Maker's Readers' Polls. Music led him into broadcasting and involvement in the creation of a veritable treasure trove of popular radio programming. He contributed to Today, Housewives' Choice, Radio Newsreel, Holiday Hour (with Cliff Michelmore), Home This Afternoon, and schools and sports programmes. The latter included the first radio series on sailing. He took part in the first experimental stereo broadcasts and the first use of radio cars on location. Sykora's radio career entered its third decade in the 1970s. He was still working as a regular host on those perennial favourites, You and Yours and Start the Week, when he and his family decided to fulfil an ambition to move to Scotland to run the Colintraive Hotel on the Kyles of Bute. more....   Ernest Dudley, Crime writer and dramatist has died aged 98. (4 February 2006) Ernest Dudley was the pen name of Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen. For enthusiasts of classic mystery fiction, his most enduring achievement was the creation of Dr Morelle, 'the man you love to hate!', psychoanalyst-detective and male chauvinist pig, whose detection powers were dazzling, but whose treatment of females, especially his fluttery secretary Miss Frayle, verged on the abominable. Overbearing, sarcastic, patronising, contemptuous, cruel and unusually vindictive, Morelle was nevertheless doted upon by millions of listeners to his adventures on the radio in the 1940s and 1950s. more.... Phil Tate, who has died aged 83, led a popular dance band in the post-war years. (15 December 2005) In 1950 Tate took up a residency at Hammersmith Palais. His band, which shared the billing with Lou Preager's orchestra, featured the unique blend of three flutes and five saxophones. He began recording ballroom dance music for the Oriole label and, with the launch of commercial television in 1955, made regular Friday night appearances on the Associated Rediffusion show Palais Party. Tate hosted the weekly radio show Non-Stop Pop on the BBC Light Programme, in which he interviewed current pop stars, including the Beatles. He also made regular television appearances with the band on the BBC's Come Dancing. more....   Ken Mackintosh, bandleader and saxophonist has died aged 86 (29 November 2005) Ken Mackintosh's suave orchestral accompaniments entertained London's West End. To dancers at the great London ballrooms of the Empire, Leicester Square, and the Hammersmith Palais, the name of Ken Mackintosh was synonymous with suave orchestral accompaniments, which he provided for more than 14 years in the 1960s and 1970s. To fans of Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Matt Monro, Mackintosh was the bandleader who frequently backed them on national tours. To enthusiasts of big band music, he was a musician who kept the spirit of the great 1940s swing dance orchestras alive, while providing more contemporary fare for younger audiences.   Archie Andrews dummy sells for �34,000 (23 November 2005) A private collector has paid �34,000 for the original Archie Andrews dummy used by ventriloquist Peter Brough in the 1950s radio show, Educating Archie. The dummy sold for more than double the �15,000 estimate at Taunton auctioneers Greenslade Taylor Hunt on Tuesday, where it was sold by Brough's family. more....   Actress Avril Angers has died aged 87 (11 November 2005) Avril Angers was one of the most zestful, charming and reliable character comediennes in the post-war London theatre; she also appeared in television series such as Dad's Army, All Creatures Great and Small, Are You Being Served?, Minder, Coronation Street and The Tomorrow People. Her comic persona flourished on stage and television, particularly in provincial pantomime and in television partnerships with comedians like Benny Hill, Arthur Askey, Frankie Howerd, Terry-Thomas and Les Dawson, and in shows such as Dad's Army and Coronation Street. She started broadcasting for the BBC radio service in 1944. It was when she was in Cairo with the troops that Douglas Moodlie saw her as a future radio personality, and Variety Bandbox gave her her big chance; followed by more than a year with the Carroll Levis radio show. She had a topical musical slot called Look Back with Angers on the BBC radio show Roundabout, from which she was upset to be "given a rest" in 1959. From the 1930s through to the 1950s, she was a fixture as a cartoon character in Radio Fun, in a comic strip entitled The Adventures of Avril Angers more.... Archers star Mary Wimbush dies at 81 (1 November 2005) Actress Mary Wimbush, who played Julia Pargetter-Carmichael on The Archers for 13 years, has died at the age of 81. Wimbush, a familiar voice on BBC radio for more than 60 years, died at the BBC's Birmingham studios shortly after finishing recording on Monday night. Julia was the actress' third major role in the BBC Radio 4 soap. She previously played village schoolteacher Elsie Catcher and Lady Isabel Lander. In 1946 she married the well-known actor Howard Marion-Crawford, a favourite of radio drama producers on both the Home Service and the new Third Programme, although the marriage did not last long. But both the Home and the Third were to become second home to her, especially during the 1950s through to the 1970s, when she was seldom out of the BBC studios. Jenny Abramsky, director of BBC Radio and Music, said Wimbush had been "part of the fabric of BBC Radio drama since her first broadcast in 1945". more....   Comedy actor, Ronnie Barker has died aged 76 (4 October 2005) For more than 20 years Ronnie Barker was one of the leading figures of British television comedy. He was much loved and admired for his appearances in the long-running series The Two Ronnies, with Ronnie Corbett, as prison inmate Fletcher, in the series Porridge, and as Arkwright, the bumbling, stuttering, sex-obsessed shopkeeper in Open All Hours. It was during the 1950s that he broke into radio. He was in 300 editions of The Navy Lark as A B Johnson (also known by the nickname 'Fatso'). Ronnie Barker first worked with Ronnie Corbett in The Frost Report and Frost on Sunday, programmes for which he also wrote scripts. In 1971 they teamed up for the first Two Ronnies.   Composer, trumpeter and arranger Robert Farnon has died aged 87 (24 April 2005) Bob Farnon composed many light music cameos for Chappell Music Publishers, primarily for use as background music in newsreels etc, but many of these pieces were recorded by Bob's and other orchestras, and often became familiar through their use as radio and TV signature tunes. Among his very well known compositions are 'Portrait Of A Flirt', 'Jumping Bean', 'Journey Into Melody', 'Melody Fair', 'Westminster Waltz' and 'Manhattan Playboy'. more.... Singing star Kathie Kay, 86, dies (9 March 2005) Big band singing legend Kathie Kay, who belonged to a well-known Glasgow family, has died at the age of 86. Her big break came in the 1950s when she was made resident singer on Billy Cotton's Band Show, which later switched from radio to television. more....   Sound archive calls for lost relics (5 February 2004) The British Library National Sound Archive are hoping that a rummage in the attic might unearth valuable radio recordings from the 1940s, 50s or 60s, or private recordings from earlier. While the archive has plenty of old-fashioned home tape players, gramophones and wax cylinder phonographs, it is keen to get hold of some of the rarer formats. The archive's Noel Sidebottom said: "We are particularly keen to get hold of dictating machines for the extinct tape formats." more....   Andrew Dodds, prolific illustrator of books, newspapers and 'Radio Times' has died aged 77 (7 January 2005) When, in 1951, the Radio Times wanted an artist to draw characters for the new broadcast serial The Archers, they made a shrewd choice in Andrew Dodds. He had been brought up on a farm and had illustrated for Farmers Weekly. Dodds created faces that would become inseparable from Dan and Doris Archer and their family. His models were close at hand: Dan was based on a neighbouring farmer near his home in Essex, Doris on Dodds's redoubtable mother Margaret, also a farmer. Through to 1970, Dodds produced over 300 drawings for Radio Times. He was included in R.D. Usherwood's book Drawing for Radio Times (1961) and BBC Publications' The Art of Radio Times (1981) and was chosen by Martin Baker for the exhibition "Artists of Radio Times" at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 2002. more.... Cyril Fletcher has died aged 91 (2 January 2005) Cyril Fletcher delivered odd odes in strangulated Cockney tones and was a surprising hit with television and radio audiences in a broadcasting career spanning more than sixty years. With his distinctive nasal twang and his contagious bonhomie Cyril Fletcher was one of Britain's most popular comedians. In the post-war years, he was a regular in three series of the classic 1950s panel game What's My Line? and appeared in the first religious series, Sunday Story. He and his wife starred in Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin's BBC sketch special Cyril's Saga (1957) and in the six-part series The Cyril Fletcher Show (1959), scripted by Johnny Speight. Fletcher was also a regular member of the panel in the BBC radio show Does the Team Think? As well as delivering his distinctive ditties, Cyril Fletcher was also, in his time, a cabaret artist, gardening expert and proud countryman. more.... Sidonie Goossens, the celebrated harpist ,has died aged 105 (16 December 2004) Sidonie Goossens had a professional career as an orchestral player which lasted for nearly 70 years, probably an unrivalled achievement. She was the first solo harpist to broadcast, in 1923, and the first to appear on television, in 1936; the same year, she made front-page news in July when she was one of 50 Britons rescued from Barcelona by the destroyer Gallant when the Spanish Civil War broke out. She had been on holiday on the Costa Brava. Who could forget her harp introduction to 'Mrs. Dale's Diary'? more.... Molly Weir, the actress, has died aged 94 (29 November 2004) At the start of her career, it was her distinctive Scottish accent and talent as a mimic in the 1940s which launched her as a member of the radio sketch show It's That Man Again (ITMA) where she became known to millions of radio listeners as Tattie McIntosh. When the show ended with the death of Tommy Handley, she continued her radio work, and went on to another big success as Aggie in Life With the Lyons, which later transferred to television. She went on to write a best-selling cookery book, eight volumes of autobiography and radio scripts for Woman's Hour, Children's Hour and Home This Afternoon. more.... Music hall star Billy "Uke" Scott has died aged 81 (23 November 2004) Billy inspired three generations of ukelele players, composing, singing and writing a "teach-yourself" ukelele manual. A popular radio performer (he was one of the biggest variety stars in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s), his ability received its own tribute on BBC radio when, in a Goon Show script of 1954, Peter Sellers says: "Thank you, thank you. Tonight I have included in my repertoire Schubert's violin sonata, guest soloist Billy 'Uke' Scott." more.... Biography website Max Geldray, harmonica player with The Goons, has died aged 88 (6 October 2004) Geldray, known as "Conk" to listeners, performed alongside Goons Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Michael Bentine and Harry Secombe on the show. He was frequently introduced with such lines as "Mr Max Geldray will now play his new record in a reclining position", followed by "That was Mr Max Geldray imitating music". On occasion, he also had a speaking part, in which he never felt entirely at ease, not least because the others would ad lib with abandon. After he had stumbled his way through his lines the audience would be amiably assured that Mr Geldray was "the world's worst actor". He was also credited as the world's first jazz harmonica player, performing with Django Reinhardt in the 1930s. more....   Les Ward - the surviving half of the musical novelty act Albert and Les Ward - has died at his Cardiff home, aged 82. (13 September 2004) The Ward Brothers had appeared on many of variety’s biggest bills from the thirties until the early seventies. They predated artistes such as Lonnie Donegan and Chas McDevitt with their own version of skiffle, playing guitars, bicycle pumps, washboards and virtually anything - from kitchen or garden - that could accompany their country and western songs. Albert and Les Ward became household names in the fifties on the BBC radio show "Welsh Rarebit". They made many comedy records and regularly appeared on radio shows such as "Variety Bandbox" and "Worker’s Playtime" They were regular guests on "Ignorance Is Bliss" being billed as “musical indiscretions with the Foulharmonic Orchestra”. In the late fifties they were regularly featured as a leading support act at the London Palladium appearing with American stars such as Johnny Ray. They also appeared with Judy Garland at the Dominion Theatre. Albert Ward died in 2001.  
i don't know
What C was the Christian name of Mr Rolls, founder of the car company Rolls Royce?
ROLLS ROYCE Charles Rolls    and    Henry Royce   Agreement was reached that Royce Limited would manufacture a range of cars to be exclusively sold by CS Rolls & Co � they were to bear the name Rolls-Royce. The company was formed on March 15, 1906. The company moved to Derby in 1908.       In 1910, Rolls made the world's first there-and-back flight across the Channel, without landing, a monumental feat in its day. He took off from Swingate near the Duke of Yorks school, and just over an hour later he landed back in Dover after circling French soil by air. He was given a hero's welcome when he landed, as he had become a true aviation pioneer.   Rolls-Royce is a set of several companies, all deriving from the automobile and aero-engine company founded by Henry Royce and Charles S. Rolls in 1906.  Rolls Royce plc, by far the most significant in economic terms, is a British engineering firm these days specializing in turbine-based products, particularly aero engines, but providing a wide range of civil and military engineering products and services. Official site: http://www.rolls-royce.com/   Charles Stewart Rolls 27 August 1877 to 12 October 1910 - 33 years     Charles Rolls was born at 35 Hill Street, Berkeley Square, London into a wealthy landed family with much property. In London these properties derived rents of �46,000 per annum and in addition there were large estates in Monmouthshire, South Wales.  His father, John Allan Rolls, was a Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of the County and later became Baron Llangattoch of the Hendre in August l892.  The Hendre is Welsh for Winter Dwelling or main house.   At the time Rolls was born F. H. Royce was resident in the Old Kent Road, London and may well have been a tenant of the Rolls' Estates and as he was a Post Office messenger until September 1877 when he was apprenticed to the Great Northern Railway, quite possibly delivered congratulatory telegrams to Mrs. Rolls on the birth of Charles.  The Rolls family soon acquired a permanent London address - South Lodge, Rutland Gate, South Kensington.  Rolls attended Mortimer Vicarage Preparatory School in Berkshire and then Eton until March 1894.  He installed a dynamo at The Hendre and wired part of the house.  He crammed to gain entrance to Cambridge University at Trinity College where he was a keen cyclist and gained a half Blue in 1896 and made Captain 1897.   In October 1896 he went to Paris and purchased with his father�s assistance a 3 3/4 hp Peugeot Phaeton - the first ever car based at Cambridge.  He became known as "Dirty Rolls" and "Petrolls" because of his �hands on� approach.  Rolls graduated in January 1898 with Class II Ordinary Bachelor of Arts degree by Special Examination in Mechanism and Applied Science, and gained a Master of Arts in 1902.  He was accepted as student member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in February 1898.  Rolls spent time in the workshops of London and North Western Railway at Crewe.  He had a reputation for being very careful with money, economical with food and a very modest intake of alcohol.       CSR made his first balloon flight on 8 September 1898.  This is shown above. In 1900 Rolls won the 1,000 miles reliability trial promoted by Lord Northcliffe and organised by his partner, Claude Johnson, also a founder member and Secretary of the Automobile Club.  In 1903 Rolls established a world land speed record of 93 mph in Dublin driving a 30 hp Mors.  This was a French car models of which he imported and distributed.   In 1904, via a mutual friend and another founder member of the Automobile Club, a Mr. Henry Edmunds introduced Rolls to Royce about 4 May at the Midland Hotel, Manchester.  Edmunds, pictured below, is known as the Godfather of Rolls-Royce and Claude Johnson The Hyphen in Rolls-Royce.     Rolls-Royce came into being at Christmas 1904 and from then on the 10 hp cars were so named as they were previously called Royce cars.   Rolls went to the New York Motor Show to exhibit Rolls-Royce cars in 1906 and also attended an exhibition organised by the Aero Club of America and was introduced to the Wright Brothers.  This meeting gradually directed Rolls' interest from balloons to powered flight.   In April 1910 Rolls purchased the French Wright with a Wright Bariquand engine .  It was not Rolls-Royce powered because Royce, having collapsed at work in 1902, was yet to design a Rolls-Royce aero engine.  This was a tail-less wheel-less model aircraft really of 1909 specification.  Rolls was relieved Rolls-Royce Limited of some duties in January 1910 to pursue aircraft interests.  Rolls completed the first double crossing of the Channel - England/France/England on 2 June 1910 in total flying time 95 1/2 minutes.   Fredrick Henry Royce 1863 to 1933     After 3 years at Peterborough the aunt was unable to provide further support but Royce quickly found work with Greenwood and Batley in Leeds as a tool maker.  He earned 55 pence for a 54 hour week.  Evening studies rendered him knowledgeable with electricity and he obtained work with The Electric Light and Power Co. in London.  Evening classes again helped his electrical knowledge and his work impressed Hiram Maxim whose electric light bulb patents the company acquired.  Just before Royce's 21st birthday he was sent as first electrician to do theatre and street lighting in Liverpool for which he had full technical responsibility.  The work was accepted by the Corporation in March 1884. There was more trouble for Royce when in May the company failed but Royce had saved �20 and his friend, A. E. Claremont pictured below, also with electrical training, had �50 and together they formed F. H. Royce & Co. electrical engineers and traded from rented premises in Cooke Street, Manchester.     The company produced small electrical items such as electric bell sets powered by Leclanche cells , bulb holders with bayonet fitting, switches, fuses, filaments, probably complete bulbs, and electrical registering instruments.  Profits enabled complete installations, dynamos, motors with sparkless commutators winches and cranes to be made and they earned a reputation for quality and reliability.  Royce was the technical partner and Claremont dealt with the sales and business side.  In 1893 the partners married the Punt sisters.  In 1894 F.H. Royce and Co. became a limited company and by 1899 the share capital was increased to �30,000 to allow extra works to be built at Trafford Park,  Cooke Street being too small,  gantry cranes were built at Trafford Park and one is still in use at the Derby works.     Opposite Royce�s factory was that of W. T. Glover, a cable making firm, of which Henry Edmunds, referred to above, was a director.  Royce and Minnie Grace, his wife, lived at Brae Cottage, Knutsford a house designed by the same architect, Waterhouse, as designed Manchester Town Hall and many other public buildings.    Brae Cottage   As can be seen above the term cottage was typical of Royce the mechanic�s understatement.  The property was electrically lit including the gardens because his work interfered with his hobby!  It should be remembered that in 1902 Royce collapsed through overwork and irregular meals.  The extra work of dealing with the erection of the Trafford Park works and commercial competition from cheap imports had caused Royce to work too hard and long.   Royce was persuaded to buy a car, after  spending some months in South Africa with his wife�s relatives to recover.  A French 10 HP two cylinder  Decauville was duly acquired.  Royce was dissatisfied with its quality and reliability and in 1903 obtained, somewhat reluctant, Board permission to build in Cooke Street three cars of his own design.  Royce Ltd. now added Royce petrol motor cars to its list of products on the firm�s headed notepaper.  The new products were to compensate for business lost as a result of German and American competition in the electrical field.  By September 1903 the twin cylinder 10 HP engine ran for six hours.  It was installed in a chassis somewhat similar to the Decauville except that the engine and gearbox units were isolated from chassis distortion, the engine had positively opened inlet valves, a single lever quadrant change for the 3 speed gearbox, steel on bronze bearings replaced steel on steel and a more efficient radiator was fitted.  On 1 April 1904 Royce drove the first model home for its test without any troubles, largely reflecting his electrical skills.  Henry Edmunds borrowed the car to demonstrate his company�s Parsons chains in the �Side Slip Trials� driving it on the first day some 145 miles at average 16.5 mph.   Rolls was to meet Royce in May 1904. Rolls was, with his manager Claude Johnson, then selling Minerva and Panhard cars, but wanted a good British car with at least 3 cylinders.  Royce and Rolls were mutually impressed and Rolls agreed to sell all the cars that Royce could make.  By December 1904 Royce was to produce for the Paris Salon 2,3 and 4 cylinder cars and a 6 cylinder engine.  It took until February 1905 for a complete 6 cylinder car to be at the Olympia Show.         For publicity purposes Claude Johnson entered Rolls and Northey in two 20 HP cars for the 1905 Isle of Man T.T.  Roll�s gearbox failed on first lap but Percy Northey came second in the race.  In 1906 CSR won the Isle of Man T.T. at an average of 39 mph touching 70 mph on some stretches.  Also at that 1904 meeting the shape of the radiator top  tank was changed.  The hot water from the top of the cylinders was fed to the middle of the top tank and had to be spread across the top of the radiator block to travel down it.  As there would be a decreasing amount of water to be accommodated as it moved towards the sides of the radiator, it was logical progressively to reduce the cross section of the tank.  This maintained a constant water velocity and reduced the amount of material used in the radiator's construction.  Thus technical correctness and fitness for purpose were the real reasons for the world famous Grecian Radiator.     For similar logic and mechanical perfection the 2 cylinder engine crankshaft had a centre bearing.  The 4 and 6 cylinder engines had groups of the original twin cylinder block.  The 4 cylinder crank form was the well established two 180 degrees twins back to back balancing out primary forces and couples.  The 6 cylinder being probably three twins in a row was very rough running and early attempts with a light flywheel at the front showed Royce the principle of the Lanchester crankshaft torsional damper.       Royce did not immediately make use of this discovery but solved the problem by using two 3 cylinder cranks in mirror image form about the middle of the engine.  This principle was adopted for the 40/50 HP engine producing 48 BHP from 7,036 cc at 1,200 rpm.  This the configuration of the engine in the Silver Ghost AX201 of 1907, pictured later.   The crankshaft was a fully machined heat treated nickel-steel forging, drilled for full pressure lubrication (about 10 lbs/psi) running in 7 bearings.  Grossly oversimplified, Royce�s obsession with smooth quiet operation using first class materials to obtain long life, was exemplified in this model that far surpassed its contemporaries.  A dual ignition system was employed a coil for starting and slow running, the magneto being the main ignition, separate switches permitted this to be done.  Remember Royce was an electrical expert in his day.  The gearbox gave 4 forward speeds with �overdrive� 4th (47 mph per 1,000 rpm). The steering lock was very good and the car�s weight was taken on fully enclosed oil retaining thrust ball races.     Rolls-Royce did not produce coach work for their chassis at this time.  In 1904 the 10 HP with a tonneau body cost �395.  The entrance to the passenger compartment was at rear like a dog cart.  The Silver Ghost chassis cost �895 in 1907.   In 1906 Rolls-Royce Limited had been formed absorbing C.S.Rolls & Company that traded in Conduit Street, London, selling cars and carriage and upholstery work.  An appeal for �200,000 capital was made successful at the last minute by �10,000 from A. H. Briggs, pictured below, who joined the new Rolls-Royce Limited Board.       Claude Johnson set up the 15,000 mile trial in 1907 - �We will run our 40/50 Silver Ghost for 15,000 miles and the RAC shall see to it that we do no tinkering by the way�.  There was just one involuntary stop of 36 seconds to rectify a petrol tap that had shut off.  Complete restoration of the car after the test cost �2.14.  The drivers were C. S. Rolls, Claude Johnson, Eric Platford and Macready.     Demand for the 40/50 HP was commercially fine but Cooke Street now with 200 employees was too small.   In 1907 Rolls-Royce in the Autocar of 6 April 1907 stated : �The location of the new Rolls-Royce works has now been definitely settled.  Rolls-Royce Limited has acquired a considerable tract of land on the Osmaston Estate, Derby.  It is expected that building operations will shortly be commenced.�  The new works at Nightingale Road were officially opened on 9 July 1908. Lord Montagu of Beaulieu declared the factory open and switched on the electricity.   This event was no doubt arranged by Claude Johnson who thereby ensured that Rolls-Royce achievements were fully reported in The Car Illustrated and, as an MP, Lord  Montagu would continue to support motoring interests as he had the 1903 Motor Car Bill raising the speed limit to 20 mph.  The current Lord Montagu is a great motoring enthusiast too!  His father was successfully competing with Rolls in the 12 HP Panhard and in a Daimler in the 1900 1,000 miles trial.  Later, in 1908, Lord Montagu took delivery of a Type 70 a 40/50 with overhead inlet instead of side valves of which only about five were built.  The �Silver Rogue�, being one of these cars, was the winner of a huge trophy in the 1908 International Trials.  In keeping with the horse based practice of naming of vehicles in those days the Lord�s Type 70 was called �Dragonfly�.    Lord Montague opens new factory     Charles Sykes was the principle illustrator for The Car Illustrated and rode with Lord Montagu in �Dragonfly� during the 10th anniversary run of the 1,000 miles trial.  Sykes knew Claude Johnson by whom he was commissioned to illustrate the Company�s 1910 Catalogue.    Claude Johnson was pleased with Sykes' work and in 1911 commissioned him to produce a Rolls-Royce mascot.  Some of those mascots in use at this time were not deemed to reflect suitable taste for the Best Car In The World .   The Spirit of Ecstasy, represented speed with silence, absence of vibration and the mysterious harnessing of great energy.  "This spirit had selected road travel as her supreme delight and had alighted on the prow of a Rolls-Royce car to revel in the freshness of the air and the musical sound of her fluttering draperies� said Claude Johnson.  Originally Sykes called his sculpture �The Spirit of Speed�.  Some historians suggest that Eleanor Thornton, Lord Montagu�s secretary, was the model.     This lady had previously been secretary, while at the Automobile Club, to Claude Johnson.  She was a career girl in current parlance and a very attractive lady.  The mascot has changed in size over the years and in the period 1932 to 1950 an option of a kneeling type mascot was available and often used for Wraiths,  the first Rolls-Royces with independent front suspension, and Phantom IIIs.   In 1911 Royce, who had been on holiday at Overstrand in Norfolk, was taken ill and was operated upon in Norwich.  To recuperate he went to France in August and Claude Johnson, who had hired nurse Ethel Aubin to tend to Royce on a temporary basis, met him.  Having been given only a few months to live Royce recovered well but was advised to remain in a warmer climate and follow a more relaxed routine.  Claude Johnson had a villa at Le Canadel and nearby Royce built Villa Mimosa, the bureau for the design office and Le Rossignal to house the designers on handy.   The idea was to winter in Le Canadel and spend the summer at �Westwood� in Crowborough.  Royce had a recurrence of cancer of the bowel and in London a colostomy operation.  He and Nurse Aubin returned to Le Canadel but Minnie, Royce�s wife and her niece, Violet, his adopted daughter, could not get along with Ethel Aubin and stayed at �Westwood� until 1921.  Nurse Aubin stayed with Royce until the end of his life in 1933 at        From 1911 Royce did not "interfere" by visiting the works, his abrupt dismissal of staff for less than perfection and continual detail improvement to the vehicles design hindered production.  Royce now had a team that produced design schemes only, with detailing done at Derby under the direction of R. W. Harvey Bailey (By), pictured below, who was also well versed in materials� properties.   The three speed London Edinburgh type 40/50 HP had failed to climb an Alpine Pass in 1912 due to the high gearing employed in the car and the 1 in 3 incline encountered.  The �Best Car In the World� could not be permitted to fail in a test others passed.  Rolls-Royce prestige could not allow this.  Therefore in 1913, the year of the 1,650 mile and 19 Pass Alpine Rally, and James Radley was again driving the car and in 1913 this time with a four speed box, larger fuel capacity, improved cooling and various additions to permit starting without opening the bonnet, thereby breaking the seals.  Eric Platford was team manager and No. 2 driver was Ernest Hives who was Rolls-Royce No. 1 experimental driver.     Technically James Radley was a private entrant but he was involved as part of the team.  Radley�s chassis No. 2260E is believed to survive.  Side valve engines, if they were to remain smooth could not be much further developed, and transmission brakes were out, being replaced by concentric dual brakes on the rear wheels, torque tube back axle and better springs as well as the 4 speed box were improvements effected as a result of Rolls-Royce last formal entry in car racing.     Towards the end of its production the 40/50 HP series had servo operated four wheel brakes, electric lighting and starting and by 1925 a more efficient overhead valve engine was used in the New Phantom.  The Silver Ghost, pictured below, had run its course and set the standard for 19 years.       From 1906 to 1959 a six cylinder engine became the norm for Rolls-Royce except for a short time in the late thirties for the PIII and its V12 configuration.  In 1959 a V8 was introduced with the Cloud II. In normal Rolls-Royce practice  this V8 engine has already been improved over 40 years.   Recent Specification Changes on Rolls-Royce Cars   Silver Spirit   Introduced in 1981 to replace the Silver Shadow.  The car featured fully automatic airconditioning from the outset.   In 1987 fuel injection and anti-lock brakes were fitted to the cars. 1990 models had styling changes, a revised dashboard, alloy wheels and active damping fitted.  The cars became known as Silver Spirit IIs.   In 1994 engine revisions were made and the car featured a four speed automatic and 20% more power.  Twin airbags were the norm and the cars were called Silver Spirit IIIs. In 1996 larger wheels and electric steering adjustment was added.   Silver Spur   A long wheelbase version of the Silver Spirit.  In 1996 a 300hp turbo charged engine was fitted.   Silver Seraph   Introduced in February 1998, just before the Bentley Arnage.  5.3 litre V12 engine and five speed gearbox were standard.   The car was updated in late 1999 with additional legroom and GPS.       Rolls-Royce Motor Cars made its debut at the 1904 Paris Motor Show, displaying two-, three- and four-cylinder cars, delivering 10hp, 15hp and 20hp respectively. An advert was placed in The Autocar magazine for "the first simple, silent Rolls-Royce", and with the launch of the six-cylinder, 30hp model (6177cc, 55mph) success was immediate. Rolls began to race a "Twenty" four-cylinder car - with its 4118cc 20hp engine delivering up to 52mph - and won the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in a "Light Twenty" shorter-wheelbase model.    Royce understood the importance of motorsport in promoting the brand, and also the role of publicity stunts; he and Claude Johnson, now Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Ltd., came up with ideas including a drive from Monte Carlo to London (which took 37 hours, 30 minutes). Although a new V8-engined model known as the Legalimit failed to take off, the six-cylinder, 7036cc 40/50 (48bhp) was instantly popular, liked for its smoothness, refinement, flexibility and reliability.   It was the  Silver Ghost that in 1907 caused the motoring press to name Rolls-Royce the best car in the world. The characteristics of the Silver Ghost were silence, smoothness and power. Only 7876 cars   were built over a period of 19 years - by comparison Henry Ford in a similar period made over  15 million Model  'T' s. Johnson took the 12th 40/50 produced for his own use, and had all its fittings silver-plated and the coachwork painted silver. The car became known as the Silver Ghost, a name then applied to all the 40/50 cars. The Silver Ghost - from �1,300 - was awarded a gold medal by the RAC for setting a long-distance record, driving 14,371 miles almost non-stop, and it covered a 2000-mile observation run averaging 20.86 miles per gallon. However, Charles Rolls was not to get the chance to enjoy the car's sales success: a keen aviator and the first man to fly over the Channel both ways, he became the first Englishman to die in a flying accident when his plane crashed at the Bournemouth air show in July 1910. Johnson continued to run Rolls-Royce after Rolls' death .             Rolls Royce 15 hp                     Rolls Royce Phantom III - 1936     The Silver Ghost, now with a 7428cc engine, then saw off a challenge from Napier in 1911, averaging 24.3mpg on a run between London and Edinburgh and a top speed of 78.2mph at Brooklands - the Napier managed 19.3mpg and 76.4mph. A Ghost fitted with a single-seater body managed 101.8mph at Brooklands later in the year, and specially-prepared cars took part in the Alpine Trials and then the Spanish Grand Prix of 1913, when the Marquis de Salamanca won the event (thanks to Rolls-Royce test driver Eric Platford, leading the race, pulling over to let the important client take the glory). Sales were strong, and Royce built a new factory in Derby to cope with the growing demand for his cars. A Rolls-Royce service and repair centre was opened in Cricklewood, London, and driving schools were opened to instruct owners and chauffeurs on the best techniques.   The famous mascot was created in 1911 when artist Charles Sykes was commissioned to illustrate the year's sales catalogue. Sykes drew a girl with arms outstretched, holding her flowing gown, and the figurine became known as 'The Spirit of Ecstasy', although she was originally called 'The Spirit of Speed' and also known as 'The Flying Lady' or 'The Silver Lady'.   The Spirit of Ecstasy is one of the most well known motor car mascot in the world. Designed by Charles Robinson Sykes, The Spirit of Ecstasy  has adorned the radiators of Rolls-Royce motor cars since 1911. This wonderful mascot was modeled after a young woman  who had bewitching beauty, intellect and esprit - but not the social status which might have permitted her  to marry the man with whom she had fallen in love.   Eleanor Thornton   The model was Eleanor Velasco Thornton, whose relationship with John Walter Edward-Scott-Montagu  remained a secret for over a decade, principally  because both lovers acted with the utmost discretion.  John Scott, heir to his father's title, was a pioneer of the automobile in England. From 1902 he was editor of the  "The Car".  Eleanor Thornton served as his secretary. Friends of the pair knew of their close relationship but they were sufficiently understanding as to overlook it. A member of this circle of friends was the sculptor Charles S Sykes.  Lord Montagu ordered t he creation of a special mascot for his Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. The small statue depicted a young woman in fluttering robes having placed one forefinger to her lips. The sculptor had chosen Eleanor Thornton as model for this figurine, which was christened "The Whisper".    Lord Montagu had made the decision to put a mascot on top of the radiator, and it had become a fashion. Rolls-Royce had noted other owners of their cars following the new vogue, but doing so with questionable style by choosing mundane or even risqu� and vulgar subjects.    Following Lord Montagu's commission, Charles Sykes was asked to create a mascot which in future would adorn every Rolls-Royce. In February 1911 he presented the "Spirit of Ecstasy", which was easily recognizable as being a variation on the theme of "The Whisper". The similarity was hardly coincidental because the model for both had been Miss Thornton.    The Spirit of Ecstasy    and    Inspiration          The Spirit of Ecstasy was delivered by the Company with every Rolls-Royce. Each was done using the technique which was thousands of years old and known as the lost-wax method. This practice results in the mould's being destroyed to reveal the casting, which explains why no two figures are exactly alike. Sykes, assisted by his daughter Jo, remained responsible for manufacturing the Spirit of Ecstasy for many years. Likewise, each of the unique creations bore his signature on the plinth. The sculptures are either signed "Charles Sykes, February 1911" or sometimes "Feb 6, 1911" or "6.2.11". Even after Rolls-Royce took over the casting of the figures in 1948 each Spirit of Ecstasy continued to receive this inscription until 1951.  From 1911 to 1914 the Spirit of Ecstasy was silver-plated and thus many thought it a massive piece of precious metal - one reason for the frequent thefts. In smaller versions, and now made from highly polished nickel alloy, the radiator decoration has stood its ground on every Rolls-Royce, including those in the present range.    Over the years various alterations have been made. Those mascots for Rolls-Royce motor cars at the Springfield plant in the USA were modified. Bowing a little more forward no longer were they a danger to the bonnet. The original version had touched the bonnet sides when these were opened without the precaution having been taken of turning the figure sideways.    Rolls Royce - Flying Lady   Royce did not like the Spirit of Ecstasy, which he judged her to be just a fashionable bauble and complained that she spoiled the clear line of the car's bow. The order to create the sculpture was given during the chief engineer's illness and had been absent. Thus it became a habit that Rolls-Royce cars used by Royce were rarely driven with a mascot in place.  Towards the end of the twenties the new body line of Sports Saloons had reduced the height of the coachwork.  Royce was prompted to think about a lower variation of the Spirit of Ecstasy, by which alteration a driver might benefit from clear vision even with the windscreen lower and his seating position reduced in turn. Sykes created a kneeling version of the mascot, which fulfilled this requirement.    The kneeling version remained after the Second World War for the new Silver Wraith and Silver Dawn. All following models, however, sported a standing mascot, although this has now been reduced in size considerably compared to the old one.    Silver Cloud - 1960                             Seraph - 2004   Rarely, however, is the correct term "Spirit of Ecstasy" used - detractors remark this was only done at the factory in Crewe. The nickname "Emily" is widespread and Americans speak of the "Silver Lady" or the "Flying Lady".  In 1920 Rolls-Royce had taken part in a competition in Paris for the most apposite mascot in the world. This they did with a gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy, which secured Rolls-Royce first place. From then on gold-plated versions of the Spirit of Ecstasy were available from the company - at an extra charge.    Safety regulations in some countries turned out to be a stumbling block to the fitting of the Spirit of Ecstasy. She qualified as a sharp-edged piece of metal jutting from the coachwork, which might injure a victim in an accident. because of this, in Switzerland during the second half of the seventies, the installation of mascots on Rolls-Royces was forbidden and purchasers of a new Rolls-Royce delivered to that country found their mascot in the glove compartment. The problem was solved with the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur; at the merest knock the Spirit of Ecstasy sank into the radiator surround and vanished out of harms way. Thus were the safety regulations satisfied.   The woman who had been the model for the radiator decoration, was not to appreciate its success. Eleanor Thornton lost her life when, on 30 December 1915, on the SS Persia, while on passage to India, was torpedoed off Crete by a German submarine. She had been accompanying Lord Montagu who had been directed to take over a command in India. He was thought to have been killed, too, but survived and was rescued a few days later by another ship. On his return to England he read the obituary articles in the newspapers about his own demise.   AIRCRAFT ENGINES   At the start of the First World War, in response to the nation's needs, Royce designed his first aero engine � the Eagle, providing some half of the total horsepower used in the air war by the allies. The Eagle powered the first direct transatlantic flight as well as the first flight from England to Australia � both in the Vickers Vimy aircraft.   Henry Royce's last design was the Merlin aero engine, which came out in 1935 although he had died in 1933. This was developed from the R engine, which had powered a record-breaking Supermarine S6B seaplane to almost 400mph in the 1931 Schneider Trophy.)   The Merlin was a powerful V12 engine, and was fitted into many World War II aircraft: the British Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, De Havilland Mosquito (twin-engined), Avro Lancaster (4-engine), Vickers Wellington (2-engine); it also transformed the American P-51 Mustang into possibly the best fighter of its time, its Merlin engine built by Packard under license. Over 160,000 Merlin engines were produced.   Rolls Royce's most famous engine is the Merlin.  This motor was essential to Britain`s war effort, it not only powered the Spitfire, but also the Hurricane, Lancaster and Mosquito. The Spitfires in the Battle of Britain were fitted with the Merlin III of 1,030 horsepower.   Designed by Rolls-Royce as a private-venture, the Merlin was able to take advantage of the new 100 octane fuel developed in the U.S.A. The Merlin only had one disadvantage when compared with German engines, the latter were fitted with fuel injection to deliver a precise charge of petrol to the combustion chamber. The Merlin still used a carburettor, which had the advantage of being much simpler and needing much fewer components, but it did cause the Merlin to "conk-out" if negative G forces were applied.    Thus a German pilot with a Spitfire on his tail could simply pull negative G nosing into a dive and the Spitfire would fall behind until the engine picked up, only a matter of a second or two, but that second was all the German needed. Spitfire pilots developed a way around this by doing a half-roll before following into a dive. This meant that the force of gravity acted in the opposite direction and the Merlin was unaffected. In 1941 a carburettor modification, developed by Miss Tilly Shilling, enabled the Merlin to carry on working with short periods of negative G, a vital stop-gap until the introduction of true negative G carburettors in 1943.       One thing that is often forgotten is that the capacity of the Merlin was quite small when compared to the opposition. The Merlin had a capacity of 27 litres, whereas the DB601 of the Messerschmitt was 39 litres and the BMW801 engine of the Focke-Wulf 190 had 42 litres. The superiority of the later Merlin engined Spitfires (ie Mk IX) over these Luftwaffe aircraft is all the more remarkable when this is remembered.   TYPE- TWELVE CYLINDER 60 DEGREE UPRIGHT VEE LIQUID COOLED INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. BORE x STROKE= 5.4in x 6in (137.3mm x 152.5mm) CAPACITY= 1,647 cu in (27 litres) MERLIN III TAKE OFF POWER: 880 HP AT 3,000 REVS INTERNATIONAL RATING: 990 HP AT 2,600 REVS AT 12,250 FT. MAX POWER: 1,440 HP AT 3,000 REVS AT 5,500 FT. WEIGHT: 1,375 LBS. TAKE OFF POWER: 1,315 HP AT 3,000 REVS MAX POWER: OVER 1,650 HP. WEIGHT: 1,650 LBS   In parallel, Rolls-Royce began development of the aero gas turbine, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle. The Welland engine entered service in the Gloster Meteor fighter in 1944 and Rolls-Royce had the confidence immediately after the war to commit itself to the gas turbine, in which it had a technological lead.   In the post- World War II period Rolls-Royce made significant advances in gas turbine engine design and manufacture. The Dart and Tyne turboprop engines were particularly important enabling airlines to cut journey times within several continents whilst jet airliners were introduced on longer services. The Dart engine was used in Argosy, Avro 748 , Friendship , Herald and Viscount aircraft, whilst the more powerful Tyne powered the Atlantic, Transall, Vanguard and the SRN-4 hovercraft . Many of these turboprops are still in service.  Amongst the jet engines of this period was the RB163 Spey which powers the Trident , BAC 1-11 , Grumman Gulfstream II and Fokker F28 . Rolls-Royce entered the civil aviation market with the Dart in the Vickers Viscount. It was to become the cornerstone of the universal acceptance of the gas turbine by the airline industry. The Avon-powered Comet became the first turbojet to enter transatlantic service and in 1960, the Conway engine in the Boeing 707 became the first turbofan to enter airline service. The other major manufacturers in Britain between the wars were Armstrong Siddeley, Blackburn, Bristol, de Havilland and Napier. The leader among these was Bristol which, in 1959, merged with the motor car and aero-engine maker Armstrong Siddeley. Three other smaller engine companies were absorbed into Bristol Siddeley and Rolls-Royce in 1961. Finally, the capability of the British aero-engine industry was consolidated when Rolls-Royce and Bristol Siddeley merged in 1966.   During the late 50's and 60's there was a significant rationalisation of the British aero-engine manufacturers, culminating in the merger of Rolls-Royce and Bristol Siddeley in 1966 (Bristol Siddeley had itself resulted from the merger of Armstrong-Siddeley and Bristol in 1959). Bristol, with its principal factory at Filton , near bristol , had a strong base in military engines, including the Olympus, which was chosen for Concorde .       The Rolls-Royce AVON series was developed in the late 1940`s - early 1950`s as a replacement for the NENE and entered production as the first Rolls Royce axial flow turbo jet. The AVON (in several varients) was fitted to the Hawker Hunter (x 1), English Electric (BAC) Canberra (x 2), Supermarine Swift (x 1), Supermarine Scimitar (x 1), Vickers Valiant (x 4), deHavilland Sea Vixen (x 2).   Designed originally to meet a speceification for a 6,500lbs engine, the Avon was given the ID of AJ 65 (Axial Jet 65 hundred pounds). Designed as a single shaft turbojet, eventually to go into service with and without reheat. The reheat system used a simple two-position eyelet nozzle. The first engine to went into service in 1950, it was a RA.3 Avon Mk 101 fitted in a Canberra B.2.  Other engines were fitted as follows: RA-3 Avon Mk 109 / RA.3 - Canberra B.6, Avon Mk 104 & Mk 107 - Hawker Hunter, Avon Mk 105 - Supermarine Swift.       The Orpheus was a single spool, axial flow turbo jet developed from 1953 as a purely company-financed (Bristol) venture. The first engine ran at 3,000lbs on 17 December 1954 and was type tested to 3,285lb the following year, first flying in the prototype Folland Gnat on 18 July. Engines were fitted to the following aircraft: Orpheus Mk 701 - Folland Gnat (Thrust 4,250lbs) - Jet-Pak booster pods for Indian C-119s       The Olympus is the only civil jet engine to use the reheat technique, in which fuel is injected into the engine's exhaust gases to produce additional heat and thrust for takeoff and transonic acceleration.   Early versions of the Olympus were fitted to the Avro Vulcan bomber and a higher-powered variant, the Olympus 320, was developed for the TSR2 supersonic strike aircraft.  The engine on display was extensively redesigned during the development programme, and dry thrust was increased from 102 kN (23 000 lb) to 138 kN (31 000 lb).   ROLLS ROYCE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS   With the emergence of the widebody airliners in the late 1960s, Rolls-Royce launched the RB211 for the Lockheed L-1011 Tri-Star. Early problems with the RB211 led to the company being taken into state ownership, and the flotation of the motor car business in 1973 as a separate entity. The three-shaft turbofan concept of the RB211 has now established itself at the heart of the Rolls-Royce world-class family of engines.   Financial problems caused largely by development of the new RB211 turbofan engine led�after several cash subsidies�to the company being nationalized by the Heath government in 1971 . (This delay has been blamed for the failure of the technically advanced Lockheed TriStar to succeed in the airliner marketplace, when it was beaten to launch by its competitor, the Douglas DC-10 .)    In 1973 the automobile business was spun off as a separate entity, Rolls-Royce Motors. The main business of aircraft and marine engines remained in public ownership until 1987 , when it was privatized as Rolls-Royce plc, one of many privatizations of the Thatcher government.   In 1980 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was acquired by Vickers . In 1998 Vickers sold the company on to Volkswagen (see below). A year later Rolls-Royce plc acquired Vickers plc for �576m. Rolls-Royce returned to the private sector, undergoing a number of mergers and acquisitions to create the only company in Britain capable of delivering power for use in the air, at sea and on land. In 1990, Rolls-Royce formed an aero engines joint venture with BMW of Germany. Rolls-Royce took full control of the joint venture from January 2000. The legal name of the company is now Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG. Allison Engine Company in Indianapolis was acquired. Allison brought with it major new civil engines including the AE3007 for Embraer's new regional jet, and existing, successful defence programmes. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was sold by Vickers to Volkswagen, although BMW hold the rights to the name and the marque for use on Rolls-Royce cars, having acquired the rights from Rolls-Royce plc for �40m in 1998. BMW will take over responsibility for Rolls-Royce cars from the beginning of 2003. Rolls-Royce took full control of its oil and gas joint venture, Cooper Rolls, with the acquisition of the rotating compression equipment interests of Cooper Energy Services. It also acquired National Airmotive in California, a major repair and overhaul facility now part of Rolls-Royce Engine Services. The 1990s ended with the �576m acquisition of Vickers plc which, with primarily the Ulstein and Kamewa products and capabilities joining the Rolls-Royce existing gas turbine activities, transformed Rolls-Royce into the global leader in marine power systems.   Today Rolls-Royce engines continue to power many of the world's civil and military aircraft and the company has been particularly effective in reducing noise and adverse emissions from its aviation products, anticipating international regulations arising from community campaigns and improved environmental understanding.       Managing director, Bob Sunerton, said we need to gain access to the commercial marine market in growth areas such as the booming cruise ship market, water jets , etc.  Rolls Royce is also keen to promote its gas turbine replacements to traditional diesel engines for warships and super fast cargo vessels.  Hence growth in the marine market is mainly on the back of expected naval orders.     ROLLS ROYCE CARS FROM 1998 1998-2002 Silver Seraph - This shared its design with the Bentley Arnage , which sold in much greater numbers. 1992-2003 Bentley Continental R - This 6.75 L 400bhp car ended production and has now been superseded by the Continental GT. 1995-2003 Bentley Azure - This 2-dr convertible was Bentley's most expensive model, with about half of the models being customized by Mulliner. 2000-2002 Corniche - This 2-dr convertible shared its design with the Bentley Azure, and was the most expensive Rolls-Royce until the introduction of the 2003 Phantom. 2003 Phantom - Launched in January 2003 at Detroit 's North American International Auto Show , this is the first model of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, a BMW subsidiary having no technical or corporate connection with the original Rolls-Royce company, apart from the trademarks mentioned above. The car has a 6.75 L V12 engine from BMW, but most other components are unique to the car. Most parts are made in Germany , but the assembly and finishing is in a new factory in Goodwood , Sussex . The price starts at around �250,000.       Please click on the links above to find out about these famous automotive makers.  If your company is not included and you would like to be listed, please let us know.   UK VEHICLE INSURANCE ONLINE A - Z   No matter what car, van or bike you drive, we're all looking for great value and quality in our UK motor insurance?  But who is the best - who is the cheapest and who offers the great service in the event of a claim?   See the insurance companies below who claim to offer competitive cover at sensible prices, our guide to the jargon and tips for cutting your quote - Good Luck:-  
A. Charles
Brideshead Revisited, written in 1945, was a famous novel by which famous author?
The Pioneers : An Anthology : The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls (1877 - 1910) The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls (1877 - 1910) Charles S. Rolls http://www.monmouth.org.uk The son of a wealthy British peer, Rolls might have led a carefree life often associated with the young Edwardian aristocracy. Instead, he combined an adventurous spirit with an education and thus made a useful contribution to his nation. Rolls went to Cambridge University where he earned a BA, and later MA in engineering. His love for speed led him to become a racing cyclist. Later he turned to racing automobiles along with his friend, Moore-Brabazon. In 1896 Rolls joined with other auto enthusiasts to break a law which forbade automobile travel at over 4mph (6.4km/hr). Their defiance led to a new speed limit which at 12 mph (19.3 km/hr) was 200% faster than had previously been allowed. In 1901 Rolls, having become an aeronaut, helped found the Aero Club. Two years later he entered an automobile sales venture in London selling expensive French cars. One day a friend introduced him to F. H. Royce who was just beginning to build quality automobiles. Royce, who had worked hard his entire life, had little in common with Rolls yet they still became friends. In 1904 they agreed that Royce would build cars and Rolls would sell them. Rolls-Royce was born. Rolls continued to fly balloons when he wasn't demonstrating his soon-to-be-famous products. His balloon flying led to aeroplane flying and in 1910 he received certificate number 2 from the Royal Aero Club (Royal as of that year). Later in the same year he became the first man to fly non-stop across the English Channel both ways, but his triumph was short lived. In July 1910 he was killed when his French-built Wright biplane broke up in mid-air. Though he came down from only 20 feet, he cracked his skull. He became Britain`s first aircraft fatality. A History of Aeronautics http://www.bookrags.com No record of early British fliers could be made without the name of C. S. Rolls, a son of Lord Llangattock, on June 2nd, 1910, he flew across the English Channel to France, until he was duly observed over French territory, when he returned to England without alighting. The trip was made on a Wright biplane, and was the third Channel crossing by air, Bleriot having made the first, and Jacques de Lesseps the second. Rolls was first to make the return journey in one trip. He was eventually killed through the breaking of the tail-plane of his machine in descending at a flying meeting at Bournemouth. The machine was a Wright biplane, but the design of the tail-plane--which, by the way, was an addition to the machine, and was not even sanctioned by the Wrights--appears to have been carelessly executed, and the plane itself was faulty in construction. The breakage caused the machine to overturn, killing Rolls, who was piloting it. Charles S. Rolls (1877 - 1910) http://www.cartage.org.lb British engineer who joined with Henry Royce in 1905 to design and produce cars. In 1906 a light model 20, driven by Rolls, won the Tourist Trophy and also broke the Monte Carlo-to-London record. Rolls trained as a mechanical engineer at Cambridge, where he developed a passion for engines of all kinds. After working at the railway works in Crewe, he set up a business in 1902 as a motor dealer. Rolls was the first to fly nonstop across the English Channel and back 1910. Before the business could flourish, he died in a flying accident. Rolls-Royce History http://www.bentleyboys.com Charles Stewart Rolls 27 August 1877 to 12 October 1910 - 33 years. Charles Rolls was born at 35 Hill Street, Berkeley Square, London into a wealthy landed family with much property. In London these properties derived rents of £46,000 per annum and in addition there were large estates in Monmouthshire, South Wales. His father, John Allan Rolls, was a Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of the County and later became Baron Llangattoch of the Hendre in August l892. The Hendre is Welsh for Winter Dwelling or main house. Charles Stewart Rolls http://www.bentleyboys.com At the time Rolls was born F. H. Royce (Frederick Henry Royce) was resident in the Old Kent Road, London and may well have been a tenant of the Rolls' Estates and as he was a Post Office messenger until September 1877 when he was apprenticed to the Great Northern Railway, quite possibly delivered congratulatory telegrams to Mrs. Rolls on the birth of Charles. The Rolls family soon acquired a permanent London address - South Lodge, Rutland Gate, South Kensington. Rolls attended Mortimer Vicarage Preparatory School in Berkshire and then Eton until March 1894. He installed a dynamo at The Hendre and wired part of the house. He crammed to gain entrance to Cambridge University at Trinity College where he was a keen cyclist and gained a half Blue in 1896 and made Captain 1897. In October 1896 he went to Paris and purchased with his father's assistance a 3 3/4 hp Peugeot Phaeton - the first ever car based at Cambridge. He became known as "Dirty Rolls" and "Petrolls" because of his 'hands on' approach. Rolls graduated in January 1898 with Class II Ordinary Bachelor of Arts degree by Special Examination in Mechanism and Applied Science, and gained a Master of Arts in 1902. He was accepted as student member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in February 1898. Rolls spent time in the workshops of London and North Western Railway at Crewe. He had a reputation for being very careful with money, economical with food and a very modest intake of alcohol. Charles Rolls makes his his first balloon flight, Sept. 8, 1898 http://www.bentleyboys.com In 1900 Rolls won the 1,000 miles reliability trial promoted by Lord Northcliffe and organised by his partner, Claude Johnson, also a founder member and Secretary of the Automobile Club. In 1903 Rolls established a world land speed record of 93 mph in Dublin driving a 30 hp Mors. This was a French car models of which he imported and distributed. In 1904, via a mutual friend and another founder member of the Automobile Club, a Mr. Henry Edmunds introduced Rolls to Royce about 4 May at the Midland Hotel, Manchester. Rolls-Royce came into being at Christmas 1904 and from then on the 10 hp cars were so named as they were previously called Royce cars. Rolls went to the New York Motor Show to exhibit Rolls-Royce cars in 1906 and also attended an exhibition organised by the Aero Club of America and was introduced to the Wright Brothers. This meeting gradually directed Rolls' interest from balloons to powered flight. In April 1910 Rolls purchased the French Wright with a Wright Bariquand engine. It was not Rolls-Royce powered because Royce, having collapsed at work in 1902, was yet to design a Rolls-Royce aero engine. This was a tail-less wheel-less model aircraft really of 1909 specification. Rolls was relieved Rolls-Royce Limited of some duties in January 1910 to pursue aircraft interests. Rolls completed the first double crossing of the Channel - England/France/England on 2 June 1910 in total flying time 95 1/2 minutes and is pictured below. Rolls completes the first double crossing of the Channel http://www.bentleyboys.com A French built moving tail plane was fitted 10 July 1910 to his Wright plane. On 12 July in a 20 - 25 mph wind he crashed when tail plane broke at the Bournemouth International Aviation Meeting in celebration of the town's centenary. Rolls was the first Briton to die in an aviation accident. At this time Rolls' exploits had built up such a following in Great Britain that Lord Montague of Beaulieu interrupted his speech in the House of Lords to announcethe death. Rolls was buried at St. Cadoc's Church 16 July 1910. Sir Frederick Henry Royce (1863 - 1933) http://www.krbaker.demon.co.uk Frederick Henry Royce (1863 - 26th April 1933) was the Chief Electrical Engineer responsible for the pioneering Street Lighting scheme in Liverpool in 1882. He started his own company in Manchester in 1884 to sell electric cranes and dynamos. There was an economic slump at the close of the Boer War in 1902. At this time Henry Royce and his partner Ernest Claremont had been designing and manufacturing electrical equipment at Hulme, Manchester for some time. FH Royce & Company had become Royce Ltd. in 1894 and was facing competition from cheaper foreign manufacturers. Royce investigated means of expanding, and electrical components for the new motor industry seemed promising. Royce took delivery of a second hand Decauville in 1903, (A French make). He began to improve and modify this car and convinced Claremont to allow three prototypes vehicles to be constructed at the Cooke Street works. Before the year was out Royce was testing his own engines and the first Royce prototype took to the roads on 1st April 1904. One of Royce's partners, Henry Edmunds, introduced him to the Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls (1877-1910), a motoring enthusiast. Rolls and his partner Claude Goodman Johnson ran a company in London selling expensive foreign motorcars. Rolls had been looking for a quality British make to sell and the new Royce seemed to meet his requirements. An agreement was made to market Royce's car provided it was sold as Rolls-Royce and the first cars were offered to the public in December 1904. Read more about Rolls Royce... The History of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars http://www.royalaeroclub.org In 1901, three wealthy motorists, Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls, had proposed a motor tour, but this was cancelled when Vera's Renault 4.5 caught fire. The lady arranged a balloon flight with the distinguished professional Stanley Spencer, as a distraction. Over a glass of champagne during the subsequent voyage, they agreed that an Aero Club should be formed and after landing this was done without delay. Due no doubt to the presence and personality of Vera Butler, it was uniquely - for the time - agreed that it be open "equally to ladies and gentleman, subject to election". Charles Rolls, Vauxhall, 1908 http://www.royalaeroclub.org In May 1909, at the Aero Club's landing ground at Leysdown, JTC Moore-Brabazon, later Lord Brabazon of Tara, made a flight of 500 yards in his Voisin. This is officially recognised as the first flight by a British pilot in Britain. Muswell Manor, Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey, UK., 1909 L-R: The owner of Muswell Manor, Oswald, Horace and Eustace Short, Frank McLean, Griffith Brewer, Frank Hedges Butler, Dr Lockyer, Warwick Wright; seated are JTC Moore-Brabazon, Wilbur and Orville Wright and Charles Rolls. http://www.royalaeroclub.org Initially confined to ballooning, when heavier-than-air flight arrived, the Club embraced it with alacrity. The Club established its first flying ground at Muswell Manor near Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909. Early contacts with the Wright brothers in America by Charles Rolls and the redoubtable Short brothers, balloon makers to the Club, led to the latter acquiring a Wright license and laying down the first aircraft production line in the world, at Leysdown and later nearby at Eastchurch. The influence of the Club in those early days cannot be over-emphasised. Its members included - and trained - most military pilots up to 1915, when military schools took over. The gift of training facilities and aircraft to the Royal Navy by Francis McLean was the real starting point of the Royal Naval Air Service. From 1910 the Club, which had been granted the Royal prefix that year for its achievements and status, issued Aviators Certificates, internationally recognised under the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. ...more Other Images
i don't know
What is the seven letter name of the hat traditionally worn by a Town Crier?
Glossary of Hat Terms Glossary of Hat Terms  Hat & Head size   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I  J   K   L   M   N   O  P   Q  R   S   T   U  V   W   X   Y   Z   Search Tip: First click anywhere on the page below this line. If using I.E. Explorer go to, Edit  Find (on This Page) Abacca: (Musa textilis) A plant grown in the Philippines that produces the fiber used in the production of sisal and sinamay. Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln�s hat was a silk stovepipe (top hat) which was made for him by George Hall of Springfield, Illinois. He wore it because of the President�s lack of interest in his appearance! Ammana: Large wound turban worn by Muslim's. Bandeau :  A headband of material, structured or unstructured. Baseball cap:  Cloth cap with  brim. Originally worn by baseball players ,now worn as a general leisure hat. Beaver: A expensive felt hat made from felted beaver fur. Bearskin: A large furry high crowned hat, which is part of a uniform worn by the Coldstream Guards Beret: Cap made from felt, felted jersey or fabric with soft, wide, circular crown. Best stuff: 19th century term for rabbit fur, including the backs and the best parts of the sides mixed together. Bicorne: Hat of the late 18th and early 19th century: wide brims were folded up to form two points. Biretta: Square cap worn by clergy the crown has three or four projections. Block:  A wooden form used as a mould to shape, by hand a brim or crown. Blocking: Is the term used to describe the action of molding a hat shape. Boater: Flat-topped hat with small flat brim. traditionally, made of stiffened straw braid. Bonnet: Women's or girl's head-dress, with deep brim and ribbons to tie under the chin. Bonnet rouge: Red cap worn during the French Revolution as a symbol of liberty. Bowler: Oval hat with round, rigid crown and a small, shaped, curved brim. Also known as a derby, because the style was made popular by the Earl of Derby in 19th century England. Breton: Women's hat with domed crown and brim turned-up all around. Bridal veil: White or ivory veil worn during wedding ceremony.  Brim:  Projecting edge of a hat. Buckram: Stiff netting used to make hats. May be blocked or sewn. Once used by milliners to make blocks for limited use. Bumping: Term used for the process of final felting of a hood, further compressing and felting of hoods done in a bumping machine. Calotte : A close-fitting skull cap as worn by the Roman Catholic Clergy. Canadian Mountie's Stetson: Official head-dress of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Canotier: Boater (French). Cap: A hat with a small brim at the front. Capeline: Roughly shaped crown and brim of felt or straw, to be blocked into hat shape. Carroting: Preliminary treatment of wool or fur with acids, to curl the hairs. Produces a reddish-yellow colour which is the origin of the name. Catherinette:  French term for milliners. Named after St Catherine the patron saint of milliners. The 27th of November is St Catherine's Day. Caul: Historical term for a a net or close-fitting indoor head-dress, or the plain back part of the same. Cavalier hat: A wide-brimmed, plumed hat worn by cavaliers in the 17th century: the right side of the brim was pinned up to the crown so that the wearer's sword arm could move freely above the shoulder. Chef's hat  White, starched bonnet with tall crown . French tradition states that a chef�s hat should have 100 pleats to represent the number of different ways in which a great chef can prepare eggs. Chira: Indian Turban Cloche: Women's hat of the 1920's. Close-fitting round crown, with no brim or a small flare at the brim edge.  Coalman hat: A short visor cap with a protective flap at the back, derived from a hat worn by English coal deliverers to protect their backs from dust. Cockade: Ornamental rosette of ribbon or cloth, worn on a hat as a badge of office or as a decoration. Cocked hat: An old-fashioned three-cornered hat. Cocktail hat: A small, often frivolous, hat for women, usually worn forward on the head. Coif: Head-cover worn by nuns as part of their habit, often with long veils. Cone: Conically shaped hood of felt or straw used as a base for blocking small hat shapes or crowns. Coolie hat: A shallow conical straw hat with a large brim to protect wearer from the sun. Coronet: Small crown worn by members of nobility as a symbol of rank. Cowboy hat : ( see ten gallon ) Hat with high crown and wide brim, originally worn by cow hands. Usually made of felt or leather.  Crown: Head-dress usually made of gold and worn as a symbol of sovereignty by monarchs. Also see Rastafarian Crown  The top part of a hat. Crush hat: A collapsible opera hat. Deer stalker : A hunting cap with visors at the front and back, and ear-flaps that can be tied up over the crown. Made famous by the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. Derby: Another name for a Bowler hat. Doff: The action of partially removing a hat by males as a sign of respect Diadem: A jeweled headband. Easter bonnet: Women's hat: A new spring style to be worn at Easter. English driving cap : Low-profile cap, originally only for men, with small brim at the front. Crown may be tailored with side panels, or gored. Esparterie: A flat sheet material used for the making of blocks and as a stiffening in the construction of hats. Feather head-dress : Ceremonial and symbolic head-cover worn by chiefs of North American Indian tribes. Fedora: A brimmed soft felt hat with a tapered crown that is dented lengthways. It comes originally from the Austrian Tyrol and is named after FEDORA a play by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou which was shown in Paris in 1882. Felt: Cloth made from wool, fur or hair, compacted (felted) by rolling and pressing, in the presence of heat and moisture. Fez: Brimless, conical, flat-topped cap with a tassel attached at the top center. Men's head-cover, made of red felt, worn in Islamic cultures. Fillet: A band for the hair. Fish tail: Ribbon with a decorative v-shape cut at the end. Forage cap: Military cap with a small brim. Fulling: Tumbling and pounding of cloth in hot water to induce felting. Fur felt: Any hood or capeline of felt made from fur fibers. Gainsborough Hat: A high crowned big brimmed hat decorated with feathers and ribbons became popular in the 1780's Garbo hat: Slouch hat. (a soft, broad-brimmed hat) Gaucho hat: A black felt hat with a wide flat brim and shallow flat-topped crown. Gibus: Collapsible top hat. [French, from the maker's name.] Glengarry: Highlander's cap of thick-milled woolen cloth, generally rising to a point in front, with ribbons hanging down behind Hat : Item of dress worn on the head, from a word of Saxon origin meaning hood. Helmet: Protective or ceremonial head-cover: for soldiers. Hennin: A high conical hat with a veil attached at the top, worn by women during the 15th century. Hijab: A covering for a Muslim woman's head and face, sometimes reaching the ground, often accompanied by the niqab (face veil). Homburg: A man's hat, made of felt, with a narrow upturned brim, and a depression in the top. First worn at Homburg, town in western Germany usually trimmed with a band and bow. Hood: Cone or capelin of felt or straw for making hats. Horsehair: Hair from a horse's mane or tail; a mass of such hairs; a fabric woven from horsehair. Jockey cap : Cloth cap with close-fitting 6-panel crown and wide brim at the front. Juliet Cap:  A round close-fitting skullcap worn by women. the style dates back to the Renaissance. Jute Hood: Cone, capeline or sheet materiel made of jute fiber. Kalpak : A triangular Turkish or Tatar felt cap. Kippa: Skull-cap worn by Jewish men. Also known as yarmulke. Kufie:  Islamic (Muslim) prayer cap. Leuring lathe : Turntable with a block to support a felt hat. The hat is placed on the block and, as it turns, it is then polished or "leured" with a plush or velveteen pad, to impart a shine to the felt fibers, particularly on the crown. Liberty cap: Phrygian cap. Mad Hatter : Famous character of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" also see Mercury below. Mercury Usage: Mercury Nitrate was used to soften the thicker and coarser fur (guard hair) from a rabbit or hare. This was to make the finished felt hood as soft and fine as possible, before it was made into a hat for the obvious reason that it would be of a higher quality and price. Mercury Poisoning: Mercury is acutely hazardous as a vapor and in the form of its water-soluble salts, which corrode membranes of the body. Chronic mercury poisoning, which occurs when small amounts of the metal or its fat-soluble salts, particularly methyl mercury, are repeatedly ingested over long periods of time, causes loss of memory, irreversible brain, liver, and kidney damage. paralysis, mental derangement and eventually death. In the United States it was referred to as the Danbury shakes.  Because of increasing water pollution, significant quantities of mercury have been found in some species of fish, which has aroused concern regarding uncontrolled discharge of the metal into the environment. See these sites for more information: Mandel: A turban woven with silk and gold. Milliner: Artisan who makes and sells hats. Millinery: The craft of making hats. Mitre: A high, pointed headdress, cleft crosswise on top and with two ribbons hanging from the back. The right to wear the mitre belongs by law only to the pope, the cardinals, and the bishops. Others require for its use a special papal privilege. For a full description and history, click on this link:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10404a.htm Mortarboard: Flat, square head-cover worn by professors and students for solemn academic occasions. Nap : Short fibers extending above the surface of cloth, fabric or felt, creating a soft, downy effect such as on velvet. Night cap: Men's cap worn informally indoors from the 16th to the 19th century. The cap had a deep crown made of four segments, with the edge turned up to form a close brim. Niqab: Face veil worn by Islamic women, together with the hijab (head-cover). Panama : The name given straw  woven in Ecuador, as well as Peru and Colombia. Panama hat: Straw hat made with panama straw . Paper panama: Cone or capeline made of Japanese Toyo paper, woven to imitate natural Panama can be 1x1 or 2x2 weave.  Parasisal: A two over two weave of sisal fiber used to make cones and capelines. Available in 5 grades, depending on the fineness of the fiber, it is lightweight, resilient and takes dye well. Peak: Visor. Phrygian cap: Conical cap with the top bent forward, named for an ancient people of Asia Minor. Worn as a symbol during the French Revolution, it is now also known as the cap of liberty. Picture hat: A hat with a very wide brim. Pile: Nap. Pillbox: A small brimless cap with a flat tip and cylindrical side. Polo players in the Bois de Boulogne wore pillboxes tied under their chins in the early 1900�s. This hat became popular when Jackie Kennedy wore them. Clothes designer Halston reinvented the pillbox worn by Greta Garbo in the 1932 film As You Desire Me, especially for Mrs Kennedy. Pillboxes can be made in most types of fabric. Pith helmet: Helmet of cork or pith (dried spongy tissue from the sola plant), covered with cloth. Planking: Rolling and heating the hoods to complete the felting process. Plug Hat: See Top Hat Plush: (Hatters Plush) Cloth of silk or cotton, with a longer and softer nap than velvet. Plush hats: Men's hat, usually Top Hats of plush, an imitation of napped beaver hats.  Pom-pom: Pompon a fluffy or woolly ball, tuft, or tassel.  Pompon: Pompon a fluffy or woolly ball, tuft, or tassel.  Pouncing: Rubbing down the outside of felt hats with pumice stone, sand paper or emery paper to produce a very smooth surface. Puritan: Black felt hat with high conical crown and narrow straight brim, worn by the Puritans during the 17th century. It was usually trimmed with a buckle at the front. Raffia : A natural straw from Madagascar, the Raffia palm or its leaf-bast. available in cones, capelines, braids and hanks. Raising card:  Small wired instrument to raise nap on felt. Rastafarian Hat : The Rastafarian hat is called a "Crown" and has religious significance, the knitted version is usually colored red, yellow and green, the colour of the Ethiopian flag. Royal Ascot: The world famous English horse race meeting at Ascot, dating from the early 18th century, is particularly renowned for Ladies' Day, a unique occasion and setting to flaunt the most spectacular hats. Rush: Capeline made of a stiff thick straw, usually left its natural green colour. Shako : A tall, nearly cylindrical military cap with a plume, flat-topped.  Sinamay: a plant grown in the Philippines the fibers are woven into sheet or hood forms. Sisal Comes from the fiber of the Abacca (Musa textilis) and is used to make cones, capelines and woven fabric. Sisal hood: Cone or capeline of sisal fiber made with a one over one weave. Skull-cap: Small, close-fitting cap of fabric. Skimmer: (see Boater) Slouch hat: A soft hat with a high crown and drooping flexible brim. Also called a Garbo hat, from the name of the actress who worn this style in many films. Smoking cap: Men's pillbox shape cap, worn during the 19th century to prevent the hair from smelling of tobacco. Snap brim: A brim that turns down sparingly. Snood: A band for the hair, once worn by unmarried women in Scotland as the badge of virginity; an ornamental hairnet supporting the back of a woman's hair. Sombrero: Mexican hat with high, conical crown and very wide brim. Usually of straw or felt. Spartre: (see Esparterie ) St. Catherine of Alexandria: Patron saint of milliners in France, + c. 307 A.D., celebrated November 2th. St. Clement I: 3rd Bishop of Rome, + c. 100 A.D. Patron saint of hatters in England, celebrated November 23. By tradition, the discoverer of felt. Stiffening: Originally gum Arabic, mucilage, shellac or gelatin, now superseded by cellulose or pva based chemicals. It is applied by hand or dipped, to stiffen felt or straw. Stocking cap: Knitted cap, usually conical, often finished with a pompon. Stovepipe hat: A tall 19th century top hat , made popular by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Suede felt: Fur felt hood or capeline with short nap: surface texture resembles suede. Tam o'shanter : Beret with close-fitting headband, usually trimmed with a pompon. Ten-gallon hat : (see cowboy hat) A good description of this hat supplied courtesy of www.clearwaterhats.com "The phrase "ten-gallon hat" is a bit of folksy humor which is often carried out through exaggeration. The 1880's saw the crowns of hats get taller and larger, but by the 1920's even those hats seemed smaller by comparison. The movies were coming in to great vogue in the 20's, and on-screen stars wanted to appear larger than life. As in most things, the rest of the people followed their lead to enormous hats. Hence the epithet "ten-gallon hat" to show its size could hold ten gallons of water. Like all folklore, no one knows who originated the phrase, but it stuck. The Stetson Company put out an advertising poster showing a cowboy watering his horse out of his hat. The phrase plays upon that, or the poster plays upon the phrase, I'm not sure which. That would be easy to figure by dating the poster." Or the other explanation: Almost proverbial is the ten-gallon hat worn by Americans in the "Old West," particularly so in Texas. Its description is taken to refer to its enormous size, which would conform with all the other Texan superlatives. The implication, of course, is that the hat was so large that it could be filled with ten gallons of liquid. This is an error due to a linguistic "mix-up." In this case the gallon is not the unit of capacity, but the Spanish 'galon' for "braid." The hat is not Texan at all but stems from Mexico. When Spaniards occupied the country, they wore sombreros because the wide brims protected their faces from the burning sun. Spaniards' love of beauty made them embellish this utilitarian brim with braid. The more of it they used the happier they were. Some men thus wore a hat with ten different braids. Very accurately and without exaggeration, it was a 'ten galon hat'. When the Americans adopted the Spanish head covering, they acquired its Spanish name as well. Continuing to call it a ten gal(l)on hat, the Spanish ('galon') braid was soon misunderstand and mistaken for the liquid measure. This created the ten-gallon hat. source"Websters World Encyclopedia 1999" Tip: The top part of the crown. Top hat : Man's tall cylindrical hat with a narrow brim, made of silk plush. Also see: Abraham Lincoln. Very early top hats were made of beaver felt. Also called a "Plug Hat" in the USA. Toque: French term for a chef's tall white hat.  Toque: Small hat for a woman, close-fitting brimless or nearly brimless hat.  Tricorne: Men's hat of the 18th century: wide brims were folded up to form three points. Trilby:The Trilby is a soft felt hat, usually made of fur felt (rabbit) it has a dented crown and flexible brim, the shape originates from the Austrian Tyrol it usually had a small feather trimming.  The hat became most popular between the 1930s-40s when Schiaparelly used it to compliment clothes design. The name come from the heroine of G.du Maurier's novel Trilby 1894 in which the heroine of the stage version, wore such a hat. Tuque: A Canadian cap made by tucking in one tapered end of a long cylindrical bag, closed at both ends. Turban: Typical head-dress for Muslim and Sikh men, constructed by winding a long scarf around the head. Turban: Women's head-dress resembling men's turbans. Vanities : 15th century British term for hats. Veil: A covering of fine fabric or net, for the head, face, or both, for protection, concealment, adornment or ceremonial purpose, especially the white transparent one often worn by a bride Velour felt: Fur felt hood or capeline with uniform nap and velvet-like surface texture. Visca: Cone or capeline of rayon fiber, made to look like parrasisal with a 1x1 or 2x2 weave.  Visor: A partial brim, usually extending out at the front of a hat or cap. Also known as a peak used as a shade against the sun . Wheat Straw single or double: A stiff coarse straw, usually left its natural golden brown colour. Single wheat is 1x1 weave double wheat is 2x2 weave. Widow's peak: A close-fitting cap with a point extending down at the center of the forehead. Originally worn as a mourning bonnet by Caterina de Medici. Also a point of hair over the forehead, like the cusped front of the widow's cap formerly worn. Willow: A woven and sized material made of esparto grass and cotton, used for making the base of fashion hats. Also known as esparterie and spartre. Wimple: A veil folded so as to cover the head and neck and closely frame the cheeks, a fashion of the Middle Ages that remained part of a nun's dress Xian : Capeline made of an oriental straw. Yarmulke : The skullcap worn by Jewish males, especially during prayers or ceremonial occasions. Also known as kippah. Zucchetto : Skull-cap worn by Roman Catholic clergy: black for priests, purple for bishops, red for cardinals, white for the pope.
Tricorne
What is the name of the now 46 year old British man whose extradition to the USA, for breaking into American computer systems, was recently blocked by Home Secretary Theresa May?
Brent McLaren :: Perth Ontario Town Crier N.B. I keeps an evening fchool, where I teach at reafonable rates, reading, writting and finging. N.B. I play the hooboy accafionally, if wanted. N.B. My fhop is next door, where I bleed, draw teth, and fhoo horfes, with the greateft fcil. N.B. Children taut to dance, if agreable, at 6d. per week, by me, J. Williams, who buy and fell old iron, and coals -- Shoos cleaned and mended. N.B. A hat and pr of flockens to be c____ led for, the belt in 5, on Shrof Tufhday. For particulars enquire within, or at the horfe fhoo and bell, near the church. on tother fide of the way. N.B. Look over the door for the fight of the 3 pidgeons. N.B. I fell good Ayle, and fometines Cyder--Lodgins for fingle men. John Smith, the current Town Crier of Kilwinning in Ayrshire, Scotland recounts that criers were also used to issue warnings and acted as conveyors of local news. In Haddington, East Lothian, after a fire which destroyed one side of the High Street in 1598, the “Coal and Candle” proclamation was introduced. This was an instruction to the towns people to acquaint themselves with every device for fire prevention. The proclamation was announced by the town crier nightly except Sunday from Martinmas (the feast of St. Martin of Tours celebrated on November 11) to Candlemas (observed on February 2nd). The evening’s rhyme was as follows: A’ gude men-servants where’er ye be, keep coal and can’le for charitie, in bakehouse, brewhouse, barn, and byres, it’s for your sakes, keep weel your fires: baith in your kitchen and your ha’, keep weel your fires, whate’er befa’; for oftentimes a little spark brings mony hands to meikle wark; ye nourices that hae bairns to keep, tak’ care ye fa’ na o’er sound asleep: or losing o’ your gude renown, and banishing o’ this burrow town. It’s for your sakes that i do cry, tak’ warning by your neighbours by. Another interesting story is recounted in the November 3, 1831 edition of the Brockville Gazette. This article shows not only the daily usefulness of the Town Crier, but also the caustic tone many news articles were written in during that period: Her Grease then 'aggravting her voice as gently as a sucking dove, called a halt, and a poor man who was at work on the road, was dispached the Hersham with all possible hast to learn what had become of this Excellency and to announce to him that the Duchess of St. Albans was waiting for the Grand Falconer of England.' away went Love's messenger at the top of his speed, incited there unto by the lagess of a splendid shilling; and as the beast way of discoveing the stray sheep. 'He went and told the bellman, And the bellman toll'd the bell.' But as the man described it, the lady had lost a grand falcon -- which they conjectured to be some great bird or other and to brevent the mistakes of the ignorant, the Town crier, first 'agitating the tintinnabularry clapper of the communicatator,' sonorously made proclamation to the following effect: -- O, yez! O, yez! Lost, stolen, or strayed, a great goose belonging, to the Duchess of St. Albans -- whosoever has found the same will please bring it to the crier, being of no use to any but the owner.' Strange to say, the announcement had the desired effect. The Montreal Herald from November 30, 1811 contains this rathering insightful news item: A NEW METHOD to prevent depradations, fo often committed in this neighborhood. --- A gentlemen in Wales, who had in vain attempted to terrify intruders from entering his garden, by placing fteel traps and other engines, thought on the following devices:-- He wrote to a friend of his in London, an eminent furgeon, defiring him to fend down the first leg he fhould amputate. This request was foon complied with. In that part of the country it was ufual after fervice on Sunday, for the crier to proclaim, when is loft, &c. because at that time, the concourfe of people is greater then at any other. The leg was delivered to the officer, who, ftanding on a tomb in the church yard, and holding the naked limb in his hand, gave notice that it had been found the preceding night in J. M. Efq.'s garden, and whoever owned it might come and receive the property without punishment. Although no one appeared to claim the member, the fight of the mangled limb made fuch an impreffion on the minds of the fpectators that no drepadations were committed after in the gentlemen's garden or premifes, when produce was fecured by this artifice. When you start going through historic newspaper records you never know what you will uncover, such as this article from the Bathurst Courier on May 22, 1835. Here a woman dresses in the similar garb to a traditional Town Crier and is well known as a ballad singer and “crier 'of the last dying speeches' &c. “: In Boston, the city's last official Town Crier, James Wilson, opened the first tavern. The Bell in Hand Tavern is the oldest continually operating tavern in the United States (1795) and is located in Boston next to the Union Oyster House near Faneuil Hall. This isn't the pub's first location though. It was originally opened on Congress Street and moved to Devonshire Street before settling on Union Street, its current home. "Old Jimmy" Wilson was said to have had the best ale in Boston at the time, and today, they still serve Bell in Hand Ale. Based on the crowds that gather many nights, the spirits are still just fine. "Old Jimmy" actually announced the Boston Tea Party, the birth of a nation and had a tavern frequented by Daniel Webster, Paul Revere and William McKinley. The image is of the the original sign which huge outside the pub until recently. An article entitited The Newgate Bellman contained the following information: It was an ancient practice, on the night preceding the execution of condemned criminals, for the bellman of the parish of St Sepulchre to go under Newgate and, ringing his bell, to repeat the following, as a piece of friendly advice to the unhappy wretches under sentence of death:-- "You prisoners that are within, who for wickedness and sin, after many mercies shown you, are now appointed to die tomorrow in the forenoon, give ear and understand that in the morning the greatest bell of St Sepulchre’s shall toll for you in form and manner of a passing bell, to the end that all godly people, hearing that bell and knowing that it is for your going to your deaths, may be stirred up heartily to pray to God to bestow His grace upon you while you live. I beseech you for Jesus Christ’s sake to keep this night in watching and prayer for the salvation of your own souls, while there is yet time for mercy, as knowing tomorrow you must appear before the judgment seat of your Creator, there to give an account of all things done in this life and to suffer eternal torments for your sins committed against Him, unless upon your hearty and unfeigned repentance you find mercy through the merits, death and passion of your only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God to make intercession for as many of you as penitently return to Him." Stowe’s Survey of London, (p. 125) of the quarto edition printed in 1618, adds: "Robert Dow, Citizen and Merchant Taylor, of London, gave to the parish church of St Sepulchre’s, the sum of 50L. That after the several sessions of London, when the prisoners remain in the gaol, as condemned men to death, expecting execution on the morning following; the clerk (that is, the parson) of the church should come in the night time, and likewise early in the morning, to the window of the prison where they lie, and there ringing certain tolls with a hand-bell, appointed for the purpose, he doth afterwards (in most Christian manner) put them in mind of their present condition, and ensuing execution, desiring them to be prepared therefor as they ought to be. When they are in the cart, and brought before the wall of the church, there he standeth ready with the same bell, and after certain tolls rehearseth an appointed prayer, desiring all the people there present to pray for them. The beadle also of Merchant Taylors Hall hath an honest stipend allowed to see that this is duly done." The Beadle was originally a title given to a Saxon officer who summoned householders to Council. The term has an interesting etymology coming from Medieval Latin: ’bedellus’ meaning "to herald. It appeared in Middle English as ’bedel’; in Old English it was ’bydel’ and in Old French it was also ’bedel’. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) defines ’beadle’ as "A messenger or crier of a court; a servitor; one who cites or bids persons to appear and answer; -- called also an apparitor or summoner." The Beadle rarely worked alone, usually accompanied by one or more constables to protect him during his often unpleasant duties. Contemporarily it refers to a parish constable; in the Scottish church one who attends the minister during divine service. Beadles are often found in Shakespearean plays and a famous fictional constabular beadle is ’Mr Bumble’ from Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist or the loathesome ’Beadle Bamford’ from Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd. The Modern Bellman and Town Crier Currently, most Town Criers are officially appointed by the Mayor, a Town Council or by an historical group. Generally the style of uniforms is authentic and often date back to the 17th Century. Traditionally, the Town Crier's robes are historically similar to those of the mayor from that period, and uniforms are usually designed, incorporating the colours and heritage of the Crier's town. The choice of uniform is not limited to these robes, many appearing in the dress of a constable, military officer, voyageur, gentlemen or lady, or other selection. If worn, the ceremonial tricorne hat is adorned with curling feathers, a traditional representation of the quills used by earlier town criers to write their proclamations. Announcements are always preceded by the traditional "O’yez! O’yez! O’yez!" (which is "Listen!" or "Hark!" in ancient French) and conclude with "God Save The Queen!" or (where this Crier works) “God Bless Canada!” To gather onlookers, a bell is sounded by the bell-man for the traditional three rings that open a proclamation. This attention-getting device is often replaced by hunting horns, bugles, fifes, drums, pots-pans or pipers, all of which share in the heritage traditions of the crier. Although we have access to many different, almost instant, types of communication these days there is still a place for “communication with a human face”. Town criers are used to lead parades, open supermarkets, launch ships, attend official functions and act as ambassadors of good will on any occasion when a flamboyantly dressed character can be deployed to draw attention to what is happening. Have Bell and Gavel --- Ready and Willing to Travel!    
i don't know
What is the name of the editor of BBC's Newsnight who recently resigned following a Panorama probe into the Jimmy Saville affair?
Jimmy Savile: Fresh BBC's Panorama investigation may be delayed | Daily Mail Online comments The BBC was at the centre of a new controversy over Jimmy Savile last night after it emerged that a planned Panorama investigation on the scandal may be delayed. Staff on the BBC1 current affairs show confirmed yesterday that they had previously been told that the ‘quick-turnaround’ programme would be going out on Monday. Contributors were also informed that the investigation was going to air the night before BBC director-general George Entwistle’s appearance in front of the culture, media and sport select committee on Tuesday. New controversy: The airing of a Panorama investigation into the allegations surrounding Sir Jimmy Savile, pictured at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 2003, may be delayed Timely: Any delay would mean the show is aired after BBC director-general George Entwistle appears before MPs over the Savile allegations on Tuesday But now it has emerged that the BBC could move the show to later in the week, blaming the fact that it might not be ready for Monday. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share This would mean any damaging revelations would air after the BBC chief had appeared in front of MPs. Tom Giles, editor of Panorama, said yesterday that his team were ‘working very hard’ to get the show on air as soon as they could. Panorama editor Tom Giles said his team are working 'very hard' to get the show aired as soon as possible But one MP said it would be ‘extraordinary’ if it did not go out on Monday, while another said there would ‘need to be a very good reason why not’. Former Newsnight political editor Michael Crick, now at Channel 4 News, described the fact that Panorama was set to go out the night before Mr Entwistle’s appearance as a ‘huge problem’ for him. The programme is in part expected to probe what role executives including Mr Entwistle and director of news Helen Boaden had in the decision to drop a Newsnight investigation into Savile’s activities. Critics have suggested that the programme was dropped to protect the corporation’s reputation, but the BBC has repeatedly denied that any pressure was put on Newsnight editor Peter Rippon to pull the investigation. The suggestion that the Panorama programme could be moved back has raised new questions about the BBC’s handling of the issue. Conservative MP John Whittingdale, who chairs the committee which will be interviewing Mr Entwistle, said: ‘Given that one of the major issues is the suggestion that the BBC has been trying to suppress an investigation into this issue, if it were not transmitted on Monday there would need to be a very good reason.’ Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders, who also sits on the  committee, said of the potential Panorama delay: ‘I find that extraordinary and would expect Entwistle to give a full explanation when he comes before the committee.’ Yesterday the BBC was asked by women’s groups to investigate whether ‘institutional sexism’  was partly to blame for the alleged abuse by Savile. Apology: The director-general of the BBC George Entwistle has previously issued a 'profound and heartfelt apology' to Jimmy Savile's victims Investigation: Scotland Yard is now investigating the Jimmy Savile abuse case involving dozens of potential victims
Peter Rippon
What is the nine letter name of the small, silk skullcap that is worn by certain Roman Catholic clerics, they vary in colour according to rank?
The BBC's Savile Paedophile Cover-Up | Biased BBC - The Archive Biased BBC - The Archive (Don't) HAVE YOUR SAY The BBC's Charter and its Producers Guidelines state: ...'Due impartiality lies at the heart of the BBC. All programs and services should be open minded, fair and show a respect for truth? [BBC reports should] contain comprehensive, authoritative and impartial coverage of news and current affairs in the United Kingdom and throughout the world?? How does the BBC measure up to its charter? The BBC's Savile Paedophile Cover-Up Back to Top Post by Teddy Bear on Sept 30, 2012 21:39:51 GMT A documentary 'Exposure' on ITV, is due to be aired this Wednesday. It concerns allegations of sexual abuse committed by the late Jimmy Savile against girls as young as 12 years old, at least from the 1970's. 10 women, now mature adults, claimed how Savile had groped them, or had them perform acts on him, and at least one was raped in his dressing room. So what does this have to do with the BBC, apart from the fact that some of this abuse took place on BBC premises while Savile was employed by them? Just the fact that the BBC Newsnight team had been investigating similar claims against Savile, and were due to air their findings last December, but were ordered by bosses to drop their investigation. Instead, the corporation screened two tribute programmes celebrating Savile’s lengthy BBC career as presenter of Jim’ll Fix It and Top of the Pops, and also as a Radio 1 DJ. The BBC claim: ...'it had conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations and found no evidence to support the claims. "The BBC has conducted extensive searches of its files to establish whether there is any record of misconduct or allegations of misconduct by Sir Jimmy Savile during his time at the BBC. No such evidence has been found. "Whilst the BBC condemns any behaviour of the type alleged in the strongest terms, in the absence of evidence of any kind found at the BBC that corroborates the allegations that have been made it is simply not possible for the corporation to take any further action." Newsnight editor Peter Rippon said: "It is absolutely untrue that the Newsnight investigation was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons. "We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated. "To say otherwise is false and very damaging to the BBC and individuals. The notion that internal pressure was applied appears to be a malicious rumour." Clearly there are allegations of misconduct, and not findings evidence 40 years later is hardly surprising - what evidence did they think could exist. The allegations by 10 different women appears to show that not only was Savile a paedophile, but the BBC are also involved in a cover-up - for whatever reason. Strange how vehemently they can pursue the Catholic Church when they discover a cover-up of sexual abuse, but they want you to believe when its the BBC they have a good reason. Since Savile is dead he is beyond retribution in this world. I'm just glad that this ITV documentary will raise eyebrows about the behaviour of the BBC in this matter. BBC denies cover-up over Sir Jimmy Savile sex allegations The BBC today denied covering up 'inappropriate behaviour' by Sir Jimmy Savile after several women came forward to claim they had been sexually abused by the star. Up to 10 women have spoken to claim they were sexually abused by the late DJ when they were teenagers, including one who says she was raped. Their stories will be broadcast in an ITV documentary on Wednesday. Many claimed the abused had been an 'open secret' at the BBC and that the corporation chose to turn a blind eye. Childline founder Esther Rantzen, who was a presenter at the BBC in the 1970s, said people in the television world had 'colluded' with the star and 'blocked their ears to the gossip.' But the BBC today said it had conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations and found no evidence to support the claims. "The BBC has conducted extensive searches of its files to establish whether there is any record of misconduct or allegations of misconduct by Sir Jimmy Savile during his time at the BBC. No such evidence has been found. "Whilst the BBC condemns any behaviour of the type alleged in the strongest terms, in the absence of evidence of any kind found at the BBC that corroborates the allegations that have been made it is simply not possible for the corporation to take any further action." The corporation also denied it had shelved a Newsnight investigation into Savile after learning a teenage girl had been abused in a dressing room at Television Centre. The woman claimed that the presenter molested her when she was 14 or 15 after inviting her to recordings of Clunk Click, his 1970s BBC family show. Newsnight tracked down several other women who claimed that Savile used his role on the programme to groom and abuse teenage girls. The BBC had hoped to broadcast the Newsnight report in December, two months after Savile’s death, but it was claimed bosses were ordered that the investigation be dropped. Instead, the corporation screened two tribute programmes celebrating Savile’s lengthy BBC career as presenter of Jim’ll Fix It and Top of the Pops, and also as a Radio 1 DJ. Newsnight editor Peter Rippon said: "It is absolutely untrue that the Newsnight investigation was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons. "We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated. "To say otherwise is false and very damaging to the BBC and individuals. The notion that internal pressure was applied appears to be a malicious rumour." See also The shocking evidence that Jimmy Savile DID abuse underage girls - by FOUR of his victims Last Edit: Oct 2, 2012 22:41:27 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards Back to Top Post by Teddy Bear on Oct 1, 2012 21:25:48 GMT One can just imagine how self righteously the BBC would be pursuing this story if it happened within the Murdoch corporation. As it is, they're trying to pretend all about themselves is squeaky clean, when in fact, they increased the potential for this twisted piece of shit to damage more young girls. Can't say I'm surprised, one can see this mentality throughout their output in one form or the other. When one has all these middle-aged women, totally unconnected to each other, making similar accusations about experiences they suffered from this man, what other evidence does the BBC need to justify their claim for pulling the Newsnight programme about him? This is besides their own staff who witnessed Savile at the time, but failed to report it to the authorities, succumbing to the BBC pressure to keep quiet about it. What's in a name - Savile? TV star is accused of grooming girls as young as 12 Esther Rantzen admits many in the industry 'blocked' their ears to claims about Savile ITV documentary claims some BBC producers were aware of behaviour as far back as the mid 1960s The BBC faced growing anger yesterday amid claims it turned a blind eye to Sir Jimmy Savile’s alleged abuse of under-age girls. There were also questions over why, in the months after his death, the corporation axed a Newsnight investigation into the star’s ‘predatory behaviour’. Savile, who died last year aged 84, is accused of grooming girls as young as 12, by offering them sweets, cigarettes and tickets to be in the audience of his shows. Six women have come forward to say they were sexually abused by the former Jim’ll Fix It star in his Rolls-Royce, at a hospital, at a school and BBC Television Centre. One of the alleged victims claims the former Radio 1 DJ raped her in his dressing room. An ITV1 documentary to be aired on Wednesday night also features damning contributions from BBC production staff who claim Savile’s predatory behaviour was an open secret. One former BBC producer who saw Savile in a restaurant with a girl aged around 12 describes Top Of The Pops as his ‘happy hunting ground’. Broadcaster and ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen admits many in the television industry ‘blocked our ears’ to claims made about Savile during his 40-year career at the BBC. Writing in today’s Daily Mail, she says: ‘I felt Jim had persuaded us all, audiences, fans, television professionals, even the Pope, to create a myth around Saintly Jim so that he became untouchable. 'One of the assaults had even been witnessed by the member of a television production team. So why was nothing done?’ The BBC insists its ‘well resourced’ investigation into Savile was shelved by Newsnight editor Peter Rippon for editorial reasons. But sources at the BBC claimed it was scrapped at the ‘eleventh hour’ because executives felt ‘incredibly uncomfortable’ broadcasting allegations of Savile’s sexual misconduct. It is also claimed the report would have clashed with a glowing Christmas Day broadcast about Savile on Radio 2. The ITV1 documentary claims some BBC producers had been aware of Savile’s behaviour as far back as the mid 1960s. Wilfred De’Ath, a former producer on the BBC radio show Teen Scene, claims he saw Savile in a Chinese restaurant with a girl as young as 12 in 1964. Mr De’Ath, now 75, says: I said “where did you pick her up?” And he said “Oh Top Of The Pops”. I remember saying “Is that your happy hunting ground?” and he said “Yes”.’ Another former BBC producer, Sue Thompson, says she saw Savile in his dressing room kissing a girl sat on his knee who was aged around 14. Roger Holt, 70, who worked for Polydor Records in the 1960s, claims Savile’s reputation for liking under-age girls was well known in the record industry and at the BBC. He said: ‘It’s a shame Savile is dead because if he wasn’t they would arrest him now. ‘The BBC must have turned a blind eye to what was going on because all of us in the record industry knew what he was like. ‘It was difficult for anyone outside the BBC to say anything because that could wreck our careers.’ Singer Coleen Nolan has previously revealed she was horrified when she was intimately cuddled by Savile when she appeared on Top Of The Pops in 1979 aged just 14. She said: ‘He was all over me.’ The BBC last night said it found no evidence of any misconduct by the broadcaster in relation to its conduct towards Savile. In a statement it said: ‘The BBC has conducted extensive searches of its files to establish whether there is any record of misconduct or allegations of misconduct by Sir Jimmy Savile during his time at the BBC. No such evidence has been found. ‘Whilst the BBC condemns any behaviour of the type alleged in the strongest terms, in the absence of evidence of any kind found at the BBC that corroborates the allegations that have been made, it is simply not possible for the corporation to take any further action.’ 'He was all over me': 14-year-old Coleen Nolan (pictured with Savile on Top Of The Pops in 1979) said she was horrified when he intimately cuddled her on the show 'He was all over me': 14-year-old Coleen Nolan (pictured with Savile on Top Of The Pops in 1979) said she was horrified when he intimately cuddled her on the show The BBC also defended its decision to drop the Newsnight investigation. Newsnight editor Peter Rippon said: ‘We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated.’ Sources at the BBC claim the Newsnight investigation had uncovered evidence that two other celebrities – who are still alive – allegedly sexually abused underage girls on its premises in the 1970s. The ITV1 documentary also includes a 2009 recording of Savile talking in support of Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, who was jailed for four months in the UK in 1999 for downloading child porn and later jailed for child sex offences in Vietnam. Savile’s nephew Roger Foster said his family was ‘disgusted’ the allegations were being made against him when he was unable to defend himself. Savile's 'attacks on schoolgirls': Accusers tell of abuse in Rolls-Royce and in his BBC dressing room Sir Jimmy Savile was a national icon and a British institution. He was adored by generations of children, raised more than £40million for charity and, for decades, was the face of the BBC. Today his reputation is in tatters. A number of women have come forward to tell how, when they were children – just 14, 15 and 16 years old – the TV star carried out a string of appalling sex attacks on them, including rape. Two claimed he abused them in the back of his Rolls-Royce, in return for sweets, cigarettes, records and tickets to his hit BBC television series. Several were sexually assaulted on BBC premises after meeting him on shows such as Top Of The Pops and Clunk-Click, the forerunner to Jim’ll Fix It. Sometimes he would molest them on a couch in his BBC dressing room. Occasionally, he’d just pin them roughly against the wall in the BBC corridors. Three of the girls were hand-picked by Savile from Duncroft Approved School ‘for intelligent, emotionally disturbed’ girls near Staines in Surrey, which Savile frequently visited in the 1970s to help raise its profile. Two were raped, repeatedly. Both claim he gave them sexually transmitted diseases. The revelations follow a year-long investigation by former Surrey police child protection officer Mark Williams-Thomas for an ITV documentary. In Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, due to be screened on Wednesday, the women, now all middle-aged, tell how they were groomed by Savile for sex from the age of 12. According to Mr Williams-Thomas, the victims were too afraid to speak out until Savile died last October, aged 84. He said: ‘This was a man who was Mr BBC. He was everywhere, he was iconic and he was incredibly well-connected. ‘The women thought no one would believe them then. And even now they are terrified of the potential backlash from his fans and from his estate.’ Significantly, the women, none of whom have been paid for their revelations, tell strikingly similar stories. The BBC dressing room with its sordid couch and ‘sex alcove’ crops up again and again. There are endless references to the speed, brute strength and lack of emotion in Savile’s assaults. None was able to fend him off. Williams-Thomas interviewed many more victims of Savile’s assaults who did not want to take part in the programme. He insists the four who were prepared to speak out could be the tip of the iceberg. Even now, only two of the victims have agreed to waive anonymity. One woman, ‘Anna’ declined to take part in the programme but has written about her experiences online. Here, we present their shocking – and graphic – accounts of what they say happened to them at the hands of Savile. ORDEAL IN HIS ROLLS-ROYCE Fiona, a former pupil at Duncroft, claims Savile cherry-picked girls for ‘special outings’ in his gleaming Rolls-Royce. She was sexually assaulted on numerous occasions and forced to perform sex acts on him. She was 14 years old. ‘We would go to the headmistress’s office and he would sit there with a few of us and then he made his selection [of the girl he wanted]. ‘Being taken out in his car was a treat because we didn’t get to go out much. The very first time he abused me it was in the back of his car. We were in the car park and the other girls were at one of those picnic tables. ‘I knew [what was going to happen] the moment he asked me to stay in the car with him – I was having this wonderful day out and I was expected to pay for it. By the time I’d finished spending some time with him, the wire from my bra had come up over the top of my breast.’ She said he had also assaulted her sexually. Fiona claims Savile later abused her at BBC Television Centre when she was invited with classmates to be in the audience of his BBC1 show, Clunk-Click which he hosted in 1973 and 1974. ‘He had an alcove in his dressing room that had a curtain over it and he would take you behind the curtain.’ She said there she would be subjected to a series of sexual assaults. MOLESTED IN HIS CARAVAN Charlotte was also at Duncroft. She was sexually assaulted by Savile in 1974 in a caravan on the school grounds where he was supposed to be making a recording for his radio show. She was 14. ‘We all went into this caravan and Jimmy Savile was there and the teacher was saying to us, “Oh he’s going to do a recording of you girls to play on the radio!”. ‘She told me to sit on his lap and I felt this hand sort of go up my jumper and on my breast. ‘I shouted at him, “What do you think you are doing?” and the next thing I knew I was dragged out of the caravan by two of the staff and told what a filthy mouth I had and that Uncle Jimmy did nothing but good for the school and I needed to apologise. ‘I was taken to the school’s isolation unit and left there for two or three days.’ RAPED IN THE TV CENTRE ‘Angie’ (not her real name) claims Savile first raped her in a London hotel room in 1974 when she was 15. ‘He invited me to come round to his hotel and before I knew it he had me on the bed and was having sex with me.’ That was just the beginning. Savile had sex with her again and again at the BBC Television Centre. ‘He had a little couch in his dressing room and we’d have sex there or sometimes he’d pin me up against the wall. It happened on a number of occasions. It was very, very quick, very unemotional and that was it. I was a teenager and very naïve and I blamed myself for what he did.’ Savile later gave her a copy of his 1974 autobiography, As It Happens. He had written ‘No escape!’ in the inside cover and signed it ‘Her Keeper’. Savile, who died last year would have faced arrest if still alive, a child protection expert claims on the documentary Savile, who died last year would have faced arrest if still alive, a child protection expert claims on the documentary THE CHOIR GIRL VICTIM ‘Karen’ (not her real name) claims Savile attacked her in 1973 after watching her perform in a choir at Stoke Mandeville Hospital where he did a huge amount of charity work. She was 14. ‘After the concert, I ran up to him to let him know I was the one who had sent him a letter about the choir. Before I knew what had happened he’d stuck his tongue in my mouth.’ ATTACKED IN THE DRESSING ROOM ‘Val’ (not her real name) was 15 when she met Savile at the BBC in 1968 where he was the face of Top Of The Pops. He sexually assaulted her ‘dozens of times’, raped her and gave her a sexually transmitted disease. ‘The first time he got me into an alcove in his dressing room, ‘ she said. He then pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her. ‘There were dozens of times after that. It was always a very quick fumble,’ she said. ‘He was very strong and he’d pin me up against a wall, a corridor, wherever he could he’d grab an opportunity, have a quick fumble and then carry on as normal.’ When she was 16, one of the ‘fumbles’ turned into sex. ‘He kept saying he wouldn’t go the whole way but when I tried to push him off he held me down with his body weight. There was a struggle and then it was over. ‘There was no foreplay, no romance. I’m sure it’s why he always wore a shell suit… so he could just whip the bottoms down very quickly. ‘I later discovered he’d given me a sexually transmitted disease. ‘I was very young and naïve and he was in his 40s and a very charismatic and powerful personality. I think as young girls we got caught up in that whole experience at the time… because you know if you were with him you had access to places and you met famous people. ‘There was an air about him that he had power and contacts and you didn’t want to mess with him. When he was alive I would have been too frightened to have spoken out. ‘People need to know that there was a dark side to him. He was a predator on young girls.’ MAULED IN HIS SPORTS CAR ‘Anna’ (not her real name), is a former pupil from Duncroft who has written her recollections online but did not take part in the documentary. ‘I looked forward to Jimmy Savile arriving because it meant pleasant food, rides down the lane in his sports car and extra cigarettes,’ she writes. ‘Sadly it also meant one of us had to put up with being mauled and groped when he pulled into a layby some five miles along the road. ‘He often tried to press me to “go further”…. He promised all manner of good things if I would.’ This included an invitation backstage after a recording of his show Clunk-Click where, she claims, Savile looked on while two other stars (still alive) abused an underage girl in his dressing room and one had sex with her in full view. Last Edit: Oct 1, 2012 21:33:44 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards The BBC is facing fresh questions about its decision to pull an investigation into sexual allegations against Sir Jimmy Savile after police disclosed that they questioned the TV presenter just five years ago. By Sam Marsden Journalists on BBC2’s flagship current affairs programme, Newsnight, began investigating the sexual allegations against Sir Jimmy after his death in October last year. It is understood that they had interviewed between eight and 10 people, including a number of alleged victims of the presenter, and were completing a film for broadcast in mid-December last year when, to their surprise and anger, they were told it would not be shown. If the programme had gone ahead, it would have been aired only weeks before a special Boxing Day edition of Jim’ll Fix It in tribute to the late presenter, hosted by Shane Richie. Among the Newsnight team was Mark Williams-Thomas, a former child protection officer with Surrey Police who went on to make a separate documentary about the allegations against Sir Jimmy which will be broadcast on ITV1 on Wednesday night. It is understood that Helen Boaden, the director of BBC News, was told about Newsnight’s investigation into the TV star as part of normal editorial discussions. However, the BBC insists that she was not involved in the decision to drop the film, which it says was taken by Peter Rippon, Newnight’s editor for “editorial reasons”. There were claims last night that Mr Rippon placed barriers to the broadcast of the programme. He initially said it could only be aired if police confirmed they had investigated Sir Jimmy, and later insisted that his journalists confirm with prosecutors the reason why charges were not brought, a hurdle that they could not achieve. A Labour MP on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the BBC had to look into the circumstances in which the Newsnight film was pulled and claims that Sir Jimmy’s alleged abuse of young girls was known about at the Corporation decades ago. Paul Farrelly, who is himself a former journalist, said: “Given the seriousness of the allegations, it is incumbent on the BBC to investigate what it knew, and when. “That investigation should also include a full look at the circumstances in which this programme was withdrawn. What the BBC needs to specify in particular is what it means by ‘editorial reasons’, which can cover a multitude of circumstances.” The BBC said in a statement: “It is absolutely untrue that the Newsnight investigation was dropped for anything other than editorial reasons. “We have been very clear from the start that the piece was not broadcast because the story we were pursuing could not be substantiated. To say otherwise is false and very damaging to the BBC and individuals. “To allege that we are withholding evidence from the police is also damaging and false. The notion that internal pressure was applied is a malicious rumour. “No pressure was applied to drop this investigation. None. To suggest otherwise is to risk impugning the professional reputation and integrity of a number of journalists.” The Corporation added: “We were pursuing a particular angle relating to the Crown Prosecution Service and police, which we were unable to substantiate and which was therefore not broadcast.” Sir Jimmy was interviewed under caution by Surrey Police in 2007 after a former pupil at the now-closed Duncroft Approved School for Girls near Staines, Surrey, where he was a regular visitor in the 1970s, made a complaint of indecent assault against him. But the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that there was not enough evidence to take any further action and no charges were ever brought. The presenter said he was “too valuable to the BBC” to get into trouble after spending the night in a squalid hotel with a girl aged between 10 and 12, it was claimed last night. Wilfred De'Ath, a former BBC producer, told ITV News: "I said to him, 'Jimmy you are living dangerously. Surely you must realise you're living dangerously?' "All he said was, 'oh no no no, I'm much too valuable to the BBC for them to do anything to me'. He didn't think anything could happen. And nothing did happen." Former BBC colleagues of Sir Jimmy have spoken of their regret at failing to act on decades-old rumours that he was a paedophile. Paul Gambaccini, the broadcaster, said on Monday that he had been “waiting 30 years” for stories about the Jim’ll Fix It presenter’s alleged sexual abuse of schoolgirls to emerge. Gambaccini said his former Radio 1 colleague played tabloid newspapers "like a Stradivarius" to keep allegations of impropriety quiet. He said Sir Jimmy was "about to be exposed" by one newspaper, but to prevent its publication he gave an interview to a rival tabloid which had the effect of stopping the negative piece. The broadcaster went on: "On another occasion, and this cuts to the chase of the whole matter, he was called and he said 'well you could run that story, but if you do there goes the funds that come in to Stoke Mandeville [Hospital] - do you want to be responsible for the drying up of the charity donations?' And they backed down." Claude Knights, director of the children’s charity Kidscape, said people had a “duty of care” to act on worries about other adults’ allegedly inappropriate behaviour towards children. “What is very, very disturbing is that when some of these irregularities and concerns are connected to a person who is a celebrity and somebody who also is doing many other very positive, high-profile things, there is a reticence to blow the whistle. “If a person is a national treasure, they become almost untouchable. I think it is probably difficult for an ordinary person who may have seen something or felt uneasy to take action. But that doesn’t excuse it.” Mrs Knights said it was important for institutions connected to historic abuse allegations to ensure procedures were in place so children were protected now and in the future. “It should be recognised that the BBC is leading the way in safeguarding children involved in productions with robust policies and a designated child protection officer," she said. Last Edit: Oct 2, 2012 23:55:49 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards George Entwistle says he didn't ask about content of Newsnight investigation into Savile's sex abuse But BBC insider calls claim 'ridiculous' Newsnight staff split over handling of the broadcast By Sam Webb BBC insiders have called the Director General's claim that he didn't ask about the content of the canned Jimmy Savile Newsnight documentary 'barely credible' and 'ridiculous'. At a press conference on Friday, George Entwistle, who expressed his 'revulsion' at the thought of Savile's abuse at the BBC, claimed he never asked questions about the nature of the Newsnight investigation dropped last year, saying he wanted to ensure the independence of news and current affairs. At the time Mr Entwistle was Director of the Vision division, which is responsible for commissioning, producing, scheduling and broadcasting the content of all of the BBC's television channels. The Independent reported that media commentator Steve Hewlett, who presents Radio 4's The Media Show, yesterday called the claim 'simply implausible', adding: 'The idea that he didn't know is barely credible.' David Elstein, the former chief executive of Channel 5, added his voice to the condemnation, saying Entwhistle would have to be 'pretty brain dead' not to investigate the programme's subject matter. Mr Entwistle, who also apologised to victims on behalf of the BBC, told reporters that Helen Boaden (head of news) had told him that Newsnight was planning a programme about Savile. He said that he said 'thanks for letting me know', but asked no questions about it. A senior BBC newsroom source told the Independent: 'It defies credibility that he didn't try to find this out. 'The idea that, as head of vision, in charge of the Christmas schedule, he just said 'thanks for letting me know' is ridiculous. 'The best thing you can say is he looks completely incurious to the point of being irresponsible. He looks hopeless.' The source added that Newsnight journalists are 'extremely tense' and feel like they were left 'looking stupid' by Mr Entwhistle's comments. 'You have a huge national story that was not mentioned on Newsnight until 10 or 11 days after it blew up. (The newsroom) is getting uncomfortable. It is very tense. It is a ludicrous situation,' they added. The source also spoke about the claim of Peter Rippon, the editor who dropped the Savile investigation, that the story was not good enough to air. They added: 'He did everything he could to make it impossible for the story to run... In most newsrooms if you are not quite there (with a story) you would just keep going.' The paper added that it understands the Newsnight team had spoken to at least 10 women, including witnesses and victims. A BBC spokesperson said: 'George Entwistle has made his position exceptionally clear. As said at the press briefing on Friday, 'I was the Director of Vision for the television department at the BBC, I had no influence or authority over investigations carried out by BBC News and it's very important that I always behaved in a manner which absolutely bore out that lack of authority or responsibility'.' Last Edit: Oct 14, 2012 20:11:16 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile was actually shelved 'because it clashed with Christmas tributes to the presenter' Corporation previously said Newsnight film was axed because the abuse story 'could not be substantiated' A leaked email shows the investigation was far advanced and BBC press office was preparing response to questions for after the broadcast Document also shows BBC was aware film could raise questions about why it had failed to expose Savile as a paedophile while he was alive A leaked email has cast doubt on the BBC's reason for cancelling a Newsnight investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile. The corporation has previously insisted that it decided not to proceed with the Newsnight film for 'editorial reasons' because the abuse story 'could not be substantiated'. But an internal email discussing the investigation into the late DJ suggests that the show was scrapped because of concerns it would clash with the TV channel's planned Christmas tributes to the star. The email dated on December 7, published by The Times today, reveals the investigation into abuse by Savile was so well advanced by then that the press office was preparing 'lines to take' to respond to questions after its planned broadcast. The email, sent from a press officer to Newsnight editor Peter Rippon and other staff, shows that the BBC was aware of the risk that the report would raise questions about why it had failed to expose Savile as a paedophile while he was alive. The press officer wrote that 'we may well need to do a bit of managing around this' and that 'we should bear in mind how BBC complaints team respond'. It also contradicts claims by the BBC that the film focused on an alleged failure by police to investigate Savile properly and that Newsnight journalists were in fact 'focusing on allegations of abuse'. Rippon has previously claimed that the story his journalists had been pursuing had been 'weakened from a Newsnight perspective' because they had been unable to establish any 'institutional failure' by the police or the Crown Prosecution Service. Leaked: This email from publicist Helen Deller has cast doubt on the reasons the BBC has previously stated for dropping the Newsnight film on Savile Rob Wilson, the Conservative MP for Reading East, who obtained the email, said: 'Newsnight editor Peter Rippon and the BBC have sought to portray that the axed Newsnight report was not an expose of Savile, but was focused on the reasons the police and the CPS dropped their investigation. 'This leaked email and the evidence from internal BBC sources casts doubt on the carefully crafted version of events posted in Peter Rippon's blog on October 2. 'We need a full explanation of why the focus of the Newsnight expose of Jimmy Savile was abruptly changed at the last minute.' Responding to the leaked email, the BBC spokesman said: 'This ridiculous story in no way casts doubt on what the BBC has previously said on this. 'It is simply an exchange between a junior press officer and the Newsnight producer asking for further information about the Jimmy Savile investigation.' She added that the email would be passed to the inquiry into whether there were any failings in the way the Newsnight report was handled. Ex-Sky News executive Nick Pollard is to lead the BBC's independent review into the matter while former High Court judge Dame Janet Smith will lead a second examination into the 'culture and practices of the BBC' during the years Savile worked there. The disclosures about Savile's private life were made in an ITV documentary a fortnight ago. Around 60 people have now come forward to say they were a victim of the veteran DJ, TV presenter and charity campaigner. Police believe the disgraced star, who died a year ago, may have been abusing victims for decades. The BBC and other bodies could be sued by victims if it can be shown they were negligent in allowing Savile to prey on his young victims. A Department of Health investigation will also be conducted into Savile's conduct during his charity work at three hospitals - Stoke Mandeville, Broadmoor and Leeds General Infirmary. Labour has called for an independent inquiry as the fall-out from the revelations continues. BBC director general George Entwistle and former corporation stalwart Esther Rantzen have become involved as questions are asked about who knew of the rumours about Savile, what and when they heard about them, and whether enough was done to stop him. But a spokeswoman for the BBC dismissed the email as 'simply an exchange between a junior press officer and the Newsnight producer asking for further information about the Jimmy Savile investigation'. Last Edit: Oct 19, 2012 16:40:05 GMT by Teddy Bear BBC = Blatantly Biased Corruption AND Big Brother Coverage AND Brainwashing British Citizens AND Breast-Beating Conmen AND Bloated Baleful Calumny AND Brutish Bullying Cowards
i don't know
"""He's a poor lad"", was a famous saying of which sports commentator who died in 1986?"
Five famous finals | Super League 2017 | Rugby League Live Scores, Fixtures & Results | Sporting Life Rugby league results 1946: Wakefield 13 Wigan 12. Despite being without four of their stars who were on their way to Australia for the "indomitables" tour, Wigan thought they had won the first final since the end of the Second World War when they led 12-11 with 90 seconds to go. However, a penalty from near the touchline by Wakefield's Billy Stott settled one of the great cliff-hangers and helped make him the first winner of the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match. Brian Nordgren still had a chance to win it for Wigan but he failed with a penalty from inside his own half - his seventh unsuccessful kick at goal. 1954 - Warrington 8 Halifax 4 (replay). In perhaps the most famous Challenge Cup tie of all, Warrington beat Halifax in the 1954 final replay but the game is not remembered for the rugby but for the world record crowd of 102,569 that squeezed into Odsal Stadium. Although since officially overtaken by a crowd of 107,000 at Stadium Australia for the 1999 NRL Grand Final, Odsal's attendance is arguably still the largest for a rugby league match with most people who attended reckoning around 120,000 were actually present after thousands got in through a broken fence without paying. The final is still the only one without a try after the original game at Wembley had ended in a 4-4 draw. 1968 - Leeds 11 Wakefield 10. The famous "watersplash" final, in which Don Fox missed a last-minute conversion which would have given Wakefield the Cup. Fox had already been named Lance Todd Trophy winner as man of the match when he fluffed the goal from in front of the posts in atrocious conditions. Fox sank to his knees and cut a sad, disconsolate figure on the Wembley turf. "Poor lad," said BBC commentator Eddie Waring while David Coleman's post-match interview remains one of the most painful to watch in British sporting history. 1996 - St Helens 40 Bradford 32. The first Wembley showdown of the Super League era produced a classic, with St Helens coming from 26-12 down to take the spoils with the biggest comeback in Cup final history. Bradford's New Zealand-born captain Robbie Paul made history with the first hat-trick of tries in a Wembley final and became only the seventh player from a losing team to win the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match. The match also stands as the the highest-scoring Cup final in history, while Bradford's 32 points set a new record for most points scored by a losing team. 1998 - Sheffield 17 Wigan 8. The biggest Cup final upset of all time as mighty Wigan were humbled by a club with little history and few fans. Wigan were back at Wembley for the first time since their record eight-year run ended in 1995 and they were expected to pick up from where they left off. But the unfancied Eagles had other ideas, with scrum-half Mark Aston masterminding a famous victory to lift the Lance Todd Trophy.
Eddie Waring
Which famous poet, born in 1888, had the middle name 'Stearns'?
Five famous finals | Super League 2017 | Rugby League Live Scores, Fixtures & Results | Sporting Life Rugby league results 1946: Wakefield 13 Wigan 12. Despite being without four of their stars who were on their way to Australia for the "indomitables" tour, Wigan thought they had won the first final since the end of the Second World War when they led 12-11 with 90 seconds to go. However, a penalty from near the touchline by Wakefield's Billy Stott settled one of the great cliff-hangers and helped make him the first winner of the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match. Brian Nordgren still had a chance to win it for Wigan but he failed with a penalty from inside his own half - his seventh unsuccessful kick at goal. 1954 - Warrington 8 Halifax 4 (replay). In perhaps the most famous Challenge Cup tie of all, Warrington beat Halifax in the 1954 final replay but the game is not remembered for the rugby but for the world record crowd of 102,569 that squeezed into Odsal Stadium. Although since officially overtaken by a crowd of 107,000 at Stadium Australia for the 1999 NRL Grand Final, Odsal's attendance is arguably still the largest for a rugby league match with most people who attended reckoning around 120,000 were actually present after thousands got in through a broken fence without paying. The final is still the only one without a try after the original game at Wembley had ended in a 4-4 draw. 1968 - Leeds 11 Wakefield 10. The famous "watersplash" final, in which Don Fox missed a last-minute conversion which would have given Wakefield the Cup. Fox had already been named Lance Todd Trophy winner as man of the match when he fluffed the goal from in front of the posts in atrocious conditions. Fox sank to his knees and cut a sad, disconsolate figure on the Wembley turf. "Poor lad," said BBC commentator Eddie Waring while David Coleman's post-match interview remains one of the most painful to watch in British sporting history. 1996 - St Helens 40 Bradford 32. The first Wembley showdown of the Super League era produced a classic, with St Helens coming from 26-12 down to take the spoils with the biggest comeback in Cup final history. Bradford's New Zealand-born captain Robbie Paul made history with the first hat-trick of tries in a Wembley final and became only the seventh player from a losing team to win the Lance Todd Trophy as man of the match. The match also stands as the the highest-scoring Cup final in history, while Bradford's 32 points set a new record for most points scored by a losing team. 1998 - Sheffield 17 Wigan 8. The biggest Cup final upset of all time as mighty Wigan were humbled by a club with little history and few fans. Wigan were back at Wembley for the first time since their record eight-year run ended in 1995 and they were expected to pick up from where they left off. But the unfancied Eagles had other ideas, with scrum-half Mark Aston masterminding a famous victory to lift the Lance Todd Trophy.
i don't know
Which famous actor, born in 1893, had the middle name 'Goldenberg'?
Romanian Personalities - Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973) Actor, Painter, and Art Collector Real name: Emmanuel Goldenberg A signed photograph of Edward G Robinson, which is owned by the Foundation Born to a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family in Bucharest, he emigrated with his family to New York City in 1903. He had his Bar Mitzvah at First Roumanian-American congregation, and attended Townsend Harris High School and then City College of New York. An interest in acting led to him winning an American Academy of Dramatic Arts scholarship, after which he changed his name to Edward G. Robinson (the G. signifying his original last name). He began his acting career in 1913 and made his Broadway debut in 1915. He made his film debut in a minor and uncredited role in 1916; in 1923 he made his named debut as E. G. Robinson in The Bright Shawl. One of many actors who saw his career flourish in the new sound film era rather than falter, he made only three films prior to 1930 but left his stage career that year and made fourteen films in 1930-32. He married his first wife, the stage actress Gladys Lloyd, in 1927; born Gladys Lloyd Cassell, she was the former wife of Ralph L. Vestervelt and the daughter of Clement C. Cassell, an architect, sculptor, and artist. The couple had one son, Edward Goldenberg Robinson, Jr. (a.k.a Manny Robinson, 1933-1974), as well as a daughter from Gladys Robinson's first marriage. An acclaimed performance as the gangster Rico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931) led to him being typecast as a 'tough guy' for much of his early career in works such as Five Star Final (1931), Smart Money (1931; his only movie with James Cagney), Tiger Shark (1932), Kid Galahad (1937) with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, and A Slight Case of Murder and The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938). In the 1940s, after a good performance in Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940), he expanded into edgy psychological dramas including Double Indemnity (1944), The Woman in the Window (1945) and Scarlet Street (1945); but he continued to portray gangsters such as Johnny Rocco in John Huston's classic Key Largo (1948), the last of five films he made with Humphrey Bogart. 'The Stranger' On three occasions in 1950 and 1952 he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee and was threatened with blacklisting. Robinson became frightened and took steps to clear his name, such as having a representative go through his check stubs to ensure that none had been issued to subversive organizations.[5] He reluctantly gave names of communist sympathizers and his own name was cleared, but thereafter he received smaller and less frequent roles. Still, anti-communist director Cecil B. DeMille cast him in The Ten Commandments in 1956. A cultured and urbane man, Robinson built up a significant art collection, especially of abstract modern art. In 1956, he sold it to Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos to raise cash for his divorce settlement with Gladys Robinson; his finances had suffered due to underemployment after Hollywood's anti-communist period in the 1950s. That same year he returned to Broadway in Middle of the Night. SPOT NEWS ON THE WIRE - Edward G. Robinson, as editor of a fighting newspaper, with Laraine Day as his efficient secretary, in "The New York Story", Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama, with Edward G. Robinson and William Orr. Mervyn LeRoy directed, Sam Marx produced. After DeMille brought Robinson back into movies, his most notable roles were in A Hole in the Head (1959) opposite Frank Sinatra and The Cincinnati Kid (1965), which showcased Robinson alongside Steve McQueen. Director Peter Bogdanovich was considered as a possible director for The Godfather in 1972, but turned it down, later remarking that he would have cast Robinson in the role ultimately played by Marlon Brando. Robinson indeed tried to talk his way into the part (which was how he had won the role of Little Caesar 40 years earlier), but Francis Coppola decided on Brando instead, over the initial objections of the studio. Robinson was popular in the 1930s and 1940s and was able to avoid many flops during a 50-year career that included 101 films. His last scene was a euthanasia sequence in the science fiction cult classic Soylent Green (1973) in which he dies in a euthanasia clinic while watching nature films on a wall-sized screen. Robinson was never nominated for an Academy Award, but in 1973 he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition that he had "achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen ... in sum, a Renaissance man". He died from cancer at the age of 79, two months before the award ceremony. Edward G. Robinson is buried in a crypt in the family mausoleum at Beth-El Cemetery in Ridgewood, New York.
Edward G. Robinson
"""Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming"" are the opening words to which famous song?"
Edward G. Robinson | American actor | Britannica.com Edward G. Robinson Rodney Stephen Steiger Edward G. Robinson, original name Emanuel Goldenberg (born Dec. 12, 1893, Bucharest , Rom.—died Jan. 26, 1973, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.), American stage and film actor who skillfully played a wide range of character types but who is best known for his portrayals of gangsters and criminals. Robinson was born in Romania but emigrated with his parents at age 10 and grew up on New York’s Lower East Side. He gave up early dreams of becoming either a rabbi or a lawyer and while a student at City College settled on acting . After winning a scholarship (1911) to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his stage debut in Paid in Full (1913). His knowledge of many languages helped him win a multilingual part in Under Fire (1915), his Broadway debut. He continued acting each Broadway season for the next decade, and in 1927 he had his first starring role, in the play The Racket. Two years later he appeared in The Kibitzer, a three-act comedy he wrote with Jo Swerling. Though he had appeared in two silent films—Arms and the Woman (1916) and The Bright Shawl (1923)—it was not until the advent of sound that Robinson’s movie career began in earnest. After a few undistinguished dramas, he starred as the trigger-happy gangster Enrico Bandello in Little Caesar (1931). It was the perfect part for Robinson and made him an instant star. Robinson’s dynamic performance, like that of James Cagney in The Public Enemy (1931), made the film stand apart from the usual underworld story, and both films marked the start of a long series of gangster pictures with which the Warner Brothers studio would become most associated throughout the 1930s and ’40s. Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1931). © 1931 Warner Brothers, Inc.; photograph, Museum of Modern Art, Film Stills Archive Short, chubby, with “the face of a depraved cherub and a voice which makes everything he says seem violently profane,” as Time magazine described him in 1931, Robinson was content that his career would consist of rough-and-tumble roles and character parts; he was happy to turn what would have otherwise been physical drawbacks into instantly identifiable trademarks. He continued playing “tough mugs” in film after film: a con man in Smart Money (1931), a cigar-chomping newspaper editor in Five Star Final (1931), a convicted murderer in Two Seconds (1932), and a spoof of his own Little Caesar image in The Little Giant (1933). The Whole Town’s Talking (1935), in which he played the dual roles of a timid bank clerk and a ruthless hoodlum, showed Robinson capable of fine, understated comedy, whereas in Bullets or Ballots (1936), he at last got to play somebody on the right side of the law, an undercover policeman. In 1937 he began a five-year run on the popular radio series Big Town, playing a newspaper editor. Britannica Stories
i don't know